He holds the technological keys to the kingdom and could speed the Federation’s advance enormously. The weapons systems, the propulsion and computers could all benefit greatly from his knowledge.

They could soon find themselves a match for the Borg well before their first encounter in the Delta Quadrant.

They might even attract Q’s attention as a result of their accelerated development. All it takes is a readiness on Spock Prime’s part to conclude this technological gift is needed to secure the now diminished Federation. They just lost one of their strongest allies and there are many more threats on the horizon that Spock is well aware of.

Spock Prime has unalterably changed the timeline already. To withold all knowledge of the future is to condemn innocent people to preventable deaths. This literally adds up to billions of people over the course of his own timeline. Surely he has some insightful tips he would be morally compelled to pass on—as he already has to young Kirk.

Helping both of them is a collateral effect. Spock Prime “interferes” as a reactionary measure to counter Nero’s prior interference and restore some degree of balance to the altered timeline….and he has done so. Spock Prime’s goals were quite specific…facilitate Jim Kirk’s ascension to command of the Enterprise, and provide assistance only to the degree of what is necessary to defeat Nero, who is the catalyst for what has gone “wrong” with the timeline to begin with. Spock Prime is only willing to “interfere” in matters for which he feels a degree of responsibility, which is why, at the end of the film, he chooses to dedicate himself to aiding what remains of his father’s people in establishing a new homeworld.

Nothing in the story suggests that he would be willing to interfere for any other reason, and certainly not in order to rob them of the benefits of solving problems on their own.

“…given his investment in his two proteges, would he allow them to die needlessly without a word of warning?”

It’s a stretch to begin with that the writers would allow Spock Prime to be in a position to affect their lives and decisions in such a manner in the first place. Spock Prime has his own purpose and task at hand, which he has made clear already in his dialogue with Quinto’s character. Why would he be in a position to do what you are suggesting, and more importantly, why would those characters need such help to avoid a “needless” death to begin with? Although you may have forgotten who these characters are supposed to be, I guarantee you that Spock Prime has not. If he had so little faith in their capabilities, why would he have been so adamant that Jim Kirk *must* assume command of the Enterprise, altered timeline or otherwise?

“That is the only way this new ST can continue on it’s own, without the baggage. ”

It could only become “baggage” in the event that the writers become careless enough to put him in position to affect the outcome of a given situation. Those in creative charge have already given the man something to do. Why would they willfully create “baggage” for themselves by involving him in a potential future story that puts those characters in legitimate jeopardy?

That scenario is far too simple to avoid without resorting to killing the character once again, which (again) could only end up being a letdown.

Killing him just to avoid having to save a throwaway line of dialogue is like using a .50 caliber machine gun to kill a snake that is already headed in another direction…and it’s just lazy storytelling.
The writers have already afforded themselves an “out” to that scenario, which requires very little imagination to make use of, and subsequently allowed themselves to send one of Star Trek’s most beloved characters off into the sunset. Why on Earth would they choose to move backwards, only to stop and shoot themselves in the foot? If the writers had wanted to remove Spock Prime from the equation, they could have already done so in a much more meaningful manner by having him die quite meaningfully in sacrifice for his younger counterparts in ST09. And doing so now could only be anti-climactic and cheap in comparision…not to mention, completely unnecessary.

If that’s the story you wish to see told, then forgive me for saying so, but I hope you are thoroughly disappointed…

I totally disagree. Spock Prime has already “interfered” in the current timeline with his conversations with Kirk and Spock. Obviously it was done to help both of them. His knowledge of “future events” prompted those conversations. What, he then takes an oath of silence thereafter?

You also assume he will take on a logical, non-interference policy. That’s a big leap. He’s already expressed his desire that both Kirk and Spock fulfill their destinies, as he knows it. He’s already “all-in”. You have to acknowledge where Spock Prime is at this point in his life. He has learned to balance logic with emotion, not just rely on logic. And often, emotion takes precedence over logic.

I’m not saying he would give them the easy way out. But given his investment in his two proteges, would he allow them to die needlessly without a word of warning?

Yes, Spock Prime has already died once before. But this time it needs to be final, No Genesis Effect. That is the only way this new ST can continue on it’s own, without the baggage. I hate to make this analogy….but….. imagine if Obi Wan had not died in the first Star Wars film, retired to Tattooine, and refused to give advice or guidance to the rebel force….

Maybe I’m selfish, but I don’t want to wade through endless fan comments on what Spock Prime would have suggested/done/implied/warned, etc. in the next movie. I’d prefer that Starfleet and the new crew realize that they are on their own. That their connection to any possible future is gone, there is no more safety net.

That’s the Star Trek I want to see next. Cut the ties, once and for all. No open threads.

Chekov,
Sulu,
Spock,
Uhura
and of course the captain! Shatner!

There has already been an explanation. He has discovered a purpose in the new timeline, which is to focus upon the resettlement of the surviving Vulcan population, allowing his younger counterpart to boldly go where no man has gone before…Once again, unless the Vulcan people’s displacement is a part of the story, there is no need for Spock Prime to even be mentioned going forward.

We know where he is, and we know what he’s doing with the remainder of his years.

As for anyone who thinks that his knowledge of the future is a problem….well, that’s just nonsense. First of all, it is made quite clear through the film’s dialogue that what would otherwise have been considered “the future” is no longer certain. The reprecussions of the alterations to the timeline are going to have considerable ripple effect which is practically unlimited in scope. Any knowledge on Spock Prime’s part of “future events” would be restricted to occurrences common to both timelines. As for the possibility that Spock Prime would be either willing or able to provide assistance that involved such information would be completely dependant upon the story.

Would he offer our heroes the “easy way out”, despite the logical conclusion that giving them the answers might actually hinder their development? After all, they would someday have to function without him, unless Spock Prime has also become immortal…

And would instant contact with him even be a reasonable course of action under a given set of circumstances that may or may not (from the perspective of the younger characters) involve something of which Spock Prime has prior knowledge? I would say that is something easily rendered moot by a single throwaway line in the story’s dialogue. It happens all the time….”Communications are down”, “We’ve lost warp power”, “Transporters are inoperative”, etc., etc.

The bottom line is that Spock Prime’s death has already been done, and it couldn’t possibly be anything but a letdown the second time around.

Killing him (onscreen or otherwise) serves no purpose. No issue with his presence exists. He is there, he has a purpose, and no logical reason to interefere with the growth and development of his younger counterpart or his friends by giving them the answers to a pop quiz he knows is on the horizon. He knows they are capable of solving these dilemmas on their own, and that the bumps and bruises they get along the way are actually part of what makes them stronger as the years go by. Why take away the benefit of learning something the hard way? Haven’t you ever learned more from a few mistakes along the way than you would have if someone had handed you the solution to a problem without being required to go through the process of finding it on your own?

I don’t think something as elementary as that would be lost on Spock Prime…I would be disappointed if it were.