Star Trek, for such and enlightened picture of humanity’s future has a surprising number
of races that are subject to another’s whim or oppressed as a species. Orions use this
as a tool, Klingons raid all the time, Cardassians occupied Bajor and the subjects of today’s
Index, the Remans are literally in the shadow of Romulus.
Hi all, Ric here with the cultural index on the seldom seen shadow race to the Romulan
people, the Remans. Their culture (and indeed maybe their origin as a species) is completely
manipulated and locked with that of the Romulans who themselves are bound to the origin of
the Vulcan people. Biologically the Remans are quite different
from the Romulans but possess a number of similar traits. In appearance they are humanoid,
grey skinned with sunken eyes and cranial ridges similar to exaggerated Romulan features.
They possess pointed ears and fangs. They are also bald and lithe in appearance. The
species is naturally nocturnal and has evolved to adapt to that environment. Or maybe they
mutated. The Reman people have far better low-light vision than most other species and
acute hearing. As we see with cave dwelling creatures and especially with deep-sea inhabitants,
skin pigmentation is a defence against the sun’s radiation and creatures who are away
from the sun don’t even develop a skin tone, some even becoming transparent entirely. This
can be partially seen on Remans whose circulatory system can be seen through their skin in places.
Continuing the topic of real life influences, the species was named Reman due to the mythological
connotations of the founders of Rome. Remus was betrayed by his brother, Romulus who then
went on to be the sovereign of the new city. Another influence in the design was the Nosferatu
depiction of a vampire to create the shadow-dwelling race of antagonists for Star Trek Nemesis.
Except these guys just find sunlight to be uncomfortable, not deadly. Much like many
a nerdy, introverted gamer. Wait… As with Vulcans, the Remans are telepathic,
though not all of the species seem to possess this trait and there are a few who have a
much stronger affinity for the ability. This telepathy can be used to influence others
as well as themselves and has demonstrated the ability to act as a painkiller as well
as project hallucinations into an even guarded mind.
Their planet of origin is Remus (also known as Romii), a tidally locked planet in the
same system as Romulus. As once side faces the sun at all times and is therefore inhospitable,
it is the night-side that houses the underground complexes that they call home. These expansive
networks are in fact interconnected Dilithium mines that extract the rare resource and here
is the problem. Only Remans work these mines, the entire species is a slave race for the
Romulan Star Empire and therefore seldom seen by outsiders, the Romulans themselves being
far from hospitable to interlopers. It is said that the notion of freedom for
a Reman is an almost unimaginable concept, so long have they been under the heel of the
Romulans, never knowing any different. It took the interjection of an outsider who adopted
the name Shinzon before they realised that there could be another existence for their
people. Some Remans were used as servants or bodyguards to Romulan and this marked their
only use outside of labour. During the Dominion war, Remans were used in ground assaults as
shock troops with little regard for their safety so Romulan casualties could be limited.
Remans were not taught either, lacking in education and practices such as medicine,
which were administered by the Romulans to help maintain the status quo. Perhaps this
is why one of the most practiced telepathic abilities is analgesic in nature.
So long have the Remans been at the mercy of others, that much of their original unique
culture has been lost. From what is known, recited by passed on words and their intricate
pictograph language, they used to be clan-like and were relocated to Remus by the Romulans
in times forgotten. This is where things get interesting. Generically
the Remans are very different from their neighbours, just as Romulans are too distant from Vulcans
to accept blood transfusions, but they do seem to share a number of genetic markers.
This suggests a common ancestor and as the Romulans are not native to Romulus, it stands
to reason that the Remans are in fact another descendent of Vulcans.
Upon arriving to the Romulan system after the Vulcan Sundering, those who “Marched
Beneath the Raptor’s Wings” settled the planets there. For some reason, they exiled
those Sundered who still possessed the telepathic abilities of the Vulcan people. It is not
clear why they did this; perhaps they feared their power or maybe, so entwined with the
teachings of Surak were these gifts, they wanted to exorcise all aspects of the philosophy
that had driven them away from Vulcan. Other sources say that some voluntarily went
to mine Remus for resources and the precedent for a caste system was created from that.
The truth could be a little of both of these, It’s likely that only the Romulans know
for sure and they aren’t sharing. The vast differences in evolution are often attributed
to Reman native extremophiles, which introduced mutilations to the DNA of the Reman-settlers
until survival of the fittest took hold, leading to their current adapted form.
As mentioned, the Remans have no record of their origin or their way of life pre-enslavement
but they do still have a small selection of beliefs. One such notion is that any who toil
in the mines alongside the species are considered to be just as Reman as their own, with no
prejudice levelled against them for being different. It was for this reason that the
clone of Jean-Luc Picard was accepted by the Reman people and even able to prosper as their
brother. Of course, in 2379, he went on to lead a coup
against the Romulan Senate with the help of ambitious insiders and for a short term ruled
over the Star Empire. The Federation eagerly accepted his olive branch to diplomacy, hoping
for a more stable peace from their long time adversaries however it soon proved to be a
ruse. The irony is that the Romulan people who then overthrew Shinzon’s efforts accepted
the Federation’s help making relations at least a little smoother.
It terms of other beliefs, they do not share a central religion but there are references
to the Halls of Erebus, which itself is an ancient Romulan religion that must have been
adopted at some point. A rather twisted idea that had some believers enthralled was that
when a Reman died, they were reborn on Romulus where they could live in paradise. That’s
pretty messed up, that the notion of freedom was so foreign to them that they literally
interpreted another planet as their afterlife. There are also references to older still beliefs
that prophesise the return of a Reman who would be a non-native that would free them
all, ushering in an age of peace for all. This individual was to be called the Shinzon
in their native tongue perhaps explaining where the Praetor got his name.
Finally there is the story of Tenakruvek, a Reman who ascended to an afterlife for being
a great warrior. Tales such as this highlight an underlying warrior pride which may be a
result of their use as infantry and bodyguards by the Romulans. If not toiling in the mines,
they were fighting so it’s understandable that their views of themselves would be shaped
by the selected experiences. In practice, the Reman’s in the Star Empire’s
military had their own rank system, removed from the Romulan chain of command, likley
so that amongst themselves they could fight and command effectively but at no point could
a Reman outrank even the lowliest Romulan. According to beta material, the Reman people
began to see a gradual inclusion into Romulan society through representation on the Senate
until the events of the Hobus Nova fractured the Empire. Many Remans took this opportunity
escape from the imperial rule and fled, along with disillusioned Romulans to found colonies
based on equality and tried to establish ties with the Klingons and Federation for protection.
Others followed a campaign of vengeance levelled against their former oppressors, notably remnants
of the Star Empire’s military, some of whom undid the gradual strides the Remans had made
towards equality in favour of easy labour once again.
What can be assured however, is that the Reman have had a taste of freedom now however brief
and it’s unlikely that they will return to servitude. The only leverage the Romualns
had over them was their denial of anything that suggested at a better life. Once word
spread that there could be a new way, they seized it with both hands and lashed out at
their masters. Having known no peace with outsiders not based on oppression and only
the strong brotherhood among themselves for reference has produced xenophobic tendencies
from them, but we can hope the allure of liberation outweighs their more aggressive notions.
What do you think of the Remans? Do you like the idea that they are another mutated offshoot
of Vulcans and do you think their portrayal in Star Trek Nemesis did them justice? I personally
hope they don’t get pushed to the wayside in future stories as they represent an opportunity
for my favourite race, the Romulans to reform based on their future interactions. Thanks
for watching this index video and I hope you’ll check out the next, which is a voted one!
From the comments below, cast your vote on the option one, the Star Wars Kahleesh renowned
warriors or option two, the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Kree Empire. Thanks for watching
once again, and until next time, I’ve been Ric and Goodbye!