Toward the end of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, the body of Spock, encased in a coffin made from photon-torpedo casing, is launched in a formal Starfleet burial “at sea” into orbit around a newly forming planet.

Admiral Kirk’s voice breaks as he eulogizes his recently departed Vulcan friend: “Of all the souls I have encountered in my travels, his was the most . . . human.” At this point, Saavik, another Vulcan officer serving aboard the Enterprise and played by Kirstie Alley, winces at what one might describe as Kirk’s “homo-sapien-normativity.”

But Kirk here is really speaking to the audience more than to his fellow officers aboard the starship. He is echoing the words of Star Trek creator and ardent humanist Gene Roddenberry that Spock was “the conscience of Star Trek.” Through Kirk’s funeral speech, the writers are reminding us that the beloved hyper-rationalist, ultra-logical half-human, half Vulcan character is the heart of the series and the thematic essence of what Roddenberry had wanted to say about humanity through his work.