The Genesis Effect Vs. The Borg

[Herkimer Jitty]

Also, because it used protomatter which was illegal or dangerous (I can't recall which one) - something which would make it not a kosher idea.

 

[Peter the Younger]

Well, since the Star Trek universe isn't engaged in a Cold War with Genesis warheads, I think we can assume they found some way of neutralizing it offscreen. Which isn't to say nobody hasn't tried it - recall the Dominion tried to use a protomatter device to induce a supernova in the Bajoran sun, but that plan seemed to heavily depend on the fact that nobody was expecting it.

 

[Geoff]

Hi folks... I'm a little late in coming to the party, but being the author of The Chimes at Midnight, I felt obligated to point out that Thelin (the Enterprise's Andorian first officer) did in fact devise a defense against the Genesis Effect in the midst of the battle with Khan. One would infer that the only reason the Klingons did not develop a similar defense was that they were unable to acquire the technology from the Federation for testing purposes.

So given the parameters I had laid out in the story, I'd say the Borg would eventually be able to adapt to Genesis-based weaponry.

 

[captain parris]

i think you are correct about that.

 

[Richard Baker]

I am going to have to check out 'The Chimes at Midnight,'- sounds pretty interesting.
Amazon eBook?

I think the Genesis device was unduly complicated as a WMD. A big part of it was about creating a balanced and functioning ecosystem. It the matter reorganization was focused on an entirely different result, something destructive in it's own right as well, then it would be an interesting weapon.

 

[Kor]

Since the Genesis device is deployed via a physical projectile, I think the Borg would detect it in advance and stop it from ever reaching them (assuming the data from the tommy gun scene in ST:FC was shared with the rest of the collective).

Kor

 

[Leathco]

I always assumed Genesis tech was turned into replicator tech, rearranging matter into food in conjunction with the transporter. Genesis tech could also have medical applications, such as in the dermal regenerator.

 

[Timo]

Since the Genesis device is deployed via a physical projectile, I think the Borg would detect it in advance and stop it from ever reaching them

...If the Borg realized that a Genesis device was approaching, that is. The Borg do not stop all threats as a matter of course - they let through things they do not perceive as particularly threatening, such as shuttlecraft in the middle of a battle in "BoBW".

Of course, the device could be detonated at a distance. The effects of the device detonated by Khan propagated through empty space nicely enough. Whether they could have been stopped by starship shields is unknown, as Kirk's ship suffered from a twofold lack of shields (nebula disrupted them, main power was down) when David made his expert evaluation that they were all going to die. Whether Borg shields would fare better than Starfleet starship shields is another unknown variable.

Well, since the Star Trek universe isn't engaged in a Cold War with Genesis warheads, I think we can assume they found some way of neutralizing it offscreen.

I wouldn't bet on that. The Trek superpowers and even second-rate empires are shown to possess impressive weapons of mass destruction, such as techniques to set an entire atmosphere aflame ("The Chase"), make a star flare ("Shadows and Symbols"), or turn all life to dust (ST:NEM). Yet these weapons only see sporadic use, which is a worst-case scenario for us Trek apologists, as it debunks two possible explanations in one blow: it can't be a case of Mutually Assured Destruction or else the side being hit would retaliate in kind, and it can't be a case of existing defenses or else the side being hit would defend itself.

Which isn't to say nobody hasn't tried it - recall the Dominion tried to use a protomatter device to induce a supernova in the Bajoran sun, but that plan seemed to heavily depend on the fact that nobody was expecting it.

Or then the whole point was to make everybody notice it and worry about it, so that attention would be diverted from the real threat, which was the jamming open of the wormhole. Heck, we don't even know if the Founder had any protomatter bomb for real - it might have been pure bluff. Why else would the Founder deliberately have blown its cover and invited the heroes to a chase? Dropping a bomb into the star could have been done in total secrecy if the Founder so wanted.

Protomatter also returns in "Second Sight", where Gideon Seyetlik uses it to reignite a dead star. Either the substance got safer in the intervening century, or then its supposed unethicality in ST2/3 was not due to safety issues at all. Perhaps Marcus wasn't a good sport for using the easy way out or something?

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Ronald Held]

Would you want to take the risk, even if small, of the Borg assimilating Genesis tech?

 

[Paradise City]

Genesis Effect never bothered me. It just seemed like a very big bomb.

 

[Timo]

The big plus would seem to be that you can detonate it a great distance from your target and still wreak havoc. Khan pushed the button quite a few impulse-minutes away from Regula and its star, inside a dense nebula that didn't appear to be in immediate danger of being torn apart by the gravity of those two objects. The effect still created a world at apparent Goldilocks distance from the star (the likeliest way to do that would be to transform Regula). So we're probably talking about a destructive radius of dozens of AUs at the very least - the Klingons in ST:TMP wouldn't have needed to risk their ridges when destroying V'Ger if they had a bomb of this sort.

Timo Saloniemi