Star Trek Strange New Worlds is a return to live action episodic storytelling in the Star Trek franchize. The first episode embraced Trek’s heritage of taking on complex issues in the reflection of science fiction. In the story, the pre-warp civilization of Kiley 279 was on the brink of civil war. The ruling nation-state developed weapons of mass destruction after observing the battle seen in the season two finale of Star Trek Discovery. Their plan was to obliterate the “revolutionary” faction with a “Warp Bomb.” Or “Warp Bombs.”
Captain Christopher Pike found himself in a bind with General Order Number One, which prohibits interfering in the development of civilizations without warp drive. The fact Kiley 279 had learned of warp technology from a battle the Federation had covered up, meant there had already been “cultural contamination.” However, General Order Number One technically prohibited the USS Enterprise crew from correcting the cultural contamination.
Captain Pike’s solution? He told his First Officer, “Screw General Order Number One.” In a homage to classic science fiction films, he asked, “Take me to your leader,” after being captured. Pike talked down the warring factions with a history lesson from Earth of Kiley 279’s possible future with war. More importantly, he inspired them to reach for a brighter future to join the Federation of Planets.
If there was a Starfleet JAG officer preparing a defense for Captain Pike, the best option is the necessity defense, which is an affirmative defense to a crime. Captain Pike would have to show that the “harm that would have resulted from compliance with the law would have significantly exceeded the harm actually resulting from the defendant’s breach of the law.” State v. Rein, 477 N.W.2d 716, 717 (Minn. App. 1991).
The test for the necessity defense in California (assuming Starfleet Command followed similar factors in its Code of Military Justice) has the following elements:
1. Captain Pike acted in an emergency to prevent a significant bodily harm or evil to Kiley 279;
2. Captain Pike had no adequate legal alternative;
3. The defendant’s acts did not create a greater danger than the one avoided;
4. When the defendant acted, he actually believed that the act was necessary to prevent the threatened harm or evil;
5. A reasonable person would also have believed that the act was necessary under the circumstances; AND
6. The defendant did not substantially contribute to the emergency.
CALCRIM No. 3403.
Applying the elements to Captain Pike’s actions, an attorney could argue:
1) Captain Pike acted to avoid a planetary war;
2) The legal remedy was to let the people of Kiley 279 kill each other with Warp Bombs;
3) Captain Pike’s actions did not create a more dangerous situation;
4) Captain Pike believed his actions would avoid a war;
5) A reasonable person would believe Captain Pike’s actions were necessary; and
6) Captain Pike did not contribute to the emergency.
Openly breaking the law is never a good plan. It should not be standard operating procedure. However, Star Trek has a precedent for showing how the needs of the many can sometimes require finding legal exceptions to complex problems. Stopping a nuclear holocaust is one such exception.
