Star Trek"s Ancient Vulcans Show How First Contact Worked Before Humans

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Warning: contains spoilers for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: The Illyrian Enigma #3!In the Star Trek universe, first contact is always a dicey proposition, and ancient Vulcans prove how it has changed over time. In Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: The Illyrian Enigma #3, Spock receives a vision of Illryia’s distant past - a past where they met the Vulcans. At this point in history, the Vulcans had not yet embraced the philosophy of logic, leading to a much different type of first contact.
The issue, written by Kirsten Beyer and Mike Johnson, drawn by Megan Levens, colored by Charlie Kirchoff and lettered by Neil Uyetake, opens with Spock (now genetically modified to be stone) finding what appears to be an abandoned Vulcan temple on Illyria. After entering, Spock is seemingly transported back to the planet’s distant past, where he finds the ancient Illyrians welcoming a Vulcan delegation. Spock quickly realizes these are Vulcans from before the time of Surak, and will show emotions. Spock learns the Vulcans have been invited by the Illyrians, who are facing an impending environmental catastrophe. A member of the Vulcan assembly tells the leader of the Illyrians that assisting "other species who lack our technological expertise" is the Vulcan way. Spock becomes increasingly confused, curious as to why this contact was never recorded in Vulcan history, but before he can get answers, he is pulled back into the present.
Vulcans' Secret History Exposed