Two pivotal moments in Star Trek's fictional history share a connection that goes much deeper than one might assume at a glance. The Star Trek timeline is filled with moments that define humanity's future, from Zefram Cochrane discovering warp drive to Star Trek: The Next Generation's cast making first contact with the Borg. As a prequel, Star Trek: Enterprise contains its fair share of these landmark moments, with Archer and the gang frequently laying foundations for Starfleet's future. Indeed, one such historical brick was laid in the opening minutes of Star Trek: Enterprise's very first episode.
Season 1's "Broken Bow" begins with a farmer shooting a Klingon, later identified as Klaang, after the alien's vessel crashes near his property, and this split-second example of shotgun-based violence has a huge ripple effect upon the entire Star Trek universe. The encounter represents first contact between humans and Klingons, kick-starts the Enterprise's journey among the stars, and ultimately triggers a long period of conflict between the two species involved. In addition to the above, Klaang finding himself on the wrong end of Old McMoore's shotgun also serves to foreshadow a very significant point in Star Trek's Mirror Universe chronology.
History Repeated Itself From Star Trek: Enterprise Season 1 To Season 4
The problematic first contact between Earth and Qo'noS is almost a perfect mirror of another first contact shown much later in Star Trek: Enterprise. The two-part season 4 story "In a Mirror, Darkly" begins with Zefran Cochrane greeting the Vulcans' arrival on Earth, but instead of extending the hand of peace as he does in 1996's Star Trek: First Contact movie ending, Mirror Cochrane whips out a shotgun and blasts the Vulcan ambassador to signal a full-scale attack on the recently-landed alien ship.
It cannot be a coincidence that Star Trek history contains two separate instances of humanity meeting an alien species for the first time, shooting on sight, and altering the flow of Earth's development.
The two scenes are eerily similar - both opening scenes where an alien lands on Earth and almost immediately gets shot in the chest by the first human they clap eyes on. Just like the Klingon example from "Broken Bow," Cochrane murdering the representative from Vulcan has long-lasting ramifications for Star Trek's future, representing the beginning of the Terran Empire's sinister reign creeping across the galaxy.
From Cochrane first opening fire, the Mirror version of humanity later goes onto subjugate the Vulcans, control numerous other planets through fear and force, and spread Terran terror far and wide. In Star Trek: Discovery, the Mirror Universe Philippa Georgiou even reveals that her world's version of First Contact Day celebrates Zefram Cochrane's brutal hello to the Vulcans, and credits the technology gleaned from the stolen Vulcan ship for starting a chain of events that allowed the Terran Empire to gradually take control of planets beyond Earth's solar system.
It cannot be a coincidence that Star Trek history contains two separate instances of humanity meeting an alien species for the first time, shooting it on sight, and altering the flow of Earth's development. The comparison between the Klaang and Cochrane incidents perhaps serves to highlight how violence and mistrust are, to some degree, inherent traits that exist across all versions of Earth. In one universe, that manifests as a scared farmer firing at a very-clearly-unhappy alien intruder; in another, it means humans greedily seizing another species' technology and killing those who stand in the way.
The Zefram Cochrane Incident Wasn't The Start Of Star Trek's Mirror Universe
The Real Origin Of Star Trek's Mirror Universe
Zefram Cochrane shooting the Vulcan may have ultimately led to the mighty intergalactic Terran Empire that dominates Star Trek's Mirror Universe episodes, but it was not the starting point for the Mirror Universe itself. While Star Trek does present the Mirror Universe as a darker retelling of the Prime Universe's own history, there is no clear point where the timeline diverged and humanity was sent on a wildly different course.
The clear parallel between Klingon first contact in the Prime Universe and Vulcan first contact in the Mirror Universe remains a fascinating commentary on humanity's failings.
Archer claims in Star Trek: Enterprise that the Terran Empire has existed for "centuries" by the time of "In a Mirror, Darkly." That means it must predate First Contact Day, which occurred less than 100 years earlier. Similarly, Star Trek: Discovery's Kovich conducts research that reveals the Terrans of the Mirror Universe carry a genetic mutation that makes them biologically more aggressive. Mirror Earth was, therefore, already walking a dark path long before the Vulcans landed. Star Trek's Prime Universe did not split into the Mirror Universe simply because Zefram Cochrane didn't feel like entertaining visitors one day.
Nevertheless, the clear parallel between Klingon first contact in the Prime Universe and Vulcan first contact in the Mirror Universe remains a fascinating commentary on humanity's failings. Star Trek's overriding takeaway here is that violence breeds violence, and the inability to show diplomacy and tolerance toward outsiders will often generate problems far bigger than a Klingon-sized hole in a cornfield.
