Information AboutBorg |
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The Borg or '''Borg Collective''' is a race of Cyborg s in the Star Trek Fictional Universe . They are known both within and beyond Star Trek fandom for their relentless pursuit of what they want to Assimilate , their rapid Adaptability to almost any defense, and their ability to continue functioning after what may seem a devastating or even fatal blow seemingly unaffected. As such, the Borg have become a powerful symbol in Popular Culture for any Seemingly Unstoppable Force against which " Resistance Is Futile ". OVERVIEW The Borg are an amalgam of Humanoid s of many different Race s that are enhanced with Cybernetic implants, giving them improved mental and physical abilities. This is done to achieve the self expressed goal of "perfection." The Borg function as Automata ; the minds of all Borg Drone s are connected via implants and networks to a Hive , a Collective Mind (the ''Borg Collective''), orchestrated by the Borg Queen and controlled from a central hub, Unimatrix One . According to themselves, the Borg only seek to "improve the quality of life for all species" by integrating organic ( Biological ) and Synthetic ( Artificial ) components in their quest for Perfection . To this end, they travel the galaxy, increasing their numbers and advancing by " Assimilating " other species and their Technologies , and subjugating captured individuals by injecting them with Nanoprobe s and surgically implanting Prostheses , quickly changing their biological Anatomy and Biochemistry to the Borg standard. Despite being perceived as an Evil Conquering Juggernaut by all who know of or have encountered them, the Borg harbor no ill will to anyone; they merely fulfill their imperative to assimilate and achieve perfection. As they say, "Resistance is futile — you will be assimilated." They make good on that threat through their ability to quickly Adapt to any attack, rendering it harmless. Thus, any successful defense depends on the ingenuity of the opponent to find a method to stop the Borg completely before they can neutralize it. Although the cyborg concept has long existed within Science-fiction literature, it is probable that the general concept of the Borg — a ruthlessly efficient race of biomechanical beings bent on galactic conquest — was heavily influenced by the Cybermen , which feature in the popular UK television series '' Doctor Who '' and who display similar Rationale s and methods as the Borg, including wanting to assimilate individuals to augment their own race. They also bear significant resemblances to Fred Saberhagen 's Berserker series. A very similar race of " Positronic - Biological " beings, nicknamed "Posbis", also features in the German Perry Rhodan series. Borg Starship s, in particular, bear a striking resemblance to those of the "Posbis". The Borg's interlink and use of nanotechnology are also similar to that of the Conjoiners from Alastair Reynolds 's Revelation Space series of novels, while their ability to adapt to any attack resembles a faster version of the Inhibitors ' ability in the same series. HISTORY Starship ''Enterprise''-D upon its first encounter with an immense Borg Cube at System J-25 in 2365]] Early contacts with the Federation Having gradually developed over thousands of centuries (''see '' episode, " Q Who? ". Q transported the ''Enterprise''-D to System FGC-J25, in the deep far-flung part of the Alpha Quadrant , just long enough to expose them to the Borg. The ''Enterprise''-D was hopelessly outclassed by the Borg Cube encountered, and Q brought them home after their confrontation. Guinan tells Captain Picard , "Now that they know of your existence ..." and Picard realized that they would never stop until they found them. Picard later realized that the Borg cube was already on a course towards Federation space, and in effect Q gave them an advance warning, doing "the right thing for the wrong reason". Before this contact, however, there was evidence that the Borg were already in or near the Alpha Quadrant . The episode " The Neutral Zone " had established that several planets on both sides of the Romulan Neutral Zone had been destroyed in the same manner, and this was later attributed to the Borg. Prior to Picard's encounters in the late with the Vulcans in April 2063. He said that there were "strange cybernetic creatures from the future who wanted to enslave the human race". Cochrane also revealed that there were people who stopped them who were also from the future. Captain Archer and Subcommander T'Pol of the first Starfleet vessel named ''Enterprise'' discussed this, but T'Pol dismissed it by saying, "Dr. Cochrane was known to make outrageous statements." The Borg Incident Of 2153 was kept secret, due in part to evidence that the Borg had managed to transmit Earth's location to their home space in the Delta Quadrant . Since, however, the message would not reach Borg space for two centuries, Earth and Starfleet authorities were not overly concerned with the Borg. However, in the prophetic words of Captain Archer: "We've only postponed the invasion until what? The 24th century?" In the late 23rd Century , the crew of the newly-commissioned ''Enterprise''-B rescued a ship carrying El-Aurian refugees that was fleeing the Borg's decimation of their planet, although it is unknown if Starfleet was aware of the cause of the El-Aurian plight at the time. (The El-Aurian Guinan mentions the Borg attack to Picard during his first encounter with them.) "). Thus, by the time Captain Picard and the ''Enterprise''-D encountered the Borg at System J-25, some individuals in Starfleet were already aware of the Borg and the threat they posed. The ''Enterprise''-D and Captain Jean-Luc Picard The second official, and first major, contact between the Federation and the Borg occurred in the two-part episode "''). In the episode " I, Borg " (the title highlights the contradiction of an "individual Borg" and alluding to '' I, Robot ''), the ''Enterprise''-D crew captured a single Borg Drone in 2368 who appeared to be detached from the collective with its whereabouts unknown. Seeing an opportunity to study their enemy, it was taken aboard the ship. Eventually, due to separation from the Borg collective consciousness, the Borg drone began to develop an individual identity. It was given the name "Hugh", after a misunderstanding about individual identity involving the sentence "I am... you?" Events eventually led to him returning to the collective. Though he seemed to lose his individuality, the introduction of Hugh's experiences into the collective had far-reaching consequences. Some eventually were severed from the collective and broke away as a renegade group. Initially dysfunctional and without purpose, this group later stumbled across and joined with Lore , Data 's prototype brother, who helped them express their newfound freedom through hatred (" Descent "). Encounters with the ''Enterprise''-E and ''Voyager'' The Borg make frequent appearances in the Star Trek universe afterwards, being the antagonists in the ''"), and eventually reasserted her personality. ]] The Borg suffered their worst setback against the Federation in 2378. ''Voyager'' discovered a Borg "). After these events, the ultimate fate of the Borg is unknown. Given the collective nature of the Borg, it is possible the virus could have infected every drone linked to the hive mind; however, the Borg are also highly decentralized, have relentless adaptability, and have demonstrated the ability to sever dysfunctional units from it. Borg Queen The purely collective nature of the Borg was modified in '''', which introduced the Borg Queen. The Borg Queen is a locus within the Borg collective consciousness ''and'' a unique drone within the collective ("the one who is many"), bringing "order to chaos" and referring to herself as "we" and "I" interchangeably. The function of the Borg Queen within the Borg seems to be that of a coordinator, as in an Ant colony, and less so of a leader in the traditional sense. The Queen's unique autonomy allowed her to have an intimate encounter with Data in 2063 (as a result of Time Travel ). However, her utterance " I Am The Beginning {Link without Title} The End " (an apparent Christian Allusion ) implies a possibly crucial function within the collective. It has also been postulated that both the Borg Queen and Locutus functioned merely as spokespeople and tacticians, allowing the Borg to maintain a creative edge while retaining the advantages of a true collective. A humanoid of Borg Species 125 , the contemporary Queen's Head and upper Torso appear mostly biological (externally) with a largely synthetic Central Nervous System , Skull , and upper Spine . The biologic portion is generally lowered and secured into a synthetic lower torso. As seen in ''Star Trek: First Contact'', the Borg Queen was present during Picard's assimilation in 2366-7 (though this was lost on Picard initially) and was destroyed on that cube. The Queen was also seemingly destroyed in at least three other instances—during ''Star Trek: First Contact'' and the , as well as the two-part Voyager episode "Dark Frontier". Upon the conclusion of ''Star Trek: Voyager'', it is unknown whether the Queen survived; however, the Borg were able to function after her apparent destruction, as evidenced by the sphere continuing to chase ''Voyager''. ASSIMILATION Main article: Assimilation (Star Trek) , as Locutus, undergoing Assimilation after his abduction]] Initially, the Borg were a mysterious group of marauders that snatched entire "). In their second appearance, " The Best Of Both Worlds ", they began to rather crudely and frighteningly assimilate individuals – namely, Picard – into the collective by surgically altering them. Thereafter, incorporation of different lifeforms into their collective was heightened and their interest in obtaining alien technology became less prominent. s, transferring Nanoprobe s, into a hapless victim]] Moreover, the method of assimilating individual lifeforms into the collective has changed over time. Throughout, infant and Fetal humanoids have been grown in an accelerated state and surgically receive or develop implants tied directly into the brain, as well as ocular devices, tool-enhanced limbs, armour, and other Prosthetics . Later, in '''', the method of assimilation was enhanced with the more efficient injection of Nanoprobe s into individuals. Borg nanoprobes are injected into the Bloodstream of a victim by a number of tubules (usually two) that spring forth from the top of the hand (or some other extremity) of a Borg drone. The nanoprobes, each about the size of a human Red Blood Cell (RBC) , travel through the victim's bloodstream to various Tissue s and locations throughout the body and latch onto individual Cells . The nanoprobes rewrite the cellular DNA , altering the victim's biochemistry, and eventually form larger, higher structures and networks within the body such as electrical pathways, processing and data storage nodes, and ultimately prosthetic devices that spring forth from the skin. Borg species identification The Borg have encountered and assimilated thousands of species and (reportedly) Trillion s of lifeforms throughout the Milky Way Galaxy . The Borg identify species uniquely with a number assigned to them upon First Contact . The following is a list of species and their respective numbers, sorted in ascending order by number. Some species have been identified only by their Borg identification and do not have a "name". The species numbers seem to be assigned according to the order in which the Borg encountered the species in question. In addition, the assigned numbers generally increase proportionately with distance from the center of Borg space in the Delta Quadrant ; the numbers can, therefore, be assumed to be a general chronology of first contact between the Borg and particular species. As well, there are some inconsistencies with these premises. For example, the '') or somehow learning of them when Quark and company Time Travel led to 1947 Earth in " Little Green Men " ('' DS9 '')). However, Talax (ia) is far closer to Borg space than Ferenginar , so it is strange that the Borg could have encountered the Ferengi before the Talaxians. ORIGIN OF THE BORG Over hundreds of centuries, the Borg have encountered and assimilated thousands of species. However, little information regarding the true origin of the Borg Millennia ago has been divulged in Canon sources. Given this and the Borg species numbering system, it is probable that the species originally giving rise to the Borg would have been designated as Species 1. The Borg Queen is a member of species 125 – meaning she is of an early species assimilated by the Borg. Thus, species 125, or that particular individual, was an ideal choice for Queen or was Bioengineered for this purpose. The relatively high index number could mean one of two things: either the Borg did not need a Queen for the early part of its history, or they replaced their previous Queen when a superior one was found or engineered. "Borg from V'ger" theory It has also been speculated that there could be a connection between the Borg and '' (''TMP''); this is indicated in the '' Star Trek Encyclopedia '' and is advanced in William Shatner 's novel, ''The Return''. The two entities are similar in concept and philosophy:
V'ger "melds" with two persons ( Captain Decker and Ilia ) and, in so doing, evolves. With reasonable conjecture, the Borg, a cybernetic organism – i.e., a fusion of person and machine – is born. Following '''', the "Borg from V'ger" origin theory has a few obstacles:
One possible solution to these problems arises from the fact mentioned in ''ST:TMP'' that Voyager 6 disappeared when it fell into a Wormhole . One of the known properties of wormholes is that, due to Special Relativity , they can be holes through space ''and'' time. Therefore, the wormhole that Voyager 6 (V'ger) fell into could very well have taken it across the galaxy and backwards in time thousands of years. "V'ger from Borg" theory The V'ger origin story could be reversed into a "V'ger from Borg" origin theory – V'ger could have been aided by Borg. V'ger mentions in a visual presentation of its origin that it was once a smaller machine, one of NASA 's Voyager space probes. It was then rescued and augmented by a race of machines. The name or nature of this machine planet, however, is never elaborated upon, and could well belong to the Borg. A piece of supporting evidence can be found in the novelisation of ''Star Trek: The Motion Picture'' written by Gene Roddenberry. In the novel, the V'ger entity notes that the Ilia probe is resisting the programming given to it because of the residual memories and feelings for Decker. When V'ger becomes aware of this, it is aware that "the resistance was futile, of course", which is almost identical to the Borg phrase, "Resistance is futile". The Star Trek novels aren't considered canonical, but it can be considered as at least circumstantial evidence, especially as the novel was written by Star Trek's creator. One could go even further and pose the question "Why, if they have been around for thousands of years, have the Borg not succeeded in dominating the galaxy?" There are few examples of effective resistance against the Borg, and the two battles of Sector 001, both of which ended in a Borg defeat (though the second outcome is perhaps not so clear-cut), must surely be the exception. Human beings will not make contact with intelligent extraterrestrial life until 2063, and '' about the Kazon and generally negative fan reaction to them). Another explanation may lie in the particulars of the evolution of the Borg. V'ger's mission is "to learn all that is learnable" – perhaps to an intelligent machine all that is learnable is abstraction. Were V'ger to join, perhaps become an emissary for a race (or collective) of computers whose purpose is to collect all of the information in the universe – to dominate the Platonic realm, one could view the Borg as having more machine history than cybernetic and see the mission of the Borg as it is more commonly understood – one of acquisition and integration of all of the life, culture, and technology in the universe – as having been born the day V'ger "joined" with Captain Decker. The purpose of this joining was to enable V'ger to understand "the rest of the picture" – could this terrible menace be machine though sparked by a glimpse of human understanding? The obstacle to a "V'ger from Borg" theory is the apparently great distance between Earth and the space dominated by Borg. Possible rationalizations to address this include: # Since the Borg obviously were able to travel back into time in the film, it is conceivable that they travelled back at another point to establish a hive in the 21st century. # V'Ger mentions in its visual presentation of its origin that it passed through a kind of disturbance, possibly a wormhole, on its trip to the machine world. Addendum; Non Canon: William Shatner and Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens wrote an excellent Kirk vs. Borg story in The Return. The Reeves-Stevens pair write hard, believeable fiction into their Trek novels. They postulate a planet totally converted into circuitry over millenia. The Borg Planet itself is the Queen/Hive Mind Center and it is lonely, and looking for another mind similar to itself. They also explain Borg "inconsistencies" as colonies out of direct contact with the Borg Planet, but still answering to the Hive Mind. Their Borg are much scarier and Gieger-esque. See also their book Federation for more Borg like monsters. The first three Shatner Kirk books are heavily Reeves-Stevens' work and very readable. Nanobot theory Though not in the formal continuity, a speculative story in the recent short story anthology ''Strange New Worlds VI'' offered a theory of their creation. It stated that the Borg came about on a world suffering from a devastating plague. One of the victims was the granddaughter of the planet's ruler, and she forced the scientists treating the plague to attempt a new treatment upon her. Nanotech was introduced into her body, which eliminated the virus and restored her. However, the nanotech was programmed not to make her as she had been before, but to make her perfect. Since she was naturally imperfect, they changed her body and brain, augmenting them with technology and creating the first Borg Queen. The scientists who changed her were put to death by her grandfather, who tried to kill her with gas. Her body adapted to this, removing the need to breathe and allowing her to introduce her nanobots into the wall of the room holding her, melting it, and allowing her to escape. While fighting her guards, she accidentally put the nanotech into one of them, thereby creating a link and changing him. In this way, the first Borg were born. After assimilating their homeworld, the Borg began to assimilate other planets. As the Borg designation for the race of which the Borg queen is a member is ''Species 125'', this explanation is highly tenuous. However, in later episodes it is shown that if a Borg queen dies, a new one will take its place. Therefore, species 125 could simply be the species number of the new queen (presumably the old one died because the Borg had not assimilated resurrective techniques) FAMOUS MAXIM The classic Borg hail is as follows: "We are the Borg. Lower your shields and power down your weapons. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated." In the movie '''', the following hail is heard: "We are the Borg. Lower your shields and surrender your ships. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Your culture will adapt to service us. Resistance is futile." This saying bears a striking resemblance to the '', the Cybermen's head leader, the Cybercontroller (equivalent to the Borg Queen) once stated to the Doctor, "To struggle is futile!" In the serial '' The Tomb Of The Cybermen '', the Cybercontroller says, "You belong to us. You will be like us." A Vogon guard in '' The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy '' also says "Resistance is useless!", but hardly with the same intentions as the Borg or the Cybercontroller. The link between these two other sci-fi genre sayings, though, is easy to explain. The author Douglas Adams was a screenwriter for Doctor Who before he started to write the Hitchhiker series. Additionally, Locutus (assimilated Picard) was known to say (at the Battle Of Wolf 359 ): "I am Locutus of Borg. You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile. You will disarm all your weapons and escort us to Sector Zero-Zero-One. If you attempt to intervene, we will destroy you." And before the battle: "I am Locutus of Borg. Resistance is futile. Your life as it has been is over. From this time forward, you will service us." Pronunciation variations
ALL BORG EPISODES TO DATE '''' '''' '''' The following does not include the "usual" Seven Of Nine or the Borg children episodes. '''' THE BORG IN COMPUTER GAMES
THE BORG AS A CULTURAL ALLUSION The Borg were a concept born out of necessity for Star Trek to feature a new antagonist and the regular enemy that was lacking during the first season of ''The Next Generation'', now that the Klingon s were allies, and the Romulan s mostly absent. Originally intended as the new enemy for the United Federation of Planets, the Ferengi failed to assert themselves as a convincing threat because of their comical, unintimidating appearance and devotion to Capitalist accumulation or " Free Enterprise ". They were subsequently reassigned the role of annoying but cute comic relief characters. A new military threat was thus needed to replace the Klingons and Romulans. The Borg, with their frightening appearance, immense power, and most importantly a no-nonsense, totally sinister motive became the signature villains for the ''TNG'' era of Star Trek. Its strongest definition is most probably the fearful Luddite Prophecy – the vision that technology will eventually transform humanity into monsters. In a literary sense, the Borg are highly similar to depictions of Zombie s in popular culture. Their pale complexion, slow yet steady advance, Avolition , and ability to assimilate their enemies at a touch are all traits they have in common with the Hollywood zombie. Similarly, both show a lack of individuality, or any knowledge of their former lives (albeit with some exceptions). The Borg are one of the more recognizable and popular Star Trek villains, which has made them icons in American Popular Culture even outside of Star Trek. Referring to a group of people as "borgs" or "borg" (maintaining the proper plural) means that they are completely given to conformity with one another. A single person who is slavishly conformist can also be called a "drone" or "borg". Borg is also occasionally used as a Slang verb, meaning to take over or absorb something. Example: "Steve ''borged'' (with a hard G) "assimilated" my CD collection, making copies of almost every disc I own." In the context of roleplaying games, the verb "borg" is used to mean repeatedly going to the same location in the game world with the express purpose of killing monsters to accumulate experience points and/or money, usually even when the monsters/NPCs in question are of no significant threat to the character being played. The website Slashdot , a popular online community which discusses various newsworthy technological stories, uses an icon depicting Bill Gates as a Borg for all stories relating to Microsoft. Sometimes, someone is referred to as being 'of Borg', indicating they are aggressive in taking over something, e.g. "Microsoft of Borg." This is in reference to the Borg's Famous Maxim , "Resistance is futile". Shortly after the introduction of the Pentium microprocessor, a Floating-point Arithmetic Glitch was found which affected the accuracy of calculations, leading to the joke, "We are Pentium of Borg. Division is futile. You will be approximated." The term 'bOrg' is satirically employed by ex-Jehovah's Witnesses to refer to the Jehovah's Witnesses organization in a negative way. The usage is derived from "bible '''Org'''anization", and is used to imply a large degree of control of members by the organization. The name Borg itself is short for ''Cyborg'', which in turn is an abbreviation for Cybernetic Organism - that is, a combination of a biological organism with computer elements. SEE ALSO
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