THE PRIME DIRECTIVE

STORIES INVOLVING THE PRIME DIRECTIVE

[Season 7: #168 Natural Law]

Episode Index - part of Ship's Logs which includes illustrated transcripts and synopses

When Seven and Chakotay are cruising over a planet in a shuttlecraft they believe to be inhabited only by the spacefaring Ledosians, they hit an energy barrier which disrupts the shuttle's systems including transporters. With destruction imminent, Seven disables the energy barrier long enough to fly the shuttle through. The barrier goes back up. Seven and Chakotay make an emergency beam-out just as the shuttlecraft crashlands and Chakotay receives a leg injury. Meanwhile the majority of the Voyager crew are enjoying shore leave at Ledosian facilities.

the shuttlecraft penetrates the energy barrier; shuttle debris - the deflector array

Seven and Chakotay make an emergency beam-out

The pair secretly espy a primitive race of people of whose existence they were not previously aware of. Being a primitive people, they are entitled to full protection under the Prime Directive.

Seven and Chakotay keep hidden when they spot a group of primitive natives in a clearing. Chakotay: "I'm guessing they're pre-warp." Seven: "Obviously they can't help us." Chakotay: "No, I don't suppose they can. But they're fascinating, aren't they? I never expected to run into people like these on such a technologically advanced planet." Seven: "This isn't an anthropological mission, Commander." Chakotay: "You're right. We should keep searching for debris." He buckles in pain from his injury. Seven: "You're developing an infection. You should rest." Chakotay: "I'll have to stay here and try to keep out of sight." Seven: "I'll contact you if I find anything useful." Chakotay: "I guess I don't have to tell you to avoid interacting with these people." [Season 7: #168 Natural Law]

This people, called the Ventu, treat Chakotay's injury, and despite attempts to keep interaction with the Ventu to a minimum, cultural contamination does occur - some of the men paint Chakotay-like tattoos on their foreheads, while a woman straps a piece of the shuttlecraft debris to her head in emulation of Seven's Borg optical implant. Seven and Chakotay are reluctantly forced to accept Ventu assistance: firstly Chakotay's leg is healed by a native poultice, secondly Seven is guided by a young woman to the shuttlecraft's deflector array where Seven constructs a beacon to signal Voyager, and secondly they enlist the muscle-power of a group of Ventu males to drag the deflector fragment to a position where they can destroy the energy barrier. As the energy barrier is inhibiting contact with Voyager, they aim to neutralise the barrier and signal the ship. They do not ponder the reason for the energy barrier's existence.

mimicry of tattoo and Borg implant

Ventu girl by deflector; Ventu men haul the deflector

Later Seven and Chakotay learn that the Ventu, who are surrounded by the energy barrier, were enclosed deliberately with the barrier erected centuries earlier to protect the Ventu from the other species on the planet, the Ledosians. Seven and Chakotay neutralise the barrier, and the first Ledosians enter the area. It seems that the Ventu culture will become strongly influenced by the Ledosians. Therefore, Janeway decides to re-establish the barrier, against Ledosian wishes, in order to preserve the Ventu culture as it has reached and to prevent further cultural contamination.

The Ventu have already been culturally contaminated by their interaction with Chakotay and Seven, though how far that will influence their society's development is speculation.

What would probably be more "contamination" would be the interaction of the very technologically advanced Ledosians with the Ventu. However, as these two races share a planet, interaction at some stage might occur, and it is likely that the Ledosians would remain a certain distance ahead of the Ventu in terms of technology etc.

Anyway, as regards the encounter in 2377 as depicted in this story, the leader of the Ledosian anthropological expedition which enters the Ventu lands forecasts great benefits to the Ventu by such interaction, benefits to include "medicine, infrastructure, education". The Ledosian expedition leader is in no doubt that whoever lowered the barrier did the Ventu a great favour. If the Ledosians were hostile to the Ventu, the problem would be easier, but the Ledosians want to help them. "Medicine, infrastructure, education" are what many affluent and better resourced nations of Earth's 20th/21st century offer to less well off nations, but under the Prime Directive these benefits are undesirable in general evolutionary perspective, even though, for instance, ill Ventu would probably welcome medical aid.

Janeway implicitly takes the view that since Voyager personnel initiated the contamination (by Seven and Chakotay originally ending up within the barriered area) it is Voyager's responsibility to remedy their breach of the Prime Directive. That means the Ventu must forego the medical, education and other benefits offered by the eager Ledosians. Chakotay says: "But as I spent time with them, I came to realise that they're a resourceful, self-reliant people. Their isolation may limit their potential, but if that isolation ends, so will a unique way of life." It is fortunate for the Ventu that they are a resourceful, self-reliant people, as under the Prime Directive Janeway would anyway have to be obliged to re-impose isolation on them. Accordingly, Janeway instructs Paris, who is nearby in the Delta Flyer, to beam up the Ledosian expedition and destroys the shuttlecraft's deflector which of course deactivates the signal which is neutralising the energy barrier. The barrier goes back up and the Ventu are entirely on their own again.

the Delta Flyer removes the Ledosian expedition from Ventu land and destroys the deflector array

In this situation, Voyager personnel namely Seven and Chakotay interfere in not one society but two societies. To survive the imminent destruction of the shuttlecraft seems justification enough for Seven's action enabling the shuttle to penetrate the energy barrier, but the flaw of relying on transporters is evident here since she takes the action because transporters are disabled. Starfleet shuttlecrafts would do well to be equipped with good old-fashioned parachutes! But even on the information they know at the time, that the Ledosians who are a spacefaring people are the only race on the planet, the Prime Directive stipulates no interference at all even in a spacefaring society, and stipulates also that crewmembers are considered expendable in order to prevent violation of the Prime Directive. They make an emergency beam-out before the shuttle crashes within the area enclosed by the barrier, so they could have beamed out and abandoned the shuttle to the energy barrier. They do not ponder the reason for the barrier's existence, either then or later while guests of the Ventu. The reason for the barrier they learn much later, after interacting with the Ventu and causing cultural contamination. Seven and Chakotay are, however, correct to try and limit their contact with the Ventu and they are careful not to let them, especially the curious female, examine their technology although inevitably some of their equipment is at least seen. When they activate the beacon that neutralises the energy barrier, they do not ponder what effect on the Ventu the sight of that might have - it might be thought supernatural, and the consequences of that are seen in [TNG: Who Watches The Watchers].

Back aboard Voyager, Seven remarks that the Ledosians may have scanned Voyager's technology, and might be able to determine how to remove the barrier themselves. Voyager's involvement here is likely to have consequences for the the social evolution of both the Ventu and the Ledosians. At the very least, the Ventu become aware of the existence of the Ledosians, of the energy barrier and that advanced equipment or technology exists even if the nature of the Ventu is not to see such technology as supernatural.

Janeway does her best, given the circumstances she is faced with once Seven and Chakotay at last manage to make contact with Voyager. Seven and Chakotay also do the best they can, on the facts they know. For instance, as they believe the Ledosians are the only race on the planet and the Ledosians are spacefaring, probably the Prime Directive is furthest from their minds when the energy barrier disrupts the shuttlecraft's systems. Whether or not they knew about the Ventu and the reason for the barrier's existence, to comply with the Prime Directive which forbids interference in even spacefaring societies like that of the Ledosians, they would presumably not be flying that close to the barrier or, if so, would abandon the shuttlecraft (by dropping out of the door since transporters are down; a few people do survive drops from high altitude) or even sacrifice their lives on encountering the energy barrier rather than penetrate it, for part of the Prime Directive stipulates that crewmembers are considered expendable in order to prevent violation of the Prime Directive. After they end up on the planet's surface, Seven and Chakotay continue to do almost the best they can; I say "almost" because they do not ponder the reason for the energy barrier's existence. Wanting to do what she feels is right, since the Ventu girl is injured by arcing electricity caused by contact with the deflector array's hull remnant, Seven feels (as Dr Crusher feels regarding Liko in [TNG: Who Watches The Watchers] whom beams to the Enterprise-D's Sickbay with) that it is her responsibility to treat the injury, though Seven does not have the girl beamed up to the Voyager's Sickbay but has a medkit beamed down to her. Janeway then, in defiance of Ledosian requests and then their attack by weapons, takes measures to restore the energy barrier. Starfleet personnel are unlikely to be welcome in Ledosian space any more as a result but that does not matter as Voyager is only passing through anyway. Fortunately Voyager is dealing with a very civilised and well-meaning race in the Ledosians, for they want to aid the Ventu and even when they attack Voyager they note that they targetted only the transporters to avoid harming the crew. If the Ventu and the Ledosians do eventually end up in sustained cultural contact, the Ventu could have a worse race to deal with.

Click for the Personal Log entry for this episode - continuity, observations, personal views, behind-the-scenes etc.

 

 

TOP

BACK

PREVIOUS

INDEX