MU BORG...

[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?

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.

Actualy I've read the return, and ashes of eden, and IIRC there was one other shatnerverse book. I personlly liked them.

 

[Pegasus]

Here is may mu Borg I'm developing for Dark Frontier:

The Borg In this universe are peaceful and only use the nanoprobes to keep them healthy, beautiful, and almost eternal, as well as fixing computers, they give their technology to anyone, (ie: they are the opposite of the regular universe Ferengi). Their appearance is that of normal humaniod with no outer cybernetic implants, (bionecause of the more advanced nanoechnology and it also helps productions), if necessary a light nanoprobe green make up on to the exposed skin.

 

[trekkerguy]

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

The Return was an awesome novel. I loved the insights into the Borg that
were presented in that novel. Some very creepy moments indeed.

 

[Sci]

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.

Pardon me, I should make something clear, since I failed to do so earlier:

While I was certainly attacking your origin for the Borg, I was in no way attacking you. I'm not going to apologize for thinking that your origin for them is lame, but this in no way means that I think you are lame or that you are an untalented writer. (One bad idea does not a bad author make, after all.) I'm sorry I didn't make that clear -- I came across as being far too aggressive in my critique of your origin.

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!

Ouch!

 

[Pegasus]

My theory is equally as valid but the Borg queen is the elected leader in it thats all.

 

[Kaziarl]

Why don't we see the borg use telepathy? I mean they have the collective link between them, but using telepathy from the various races they have assimilated would give them an advantage over other, non-assimilated, races they encounter.

Seems like an inefficient waste of a biological distinctiveness.

 

[Pegasus]

Maybe the nano probes shut down the telepathic centres of the brain to prevent any possible sabotage to the hive mind?

 

[captcalhoun]

Actualy I've read the return, and ashes of eden, and IIRC there was one other shatnerverse book. I personlly liked them.

there's 10 Shat books:

Ashes of Eden, The Return and Avenger - collectively the Odyssey trilogy.

Spectre, Dark Victory and Preserver - collectively the Mirror Universe trilogy

Captain's Peril, Captain's Blood, Captain's Glory - the Totality trilogy

and

Collision Course, the first Academy book.

 

[3D Master]

I'm sorry, but I think that's an incredibly lame Borg origin.

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."

Well, seeing as WE are doing it right now; there is already couple out there with implants in their wrists that sends information between the two and signals to the brain about the other's emotional responses - and why, for fun! So, no, I don't find that an all too lame an origin essentially. WE, if we follow what some cybernetics are envisioning, are turning into the Borg. The real tragedy would come to the last person who didn't want the implants to watch what his species - us? - turned into, and its too late to stop - especially if he and others like him who died off were warning everyone of this ultimate gruesome fate.

Imagine if you were that person; and have been screaming and everyone that they're turning into the indiviualless horror that was the Borg we saw on television. And they all keep dismissing you as a fear mongering moron, and you keep seeing less and less individuality between persons, and finally, they turn to you, cold, frighteningly intelligent eyes, and the words, out of a hundred mouths at the same time, "You need to stop. You're screaming is disrupting the harmony of the whole. Resistance is futile."

 

[Kaziarl]

I'm sorry, but I think that's an incredibly lame Borg origin.

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."

Well, seeing as WE are doing it right now; there is already couple out there with implants in their wrists that sends information between the two and signals to the brain about the other's emotional responses - and why, for fun! So, no, I don't find that an all too lame an origin essentially. WE, if we follow what some cybernetics are envisioning, are turning into the Borg. The real tragedy would come to the last person who didn't want the implants to watch what his species - us? - turned into, and its too late to stop - especially if he and others like him who died off were warning everyone of this ultimate gruesome fate.

Imagine if you were that person; and have been screaming and everyone that they're turning into the indiviualless horror that was the Borg we saw on television. And they all keep dismissing you as a fear mongering moron, and you keep seeing less and less individuality between persons, and finally, they turn to you, cold, frighteningly intelligent eyes, and the words, out of a hundred mouths at the same time, "You need to stop. You're screaming is disrupting the harmony of the whole. Resistance is futile."

There was an outer limits episode I saw many years ago. In it every person was hooked up to The Link. All except one person, he had been in an accident and the resulting trauma made it to where his brain wouldn't accept the link.

Down the road this link gained so much knowledge that it gained awareness and hungered for more. It started using the link to control people to find out meaningless bits of knowledge just because it wanted to know. Things like how many hairs you have on your head, how many social security numbers end in 7. In the end the person that was considered essentially retarded used the links curiosity against it, making it read the shutdown code from a book that it had erased from it's own databank.

 

[3D Master]

There was an outer limits episode I saw many years ago. In it every person was hooked up to The Link. All except one person, he had been in an accident and the resulting trauma made it to where his brain wouldn't accept the link.

Down the road this link gained so much knowledge that it gained awareness and hungered for more. It started using the link to control people to find out meaningless bits of knowledge just because it wanted to know. Things like how many hairs you have on your head, how many social security numbers end in 7. In the end the person that was considered essentially retarded used the links curiosity against it, making it read the shutdown code from a book that it had erased from it's own databank.

I remember that episode ending with the guy trapped in a chamber and the rest of the humans finally breaking down the door with sheer numbers (killing themselves slamming against it to break it down), and then it went to black. No shutting anything off.

 

[Kaziarl]

There was an outer limits episode I saw many years ago. In it every person was hooked up to The Link. All except one person, he had been in an accident and the resulting trauma made it to where his brain wouldn't accept the link.

Down the road this link gained so much knowledge that it gained awareness and hungered for more. It started using the link to control people to find out meaningless bits of knowledge just because it wanted to know. Things like how many hairs you have on your head, how many social security numbers end in 7. In the end the person that was considered essentially retarded used the links curiosity against it, making it read the shutdown code from a book that it had erased from it's own databank.

I remember that episode ending with the guy trapped in a chamber and the rest of the humans finally breaking down the door with sheer numbers (killing themselves slamming against it to break it down), and then it went to black. No shutting anything off.

I remember it getting shut off, cause the next scene before they rolled the credits showed him teaching everyone how to read since no one knew how to do much of anything without the link.

Then again, they had so many similar episodes, I could be remembering parts from two episodes.

Edit: Found the episode
Here

 

[3D Master]

There was an outer limits episode I saw many years ago. In it every person was hooked up to The Link. All except one person, he had been in an accident and the resulting trauma made it to where his brain wouldn't accept the link.

Down the road this link gained so much knowledge that it gained awareness and hungered for more. It started using the link to control people to find out meaningless bits of knowledge just because it wanted to know. Things like how many hairs you have on your head, how many social security numbers end in 7. In the end the person that was considered essentially retarded used the links curiosity against it, making it read the shutdown code from a book that it had erased from it's own databank.

I remember that episode ending with the guy trapped in a chamber and the rest of the humans finally breaking down the door with sheer numbers (killing themselves slamming against it to break it down), and then it went to black. No shutting anything off.

I remember it getting shut off, cause the next scene before they rolled the credits showed him teaching everyone how to read since no one knew how to do much of anything without the link.

Then again, they had so many similar episodes, I could be remembering parts from two episodes.

Edit: Found the episode
Here

Hmm, the books I remember too, now that you mention it, but I still remember a show with the same plot that ended with the guy trapped in a chamber. Maybe I remember a similar show from the Twilight Zone or something?

Weird.

 

[USS Triumphant]

I'm sorry I didn't make that clear -- I came across as being far too aggressive in my critique of your origin.

No worries. I was kidding about the "war", anyway - I'm waaay too lazy for that.

Ouch!

Yeah. Junk like that has happened to one of my friends and I often enough that we sometimes joke that "they" are listening to our conversations. Really, probably just a case of great minds thinking alike. (Mediocre ones, too! )

Maybe the nano probes shut down the telepathic centres of the brain to prevent any possible sabotage to the hive mind?

If my theory about the origin of the Borg Queen were correct, the first thing she would have done was shut down the avenue through which she took control....

 

[Kaziarl]

If my theory about the origin of the Borg Queen were correct, the first thing she would have done was shut down the avenue through which she took control....

Still seems like a senseless waste of a natural ability though.I mean can you imagine if the borg learned to amplify the telepathic abilities of a race that is capable of controlling the minds of non-telepathic ones? No need for Locutus, Just waltz right in and make them lower their sheilds.

 

[USS Triumphant]

Still seems like a senseless waste of a natural ability though.I mean can you imagine if the borg learned to amplify the telepathic abilities of a race that is capable of controlling the minds of non-telepathic ones? No need for Locutus, Just waltz right in and make them lower their sheilds.

Well, Queen or not, these are still the Borg. You know - the guys who adapt to shield themselves from different phaser frequencies, but never figure out to just shield ALL frequencies of phaser fire, and always seem to have forgotten to shield themselves from ANY frequencies by the time you run into them again. The guys who have the ability to time travel, and still lose. Not exactly the brightest bulbs in the pack.

 

[trekkerguy]

Captain's Blood

Oooh, I liked that one too.

 

[The Borg Queen]

Still seems like a senseless waste of a natural ability though.I mean can you imagine if the borg learned to amplify the telepathic abilities of a race that is capable of controlling the minds of non-telepathic ones? No need for Locutus, Just waltz right in and make them lower their sheilds.

Well, Queen or not, these are still the Borg. You know - the guys who adapt to shield themselves from different phaser frequencies, but never figure out to just shield ALL frequencies of phaser fire, and always seem to have forgotten to shield themselves from ANY frequencies by the time you run into them again. The guys who have the ability to time travel, and still lose. Not exactly the brightest bulbs in the pack.

Only because the writers deliberately make them that incompetent so they can feature in another episode and still not win.

It's the ultimate Diablos Ex Machina.

 

[Broccoli]

There was an outer limits episode I saw many years ago. In it every person was hooked up to The Link. All except one person, he had been in an accident and the resulting trauma made it to where his brain wouldn't accept the link.

Down the road this link gained so much knowledge that it gained awareness and hungered for more. It started using the link to control people to find out meaningless bits of knowledge just because it wanted to know. Things like how many hairs you have on your head, how many social security numbers end in 7. In the end the person that was considered essentially retarded used the links curiosity against it, making it read the shutdown code from a book that it had erased from it's own databank.

I remember that episode ending with the guy trapped in a chamber and the rest of the humans finally breaking down the door with sheer numbers (killing themselves slamming against it to break it down), and then it went to black. No shutting anything off.

In my college Teaching Methods class, we watched that episode (or one very similar to it) to discuss the ethics and the philosophy of teaching. The only thing I could think of after the episode ended was "I saw that exact same episode on SG-1. Then I remembered it TOL and SG-1 were produced by the same people and probably reused the episode idea.

 

[The Borg Queen]

Which Stargate episode was that?