[Star Trek] The quarantine of Vagra II was uncalled for [Skin of Evil]

Thanks once again to Midnight for this debate. It is always fun to do a Star Trek debate, and this was no exception. REBUTTALSFor the sake of uniformity, I will be rebutting points in the order that I presented them in R2. 1a. I argued that there was no reason to believe rehabilitating Armus was even possible. Firstly, Pro DROPS my argument that you first need some good left in you to be salvageable. To mix my Star Trek-Star Wars metaphors, the situation is kind of like Vader and Sideous. Sideous could not be brought back to the light side of the force because there wasn't a shred of good left in him. However, Vader still had some goodness left to cling on to, and so was finally saved by Luke. Armus, in this case, is like Sideous, he has no good inside him, and so cannot be rehabilitated. Remember: "Armus...was made up of pure evil, and so had no reservoir of good within him that could have become a starting point for his transformation to good." What is the impact of this dropped argument? Well, it shows us that, logically speaking, it is impossible to save Armus. Pro argues that Starfleet didn't invest any effort into attempting to help Armus, but why should they have? Just a cursory examination of the fact shows fairly conclusively that any such attempt would be doomed to failure. Thus, this argument is upheld.Secondly, Pro tries to use the Crystalline Entity to show that Starfleet attempted communication with an entity far more dangerous than Armus. There are multiple problems with this analysis: (a) Unlike Armus, the Crystalline Entity was mobile. Starfleet could not quarantine the Entity as they did Armus, and so they had to attempt communication to resolve the problem. But, the attempt at communication could've resulted in the death of the whole crew had the Entity attacked. With Armus, the trade-off was different. The risk, had Starfleet acquiesced to Armus's request and beamed him up, was the same: the death of the whole crew. However, since Armus could be quarantined, there was no need to endanger themselves by prolonging contact with him. So, while it made sense it the case of the Entity to make contact, it did not make sense in Armus's case to do the same.(b) Unlike Armus, the Entity was not purely evil. Pro himself writes: "[u]nlike Armus, who has evil qualities, the Entity needed organic life to survive, which is why it killed so many people." It is possible that Starfleet could have worked with the Entity to come up with a solution, such as creating an artificial power source that it could feed off of. However, Armus, as noted earlier, stood no chance at rehabilitation. The same could not be done for him--he would always be malevolent and destructive.(c) Pro writes: "Starfleet had a great opportunity to study the Titans as well." Why should we trust what information Armus gives us about the Titans, assuming he gives us any information at all? Armus couldn't even be read by scanners, so it seems that technology wouldn't give us the answers we need, at least for some lengthy period of time during which it would still be best to have Armus quarantined. 1b. Pro really doesn't make any attacks here except to cross-apply his earlier arguments, which I've already rebutted. Pro CONCEDES the following argument: Armus was extremely dangerous, and likely could have killed the entire crew had he been allowed on the Enterprise.2a. Pro DROPS that he has no evidence that Picard was too emotionally unstable to lead. Therefore, this portion of Pro's argument is invalidated.2b. Pro says that Picard could've sent crewmen back to Armus who were better prepared to handle him. But, first of all, there is no reason that ANY amount of information could have prepared people to deal with Armus. If phaser fire and a torpedo couldn't kill him, it is highly unlikely that any weapons or devices that Starfleet possess could have dealt with or shielded against Armus. Secondly, the quarantines was basically a long-term version of what Pro wants. Picard likely realized that Starfleet wouldn't possess the technology to cope with Armus for decades, and so a quarantine was best. Once the technology was developed, the quarantine could be lifted; but, until that time, the quarantine was the best policy in order to keep people away from Armus and to deny Armus a means of escape (which could've put many people at real risk.)ADDITIONAL NOTEFirstly, I don't need to win this point to win the debate. Secondly, the Prime Directive applies to individuals too. Starfleet doesn't interfere with alien individuals unless absolutely necessary because the Prime Directive instructs them to avoid doing so.CONCLUSIONArmus could not be rehabilitated, and even if he could've been saved, it wasn't worth the risk. Saving 1 being at the risk of an entire ship's crew isn't a trade-off an responsible Starfleet Captain would make. Moreover, a lot of what Pro says is non-unique, in that in can still happen with the quarantine. For instance, the quaratine does not mean that Starfleet can NEVER interact with Armus again, but it does keep Armus safely isolated until Starfleet develops the means necessary to engage with him safely. For all these reasons, please VOTE CON in today's debate. Thanks to Midnight and to all who took time to peruse this debate.