The Eugenics Wars

Late 20th-century experiments in selective breeding and genetic engineering produced a generation of "Augments", humans stronger and more intelligent than their peers, but also more ambitious. Some of them seized power and carved up whole regions of Earth. The most famous, Khan Noonien Singh, ruled a territory stretching from Asia to the Middle East.

The ensuing conflicts, known as the Eugenics Wars, ended with the fall of the Augment rulers. Khan and some of his followers escaped aboard the sleeper ship SS Botany Bay; they were found adrift by the Enterprise in 2267. The original series places these events in the 1990s, but Strange New Worlds treats them as a still-future threat in the early 21st century, so the exact dating varies between works.

The wars left a lasting mark on humanity. Genetic enhancement of humans was banned, a rule still enforced in the 24th century, as Julian Bashir's secret shows. The fear of Augments resurfaced in the 22nd century with the stolen embryos raised by Arik Soong.