Captain’s Log, Stardate 961132.0108
The Hunted
In this episode a prisoner from the Lunar V detention center escapes in a transport ship,
killing three people in the process. The Prisoner is Roga Danar, a veteran of the Tarsian war. He
and his comrades were genetically modified to become the ultimate soldier. Because of the
modifications, the soldiers have the instinct to survive at all cost, even if it means killing others.
After Roga escapes he alludes the Enterprise until he is eventually captured. Counselor Troy
becomes interested in the prisoner after she senses he is in pain. She then tries to learn more
about his condition, finding that he is actually a nonviolent person by nature, but has the ability
to preform violent acts if he feels as though he is in danger. After multiple conflicts Roga finds
himself at the capital of Angosia supported by fellow veterans. At this point the Prime Minister of
Angosia has the option to try to forcibly return the former soldiers to the prison or accept them
back into Angosian society, accepting that they have the capability to be peaceful.
This episode explores the concept of genetically modifying people for specific tasks. It
shows the consequences of these actions on a personal level to allow the viewer to understand the
issue from a different perspective. To give the viewers this perspective, the writers make you
empathize with Roga. Do you think humans will create genetically modified soldiers and what do
you think the best way to reintegrate them into society would be in the future?
I think that making GM-Soldiers (Genetically Modified Soldiers) would be a bad idea in the first place, but when you genetically modify them, you should tell them the possible outcomes of becoming a GM-Soldier. Also, if you wanted to give them somewhere to go, you could give them the options of A: Honorable Death B: Living in exile C: Reintegrating slowly into society.
ReplyDeleteTo answer the question, I do not believe that genetic modification of soldiers has any place in human society for a long time. Some kinds of therapy are possible already, such as the use of stem cells to repair damage to the body, but that is not genetic modification as it was discussed in the episode. Human culture has too strong a sense of human rights to be okay with the creation of intelligent individuals simply for the purpose of war. Current trends suggest that robots and drones will be staples of future combat, as they are not intelligent (Barring any forays into AI) and can thus be scrapped or easily repurposed without ethical concerns.
ReplyDeleteI think that genetically modified soldiers could possibly be created in the future, but not the same kind of soldier that Danar was. If they were, probably the best solution to reintegrate them would be undoing the genetic modification to the best of their abilities, and possibly counseling.
ReplyDeleteI think it is very possible for Humans to feel driven to do such a thing, should they face another large scale war when they have the proper technology because people tend to make decisions they wouldn't in peace when at war. Though now the general opinion is that engineering people for such a specialized purpose is wrong, morals are frequently compromised when safety is at risk.
ReplyDeleteReintegrating them into society would be very difficult because of programing and psychological states caused by fighting. It may prove to be impossible but if we could find a way to counterbalance adrenaline, testosterone, and other hormones blown out of proportion for the creation of a super soldier it could be possible. They should of course have easy access to the necessary therapy and treatment.
If humans create genetically modified soldiers, there has advantage and disadvantage. The advantage is these kind of soldiers will very good in the war, but the disadvantage is that it is difficult to bring them in the normal society.
ReplyDeleteI think that eventually humans will develop genetically modified people because there countless possibilities with the evolution of humankind that call for the use of superhumans, be it war, labor or science. Each different task could call for a different alteration in which normal humans could not accomplish themselves. As for integrating them into normal society, it would not be necessary because while genetically modified humans would be developed for specialized tasks, there would also need to be consumers and normal humans to keep the economy fluid and other tasks in which only normal humans are useful for.
ReplyDeleteI have always been interested in genetic modification and engineering and artificial intelligence. This episode gave us a view into the minds of people such as Roga, genetically modified without his consent, sent off to war, and then put in a prison because of the "dangerous" genes. I feel that in order to best reintegrate these soldiers into society, the modifications must be wholly or partially undone, suppressed, or done in such a way that the subjects would not be a "danger" to society. Tests should have been done on willing subjects, and proven to be reversible or safe, before doing them on WILLING soldiers who volunteered, and undone at the end of the war. Roga is mostly, if not entirely, right in his anger, and certainly his feeling of unfairness.
ReplyDeleteI think people need to accommodate them, respecting their choice. Don't hurt them. They have lots of benefits for society. They will make contribution to society. Probably they will be friend with all people
ReplyDeleteI believe that Humans will try to, somewhere in the near future, create artificial humans. I think that the best way to reintegrate said humans into society would be to give them a choice of what they wanted to do depending whether they felt they could successfully join society without any problems.
ReplyDeleteIn the end of the episode Captain Picard asks the Prime Minister Angosia if there is any way to reverse the effects of the modifications. The problem with reintegration would likely be that many of the enhanced soldiers would suffer from the psychological damage from the war. Although It may be an advantage, genetic modifications can have unforeseen consequences and should not be risked.
ReplyDelete