Summary
- A lingering question from Star Trek Generations is whether Captain Kirk has an echo in the Nexus, similar to Guinan.
- The Nexus was a temporal distortion where time has no meaning, and both Captains were shown idyllic lives they never lived.
- While Captain Picard was resurrected in Star Trek: Picard, Captain Kirk's death has been treated as sacrosanct, but there are hints of a possible resurrection.
A lingering question from Star Trek Generations is whether a part of Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) is still alive in the Nexus. Kirk appeared in Generations, the first Star Trek: The Next Generation feature film, to pass the torch to Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the crew of the USS Enterprise-D. Kirk and Picard's historic team-up was Star Trek Generations' big draw to hook fans and bring general audiences into movie theaters.
How Kirk could meet Picard when they lived nearly a century apart in the Star Trek timeline was solved by the creation of the Nexus in Star Trek Generations. The Nexus was an energy ribbon that travels through space, and it was a temporal distortion where time has no meaning. Guinan (Whoopi Goldberg), who lived in and escaped the Nexus, described it as like "being inside joy." Captain Picard and Captain Kirk were both swept into the Nexus in Star Trek Generations and were shown idyllic lives they never lived. Picard saw a warm house filled with family that he never knew. Kirk was transported back to his rustic home on Earth where he could have a second chance with his love, Antonia. Both Captains of the Enterprise soon brushed off the Nexus and joined forces to stop Star Trek Generations' villain, Dr. Tolian Soran (Malcolm McDowell).