Unlike Star Trek: The Original Series or Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Discovery takes place during a period of war.
The Klingons are trying to wipe out the Federation. Starfleet members are trying to figure out a way to defend themselves, after a catastrophic attack that left more than 8,000 dead. One of the best ways to take on the Klingon, as championed by Captain Lorca, is to out maneuver them. That means collecting the best microbiologists in the world and figuring out how to use spores to transport instantaneously from one place to the next.
Scientists are conscripted into the conflict, forced to turn their research into military weapons for the impending war. On one end is Lorca, a man obsessed with staying alive and putting an end to the Klingon threat; on the other is Lt. Stamets, who wants to be able to research freely without the military breathing down his neck.
The use of science as a wartime weapon is an interesting predicament to have the Discovery characters set in. With the exception of Star Trek: Deep Space 9, which examined themes of war in later seasons, most Star Trek series focused on the concept of space exploration. Discovery pits the Federation against its foes and asks if scientific research can be weaponized for survival.
Anthony Rapp, who plays Stamets on the series, told Polygon that this is a complicated issue he often discusses with Dr. Paul Stamets, the real life microbiologist his character is based on. Rapp pointed to the experiments and research conducted at Los Alamos as part of the Manhattan Project during the second World War as a comparison. He said science has always be coopted by the military for war, whether scientists wanted that to be the case or not.
“Obviously Einstein was someone who said ‘I’m not going to be a part of that,’” Rapp said. “The real Paul Stamets said that as a scientist, that aspect of our story was very meaningful to him. It is something that many scientists do grapple with. They can only hope that what they’re doing won’t be used for ill, but for good. That said, there probably are other scientists who do want to make a weapon of mass destruction. But that’s not something that Stamets is trying to do.”
It’s complicated territory that reflects important, catastrophic events in our own history. Sonequa Martin-Green, who plays Michael Burnham — a xenoanthropologist with a background in quantum physics — said the hope is that debate will spark among viewers about whether this is right or wrong. Martin-Green said there’s no right or wrong answer, but it’s a discussion that should be had.
“I think there are a lot of moral lines that are being walked on and crossed over in our show, which is part of what makes it such a tantalizing experience,” Martin-Green told Polygon. “I feel that is a debate that will be sparked from the show that is something worth having. It’s not something that can be generalized, I think it’s situation-by-situation and a case-by-case thing. I’m excited that it is one more thing that can be discussed from our show.”
As Mary Wiseman, the actress who plays theoretical scientist Sylvia Tilly, told Polygon, science during wartime often leads to important discoveries and jumps in both science and technology. It’s a difficult subject to talk about, especially when lives of characters on the show are being lost, but Wiseman is happy the show is addressing those conversations.
“Conscripted science is not the dream of research scientists but it has been historically where huge jumps in science have happened,” Wiseman said. “It’s really cool that our writers decided to talk about that. I think the show does a really good job of illustrating the leaps that can be taken in times like this and also the consequences of science for the purpose of war.”
As research continues and Captain Lorca looks for different methods to stop the Klingons, the importance of science and the engineering team in charge of research will only become more apparent.
Star Trek: Discovery airs Sundays at 8:30 p.m. ET on CBS’ streaming service, All Access.