"Open your eyes. They revel in violence. They devote what little technology they have to devising ways of killing each other."
"So did we, centuries ago. They just haven't realized their potential yet."
Mestral was a Vulcan explorer in the mid-20th century.
Mestral was a crewmember of a small survey ship that crash landed in Carbon Creek, Pennsylvania, a mining town, in 1957. Through a game of pool and confidence he had about his knowledge of simple geometry, he was pivotal in obtaining currency and, consequently, "cryogenic" (frozen) food for the crew. One job he held while on Earth was that of a coal miner.
Of the three Vulcans, Mestral developed a much stronger fascination for Human culture than did T'Mir or Stron. He became romantically involved with Maggie, the owner of a local tavern. On the pretext of leaving the Vulcans' apartment in order to retrieve a phase discriminator, he went to a baseball game with Maggie to watch her son play. It was there that he began to pick up Human traits, such as lying, as Vulcans ordinarily did not lie. He did not have a pessimistic view of Humans like his crewmates did; instead, he saw them as empathetic and compassionate, and having great potential.
When miners were trapped during a mining accident, he persuaded T'Mir to let him use a phaser-like particle weapon to free the trapped miners. He became a local hero after this incident. He was so fascinated with Earth that he chose to remain there, rather than return to Vulcan with his crewmates when the rescue ship D'Vahl arrived. Officially, T'Mir and Stron reported that Mestral had perished in the crash of their ship. (ENT: "Carbon Creek")
Quick Answers
What role did Mestral play in obtaining food for his crew?
How did Mestral adapt to life in Carbon Creek?
What job did Mestral take on Earth?
Why was Mestral fascinated by humans?
Legacy[]
By 2152, T'Mir's great-granddaughter T'Pol was aware of the Carbon Creek adventure, though she did not know Mestral's specific fate after he parted ways with his colleagues. (ENT: "Carbon Creek")
By 2401, the Federation Starfleet vessel USS Mestral was named in honor of him. (PIC: "The Bounty")
Appendices[]
Background Information[]
Mestral was played by J. Paul Boehmer.
A distressed costume worn by Boehmer as Mestral was auctioned off in the It's A Wrap! sale and auction. [1](X)
Mestral's name is a reference to George de Mestral, the inventor of Velcro, a product which T'Mir sold at the end of "Carbon Creek". In the episode's final draft script, Mestral was described as younger than Stron.
Mestral's fate was never revealed, though Charles Tucker III seemed to assume he was deceased by the time of the episode (in 2152).
Apocrypha[]
Mestral's history on Earth is revealed in the novels From History's Shadow, Elusive Salvation, and Hearts and Minds, which sees him temporarily time-travel forward to the 23rd century in the company of Roberta Lincoln, assisting James T. Kirk and Spock in investigating alien activity on 20th century Earth, although he returns to the past to continue his studies of Humanity. He is later depicted as helping Zefram Cochrane relocate to Montana from New York City, after the latter is destroyed during the opening years of World War III. An elderly Mestral is then still alive upon first contact with Vulcans in 2063, succeeding Gary Seven as supervisor on Earth to covertly ensure the successful launch of Friendship 1.
External link[]
- Mestral at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works