The Borg are perhaps the greatest villain characters ever introduced into the Star Trek realm. A group of humanoid beings of various races, the Borg are a blend of the biological and the technological. It was writer Maurice Hurley who derived the name "Borg" from the term "Cyborg" (or cybernetic organism).
The Borg made their first appearance in a Star Trek episode during the week of May 8th, 1989 in the Next Generation episode "Q, Who?". Initially designed to be a one shot "unbeatable opponent" for the Enterprise crew, Star Trek producers had no idea the overwhelming response these new villains would have on the fans of Star Trek who wanted to see more of the single-willed Borg. As such, the Borg have appeared in several episodes of the modern Star Trek television programs, and in the feature film "Star Trek: First Contact."
Much about the Borg still remains a mystery, and whether that is by accident or design is not known. These unanswered questions only add to the mystique of these enigmatic Star Trek characters.
To fully understand who the Borg are and what they do, one must familiarize themself with several key concepts. This Node of the Borg Collective is provided for that purpose, and to expand the understanding of what we consider to be the greatest Star Trek villains todate.
· General Borg Information:
The Borg are an immensely powerful civilization of enhanced humanoids believed to originate from the Delta Quadrant of the Galaxy.
Generally humanoid in appearance, the Borg implant themselves with cybernetic devices, or "implants" (see Borg Technology Archive - "Organelles"), granting them superior technological and combat capabilities. Different Borg are equipped with different hardware to perform specific work tasks.
Each Borg member, or "Drone" (see Borg Technology Archive - "Borg Drone") is tied to a sophisticated subspace communications network, forming what is termed "The Borg Collective". This is a shared consciousness in which the ideas of individuality, freedom and self-determination are nearly meaningless concepts. For example, Borg Drones do not refer to themselves in the first person (i.e. "I" or "me"), rather in the plural, such as "we are Borg". Individual Drones do not have names in the common sense, rather they are designated into numerical groups, such as "Third of Five" or "Seven of Nine" and so forth.
The Borg exhibit a high degree of intelligence, granting them vast adaptability in their tactics. Most means of defense or offense against them were found to work only once, almost immediately afterwhich the Borg developed a countermeasure.
The Borg do not "seek out new life and new civilizations" in the ordinary sense. Rather than expending time to communicate diplomatically with alien races they encounter, the Borg operate by conquering entire worlds, through a process known as "assimilation" (see Borg Technology Archive - "Assimilation"), and civilizations and the technology thereon. It is important to note that the Borg select only those worlds which will augment their "perfection", simply destroying the inferior civilizations they encounter. Individual members of assimilated races are implanted with sophisticated cybernetic implants, permitting each individual to perform a specific task as required by the Collective. Thousands of species and thousands of worlds across the galaxy have been conquered in this fashion. The Borg were responsible for the near-extinction of the El-Aurian people in the late 23rd century.
· The History of the Borg in Star Trek:
The first known contact between the Borg and the Federation is believed to be in 2365, when the god-like entity known as Q transported the Enterprise-D out of Federation territory into the path of a Borg cube vessel heading toward the Alpha Quadrant (see Encounter Archive - "Q, Who?"). Following this first contact, Starfleet began advance planning for the inevitable Borg offensive against the Federation. Lieutenant Commander Shelby was placed in charge of this project to develop both defensive strategy and weaponry (see Encounter Archive - "The Best of Both Worlds"). One of the advanced weapons systems which was developed at this time was the starship U.S.S. Defiant, a heavily armored starship prototype.
The anticipated Borg invasion came in late 2366, when a Borg cube vessel entered Federation space, heading for Earth. Starfleet tactical planners had anticipated at least several more months before the Borg arrival, and were thus caught unprepared. This early arrival demonstrated that the Borg possess vastly superior energy sources and means of faster than light travel. It was later learned that the Borg traverse the vast distances of space utilizing artificially created wormhole-like channels known as "transwarp conduits". Enterprise-D captain Jean-Luc Picard was captured and assimilated by the Borg at the beginning of this offensive, and became an entity known as Locutus of Borg (see Borg Character Profile - "Locutus of Borg"). Tied to the Collective consciousness, Locutus was able to provide crucial guidance in the Borg attack (see Encounter Archive - "The Best of Both Worlds").
Starfleet massed an armada of some 40 starships in the hopes of stopping the Borg cube vessel at Wolf 359, but the fleet was decimated with the loss of 39 starships and over 11,000 lives, including the U.S.S. Saratoga (see Encounter Archive - "Emissary"). As Locutus, Picard explained that the Borg purpose was to "raise the quality of life for all species" of the galaxy by providing other life-forms the benefit of being part of the Borg Collective. Following the rescue of Picard from the Borg ship, a last-ditch effort was made to implant a destructive computer command into the Borg Collective. This plan was successful in destroying the Borg cube vessel which had made it all the way to Earth orbit.
By 2368, at least two more Borg vessels were known to have reached Federation territory. A crashed Borg Scout Ship (see Borg Technology Archive - "Borg Scout Ship") was discovered on the surface of a moon in the Argolis Cluster. The sole surviving Borg, designated Third of Five (see Borg Character Profile - "Third of Five/Hugh of Borg"), was rescued from the crash site by the crew of the Enterprise-D. This Borg, named Hugh by Chief Engineer Geordi LaForge, was nursed back to health. During his convalescence, the crew developed what they termed an invasive program, which, when introduced into the Borg Collective consciousness, was designed to cause a fatal overload in the entire Collective (kinda like Windows does... ;-) ). In the process, Hugh befriended Geordi LaForge, a friendship that provided an argument that this invasive program, in essence as weapon of mass murder, should not be used. Hugh was thus returned to the crash site where he was found, and eventually rescued by another Borg Scout Ship (see Encounter Archive - "I, Borg").
Following the return of Hugh to the Collective, Hugh's new sense of freedom and individuality began to permeate the portion of the Collective which he came in contact with. The results of this were dramatic: deprived of their group identity, individual Borg were unable to function as a unit. The unexpected arrival of the android Lore changed this chaos. Lore appointed himself the leader of those Borg, and promised them he would provide them with the means to become completely artificial life-forms, free of dependence on the organic portion of their bodies (it is important to note here that the Borg would consider an android as sophisticated as Lore, devoid of any of the flaws of organic tissue, to be the essence of the perfection they seek). In 2369, Lore led the Borg in launching a major new offensive against the Federation. Utilizing transwarp conduits (see Borg Technology Archive - "Transwarp Conduits"), they penetrated Federation space and attacked the outpost at Ohinaka III. During this offensive, the Borg attacked with uncharacteristic anger, later found to be due to Lore's influence on them. During this attack, one of the renegade Borg, calling himself Crosis (see Borg Character Profile - "Crosis"), The offensive was halted when Lore was dismantled by his brother, Data (see Encounter Archive - "Descent").
In 2373, the Borg launched a second invasion in an attempt to assimilate Earth. Although the Federation fleet was successful in thwarting the Borg attack, a single Borg Sphere (see Borg Technology Archive - "Borg Sphere") escaped into a temporal vortex (see Borg Technology Archive - "Temporal Vortex") to Earth's 21st century. While in the past, the Borg attempted to thwart a pivotal moment in Earth history by preventing space pioneer Zefram Cochrane from making Earth's first faster-than-light spaceflight in 2063. The crew of the newly commissioned Enterprise-E, following the Borg Sphere through the temporal vortex into the past, ensured that Cochrane was able to make his legendary first warp flight (see Encounter Archive - "Star Trek: First Contact"). In doing so, the Enterprise-E crew destroyed the Borg Queen, an entity which was believed to be the central nexus of the Borg Collective (see Borg Character Profile - "Borg Queen").
It was later learned that this Borg Queen was only one of many such entities existing within the Borg Collective. Some four years later, the Federation starship U.S.S. Endeavor discovered a crashed Borg Sphere on an M-Class planet in the Beta Quadrant, designated System M-24. The sole survivor of the crashed Borg vessel was another Borg Queen, which was later discovered to be the very creator of the Borg Collective some 1.5 million years ago (see "Star Trek: Fallen Angel" under the Star Trek Fan Fiction section of this website).
On stardate 50641.2, the crew of the starship U.S.S. Voyager discovered a Borg corpse on a planet in the Delta Quadrant while trading with the Sakari Colonists for the mineral gallicite. A few weeks later in a region of space known as the Nekrit Expanse, the starship Voyager discovered a planet inhabited with former Borg Drones that had somehow broken free of the Collective some five years earlier. Unfortunately, in a free society, the former Drones reverted to destructive ethnic warfare. The survivors asked the crew of the starship Voyager to help them reactivate a derelict Borg Cube ship in order that a new "collective" could restore harmony to their society (see Encounter Archive - "Unity").
On Stardate 50984.3, the starship Voyager approached the heart of Borg territory in the Delta Quadrant. The crew witnessed the destruction of a Borg fleet by an unknown alien lifeform which appeared impervious to both Borg and Starfleet weaponry. An away team sent to investigate one of the heavily damaged Borg cube ships discovered that they are able to investigate one of the mysterious alien lifeform's bio-ships, which is still attached to a hull fragment of the decimated Borg cube. The away team discovers that they are not alone aboard the crippled Borg ship, and moments before they are transported out, Ensign Harry Kim is attacked by one of the mysterious organic looking aliens. As he lie in Sickbay, contaminated with alien cells and transforming him into one of the alien beings, Kes had a terrifying premonition about this new enemy and Captain Janeway realizes that it is no longer the Borg which is a threat to them. The Holographic Doctor soon learns that these unknown aliens possess an extremely potent immune system, and thus the Borg Nanoprobes (see Borg Technology Archive - "Borg Nanoprobes") are unable to assimilate them. The Doctor is successful in modifying the Borg nanotechnology, allowing the alien cells in Ensign Kim's body to be destroyed. Still in danger of assimilation, Captain Janeway is forced into making an unholy alliance with the Borg, offering them a way to defeat their new enemy in exchange for safe passage through Borg space. The Borg Collective agrees to this arrangement, and the two sides collaborate to create a biogenic weapon which could defeat the invading aliens, which the Borg designated Species 8472. The Borg select one of their own, Seven of Nine (see Borg Character Profile - "Seven of Nine"), to work with the crew of Voyager on the weapon. Commander Chakotay and Captain Janeway struggle with opposing feelings about working with the Borg, as time runs out for the very survival of the Borg. The alliance proved successful, with the biogenic weapon serving its purpose as a deterrant against Species 8472 from further attacks on the Borg. With Species 8472 defeated and the alliance complete, Seven of Nine attempted to take control of Voyager, but her link to the Collective was severed by Commander Chakotay utilizing Borg Neural Link technology (see Borg Technology Archive - "Borg Neural Transceiver"). Captain Janeway allows Seven of Nine to remain onboard Voyager, as they were responsible for severing her link to the Borg Collective.
· Chronological Encounters of the Borg:
Stardate 42761.3 (Star Trek: The Next Generation Episode "Q, Who?") - The first Federation encounter with the Borg. The starship U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D is transported some 7,000 light years off course, deep into the Delta Quadrant.
Stardate 43989.1 through 44001.4 (Star Trek: The Next Generation Episode "The Best of Both Worlds Parts I and II"), (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Episode "Emissary") - The Borg invade Federation space, intent on assimilating the Federation into the collective. The Borg attack starship U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D and kidnap Captain Jean-Luc Picard. Picard is assimilated into the Borg Collective and becomes the entity Locutus of Borg. Locutus provides necessary tactical information for the Borg attack on the Federation fleet at Wolf 359. The Borg destroy 39 Federation starships and kill over 11,000 people.
Stardate 45854.2 (Star Trek: The Next Generation Episode "I, Borg") - Two Borg vessels are reported to be operating in Federation space. Wreckage of a small Borg scout craft was discovered on a moon in the Argolis Cluster by the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D. An injured Borg was rescued from the moon's surface and brought aboard the Enterprise for medical treatment and study. Having been disconnected from the Borg collective, the Borg began to exhibit signs of individuality returning to him. This new-found individuality was encouraged by the crew, who affectionately named him Hugh.
Stardate 46982.1 through 47025.4 (Star Trek: The Next Generation Episode "Descent Parts I and II") - In response to a distress signal from outpost Ohniaka III, the U.S.S. Enterprise-NCC-1701-D engages an unidentified vessel orbiting the planet.
Stardate 50893.5 / April 4, 2063 (Motion Picture "Star Trek: First Contact") - During a Borg attack on the Federation, the crew of the newly commissioned U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-E are forced to follow the Borg back through time to prevent the Borg from altering history.
Stardate 50614.2 (Star Trek: Voyager Episode "Unity") - In response to an alien distress signal, Commander Chakotay of the Federation starship U.S.S. Voyager lands his shuttlecraft on a planet's surface and is immediately attacked. He is swiftly rescued by a group of people which he soon discovers are formerly assimilated Borg. Meanwhile, Captain Kathryn Janeway and the crew of Voyager find a Borg cube disabled and adrift in space.
Stardate 50984.3 (Star Trek: Voyager Episode "Scorpion Parts I and II") - As the starship Voyager approaches the heart of Borg space, the crew witness the destruction of a Borg fleet by an unknown alien lifeform which is impervious to both Borg and Starfleet weaponry. The Voyager crew soon learns of the impending extinction of the Borg and establish an alliance with the Borg against the malevolent Species 8472.