Reading through the Prime Directive discussion, this comment got me thinking...
And again, Humans have no clue what a pure culture looks like, since they don't come from one. They were uplifted by aliens who did play god, and apparently okay with that since they keep naming ships after them.
How many races, machines and individuals have interfered with earth's development?
This is what I can think of off the top of my head.
PreserversApollo (and the Greek gods)
Redjac (Jack the Ripper)
Gary Seven
The '
Whale Probe' from Star Trek IV
The '
Sky Spirit' from Tattoo
The aliens from
The '37s
The
Devidians
I haven't even crossed into Temporal manipulation yet...
Captain Braxton and the Timeship AeonThe Borg
If you assume that the slightest interference could have big repercussions, it seems to me that the only reason humanity got to where it is, is because everyone and their brothers have dipped their toes into humanity's development.
Can you think of any other instances?
Comments
Whatever you think of Archer, I think he is right when it comes to the Vulcans.
(I am ignoring the First Contact Borg incursion since almost no one knew about that.)
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Humans responded by uniting while simultaneously becoming more flamboyant about loudly asserting their various cultures and traditions, most of which go completely over the heads of other species... who all have just as many cultural factions and nations and divides and races that we're completely blind to unless you're a cultural anthropologist or spend twenty years living among them.
I mean, to a Vulcan, if you're from Gol or one of the other provinces means something, while at the same time, they don't really care or see the difference between a Human from Japan or Brazil. Humans united because the Vulcans kept talking at us like we were, or refused to talk to us until we figured out who was going to speak for all of us.
That and there's an element of shame. The Vulcans showed up and saw us digging out of wreckage of our own stupidity and madness, and to Humanity that's terribly humiliating. It's like having a big noisy family argument in front of guests. While we'd been fine to quarrel among ourselves for centuries, now all of a sudden someone else was watching us fight... and judging us as a bunch of savages. Shame has always held an important element in how our societies function.
What annoyed the Vulcans was that Humans are stubborn, irrational, argumentative, and don't like being told what to do. Including that they keep trying to pull off the Hat the Vulcans kept putting on them. That and Humans have a hard time resisting the impulse to TRIBBLE with Vulcans. It's like an entire species of British Royal Palace Guards, and us monkeys do love making faces at them just to see if they'll crack a smile.
So, for the first time, united in shame and this unshakable sense that the newcomers are just bemused every time we try to provide a rational reason for why we blew ourselves up, and on top of that their unchanging, unyielding frowns as we keep trying to justify ourselves, Humanity sort of forces itself to grow up, take responsibility for itself, and start trying to act like adults.
Because we're not alone anymore and it's embarrassing having guests seeing our house in such a mess.
But, yeah, the only reason any backward culture among humans on Earth ever developed beyond their cultural limits was because of interference from more advanced cultures. That's just nature. Bottom line is that the Prime Directive is historically and ethically absolute TRIBBLE and everyone knows it inside and outside the Star Trek universe.
Not really... all it means is that she hid it rather well.
The Prime Directive is basically the Federation going "Let's not add to the problem!"
1.) though the time line was mended, we've no idea exactly how Edith Keeler was originally supposed to die, and the TOS trio probably stepped on a few butterflies along the way. Not enough to wreck time, but subtly alter it.
Also there are the passengers of Quark's shuttle, which apparently became contributing factors to the alien conspiracy theories of the 1950s.
Oddly, I might count Flint as altering earth's development. Although one of us, his incredible lifespan allowed him to effect culture and development in a way no mortal human could.
That is odd, since Flint was a native Earthling. A mutant, yes, but still an Earthling. I wouldn't count him, personally.
My character Tsin'xing
It's a tautological paradox that the Department of Temporal Investigations assumes will be solved by the 29th century.
It has not been solved by the 29th century.
Here are quite a few, including two from Enterprise (Carbon Creek Regeneration and I recall even a klingon smuggler were on earth.)
http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Earth
My character Tsin'xing
Well, in timeline, the 20th century had a huge leap forward in technological progress and social change that ended in-universe with the Eugenics War (probably. Possibly. They may be moved due to a scheduling error :P ) that set the trends leading to WW3 and the Cochrane flight, after which Earth reformed and started the trends that led to the Federation, which is going to end up culturally dominating everyone, eventually, apparently.
So if you're trying to tweak the next millennium of the galaxy with a minimum of effort, the late 20th century Earth is a good place to start.
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