Apparently it's news that home of our favourite pointy eared master of logic Spock, Vulcan, isn't real.

We never imagined it was but a recently published paper concludes that a previously reported possible Vulcan like planet in that system was a false positive.

Since we'd never heard of this non-existent planet can't say that we're disappointed or surprised but we recently suggested how well positioned upcoming action roleplaying game Starfield may be to incorporate freshly discovered real world planetary data.

Note - that's M A Y, may.

This is not a confirmed Starfield feature. Just something which we think might be possible based on Bethesda's mod friendly game engine and their having told us that planets are procedurally generated.

Being very glass half full, we didn't stop to consider the flip side which is older science fiction franchises like Star Trek which have drawn their own detailed stellar map.

We have in fact visited Vulcan in online roleplaying game Star Trek Online.

It is quite close to Earth.

This single false positive might not disprove the existence of a real Vulcan, but we wouldn't really expect to find one and a time will come when we can say that we have thoroughly surveyed that system.

What does Star Trek do then?

Assuming the whole world hasn't become terminally tired of the multiverse by that time, Paramount might take the easy way out and say that Star Trek is set in an alternate reality.

However, much of the appeal of the franchise is that it shows us our own bright and shiny future.

Our. Not someone else's.

Can't see an easy solution to this one.

[ Main Image: Star Trek (2009) - Vulcan. Credit: Paramount via IMDb.com. ]

References

Williams, Matt (March 20, 2023). Sci-Fi Christmas is Ruined! Planet Vulcan Doesn’t Exist. Universe Today.