| abstract | - The Horizon was an early Federation starship that was in service during the mid-22nd century. Around 2168, the Horizon discovered the planet Sigma Iotia II, located on the outer reaches of the galaxy. While there, the crew of the Horizon made first contact with the planets inhabitants, the Iotians; a civilization that was in the beginning stages of industrialization. It was also reported that the Iotians were an extremely intelligent and somewhat imitative species. The Horizon's ship-to-shore transport did not include transporters, but rather required planetary landing in some form. The Horizon's contact came before the non-interference directive went into effect, and the crew inadvertently interfered with the normal evolution of the planet. The source of cultural contamination was a number of textbooks on how to make radio sets and the like. The most damning was a text published in 1992, called "Chicago Mobs of the Twenties". This text would serve as the "Bible" of the Iotian culture for the decades to come, developing a society of "cold-blooded killers". The Horizon was only equipped with conventional radio, and as such it predated subspace communications. It was lost shortly after leaving Sigma Iotia II. The Federation finally received her radio reports a century later, in early 2268. A month later, the USS Enterprise was dispatched to investigate the Horizon's reports, only to discover the break down of Iotian society that had occurred as a result of the Horizon's influence. Because the breakdown of Iotian society had been caused by a member of the Federation, the crew of the Enterprise was obligated to correct the Horizon's mistake. (TOS: "A Piece of the Action" )
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