Berman noted that "Star Trek: First Contact" took place in the past, long before Earth had built its utopia, and felt that Zefram Cochrane should be equally unformed. In his own words ...

Earth's first contact with aliens on April 5th, 2063, marks a pivotal moment in Star Trek history. Zefram Cochrane's warp flight leads to humanity's growth into a space-faring civilization.