"As I'm sure you've concluded," she continued, "yes — human-Vulcan marital bonds with full telepathic channels have occurred before. Your parents did not experience this type of bond; Amanda could sense you and your father in a general way but two-way conversations did not occur outside of emergencies.
"I experienced a full telepathic bond with both my human mates."
Pictures, tastefully sized for the shelves, dotted every flat surface and wall. The Elder followed Spock's examination of life and growth in the Elder's family. There'd been two mates — both now deceased. Each produced children who were cherished and launched into a world that ebbed and flowed in its acceptance of their mixed heritage.
"Would you care to elaborate?"
"No; but as you will be a constant nuisance until you have your answers, I will...
"The first bond was accidental, according to Vulcan healers. I have always doubted their knowledge in this area as did your mother. What I would say instead is that our secret desires were smarter than our conscious ones. Given closeness and time our mind's joined and then our bodies followed."
"Had you considered that your children might be psi-mutes?"
"Yes. I had, in fact, had that discussion with my mother in her house on Vulcan when I returned to honor my child-bond to another. My Syrranite mother believed that intentionally conceiving children with disabilities was immoral and she believed any children conceived with my human mate would be psionically handicapped.
"T'Pau, your grandmother, corrected this false assumption when she cured me of Pa'nar Syndrome. T'Pau's logic proved sound and correct; my firstborn, though she died in infancy, was telepathic. She called to me as she took her final breaths in my arms."
Infinite distance entered the Elder's gaze. The common household noises of moving air and stasis motors intruded into this moment of discovery and remembered grief. The Elder gathered herself in his presence and continued her explanation.
"Do you have any hypothesis for the unusual capabilities of Nyota, Grayson and the twins?" he asked.
"I have several; I also have the truth. Which would you prefer to hear?"
"Logic would dictate the truth will have the most benefit and produce the best outcome."
The Elder glanced sideways at Spock, raising a single eyebrow. Her beauty had not diminished even at this age. Shimmering strands of gray only now glinted in her hair. Her petite frame retained its youthful figure and trim form.
"You have discussed this with your father, Spohkh?"
"I have attempted to. For reasons only T'Pau understood, she did not pass on much of what she knew and learned."
"No, she would not. Your father, to use a human phrase, can be a real 'stick in the mud'. His logic often blinds him to the 'situation on the ground'. Despite her protest of his bonding in front of the Vulcan High Council, I know T'Pau was pleased Sarak chose your mother, a human, to bond with. I believe, in many ways, she raised him to look elsewhere for a mate — to search for a genuine complement. Did you know your grandmother was an expert in evolutionary genetics?"
Spock's eyes gave away his surprise at the revelation.
"T'Pau might well have been genetically engineering the change she sought for our people in the policies she championed before the Council. Consider how our risk of extinction has been mitigated by you and your father — Vulcans have choices for survival amongst the races throughout the quadrant."
"Does this 'engineering' apply to Nyota?"
"It would seem that in the S'chn T'gai clan, the son exhibits predilections similar to the father."
The sly grin was unmistakeable on the old one's face.