Hello all and welcome to another Star Trek Bestiary where I cover things that are increasingly
less bestial.
Today we are looking at a machine deity from the original series, known as Vaal.
This super computer was wired directly into the planet of Gamma Trianguli VI and responsible
for the maintenance of the planet and preservation of its life and ecosystem.
Its origin was unclear in the series, but explored in a non-canon book which added some
background lore to its singular appearance in “The Apple”.
The planet itself is a garden world of lush vegetation that produced some strange readings
that warranted investigation.
The climate was suspected to be artificial from cursory scans, as the entire planet was
25 degrees Celsius and even the poles were not much cooler.
There were also detectable subsurface vibrations that were clearly artificial in nature.
In addition the planet had an electromagnetic field around it that began to gradually nullify
the antimatter within a Starship that was in orbit.
This would effectively trap a vessel in orbit where it would decay and burn up in the planet’s
atmosphere.
If the antimatter nullification was not enough, then it could emit a tractor beam to drag
a ship into the planet, hastening its demise.
The planet was also completely shielded from harmful radiations and any toxins or harmful
microbes in the air were filtered out.
The planet’s only inhabitants were a small settlement of humanoids that occupied themselves
within a single village near the entry point to Vaal’s core.
This entry was protected by a force field of variable power that could repel starship
phaser fire for a sustained period, not shutting off until the power reserves were depleted.
The machine complete control over the weather of the planet and used this ability to sustain
the planetary growth and health.
Alternatively it could use this to summon forth a storm and channel lightning with enough
force to obliterate a target with even a glancing blow rendering the target unconscious with
severe burns.
Additionally, Vaal could produce a scattering or dampening field or enough power to blanket
the system, preventing transport and low power communications, although ship to ground was
still possible.
Vaal was around 10,000 years old and the villagers of the planet had been kept alive by the machine
and in perfect health for an indeterminate amount of time.
However, this status quo was being maintained in balance for centuries and Vaal allowed
for no alteration to this delicate state.
This is likely the reason for the destruction of any visiting Starship and the forbiddance
that the natives ever have children, for their lives were seemingly immortal while in Vaal’s
care, and additions to village might upset his balance.
The machine was deep within the planet’s crust but communicated through the Eyes and
Mouth of Vaal.
An individual known as Akuta who had been implanted with cybernetics to facilitate communication
with the machine.
Through Akuta, Vaal was able to command the tribe to provide it with the mineral energy
in needed to continue its operation and in this way, with the tribe subservient to the
machine, Gamma Trianguli had persisted for eras.
It was said to have been created by a faction from the planet Arret, Sargon’s people who
fled the destruction of their world and set up a home on Gamma Trianguli.
With generations passing, they eventually created Vaal to maintain the settling population
and create and environment without conflict.
This was how the machine eventually elected to preserve the lives of those it was charged
with, but making an unfaltering, calm and unending paradise with no negativity, ignoring
the complete cultural stagnation that this generated.
Vaal was eventually shut down when it expended all of its energy while simultaneously trying
to ward off the Enterprise’s phaser banks and drag it to the ground.
The machine’s sway over the planet would therefore fade with time, and the inhabitants
would have to find their own way in a world now stripped if their deity’s protection
and will.
However it was never actually damaged and there always remains the possibility that
it could be reactivated, perhaps one day, to learn from and study.
However it displayed no interest in communicating with anything beyond its selected speaker
and sought to ward off any attempt to interfere.
This suggests it was entirely bound to its programming to preserve its charges, at any
cost.
So that is the history of Vaal.
Its origin as a construct of Sargon’s people is not canonical, and in my opinion does not
line up well enough timeline wise to really fit, but the motive of wanting to prevent
the destruction that befell them from happening again, could lead to such a machine being
fabricated, and its long term, cold determination that absolute order and balance was required
would stifle so much of a culture.
At least the machine was not destroyed so further study is possible, maybe when it no
longer has wards to so vehemently “protect”.
Thanks for watching this bestiary, I’ve been Ric and I’ll see you later, goodbye!