A History Of Star Trek's Eugenics Wars And Why They Are Important In 'Strange New Worlds'
Image Source: ihatestartrek.com
Space. The Final Frontier. Within the trials and battles in the lore of Star Trek, one of these battles is what would become the Eugenics War. First, a collection of conflicts, the Eugenics Wars, were fought on Earth for four years (1992-1996) and devastated parts of Earth. In its wake, some thirty million to tens of millions of people were killed, and Earth was nearly plunged into a new Dark Age. All the destruction was made to “improve the [human] species” through selective breeding and genetic manipulation. Such darkness within the ‘Star Trek’ timeline created a domino effect of banning genetic engineering and prejudice against Augments.
Within Strange New Worlds, events from the prequel series set the expectation of laying a strong foundation for the events and adventures in which the future Captain Kirk would get involved. From what can be gathered through scarce records, the start of the Eugenics Wars lies “in a group of Human scientists' ambitious attempt to improve the race through selective breeding and genetic engineering.” This use of science created a race of "supermen" known as the Augments, who were “mentally and physically superior to ordinary men and women.” According to Memory Alpha, Augments were “five times stronger than the average person, their lung efficiency was fifty percent better than normal, and their intelligence was double that of normal Humans.” Despite being created to aid Humans through the Cold War, like many with superhuman abilities and intelligence, Augments began to rise in power.
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Once in power, Augments’ personalities (overlooked by their creators) and their awareness of their superiority in comparison to their Human counterparts created “superior ambition.” This resulted in an Augment killing one of the principal creators of her race. Another flaw scientists overlooked would be the Human heart’s “inclination toward evil.” The Augment who best exemplified this was the infamous Khan Noonien Singh.
A dictator in his own right, during Khan’s rule there was no bloodshed. Kirk would refer to him as “the best of the tyrants.” However, it is unknown whether his fellow augments overthrew him, they went to war against themselves, or if Humans eventually rose back into power. All that is known is Augments were “disposed” of by Humans and escaped a death sentence by boarding the SS Botany Bay.
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Even after the Augments left, the fear of them and other genetically enhanced humans were at the mercy of the legacy past Augments left in their wake. Resurfacing of files resulted in another Eugenics War and the official ban on genetic modifications. At this time, Augment embryos are in cold storage, and some made their way into the hands of the Klingons. The result was a mutation of a highly-contagious virus that caused catastrophic changes in the physical appearance, biological structure, and basic personality traits of the majority of the Klingon race.
As Illyrians were known for using genetic modification within their members, Illyrians were kept from entering service into Starfleet. Eventually, the use of their medical technology became banned within the Federation. Enter the crew of Captain Pike and Kirk before his climb to being captain. In a world where little is forgotten yet much is hidden, Captain Pike and his crew have the potential to unearth more history where another series of events might result in another voyage, more stories, and more opportunities to correct any past mistakes.
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Sources: Memory-Alpha, YouTube
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