Malcor III
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According to the Prime Directive, first contact with an alien species cannot take place until that species has independently developed warp drive, thus developing the level of technology needed to step into the universe. However, there are many kinds of development, and sometimes mere technological maturity doesn’t mean a planet is ready. Malcor III stands as an example of a world poised on the edge of galactic contact, but not ready to go over.
Malcor III was a century or more away from warp drive during the 23rd century. The Federation likely already had the Malcorian culture under general surveillance at this time, but meaningful contact would have been strictly forbidden. Technologically, the Malcorians were ready to begin interstellar flight in the 24th century, but their culture was undergoing tremendous social upheaval. At this time, xenophobia makes extra-malcorian contact a bad idea. Given Malcor III’s lack of contact with the outside universe, they had no way of knowing about the Dominion War. Alpha Quadrant forces had to blockade the system to prevent the Dominion, Cardassians or Breen from landing troops and using the Malcorians strategically and interfering with their culture.
Malcor III is the third planet of eight orbiting an orange star deep in the Beta Quadrant. It is solidly within Federation space, which makes it far easier for the Federation to enforce the prime directive and make sure the Malcorians’ wishes are respected.
Climate
Malcor III is just over two-thirds water, with a broad range of weather depending on location on the planet. The equatorial regions are the hottest, the most northernly continents the coldest. Malcor III has autumn rainy seasons out in its oceans, which lead to late year hurricanes and monsoons, particularly in coastal regions.
Geography
Malcor III is typical for a Class M planet with seventy percent water. It has eight continents, distributed across both the northern and southern hemispheres, with one continent along the northern pole of the planet, covered in glaciers.
Malcor III’s most impressive natural feature is Kemti Canyon on the continent of Mamos. Kemti Canyon is over three hundred miles long, and is close to a mile deep in some places. It was formed over millennia by the Kemti river. It became all the more dramatic when the Kemti was dammed upstream of the Canyon as a reservoir for Kemta City’s drinking water reservoir and for its power needs. The lowered river level through the canyon has left some remarkable rock formations and exposed strata near the canyon’s bottom.
Civilization
Malcor III is a democracy currently undergoing growing pains. In the last several decades, there has been an explosion of technological progress on Malcor III, causing a social upheaval as traditional methods and expectations are pushed aside by new technology. As a backlash against the technological shakeups and move of progress, social conservatism is on the rise on Malcor II, with many citizens actively resisting new changes and new views of the universe.
Malcor III also has a spiritual tradition and belief that their world is the only to possess sentience in the universe. When visionaries, scientists and explorers in recent centuries challenged this notion, the belief turned darker, breeding a kind of xenophobia lurking under the surface of Malcorian society. On the other side of the equation, particularly among the younger Malcorians, is a growing passion for exploration and discovery. In some quarters, the prospect of alien life is thrilling and exotic. In others, it is a cause for concern and horror. Still, the spirit of adventure in some Malcorians has driven the scientific development of recent decades, and has put Malcor III within a few scant months of being able to launch their first warp-capable starship, and make their first, historic interstellar flight. Assuming, of course, they are allowed to by the old guard.
Between the rapid growth and change in Malcorian society, the conservative groundswell in reaction to it, and a certain paranoia about what may be out in the universe all growing together, Malcor III has entered a time of transition and upheaval, and it is difficult to predict how their society will emerge and what beliefs will become central to the Malcorian people.
History
Malcor III, like most worlds, has had its share of glory and infamy. In the early days of Malcor III, nations rose and fell, often at the point of a sword. For several inland and coastal cultures, the sight of a sail on the horizon meant invasion was imminent — an association that lasted long after Malcor III’s age of sail. But, with time came progress. Monarchies rose and fell, totalitarianism gave way to democracies, and Malcor III rose out of darkness and began to move towards the light.
In 2230, Emphit Peiss discovered the first Malcorian optical processor serendipitously, more than a century before typical societies. This atypical discovery made powerful computational and telecommunications strides possible. Within forty years, Malcor III, which previously only had primitive telegraphy between major population centers, had achieved instantaneous worldwide communications. Powerful computers allowed for tremendous information organization. Nations so distant from each other as to be legendary could suddenly see one another on the evening news.
In 2279, the culture shock that had been building for decades broke loose for the first time. Violent upheavals spread over the planet, as nations that had never needed to get along before found coexistence too painful to deal with. Warfare spread over Malcor III like wildfire, and the tremendous information processing capacity in the Malcorian optical computers drove weapons research and development. Cease fires, treaties, victories and defeats drove technology further.
The wars culminated in 2322, when devastating new weapons were used for the first time. The sheer horror of these weapons — broadcast world wide into Malcorian homes, naturally — frightened the Malcorian people to the negotiating table. While there would be several points of instability, the Malcorian central government was formed, based on a parliamentary democracy.
With peace came peace dividends, as technology developed for war was turned to peaceful pursuits and scientific exploration. A strong economy boosted a period of rapid development. And, the same technology that had hurled the worst of the Great War’s weaponry began powering probes and manned flights within the Malcor system. There seemed no limit of how far Malcorian science could go.
Of course, that wasn’t true. There was a limit — a cultural one instead of a technological one. By 2360, Malcorian society had entered the cultural growing pains societies endure before they become mature. As had happened in the late 23rd century, Malcor III’s technological and scientific development was outstripping Malcorian society’s ability to adapt and grow. Conservative movements and a call for traditional Malcorian values had been growing for some time when the Malcorian scientific community announced the most radical project since the optical processor: faster than light travel.
In 2361, a series of theses were published, particularly by Mirasta Yale, that laid out the theoretical underpinnings of a practical warp drive. Despite resistance even then, the Malcorian government decided to fund Yale’s warp research. After several highly promising initial tests, plans were made for the Malcorians’ first warp flight, tentatively scheduled for 2368.
Naturally, the Federation had been monitoring Malcorian development for years. As the Malcorians moved — seemingly inexorably — to becoming warp-capable and therefore a mature society, no longer subject to the Prime Directive, the Federation had begun its standard procedure of placing cultural observers on the planet. This procedure was designed to smooth the eventual first contact between Malcor III and the Federation, by helping prevent cultural misunderstandings. Instead, the practice caused a misunderstanding that nearly ended the life of a Starfleet officer.
In 2367, ten months before the scheduled warp flight, the U.S.S. Enterprise-D had arrived to relieve the current team of cultural observers on Malcor III. While awaiting the next team, Enterprise officers took up the duty. One of these officers, Commander William T. Riker, became embroiled in a near-fatal accident. He was brought to a medical center, where it was swiftly discovered that biologically he was significantly different than the Malcorians. The Malcorians had found an alien invader in their midst. The crew of the Enterprise, making contact with Mirasta Yale and the head of the Malcorian government, began trying to find Riker. Meanwhile, Defense Minister Krola — a paranoid and xenophobic opponent to spaceflight research — became convinced that Commander Riker was proof of alien invasion. When he was unable to get proof of an invasion, Krola shot himself with Riker’s phaser, staging it to look like an assault. However, it was clear Riker’s injuries were too extensive for him to attack anyone, and Krola hadn’t known the weapon was set for stun. Krola recovered, but the prime minister of Malcor III decided that the Malcorian people were simply not ready for first contact yet. As a result, the warp flight was postponed indefinitely, while the Malcorian government began the slow process of educating and preparing their people for entry into the galactic community. (TNG: "First Contact")
The one Malcorian who couldn’t accept this solution was Mirasta Yale herself. Rather than be denied the lifetime of space exploration she had worked for her entire life, she chose to accompany the U.S.S. Enterprise as it returned to the great unknown.
Places of Interest
Opportunistic races such as the Ferengi might be interested in the Central Data Repository — a government-sponsored storing house of all Malcorian knowledge and information. While the tremendous information heritage of the Malcorians is publicly available, the truth behind Mirasta Yale’s disappearance can be found in sealed files. This truth could be used to blackmail government officials into opening trade negotiations or markets to an unscrupulous Ferengi.
Reference(s)
- Burns, Eric, Kenneth A. Hite & Doug Sun. Star Trek Roleplaying Game Book 7: Worlds, Decipher, 2005. ISBN: 1582369097.