Genetic Engineering and Augments

[Vastator]

I was wonder a lot of about the Federations ban on Eugenic experiments. I mean has there ever been a case where this was placed against alien species? Almost all the Augments we have seen I think are Human. Phlox said that genetic engineering was used on his species with some notable success yet almost all cases of it being applied to Humans seems that they get banned and kicked out due to what Khan did in the Eugenics Wars. If this is the case, why would the Federation would allow genetic research like that done on Darwin Station in TNG?

Also, about alien species, it seems that only the Klingons decided that "They have a powerful weapon, we must make our own!" yet no one else seemed to have done the same. The Andorians never did it, Romulans or Cardassians. So do the novels talk about the Eugenics laws and Augments?

Christopher made a nice mention of that Darwin Research Station from TNG in his The Buried Age about it being a mistake but what else is there?

 

[Sci]

I was wonder a lot of about the Federations ban on Eugenic experiments. I mean has there ever been a case where this was placed against alien species? Almost all the Augments we have seen I think are Human. Phlox said that genetic engineering was used on his species with some notable success yet almost all cases of it being applied to Humans seems that they get banned and kicked out due to what Khan did in the Eugenics Wars. If this is the case, why would the Federation would allow genetic research like that done on Darwin Station in TNG?

Also, about alien species, it seems that only the Klingons decided that "They have a powerful weapon, we must make our own!" yet no one else seemed to have done the same. The Andorians never did it, Romulans or Cardassians.

Well, first off, I'd point out that "Doctor Bashir, I Presume?" established a Federation-wide ban of genetic engineering. No reference to species was made, though the justification cited was the experience Humans had with the Eugenics Wars. (Perhaps the other founding Federation worlds of Vulcan, Andor, and Tellar all had similar issues in their histories?)

We know from ENT that Klingons' attempts at genetic engineering resulted in the existence of the ridgeless Klingons from TOS, referred to in the novels as the QuchHa', meaning "the unhappy ones." The novel Excelsior: Forged in Fire that the Klingon scientist whose initial experiments with the Augment virus led to the QuchHa' tried in the late 22nd Century to release another genetically engineered virus that would reverse the QuchHa's' condition, but this led to the deaths of many millions more Klingons. This strongly implies that the Klingons' disasters with genetic engineering, combined with Humanity's, probably convinced many other races to shy away from it.

So do the novels talk about the Eugenics laws and Augments?

The Eugenics Wars are actually depicted in the novels The Eugenics Wars: The Rise and Fall of Khan Noonien Singh, Volumes I & II by Greg Cox.

Christopher made a nice mention of that Darwin Research Station from TNG in his The Buried Age about it being a mistake but what else is there?

I haven't read that one, but I think it's safe to say that "Doctor Bashir, I Presume?" retcons the Darwin Station into a non-Federation facility.

 

[Christopher]

Christopher made a nice mention of that Darwin Research Station from TNG in his The Buried Age about it being a mistake but what else is there?

I haven't read that one, but I think it's safe to say that "Doctor Bashir, I Presume?" retcons the Darwin Station into a non-Federation facility.

Nope -- TBA establishes it as a test case, an experimental relaxation of the law. After all, it had been a couple of centuries since the last Augment crisis, so the fears might've waned to the point that some groups were advocating renewed genetic experimentation and the laws were relaxed, at least on a trial basis. Presumably the disaster that befell the station in "Unnatural Selection" caused the political winds to shift back again and the ban to be fully reinstated.

 

[Timo]

The Darwin station was openly listed as "the Darwin Genetic Research Station", a title that raised no eyebrows among the TNG crew when Riker first recited it. So one might argue that such stations are commonplace in the Federation, creating e.g. improved types of grain, but generally stay out of the taboo business of human(oid)-improving genetics.

However, Dr. Kingsley at Darwin immediately and openly admits they are doing human genetics, and even quotes this as evidence that they are harmless, e.g. that they aren't engineering dangerous diseases or stuff like that.

So perhaps Fed researchers can do non-interventionist genetics on humans? The first real sign of interventionism comes when the child specimen is beamed aboard, at which point everybody is at first greatly surprised at the apparent maturity of the "child", then Picard and Pulaski frown a little at the idea that Kingsley has done this to humanity. Not the most active expression of condemnation imaginable, not even from our stoic and composed heroes.

But when Pulaski really gets the dirt on the creation of the children from Kingsley, she finally seems to be appalled, although controlling herself. When contacting Picard, she then gives a little speech that condemns the very "attempt at controlling human evolution".

Basically, Kingsley and pals could have been exceeding their authority, as obviously they were working far outside the direct influence of the overriding Federation authority. Note that the Lantree couldn't immediately phone for help, but had to sail towards the nearest UFP outpost in hopes of establishing contact; presumably Gagarin IV lies some distance away from the usual spacelanes and commnets.

However, at the conclusion of the episode, Pulaski notes in her log that the scientists at Darwin will continue their research "in hopes of one day rejoining their children". Are they simply allowed to undo the damage done on the kids, or is their original research still considered legitimate?

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Therin of Andor]

The novel Excelsior: Forged in Fire that the Klingon scientist whose initial experiments with the Augment virus led to the QuchHa' tried in the late 22nd Century to release another genetically engineered virus that would reverse the QuchHa's' condition, but this led to the deaths of many millions more Klingons.

The virus experiments also affected some of the Trill (TNG vs DS9 appearance, recently backed up by a novel), and perhaps also the Tiburonians (TOS vs DS9 appearance) - which neatly brings in Zora's experiments, mentioned in "The Savage Curtain" (TOS)!

 

[Christopher]

I don't see any need to concoct a specific explanation for the minor change in the Tiburonites' appearance, any more than it's necessary to explain similar refinements in the looks of Andorians, Tellarites, Bajorans, etc.

And the connection of Antaak's viral experiments to the Trill wasn't "backed up" by a novel, it was introduced in one, Forged in Fire.

 

[Therin of Andor]

I don't see any need to concoct a specific explanation for the minor change in the Tiburonites' appearance.

Neither did I but I always liked the reference to Zora's experiments on the populace - and "Star Trek Star Charts" shows Tiburon a long way from regular UFP space, but close to Klingon territory. And the DS9 Tiburonian has a crest of bone rather like other Klingons. So it was worth a shot.

And the connection of Antaak's viral experiments to the Trill wasn't "backed up" by a novel, it was introduced in one, Forged in Fire.

Sure, but already set in motion by numerous fan theories ever since DS9's "Emissary", and some clever artwork showing Trill bumps (in shadow) and spots in WildStorm's TNG/DS9 comic mini-series.

 

[EmperorKalan]

Also, about alien species, it seems that only the Klingons decided that "They have a powerful weapon, we must make our own!" yet no one else seemed to have done the same. The Andorians never did it, Romulans or Cardassians. So do the novels talk about the Eugenics laws and Augments?

It's possible there's a genetic component to the alterations the Angosians made to Roga Danar and their other super-soldiers.

As for the others, we don't know that they never did it, just that they never did it any more successfully than humans did.


One can argue that eugenic views on bettering manking were never fully suppressed. The colonists who founded the settlement in "The Masterpiece Society" certainly held such a view, though without augments and possibly without geneering. The framing story for The Eugenics Wars: The Rise and Fall of Khan Noonien Singh novels also features a separtist colony (this one embracing genetic engineering and augmentation. Better manners than Khan, but they still overrated themselves compared to "baseline humans"). Amd Gary Seven was a product of a long-term enhancement program by the Ageis.

 

[Christopher]

One can argue that eugenic views on bettering manking were never fully suppressed. The colonists who founded the settlement in "The Masterpiece Society" certainly held such a view, though without augments and possibly without geneering.

No, they definitely did use genetic engineering. That's explicitly stated in the episode. Heck, their name was "the Genome Colony." And they were essentially Augments, even if the term wasn't used (after all, the term wasn't used in "Space Seed" or TWOK either). "Augment" is just shorthand for "genetically augmented human."

 

[EmperorKalan]

One can argue that eugenic views on bettering manking were never fully suppressed. The colonists who founded the settlement in "The Masterpiece Society" certainly held such a view, though without augments and possibly without geneering.

No, they definitely did use genetic engineering. That's explicitly stated in the episode. Heck, their name was "the Genome Colony." And they were essentially Augments, even if the term wasn't used (after all, the term wasn't used in "Space Seed" or TWOK either). "Augment" is just shorthand for "genetically augmented human."

OK, I forgot the specifics. They've genetically engineered themselves, but they can't be capital-A Augments (in the sense that term implies capabilities or performance markedly above the human baseline, such as with Khan, Aril Soong's "children", or Bashir). There was no concern in bringing the unsatisfied of the Genome Colony back to the Federation beyond the stresses it would create for those remaining in the GC.

Genome's tinkering was in terms of enhancing the harmony and functioning of the group as a whole, rather than the independent enhancing of each individual (thus throwing things out of balance when some left on the Enterprise).

 

[foravalon]

I don't see any need to concoct a specific explanation for the minor change in the Tiburonites' appearance.

Neither did I but I always liked the reference to Zora's experiments on the populace - and "Star Trek Star Charts" shows Tiburon a long way from regular UFP space, but close to Klingon territory. And the DS9 Tiburonian has a crest of bone rather like other Klingons. So it was worth a shot.

There's really no need to concoct explanations for anything, such as the apparent need felt by some to retcon a justification for the canonical presentation of the Darwin research facility. But it is a valid and inventive exercise in creativity and it serves, in my opinion, to enrich the greater narrative. Some may find these types of attempts hackneyed or trite. But in the case of something like Therin's idea, one which adds an interesting dimension to the race while remaining perfectly within the confines of the presented canon, I think it is something to embrace rather than dismiss or discourage.

There's no need to explain why some Tellarites have three digits and some have five, it's enough that they do and leave it at that. But if someone came up with a creative and intelligent idea to explore why this is the case, I'd be interested in hearing it.