Assimilating Trills.

[KNH]

I've stumbled upon an interesting bit of ST writing on Livejournal a few days ago (and regrettably can't seem to backtrack to it) that involved an AU where the Borg were on the large, assimilating aggressively - and struggled to assimilate the Trill, initially. For story reasons it was overcome, and Trill would be assimilated, essentially, as a two-in-one drone.

The whole shebang got me thinking - how would assimilation affect a Trill, or while we're at it, races in general that host more than one consciousness?

 

[CorporalCaptain]

I don't recall there being a Trill Borg in canon. However, the idea that the Borg would have trouble assimilating a Trill is a non-starter with me. Two-in-one drone, yes. Trouble with a Trill, no. Trills just haven't been established as being that special.

On the other hand, I could see the Borg having a lot of trouble assimilating a Founder.

 

[T'Girl]

The whole shebang got me thinking - how would assimilation affect a Trill, or while we're at it, races in general that host more than one consciousness?

The host and the symbiont must share the same blood stream, this is how Jadzia could get the food she ate, and the air she breathed into Dax.

The nanites in the host's blood would reach the symbiont soon enough.

 

[Vanyel]

The whole shebang got me thinking - how would assimilation affect a Trill, or while we're at it, races in general that host more than one consciousness?

The host and the sibilant must share the same blood stream, this is how Jadzia could get the food she ate, and the air she breathed into Dax.

The nanites in the host's blood would reach the sibilant soon enough.

Something never touched upon in DS9 is that the Trill immune system must be weak or suppressed to allow a foreign body into it. And the Symbiont needs a strong one, even a weak or suppressed immune system will try to fight a foreign body. If I'm right and the Symbiont does have an a strong immune system it may, along with the memories of however many past host host it's had, be able to fight assimilation.

And if the Borg are able to assimilate a joined Trill, it wouldn't 2 for 1, but a 9 for 1 as in the case of Dax.

 

[ngc7293]

The way I see it, if a Borg assimilated a Trill, they would just get rid of the symbiote. To them it would be unneeded material for a drone.

 

[T'Girl]

If I'm right and the Symbiont does have an a strong immune system

Except nanites are tiny machines, not a biological infection or a parasitic lifeform.

 

[sevenstars]

The way I see it, if a Borg assimilated a Trill, they would just get rid of the symbiote. To them it would be unneeded material for a drone.

Hmmm. I would actually think they'd go straight for the symbiant, since that's the knowledge base. But are the Borg very interested in non-humanoids?

 

[maneth]

I would expect that the Borg would download whatever knowledge they wanted from the symbiont and then get rid of it and just use the Trill as a drone. Trills are humanoid, aren't they?

 

[CorporalCaptain]

If the biological distinctiveness of the symbiont could be adapted to service the Collective, why would the Borg get rid of it?

 

[Verteron]

The host and the symbiont must share the same blood stream, this is how Jadzia could get the food she ate, and the air she breathed into Dax.

The nanites in the host's blood would reach the symbiont soon enough.

Not necessarily - there could be a placenta-like arrangement that allows oxygen and nutrients to cross over in to the symbiont without actual blood cells being intermingled. This works better from an immunological point of view too, since white blood cells cannot cross the barrier and hence there would be no immune response to fight off, much like how a mother doesn't 'reject' the foreign DNA of a foetus.

That said, Borg nanoprobes are vicious little bastards, I can't see this arrangement stopping them for long before they cross the divide and assimilate the symbiont too. It just might take a slightly longer amount of time.

I would expect that the Borg would download whatever knowledge they wanted from the symbiont and then get rid of it and just use the Trill as a drone. Trills are humanoid, aren't they?

Assimilate the host and the symbiont is effectively trapped, helpless and defenceless, inside the body of a drone. I suspect even the eldest and wisest among them could not overcome the will of the Borg collective, so the existing neurological links from the host to symbiont may provide a sufficient initial link to "download" this knowledge once the host brain is assimilated.

If not, it's only a matter of time before the nanoprobes cross over, I can't see the symbiont's brain as being radically different to the myriad configurations of humanoid brain we see, after all, they end up connected to the same nervous system so must share some aspects.

 

[tighr]

Something never touched upon in DS9 is that the Trill immune system must be weak or suppressed to allow a foreign body into it. And the Symbiont needs a strong one, even a weak or suppressed immune system will try to fight a foreign body. If I'm right and the Symbiont does have an a strong immune system it may, along with the memories of however many past host host it's had, be able to fight assimilation.

What makes you think that the host would need a weak immune system? If the two species evolved to be inter-dependent on one another, that wouldn't be necessary. Perhaps Trill physiology is quite comfortable with the symbiont.

Riker rejected the symbiont because his physiology wasn't prepared for a parasite. Maybe that's part of the training?

Plus, we never saw Jadzia getting sick.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Trills consider the word "parasite" to be demeaning and offensive.

 

[tighr]

Trills do, but in this case the symbiont was being placed inside a human, thereby making it a parasite

 

[DonIago]

I imagine being an unassimilated Trill symbiont stuck inside an assimilated host would be one form of Hell.

 

[Damask]

The Borg aint that special either. I'ld love to see the "weak" symbiont be able to fight off a Borg

Or if the host was assimilated and the symbiont was "okay" then the symbiont overcoming the Borgs assimilation by feeding the host back it's memories of who they where.

 

[KNH]

The Borg aint that special either. I'ld love to see the "weak" symbiont be able to fight off a Borg

Or if the host was assimilated and the symbiont was "okay" then the symbiont overcoming the Borgs assimilation by feeding the host back it's memories of who they where.

Here we go, that's more in line with my original ideas... though I love the biological/chemical viewpoints brought up, which will be plenty food for thought on their own. We've seen programming overcome by virtue of dreams; imagine what multiple personalities might do.

Or, for some nightmare fuel... imagine "waking up" and taking control over a body that was assimilated while you lay dormant and another personality was in charge.

 

[USS Excelsior]

And if they assimilate a Betazoid do they have access to empathic powers. And what would a Sheliak drone look like and probably would need a different alcove to accommodate them.

 

[Verteron]

And if they assimilate a Betazoid do they have access to empathic powers. And what would a Sheliak drone look like and probably would need a different alcove to accommodate them.

Or a Tholian drone... 257 degree body temperature... cybernetic implants grafted on to a crystalline carapace!

 

[USS Excelsior]

Maybe, because Borg can work out in space without any additional suits.

 

[Methos]

potentially i could see the Borg actually using the Trill' uniqueness to their advantage, as they do... assimalating both the Trill and the host seperately, and then having the Queen transfer her consciousness into the symbiont...

that way the Queen Symbiont could move from host to host, utilising drones as and when needed for her own use...

Something i could see happening...

For all we know, thats where the Queen got the idea for the 'slip in body' she used in First Contact... the Queen Symbiont was part of the spine and got installed with the rest of the bits...

M