After DS9 and Bashir, Star Trek gives Augments a brighter future
Star Trek: The Prodigy's End has a breakthrough in how the Federation treats the rights of genetically engineered people with the help of Janeway and Dahl.
Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Prodigy Season 1's Finale - "Supernova, Part 2"
Star Trek: The Prodigy season 1 finale opens up a brighter future for genetically engineered augmentations, continuing Dr. Julian Bashir's (Alexander Siddig) the beginning of. Bashir was found to be genetically modified in DS9 Season 5, and he nearly lost his Starfleet career due to the Federation of the Planets' hard-line ban on enhancements. When Dal R'El (Brett Gray) learns that he is a genetically enhanced human being, the rights of genetically enhanced people become a litmus test in Star Trek: The Prodigy.
As a former crew member of the USS Protostar, Dal shared with his young friends the dream of joining Starfleet. With the high ideals of the Federation in mind, the teenage heroes of the former Starship seek to protect Starfleet from Vau'Nakat's plot to destroy them. Meanwhile, Dal has no idea what species he belongs to until someone discovers that he is the end result of a genetic experiment that fused 26 different humanoid species. Dahl is unique in the universe, but since he was created in a laboratory, the Federation's anti-eugenics policy prevented him from joining Starfleet. Thankfully, Vice Admiral Catherine Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) won't let this injustice to Dal and Augments like him continue.
How Janeway & Dal In Star Trek: Prodigy Gave Augments A Better Future
In the Star Trek: Wizards season 1 finale, Admiral Janeway makes a convincing argument for the Federation to allow Dahl and his friends to join the Starfleet Academy. Janeway's stirring speech states that Dahl, a composite of 26 different species, is a living embodiment of the Federation's galactic ideals of unity and inclusion. It would be a mockery of the faith of the Federation to disenfranchise Dal from other Federation citizens. While the committee didn't admit Protostar's former crew to Starfleet Academy, they allowed the kids to serve as warrant officers under Admiral Janeway - and Dahl was a special exception for his heroic efforts to save Starfleet and the galaxy.
In Janeway's Vice Admiral's Journal, she states that "Dal's exception expands the ambiguous rights of Augments left over from Bashir v. Starfleet Medical." In DS9, Dr. Bashir was allowed to remain in Starfleet, And his father went to jail. While Bashir retained his medical career, the ruling apparently had no larger consequences in terms of augmentation rights. But the original star crew who actually saved Starfleet are harder to ignore, and the Federation The ruling in favor of Dal's rights opens the door to a broader discussion of Augments' freedom. The cascading effects of genetic engineering may be seen in Star Trek: The Prodigy Season 2, as Dal takes on a non-commissioned role on Janeway's new starship.
It's Time The Federation Moved Past Fear Of Khan
The federation's stance against genetic engineering is the result of the eugenics wars of the 1990s and fears of chaos wrought by Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalbán) in the 23rd century. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is dealing with similar issues, as Lieutenant Colonel Una Chin-Riley (Rebecca Romijn) is revealed to be a genetically modified Illyrian and One is arrested by Starfleet for lying. In an open society like the Commonwealth, their denial of enhanced rights is one of the greatest flaws in their patina.
The Federation's acceptance of Dahl in Star Trek: The Prodigy may finally mean a brighter future for Augmented, as Admiral Janeway optimistically hopes. It's not actually known how many Augments there are in the galaxy, but none of them did the damage Khan did. Khan has been dead for a century in the era of Star Trek: Wizards, now is the time The Federation realizes how to incorporate beneficial Augments into society rather than exclude them for fear of creating another Khan-like supervillain.
More: DS9 Predicts Star Trek's New Enhanced Obsession
