Star Trek: The Eugenics Wars: The Rise and Fall of Khan Noonien Singh Volume 2

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Author: Greg Cox {DAYSSINCEBIRTH(birth=2002-04-01,birthphrase=Release)}{DAYSSINCEBIRTH} I read: November 18 - November 24, 2007 Non-spoilery short description:

Continuing the backstory of [[Khan Noonien Singh|Khan]] and the Eugenics wars. Though there's a [[Star Trek: The Original Series|TOS]] story shell, the majority of it looks back to the 20th century and primarily takes place from [[1992]] - [[1996]].

Totally spoilery summary:

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|<td> Now THIS one gets more into what I was thinking of with the title Eugenics Wars: the Eugenics Wars. It's fun in that it tries to make the Eugenics Wars plausibly fit in history as we know it, if it were being covered up. Thus, we could continue to imagine the past of Trek not being so divergent from our own. I don't think an attempt for a World War III explanation book in a few decades will do so well. Well, I hope not.

<p>So Khan has been increasing his power, gathering up other Chrysalis children to join him. In old Trek it was said he ruled over a quarter of the world... which is here explained by having agents in many world governments, and thus effectively being able to control them. As a means of preventing other world powers from taking him out, he's got a doomsday weapon in space: the Morning Star satellite. This satellite has the ability to create holes of varying size in the ozone layer. Mess with Khan, you lose your ozone and your population faces the consequences. Seven and Roberta attempted to foil its launch, but failed.

<p>Khan isn't the only Chrysalis man making his mark on the world. Others have become such things as guerilla fighters, cult leaders, and warlords in war-torn countries. He calls together a meeting of these people, trying to convince them to join forces under his leadership, so they can together rule the world. However... this doesn't work. Their desires are too divergent, and even those who are for ruling the world don't see why they should do it under Khan. In particular, Hunyadi is another superman with a strong following who becomes a thorn in Khan's side. Khan considers de-ozoning his areas, but kinder advisor Ament convinces him not to since it would do much more harm to the common people.

<p>It is these battles between supermen fought behind the scenes that make up the Eugenics Wars. Sometimes the fighting is direct, such as a Khan vs Hunyadi submarine battle that ends badly for both sides (and is obviously meant to bring to mind The Wrath of Khan's Enterprise/Reliant battle). Sometimes it is through giving aid to enemy groups of the various supermen. Hunyadi once causes an earthquake in an attempt to kill Khan in a cave-in, which narrowly fails but kills thousands of other people. They do their fighting while the legitimate governments are held ransom and can't do much about it.

<p>As this fighting goes on and on, though, Khan's regular-human subjects closer to home get more and more tired of military expenses while their welfare sits on the back-burner. Khan gets pretty pissed about this, since his original goal was to help these people live better, and wishes they'd just stop protesting and trying to rebel against him so he could finish off the other supermen and become the benevolent dictator he dreamed of. However, another survivor/contributor of the Chrysalis project comes to him with a deadly virus that kills only regular humans, hoping to trade it for safety. Khan kills the guy when his usefulness is gone, and begins mass producing the stuff; ruling Earth will be much simpler if he can start afresh with all genetically superior people.

<p>Khan eventually succeeds in killing Hunyadi... or rather, another superman group that he's got a loose alliance with does. This paranoid New World Order-fearing guy and his human underlings have more death planned, like a planned attack on the Chunnel, but Seven and company stop them. So basically... Khan is the only major superhuman threat left.

<p>ELSEWHERE IN THE 20TH CENTURY... various other people connected to Trek's 20th century, as mentioned in the summary of the first book, are working in Area 51. Roberta Lincoln has been feeding them tips on getting a sleeper ship with an impulse drive built. It's Seven's backup plan for the planet; if all goes to hell, at least some part of the culture could survive. Once it's finished, Roberta (aided by the woman she's been feeding information to) steals the ship so they can do with it as they wish.

<p>So Khan is about ready to spread the disease he's been stockpiling on an island... when it's attacked. Seven's group got some other superhumans to help on this raid, since they don't want the destruction of Earth as we know it. The launch procedure begins, so as a last resort these superhumans set off a nuclear explosion, killing themselves and destroying Khan's island labs and stockpiles.

<p>Khan and his people are basically alone as the superhuman presence on Earth now... but his rule is still faltering. The governments of the world decide it's time to take him out, thinking he'll never really use the Morning Star satellite to get rid of the entire Earth's ozone layer... but they're wrong. He sets the procedure in motion. Then... Seven arrives. How did he get through Khan's defenses? Turns out Ament is Isis undercover. Seven convinces Khan to stop the countdown, in exchange for the sleeper ship. He can leave Earth alone, and try to get a fresh start elsewhere. Khan goes for this.

<p>Khan gathers up his 80-ish healthiest remaining people to go along with him on the ship he's called Botany Bay. All doesn't go perfectly well up there, though; for being insolent, Khan's bodyguard tosses a knife towards Roberta. Isis blocks the knife, but herself dies. This pisses off Seven something awful, but Khan is left even more disgusted by him, since even something as awful as that can't bring Seven to murder. Khan and his people go to sleep and take off.

<p>Seven being old by now, he goes back to whatever planet he came from. Roberta is left as the primary agent on Earth, and is shown receiving a new cat partner and finding another young Earthling to help her continue their work.

<p>ELSEWHERE IN THE 23RD CENTURY... Though their brains are puny and non-genetically engineered, a combination of ideas from Kirk and Bones saves the colony. Kirk finishes reading up about the Eugenics War, but still isn't sure about what recommendation to make about the colony. Then... Gary Seven shows up. Kirk asks if he's there through longevity or time travel; Seven says a bit of both. He's come to offer up advice, saying that humanity still shouldn't be tinkering with what makes humanity humanity. This helps Kirk come to his decision. Sycorax won't join the Federation, but will be under its protection and considered a quarantined planet. </td></tr>

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Preceded by Star Trek: The Eugenics Wars: The Rise and Fall of Khan Noonien Singh Volume 1. Followed by Star Trek: To Reign in Hell: The Exile of Khan Noonien Singh.