 | THE PRIME DIRECTIVEwith emphasis on [Star Trek: Voyager] |  |
| THE PRIME DIRECTIVEwith emphasis on [Star Trek: Voyager] | |
STORIES INVOLVING THE PRIME DIRECTIVE
[Season 5: #112 Course Oblivion]
Episode Index - part of Ship's Logs which includes illustrated transcripts and synopses
See also under the episode entry [#92 Demon].
In late 2374, in [#92 Demon], Voyager visits the homeworld of a mimetic lifeform, this being a metallic liquid lifeform composed mainly of deuterium, hydrogen sulphate, dichromates and protein molecules. It is this evolved abundant biomass which, with their permission, samples the DNA of the Voyager crew and creates duplicates of them, the only difference being that the duplicates are perfectly adapted to survive in the extreme environmental conditions of Class-Y (nicknamed Demon) planets. Unbeknownst to the Voyager crew, as related in this story, the duplicates thus created, having the memories of the Voyager crew, set off in a duplicate Voyager to travel to the Alpha Quadrant which they believe to be home. In 2375 they head back toward their Demon home planet when they realise they are reverting to their original form and realise what their real nature is, and why they are dying - their enhanced warp drive is emitting some form of subspace radiation which is affecting the ship's infrastructure, breaking down the molecular bonds in all surrounding sections with the early stages seen first in the warp core (the reaction chamber and injector ports show signs of de-cohesion). That surprises the duplicate crew because they knew about the subspace radiation and ran dozens of holodeck simulations before they brought the new warp drive online. However, they are unable to arrest or reverse the process. Their chromosomes are breaking down at the molecular level, and as soon as anything comes into contact with the ship's atmosphere, it is affected and starts to suffer molecular de-cohesion. Their forms and the ship itself deteriorate and are eventually destroyed, shortly before Voyager reaches them in answer to their distress call. The Voyager crew do not realise who the senders of the distress call were and never learn the fate of the duplicates. The real Janeway orders: "Make a note in the ship's record. We received a distress call at oh nine hundred hours, arrived at the vessel's last known co-ordinates at twenty one twenty. The ship was destroyed, cause unknown. No survivors."
The entire situation - the creation of the duplicates, their heading for the Alpha Quadrant and their subsequent destruction - arises because Janeway offers to ask her crew if they would donate DNA samples to give life to the 'silver blood' population. She makes the offer to the 'silver blood' duplicate of Kim, and a duplicate of Paris also exists at the time that she makes the offer. Voyager's entire crew complement is complicit in the breach of the Prime Directive - discussion is under the episode heading [#92 Demon]. It is a matter of speculation what would have happened if Janeway had found another solution, one which did not involve the duplication of the crew, and which meant that the duplicate Paris and duplicate Kim were left alone on the Demon-class planet - would they have survived? would they have evolved? etc.
It could be argued that Janeway is not only responsible for the situation, but that it is inevitable given that her DNA is sampled and her 'silver blood' duplicate has her memories in that the duplicates' journey along with the manner of it which is conducted in accordance with Starfleet principles (including the Prime Directive), is governed by (the duplicate) Janeway as their captain i.e. she is the architect of the duplicates' creation (with the exception of the duplicate Kim and duplicate Paris) and the architect of their destruction, since the duplicate Janeway stubbornly refuses to head for a Demon-class planet to save the crew until it is too late.
The breach of the Prime Directive by Voyager's crew, led by Janeway, has serious repercussions. The duplicate Voyager and crew interact with several civilisations. These include that of the hostile Kmada, who attempted to sabotage the life-support systems with low-frequency theta radiation but failed to disable those systems. The N'Kree tried and failed to conscript the duplicate Voyager into their battle fleet. On star date 52586.3 the duplicate crew celebrate a wedding and Ensign Harper's new baby. The duplicate Neelix's mention of "particle accelerators, the trilithium ore samples, the keg of Hazari ale" indicate further interaction in the obtaining of supplies. The Hazari species was encountered by the real Voyager crew in [#114 Think Tank]. The duplicate Voyager crew took a sample from a comet in the Podaris sector, though it is not stated if they interacted with anyone from any species in that sector. Attempting to find refuge on a Demon-class planet, they interact with aliens protecting the Ord'Mirit mining treaty.
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| the duplicate Torres is the first to fully revert to her original nature and, in the damaged environment, dies | |
Given that the 'silver blood' duplicates possess the memories of the Voyager crew, their fate is perhaps inevitable (with the benefit of having a television viewer's hindsight). It is tragic that, by their nature, they do not at first realise they are duplicates. Duplicate Tuvok and duplicate Chakotay together recall: "Ten months, eleven days ago, Voyager was forced to land on a Class-Y planetoid in the Vaskan sector. The Demon class planet, one of our more interesting missions. We set down looking for deuterium and ended up helping a new form of life to be born. The planet possessed a bio-mimetic compound. The silver blood. It sampled our DNA and created duplicates of the entire crew." Duplicate Tuvok goes on to say: "I've often wondered what happened to them. Are they flourishing, have they continued to evolve?" Duplicate Chakotay wonders: "Do they still resemble us?" It is unlikely that the real Janeway would have wished the duplicates to suffer doubt about the nature of their being, nor indeed would she have wished the tragedy that befalls them. If she had been able to anticipate even a part of their future lives, it is likely that she would have worked out a way to help them, but not, one suspects, by refusing the 'silver blood' Kim's appeal: "We deserve life."
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| the duplicate Tuvok and duplicate Chakotay trace the original Demon-class planet | |
The story is not simply about the fate of the duplicate Voyager crew, nor is it merely an invitation to assess the wisdom of Janeway's decision in [#92 Demon] to alter a lifeform's natural evolution. The story also explores another aspect of Starfleet conduct including the Prime Directive. When the duplicate crew is ordered to leave a Demon-class planet they hope to find at least temporary refuge on, unfriendly aliens protecting the Ord'Mirit mining treaty order them to leave orbit or be fired upon. Duplicate Janeway refuses to force the issue "over a misunderstanding" and orders the course resumed for the Alpha Quadrant. Duplicate Chakotay challenges her decision, asking: "But how long can we adhere to Starfleet principles before we start making compromises?" She replies: "As long as it takes." Here, there is no doubt in the mind of the television viewer that she made the right decision as regards the Demon-class temporary refuge.
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| Click for the Personal Log entry for this episode - continuity, observations, personal views, behind-the-scenes etc. |
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