Cogenitor ( episode ) " Enterprise " encounters the Vissians , a race that includes a third gender of " cogenitors " who are treated as second - class citizens . Summary . Teaser . The is excited to be studying a hypergiant star when it notices an alien ship much closer to it than they can get . They then make first contact with the Vissian s . Their captain , Drennik , is quite friendly and offers Jonathan Archer an upgrade to study the star in return for a visit to their ship . Relieving the whole crew , who has by this time had many difficult first contacts , Drennik says meeting other cultures is one of their primary goals . Archer makes a plan for dinner . Act One . Drennik and Archer have dinner in his dining room . Drennik explains his ship is made of trinesium , which is what enables him to be in that far . Further , one of their stratopods has twice the shielding and can go further . Archer is impressed at the technology , and Drennik invites him to explore the inner workings of the star , an opportunity Archer gladly accepts , looking forward to improving the already friendly relations with the Vissians . Meanwhile , in the mess hall , the two crews mingle . is treating Traistana and Veylo to some ice cream while Malcolm Reed has a conversation with the Vissian chief engineer and his wife , Calla . In the interest of mingling , Reed and Tucker swap places . Tucker is happy to meet the engineer and hopes to visit his engineering room . They are sitting with another Vissian , though Tucker is surprised that the Vissian barely responds to his greeting . Calla , oddly , interjects and refers to the Vissian as " it , " saying the Vissian does not have a name . Tucker is confused , and Calla simply explains that the Vissian is their cogenitor , apparently helping her and her husband have a child . Her husband continues the conversation , pointing out he might need an inoculation since his engine room emits omicron radiation . Tucker goes to Doctor Phlox for the injection and also asks him about these " cogenitors . " Phlox isn ' t surprised , and tells Tucker it ' s a third gender . He begins to get excited to go into all the details when Tucker asks a simple question , but then Tucker stops himself , preferring to keep it a mystery . Phlox suggests Tucker keep an open mind , reminding him he ' s out here to meet other species . The next day in the stratopod , Archer is amazed to be so deep inside the star . He ' s also surprised as Drennik adds a poignant quote from William Shakespeare , having read several pieces of literature the previous night provided by Hoshi Sato . Meanwhile , Tucker visits the Vissian ship ' s engine room . The engineer explains a bit about their process and Tucker is interested that they don ' t need magnetic confinement of their antimatter stream . During , he also asks about the cogenitor . The engineer explains that they make up about 3 % of the Vissian population and are normally " assigned " to a male - female couple during the procreation process . He says it ' s the " perfect ratio " for the percentage of cogenitors . The engineer moves on to the plasma converters , but Tucker continues asking about the cogenitor . He soon learns that they are not treated fairly , with no education provided and serving only one purpose in life . The language the engineer uses suggests it is treated almost like a pet . Tucker tries to keep an open mind . Act Two . Archer packs for three days observing the star with the Vissians . T ' Pol is a bit concerned at the lengthy visit , but Archer is too excited to hear her . He wants her to provide more literature recommendations for the Vissians . T ' Pol then goes to give Tucker , in engineering , the task of downloading the movie database to the Vissians . Tucker asks T ' Pol about the cogenitors , concerned about the way they ' re treated . She knows tri - gender reproduction is not uncommon , but doesn ' t understand Tucker ' s concern . He says it ' s a question of Human rights , prompting T ' Pol to remind him they are not Human and to try to keep his opinions to himself , since Archer wants a good relationship with them . Tucker can ' t let it go , though . He goes to Phlox next and asks if he knows the mental capacity of the cogenitor , wanting to see if it ' s comparable to the male and female . Phlox didn ' t do that , since there ' s no reason to . Tucker suggests he perform the scan himself . Meanwhile , Reed continues to talk to Veylo in the mess hall , hoping to change her mind about their " bland " smelling food . They try different cheese s together . Veylo seems to be taking an interest in Reed , directly feeding him the cheese and sharing the same piece . She asks to visit the armory later and Reed jokingly but slyly responds with the old Earth expression : " I ' ll show you mine if you show me yours . " On the stratopod , Archer and Drennik trade facts about their history , with Archer hoping that Drennik ' s people will make an exception to their short - distance traveling customs to visit Earth . They descend into the photosphere . After a while , Archer asks to take a turn at the helm , and , despite the five spatial axes , Drennik allows him to pilot . Archer successfully does so , avoiding a flare . On the Vissian ship , Tucker is shown the engine ' s operations some more . Tucker also inquires about the engineer ' s living space , and he invites Tucker to dinner later , jokingly saying they ' ll try not to prepare anything too pungent . There , he carefully tries their food and learns that the taste isn ' t as surprising as the smell . For Vissians , the smell is more important . Tucker then asks if the cogenitor would join them , and so Calla goes to get it . Tucker really wants to perform a discrete neural scan , which he does so and brings it to Phlox later . He confirms the cogenitor is just as mentally capable as the male and female . Tucker now has a problem . Later , Tucker goes back to the Vissian engine room and , under the pretense of getting some food in their mess hall , visits the cogenitor and hands it a PADD , explaining it ' ll teach it how to read . Act Three . Tucker sits the cogenitor down and teaches it how to use the PADD to read . Hesitating , the cogenitor warns Tucker he shouldn ' t even be there and that he doesn ' t understand . Tucker tries to make the cogenitor understand that it is just as smart as the males and females and is just as important in the reproductive process , yet has no rights and doesn ' t get to raise the child . Convinced , it takes the PADD and starts to use it , and smiles for the first time . Tucker goes back the next day , and , surprisingly , the cogenitor has a great reading proficiency and expresses interest in visiting the ocean s and mountain s in the text . Tucker is relieved , and leaves to go back to engineering , as he was under the pretense of being somewhere else . As he leaves , the cogenitor claims its name , Charles , after Tucker . Archer continues to have fun piloting the stratopod under Drennik ' s direction while he monitors the measurements taken . Soon , they come across another flare and Drennik instructs Archer to avoid it . He tries a couple maneuvers , but realizes he can ' t avoid it . To Drennik ' s surprise , he decides to head right through it , comparing it to a wave in the ocean . Archer gives back the controls , since he obviously made a move Drennik wouldn ' t have . Meanwhile , Reed continues to interact with Veylo in the armory . While the Vissians have a bit more advanced weapons overall , they power their hand weapons the same way . Soon , in a more secluded section , Veylo directly states her intention to spend intimate time with Reed . Awkwardly , he states the custom of having dinner first , but apparently , on Vissia , it ' s the opposite . Later , Tucker brings an excited Charles to the " Enterprise " . While avoiding the other Vissians , Charles is shown the transporter , engineering and a movie , " The Day the Earth Stood Still " , in Tucker ' s quarters . They then talk about the movie ( and a bit of Human history ) over a game of Go . Surprisingly , Charles beats Tucker – he ' s been undefeated for the last two years . Tucker ' s actions catch up to him and T ' Pol is informed that Tucker is not welcome on the Vissian ship anymore . She confronts Tucker in the situation room , forcing him to describe what they ' ve been doing and pointing out that Charles ' education is not his business . Furthermore , he ' s undermining Archer ' s desire to have a successful first contact . Tucker objects to Charles ' treatment and to T ' Pol ' s priorities . While in engineering , Tucker sees that Charles has sneaked back onto the " Enterprise " , explaining that Calla and her husband won ' t help it read , visit or explore . Tucker says they will , given time , but Charles instead asks to stay on " Enterprise " . Act Four . Archer and Drennik wrap up their journey and finally get back to their ships . Archer soon learns about the situation and has a talk one - on - one with Tucker . Tucker insists he did what Archer would do , but Archer dismisses that wholeheartedly , as encouraging Charles like he did is defying their culture . It ' s lot different than sending them books , which is , by the way , something the Vissians " asked " for . Archer now has to clean this up . He goes to Charles and explains it ' s not their place to decide what is within Charles ' rights in Vissian culture . Charles then asks for asylum , understanding that it will never be able to have a decent life among its own people . Archer now has to have a talk with Drennik , the engineer and Calla . Drennik states their quick friendship and the hope that the situation can be resolved peacefully . Archer ' s position , however , is that the asylum must be given serious consideration , especially when the individual views its treatment to be unfair . The engineer objects to the whole situation , and Calla says that they are also being treated unfairly . Archer objects to the way they talk about Charles , but receives objection to his characterization of their culture . Drennik allows Archer time to make a decision , and , later , Archer decides he can ' t grant asylum . Even though the two ships depart with the best wishes and their captains hoping that the incident will not interfere with the relation between Earth and Vissia , the situation gets a lot less bright when Archer learns that Charles committed suicide , an evident result of the independence developed out of Tucker ' s teachings . Calling Tucker to his ready room , Archer severely reprimands him for his interference , as it has only resulted in Charles ' s death , but has also denied the Vissian couple the chance to have a child for a long while . Tucker is deeply shocked and admits it ' s his fault , but Archer continues , reminding him that despite all his time on " Enterprise " , he still compares other cultures to Earth standards and interferes without thinking first . Archer is upset that first contact with the Vissians led to this conclusion , and Tucker begins to realize the consequences his actions can cause . Memorable quotes . " " Can ' t forget Vulcan longevity , captain . A hundred years from now . . . how old would that make you ? " " " " Pretty nice to make first contact without anyone thinkin ' about charging weapons . " " " This is called vanilla and this is chocolate . Give it a try . Oh , no . Wait . You ' ve got to eat the cherry first . This . " " " " Why ? " " " " Uh , you just do . " " " " A Human tradition ? " " " " Exactly . " " " " Trip Tucker . Welcome aboard . " " " " Hello . " " " " It has no name . It ' s our cogenitor . " " " " Your father ? It ' s hard to imagine . The man who developed warp drive on my world lived nearly a thousand years ago . " " " " Don ' t tell me . I don ' t think I want to know . " " " " Oh , well . . . I have pictures ! " " " " Uh , I think I ' ll pass . " " " " They treat her like a pet . Kept in a room , not taught to read or write , no name . Porthos has a name ! " " " " It ' s not our place to judge the customs of other cultures . " " " " We ' re not talking about taking your shoes off when you walk into someone ' s house . This cogenitor ' s treated like one of Phlox ' s leeches . You pull it out of its tank when you need it , then you throw it back in . " " " " Tri - gender reproduction is not uncommon . " " " " That ' s not what I ' m talking about . This is a question of . . . Human rights . " " " " They ' re not Human . " " " " Can we visit the armory later ? I ' m anxious to see your tactical array . " " " " There ' s an old Earth expression : " I ' ll show you mine if . . . you show me yours . " " " I did exactly what you ' d do , Captain . It ' s not like I had much choice . I wasn ' t going to just — " " " " Will you excuse us , Sub - commander ? " " " " I might have expected something like this from a first year recruit , but not you . You did exactly what I ' d do ? If that ' s true then I ' ve done a pretty lousy job setting an example around here . You ' re a senior officer on this ship , you ' re privy to the moral challenges I ' ve had to face . You " know " I ' ve wrestled with the fine line between doing what " I " think is right and interfering with other species . So don ' t tell me you know what I would ' ve done when " I " don ' t even know what I would ' ve done . " " " " I was just told that the Vissian cogenitor died . " " " " What ? How ? " " " " Suicide , Trip . She killed herself . " " " " That can ' t be . Why ? " ( Pause ) " It ' s my fault . I ' m responsible . " " " " You ' re damn right you are . And it ' s not just her . There ' s a child who won ' t be conceived because of this , at least not for a long while . It ' s time you learned to weigh the possible repercussions of your actions . You ' ve always been impulsive . Maybe this will teach you a lesson . " " " " I understand . " " " " Do you ? I ' m not so sure you do . You knew you had no business interfering with those people , but you just couldn ' t let it alone . You thought you were doing the right thing . I might agree if this was Florida , or Singapore , but it ' s not , is it ? We ' re in deep space and a person is dead . A person who ' d still be alive if we hadn ' t made First Contact . I guess I haven ' t been very successful at getting through to you . If I had , you would have thought a lot harder before doing what you did . " " " " You ' re not responsible . " " Links and references . References . act ; adventure ; Alsatian munster cheese ; android ; ; ; body - surfing ; cheese ; ; cherry ; chromosphere ; circumference ; cogenitor ; density ; Didiron mountain range ; Earth ; first contact ; Florida ; gigajoule ; ' ; Great Continent ; " Gulliver ' s Travels " ; " Hamlet " ; Horror ; Human rights ; hypergiant ; iceberg ; ice cream ; inanimate object ; kilometer ; Klaatu ; " Macbeth " ; microgravity lab ; multiphasic emitter ; musical ; navigation sensor ; nucleosynthesis ; Oahu ; ; omicron radiation ; phase cannon ; photosphere ; ' ; " Mozart Piano Sonata Number 16 " ; political asylum ; Porthos ; positron ; quantum inverter ; reading ; sarium ; schematic ; Science Fiction ; sex ; ; Singapore ; Sophocles ; steward ; Stilton cheese ; suicide ; sundae ; ; thriller ; trinesium ; Vissia ; Vissia system ; Vissian ; Vissian starship ; Vissian stratopod ; Vulcan ; warp drive ; Western Motion picture library titles . Motion picture library : " Animal Control " , " Apache Serenade " , " Attack of the Martians " , " Banned in Phoenix " , " Beyond the Rocky Mountains " , ' , " Canyon of the Rustler " , " Curse of the Buccaneer " , ' , " Death in Arizona " , " Escape from Dodge City " , " Celestial Navigation " , " Frontier Maverick of the West " , " Jailhouse Promise " , " Love ' s Lovely Love " , " Montana Ambush " , " Sheriff ' s Revenge " , ' , " Fear Planet " , " It Came From Beneath the Refrigerator " , ' , " Mister Willis of Ohio " , ' , " Strange Case of Mr . Cigars " , " Pirates From Hell " , " Supernova Dawn " , " Dixon Hill and the Black Orchid " , ' , " World Beyond Zero "