Prime Directive
In the fictional universe of "Star Trek", the Prime Directive (also known as "Starfleet General Order 1", "General Order 1", and the "non-interference directive") is a guiding principle of Starfleet that prohibits its members from interfering with the natural development of alien civilizations. The Prime Directive protects unprepared civilizations from the dangerous tendency of well-intentioned starship crews to introduce advanced technology, knowledge, and values before they are ready. Since its introduction in the first season of the , the Prime Directive has been a key plot element of many episodes of the various "Star Trek" series and  served as a recurring moral question over how best to establish diplomatic relations with new alien worlds. The Prime Directive. The Prime Directive is one of many guidelines for Starfleet's mandate to explore the galaxy and "seek out new life and new civilizations." Although the concept of the Prime Directive has been alluded to and paraphrased by many "Star Trek" characters during the television series and feature films, the actual directive has never been provided to viewers. The most complete attempts to define the directive have come from non-canonical works and include: The Prime Directive prohibits Starfleet personnel  and spacecraft from interfering in the normal development of any society, and mandates that any Starfleet vessel or crew member is expendable to prevent violation of this rule. and As the right of each sentient species to live in accordance with its normal cultural evolution is considered sacred, no Starfleet personnel may interfere with the normal and healthy development of alien life and culture. Such interference includes introducing superior knowledge, strength, or technology to a world whose society is incapable of handling such advantages wisely. Starfleet personnel may not violate this Prime Directive, even to save their lives and/or their  ship, unless they are acting to right an earlier violation or an accidental contamination of said culture. This directive takes precedence over any and all other considerations, and carries with it the highest moral obligation. The Prime Directive was frequently applied to less developed planets who had not yet discovered warp travel or subspace communication technology. The Prime Directive was also sometimes applied to advanced civilizations that already knew of life on other worlds but were protected by empires outside the Federation's jurisdiction. First contact could be made by the Federation with alien worlds that had either discovered warp  or were on the verge of it, or with highly advanced civilizations that simply hadn't ventured into space yet. In those cases, the Prime Directive was used as a general policy to not disrupt or interfere with their culture when establishing peaceful diplomatic relations. Consequences for violating the Prime Directive could range from a stern reprimand to a demotion, depending on the severity of the infraction. However, enforcement of these rules -- and interpretations of the Prime Directive itself -- varied greatly and were at the discretion of the commanding officer. In many instances, prominent Starfleet personnel like captains James T.  Kirk, Jean-Luc Picard, Kathryn Janeway and Benjamin Sisko willingly broke the Prime Directive but faced no real punishment or consequence for doing so. Creation and evolution. Creation of the Prime Directive is generally credited to "Original Series" producer Gene L. Coon. The Prime Directive reflected a contemporary political view that US involvement in the Vietnam War was an example of a superpower interfering in the natural development of southeast Asian society; the creation of the Prime Directive was perceived as a repudiation of that involvement. Criticism. The Prime Directive has been criticized in-universe because of the inconsistencies in  which it is applied. In the "TOS" episodes "," "For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky," "The Cloud Minders," "," "The Return of the Archons," "Space Seed" and "A Taste of Armageddon," the crew of the "Enterprise" either interferes with laws or customs of alien worlds or outright colonizes an alien planet to achieve a Federation objective, to save the lives of the crew, or to better the lives of the inhabitants. Out-of-universe criticisms focus on the above problems; that the Prime Directive is simply a plot device and is manipulated by the writers. Janet D.  Stemwedel points out a potential conflict between the anti-colonialist intentions of the Federation and the "ethical project of sharing a universe" which would require "a kind of reciprocity — even if your technological attainment is quite different, it means recognizing you are owed the same moral consideration." Stemwedel writes, "If your concern is not to change the natural behavior or development of alien citizens at any cost, your best bet is to stay at home rather than to explore new worlds." Ars Technica asked lawyers to comment on the Prime Directive and other "Star Trek" legal issues. Criticism included interpreting  the Prime Directive as a product of the Cold War environment in which Roddenberry wrote as well as indicating that enforcement would be lacking. Temporal Prime Directive. The "Temporal Prime Directive" is a fictional guideline for time travelers (from the past "or" future) from interfering in the natural development of a timeline. In the "TNG" episode "", Picard compares the Prime Directive to a possible Temporal Prime Directive: "Of course, you know of the Prime Directive, which tells us that we have no right to interfere with the natural evolution of alien worlds. Now I have sworn to uphold it, but  nevertheless I have disregarded that directive on more than one occasion because I thought it was the right thing to do. Now, if you are holding on to some temporal equivalent of that directive, then isn't it possible that you have an occasion here to make an exception, to help me to choose, because it's the right thing to do?" As 31st-century time traveler Daniels revealed to Captain Jonathan Archer in the "" episode "", as time travel technology became practical, the Temporal Accords were established sometime before the 31st century, to allow the use of time travel for  the purposes of studying history, while prohibiting the use of it to alter history.