How we cite our quotes: All quotations are from Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.
Quote #1
UHURA: Would you look at that.
KIRK: My friends, the great experiment, the Excelsior. Ready for trial runs.
SULU: She's supposed to have transwarp drive.
SCOTTY: Aye, and if my grandmother had wheels, she'd be a wagon.
Let's take this opportunity to consider the Excelsior. In the Trek universe, the technological revolution that began in the 19th Century continued on through our present day and into the future. The Excelsior and its transwarp drive represent one step in that process. Putting aside Scotty's comment—because we don't even know what that means—humanity's future looks all the brighter with all this slick tech.
Quote #2
MORROW: I'm sorry, Mr. Scott, but there will be no refit.
KIRK: Admiral, I don't understand. The Enterprise is not…
MORROW: Jim, the Enterprise is 20 years old. We feel her day is over.
KIRK: But we had requested…We'd hoped to take her back to Genesis.
We all know this feeling. We go to download a game or app only to discover our beloved tech isn't up to spec. Time to murder a piggy bank and upgrade. This scene shows us an oft over-looked aspect of the incessant march of technological innovation. Like a force of nature, it has little consideration for the feelings or goals of the individuals swept up in it.
Quote #3
KIRK [recording]: To fully understand the events on which I report, it is necessary to review the theoretical data on the Genesis device, as developed by Doctors Carol and David Marcus. Genesis, simply put, is life from lifelessness. It was the intention to introduce the Genesis device into a preselected area of a lifeless space body, a moon or other dead form. The device, when delivered, would instantaneously cause the Genesis effect. Instead of a dead moon, a living, breathing planet now exists, capable of sustaining whatever life forms we see fit to deposit on it
Here we get into the ethical considerations. Just because we can create life from lifelessness, should we? Might there be unintended consequences that could have disastrous effects? If you're a science fiction fan, no doubt you've seen these questions repackaged in forms like time travel and dinosaur zoos.
Quote #4
KRUGE: We are going to this planet. Even as our emissaries negotiate for peace with the Federation, we will act for the preservation of our race. We will seize the secret of this weapon, the secret of ultimate power.
KLINGON: Success, my lord.
Didn't take us long find those unintended consequences, did it? The Genesis device can create life, but it destroys whatever previously existed on the planet, meaning it can be repurposed as a weapon. Kruge sees Genesis' weaponized potential and decides it is something he wants. We bet he's the kind of guy who would totally clone a T-Rex, too.
Quote #5
SCOTTY: Aye, sir. The more they overthink the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the drain. Here, Doctor, souvenirs from one surgeon to another. I took them out of her main transwarp computer drive.
In a universe as technologically advanced as Trek's, power comes from the ability to use technology. Kirk and his crew succeed in their missions, including this one, not from strength but intelligence—i.e. their abilities to use and manipulate the technology around them.
Quote #6
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.
DAVID: If I hadn't, it might have been years or never.
SAAVIK: How many have paid the price for your impatience? How many have died? How much damage have you done? And what is yet to come?
When Kirk cheated on the Kobiyashi Maru test, the worst case scenario was a slap on the wrist. When his son cheated on the Genesis project, the worst case scenario was a horrifying weapon of mass destruction. See the difference? Despite Star Trek's love for technology and science, it is quick to remind us that these advances should be made with careful consideration and the utmost of scrutiny. Otherwise, you know: boom.
Quote #7
KIRK: My God, Bones, what have I done?
MCCOY: What you had to do. What you always do. Turn death into a fighting chance to live.
Although Kirk loved the Enterprise, he understands it is just a tool designed to help him meet a goal. So, when it came time for him to save lives, he willingly sacrifices it to do so. This is in contrast to Kruge and David, who sacrificed lives for the pursuit of technology.