Vulcan (planet): Difference between revisions

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'''Vulcan''' was a [[planet]] which supported a [[human]] [[colony]].

Vulcan was twelve [[parsec]]s away from any other colony. The planet was a young [[Volcano|volcanic]] world with fertile soil and no native life. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Power of the Daleks (novelisation)|The Power of the Daleks]]'')

 

The [[atmosphere]] was breathable by humans, with an oxygen density of 172, no radiation, and a temperature of 86 degrees Fahrenheit. Among the volcanic sand and ash were [[mercury swamp|pools]] of fuming [[mercury (element)|mercury]]. Vulcan's day was several hours shorter than [[Earth]]'s. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Power of the Daleks (TV story)|The Power of the Daleks]]'')

 

Vulcan was first discovered in [[1859]]. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Pursuit of History (audio story)|The Pursuit of History]]'')

 

Vulcan was colonised [[year]]s before the [[22nd century Dalek invasion|Dalek invasion of Earth]] in the mid-[[22nd century]], ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Power of the Daleks (novelisation)|The Power of the Daleks]]'') so that by [[2136]], [[Terri Willis]] told [[Ben Jackson]] Vulcan was "practically a legend." ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Murder Game (novel)|The Murder Game]]'')

 

It was Earth's third ever colony, after humans discovered the [[mineral]] riches of the planet. The planet was owned and the [[mining]] operations were funded by the [[Interplanetary Mining Corporation]]. They sought to keep things "economical" by providing the colony with the bare necessities of [[technology]] and equipment, stifling efficiency and increasing danger on the planet. This built up resentment, and a band of rebels began plotting against [[Governor]] [[Hensell]], whom they viewed as an IMC mouthpiece. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Power of the Daleks (novelisation)|The Power of the Daleks]]'')

 

[[File:Vulcanian colony.jpg|thumb|The human colony on Vulcan. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Power of the Daleks (TV story)|The Power of the Daleks]]'')]]The colony was almost taken over by [[Dalek]]s, who had been found in a crashed [[Space capsule (The Power of the Daleks)|spacecraft]] underground and then reactivated by a [[scientist]] called [[Lesterson]]. This overlapped with the rebellion against Hensell led by [[Bragen]]. The rebellion failed after the Daleks began an indiscriminate [[Murder|slaughter]] of the colonists but the [[Second Doctor]] overloaded their temporary [[Static electricity|static]] circuit from the colony's [[electricity]] supply. This left the colony without power for [[month]]s. [[Quinn (The Power of the Daleks)|Quinn]] became Governor in the aftermath. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Power of the Daleks (TV story)|The Power of the Daleks]]'')

 

The Daleks that survived this encounter with the Doctor were classified as [[Insanity|insane]] and were sent to the "intensive care" section of the [[Dalek Asylum]]. These Daleks were later destroyed when the [[Parliament of the Daleks|Dalek Parliament]] blew up the planet. ([[TV]]: ''[[Asylum of the Daleks (TV story)|Asylum of the Daleks]]'')

 

The [[Seventh Doctor]] and [[Elizabeth Klein]] visited the mercury swamps of Vulcan prior to their arrival on the [[Vrill]] colony. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Survival of the Fittest (audio story)|Survival of the Fittest]]'')

 

Preparing for an uprising, the [[Yes Man|Yes Men]] [[servant]] [[robot]]s on [[New Houston]] made Ben Jackson relive the Dalek attack on Vulcan repeatedly through a simulation until he found a way to win the fight. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Yes Men (audio story)|The Yes Men]]'')

* Scientists of the 19th and 20th centuries hypothesised the existence of a [[planet]] between the orbit of [[Mercury (planet)|Mercury]] and [[Sol]], and sometimes referred to that planet as Vulcan. This {{w|Vulcan (hypothetical planet)|theory}} has since been discredited, but such a planet was shown in a chart of the solar system in ''[[Invasion of the Daleks (comic story)|Invasion of the Daleks]]'', a comic story written in 1964 by [[Terry Nation]] and [[David Whitaker]], while ''[[The Taking of Planet 5 (novel)|The Taking of Planet 5]]'' would later make reference to the Solar System's Vulcan as a nonexistent planet. It is at any rate unclear if Whitaker, who later penned ''[[The Power of the Daleks (TV story)|The Power of the Daleks]]'', intended for both the Vulcans he had introduced to be the same location.

* The ''[[Star Trek]]'' character [[Spock]] came from the fictional planet {{w|Vulcan (Star Trek planet)|Vulcan}}. If one discounts the mention of a planet Vulcan in ''[[Invasion of the Daleks (comic story)|Invasion of the Daleks]]'', ''Star Trek'' only just beat ''[[Doctor Who]]'' in introducing the concept of an alien world called Vulcan by a few weeks, as it debuted not quite two months before ''The Power of the Daleks'' aired. Both shows seem to have selected the name independently.

 

[[Category:Mutter's Spiral planets]]

[[Category:Planets visited by the Seventh Doctor]]