A Borg "What if" question

[Romulan_spy]

What if the single Borg cube in Best of Both Worlds was the entire Borg Collective? Of course, to make this work, you would have to change the ending of BOBW so that the Borg could be a recurring villain. You would also have to keep them strong as in BOBW so that our heroes are never able to destroy this single vessel.

But I do find the idea of a single massive cube being the entire Borg species a very interesting concept. It would further differentiate the Borg from other species in Trek. They would not be sedentary like other species, with planets and cities. Rather, they would be this single nomadic species, just one almost unstoppable cube travelling the galaxy.

The other advantage of this idea is that it would make the idea of a collective more realistic since the entire Collective Mind would be inside a single ship. You would not need to come up with techno-babble for how the Borg Collective can "think as one" over hundreds of light years. I would also never introduce the Borg queen in order to keep the concept that this one single ship really does operate as a collective mind where all the drones think as one. This would keep the Borg unique.

Lastly, having one ship would make the Borg more formidable since the viewers would know that this single ship is the entire species. When you present the Borg as a multi ship, multi planet species as in Voyager, where the Borg can lose entire fleets of cubes, it sort of diminishes them.

 

[sonak]

What if the single Borg cube in Best of Both Worlds was the entire Borg Collective? Of course, to make this work, you would have to change the ending of BOBW so that the Borg could be a recurring villain. You would also have to keep them strong as in BOBW so that our heroes are never able to destroy this single vessel.

But I do find the idea of a single massive cube being the entire Borg species a very interesting concept. It would further differentiate the Borg from other species in Trek. They would not be sedentary like other species, with planets and cities. Rather, they would be this single nomadic species, just one almost unstoppable cube travelling the galaxy.

The other advantage of this idea is that it would make the idea of a collective more realistic since the entire Collective Mind would be inside a single ship. You would not need to come up with techno-babble for how the Borg Collective can "think as one" over hundreds of light years. I would also never introduce the Borg queen in order to keep the concept that this one single ship really does operate as a collective mind where all the drones think as one. This would keep the Borg unique.

Lastly, having one ship would make the Borg more formidable since the viewers would know that this single ship is the entire species. When you present the Borg as a multi ship, multi planet species as in Voyager, where the Borg can lose entire fleets of cubes, it sort of diminishes them.

Yes, clearly the repeated appearances and defeats of the Borg diminished their impact as a threat, as did the introduction of the Borg Queen. However, having just one cube for the Borg Collective would also be problematic because (1) why would they leave themselves so vulnerable like that, to the extent that a fluke astronomical phenomenon or mechanical failure might end the collective, and (2) why are their numbers so few for such an advanced and powerful race?

 

[Enterprise1701]

Well, have you guys read the Star Trek: Destiny trilogy by David Mack?

 

[Taelon]

Well, have you guys read the Star Trek: Destiny trilogy by David Mack?

I've not heard of them.

What happens in the trilogy? (Spoilers, I guess?)

 

[Kobayshi Maru]

The first time I saw that borg cube it made me thing of those compressed car cubes.

http://thumbs.dreamstime.com/z/scrap-metal-cubes-piles-scap-bundled-recycling-32514784.jpg


It made me think that maybe those were made of collected regular ships, welded together....

 

[Anwar]

Just change it so the Borg all fly around on that massive Unicomplex, and have it get destroyed at the end of BOBW.

Thus the Borg can't show up anymore and their story is done.

 

[Finn]

^like in Endgame.

 

[Anwar]

Except this way it happens in BOBW so they go out on a high note and they really are just an extended one-shot enemy.

 

[sonak]

Well, have you guys read the Star Trek: Destiny trilogy by David Mack?

I have-I wasn't a fan of the Borg back story he created. I've enjoyed most Trek fiction relating to the Borg(such as "Vendetta," "Resistance," and "Before Dishonor") but that trilogy didn't handle them well.

 

[bbjeg]

It could have worked. The What If Borg wouldn't be much different; The Borg would assimilate only unique individuals, instead of the population (so we still get Locutus); the Borg we saw in Q Who could have been the same Borg ship in every later confrontation; BoBW could have ended with the Borg retreating, instead of being destroyed; the Borg ship in First Contact could have been its end; and the Borg in Voyager could have been the sect of Borg we're all familiar with (assimilating everything) being their own thing, making Voyager more unique, instead of repetitive.

 

[Romulan_spy]

However, having just one cube for the Borg Collective would also be problematic because (1) why would they leave themselves so vulnerable like that, to the extent that a fluke astronomical phenomenon or mechanical failure might end the collective, and (2) why are their numbers so few for such an advanced and powerful race?

Maybe the single Borg cube is the last survivor of something so cataclysmic that it wiped out the rest of the Borg? There are plenty of ways that a creative writer could explain why there is only one cube left of such an advanced and powerful race as the Borg.

 

[Nebusj]

However, having just one cube for the Borg Collective would also be problematic because (1) why would they leave themselves so vulnerable like that, to the extent that a fluke astronomical phenomenon or mechanical failure might end the collective, and (2) why are their numbers so few for such an advanced and powerful race?

Why would perfection require a high population? It's not unreasonable to think that perfection is best achieved by having a small thing done extremely well.

(Being vulnerable to being eaten by a giant space amoeba or whatnot might even fit into this. If you accept that the actually done thing must be inferior to having nothing at all, then you could achieve a sort of happy nihilism in which yes, one might rather exist, but accept that no longer existing would in some ways make the universe better still.)

 

[The Master of Tarquin Hill]

Would the cube eventually get as big as a solar system? Like a Dyson sphere.

And then bigger...and BIGGER...AND GINORMOUS!

 

[Enterprise1701]

Well, have you guys read the Star Trek: Destiny trilogy by David Mack?

I've not heard of them.

What happens in the trilogy? (Spoilers, I guess?)

http://memory-beta.wikia.com/wiki/Gods_of_Night

http://memory-beta.wikia.com/wiki/Mere_Mortals

http://memory-beta.wikia.com/wiki/Lost_Souls

 

[publiusr]

The first time I saw that borg cube it made me thing of those compressed car cubes.

http://thumbs.dreamstime.com/z/scrap-metal-cubes-piles-scap-bundled-recycling-32514784.jpg


It made me think that maybe those were made of collected regular ships, welded together....

Dark roasted blend had a nice photo of a barge stacked with smaller barges--I can't find it now...

 

[sonak]

However, having just one cube for the Borg Collective would also be problematic because (1) why would they leave themselves so vulnerable like that, to the extent that a fluke astronomical phenomenon or mechanical failure might end the collective, and (2) why are their numbers so few for such an advanced and powerful race?

Why would perfection require a high population? It's not unreasonable to think that perfection is best achieved by having a small thing done extremely well.

(Being vulnerable to being eaten by a giant space amoeba or whatnot might even fit into this. If you accept that the actually done thing must be inferior to having nothing at all, then you could achieve a sort of happy nihilism in which yes, one might rather exist, but accept that no longer existing would in some ways make the universe better still.)

It has nothing to do with perfection and numbers. The Borg assimilate as a way of gaining knowledge and adding to their technological superiority, by taking the technical knowledge and achievements of other cultures. As a result, if they've been around and doing that for a while, and been successful at it, there should be many of them, or they're no longer committed to the "Borg mission."(sort of like how the Borg in "descent" were different since assimilation was no longer a key goal.)

 

[Nebusj]

Why would perfection require a high population? It's not unreasonable to think that perfection is best achieved by having a small thing done extremely well.

(Being vulnerable to being eaten by a giant space amoeba or whatnot might even fit into this. If you accept that the actually done thing must be inferior to having nothing at all, then you could achieve a sort of happy nihilism in which yes, one might rather exist, but accept that no longer existing would in some ways make the universe better still.)

It has nothing to do with perfection and numbers. The Borg assimilate as a way of gaining knowledge and adding to their technological superiority, by taking the technical knowledge and achievements of other cultures. As a result, if they've been around and doing that for a while, and been successful at it, there should be many of them, or they're no longer committed to the "Borg mission."(sort of like how the Borg in "descent" were different since assimilation was no longer a key goal.)

But again: why does a perfected life require a numerous life?

Consider by analogy: if one were trying to make the perfect city, it would have some naturally optimal size; to be larger than that would be to fall away from that perfection. A physically larger city might offer some benefits but if the overall project is worse then it is less perfect even if it is bigger.

Why is ``number of Borg cubes'' a particularly important measure of perfection?

 

[Taelon]

Why have just one perfectly-sized city when you can have hundreds?

 

[MikeS]

Why have just one perfectly-sized city when you can have hundreds?

One reason; because you would use up more resources.