Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Prodigy Season 1, Episode 15 - "Masquerade"Dal R'El (Brett Gray) finally found out what species he is, and Star Trek: Enterprise. Despite being set 200 years after Star Trek: Enterprise, Star Trek: Prodigy has consistently genuflected to the prequel series about Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) and the NX-01 Enterprise. Prodigy introduced a Denobulan character, Lt. Barniss Frex (Eric Bauza), and just brought back the villainous Xindi.
In Star Trek: Prodigy episode 15, "Masquerade," Captain Thadius Okona (Billy Campbell) introduces the teenage crew of the USS Protostar to his client beyond the Romulan Neutral Zone, Dr. Jago (Amy Hill). Jago, herself a rogue geneticist operating outside the United Federation of Planets, explained that Dal is a human Augment, the product of artificial hybrid speciation. Dal's DNA is made up of the recessive traits of 26 different species, including Vulcans and Proto-Organians. But the real jaw-dropper is Dal's creators are the proteges of Star Trek: Enterprise's Dr. Arik Soong, whose work and legacy now live on two centuries later in the purple teenage Captain of the Protostar. Star Trek: Prodigy also sets up meeting Dal's creators - Arik Soong's proteges - in a future episode to explain why they created him.
Arik Soong's Augments In Star Trek: Enterprise Explained
Dr. Arik Soong is the descendant of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Star Trek: Enterprise season 4 introduced Arik, who was imprisoned for violating United Earth's laws against genetic engineering and created human Augments. Captain Archer later freed Arik and recruited his help to capture his Augment "children," who hijacked a Klingon Bird-of-Prey.
Arik Soong believed that genetic engineering technology wasn't the enemy and wouldn't directly Star Trek: The Original Series.
Dal's Creation Means He May Not Be Allowed To Starfleet
The tragedy of the revelation that Dal is genetically engineered is that this may prevent him from fulfilling his dream of ing Starfleet. In the 24th century, the Federation's laws against genetic engineering still stand. On Lt. Commander Una Chin-Riley (Rebecca Romijn) was arrested and faces trial for lying to Starfleet about being a genetically engineered Illyrian. The Federation's hardline stance against Augments could similarly be a legal issue for Dal.
Just a few years before Star Trek: Prodigy, Dr. Julian Bashir's (Alexander Siddig) Starfleet career was nearly ended when it was discovered he was genetically enhanced in Vice iral Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) if she eventually becomes the Protostar teens' ally.
Star Trek: Prodigy Season 1 streams Thursdays on Paramount+.