Star Trek: 10 Things We Now Know About The Temporal Wars

4. Temporal Law & Order

Star Trek Relativity
CBS Media Ventures

The official Temporal Prime Directive is usually the law cited that Federation citizens must follow. However, there is confusion as to when the law was written. For example, Picard did not know of it during Rasmussen's trip to the Enterprise-D in A Matter Of Time, and Bashir cited a different guideline when he is thrown into Earth's 21st Century.

Janeway was aware of the rule by 2371, though she (along with a certain James T. Kirk) had so many Temporal violations to their names, that it's hard to tell if this wasn't an isolated case. The versions of Chakotay and Kim, from 2390, knew of it, as did Admiral Janeway from 2404.

It was most likely written in the 29th Century, policed by time agents like the crew of the USS Relativity. This Federation ship seemed tasked with ensuring the flow of history continued according to the books, while the Temporal Wars would surely have been in full effect. Knowing that the Relativity, Braxton, and Ducane, were all working to thwart the Wars, draws the USS Voyager into the Temporal Wars as well - even if, on-screen at least, no mention of them was made.

Contributor
Contributor

Seán is the host and head writer/presenter for TrekCulture, as well as a writer/presenter on WhoCulture and WhatCulture Horror. He has authored two novels, dozens of short stories, and hundreds of articles for WhatCulture. He holds a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from University College Dublin. As part of his work with TrekCulture, Seán has been invited to participate in collaborations with Roddenberry Entertainment, as well as contributing to several Star Trek community projects. An avid fan of Star Trek, Doctor Who, and the horror genre at large, Seán's expertise has helped develop these channels to the successes they are today. As host of the Ups & Downs series on TrekCulture, Seán has become internationally recognised for his positive yet critically informed approach to reviewing every episode of modern Star Trek, ensuring he is one of the go-to voices in the Trek community. Favourite Quote to describe himself: "I'm serious about what I do, just not always about the way that I do it"