Neural
Neural was a Class M planet possessing a primitive civilization that was protected under the terms of the Prime Directive.
The surface of Neural was generally quite similar to Earth, almost remarkably so, but with a few notable differences in native life. The native culture of Neural was tribal, with tribes of Hill People led by female shamans known as Kahn-ut-tu. A major threat was the Mugato, a white-furred predatory ape-like creature having a lethally poisonous bite. The only known countermeasure was the native mako root plant, which the Kahn-ut-tu were quite skilled at administering through a traditional healing ritual.
James T. Kirk visited Neural as a young lieutenant in 2255. The planetary survey was his first command. During his covert cultural observation he befriended the hillperson Tyree. The mission found the inhabitants to be a peaceful, low-technology civilization that was centuries or millennia from developing any advanced technology.
In 2268, a followup visit revealed that the inhabitants were now divided into warring factions, with some factions possessing flintlock firearms that were centuries beyond their level of technology. It was quickly discovered that the Klingon Empire contacted the planet in 2267 and was tampering with the natives by arming some of the warring factions while giving them gradual weapon improvements to make it appear that the natives are developing them on their own, albeit at a suspiciously accelerated rate. Fearing that the planet could fall to Klingon influence, Kirk decided to violate the Prime Directive and contact opposing factions, helping them to fight the Klingon-backed tribes.
Using an analogy derived from the "Brush Wars" of the 20th century where major powers fought their wars through smaller proxies, Kirk set up a Federation-backed faction on Neural by providing flintlocks to the hill people that were the victims of the Klingon-backed aggression. (TOS: "A Private Little War")
- The name Neural only appeared in the episode's script and was not mentioned on screen.
