Terraforming or Genesis

[trekzone 0]

i was watching an early season 1 episode of The Next Generation with my family and my mother made an interesting link to the second movie. With the terraforming that was taking place, "transforming lifeless-ness into life-ness".

 

Isnt this exactly what the genesis device was designed to do?

 

thoughts, comments?

[mr_tinkles 0]

Basically,yes.The difference being that the Genesis Device was designed to make the changes to an inhospitable environment rapidly,almost instantly,while terraforming on any scale is an operation of many,many years...perhaps entire generations.

I think the Federation saw and understood the horrific potential Genesis had as a weapon of mass destruction,in the wake of the events of Star Trek III:The Search for Spock,and they wisely decided to never make another such Device.

Can you imagine,entire populated worlds...billions of sentients,wiped out in a moment by the Genesis Device as it remolded their planet?I think "Bones" McCoy brought up this possibility in conference with Kirk and Spock on TWOK,and became enraged when Spock calmly agreed that it would make a very effecient weapon.(he never advocating its use,merely stated the fact that it could reshape an already settled world,and destroy everything on it in the process).

Edited November 10, 2003 by mr_tinkles

[trekzone 0]

i see....thanx mr tinkles....anyone else?

[Captain Jean-Luc Picard 1]

I think Mr. Tinkles covred it.

[ddillard 2]

Also, the Genesis device was unstable as David used antiprotons to work out some of the problems, this is what caused the Genesis planet to break up in TSFS.

[Captain Ericks 0]

In one of the reviews for "Wrath" the critic didn't understand how Genisis could be used as a weapon. But it was fairly well explained by I think it was Spock. If some one used it on Earth, all of us would be wiped out, to aloow for the development of the new eco-system that would form.