THE PRIME DIRECTIVE

MAIN DISCUSSION

THE PRIME DIRECTIVE AND FIRST CONTACT

This article does not feature a history of First Contact or discussion of it except where it impinges on history or discussion concerning the Prime Directive.

In [TNG: First Contact], Picard makes premature First Contact with the leader of the Malcorians, a species which, at the start of the story, are only ten months from attaining warp driven spaceflight (the Malcorian day has 29 hours, but it is not known how long an "hour" is nor the precise size of the planet as the size would govern matters like day length; therefore "ten months" is not necessarily ten months in Earth's timekeeping; "ten months" is used by the scriptwriters to indicate fairly soon). Picard expects the Malcorians to go on to achieve warp drive, and accelerates First Contact as Riker has disappeared on Malcor III. Picard's words to the Malcorian leader indicate how important the non-interference directive is: "I can assure you we will not interfere in the natural development of your planet. That is in fact our Prime Directive." There are other parts to the philosophy: "Chancellor, to instantly transform a society with technology would be harmful; it would be destructive." In addition, the measures taken by the Federation with regard to a civilisation about to achieve warp drive underscore the grave importance attached to the Prime Directive. For instance, covert surveillance teams, in native guise including cosmetic surgery, observe the relevant planet for years beforehand. Federation teams listen to the civilisation's media broadcasts including music. Picard informs the Malcorian leader that there is no starship mission more dangerous or unpredictable than that of making First Contact. Such similar measures are seen or referred to in [TNG: Who Watches The Watchers] and [Star Trek IX: Insurrection].

Chancellor Avel Durken: "My world's history has recorded that conquerors often arrive with the words 'we are your friends'." Picard: "We are not here as conquerors, Chancellor." Durken: "What do you want? A beginning?" Picard: "But how we proceed is entirely up to you." Durken: "And if my wishes should conflict with yours?" Picard: "There'll be no conflict." Durken: "And if I should tell you to leave and never return to my world?" Picard: "We will leave and never return. Chancellor, we are here only to help guide you into a new era. I can assure you we will not interfere in the natural development of your planet. That is in fact our Prime Directive." Durken: "I can infer from that Directive that you do not intend to share all this exceptional technology with us." Picard: "That is not the whole meaning but it is part of it." Durken: "Is this your way of maintaining superiority?" Picard: "Chancellor, to instantly transform a society with technology would be harmful; it would be destructive." Durken: "You're right, of course. I'm overwhelmed, Captain Picard. I'm quite overwhelmed. I go home each night to a loving wife, two beautiful daughters, and eat the evening meal together as a family. I think that's important. And they always ask me if I've had a good day." Picard: "And how will you answer them tonight, Chancellor?" Durken: "I will have to say that this morning I was the leader of the universe as I know it. This afternoon, I'm only a voice in a chorus. But I think it was a good day." [TNG: Season 4: First Contact]

Picard: "Chancellor, there is no starship mission more dangerous than that of First Contact. We never know what we will face when we open the door on a new world, how we will be greeted or exactly what the dangers will be. Centuries ago, disastrous contact with the Klingon empire led to decades of war and it was decided then we would do surveillance before making contact. It was a controversial decision. I believe it prevented more problems than it created." Avel Durken: "I can appreciate the logic of your position, Captain. But it would seem that full disclosure after contact would've been in order." Picard: "In time there would've been full disclosure. I can only ask you to believe that. On other worlds it would not be an issue. But here, everything our observers reported, indicated that the people of this world would almost certainly react negatively to our arrival. We could see that even surveillance might be interpreted as an act of aggression. I'd hoped that we would've found Commander Riker before you did so that this matter would not complicate our introduction. It was a mistake." [TNG: Season 4: First Contact]

In [#38 Innocence], Janeway remarks to Chakotay: "My diplomacy professor used to say the opening twenty minutes of a first contact situation are the most crucial." In [#78 Random Thoughts], Seven comments: "You make contact with alien species without sufficient understanding of their nature. As a result, Voyager's directive to seek out new civilisations often ends in conflict."

The Federation, for all its investment of time and resources in preparatory observation, does not always get it right. In [TNG: First Contact], the Malcorian leader's right to choose, on behalf of his people, whether to have contact is emphasised by Picard. The Malcorian leader, albeit reluctantly, opts to be left alone when he realises that not all of his people are ready for First Contact with extraterrestrials or to join the intergalactic community. There are other instances where contact with a species shuns contact with others, though in [Voyager] they are technologically-aware species or even warp-capable species (or formerly capable of it), and they shun contact with outsiders for particular reasons e.g. in [#58 Blood Fever] the Sakari fear the return of the Borg, and in [#126 Riddles] the Ba'Neth are simply a covert species.

Chancellor Avel Durken: "We're a good people, Captain, a society with much potential. Once we cross the threshold of space we shall have to give up this self-importance, this conceit that we are the centre of the universe. But this is not the time for that. For now, we will have to enjoy that sweet innocence." Picard: "How will you keep a secret when so many have seen and heard so much?" Durken: "Stories will be told for many years, I've no doubt: a ship that made contact, an alien who was held prisoner in a medical facility, there will be charges of a government conspiracy, some of the witnesses will tell their tales and most of the people will laugh at them then go back and watch the more interesting fiction of the daily broadcasts. It will pass." [TNG: Season 4: First Contact]

The policies underpinning the Prime Directive and First Contact are inextricably linked. "First Contact" refers to first contact between two species, or Federation representatives (such as a starship crew) with aliens, and refers to contact whether with civilisations whether or not they have achieved warp flight. The First Contact procedures noted in [TNG: First Contact] and [TNG: Who Watches The Watchers] relate to the Federation's pre-meditated planned contact with warp-aware societies, and includes measures to allow the covert observation of pre-warp societies for research or pre-First Contact purposes. Whenever a starship captain, whether or not on a specific voyage of deep space exploration, encounters a new species or civilisation, their actions are meant to be determined by both the Prime Directive and First Contact principles. In many ways, the rules governing the latter are easier to follow as they are less philosophical and more rooted in procedure. Sometimes, First Contact has to be re-commenced on different terms:

Example 1: The Federation and the Klingons had, judging by long-term results, an unfortunate First Contact, in [TOS: Day Of The Dove], which led to decades of mistrust and bloodshed that were only remedied by the Khitomer Accords in 2293. Events leading to the Accords are depicted in [Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country], and there is inferences to certain events in that year in [#44 Flashback]. The fifth Star Trek series, aired of course after [TOS], [TNG], [DS9] and [Voyager], clearly shows that First Contact between Mankind and Klingons occurred long before [TOS: Day Of The Dove], specifically in [Enterprise: Broken Bow] which is set in April 2151.

Example 2: Voyager's First Contact with Species 8472, depicted in [#68 and #69 Scorpion] — in that instance, Janeway led Voyager against Species 8472, joining in the war between Species 8472 and the Borg as the latter's ally. This resulted in Species 8472 in 2374-2375 planning a secret pre-emptive strike against Starfleet Headquarters. This was aborted as Janeway and a Species 8472 representative negotiated a truce.

Example 3: In late 2375/early 2376, Janeway makes First Contact "the proper way" with the nucleogenic lifeforms known to the Ankari as good luck spirits but whose trapped dead bodies for the USS Equinox represented a fuel source. Incidentally, no real dialogue or long-term relations are established by Janeway with those lifeforms, and it is therefore First Contact only of a rudimentary nature.

As regards Example 3 and the fleeting nature of the First Contact with the nucleogenic lifeforms (and with them, with the Ankari), given the nature of the Voyager's travels, namely passing through en route to Earth, it might seem surprising how many occasions for First Contact arise. There is usually a 'guest alien of the week', which means at most 20 to 26 per year (as a broadcast Season equates to one year, a convention established in [TNG]), which could mean an average of one every two weeks! More than one species is encountered in certain stories. Of these new species, mostly Janeway encounters fellow-spacefarers who use warp drive or their species' equivalent of attaining faster-than-light speed (which in Star Trek is taken as automatically requiring a controlled matter/antimatter reaction in a space vehicle engine), though in [#168 Natural Law] the Voyager crew must deal with a problem thrown up as the result of accidental contact by two Voyager crewmembers with the primitive Ventu, complicated by encounter with the warp-capable Ledosians who share the Delta Quadrant planet - see that episode entry for details.

The outcome of Earth's First Contact with Vulcans in the Mirror Universe, in [Enterprise: In A Mirror, Darkly], (the Mirror Universe about a century later is also seen in [TOS: Mirror Mirror]), contrastingly depicts the most violent of encounters, when peaceful contact is sought by one party (the Vulcans) and rejected with utter violence by the other (the humans) with the Mirror Zefram Cochrane killing the first Vulcan to set foot on Terran soil. Note that, in common with canon authorities, I refer to that universe as a "mirror universe" although that term is not used in dialogue in Star Trek: in [TOS: Mirror Mirror] Kirk refers to "something parallel" and in [Enterprise: In A Mirror, Darkly] it is referred to as "parallel".