(Quick recap, STAH stands for “Star Trek Alien Highlight.”)
May 8th, 1989 was a day that brought the most terrifying characters of the Star Trek universe to our homes and our minds. The series: Star Trek: The Next Generation. The episode: “Q Who.” Star Trek had shown us that the Klingons, the Romulans, even the Ceti Eels (those things from Wrath of Khan that crawl in your ear) were nothing compared to the terror marching towards Earth.
“We are the Borg. Your biological and technological distinctiveness will be added to our own. Resistance is futile…” Every Star Trek fan knows this line. Most of us can recite it verbatim. We would have a better chance of reciting this perfectly at a DUI stop than saying the alphabet backwards.
Are you new to this Borg thing and you’re wondering “what are the Borg?” Simply put, they are a race of cybernetic lifeforms that live in what is known as the Delta Quadrant, 30,000 lightyears away (Earth and SOL are in the center of the Alpha Quadrant. Because the universe revolves around Earth). These cybernetic lifeforms share a collective consciousness in a hive mind and are made up from the severed body parts from hundreds of thousands of races and made into cybernetic implants.
The process of bringing a person into the Borg is known as assimilation, where all senses of individuality are removed and erased. The new members of the Borg is now considered a drone to the hive. Each drone will have different body parts removed and replaced, depending on the needs that certain drone will serve in the collective. While one may receive a saw for a hand, another may receive a welder. One tool every drone possesses are assimilation tubules. Through them, they are able to inject a lifeform with nanoprobes (tiny robots). These nanoprobes alter an individuals cell functions, assimilating the host from the inside out.
Within the Borg collective, there is only one exception to the lack of individuality; The Borg Queen, who is considered the leader of the Borg. She is more of a physical representation of the concept of the Collective. At times, she has spoken of all the Borg drones as her children, with an almost nurturing and caring sense. These traits are counterintuitive to what we know of the Borg, but who are we to argue? She is the Queen, after all. While most of the Borg have a fairly similar appearance, that seems to blend race and gender with technology, the Queen appears to be more technology than flesh and has a distinctively feminine body. The Borg Queen also is strangely hot a 50/50 split of cyborg and bitch. She’s got that bad girl thing going on I guess.
Adhering to the simplified and technological lifestyle, the Borg travel the galaxy in ships of extremely simplistic design. There are multiple types of ships but they tend to come in mainly two designs; the infamous Borg Cube which is the most commonly used and Borg spheres which are more tactical and scout style vessels. The Borg Queen’s vessel is one of unique design similar to her in many respects and resembles more of a diamond shape.
Knowing all this you’re probably asking, “Why are robot people flying around in big cubes so scary?” Well, it goes back to that distinctive line. “We are the Borg. Your biological and technological distinctiveness will be added to our own. Resistance is futile…” This message is broadcasted by the Borg when they encounter a new ship or world. When someone is assimilated into the Borg, the essence of our souls, our personality, our individuality is removed. You become an uncaring, unemotional, mindless drone. You are now part of an ever marching army with one goal, to make everyone a member of the Borg. To make everyone the same. To know everything, possess everything, control everything. Truly a frightening thought.
There are believed to be trillions of Borg throughout the galaxy. They have taken over and colonized thousands of worlds as well as set up massive space based complexes in the Delta quadrant. Part of what I believe makes the Borg so scary is the fact they march forward trying to assimilate the universe with a zealot-like belief. They believe what they are doing is right, bettering those that they assimilate. There is no arguing, there is no debate. You will die or be assimilated.
On June 18th, 1990, the episode, “The Best of Both Worlds” aired and the unthinkable happened: the Borg invaded Federation space. The crew of the USS Enterprise, were unable to stop the invading Borg Cube. In the ensuing battle, Captain Picard was captured by the Borg and assimilated. Instead of being turned into another mindless drone, the Borg Queen turned him into “Locutus of Borg”.
“I am Locutus of Borg. Resistance is futile. Your Life as it has been is over. From This time forward, you will service us.”
Picard was to act as an intermediary between the human race and the Borg, and with the captain of the flagship of the Federation in their midst, the Borg would have a huge tactical advantage in their battle with the Federation. With Locutus’s help, the Borg routed the Federation fleet at Wolf 359, destroying all but one of the ships that attacked the invading cube.
Through the aid of his crew and his own desire to fight the Borg brainwashing, Picard was rescued. While he was disconnected from the hive and his implants removed, the effect of being taken has had a lasting effect on Jean-Luc, stating at times that he can, “Still hear them,” in his mind.
It was the rescue of Captain Picard from the Borg that set precedent that once assimilated someone could be extracted from the Borg collective and returned to society. Captain Janeway of the USS Voyager utilized this when she chose to extract the Borg drone Seven of Nine from the collective. With time and significant effort from the Voyager crew, Seven of Nine became a valued member of the Voyager crew. She later even worked to free a number of young Borg drones found on a derelict Borg vessel. She nurtured and taught these children that they too could be free from the Borg, and become members of society as well.
It is all these factors that have made the Borg one of the most terrifying races in the Star Trek universe. Throughout Star Trek: The Next Generation, Deep Space 9, and Voyager, the Borg have become the “Boogeymen” of the galaxy. They are always coming, they want to assimilate Earth in order to take over the rest of humanity, and they will not stop trying to do so until they have completed this goal. While there are creatures that could have been seen as far more terrifying in the Star Trek universe, the Borg are the most constant threat to us and our way of life.
