Liberated *Destiny spoilers maybe*

[Vastator]

I noticed on MB that Hugh's faction of Borg were called the Liberated as well as the Independant Nation of Borg. So my question is what their fate is after the recent Borg Invasion and the destruction of the Collective by the Caeliar? I mean have they been returned to normal like what happened to Seven or do they remain and continue to make their own civilization? And what would their status be in the post Borg Invasion galaxy? Would they be allies to the Federation?

Also that Borg Cooperative that was established in the Delta Quadrant in Voyager, the one Chakotay helped, are they part of Hugh's group or are they separate from them?

 

[Kemaiku]

Since they already left the Collective they would have undergone the same change as Seven, meaning if they are now restored to their original organic form without any implants.

They have their lives back now, Hugh's group are just normal Humanoids and I assume will still call themselves The Liberated. As for the group Chakotay met, they don't need the Cube and aren't trapped together as a mini-hive anymore.

 

[Christopher]

I noticed on MB that Hugh's faction of Borg were called the Liberated as well as the Independant Nation of Borg.

Those are from different works that depict them in ways that aren't necessarily compatible. One problem with Memory Beta is that it tends to blur all sources together as though they were consistent even when they're contradictory. Personally, I doubt that the Liberated I wrote about would call themselves the anything "of Borg," except maybe the enemies thereof.

Also that Borg Cooperative that was established in the Delta Quadrant in Voyager, the one Chakotay helped, are they part of Hugh's group or are they separate from them?

Geographically, they're way too distant to be a part of the same nation. I tried to find a way to work in a mention of them as allies of the Liberated and the Unimatrix Zero rebels, but I couldn't find a way to make it story-relevant and I didn't want to throw it in purely as a gratuitous continuity nod. It disappoints me that I couldn't find a way to include them, since part of my goal in GTTS was to tie off all the remaining loose threads about the Borg before Destiny brought their story to a definitive end. Regrettably, the Cooperative fell through the cracks.

And what would their status be in the post Borg Invasion galaxy? Would they be allies to the Federation?

Perhaps, but remember, they're very distant, a couple of months' travel at high warp for Starfleet's fastest warp ships. Of course, that will be less of an issue once slipstream drive becomes more widely used. But for now, they're probably just getting on with their lives. If they're still around -- see below.

Since they already left the Collective they would have undergone the same change as Seven, meaning if they are now restored to their original organic form without any implants.

We don't know that for sure. It's a reasonable surmise, but it's also possible that they were offered membership in the Caeliar or... something else happened. Maybe someday we'll find out, maybe we won't.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

It disappoints me that I couldn't find a way to include them, since part of my goal in GTTS was to tie off all the remaining loose threads about the Borg before Destiny brought their story to a definitive end.

Christopher, whatever makes you think Destiny represents "a definitive end" to the Borg?

Outside the box, that may be the intention of Margaret, Marco, and Dave in creating Destiny, and Margaret as a "producer" of Star Trek certainly has great latitude to see that vision through, but she's not going to be around forever. Your sentence would be more accurate to say that Destiny represents "a definitive end for the Borg, at the present time, insofar as Pocket Books in concerned."

A different producer -- whether in Paramount's studio offices, IDW's offices, or even in the hallowed halls of Pocket Books itself with -- may well decide to take the Borg toy off the shelf and play with. In the world of Doctor Who, how many final ends have the Daleks seen, for instance? Even if I were to imagine Patrick Troughton standing on the Borg homeworld watching as the Caeliar atomise the planet, muttering about "it's the final end," a different production team, different writers with a story can so easily overturn what Destiny did.

Inside the box, I can easily think of a half dozen ways the ending of Destiny can be undone.

The simplest is taking Homecoming to its logical conclusion -- if the Federation has the knowledge to create a Borg Collective, that knowledge can be used to nefarious ends.

Then you get into time travel and alternate universes.

And I suspect that the Borg in Alien Spotlight: Borg originate from a post-Destiny timeframe.

I won't say there's wiggle room built into Destiny. I'd agree with you that Destiny was intended as a "definitive end." (The revelation about Picard no longer hearing the Collective at the end is striking.) And for right now, it is a definitive end.

But that won't always be true.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

And for right now, it is a definitive end.

But that won't always be true.

Hope springs eternal, though.

Stick a fork in the Borg. They're done. I've had enough of them. And I doubt I'm the only one who feels that way. Besides, after all the trouble Destiny went through to end the Borg...bringing them back again would make Destiny useless and irrelevant, and who wants that?

I see only two possibilities to bring back the Borg: 1) Abramsverse, or 2) Mirror Universe. (The former would apply since obviously the events of Destiny cannot happen in the Abramsverse, and the latter since we've already seen mirror Borg - and I doubt Destiny could happen there either.)

 

[Christopher]

I won't say there's wiggle room built into Destiny. I'd agree with you that Destiny was intended as a "definitive end." (The revelation about Picard no longer hearing the Collective at the end is striking.) And for right now, it is a definitive end.

But that won't always be true.

That is elementary, but I was speaking of my state of mind at the time I wrote GTTS, and that state of mind was informed by the intention that existed at the time to end the Borg forever. Thus, my statement was accurate as far as it was intended to apply.

 

[LutherSloan]

As far as the 'Liberated' Borg, which are not to be confused with the rest of the Borg which were released from the Collective, the last contact Starfleet had with them was described in 'Greater Than the Sum' by Chris, and they helped the Enterprise-E stop the last of the 'evolved' Borg before they could rejoin the full Collective.

In "A Singular Destiny", there is a mention of a Starfleet vessel finding a planet with some former drones on it who were freed after the Caeliar absorbed the Collective. Unfortunately, in the wake of the destruction the Borg caused in the AQ, one of the Starfleet officers who encountered these former drones killed several in a rage before he was restrained.

The newest VOY book, 'Full Circle', hints that some former drones may have become part of the Caeliar gestalt, but this has not been confirmed yet. My guess is yes.

 

[JB2005]

^ I would think that there will be more who wouldn't that would, after all they might want to go back to their civilisation (or build a new one) rather than go with the Caeliar

 

[hellsgate]

Why not write your own story describing your conjectural P.O.V. of the post-Caeliar universe of ("The Liberated") Borg?

I'd love to have a ~specific~ conclusion to this saga & answer all the questions raised by "A Singular Destiny" and "Full Circle".

 

[JD]

How do you know we won't eventually get one some time in the future?

 

[Thrawn]

By all appearances, Unworthy will be dealing with exactly this kind of stuff.

 

[JD]

Based on what I read in the catalogue for Fall '09 it sounds like it probably will. But it is coming from the catalogue so it's not a 100% certainty.

 

[foravalon]

Either way I'm pretty stoked! I'm just bummed it's going to be a few months before that book is out, though of course I am looking forward to Open Secrets and the Abrams Star Trek too.

Man, just want it all, don't I?