THE PRIME DIRECTIVE

STORIES INVOLVING THE PRIME DIRECTIVE

[TOS: Season 2: Patterns of Force]

SUMMARY: The Enterprise crew find an alien planet has developed a Nazi-like regime after interference by a Federation cultural observer.

Federation cultural observer John Gill violated the Prime Directive on the planet Ekos when he attempted to provide that planet with a more efficient government. Gill's plan misfired badly, resulting by 2268 in a regime closely resembling that of the brutal and genocidal regime of Nazi Germany of the 1930s and 1940s on Earth. The Enterprise crew visit Ekos in 2268 and discover the worst aspects of the Nazi regime - a race that shares the planet, the Zeons, are being cruelly oppressed by the Ekosians. The resemblance of the regime is not only in type and structure of government but in the uniforms worn and the adoption of Nazi signage and symbols including the swastika, a symbol dating back to the proto-Geometric period of ancient Greece which was appropriated by the real Nazis. Upon discovering that Gill the Fuhrer is in fact a 'puppet' ruler held captive in a semi-drugged state by his deputy Melakon, Kirk elects to repair the social damage by getting Gill to denounce Melakon. Melakon shoots Gill and is shot dead in turn. The Enterprise crew leave the planet's races with the opportunity to live peacefully henceforth.

28 screenshots.

DISCUSSION: John Gill clearly violates the Prime Directive when he attempts to provide the Ekosians with a more efficient government. The evils that occur, including mass murder, all stem from that. If Gill had succeeded without loss of life, presumably by selecting a different model of government, he would still be guilty of violating the non-interference directive. One of Gill's errors is not to foresee or forestall the emergence of an ambitious tyrant, in this case Melakon. The intervention of the Enterprise crew prevents Gill's experiment from going further, thwarts Melakon, and leaves the mess for the Ekosians and Zeons to sort out. On the face of it, leaving the two native races to sort out affairs for themselves does seem the most morally correct action to take, and the story ends optimistically implying that they will do so satisfactorily i.e. in peace and no more racial conflict. This story ending is inevitable, otherwise the episode would have to drag on for hours, days or weeks, and reality is not the aim here. However, after World War II, one of my husband's relatives joined the massive re-education programme established in Germany to counter Nazi racial supremacy beliefs which had already been ingrained into the German youth population. The programme's task, so I hear rather third-hand, was an uphill struggle and not all that successful (and also the concept "survival of the fittest" had been around for decades before the Nazis appropriated it into their philosophy of Aryan supremacy, making the programme's task harder). In this story, it is fortunate that Gill's experiment did not last that many years and so any deliberate Ekosian programme to inculcate the minds of its youth population would not have been as extreme.

NOTES: Spock's and Kirk's phasers are sent to Gestapo Command Headquarters and ultimately are not retrieved but this is not finally noted in the story. As with the Iotians, the Ekosians and Zeons might be able to work out the workings of a transtator which is, in [TOS: A Piece Of The Action], cited as being the basis for the major equipment on the Enterprise (and thus of the Federation). This plot oversight means that the Prime Directive is inadvertently breached, just as McCoy inadvertently breaches in [TOS: A Piece Of The Action]. In both episodes, it means that the corrective action taken by the Enterprise crew could well fail. Blooper: The camera which supposedly broadcasts Gill's message is located on a side wall of the booth, therefore it cannot take a straight-ahead view of him yet his followers watch him face-on. The moral messages in this episode are obvious, maybe even very in-your-face. One of these is particularly obvious - "Zeon" which calls to mind "Zion" i.e. the Jews, the ethnic and religious group which suffered most oppression by the Nazis. Certain Voyager crewmembers are capable of giving Icheb almost first-hand experience of life lived in a French city occupied by Nazi Germany during the latter part of World War II following the holodeck simulation created by the Hirogen in [#86 and #87 The Killing Game]. There is nothing in the series to indicate that any Voyager crewmember discussed their experience with Icheb, but given the natural desire to assist the young lad in his efforts to enter Starfleet it seems likely. Tom Paris, whose knowledge of 20th century Earth history is extensive (when Torres, Tuvok and Seven do not recognise their surroundings, Paris tells them from recognising a Nazi uniform), would no doubt be pleased to help tutor Icheb upon main or background information about Nazi Germany.

 

 

TOP

BACK

PREVIOUS

NEXT

INDEX