Romulus and Remus (Star Trek)
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| Romulus and Remus | |
|---|---|
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| Class: | Class M planet |
| Quadrant: | Beta |
| First episode appearance: | Balance of Terror |
| Major episode appearances: | Unification The Defector |
| Affiliation: | Romulan Star Empire |
In the fictional Star Trek universe, Romulus and Remus are the twin Romulan homeworlds.
Romulus apparently had no sentient species until a proto-Vulcan splinter group colonized it around 400 AD/CE. These proto-Vulcans over time became the Romulans. A sapient species called the Remans developed on Remus and was conquered by the Romulans later becoming a lower class in Romulan society (although it is unknown whether Remans are truly native to their world, or are simply mutated Vulcanoids).
The original colonization group of Vulcans came to this system after they fled their homeworld in rebellion against the philosophy of peace and logic proposed by Surak. As Mr. Spock would later point out, if the Romulans retained the passions and expansionist outlook that the pre-Surak Vulcans once had, it would make them an extremely dangerous race.
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[edit] Romulus
Romulus is the Capital of the Romulan Star Empire.
The Romulan government resembles the Roman Republic before it became the Roman Empire. The Romulan government consists of several parts: the Romulan Senate, the main governing and legislative body in a large chamber on Romulus. The Senate is headed by the Praetor, followed by the Proconsul. The Senate does not sit on the third day of the Romulan week. The Romulan Senate also has the Continuing Committee, which is composed of senators and the chairman of the Tal Shiar and confirms the new praetor. Also, Romulus and Remus (in reality) are named after mythical founders of Rome.
The Romulan military and government also have positions very similar to those of the Roman Republic: Proconsul, Praetor, Senator. (See this article under the heading "Roman Republic" for more on these offices.)
In the non-canon Pocket Books novels by Diane Duane, the Romulan name for the planet is ch'Rihan, hence the self-name for the people is Rihannsu.
[edit] Remus
Remus was introduced in the first episode to feature the Romulans, Balance of Terror, but its inhabitants were not revealed until over thirty years later, in the movie Star Trek: Nemesis.
The planet's natives are the Remans, who were subjugated ever since the Romulans staked their claim and set up their new homeworld in the system. Because the planet is tidally locked to its sun, one side of the planet is in constant darkness. Living on this dark side, the Remans are extremely sensitive to light. (The form of tidal locking cannot actually occur in the twin-planet arrangement in which Romulus and Remus are described.)
The Remans were treated as second class citizens within the Romulan Star Empire. Remus is the prime planet of dilithium mining and as such many Remans are forced into slave labor.
Much about Remus (including the source of its humanoid population: there is no onscreen proof, one way or the other, to suggest whether Remans come from Remus itself or are mutated descendants of the original Vulcan colonists) remains a mystery. Hope for a more co-operative future between the United Federation of Planets and the Romulan Star Empire was strengthened after Shinzon's fall.
In the non-canon Pocket Books novels by Diane Duane, the Romulan name for the planet is ch'Havran.
[edit] Remus in the Star Fleet Universe
In the alternate Star Fleet Universe, Remus is a more naturally inhabitable planet in a neighbouring star system to Romulus, populated by Romulans (no distinct Reman sentient species seems to exist). During the General War, during Operation Remus, launched by the Alliance in Y181, the Reman system defences and military installations were destroyed by a raiding Alliance fleet, but the disastrous crash of the Federation capital ship MacArthur onto the capital city on the planet resulted in its nuclear reactors detonating and causing planet-wide devastation, reducing Remus to a state of nuclear winter for three years. Incensed Reman officers on board pursuing Romulan ships ferociously attacked the retreating Alliance ships, nearly annihilating them.
[edit] External links
- Romulus article at Memory Alpha, a Star Trek wiki.
- Remus article at Memory Alpha, a Star Trek wiki.
