Mutoids and the Ethics of Genetic Engineering

The woman in the picture is a Mutoid, a genetically modified human being from the Blake's Seven series, who is made vampiric through her modifications. One thing I especially appreciate about Blake's 7 is that it always challenges the core assumptions of the "heroic" cast. In the episode from which this is taken, Duel, Blake and Commander Travis are forced to engage in a fight for survival because both men are considered ideological fanatics by the two powerful priestesses who have captured them. Though Blake is clearly seen as the better of the two individuals, the program does not let him off the hook, rightly pointing out that in some ways Blake is like a terrorist. 30 years before John Crichton carried a nuke
into the Scarran council chamber, Blake was making one small stride for terrorists everywhere.

But I digress. I wanted to talk about genetic engineering and the Mutoids. The Mutoids are hardly positive characters - they prey on humans for their blood except when constrained by the Federation. Yet, the portrayal of the genetically engineered in Blake's 7 is a positive advancement on similar portrayals in Star Trek (1966-68). In Star Trek, Khan Noonian Singh and his followers are depicted as barbarians who the Federation has a moral right and duty to discriminate against, on the basis of their dangerous "genes". The Mutoids, on the other hand, show the dangers of such discrimination. As a species, they are preyed upon by the Terran Federation (not the UFP), because of their genetic vulnerabilities. Indeed, I don't know that American sci-fi has yet attempted a morally neutral analysis of genetic enhancement technology, as it is too often lumped together with Nazi eugenics policies. Therefore, it's quite interesting to see how British and American science fiction contrastingly show the enhanced as victims (Blake's 7) and victimizers (Star Trek). Who, ultimately, is right?