MU BORG...

[The Borg Queen]

Do they go around blaring the Pizzicati piece from Leo Delibes' ballet "Sylvia" at full volume?

 

[USS Triumphant]

No other alien species has ever been shown to be particularly different in the Mirror Universe -- the only major difference between the MU and CU is that the Humans of the MU chose to create an oppressive interstellar empire instead of a liberal democracy.

The Bajorans dominated the Cardassians, instead of the other way around, and that started before they met humans. I'd say that's rather different.

I've always thought the difference between the MU and the RU is a different universal morality. Or, put another way, their universe was created by a different G_d - one who made different design choices at some pretty fundamental levels, but not that much different, for all that.

I see the origin of the RU Borg this way:

There was a sentient species, isolated on one planet with no alien contact, that invented an electronic system for data transfer. At first, it was only used by the militaries and some learning institutions, but gradually, it became partially commercialized and available to most everyone. It rapidly became the primary means of communication between any two or more people who weren't in the same room - and sometimes even when they were, although the people who did that mostly did it to laugh at themselves. To begin with, anyway.

People wanted to be able to carry access to this network everywhere with them. They developed smaller and smaller wireless devices, then wearable devices, and then ultimately, implantable devices. (The most popular brand of these devices was a company whose name would translate into Standard as "The Borg". Their advertisements, which still exist somewhere deep in their databases, would be considered some of the sickest humor ever created by other species who have encountered them since then - but were regarded as pretty clever and cute, if overplayed, by the inhabitants of this world.) At this point, the people using it to communicate even in the same room with each other stopped being laughed at, since they now knew ways to communicate much faster through the equipment than they had ever achieved through conventional speech or writing. They even learned how to share thoughts in real time, if they wanted to.

One day, there were vast numbers people sharing thoughts and thought power to work on three large projects - one, an archival project, another, a space exploration program, and the last, a resource acquisition game (like monopoly, or Civilization). And the overconsciousness awoke.

The remainder of the planetary population was acquired or destroyed in short order. And soon after, with the entire world's resources at its disposal to build its initial ships, the Borg moved outward. You know the rest.

 

[USS Triumphant]

The Mirror Universe Borg were running different programs than our Borg when the overmind awoke. Perhaps one of the programs was a social analysis that was trying to figure out ways to make joining the social network more palatable to the hold-out groups on their planet, while simultaneously trying to figure out ways to help their holdouts maintain their ways if they declined.

"We are the Borg. Disarm your weapons, they are futile, and we mean you no harm. May we interest you in some assimilation literature? (Yes/No/Delay Answer)"

Resistance is OPTIONAL, indeed.

 

[Plecostomus]

The Mirror Universe Borg were running different programs than our Borg when the overmind awoke. Perhaps one of the programs was a social analysis that was trying to figure out ways to make joining the social network more palatable to the hold-out groups on their planet, while simultaneously trying to figure out ways to help their holdouts maintain their ways if they declined.

"We are the Borg. Disarm your weapons, they are futile, and we mean you no harm. May we interest you in some assimilation literature? (Yes/No/Delay Answer)"

Resistance is OPTIONAL, indeed.

"Hi I am Sister 24 of 1790 and this is my traveling companion Sister 128 of 256. We represent the Borg Collective. Have you heard of the bliss that unconditional assimilation offers individuals such as yourself? Well if this isn't a good time allow us to leave you with these holo-pamphlets and we'll be on our way. May the glory of the Collective shine upon you. Have a nice day now!"


(based on my experiences with Witnesses and my experiences with missionaries within my own church)

 

[The Borg Queen]

"We are the Borg. You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause."

 

[Aquehonga]

A few years back I wrote a short story for the Strange New Worlds competition that dealt with Voyager encountering the Borg who were fleeing from the Mirror Universe Borg. Granted, it was a goofy story.

The MU Borg travel around in giant smiley-face ships spreading euphoria to all races. So, basically, they're not evil, but they just want to make the galaxy a happy place.

Turd Ferguson

A fellow veteran of the extinct SNW Contests

1 of my {rejected} SNW 10 submissions was a story explaining HOW the RU Borg came into existence. It was really a commentary on monopolies & eminent domain.

Those PB folks probably turned my SNW 9 & 10 submissions into paper airplanes & roll-ups for joints

Whaddya think they did with your SNW submissions?

 

[Aquehonga]

I see the origin of the RU Borg this way:

There was a sentient species, isolated on one planet with no alien contact, that invented an electronic system for data transfer. At first, it was only used by the militaries and some learning institutions, but gradually, it became partially commercialized and available to most everyone. It rapidly became the primary means of communication between any two or more people who weren't in the same room - and sometimes even when they were, although the people who did that mostly did it to laugh at themselves. To begin with, anyway.

People wanted to be able to carry access to this network everywhere with them. They developed smaller and smaller wireless devices, then wearable devices, and then ultimately, implantable devices. (The most popular brand of these devices was a company whose name would translate into Standard as "The Borg". Their advertisements, which still exist somewhere deep in their databases, would be considered some of the sickest humor ever created by other species who have encountered them since then - but were regarded as pretty clever and cute, if overplayed, by the inhabitants of this world.) At this point, the people using it to communicate even in the same room with each other stopped being laughed at, since they now knew ways to communicate much faster through the equipment than they had ever achieved through conventional speech or writing. They even learned how to share thoughts in real time, if they wanted to.

One day, there were vast numbers people sharing thoughts and thought power to work on three large projects - one, an archival project, another, a space exploration program, and the last, a resource acquisition game (like monopoly, or Civilization). And the overconsciousness awoke.

The remainder of the planetary population was acquired or destroyed in short order. And soon after, with the entire world's resources at its disposal to build its initial ships, the Borg moved outward. You know the rest.

USS_ Triumphant

Excellent hypothesis on the origin of {RU} .

We think very much alike regarding the origin(s) of {RU} .

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

The Bajorans dominated the Cardassians, instead of the other way around, and that started before they met humans. I'd say that's rather different.

Huh? There's no indication that ever happened in the MU. The Bajorans there were occupied, just like the RU ones were - but in the MU, it was by the Terran Empire, not by the Cardassians.

 

[Aquehonga]

The Mirror Universe Borg were running different programs than our Borg when the overmind awoke. Perhaps one of the programs was a social analysis that was trying to figure out ways to make joining the social network more palatable to the hold-out groups on their planet, while simultaneously trying to figure out ways to help their holdouts maintain their ways if they declined.

"We are the Borg. Disarm your weapons, they are futile, and we mean you no harm. May we interest you in some assimilation literature? (Yes/No/Delay Answer)"

Resistance is OPTIONAL, indeed.

USS_Triumphant

Them MU s ain't boogeymen huh

 

[Kaziarl]

While we're on the subject of the borg. When they assimilate a planet, would they assimilate everything? Or just sentient life and kill everything else?

What I mean is, would they assimilate birds? whales? fish? Bears?

That could be scary, a borgified grizzly coming at you?

 

[Aquehonga]

While we're on the subject of the borg. When they assimilate a planet, would they assimilate everything? Or just sentient life and kill everything else?

What I mean is, would they assimilate birds? whales? fish? Bears?

That could be scary, a borgified grizzly coming at you?

You raise some very interesting points & questions Kaziarl

Reminds me:

I'd love to see a ified Founder.

 

[The Borg Queen]

I say they should be like the T-X from Terminator 3, with Borg hardware (assimilation tubules, etc.) covered by a shapeshifting polymimetic drone.

 

[Aquehonga]

I say they should be like the T-X from Terminator 3, with Borg hardware (assimilation tubules, etc.) covered by a shapeshifting polymimetic drone.

Logical hypothesis Your Highness.

Shame we never saw ified Founder on DS9.

 

[The Borg Queen]

Wouldn't it be great though?

Imagine a situation like in First Contact, where you have some shell-shocked Ensigns running around, having narrowly escaped assimilation, and you have a scene where they pair off, and two engineers, Shelly & Crawford, go to the Warp Core to rupture the coolant tanks... Shelly is busy working away, with Crawford standing behind him... the camera pans to focus on Shelly when in the background, we see Crawford as a drone, heading towards the pair!

The camera pans back we see "our" Ensign Crawford is now a white/mottled "Odo" type figure who stretches out their arm, polymimetic fluid draining back revealing a Borg weapon, two assimilation tubules spring out and inject Shelly in the neck...

 

[Turd Ferguson]

Whaddya think they did with your SNW submissions?

Since it never showed up in a book, I assume they got 86'ed into the trash

 

[Kaziarl]

Wouldn't it be great though?

Imagine a situation like in First Contact, where you have some shell-shocked Ensigns running around, having narrowly escaped assimilation, and you have a scene where they pair off, and two engineers, Shelly & Crawford, go to the Warp Core to rupture the coolant tanks... Shelly is busy working away, with Crawford standing behind him... the camera pans to focus on Shelly when in the background, we see Crawford as a drone, heading towards the pair!

The camera pans back we see "our" Ensign Crawford is now a white/mottled "Odo" type figure who stretches out their arm, polymimetic fluid draining back revealing a Borg weapon, two assimilation tubules spring out and inject Shelly in the neck...

That would be unnerving. A borg that can potentially mimic anyone around you. Although the personality would be drastically off, unless they were a vulcan, or a pair of bynar. Can the founders cells be susceptible to nanoprobes? And do we know if they can mimic working technology? I know they can mimic its appearence, but can they actually become a funtioning PADD?

 

[The Wormhole]

While we're on the subject of the borg. When they assimilate a planet, would they assimilate everything? Or just sentient life and kill everything else?

What I mean is, would they assimilate birds? whales? fish? Bears?

That could be scary, a borgified grizzly coming at you?

Shatner's book The Return does feature Borgified dogs and other non-humanoid lifeforms.

I do not recomment reading The Return, but it does do some interesting things with the Borg.

 

[Sci]

No other alien species has ever been shown to be particularly different in the Mirror Universe -- the only major difference between the MU and CU is that the Humans of the MU chose to create an oppressive interstellar empire instead of a liberal democracy.

The Bajorans dominated the Cardassians, instead of the other way around, and that started before they met humans. I'd say that's rather different.

You are completely mis-remembering "Crossover." The Mirror Universe Bajor was conquered and occupied by the Terran Empire and later became an influential world within the Alliance. Once again, the only real difference originates on Earth, with humanity embracing a global political culture of imperialist totalitarianism rather than peaceful liberal democracy.

I've always thought the difference between the MU and the RU is a different universal morality. Or, put another way, their universe was created by a different G_d - one who made different design choices at some pretty fundamental levels, but not that much different, for all that.

There's no evidence of that. Certainly Human political culture seems fundamentally more malevolent, but there's no particular reason to think any other culture is different -- or, rather, that any other culture was different before it came into contact with the Terran Empire.

I see the origin of the RU Borg this way:

There was a sentient species, isolated on one planet with no alien contact, that invented an electronic system for data transfer. At first, it was only used by the militaries and some learning institutions, but gradually, it became partially commercialized and available to most everyone. It rapidly became the primary means of communication between any two or more people who weren't in the same room - and sometimes even when they were, although the people who did that mostly did it to laugh at themselves. To begin with, anyway.

People wanted to be able to carry access to this network everywhere with them. They developed smaller and smaller wireless devices, then wearable devices, and then ultimately, implantable devices. (The most popular brand of these devices was a company whose name would translate into Standard as "The Borg". Their advertisements, which still exist somewhere deep in their databases, would be considered some of the sickest humor ever created by other species who have encountered them since then - but were regarded as pretty clever and cute, if overplayed, by the inhabitants of this world.) At this point, the people using it to communicate even in the same room with each other stopped being laughed at, since they now knew ways to communicate much faster through the equipment than they had ever achieved through conventional speech or writing. They even learned how to share thoughts in real time, if they wanted to.

One day, there were vast numbers people sharing thoughts and thought power to work on three large projects - one, an archival project, another, a space exploration program, and the last, a resource acquisition game (like monopoly, or Civilization). And the overconsciousness awoke.

The remainder of the planetary population was acquired or destroyed in short order. And soon after, with the entire world's resources at its disposal to build its initial ships, the Borg moved outward. You know the rest.

I'm sorry, but I think that's an incredibly lame Borg origin. For one thing, it strikes me as being very derivative of the origin of the alternate universe Cybermen in the revived Doctor Who.

For another: Where's the emotional focus? The sense of tragedy and horror? Your origin of the Borg makes the original species come across as being comically irrational -- "We'll link our brains because it's fun." It also provides a nonsensical explanation for the Borg's imperial tendencies. If it's a game and the Collective was not motivated by a fundamental authoritarian malevolence, the Borg "overmind" would be capable of recognizing that they were causing suffering and terminate their "resource acquisition" game. Plus, it's incredibly unlikely that vast numbers of the original species would be working simultaneously on three different projects like that -- nor do those projects explain the Borg's behavior. Archival projects are about preserving information, not destroying it.

And on top of that: Where does the "overmind" come from? Why did it overpower everyone's individuality?

It also doesn't explain the origin of the Queen, nor does it explain why the Borg have been known to engage in emotional behavior, such as the attempt to create an equal for the Queen in Locutus.

I'm sorry, but the origin in Destiny is much stronger. It explains every aspect of the Borg's behavior, and it's grounded in a sense of existential tragedy that gives the Borg a thematic and emotional depth that they typically lacked in VOY's shoot-'em-up episodes.

 

[USS Triumphant]

You are completely mis-remembering "Crossover."

Fair enough. I misremember the hell out of things, sometimes. Very annoying when it is things from reality, but sometimes I find that I come up with some pretty interesting - if totally wrong - stuff when I do that.

I'm sorry, but I think that's an incredibly lame Borg origin. For one thing, it strikes me as being very derivative of the origin of the alternate universe Cybermen in the revived Doctor Who.

Well, hmm. Two problems with that: 1. This has been my origin for the Borg since I started writing my fanfic materials back in 1995, and 2. What it is meant to be derivitive of is the development of the Internet here on Earth. I see the Borg, in part, as a cautionary tale.

I appreciate that you prefer the origin in Destiny. I haven't read it, and you may be correct that it is better. That doesn't seem like a valid reason to be disrespectful to another poster. If you had merely said that you preferred it, that would have been just fine - I'm not a professional author. But as it is, of course, this means war.

For another: Where's the emotional focus? The sense of tragedy and horror?

As I said, if you reread what I wrote with the real-world history of the 'net in mind, you provide it. You're on the Internet right now. Probably, so are most of your friends and family.

Your origin of the Borg makes the original species come across as being comically irrational -- "We'll link our brains because it's fun."

"Let's build a rickety framework, and try to fly it!" "Hmm... these thistles in my dog's hair. Oooh! Velcro!" "Wouldn't it be cool if we could IM without computers?" "Now that we're (married/bffs/whatever), we share everything - clothes, food, heck, even our minds!" Do those last two really seem all that farfetched? And even if just started with couples and little girls, if it provides an advantage, it would catch on for everyone, eventually.

It also provides a nonsensical explanation for the Borg's imperial tendencies. If it's a game and the Collective was not motivated by a fundamental authoritarian malevolence, the Borg "overmind" would be capable of recognizing that they were causing suffering and terminate their "resource acquisition" game.

Never played many MMORPGs, I take it? Ever seen how they treat "noobs"? The ability to recognise one is causing suffering sadly does not equate to a desire to stop. Some people enjoy it.

Plus, it's incredibly unlikely that vast numbers of the original species would be working simultaneously on three different projects like that

Ever heard of SETI-at-home or Folding-at-home? I didn't say those were even the main things they were all focused on, I just meant that some of their mental power was working on it.

Archival projects are about preserving information, not destroying it.

And the Borg do preserve information, even if they decide to destroy the origin of the data while doing so or afterward.

And on top of that: Where does the "overmind" come from? Why did it overpower everyone's individuality?

How did a collection of independent single celled organisms first become a collective organism? How are your mitochondria part of YOU? Portions of the mindpower of the individuals stopped functioning as parts of separate beings and began functioning as a single mind. Overmind.

It also doesn't explain the origin of the Queen

She was an anomaly - someone they tried to assimilate that was too powerful mentally for them and effectively assimilated them.

Spoiler: Doctor Who

And yes, I know that sounds like the Doctor Who Christmas Special. It has been my explanation for her since First Contact came out. I wanted to throw things at my TV!

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

No other alien species has ever been shown to be particularly different in the Mirror Universe -- the only major difference between the MU and CU is that the Humans of the MU chose to create an oppressive interstellar empire instead of a liberal democracy.

The Bajorans dominated the Cardassians, instead of the other way around, and that started before they met humans. I'd say that's rather different.

While that was not the MU--there WAS, however, a universe shown in TNG's "Parallels" where the Bajoran/Cardassian dynamic appears reversed. (I've been writing fanfic for it.)