First Contact

When on Malcor, do as the Malcorians do. That’s what Commander Riker does when he pretends to be one of the locals while the Federation learns what they can about this pre-warp society. Things get complicated when Riker gets caught, though. Some Malcorians want to kill him, others want to know him. Intimately. Find out what happens when we put First Contact into the Mission Log. It’s ‘Malcor III,’ because the Federation carries on the fine British tradition of going to an inhabited place and telling the natives what to call their home. This is such a rich episode, both on thinky bits as well as emotional beats and fun! WHY can’t they make movies this well? NY lawyer and avid hunter Charles Rushmore basically named Mt. Rushmore after himself, then gave bucks for the monument. The Sioux, in their oral tradition, knew the site as Six Grandfathers. It worked out pretty well for Japan, actually. They got a head-start, compared to the rest of East Asia, on entering the industrial age (and were able to do so mostly on their own terms), were able to form more or less equal diplomatic relations with the world powers (at least compared with most other non-Western countries), and consequently had the strongest economy with the highest standards of living in the region for a century. Great Power politics, then as now, are about bastards trying to screw over other bastards, so I’m not saying anything done was right or moral or whatever. But it’s hard to argue with results – Japan’s done pretty well over the last 150 years, and a lot of that had to do with their leadership being pro-active and flexible when dealing with sudden, unwanted contact with foreign powers. Similarly, the Melkorians are destined to have a difficult time adjusting their way of life (or at least their perceptions of themselves and the world around them), but that would be the case no matter when they finally dealt with it. They’d probably be a lot better off dealing when they still have some control over the matter, rather than sticking their heads in the sand – only until they figure out what is going on, of course – and hoping things will somehow be easier the next time someone finds them. Perry ! That’s the guy! I think waiting till a civilization is warp capable is a good policy, but let them tinker around a bit…darn you Riker! lol TOTALLY AGREE! see my comment…could have been a great feature film concept. lol- the first 10 minutes of “Into Darkness” was about as Star Trek First Contact we get…. notsureifsarcasm The Federation has to label systems something – in a first contact situation, it’s not like they can contact the natives and ask them what they want to call it. The system has probably been called Malcor III since it was charted back in NX or TOS days – before they even knew if it was inhabited or not How do you not think the message holds up? The message isn’t that society will bound towards a brighter tomorrow. No. It’s that human-oids tend to be suspicious and cautious and slowly accept a sea change. It’s a bit egocentric to think that advanced alien tech will follow our design path. In that an alien crt might look that way for a different reason might be constructed that way on a diffferent design path with different capabilities bc it is alien. At least that’s the rationale I make up to account for it. And- it’s not that everyone speaks english, come on we know it’s the universal translator. The question is why it doesnt translate the written word into some kind of google glass contact lense. I felt the message held up very well, because it was truly realistic and honest. Sometimes elected leaders do not do what is best for their people and also, they might think it’s right but be totally wrong. There are limits to what a society can handle in the name of progress. There are fundamentalists of every stripe, clamoring for “the old days” and wanting others to run backwards at full speed. Sigh…. Ah, good, finally an adult: Perhaps she can tak