To: 
From: "Steve Oostrom" 
Reply-To: trekcreative{at}yahoogroups.com

------=_NextPart_000_0013_01C32D52.4DBEE470
Content-Type: text/plain;
        charset="Windows-1252"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

>The story I'm writing at the moment deals with the Prime Directive. The pl=
ot is that the Ballard is in a system where a very large asteroid is about
= to smash into a planet with a pre-warp civilization of 7 billion. If it
hit= s, the civilization will be wiped out.

>The question in the story is either it is against the prime directive to d=
eflect the asteroid when the asteroid is so far away from the planet that
t= he civilization won't even know they were in danger.  Basically, does
savin= g a civilization from certain annihilation without them knowing
about it co= unts as a violation of the prime directive or not.

No it does not.

Actually, I have a story like this as well, "Righting Wrongs" (I
really sho= uld get it posted to the site).
In this story, another ship realizes that a quantum string fragment is
goin= g to wipe out a planet with
a prewarp society.  The decision is made that the ship can deflect the
stri= ng fragment far enough away
that the inhabitants will never know what could have happened to them. 
Und= er this approach, this is
not considered a violation of the Prime Directive, since it is not actively=
 interfering with the culture.
Starfleet officers have the right, if not the duty, to interfere in this
wa= y if they can.  Unfortunately,
in the story, things go badly wrong and the ship, the Clearwater, is lost
a= nd the crew ends up on
the planet, where they end up violating the Prime Directive.  The Athena
vi= sits sixty years later and
sees what has transpired since.

Personally, I think the Prime Directive was created as a way for the powers=
 to be to explain why
in a universe filled with civilizations with faster-than-light ships by the=
 dozens, none of those ships
ever came here (unless they did and we call them "UFO sightings"
and "alien=
 abductions" and
the like).  Maybe they worry how society could have changed if an advanced
= species, like the
Vulcans, had shown up during the times of the Roman Empire or just as the
B= lack Death was
ravishing Europe or during World War II.  Would the changes in society have=
 been positive or
negative?

I have been toying with a story idea along these lines, but I really did
no= t want to do a time-travel
story.  I was thinking of something along the lines of a holodeck routine
t= hat explores "alternative
history," but I never was able to come up with something that would work in=
 a story.

Steve
The Universe Unbounded.

Visit "Star Trek: Athena" at http://ussathena.iwarp.com




------=_NextPart_000_0013_01C32D52.4DBEE470
Content-Type: text/html; charset=Windows-1252
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit










>The story I'm writing at the moment deals with the Prime
Directive.
The
plot is that the Ballard is in a system where a very large asteroid is
about to smash into a planet with a pre-warp civilization of 7 billion. If
it hits, the civilization will be wiped out.>The
question in the story is either it is against the prime directive to
deflect the asteroid when the asteroid is so far away from the planet that
the civilization won't even know they were in danger.  Basically,
does saving a civilization from certain annihilation without them knowing
about it counts as a violation of the prime directive or not.
 
No it does not.
 
Actually, I have a story like this as well,
"Righting Wrongs" (I really should get it posted to the
site).
In this story, another ship realizes that a
quantum
string fragment is going to wipe out a planet with
a prewarp society.  The
decision is made that
the ship can deflect the string fragment far enough away
that the inhabitants will never
know what could
have happened to them.  Under this approach, this
is
not considered a violation of the
Prime Directive,
since it is not actively interfering with the culture.
Starfleet officers have the right,
if not the
duty,
to interfere in this way if they can. 
Unfortunately,
in the story, things go badly
wrong and the ship,
the Clearwater, is lost and the crew ends up on
the planet, where they end up
violating the Prime
Directive.  The Athena visits sixty years later and
sees what has transpired
since.
 
Personally, I think the Prime Directive was
created
as a way for the powers to be to explain why
in a universe filled with
civilizations with
faster-than-light ships by the dozens, none of those ships
ever came here (unless they did
and we call them
"UFO sightings" and "alien abductions"
and
the like).  Maybe they
worry how society
could
have changed if an advanced species, like the
Vulcans, had shown up during the
times of the
Roman
Empire or just as the Black Death was
ravishing Europe or during World
War II. 
Would the changes in society have been positive or
negative?
 
I have been toying with a story
idea along these
lines, but I really did not want to do a time-travel
story.  I was thinking of
something along the
lines of a holodeck routine that explores "alternative
history," but I never was
able to come up with
something that would work in a story.
 
Steve
The Universe
Unbounded.
 
Visit "Star Trek: Athena" at http://ussathena.iwarp.com;">http://ussathena.iwarp.comhttp://ussathena.iwarp.com">http://ussathena.iwarp.com;
 







Yahoo! Groups
Sponsor


http://rd.yahoo.com/M=251812.3170658.453713
9.1261774/D=egroupweb/S=1705019987:HM/A=1564415/R=0/SIG=11t6t7kdo/*http://www.n
etflix.com/Default?mqso=60164784&partid=3170658">http://us.a1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/a/ne/netflix/yhoo0303_a_300250.gif"
alt="" width="300" height="250"
border="0">

http://us.adserver.yahoo.com/l?M=2518
12.3170658.4537139.1261774/D=egroupmail/S=:HM/A=1564415/rand=692312243">







Star Trek; The E-mail Commands

Post message: trekcreative{at}yahoogroups.com Subscribe:
trekcreative-subscribe{at}yahoogroups.com Unsubscribe:
trekcreative-unsubscribe{at}yahoogroups.com List owner:
trekcreative-owner{at}yahoogroups.com Get Digest:
trekcreative-digest{at}yahoogroups.com Web only: 
trekcreative-nomail{at}yahoogroups.com Normal:
trekcreative-normal{at}egroups.com



Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo!">http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/">Yahoo! Terms of
Service.




------=_NextPart_000_0013_01C32D52.4DBEE470--

--- BBBS/NT v4.01 Flag-4