10 Biggest Star Trek What Ifs
5. What If The Disaster That Destroyed Ceti Alpha V Didn't Happen?
In "Space Seed," Captain Kirk meets the man who would become his nemesis, Khan Noonien Singh. The genetically modified man was responsible for many of the deaths and destruction caused by the Eugenics Wars of the 1990s, and he was ready to begin again in 2267.
Fortunately, Kirk was able to get the better of him, and he was exiled on Ceti Alpha V, where he could be left to create a society of his own people. Soon after, Ceti Alpha VI was destroyed, leaving Ceti Alpha V to shift its orbit.
The disaster destroyed much of Ceti Alpha V's climate, and many of Khan's people died. Had the catastrophe not occurred, the entire subsequent history of Star Trek would have been fundamentally altered.
Without the environmental disaster, Ceti Alpha V wouldn't have been a candidate for the Genesis Project. It would never have been identified as such, leaving Khan and his people to live out their days in peace.
A different planet would have been chosen deeper in Federation space, and the Klingons wouldn't have gotten involved. Kirk's son wouldn't have been killed, and Spock wouldn't have died. Kirk wouldn't have defied Starfleet to rescue him, resulting in his demotion.
Additionally, Kirk wouldn't have come to despise the Klingons, which would have made it possible for the Klingons and Starfleet to enter into a peace treaty sooner than they ultimately did. Frankly, much of what happened in the latter three Star Trek (TOS) movies came as a result of Ceti Alpha VI's destruction.