As T'Pol on UPN's Enterprise, Jolene Blalock does more than add va-va-voom to the Vulcan image. She's also proven the most intriguing member of that pointy-eared species since Mr. Spock. This week's episode, "Stigma" — airing tonight at 8 pm/ET — reveals T'Pol has a deadly illness, and faces discrimination from Vulcan society as a result. It's an affecting AIDS allegory, in keeping with Star Trek's passion for tackling today's social issues via sci-fi stories.

Here's the sitch: In last season's "Fusion" episode, T'Pol involuntarily did a telepathic mind meld with an emotional Vulcan — a major no-no to her logic-obsessed race. "Mind melds at this time are not accepted practice," Blalock tells TV Guide Online. "In Mr. Spock's time 150 years from now, it's totally common. But here, it's s--- upon. It's voodoo! They're dabbling in the danger zone of emotions, and it's not condoned."

Turns out, T'Pol's intimate, verboten psychic contact left her infected with a virus. Thus, she risks becoming a social outcast, denied both her Star Fleet job and adequate medical treatment. Sound familiar, America? While more people are living with HIV and AIDS today, the 27-year-old actress says, "it's still a crisis. Our next generation needs to be educated in AIDS awareness. I was honored to do something with this issue.