Ghosts of History- Augmentation and the Eugenics Wars in Star Trek
(Also available on my substack!)
From the start augmentation has been connected to eugenics, and therefore has been a criticism of white supremacy. However, it has also from the start been given a brown face; therefore augmentation represents the fear of brown people given justification. On some level, the horror of augmentation is "what if brown people acted like we do? What if our problems spilled out and caused them to be even better at our games of destruction than us?" Augmentation is implied to have started in this US, as were The Eugenics Wars (having started as "the Second Civil War" before the conflict spread to other countries).
The association, while grossly mishandled in Trek's canon, isn't entirely unfounded. Ethnic and religious chauvinist movements have occurred in Africa and Asia for centuries before European colonialism, and supremacist ideologies have as well. Existing ethnic divides (sometimes stemming from non-European colonialism) were often used by colonizers to cause further conflict by exacerbating existing problems, and the aftermath has, as of yet, never been resolved. The wrongs committed have never been righted, and colonial meddling makes talking about the rights and grievances of minorities taboo in some cases.
Racial supremacist ideologies have also been adopted by some non-white people- there's a joke that a significant amount of anonymous white supremacist accounts online are secretly run by brown men, and it unfortunately is based on a real phenomenon.¹ Something I am very familiar with is how non-Black "North Africans" have attempted to gain global prestige by rejecting a connection to Africa- downplaying their connection to the desert, to the rural, and to darker skin. I have seen too many social media posts claiming random white blonds and gingers are "true representatives" of Mediterranean Africa when they don't even fully represent Mediterranean Europe. Existing issues have allowed people to co-opt bigoted ideologies of white origin- and unfortunately, in some countries, this has included eugenics.
Enterprise implies that a significant amount of augments were "designer babies", human embryos modified before birth for desired traits. This phenomenon is one we deal with today, and it is reserved for the wealthy, and commonly defended by and performed in white countries. Deep Space Nine (DS9) furthers this, adding that augmentation as of the 24th century could even be done on children outside the womb, but ultimately for the same purpose. However, Enterprise (ENT) and The Original Series (TOS) imply augmentation is usually "successful", while DS9 implies it isn't.
The augments we see in the former two shows are fully "supermen" convinced of their superiority. They are portrayed as aggressive liars and manipulators, who may use sexuality as a weapon. On a metatextual level, I would note that many autistic people struggle with emotional regulation, as do other neurotypes, disorders, and disabilities. This can lead to anger issues, violent urges, and outbursts. While autistic people are stereotyped as truthful, we are sometimes known to have behavioral issues that are perceived as manipulative (this is especially true of low support needs autistics).² Plenty of other neurotypes may have similar behavioral issues. This is distinct from the “genetic personality” that is assigned to augments, as the presentation of emotional dysregulation varies. But if we deconstruct the metanarrative… then are augments really “perfect supermen”, cured of all disabilities and “abnormalities”? The Machiavellian personality Star Trek uses for augments is, itself, pathologized and linked to various disorders.³ My point here is that if we don't accept that augments are “supermen”, then the implication is that eugenics really doesn't work. Not even in advanced sci-fi. This reading still isn't unproblematic, but it's one to keep in mind.
In Deep Space Nine, however, the main augment we meet is still very readily identifiable as probably being autistic. No active metatextual deconstruction required. Julian sometimes struggles to understand socially appropriate behaviors, or outright ignores them (many autistics will tell you they understand this or that, but don’t respect it or understand why people do it), is morally stubborn, and has special interests. Further, he possibly was intellectually disabled as a child, with augmentation being done to “fix” him. While I read Julian as still autistic, some people take the fact that he’s augmented to mean that he isn't anymore. The other augments we meet in DS9 are also mostly, high support needs disabled people that live in an institution. The only one that isn't is Lauren, who seems to have lower support needs. However, she has a high sex drive, which is notable as women have been sterilized by eugenicists specifically for having high sex drives. Especially if they were deemed “imbeciles”.⁴
Sarina eventually is able to leave the Institute, due to Julian treating her for her medical issues and making her support needs lower. This choice is controversial, but I don't personally think treatment lowering Sarina's support needs is the same as “curing” her, though I don't especially like it because the nuance is certainly not carried through the show. With that lack of nuance around cures vs mitigated support needs, the nuanced feelings around how different support needs are treated intercommunally is also gone. You can examine it on a metatextual level, but odds are you'll only do it if you're “in the know” because it's not in the episode.
As Julian's experiences match up with designer baby trauma, this overlaps with the experiences of trans people and intersex people. One of the most famous designer babies to speak out against their parents is Elon Musk's daughter, Vivian. Her defiance of his desire for his kids to fit a specific, biologically determined role by being transgender is a driving factor in why he's now a public, rabid Nazi. Designer babies struggle with high expectations placed on them, parents treating them like an object they own rather than a person, feeling like science experiments, controlling families, and a lack of support. The "designer baby" scheme also doesn't really work out, as many designer babies are autistic, were born pre-term and disabled, or inherited issues from biological parents anyway. Despite designer babies not existing when Deep Space Nine aired, the show predicted a lot of the social and psychological struggles they experience through Julian's character, as well as predicting the failure of such procedures to achieve desired results.⁵
A thorny area to acknowledge within this is also that people can be negatively impacted by eugenics while adopting it's ideology. Elon Musk is (allegedly) autistic. However, he is also a eugenicist that does Nazi salutes. Unfortunately, he's not a solitary figure. Many autistics with low support needs are chauvinistic and demeaning towards those with medium and high support needs. Some of these people continue to identify as having Aspergers (fittingly, a diagnosis named after a Nazi that separated the “good” autistics from the “needs to die” autistics), and call themselves “aspies”. Aspergers was retired as a diagnosis before I was diagnosed almost a decade ago, and is outdated terminology to say the least.⁴
However, these behaviors aren't neatly cordoned off to just self identified aspies, though they are strongly associated with them. Even autistics who aren't actively eugenicists often have shitty beliefs regarding people with high support needs. Sometimes people also state things like “aspies/autistics are the next stage in human evolution!” and aggressively deny that they are in any way disabled. I have personally been told, “autism is disabling, Aspergers isn't”, with the implication that disability was bad. What I'm getting at here is that the implication in Deep Space Nine that many augments are still disabled or neurodivergent is not as incompatible with augments still believing in eugenics as you'd expect. Further, there are various mystical and pseudoscientific nonsense beliefs spread- we don't have augments in our world, but we do have “starseeds”, “energy workers”, “rainbow/crystal/indigo children”, and so on. These may be accompanied by anti-medicine beliefs.⁴
There is also something to the pattern alphacanon (the shows and films in the Trek universe) implies for the spread of the Eugenics Wars. In terms of real life issues, terrorist organizations in the Global South have often started as being funded, armed and/or trained partially by the US, before eventually turning on them and becoming pariahs (this phenomenon is called “blowback”).⁶ Further, their extremist ideologies were also created by the US or encouraged by the US. Like the Eugenics Wars, there is a sense in which "terrorism" is something that started as an American problem and spread outwards. It is notable that after a much more humanizing portrayal of augments in Deep Space Nine, Enterprise- as a post 9/11 entry to canon, and therefore jingoistic and sensitive to the topic of terrorism- returns to the origin of augments in Trek. Particularly, it makes them inherently villainous due to biological impacts on their personality.
This idea, of a genetically determined personality, is ironically, a eugenicist one. Especially when the personality traits in question are things such as morality (those deemed immoral, criminal, sexually perverse, and so on were sterilized in the US).⁴ It is also an idea that Deep Space Nine loudly rejected. Furthermore, it's a lazy and boring way of creating an antagonist. It is much more likely that many augments were indoctrinated into a specific ideology. Enterprise, however, refutes this, and generally refutes DS9's refutation of "genetic personality". When Arik Soong tries to raise augments to not be like Khan, he fails because that is "in their nature". Ignored is the fact that Soong believes in at least some eugenic ideas, such as augments being the next step in the evolution of humanity. All augments, ENT argues, need to be hunted down and killed. ENT also tied the Eugenics Wars to the Global South, with Archer mentioning his great grandfather fighting in "North Africa" against augments. During the 90s. The Sahelo-Saharan region has, in recent decades, struggled with religious extremist violence. Even though Enterprise's main augment is white, he's still named Malik, which means "king" or "owner" in Arabic. This tie is not new, as on top of Khan being Khan, TOS states that Khan ruled over a large swathe of Asia nearly equal to a quarter of the planet.
Of course, the connections to the War on Terror didn't exist when TOS, TNG, DS9, or VOY were made. During DS9's run, a terrorist could still be a hero- so long as they didn't get too in your face about the fact that they were inspired by Palestine when writing her culture. However, it does end up fitting in hindsight, especially when coupled with the series that was influenced by the War on Terror. Because of the racial implications of augmentation, augments such as Julian face a constant pressure to be one of the good ones. "For every Julian Bashir that can be created, there’s a Khan Singh waiting in the wings". Julian is told to his face that he's an "exception" in a later episode.
The current alphacanon (shows and films) stance on the origin of augmentation directly ties it to the Cold War, and accidentally ties it to Nazism. Currently, it began in the 1950s with scientists (implied to be in America) started trying to create supermen that would "lead Humanity into an era of peace in a world that had only known war". If you know your WW2 history, you will immediately recognize this is an ubermensch. You may also recognize that in the 1950s, a lot of Nazi scientists were running around America thanks to Operation Paperclip. The implication from the information we have indicates this ideology spread outwards.
While I don't know of as many eugenics movements in the Global South, I do know that Westerners have promoted some degree of negative eugenics via fears about overpopulation. This fear has lead to Westerners educating women in Asia and Africa about birth control (good) because they don't want there to be "too many" Asians or Africans (bad). Population control efforts using birth control started in India in the 1950s, and in the decades afterwards, were aggressively pushed by other countries controlling million dollar loans and food aid. These efforts did often target lower income families, and in the 70s people of low socioeconomic status were sometimes picked up off the street or rounded up in their villages by police to be sterilized. Religious tensions with the Muslim minority also came into play, with Muslims being suspicious of the genocidal implications of this tactic. During the 1970s, over 18 million sterilizations were done. To achieve such numbers, operations were often poorly done, unhygienic, and lacked follow up care. Thousands died as a result.⁷
While the fear of overpopulation targeting Africa and Asia is justified by pointing out differences in fertility rates, the actual issues said to be caused by overpopulation (carbon emissions, for example) are overwhelmingly caused by white, Western countries. The issue "overpopulation" is worried about is not actually carbon emissions. It's worried about white people being too outnumbered.⁸ Eugenic ideology has not been fully adopted in the Global South, but it is rising, especially in connection with fascist movements such as Hinduvta. In fact, some Indians associated with the RSS (the overall organization Nahendra Modi is associated with) have publicly promoted the idea of designer babies, though in a less high tech and more accessible form.⁹ Subtler forms of eugenics are also promoted, occasionally in slogans such as "tashin al nasal" (Egyptian Arabic for "improve the race"), a sentiment which is linked to violent racial nationalism in Mediterranean Africa, and partly responsible for why I try to no longer use the terms "North" and "Sub-Saharan" to describe Africa. The Earth that Starfleet presents seems to be one wherein not only did we have far more advanced technology during the 1950s, but also where the eugenic ideals the West exported to the Global South focused very strongly on positive eugenics (trying to encourage certain behaviors rather than trying to limit negative ones, though both are often done simultaneously).⁴
Puzzling is the fact that Khan is an augment, and one of the most notable and powerful. Khan is explicitly mentioned to be a Sikh in his first appearance. Sikhs are an ethnoreligious minority in India (which is a Hindu majority country), but are the majority in the region of Punjab. Post-colonial Indian politics, especially recently, have been dominated by religious, caste, and ethnic chauvinism and supremacy, in favor of high caste Hindus (from the Northern regions).¹⁰ Said people are also the ones, to my understanding, who would be more likely to adopt ideologies such as eugenics. In fact, two decades after Star Trek introduced Khan, Sikh civilians were killed by the Indian government and subjected to genocide.¹¹ As before mentioned, eugenic programs in India are typically associated with Hindu supremacy. The fact that Khan is an augment is puzzling (though not impossible) due to the socioeconomic struggles of that community.
The Eugenics Wars did not present a united front of augments vs non-augments. From canon alone, we know augments fought with each other as well as fighting against non-augmented humans. There is also the possibility that some augments fought as allies with non-augments. Further, while the Federation is against augmentation, it is not against ableism. The idea of "self improvement and self enrichment", first espoused in TNG, has the unspoken conclusion that if you can't achieve, you're worthless. Being mediocre is a failure, and this is part of what drove the Bashir parents to break the laws around augmentation. As Worf states "...parents would feel pressured to have their children enhanced so that they could keep up".
This observation isn't entirely original. In a “Trek, Actually” video by Steven Shives, he points out that Federation society, or at least some Federationers, are implied to be bigoted towards those with disabilities, and that being disabled or having a disabled child may still be a source of shame. In a comment (that I don't fully agree with) by lunatickoala on this video, they also point out "...If you have a society where people are told pretty much from birth that a person's job, their goal in life is to better themselves, you can damn well sure that people are going to be judged on how much they've "bettered themselves". And in the absence of capital capital, social capital becomes the only capital. People with power and influence will use that power and influence to ensure that their kids get into the best schools... In such a society, having a learning disability would be like having a physical disability in Klingon society..."¹²
Further, we see that disabilities such as dyslexia, dyscalculia, and dyspraxia (seen in Spock in Discovery) are still stigmatized as of the 23rd century. Spock, in turn, during TOS undermines Pike's autonomy as a disabled person and his wishes not to go to Talos. Pike's disability is also portrayed primarily as an object of horror and discomfort. People who are paralyzed and disfigured still have lives they enjoy. Mental illness is also portrayed with varying quality. PTSD is often handled well, but many other characters with other issues aren't. Garak, one of my favorites, is in a weird in-between area for me. His claustrophobia is treated well, possibly because it's caused by trauma and therefore is similar to PTSD, and this is also true for his addiction. However, Garak’s writing often makes him come off as generally… with some screws loose. I don't dislike this portrayal, but it's complicated because Garak is a murderer, slowly deprogramming fascist, and generally what one might term “bad representation”. Frankly my main issue is that he's the only character on Deep Space Nine portrayed as his flavor of mentally ill. Many characters on Deep Space Nine have mental issues, but they are ones that Star Trek already handles well or portrays in specific terms that are more palatable.
While some disabilities, such as blind people, are not particularly stigmatized, this is in part because assistive technology has advanced to the point where blind people can "see". In TNG Geordi defends himself to a person from a eugenicist colony based on his ability to "contribute". While an important episode, it does not actually fully refute ableism because of the attention given to "contribution". Disabled people deserve to live even if they can't contribute anything, because disabled people are human beings who can be happy and enjoy the lives they do lead.
Notably, while Julian's initial fascination with Melora is pointed out as inspiration porn in another Trek, Actually video,¹³ it goes beyond an abled person being weird to a disabled person because I do think Julian is still autistic. His fascination with Melora's refusal to accept help or "special treatment" reads as being influenced by his own upbringing, where, after being augmented, he was likely taught that asking for help was shameful or inappropriate. When he calls her extraordinary, it's still demeaning and he is still being ableist, but it has the added layer that he has almost certainly internalized that that's what he's supposed to do. Similarly, Julian tries to help Melora with her disability for her work as an expression of his belief that he can “fix” people… which is what his parents did to him (also not an original observation from me). This video also has pretty good criticisms of how this episode focuses more on Julian's thoughts and feelings than Melora's.
While I hope this article leads to a better and more developed understanding of this issue and it’s real life ramifications, the tension we noted at the beginning remains. Augments and the Eugenics Wars are a statement against white supremacy and ableism, though one that falls short. They also serve as a vehicle for fears regarding Brown people, especially in TOS and ENT. As a concept, it is not internally consistent due to these two forces.
Sources and Further Reading:
“Many Indian trolls wrote me hate mails defending white supremacists” by Chandrima Banerjee
All About Autistic Meltdowns: A Guide For Allies from Reframing Autism, and Manipulation – Does It Occur in Autism? from Autism Awareness Center
Machiavellianism from Wikipedia. Note that this is considered a “dark triad” trait, a term that immediately invokes a sense of foreboding. While not a disorder itself, it is discussed in similar terms to the way people colloquially discuss disorders.
“Aspie Supremacy”- A Deep Dive by Ember Green.
Designer Babies Are Teenagers Now—and Some of Them Need Therapy Because of It by Emi Nietfeld
Go to United States and state-sponsored terrorism on Wikipedia and feel your brain melt! This isn’t even all the examples I would give; for example, this page does not cover Operation Cyclone. Whose Monster? A Study in the Rise to Power of al Qaeda and the Taliban by Nicholas Kotarski does discuss this, as well as other factors in the forming of al Qaeda.
India: “The Emergency” and the Politics of Mass Sterilization by Prajakta R. Gupte
The Overpopulation Myth and its Dangerous Connotations By Brittney Bush Bollay
India's far-right is trying to make India great again through eugenics by Jyoti Malhotra
The Growing North-South Divide in India by Sehr Rushmeen
It’s Time India Accept Responsibility for Its 1984 Sikh Genocide by Simran Jeet Singh
Trek, Actually, “What the Bashir Family Tells Us About Ableism in Star Trek” by Steven Shives
Trek, Actually, “How Star Trek Actually Deals (And Doesn’t Deal) With Disability” by Steven Shives
Specific Trek Episodes: Star Trek: The Original Series, "Space Seed”. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, “Dr. Bashir, I Presume?”. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, “Statistical Probabilities”. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, “Chrysalis”. Star Trek: Enterprise, “Hatchery”. Star Trek: Enterprise, “Borderland”. Star Trek: Enterprise, “Cold Station 12”. Star Trek: Enterprise, “The Augments”. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, “Strange New Worlds”. The lore about the 50s is from Star Trek: Into Darkness.
