Perelandra Protocol
The Perelandra Protocol is a series of rules created by the Stellar Compact and Exploration Service following an incident on the eponymous planet. The Protocol governs procedures for first contact with developing civilizations, forbidding overt interference and revelation of alien presence before a proper study can be conducted.
First contact was made by Exploration Service Captain Arthur Benson, who in consultation with other xenologists quickly began a technological uplift project intended to build mobile "aqua-suits" for the Lempusians so they could venture on land and construct forges to smelt iron. (Something they had known of for centuries, but lacked the ability to implement.) Though care was taken to involve only peaceable cultures in the project, disaster struck when a warlike tribe was able to steal this technology and use it forge iron weapons. A tide of violence then began to sweep the planet, resulting in an official investigation back home. While Captain Benson and his team were cleared of wrongdoing, public outcry resulted in the drafting of new rules to minimize the chances of future events such as this.
This is accomplished through careful study of the contactee civilization, usually from orbit with ships and probes concealed by observation shields. (Spacefaring civilizations are dealt with more as equals, the Protocol does not apply to contact with them.) Scientists and diplomats will attempt to assess their likely response to contact, and identify steps to make this process easier. Only when first contact is considered to bring about more good than bad, will it be attempted.
The Perelandra Protocol does not apply to lost worlds once a part of Starweb or pre-Starweb civilization, since their populations are comprised of humans and other species whose psychologies are known, or to archaeological examinations of relics left by paleocivilizations.
Background
The planet Perelandra is a waterworld inhabited by an indigenous sapient species, the Lempusians. Trapped at a Stone Age technological level due to their inability to harness fire in their underwater environment, the Lempusians had a rich culture with millennia of history but were unable to develop further.First contact was made by Exploration Service Captain Arthur Benson, who in consultation with other xenologists quickly began a technological uplift project intended to build mobile "aqua-suits" for the Lempusians so they could venture on land and construct forges to smelt iron. (Something they had known of for centuries, but lacked the ability to implement.) Though care was taken to involve only peaceable cultures in the project, disaster struck when a warlike tribe was able to steal this technology and use it forge iron weapons. A tide of violence then began to sweep the planet, resulting in an official investigation back home. While Captain Benson and his team were cleared of wrongdoing, public outcry resulted in the drafting of new rules to minimize the chances of future events such as this.
The Protocol
In essence, the Perelandra Protocol demands a strict accounting of risks and benefits be made before a first-contact operation can proceed. This stands in stark contrast with the Second Interstellar Period's common practice of simply landing on alien worlds to seek trade or resource extraction, letting the chips fall where they may, or the desires of pro-interventionist organizations to actively seek out and solve issues plaguing other civilizations.This is accomplished through careful study of the contactee civilization, usually from orbit with ships and probes concealed by observation shields. (Spacefaring civilizations are dealt with more as equals, the Protocol does not apply to contact with them.) Scientists and diplomats will attempt to assess their likely response to contact, and identify steps to make this process easier. Only when first contact is considered to bring about more good than bad, will it be attempted.
The Perelandra Protocol does not apply to lost worlds once a part of Starweb or pre-Starweb civilization, since their populations are comprised of humans and other species whose psychologies are known, or to archaeological examinations of relics left by paleocivilizations.
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