The Logic Of Beauty

Posted on Wed Jul 29th, 2026 @ 8:41pm by Ensign Charalyne Blackwood

Mission: Retrobandonment
Tags: Reflection, observation, deduction, comprehension

After securing my possessions in the temporary quarters I took in a meal at the mess hall. I deliberately sat in a secluded area to avoid conversation, as I wanted to spend as much time as I could gathering thoughts, memories, and lessons (both academic and life).

Having never actually been to Vulcan, my limited knowledge of her came from information gleaned in the Astraea's depository. The basics such as durations of rotation and orbit, mass, seasonal effects, meteorological activity, seismic activity, vegetation, wildlife, and cultures. I find myself feeling "homesick" as humans would have longings for places they had spent their childhood, or for parents. I viewed several images of Vulcan architecture and natural areas left untouched and void of encroachment. Some of it reminded me of places on Earth that, through the cooperation of various governments, had been prohibited for habitation. As a sentient being I can comprehend the thought processes of constructing aesthetic structures for residence or business. I understand the observation of pure nature for personal enjoyment, such as land formations, vegetation, and the position of astronomical and solar bodies relative to the time of day or seasons.

Following my dining, I walked over to a park. Large areas of imported grasses, (kept to a maximum of 5.5 centimeters for aesthetic reason) and varieties of trees. In the center of this space was a large body of water. Seeing the nocturnal skyline reflected on the surface has a visually pleasing effect. I found it to be soothing as well as pleasing to the eye, which struck me as a desired effect when designing such places. How is this logical? At the surface it is little more than vegetation and a body of water, however, the sensations of serenity it fosters is an excellent method of boosting a sense of well being among those who observe. Time spent aboard a starship, even with the very best holodeck, is but an illusion of how nature can present itself with little to no human intervention.

I would very much like to find such places of natural beauty on Vulcan someday. Perhaps without the self imposed solitude. Perhaps with a sense of being home in a place I have never been to.