Arik Soong
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Arik Soong | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Species: | human |
| Gender: | male |
| Home planet: | Earth |
| Affiliation: | None (formerly Starfleet) |
| Portrayed by: | Brent Spiner |
Dr. Arik Soong is a fictional character, portrayed by Brent Spiner, on Star Trek: Enterprise. Soong appeared in a three-episode story arc consisting of "Borderland", "Cold Station 12", and "The Augments".
Dr. Arik Soong is a criminal mastermind. While director of the Starfleet Medical facility Cold Station 12, he stole nineteen genetically enhanced "Augment" embryos placed in stasis after the end of the Eugenics Wars. He took the embryos to a remote and secluded planet, where he raised them and taught them they were gifted and superior. Starfleet caught up with Soong when he was off on a side trip, and imprisoned him ten years after the theft, leaving the Augments stranded on the remote planet with just his teachings and the physical necessities for survival. As they grew up alone, they became violently committed to the formation of a genetically engineered race of superhumans, believing themselves to be the future of humanity.
Dr. Soong believes genetic engineering is a panacea to humanity's problems. As a result, he questions humanity's abandonment of genetic engineering in his "lively" debates with Jonathan Archer and Phlox. Although he laments the deaths of thirty million humans during the Eugenics Wars, he believes the earth government and the main characters in the story are simply using the Wars as an excuse for their irrational phobias of genetic engineering. He maintains that he himself and humanity in general have learned the lessons of the Eugenics Wars and should not continue to hide behind those events when there is progress to be made now that the technology has matured and is much more practicable.
He is also the great-grandfather of the 24th Century cyberneticist Dr. Noonien Soong who created the androids Data, Lore, and B-4. All five characters were played by Spiner.
Twenty years after the theft, and 10 years into Soong's prison sentence, Soong's "Augments" steal a Klingon Bird-of-prey. Enterprise is tasked with finding them to avert a war with the Klingons, and takes Soong along to make the search easier. The Augments free Soong from the Enterprise brig and proceed to Cold Station 12, a Starfleet and Denobulan run medical facility where the remaining 1,800 genetically-enhanced embryos are stored.
Soong finds, to his dismay, that his Augments have taken his teachings to an extreme, and he escapes from the Bird-of-prey in order to help Enterprise stop them from starting a war with the Klingons.
Ultimately failing to prove that 'improved' humans could peacefully co-exist with the rest of the galaxy, upon returning to prison, Arik Soong admits that perfecting humanity may not be possible. He vows to find 'perfection' by creating artificial life, noting that he might not finish in his lifetime, and that it might take "a generation or two", a vision apparently passed on to his progeny, specifically Noonien Soong, established to be his great-grandson. This phrase is also an obvious acknowledgement of the manifestation of said vow in the form of Data in a series titled "The Next Generation."
The story ends on a positive note, leaving the viewers to think that it is likely that Soong was released from prison sometime before his death; this point is especially positive considering that the story gave little indication that Soong had yet fathered any descendants at that point. It also leaves enough "open" ends to permit an eventual return of the character in subsequent episodes. The series ended, though, before this could happen.
[edit] Quotes
- Archer: "Genetic engineering has caused a lot of suffering."
- Soong: "So did splitting the atom. Yet the first ships to colonize the solar system were nuclear powered. But you didn't come to discuss that."
- Phlox: "You attempted to improve your own species. The last time that was attempted on Earth the product was thirty million deaths!"
- Soong: "We can't let past mistakes hold us back."
- Phlox: "It's your duty as a scientist to learn from past mistakes."
- Soong: "What makes you think I haven't?"
- Phlox: "(scornfully) I can read."
[edit] External links
- Arik Soong article at Memory Alpha, a Star Trek wiki.
