Whatever happened to the Genesis technology?

[Gingerbread Demon]

In all the years since the TOS movies I have never heard it mentioned. But what became of the Genesis technology?

Did Starfleet really just abandon it and never looked at it again to fix what went wrong?

I always wondered why no one wrote about it in future instalments of Star Trek in any form.

 

[Ithekro]

Two assumptions.

One, the means to make the Genesis device was lost when nearly its entire staff was murdered by Khan and the memory banks wiped. With the death of David Marcus the only one that likely knows how it works is Carol Marcus, and she might not have all the needed knowledge to recreate it. Also that it didn't seem to have worked correctly might have caused the project to be cancelled in the stormy aftermath.

Two, with the reaction the Klingon Empire had over the Genesis device, it might have become banned as a protomatter weapon.

I seem to recall that the Dominion used a protomatter bomb in an attempt to blow up Bajor's sun.

Protomatter was used to reignite a dead star.



There are novels that go into other experiments with the Genesis project. Also the game "Klingon Academy" has it that the Klingons at least partly reverse engineered the device. General Chang's academy war games end with an attack on Earth, to deliver a genesis torpedo there. It is unknown if they Empire actually had such a weapon, or if it was just a fiction for the war game.

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

Is the Carol Marcus of the reboot the same Carol Marcus from the prime universe?

 

[Ithekro]

In theory, yes. Will she come up with a Genesis device? Who knows. Will she have a kid with Kirk? Who knows.

Therefore we need to ask the Doctor ("Who?")

 

[Kevman7987]

I just assumed that like other experimental technologies that we never heard about, it was considered a failure and dropped. Excelsior's transwarp drive for example.

 

[Lance]

No plans, no backup. The project was (allegedly) top secret, and Starfleet was probably wont to deny all knowledge it ever existed in the first place. So, even if records were kept, maybe they were wiped. And the only prototype device ever made blew up and gave birth to a planet (which likewise blew up). Even when it became public knowledge via the rantings of the Klingon ambassador, I can believe that section 31 would've buried it, and made sure it stayed buried.

I seem to recall that the Dominion used a protomatter bomb in an attempt to blow up Bajor's sun.

Wasn't it trilithium? ISTR it was a call-back to Star Trek: Generations, with the Bashir!Changeling trying to destroy the star with a trilithium bomb.

 

[Ethros]

Is the Carol Marcus of the reboot the same Carol Marcus from the prime universe?

Yeah, but the younger version. Into Darkness is in 2259, and Wrath of Khan (was) in 2285, so it's 26 years before she'd have it ready to be fair.

 

[Ithekro]

I seem to recall that the Dominion used a protomatter bomb in an attempt to blow up Bajor's sun.

Wasn't it trilithium? ISTR it was a call-back to Star Trek: Generations, with the Bashir!Changeling trying to destroy the star with a trilithium bomb.

Look up protomatter on Memory Alpha. It was a mixed exotics bomb. Including trilithium and protomatter.

 

[MacLeod]

I suspect that even if any of the details remained following the events of TWOK, they were queitly filled away and promptly forgotten about. And a suitable cover story created i.e some new terraforming device that malfunctioned and created an unstable planet. No need to go into details about what the device was really capabale off. And given what it was capabale off I suspect that several Federation Council members decided that it would be best to abondon this line of research lest others decide to go down that route. Who knows perhaps a treaty banning such devices was created,

 

[Shatinator]

I suspect that even if any of the details remained following the events of TWOK, they were queitly filled away and promptly forgotten about. And a suitable cover story created i.e some new terraforming device that malfunctioned and created an unstable planet. No need to go into details about what the device was really capabale off. And given what it was capabale off I suspect that several Federation Council members decided that it would be best to abondon this line of research lest others decide to go down that route. Who knows perhaps a treaty banning such devices was created,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fdjf4lMmiiI

 

[Kemaiku]

In the film, they even said that literally all information about Genesis (the device) was stored in that strange control unit with the dials.

The Regula One crew remained behind to wipe/destroy all assets to prevent Khan getting his hands on them. They failed as he gained the torpedo and control unit.

But both detonated with the Reliant. So with it went all the research on the project, the finished designs. Regula being engulfed in the formation of the new planet means nothing of the production of the device is left anywhere.

David reveals in TSFS that his Protomatter idea was a guarded secret of the Regula crew, Starfleet doesn't know. So all they have are any initial simulations, notes, ideas, principles. But no finished work to begin again.

And I doubt they would after the Genesis Planet incident.

 

[Albertese]

^^^
Ah, dammit, Shatinator! I was just about to make that exact same joke.

Top men, indeed.



--Alex

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

No plans, no backup. The project was (allegedly) top secret, and Starfleet was probably wont to deny all knowledge it ever existed in the first place. So, even if records were kept, maybe they were wiped. And the only prototype device ever made blew up and gave birth to a planet (which likewise blew up). Even when it became public knowledge via the rantings of the Klingon ambassador, I can believe that section 31 would've buried it, and made sure it stayed buried.

I wonder if Genesis was a section 31 project...

Wasn't it trilithium? ISTR it was a call-back to Star Trek: Generations, with the Bashir!Changeling trying to destroy the star with a trilithium bomb.

What? I thought that was Soran? He was an E Aurian...

Oops sorry I misread your post when I replied.

 

[Lance]

I seem to recall that the Dominion used a protomatter bomb in an attempt to blow up Bajor's sun.

Wasn't it trilithium? ISTR it was a call-back to Star Trek: Generations, with the Bashir!Changeling trying to destroy the star with a trilithium bomb.

Look up protomatter on Memory Alpha. It was a mixed exotics bomb. Including trilithium and protomatter.

Ah, gotcha.

On a side note, it's somewhat cute that the actor playing Bashir!Changeling, Alexander Siddig, is the real-life nephew of Malcolm McDowell, who played Soren in Generations. So both family members tried to blow up a sun with trilithium.

 

[Starborn Dragon]

I think the knowledge to it was lost.

i can't imagine Starfleet giving up such technology.

For one it has multiple uses.

And it is a torpedo that is powerful enough to destroy an entire solar system.

Why would Starfleet give up such technology?

 

[Greg Cox]

The Genesis tech was not forgotten by the books, where it was the focus of a series of TREK novels by John Vornholt.

http://memory-beta.wikia.com/wiki/The_Genesis_Wave

 

[Captain Clark Terrell]

^Plus, we know that Memory Omega has an entire arsenal of torpedoes at its disposal.

--Sran

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

Maybe Section 31 has the records

 

[Captain Clark Terrell]

^It's certainly possible, as we know that Carol's father was a member of Section 31; in fact, maybe Admiral Marcus was the person who convinced David to use the proto-matter in the Genesis matrix, hoping to capitalize on its potential as a weapon.

--Sran

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

^It's certainly possible, as we know that Carol's father was a member of Section 31; in fact, maybe Admiral Marcus was the person who convinced David to use the proto-matter in the Genesis matrix, hoping to capitalize on its potential as a weapon.

--Sran

Having now seen ID to bits I did wonder this myself and that's partly why I asked.