Chapter Text
It amuses Spock that, although his own counterpart is very similar in most respects to his own younger self, his father’s counterpart is so different. It seems that less of Spock’s rebellion may be laid at Sarek’s feet than he had thought. Although Spock himself clung to his culture even when his conflict with his father caused him to leave Vulcan, his counterpart had a greater conflict with Vulcan and remained in contact—however strained—with his father. In this timeline, there was no eighteen year silence. And how much of Spock’s own conflict with his father was, at heart, a conflict with Vulcan culture?
A greater understanding of the course of the new history explains much. Nero’s actions, and the revelation that Vulcans and Romulans were the same species so soon after the Romulan War and on the heels of the utter destruction of the Kelvin, fractured Vulcan’s relationship with the Federation. In this timeline, Sarek was under much greater pressure for his close ties with Earth, symbolized by his wife and son. From what Spock can tell, his reaction was to attempt to serve as a mediator between his own culture and that of his wife, instead of as a bastion of Vulcan culture. It also led him to privilege his son’s understanding and happiness over his son’s conformity to Vulcan expectations.
Spock feels some envy for his counterpart’s relationship with Sarek, but meditation is sufficient to master it. After all, both roads led to the same place.