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fiat_knoxThe episode where Julian Bashir is revealed to be genetically enhanced is triggering and heartbreaking to me. The scene in the holosuite, for instance:-
RICHARD [Bashir, Julian's Dad]
(measured)
And just so there's no
misunderstanding: I give you my
word that at no time in our
interview with Doctor Zimmerman,
will we ever mention or even hint
at the fact that you were
genetically enhanced as a child.
AMSHA [Bashir, Julian's Mum]
Jules, you can trust us. Your
father and I have kept the secret
of your DNA resequencing for
almost twenty-five years and we're
not going to let it out now.
RICHARD
But I would just add that, despite
what the authorities would like us
to believe, genetic engineering is
nothing to be ashamed of. You're
not any less human than anyone
else. In fact, you're a little
more.
AMSHA
We didn't come here to start
another fight. Let's just... try
to get through this, all right?
But the scene that really guts me is when Julian comes out:-
O'BRIEN
Julian.
(beat)
Zimmerman's about to file a report
saying that Doctor Bashir is not
suitable for computer modeling
because of his suspected...
"genetically enhanced" background.
Do you know what's going to happen
when that report gets back to
Starfleet Medical?
Bashir has nowhere to go, nowhere to run -- the walls
seem to be closing in on him.
BASHIR
They'll... start a formal
investigation... which will lead
to my eventual dismissal from the
service.
O'BRIEN
Then it's true? You're...
BASHIR
The word you're looking for is,
"unnatural." Meaning "not from
nature." "Freak" or "monster" would
also be acceptable.
Bashir can't meet his eyes and sits down heavily on the
couch. The jig is up and there's no running away from
who he is any longer. The words come tumbling out of
Julian -- it's a story he's never told anyone, but
always thought he might, and once he starts, there's a
rushed anxious quality to the tale as if he's glad to
finally say it.
That should sound so familiar to so so many of my friends.
This is doubly triggering to me, because of Julian's explanation:-
BASHIR
I was six. Small for my age. A
bit awkward physically. And...
not very bright. In the first
grade, while the other children
were learning how to read and
write and use a computer... I was
still trying to tell a dog from a
cat and a tree from a house.
(beat)
I didn't really understand what
was happening... I knew that I
wasn't doing as well as my
classmates... there were so many
concepts they took for granted
that I couldn't begin to master...
but I didn't know why. All I knew
was that I was... a great
disappointment to my parents.
(beat)
I'm not sure when they made the
decision, but just before my
seventh birthday we left Earth for
Adigeon Prime.
(beat)
At first, I remember being excited
at seeing all the aliens in the
hospital. But then they gave me
a room... and started the
treatments... and my entire world
began to change...
Bashir trails off, lost in the memories for a moment
until O'Brien gently pulls him back.
O'BRIEN
The treatments? Some kind of DNA
recoding... ?
BASHIR
The technical term is "accelerated
critical neural pathway formation."
Over the course of the next two
months, my genetic structure was
manipulated to accelerate the
growth of neuronal networks in my
cerebral cortex. A new Julian
Bashir was born.
O'BRIEN
In what ways did they... change
you?
BASHIR
My... mental abilities were the
top priority of course -- my IQ
jumped five points a day for over
two weeks. That was followed by
improvements in my hand-eye
coordination, reflexes, vision,
stamina, height, weight -- in the
end everything but my name was
altered in some way.
(beat)
When we returned to Earth, we
moved to a different city, I was
enrolled in a new school using
falsified records my parents
obtained somewhere. And instead
of being the slowest learner... I
was the star pupil.
O'BRIEN
And no one ever suspected.
BASHIR
(bitter smile)
There's no stigma attached to
success, Chief. After the...
treatments, I never looked back.
(beat)
But the truth is... I'm a fraud.
O'Brien chips in:-
O'BRIEN
You're not a fraud. I don't care
what... enhancements your parents
may have had done. Genetic
recoding can't give you ambition or
a personality or compassion or any
of the things that make a person
truly human.
Bashir gets up and moves around the room.
BASHIR
Starfleet Medical won't see it
that way. DNA resequencing for
any reason other than repairing
serious birth defects is illegal.
Any genetically enhanced human
being is barred from serving in
Starfleet or practicing medicine.
...
BASHIR
Oh, I'm sure. When the truth
comes out... I'll be cashiered
from the service. It's that simple.
O'Brien doesn't know what to say... there seems to be
no way out.
This reminds me of the excruciatingly sad SF story "Flowers For Algernon."
For "genetically enhanced" read "bisexual" or "gay."
DADT is alive and well in the 24th century, it would seem.
This is triggering in two ways. You know the part where the innocent, slow child went under the knife and a new Julian Bashir emerged? When Julian described how "Jules Bashir" died in order for this bright, shining Julian Bashir to be born, it reminded me so much of my life - and how I have had to keep both my bisexuality and my own intellect under a bushel for so bloody long because it is so hard having to live with far less capable human beings who, regrettably, hold all the purse strings.
As Gordon Deitrich said in V For Vendetta, "You wear a mask for so long, you forget who you were beneath it."
One ray of hope. Earlier this week, I was at the dentist, and she asked me to fill out the ethnicity section of the form. She said 'You could say "Declined to answer" here. I'm surprised they still need this information. As far as I'm concerned, if I was designing the form, I'd include a "What difference does it make?" bit.'
Now you know why I have little to fear from my dentist. :)
RICHARD [Bashir, Julian's Dad]
(measured)
And just so there's no
misunderstanding: I give you my
word that at no time in our
interview with Doctor Zimmerman,
will we ever mention or even hint
at the fact that you were
genetically enhanced as a child.
AMSHA [Bashir, Julian's Mum]
Jules, you can trust us. Your
father and I have kept the secret
of your DNA resequencing for
almost twenty-five years and we're
not going to let it out now.
RICHARD
But I would just add that, despite
what the authorities would like us
to believe, genetic engineering is
nothing to be ashamed of. You're
not any less human than anyone
else. In fact, you're a little
more.
AMSHA
We didn't come here to start
another fight. Let's just... try
to get through this, all right?
But the scene that really guts me is when Julian comes out:-
O'BRIEN
Julian.
(beat)
Zimmerman's about to file a report
saying that Doctor Bashir is not
suitable for computer modeling
because of his suspected...
"genetically enhanced" background.
Do you know what's going to happen
when that report gets back to
Starfleet Medical?
Bashir has nowhere to go, nowhere to run -- the walls
seem to be closing in on him.
BASHIR
They'll... start a formal
investigation... which will lead
to my eventual dismissal from the
service.
O'BRIEN
Then it's true? You're...
BASHIR
The word you're looking for is,
"unnatural." Meaning "not from
nature." "Freak" or "monster" would
also be acceptable.
Bashir can't meet his eyes and sits down heavily on the
couch. The jig is up and there's no running away from
who he is any longer. The words come tumbling out of
Julian -- it's a story he's never told anyone, but
always thought he might, and once he starts, there's a
rushed anxious quality to the tale as if he's glad to
finally say it.
That should sound so familiar to so so many of my friends.
This is doubly triggering to me, because of Julian's explanation:-
BASHIR
I was six. Small for my age. A
bit awkward physically. And...
not very bright. In the first
grade, while the other children
were learning how to read and
write and use a computer... I was
still trying to tell a dog from a
cat and a tree from a house.
(beat)
I didn't really understand what
was happening... I knew that I
wasn't doing as well as my
classmates... there were so many
concepts they took for granted
that I couldn't begin to master...
but I didn't know why. All I knew
was that I was... a great
disappointment to my parents.
(beat)
I'm not sure when they made the
decision, but just before my
seventh birthday we left Earth for
Adigeon Prime.
(beat)
At first, I remember being excited
at seeing all the aliens in the
hospital. But then they gave me
a room... and started the
treatments... and my entire world
began to change...
Bashir trails off, lost in the memories for a moment
until O'Brien gently pulls him back.
O'BRIEN
The treatments? Some kind of DNA
recoding... ?
BASHIR
The technical term is "accelerated
critical neural pathway formation."
Over the course of the next two
months, my genetic structure was
manipulated to accelerate the
growth of neuronal networks in my
cerebral cortex. A new Julian
Bashir was born.
O'BRIEN
In what ways did they... change
you?
BASHIR
My... mental abilities were the
top priority of course -- my IQ
jumped five points a day for over
two weeks. That was followed by
improvements in my hand-eye
coordination, reflexes, vision,
stamina, height, weight -- in the
end everything but my name was
altered in some way.
(beat)
When we returned to Earth, we
moved to a different city, I was
enrolled in a new school using
falsified records my parents
obtained somewhere. And instead
of being the slowest learner... I
was the star pupil.
O'BRIEN
And no one ever suspected.
BASHIR
(bitter smile)
There's no stigma attached to
success, Chief. After the...
treatments, I never looked back.
(beat)
But the truth is... I'm a fraud.
O'Brien chips in:-
O'BRIEN
You're not a fraud. I don't care
what... enhancements your parents
may have had done. Genetic
recoding can't give you ambition or
a personality or compassion or any
of the things that make a person
truly human.
Bashir gets up and moves around the room.
BASHIR
Starfleet Medical won't see it
that way. DNA resequencing for
any reason other than repairing
serious birth defects is illegal.
Any genetically enhanced human
being is barred from serving in
Starfleet or practicing medicine.
...
BASHIR
Oh, I'm sure. When the truth
comes out... I'll be cashiered
from the service. It's that simple.
O'Brien doesn't know what to say... there seems to be
no way out.
This reminds me of the excruciatingly sad SF story "Flowers For Algernon."
For "genetically enhanced" read "bisexual" or "gay."
DADT is alive and well in the 24th century, it would seem.
This is triggering in two ways. You know the part where the innocent, slow child went under the knife and a new Julian Bashir emerged? When Julian described how "Jules Bashir" died in order for this bright, shining Julian Bashir to be born, it reminded me so much of my life - and how I have had to keep both my bisexuality and my own intellect under a bushel for so bloody long because it is so hard having to live with far less capable human beings who, regrettably, hold all the purse strings.
As Gordon Deitrich said in V For Vendetta, "You wear a mask for so long, you forget who you were beneath it."
One ray of hope. Earlier this week, I was at the dentist, and she asked me to fill out the ethnicity section of the form. She said 'You could say "Declined to answer" here. I'm surprised they still need this information. As far as I'm concerned, if I was designing the form, I'd include a "What difference does it make?" bit.'
Now you know why I have little to fear from my dentist. :)
