Hypothetical situation involving the Prime Directive

[Tracy Trek]

Discussing prime directive issues on some other threads made me wonder about something. What if an alien race became aware of, let's say a downed Starfleet shuttle on their planet (through no deliberate fault the of the crew of the shuttle). Let's say this alien race who although they are not warp capable is advanced enough to realize the following:

1. The crew is not from their world
2. That there is something (maybe an asteroid or comet) that might wipe out their world
3. That the crew might have technology or expertise that could help them

Let's say these people ask the crew to help them. Would any Starfleet people still be not allowed to help because of the prime directive? What about just advising them what they could do? After all a crashed shuttle probably couldn't do much anyway. But maybe like something they haven't thought of yet and/or just need some technical expertise to pull it off.

I know that's a lot "what-ifs". But I've wondered about it.

 

[1001001]

In Pen Pals, it seemed that a request for help was enough to intervene.

Other times, it wasn't.

 

[The Wormhole]

It seems to me in this scenario that cultural contamination has already happened anyways, and the starship crew rendering assistance will cause no further damage, thereby rendering the Prime Directive non-applicable.

 

[Mojochi]

^ Agreed. Plus, the "We can't save doomed species" aspect is wrought with all kinds of moral gray areas anyhow. It just doesn't make any sense. Is intelligent life so abundant in their universe, that it can be disregarded so easily?

 

[uniderth]

Yes/No!

 

[Kevman7987]

Perhaps?

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

It's like a distress call, except you can't ignore it because they already know you exist.

Think of it this way; it's the difference between hearing about someone's difficulty on the news and having that person write you a letter or call you on the phone. It's easy to ignore someone when they're not asking you.

 

[Tracy Trek]

In Pen Pals, it seemed that a request for help was enough to intervene.

Other times, it wasn't.

Yes, and they did end up helping. In such a way that no one would know or remember. But they still had to sit around and discuss if they even should help, right? Or if it was their place to help.

 

[ItIsGreen]

Yes, and they did end up helping. In such a way that no one would know or remember. But they still had to sit around and discuss if they even should help, right? Or if it was their place to help.

Yes, and if I remember correctly Picard was pretty pissed at Data for initiating contact in the first place.

In some episodes we see the crew helping to avert a natural disaster, in others they sit on their hands because of the Prime Directive (or someone decides to directly violate it, and a big deal is made of the fact).

I get that most of the times we see them helping, it's with Federation member worlds, or societies advanced enough to have made first contact with. My issue is with the criteria for first contact (and therefore the rendering of assistance) - the development of warp drive. Apparently this demonstrates that the inhabitants of a world are advanced enough to handle alien contact, and have the means to begin exploring the galaxy and will probably bump into other advanced races, so why not say hello?

But what if the planet is significantly advanced in other ways, but either just haven't broken the light barrier, or understand how to do it in theory and just never bothered actually doing it? And what makes these worlds more deserving of help than other, less advanced societies?

 

[JasonJ]

Well... if the shuttle crew does NOT help.. and the asteroid crashes into the planet killing everyone, they won't have much to worry about afterwards, as they will be dead as well.

On the other hand, if they DO help, I'm sure Starfleet will see it as an act of self-preservation, as it was required in order to survive.

This reminds me of when Worf's brother Nicolai pretty much forced the Enterprise crew to have to save the Boraalans in Homeward.

 

[Tracy Trek]

This reminds me of when Worf's brother Nicolai pretty much forced the Enterprise crew to have to save the Boraalans in Homeward.

Many times when this is discussed, it is said did Nikolai really save them or just prolong their death? Because they could only take that one village, no more than would fit on their holodeck. So he could con them into thinking they were walking to another region in the holographic simulation.

It's very possible that one village would not have enough of a gene pool to repopulate the species. (Not to mention the fact, that human DNA was going to be introduced into the mix through Nikolai and his lady's unborn child). No matter how well the Enterprise crew checked things out, they could have been exposed to something on their new world which would wipe out what's left.

What would have been an even more interesting story, Nikolai somehow comes up with a way to force them to save the entire world.

 

[JasonJ]

Many times when this is discussed, it is said did Nikolai really save them or just prolong their death? Because they could only take that one village, no more than would fit on their holodeck. So he could con them into thinking they were walking to another region in the holographic simulation.

It's very possible that one village would not have enough of a gene pool to repopulate the species. (Not to mention the fact, that human DNA was going to be introduced into the mix through Nikolai and his lady's unborn child). No matter how well the Enterprise crew checked things out, they could have been exposed to something on their new world which would wipe out what's left.

What would have been an even more interesting story, Nikolai somehow comes up with a way to force them to save the entire world.

Good point. Let's not forget that they already lost one en route, Vorin killed himself on the E-D instead of facing the truth or living a lie. Talk about cultural contamination, or not influencing!

It's said that all of the North American Native peoples originated from about 70 nomads who originally came to this continent. I think a small village, who focused on repopulating the planet, could do the same. Of course, we have no idea how long Boraalan gestation is... perhaps they can reproduce only one child per pregnancy, over a period of 3 years. A human could produce as many as 3.66 childen from single birth pregnancies over the same period of time, accounting for one month between conceptions to allow for healing and ovulation to restart.

So maybe the Boraalans won't go extinct!

 

[UssGlenn]

My issue is with the criteria for first contact (and therefore the rendering of assistance) - the development of warp drive. Apparently this demonstrates that the inhabitants of a world are advanced enough to handle alien contact, and have the means to begin exploring the galaxy and will probably bump into other advanced races, so why not say hello?

But what if the planet is significantly advanced in other ways, but either just haven't broken the light barrier, or understand how to do it in theory and just never bothered actually doing it? And what makes these worlds more deserving of help than other, less advanced societies?

Since the Warp Drive Criteria is based on "they are going to find out on their own", then any other tech which lets them detect alien life would also count as criteria for first contact. For Example,any of the Subspace technologies would work. Subspace sensors let them detect passing starships outside of the system. Subspace Radio would let them hear comm chatter, or at least signals of clearly artificial origin.

 

[The Old Mixer]

This has been brought up in previous threads, but we don't know that having warp drive is a necessary criteria for making first contact; we do know that having warp drive makes it necessary to make first contact.

 

[USS Triumphant]

To be clear, when the OP says, "That there is something (maybe an asteroid or comet) that might wipe out their world", does it mean that they are aware of *a specific* object that has a high probability of doing that, or is it more of a general awareness of potential threat, like we have because we know about the strike that wiped out most of the dinosaurs?

Either way, an argument could be made that the PD is out the window since it has been violated. But assuming that the crew still wants to "minimize the contamination" or whatever, then in the case of a direct threat, my choice would be to try to help them with a solution that provides as little tech advancement and is as specific to the threat as possible, so that that is all I'm giving them. In the case of just a general awareness of the possibility, I'd probably choose to only lend weight for or against specific suggestions that some of them might make themselves - for example, "Yes, you're right - you *should* establish a way to monitor for the approach of objects from every hemisphere and direction," and "No, nuking incoming asteroids isn't a great idea. Try again."

Of course, if they tried to *torture* information out of me, they would end up with the worst advice I could come up with.

 

[Tracy Trek]

To be clear, when the OP says, "That there is something (maybe an asteroid or comet) that might wipe out their world", does it mean that they are aware of *a specific* object that has a high probability of doing that, or is it more of a general awareness of potential threat, like we have because we know about the strike that wiped out most of the dinosaurs?

I mean something that is an imminent threat.

 

[Arpy]

I think the protocol is that the nearest starship nukes the contaminated population and contaminating crew from orbit. It's the only way to be sure...that there's no further issue with the impending global annihilation. They then wait around till history runs its course. Sometimes it takes a while, as say an asteroid is on a thirty-year approach to a people only in their Stone Age. The marooned Starfleeters themselves may have to neutralize any Federation civilians in their company unfamiliar with the protocol. ...Oh but wait, I'm forgetting the Pandoran Oath that all Federation citizens swear by before first leaving home orbit.

Honestly, I'm amazed they took a problematic idea from "Pen Pals" (of all the good things they could have actually revisited in the later seasons from the early ones), then horribly followed it through in "Homeward," and then reestablished that years later on ENT!

 

[Timo]

Yes, and if I remember correctly Picard was pretty pissed at Data for initiating contact in the first place.

Well, that's why they held the discussion in the first place.

There never was a motion forwarded that they not help, except as a polemic instrument. The by-the-book man Worf declared the situation devoid of alternatives or choices. Only the dedicated devil's advocate Riker tried to present some of those anyway, prompting LaForge to make the obvious counterarguments - but Picard dismissed all that as irrelevant to the main issue at hand, namely Data's insubordination.

My issue is with the criteria for first contact (and therefore the rendering of assistance) - the development of warp drive.

But that's urban myth country. Warp drive is when you have to make contact, or the natives make it for you. Lack of warp drive never really stopped or even slowed down our heroes, though, if they had motivations other than the impending invention of warp drive for making the contact.

There never was an instance where the Federation Starfleet would have discussed warp drive when deciding whether to help, now was there?

(Also, first contact wasn't involved in rendering assistance in cases like "Paradise Syndrome", an example of how Starfleet was willing to throw major resources at a hopeless cause for no return. It almost seemed as if Kirk for a rare once was unwilling to make contact, and for that reason could not follow the most logical course of action, the evacuation of the handful of people at risk, and instead tried to divert a relativistic-speed Moon...)

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Tenacity]

I mean something that is an imminent threat.

If it was a impact that would destroy a region, but not the majority of the species, the prime directive (even 23rd century version) might say "let it hit,"

It's relevant to ask, does the OP's situation involves Starfleet from the 23rd or 24th centuries? Interpretation of the PD was very different in the two centuries.

It also could help if the OP would remove the word "might" from their question, or at least clarify the use of "might."

 

[locutus101]

In Pen Pals, it seemed that a request for help was enough to intervene.

Other times, it wasn't.

It seems that the prime directive doesn't prevent strafleet from actively spying on people. It only prevents them from helping them.