Unnatural Selection Eugenic Augments

[MatthiasRussell]

In TNG: Unnatural Selection the doctors at Darwin station are creating genetically superior children with telekinesis and a highly proactive immune system.

Why weren't these scientists more highly censored or even arrested like Soong and Bashir's father? They were manipulating the human genome into beings more powerful and dangerous than Khan's kind but Picard and company don't care and even help the scientists.

Would we expect the children in this episode to be revolutionaries/terrorists like Khan, Malik, and their augments?

 

[spooky spice]

Can't remember the episode, but a wild ass guess would be that they were hiding what they were doing to prevent being arrested/stopped...?

 

[Timo]

Or then they simply had a government license for their project.

Richard Bashir was arrested for secretly using an illegal doctor to boost his son's abilities; it seems clear he had no legal channels by which to proceed, but that doesn't mean some other father in some other circumstances couldn't have gotten his son genetically resequenced in a legally acceptable manner. And even if that isn't possible... Well, there's nothing unusual about an arrangement where the government reserves the exclusive right to do something, such as gun down people they don't like.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[MatthiasRussell]

As I understand it, all eugenics are outlawed in the federation. Restorative genetic manipulation is okay but improvements are not.

The station wasn't operating in secret since it was supplied by starfleet and they openly shared their research with the Enterprise crew.

It is a shame this story wasn't followed up on to show all augments aren't evil, but Bashir well illustrated that point.

 

[brian577]

Perhaps there was a re-surge of interest in genetic engineering in the 24th century but after the disaster at the outpost it was decided the risks didn't outweigh the benefits?

 

[Timo]

Or perhaps the government is forced to constantly experiment to keep up with the potential evildoers?

The Darwin Station research seemed to be the exact same sort that had produced Khan: an attempt to engineer a generically improved breed of humans, simply in order to see how much could be done, rather than in order to overcome a specific threat or obstacle to human(oid) happiness. The government couldn't be more at odds with its own laws there. But that doesn't need to mean (back-and-forth) changes in those laws: it can simply mean that the government was doing "preemptive crimes" to protect the innocent from future wrongdoing.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Admiral Shran]

It could be that the laws against genetic engineering were always on the books, but that by the 24th century enforcement of those laws had become lax.

If that is the case, the scientists at Darwin Station could have felt they could safely conduct their experiments without fear of reprisal from the government. It could also mean that the government had become so lax that they themselves were willing to look the other way while they knew that the experiments were conducted.

Then, given the results of Unnatural Selection, the government decided to start enforcing those the laws more stringently thereafter, which lead to the Bashir family's troubles on DS9.

After all, even in Doctor Bashir, I Presume, we see that the Federation is willing to be lenient with people who engage in genetic engineering. They could have come down hard on Richard Bashir, but instead were willing to make a deal with him that allowed Julian to remain in Starfleet and only sentenced him to two years imprisonment.

 

[Timo]

It's a possible explanation, but it goes a bit against the spirit of the episode. Not that this would necessarily be a bad thing, tho.

Darwin did get supplied by a Starfleet vessel that did not appear "clandestine" in any way. Data on Darwin was freely available to Picard's heroes. It's even named "Darwin Genetic Research Station"!

On the other hand, Picard expresses these sentiments before knowing much about the crisis:

"The mere thought of a possible connection between the Lantree tragedy and a genetic research facility fills me with profound apprehension."

Why? Does he instinctively hate and fear genetic engineering? Is that a common human trait at the time? Is he convinced that an exceptional liberty given to Darwin has now expectedly backfired, and the leniency is to blame?

When our heroes arrive at Darwin, Pulaski aslo wields an accusation:

"Doctor, we understand that Darwin Station is involved in genetic research. Is there a possible connection?"

Both Picard and Pulaski are rational and open-minded people who see science and technology in a positive light, but both of them treat genetic research with apparent apprehension.

Then again, the response from Darwin is curious:

"Our research here is limited to human genetics."

This is supposed to alleviate the worries of our heroes! Clearly, Doctor Kingsley herself does not feel there's anything wrong with her line of work. And neither Picard nor Pulaski is surprised by this revelation, nor do they consider it the confirmation of their worst nightmares.

Also, at the conclusion of the adventure, despite all that has gone wrong, Picard hopes the research will continue and help both the Augments and their creators.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Herbert1]

TNG: "Unnatural Selection" clearly contradicts what was later stated about the Federation's policy toward genetic engineering and eugenics in three different Star Trek series (ENT: "The Augments", DS9: "Doctor Bashir, I Presume"; and TNG: "A Matter of Time."

I was thinking that Darwin Genetic Research Station was granted an exemption from Federation laws banning eugenics, but I don't find this explanation satisfactory.

The "children" created by Darwin Genetic Research Station possess advanced immune systems, telepathy, telekinesis, and accelerated growth and maturity. Which makes me believe that they might be as strong, or stronger, than the 20th century augments. Certainly they are superior to normal 24th century human beings. If we are to believe that the Federation is worried about another Khan Singh waiting in the wings, then they would never have approved this research and would have arrested and prosecuted those who engaged in this research.

Perhaps these "children" were genetically engineered to be more docile, gentle, or have inferior ambition than the 20th century augments. Or these augments would never be introduced to Federation society and live in seclusion from the general population never competing with normals. But I believe that these modification or plans to keep the augments isolated would have been ethically unacceptable to Captain Jean-Luc Picard.

I believe that any in-universe explanation that we might devise will be found lacking based on information presented in later episodes.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Perhaps Darwin Station was a front for Section 31.

 

[Hartzilla2007]

On the other hand, Picard expresses these sentiments before knowing much about the crisis:

"The mere thought of a possible connection between the Lantree tragedy and a genetic research facility fills me with profound apprehension."

Why? Does he instinctively hate and fear genetic engineering? Is that a common human trait at the time? Is he convinced that an exceptional liberty given to Darwin has now expectedly backfired, and the leniency is to blame?

When our heroes arrive at Darwin, Pulaski aslo wields an accusation:

"Doctor, we understand that Darwin Station is involved in genetic research. Is there a possible connection?"

Both Picard and Pulaski are rational and open-minded people who see science and technology in a positive light, but both of them treat genetic research with apparent apprehension.

I figure it was just them being worried that something when very very wrong at the station and possible made some doomsday virus or something.

 

[Timo]

That's probably what the writers intended, yes. But in the broader context of "creating supermen is a capital crime", these details could be interpreted differently. Indeed, one would think the opposite would be true: manufacturing of all sorts of genetical weirdness would be commonplace in the 24th century, as shown in so many episodes of TNG, and only the application of that technology to humans would raise eyebrows.

Funny how Pulaski would worry about genetic research, when she herself appears to do it all the time...

Timo Saloniemi