Pre-warp civilizations and first contact

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

Okay, so suppose a civilization has developed warp drive, so Starfleet can make first contact. What other factors would preclude what other actions?

Example: They haven't got transporter technology, therefore we can't (insert action here).

Also, under what circumstances (other than "someone else/we already interfered and we have to fix it", or compassion) would necessitate a first contact before warp drive is developed by the other civilization?

 

[David cgc]

The warp-drive hard-and-fast rule seems to be that once a civilization is going out into space on their own, they're going to start running into other people and their knowledge of galactic society and technology will increase exponentially overnight, one way or another. If a society was somehow physically isolated and societally unlikely to cope well with the existence of alien life (like Douglas Adams' Krikkitmen), they'd probably still fall under Prime Directive protections.

The flip side would be if the civilization had some other way of making contact with other species. Perhaps if they invented a long-range transporter, or they were using sleeper- or generation-ships to explore nearby star-systems. Maybe if they figured out subspace communications and started listening in to the broadcasts of spacefaring peoples.

 

[at Quark's]

I don't think the warp drive rule is ironclad, more like a rule of thumb. Once they get warp drive and seem determined to use it and actually cross interstellar distances, random encounters cannot be prevented, that supposedly being the rationale for the warp drive rule.

But when a society is somehow already aware of the existence of aliens, it may be possible to contact that civilization even if they are not nearly at spaceflight level (the Edo would seem to be an example). And perhaps conversely, for a civilization that is deeply xenophobic and inwardly-looking it may be determined that it's still under the Prime Directive protection even when it is warp drive capable. (Like the Melkorians (EDIT:Malcorians), but even more so, to the extent that even though they are capable of building a warp drive, they seem highly unlikely to ever actually do it).

Reasons to necessitate first contact would depend upon the captain. For Kirk such a reason would be saving them from extinction, for Picard it would be correcting them when they quote Shakespeare in the wrong way, for Sisko it would be when said species whines about its homegrown tomatoes too much, and for Janeway just whenever she feels like it.

Other factors:
'They have discovered a way to harness the energy from the Omega molecule safely (or transport us instantaneously to over one quarter of the galaxy), we can't therefore not steal their technology'

 

[Citiprime]

I can see other factors beyond just warp drive.

It would seem to me that being able to detect subspace and communication through subspace might facilitate first contact, even if they hadn’t gotten to warp drive yet.

If we could detect the messages of aliens, it would make non-interference pointless.

 

[JesterFace]

STNG and episode 'First Contact'.
Malkorians hadn't reached the speed of light but they were trying to.
The Fedz went down and introduced themselves, hi.
They also had people on the planet snooping around.
What.... I thought that while it's an entertaining episode that was completely wrong way to make first contact.

 

[The Wormhole]

STNG and episode 'First Contact'.
Malkorians hadn't reached the speed of light but they were trying to.
The Fedz went down and introduced themselves, hi.
They also had people on the planet snooping around.

Bit of a different situation. There was a team in place doing research on the Malkorians, which we have seen done before with pre-warp or even pre-technological people, like in Who Watches the Watchers. Riker was among that team, when he ended up at the hospital and the fact he was an alien was exposed. At which point, Picard decided to formally introduce himself to the government was the best way to get Riker back.

 

[valkyrie013]

Well, it depends.
Are they already in the federations "Sphere of influence" ?? as in in there space.
I would think that most systems in the federation would have atleast be mapped, or robotic probed, so they would have atleast a general information on what the systems is, is it inhabited, and a general level of technology.

Now if there close to having warp technology, or any of probably dozens of factors, they would be slated for observation,and possible contact.

And its true, Warp is a metric, but probably not the only one. If they have subspace, and are broadcasting, then that would be a factor, if they suddenly beam, or some other long distance travel method, and show up on a federation planet, then yeah, they would contact them.

 

[publiusr]

First satellite launch...first atomic tests....that would have been my criteria.

 

[C.E. Evans]

To me, when a civilization develops warp drive/FTL propulsion, it's usually a sign that civilization has matured enough to join the larger galactic community. It doesn't mean that they haven't solved all their internal societal issues, but at least they have progressed to the point where they can begin to look beyond their own world and its problems.

On the other hand, there are likely some civilizations that do have interstellar travel capability, but are so caught up with themselves with infighting and heavy social divisiveness, that they still don't make good candidates for first contact, IMO. At that point, you just leave them alone and hope that they don't become a threat to you later down the road. In such a case, it sets up an eventual first contact of a different kind--one of the largely unpleasant variety...

 

[JesterFace]

Bit of a different situation. There was a team in place doing research on the Malkorians, which we have seen done before with pre-warp or even pre-technological people, like in Who Watches the Watchers. Riker was among that team, when he ended up at the hospital and the fact he was an alien was exposed. At which point, Picard decided to formally introduce himself to the government was the best way to get Riker back.

Doing surface surveillance on a prewarp planet doesn't sound like a good idea.
What if the person who would invent that technology doesn't do it because he trips on a tricorcer dropped by a Starfleet member?
I'll say stay out from planets that don't travel outside their world.
Scan from orbit if you must but don't go down on the planet until the people there are able to leave it if they want to visit other star systems.

In the case of episode 'First Contact' the contact was delayed for who knows how long because the surface team screwed up the situation.
Who knows, maybe the Malcorian leader would have welcomed Federation if there would not have been that hospital incident.
Instead he asked Fedz to leave.
All the surface teams, who knows how much they might have screwed things up on a smaller scale but still screwed some things.

 

[Shawnster]

Politics is a big factor. For all intents and purposes TOS "Errand of Mercy" was first contact with what appeared to be a pre-warp (pre-industrial) civilization.

So political reasons may necessitate early first contact when the Federation does not want their adversaries to have influence over or a foothold on said civilization.

How does Tyree's planet from "A Private Little War" come into play? Three knew Kirk was from off world.

 

[Qonundrum]

The Enterprise crew did contact the already-oiled-up-and-ready Edo people before putting down a full landing party for them to mingle in "Justice", an episode where Riker of all folk seems to be eschewing getting it on with anyone (unless he got his share before the first shown scene on the bridge, wheeeeeee!). Apparently, they do allow visits to "lesser" worlds under the right conditions, but they needed to get Yar and Riker to be more thorough in their look-up of the laws since they missed what isn't the most arcane or esoteric detail...

 

[drt]

Politics is a big factor. For all intents and purposes TOS "Errand of Mercy" was first contact with what appeared to be a pre-warp (pre-industrial) civilization.

So political reasons may necessitate early first contact when the Federation does not want their adversaries to have influence over or a foothold on said civilization.

How does Tyree's planet from "A Private Little War" come into play? Three knew Kirk was from off world.

Yeah, the "pre-warp" thing obviously didn't exist for TOS. There seemed to be several primitive societies contacted because of policital or important resource conditions, like Tyree's planet Neural or the Capellans ("Friday's Child"). We had follow up missions fo earlier expeditions, such as Sigma Iotia II ("A Piece of the Action"), 892-IV ("Bread and Circuses") and Beta III ("Return of the Archons") -- although, for the latter they tried to remain undercover initially). We also planets with substantial spaceflight capabilities undergoing surveillance by historians (Ekos/Zeon, "Patterns of Force"). Therefore, there seemed to be many more factors in play than simply the society being capable of FTL travel.

 

[The Wormhole]

Doing surface surveillance on a prewarp planet doesn't sound like a good idea.

Regardless, it is something that happens all the time.

 

[Oddish]

And perhaps conversely, for a civilization that is deeply xenophobic and inwardly-looking it may be determined that it's still under the Prime Directive protection even when it is warp drive capable. (Like the Melkorians (EDIT:Malcorians), but even more so, to the extent that even though they are capable of building a warp drive, they seem highly unlikely to ever actually do it).

With the Malcorians, suspending First Contact was a mutual matter. Durkan asked the Federation to leave his system, but he also agreed that their warp program would be delayed. "We will divert more resources to education and social development, to prepare for the day when we are ready."

He understood that the greater galactic community would not simply shrink away and hide once his people started flying at warp speed. So until they were ready for random encounters with other beings, they needed to stick to their own Star system.

 

[at Quark's]

First satellite launch...first atomic tests....that would have been my criteria.

Why would you choose that earlier point? There may be many generations between the first satellite and warp travel (look at our own history, the first satellite was launched 65 years ago and we're not even near interplanetary travel today though we may see a manned mars mission someday), and I doubt we are ready today to face an interstellar community, let alone back in 1957.

 

[somebuddyX]

Once they got the warp drive and are going to be running into the Feds, I assume the Feds are always going to be the ones who jump in first and tell them whats up with space and how many bumpy headed aliens they are going to meet. I just can't imagine any reason not to go say hello, like even if they're Nazis they can at least say stay on your own planet assholes, the galaxy's full.

 

[at Quark's]

- 'Hey! Federation people! Granted, we may perhaps be slightly militaristic, but what makes you think we're similar to those Nazis from your history books in the first place?'
- 'Call us paranoid but we see your constant references to that recently developed warp drive prototype of yours as the Lebensraum Expansion Device as an indicator.
<pause>
Also, your thick laid-on, badly faked, supposedly German accents that are so bad even our UT doesn't seem able to filter them out'.

 

[Oddish]

First satellite launch is when you start paying attention to them, and maybe initiate long-distance surveillance. Once they start colonizing local planets is when you think about surface recon.

 

[publiusr]

As far back as the 1950's, nuclear pulse Orions were possible....had Mars or Venus actually been inhabited with canals and dinos, some Fed equivalent may have said "hey--they won't have FTL soon...but could cause a mess of things locally."

If a planet already has the Bomb...I give them fusion power secrets so as to prevent fission accidents. In exchange for allowing me to remove all easily mined fission elements...I give them force field tech.

So "defense spending" is actually just that.
Here is some anti-grav tech...so no rocket mess...as long as they are going to build rockets anyway.