How would starfleet handle a sentient alien race that has influenced a planet that has lesser intelligence into thinking they are gods. These aliens aren’t part of the federation and don’t follow their rules. This would be the first time starfleet makes contact with both races
Posted Sep 12, 2019, 6:44 AM UTC
You are a little unclear as to whether this is a domestic situation, i.e. 2 species on one planet, one subjugating the other, one species is alien to the other.
Fundamentally though this does not matter, as they are both "internal" situations, and the Prime directive forbids interference into other species internal matters.
"A starship captain's most solemn oath is that he will give his life, even his entire crew, rather than violate the Prime Directive."
James T. Kirk
One species is alien to the other, they are warp capable and have tech similar to the federation. They have essentially taken over the planet under the guise they are gods, and are exploiting it. Essentially, the crew would make first contact with the more advanced species, and along the way of introductions and stuff, they would find this race is enslaving the more primitive one. I had worried that wouldn’t work within the confines of the directive, any ideas on how to force crew action
how to force crew action
With the current situation I wouldn't. I would use it as a moral dilemma story instead, particularly something that does not have a happy ending.
Something along the lines of the Federation opens trade with this species because they have a mcguffin substance that cant be acquired anywhere else and the federation desperately need it. (like lives depend on it)
The crew somehow discovers that the substance is the result of subjugating the lesser species. The primary species pose as gods and use the lesser species as a slave labour workforce (ala the Goa'uld from Stargate).This was information not known to the Federation previously. This is where the moral dilemma kicks in.
This creates much more drama and could be divisive amongst your players. One may invoke "The Needs of the Many" logic, another invokes strict ethical values and does not want to profit from the enslavement of others, a third wants to try and find a third option where everyone wins.
I really like this idea! Thank you!!!
You are most welcome.
I really find that this system works best as a drama system rather than an action one, though it is fun and has it's place. Plus as a GM i find that the players write the drama though just playing their characters way more effectively than I can direct it.
I also feel that this game works better for having less structure, i.e. have a story overview of how you think the beginning, middle and end will be, and just roll with whatever punches the players throw at you.
I'd be interested on how your actual session with this Gods & Mortals story plays out.
How would Starfleet handle it, in the abstract, or how would actual Star Trek characters handle it?
The former is difficult to answer, since we don't actually have the full text of the Prime Directive available - just snippets of opinion based on it, and various generalized summaries that are worthless when approaching it as an actual legal problem.
The latter is easy - however they (and the writers of the episode) felt like it.
If they wanted to have some action and didn't want the episode to be a downer, they'd let the characters do whatever they wanted, provided they could find some justification for why this is yet another instance when, to preserve the spirit of the Prime Directive, a temporary exception should be made to one part of it.
On the other hand, if they wanted it to be all about personal drama and give someone the opportunity to thunder about the absolute importance of upholding Starfleet's fascist utopian ideology over all else, then they'd let an entire planet's worth of infants burn, and threaten any bleeding heart that stepped out of line with a court-martial.
I have an idea of how the players will react, but I wanted an idea of how to handle the starfleet part. I really don’t wanna have to court martial my captain lol
If the dominant species was warp-capable, that would open up the possibility of interference by a Captain. While maybe not according to the letter of the Prime Directive, there are a number of amendments which give wiggle room for freeing an oppressed society from the tyranny of another.
It would be justified in that the lesser species has already been exposed to warp culture so contamination is moot, and as the Federation see themselves as champions of individuality, self autonomy and free will, they would definitely try to liberate the oppressed species - at least several Captains would look for the justification.
If they were BOTH pre-warp however... that may be the sticking point wherein Starfleet maintains its "no interference" stance.
There's a mini-campaign available on Continuing Mission that deals with this precise question: https://continuingmissionsta.com/sargon-and-beyond-a-continuing-mission-living-setting/
Links to the campaign adventures are at the bottom of the page under "Campaign – Supreme Mandate"
Half of the situation (alien god but Federation victims) was handled in the TNG episode Devil's Due.
[Voyager](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/False_Profits_(episode) also dealt with it - first contact with victims with Ferengi posing as gods.
I'd argue that the issues presented in Devil's Due don't really involve the Prime Directive. 'Ardra', though she was absolutely a con artist, still worked within the precepts of the Ventaxian religion.
If we were to consider how the Federation applied the Prime Directive, I would say that they were the ones interfering; 'Ardra' was certainly nothing more than a predatory charlatan, but the Federation was essentially telling them that they should disbelieve their own religious mythology.
In Budwillius' scenario, the Prime Directive should apply. I cite Bajor as an example: the Prophets/Wormhole Aliens were, for all intents and purposes, a sentient species influencing the Bajorans (albeit unintentionally) into believing that they were gods.
The Prime Directive isn't something that only applies to worlds that follow Federation principles; it's a guideline that forbids any kind of interference with the internal matters of another civilization, and that includes matters of religion.
Some added thoughts:
The Federation apparently had diplomatic relations with Ventax, given the presence of a Federation science delegation on the planet.
It's also worth noting that the Federation only remained involved because Ardra claimed the orbiting Enterprise D as her property. Picard was ready to leave before that happened.
She also turned out to be a criminal with a record inside the Federation, which ultimately gave Picard jurisdiction over her. (That wasn't relevant until after the primary problem was dealt with.)
"Devil's Due" is one of the episodes that undermines the Prime Directive in my eyes. It seems unreasonable for the Prime Directive to prohibit the Federation from assisting an allied world against an attempt to defraud its people. How could the Federation ever negotiate with a potential ally (or potential member) under such conditions? "Yeah, we totally knew those people were trying to screw you, but we decided not to say anything. Hey, do you want to join the Federation?"
Well, I don't think Ventax was "allied" with the Federation just because they were allowed to visit.
The problem with interference is that it gets difficult to anticipate the consequences, and in many cases can put the values and ideals of Federation citizens in conflict with a native culture, with the former potentially using their superior technology to impose their views. It's a slippery slope into a colonial/imperialist mindset. As such, I suppose the Prime Directive is intentionally excessive to not leave any room for potentially disastrous interpretations due to the "grey areas" you'd invariably have if the Directive had subclauses for exceptions.
With the case of Ardra, for example, the crew started out with zero proof, operating solely based on their rejection of slavery and religiously motivated submission, simply assuming it was a tech-based con job. But what if she had actually been what she'd claimed she was? If you think about it, the basic premise is no different than the issue of Bajor and the
wormhole aliensProphets, and what role their Emissaries play on the cultural development of that world. Such as, you know, potentially re-establishing caste-based segregation, invalidating Bajor's eligibility for Federation membership.By assaulting Ardra's claim solely on the basis of it being impossible to be true, the crew of the Enterprise went onto the very thin ice of also assaulting the religious beliefs of the Ventaxians.
I can completely relate to how frustrating it must be to deal with situations such as these, but I also think that rather than undermining the Prime Directive, this is an example of what Starfleet would call "the price to be paid for the greater good".
Sweet thank you!