The Genesis Device reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Apr-2004
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Genesis Device

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In the Star Trek fictional universe, the Genesis Device was an experimental terraforming device. It was introduced in , and we discovered that unlike existing terraforming methods, it could terraform an entire planet in hours. At the end of the film, we see the device detonating and creating a new world from scratch out of the gas and dust of the Mutara Nebula.

featured this world. We discover that one of the device's creators, Dr. David Marcus, son of Captain James T. Kirk, true to his father's legendary tendency to "think out of the box" when at a loss, had secretly utilized the dangerous and unstable substance "protomatter" in order to obtain functionality for the Genesis prototype.

This rendered the device's effects similarly unstable and short-lived, and so the experiment became a failure; however due to its destructive power beyond any known weapon, the device afterward became coveted for military purposes. The Genesis Device has not been seen since, and it is generally assumed its plans were destroyed or were being kept under lock and key, or else banned by treaty.