How we cite our quotes: All quotations are from Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.
Quote #1
MORROW: That is out of the question.
KIRK: May I ask why?
MORROW: In your absence, Genesis has become a galactic controversy. Until the Federation Council makes policy, you are all under orders not to discuss with anyone your knowledge of Genesis. Consider it a quarantined planet and a forbidden subject.
Exploration is at the heart of the conflict between Kirk and his superiors. Kirk wants to explore the issues of Genesis and how it relates to Spock, but Admiral Morrow wants the subject dropped and buried. Why? Politics and public opinion, the two great knowledge killers.
Quote #2
ESTEBAN: Oh, no, you don't. Regulations specifically state, "Nothing shall be beamed aboard until danger of contamination has been eliminated."
SAAVIK: Captain, the logical alternative is obvious. Beaming down to the surface is permitted.
ESTEBAN: If the Captain decides that the mission is vital and reasonably free of danger.
DAVID: Captain, please, we'll take the risk, but we've got to find out what it is.
SAAVIK: Or who.
But the conflict between exploration and regulation isn't limited to Kirk's story. We see it again here. Saavik and David want to explore the planet, but Captain Esteban is a by-the-books type. Judging by how many potentially contaminated things were haphazardly beamed aboard in the Original Series, we're guessing the rule book was recently revised.
Quote #3
MORROW: Now wait a minute. This business about Spock and McCoy, honestly, I never understood Vulcan mysticism.
KIRK: You don't have to believe, I'm not even sure that I believe, but if there's even a chance that Spock has an eternal soul, then it's my responsibility.
Star Trek typically limits its exploration to the physical universe. After all, would anything feel more out of place in Star Trek than a séance with shaking tables and gullible patrons? Yet, The Search for Spock breaks this mold and explores issues of a more spiritual nature.
Quote #4
DAVID: I used protomatter in the Genesis matrix.
SAAVIK: Protomatter, an unstable substance which every ethical scientist in the galaxy has denounced as dangerously unpredictable.
DAVID: But it was the only way to solve certain problems.
SAAVIK: So, like your father, you changed the rules.
We get more into this in the Technology theme, but the film does consider the dangers of unrestrained exploration. Seeing as we never know what we'll find around the unexplored corner or the consequences of our discoveries, the story suggests we need to make careful decisions on what we explore, how, and why.
Quote #5
SAAVIK: My lord, we are survivors of a doomed expedition. This planet will destroy itself in hours. The Genesis experiment is a failure.
KRUGE: A failure. The most powerful, destructive force ever created. You will tell me the secret of the Genesis torpedo.
This scene shows us exactly why we must be careful in our scientific explorations. Genesis is a dangerous device because of its destructive potential. The film explains this using the techno babble term "protomatter," but it doesn't take much to make the mental jump from protomatter to split atom to atomic bomb.
Quote #6
MCCOY: I'm all right, Jim.
KIRK: What about Spock?
SAREK: Only time will answer. Kirk, I thank you. What you've done is—
KIRK: What I have done, I had to do.
Kirk didn't believe in Vulcan mysticism at the film's beginning, but he explored its potentials all the same. His leap of faith ultimately leads to him saving his best friend. Although the film doesn't shy away from the dangers of exploration, it ends on a note suggesting it remains necessary for the betterment of the future. And that's just classic Trek, right there.