“It has to mean something” to him, he means

I was hoping maybe it was a Shatner return but not a Kirk return. But no. Of course it’s Kirk.

If he could just return as a ferneghi or something that would be amazing and actually take some air out of the big fat overheated James T. Kirk legacy.

They need to take the “end of money” angle and zoom way in on that. Make that the actual story, not just some blurry fact in the background. How did that transition come about? What are some human stories of why? Make sure it has enough sci fi action elements to be interesting, but show a society leaving money behind and I guarantee it will spur some conversation amongst the youngs.