Arik Soong

Dr. Arik Soong is a fictional geneticist and later cyberneticist, portrayed by Brent Spiner on '. Soong appeared in a three-episode story arc consisting of "Borderland", "Cold Station 12", and "The Augments".

Related Topics:
Fictional - Geneticist - Cyberneticist - Brent Spiner - Story arc - Borderland - Cold Station 12 - The Augments

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Dr. Arik Soong is a criminal mastermind and follows the mad scientist archetype. 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.

Related Topics:
Mad scientist - Starfleet Medical - Cold Station 12 - Genetically enhanced - Augment - Embryo - Eugenics Wars - Starfleet

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Dr. Soong has a disagreeable personality. He likes to taunt or mock others, making fun of their situations. He is capable of showing great affection or even love towards his creations.

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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. The dialogue of these debates include Soong trying to prove that genetic engineering should be used to benefit humanity. Of course, his claims are compared to the suffering caused by genetic engineering during the Eugenics Wars which was the cause of about 30 million deaths. Consequently, the survivors of the Eugenics Wars banned genetic engineering on humans and viewed using this technology to improve humanity as taboo. Soong does acknowledge the reality of the Eugenics Wars and tries to prove genetic engineering is not inherently evil. He does attempt to strike a chord with Jonathan Archer by mentioning his father's affliction with Clarke's Disease saying that the technology could have cured him and spared him from years of suffering.

Related Topics:
Jonathan Archer - Phlox

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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.

Related Topics:
Cyberneticist - Dr. Noonien Soong - Data - Lore - B-4

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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.

Related Topics:
Klingon - Bird-of-prey - Enterprise - Cold Station 12

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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.

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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.

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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. Especially 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.

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