Could the Borg assimilate a changeling?

[los2188]

My little boy asked me the other day if the Borg could assimilate a changeling. I promised him that I would post this to see what other's think. He'll be reading this and any replies, so please be kind! (and I know all of you will!)

[R. Star]

los2188 wrote:

---

My little boy asked me the other day if the Borg could assimilate a changeling. I promised him that I would post this to see what other's think. He'll be reading this and any replies, so please be kind! (and I know all of you will!)

What a wonderful parent you are to raise your kid to love Star Trek!

To your question, and keep in mind this is all speculative opinion, I would say it's possible. Yes, they can change their shape and form at will. But they're not immune to things like viruses, as it's been proven. The changelings infected Odo with one, and Section 31 infected the rest of the Founders with another one.

Nanoprobes function on a certain basic level as viruses, though instead of consuming, they assimilate. I'd imagine they could be modified to assimilate a morphagenic matrix. Though I suppose the reverse is that a suitably skilled changeling can modifiy himself at the cellular level to individually reject nanoprobes. But the Link wasn't able to reject viruses, so while possible, it wasn't demonstrated.

[Photon]

los2188 wrote:

---

My little boy asked me the other day if the Borg could assimilate a changeling. I promised him that I would post this to see what other's think. He'll be reading this and any replies, so please be kind! (and I know all of you will!)

yes and no

yes: if the Borg could get a SS pinned down and inject their goo-matrix...then it might work

no: the clunky Borg trying to pin down a SS, I cannot imagine how many Borg would be lost trying to capture 1 SS

[Mr Silver]

In one of the DS9 novels (I can't remember which one) the Borg tried to assimilate a Changeling and it simply modified it's body to crush the nanoprobes into a ball and eject them.

[Kytee]

Whenever I see this question I think of Laas , which makes me think that no, a borg could not assimilate a healthy, non-impaired changling. Here is why I think that;

My understanding is that nanoprobes effect change at the cellular level, since we have seen changlings turn into things that don't have biological cells ( Laas turned into fire, Odo turned into rocks ) I dont think the nanoprobes could adapt that drasticly to assimilate something like that.

That being said, if the borg gained access to the Cardasian device that prevents a changling from shape shifting; or if they captured a changling in the late stages of the desease, then they might be able to pull it off.

-Kytee

[naverhtrad]

Kylee wrote:

---

Whenever I see this question I think of Laas , which makes me think that no, a borg could not assimilate a healthy, non-impaired changling. Here is why I think that;

My understanding is that nanoprobes effect change at the cellular level, since we have seen changlings turn into things that don't have biological cells ( Laas turned into fire, Odo turned into rocks ) I dont think the nanoprobes could adapt that drasticly to assimilate something like that.

That being said, if the borg gained access to the Cardasian device that prevents a changling from shape shifting; or if they captured a changling in the late stages of the desease, then they might be able to pull it off.

It might be pretty difficult to assimilate plasma or colloids (both of which Founders can do), but the Borg have shown themselves able to assimilate most forms of technology. Borg nanoprobes could be altered to use the same technology Garak used to keep Odo from shapeshifting - at least until they were finished.

Then you just have to ask whether a Borg drone would be able to get the jump on a changeling in order to catch them in an assimilate-able form. (As Photon noted, I have difficulty imagining that...)

[NebulaClassGuy]

los2188 wrote:

---

My little boy asked me the other day if the Borg could assimilate a changeling. I promised him that I would post this to see what other's think. He'll be reading this and any replies, so please be kind! (and I know all of you will!)

I would say no, just based on the fact that there would be nothing tangible or cohesive for the Borg nanoprobes to really latch onto... as shape-shifters, the Changelings can instantly alter their state, so if a Borg drone tried to assimilate a Changeling in humanoid form, the Changeling could just morph into a pool of liquid, and the nanoprobes wouldn't really have a way of doing their job.

Just my two cents.

[R. Star]

NebulaClassGuy wrote:

---

I would say no, just based on the fact that there would be nothing tangible or cohesive for the Borg nanoprobes to really latch onto... as shape-shifters, the Changelings can instantly alter their state, so if a Borg drone tried to assimilate a Changeling in humanoid form, the Changeling could just morph into a pool of liquid, and the nanoprobes wouldn't really have a way of doing their job.

Just my two cents.

The flaw with that arguement is that pool of liquid seems awfully suspectable to viruses. The Founders infected Odo to force him to return to the Link and Section 31 infected the Link later on.

If a virus can be effective on changeling goo, why not nanoprobes?

Definitely the changeling should be hard to corner/capture by all accounts, but once the nanoprobes are injected that should be all she wrote and you have one scary Borg now.

[los2188]

Thanks for all the responses. My little boy is reading and loving them!!! He's a smart one....didn't get it from me though!

[Bonzo the Fifth]

I'd say, in theory, it's possible, as Borg nanoprobes, as demonstrated on screen, are pretty virulent and would propagate much as the morphogenic virus did not just through the changeling victim, but any changelings they were later in contact with.

I imagine, though, this would require the Borg to capture and study one, though, to properly do the job, as, onscreen, the Borg don't seem to have done a great deal of assimilation of non-humanoid species (though many Expanded Universe sources make some pretty imaginative and logical alternatives).

However, the Borg seem to at least HAVE the ambition to assimilate non-humanoid entities, as demonstrated by their desire to acquire Species 8472, a decidedly non-humanoid species with some overlap with the Changelings in that they could also change form when necessary. It remains to be seen whether the EMH's countermeasures that allowed Voyager to eventually stand ground against 8472 technology could also be applied toward assimilation, but, if so, I'd say that's a good argument that the Borg COULD use similar measures against Changelings.

Of course, what form an assimilated Changeling might take would be anyone's guess, as I'm sure their standard cybernetics would be next to useless for a changeling form, barring something like the Cardassian stasis device, which just seems senseless given the potential versatility an assimilated changeling could provide for the Borg (just see Terminator 2 for several potential ideas)...

[Leviathan]

The Founders started the Dominion because of the solids that hunted them...it would be interesting if those solids were Borg...

[shivkala]

Admiral M wrote:

---

In one of the DS9 novels (I can't remember which one) the Borg tried to assimilate a Changeling and it simply modified it's body to crush the nanoprobes into a ball and eject them.

It was the last of the "Mission Gamma" books, Lesser Evil in which they came across a changeling. A Borg drone tries to assimilate it, but fails.

The larger question, to me, is "What would a Changeling Drone look like?" If it had to remain solid to deal with the Borg enhancements, then, other then to assimilate the knowledge of the Founders (which would only require one Founder, fresh from the Great Link), then the Borg would assimilate the one and then destroy the rest.

If, however, the Borg nanoprobes could assimilate the Changeling's mophogenic matrix, and have a Changeling Drone that could continue to change shapes, then that would definitely be something the Borg could use to their advantage. Imagine the possibilities if the Borg could fully assimilate a Changeling. Theoretically, they could have the Changeling Drone morph into gas, be inhaled by others and then the Changeling Drone could release the nanoprobes into the affected body from the inside, avoiding detection.

Barring that ability, the Borg, at times (it seems they changed based on the whims of the writers) seemed to favor destruction over attempting to assimilate difficult targets that didn't give them much tactical or technological advantages. Therefore, I think the Borg would most likely attack the Dominion, assimilating Jem'Hadar and Vorta along the way, and then just opt to destroy the Founders. Having already assimilated their technology (including their genetic engineering abilities in the form of their "products"), the Borg would see little use in wasting the time and effort assimilating the Changelings.