What is the perfection that the Borg is after?

[JesterFace]

Does it mean assimilation of every single sentient neing in the entire galaxy and then maybe expand the Borg hive mind through the entire known universe? What then... expanding the collective into other dimensions? Is the Borg perfection a state where everything everywhere is controlled by the Borg? Everybody everywhere are connected to each other...?

 

[Vandervecken]

If you go by Voyager's The Omega Directive, the Omega molecule's structure is somehow the perfection they seek:


SEVEN: Omega is infinitely complex, yet harmonious. To the Borg it represents perfection. I wish to understand that perfection.

 

[at Quark's]

A snippet from BOBW:

<Locutus>: Why do you resist? We only wish to raise quality of life for all species...

If that is true, the Borg really believe that they are "introducing" a superior way of life: without quarrels, more "efficient" (7-speak, I grant that). Whether Locutus really believes that or not, remains to be seen.


At any rate, I have a hard time believing the Borg Queens propaganda talk, seeing that she beheads an abberant drone in the very same two-parter:

QUEEN: Assimilate you. Yes. But that's nothing to be afraid of. You like having friends, don't you? Assimilation turns us all into friends. In fact, it brings us so close together we can hear each other's thoughts.
ALIEN BOY: Is that fun?
QUEEN: Yes. It's fun. I was just about your age when I was assimilated. I was worried then, too. But when I began to hear the others, hear their thoughts, I wasn't afraid anymore.
ALIEN BOY: Don't you miss your parents?
QUEEN: They're here, with me. Part of us. I can hear them right now. Would you like to be with your parents? They miss you. They want to see you.

From this, I'd conclude that the mass of Borg drones are fed talk about 'perfection', but that the real imperative ('meme') is simply to take over others and maintain control (with additional pragmatic directives: assimilating valuable races and leaving those who are 'unworthy of assimilation'), whatever the cost.

 

[Silvercrest]

A place for everything, and everything (and everyone) in its place.

 

[Triskelion]

I never really understood the device of an ideology to explain the Borg; save needing fresh writing material for (species) characterization.

The Borg are about surrender, not the integrity of individual choice. What do they need with an ideology? What do they need to sell?

Given that "Perfection" is canon I suppose I'd interpret it as a euphamistic catchall to justify the wholesale eradication of "imperfection", whatever that may mean.

It may be just a way to enforce order, and rationalize not empowering your populace individually; but keeping them occupied with rote busywork and non-qualitative college entrance exams and, ultimately, avoiding all accountability at the individual and collective level. As well as revising history to taste. Creating a fear of chaos in disagreement, public assembly, and freedom of speech. Making your populace unable and unwilling to discriminate individual liberty, and project only their unmitigated self-service onto the collective. You know, the way it is in reality in certain places.


Never understood the need for a queen, either. Beyond reproduction needs, unless they are cloning the bejeepers out of her. Wholesale assimilation kind of flies in the face of any need for that. (Too many cooks in the writer's room, perhaps).

 

[MacLeod]

Does it mean assimilation of every single sentient neing in the entire galaxy and then maybe expand the Borg hive mind through the entire known universe? What then... expanding the collective into other dimensions? Is the Borg perfection a state where everything everywhere is controlled by the Borg? Everybody everywhere are connected to each other...?

Well some species are unworthy of assimilation. So they obviously need to be eradicated.

But perfection is an illusion, something that can never really be achieved.

 

[hux]

Seven's arse.

 

[The Wormhole]

If you go by Voyager's The Omega Directive, the Omega molecule's structure is somehow the perfection they seek:


SEVEN: Omega is infinitely complex, yet harmonious. To the Borg it represents perfection. I wish to understand that perfection.

Well, not exactly. The way I interpreted that was the Borg were seeking perfection even before they first encountered the Omega molecule, Omega just happened to represent everything they were seeking in perfection.

 

[Terok Nor]

As they were searching for perfection I always assumed the Borg wanted to assimilate me. Correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[Timo]

When 4.7 gadzillion brains think together, it's pretty damned difficult for an "idea" to emerge. If one does emerge, it has to be something incredibly simple and at the same time incredibly abstract, to allow for that fantastic consensus. "Perfection" would certainly fit the bill, and the quest would obviously be never-ending, too...

Timo Saloniemi

 

[tharpdevenport]

the origins of the Borg has occured to me before, but this thread --as a side topic -- as brought up a question that I had never thought of before:

Given that Voyager is unfortunately canon, and the Borg Queen states she was young when she was assimilated, how'd she become the queen? There's been no wording (or suggestion that I recall) of a higher level of power, in fact she even states that she is the borg.

My first thought is that at some point a long time ago that the assimilation was a voluntary process with a goal to better life in some way (however ludicrous the idea is), but her statement that she was afraid seems to contradict that. If my theory is to be the basis, voluntary assimilation wouldn't have been anything to be afraid of but rather something the society/societies/worlds wanted.

Throwing that all aside though, at some point it became a individuless conglomeration of alien life and at some point she had to become the queen. How'd she get it? How does she maintain that control (or is it defacto when your people are a mass of un-thinking drones?)?



Anyway, the Borg, like any other powerful tryranny, doesn't know what perfection is; to them it's another Utopian rainbow to paradise, however they try to get there or what ever it is they think will get them there. Only more authoritarianism, only more control, onlt more de-humanization and group think can achieve this goal, fore the road to paradise can only be built by a compliant populace of drones. "Perfection" is only the term is which they couch their form of despotism.

Perfection is an unachievable goal; it's always just one more freedom lose away, always one more light year off.

 

[F. King Daniel]

There was a cool comic where the Borg had assimilated everything in the distant future, and then began going back though time to assimilate their own history as well. Of course, they got as far back as the Next Gen crew before getting it all undone.

 

[Vandervecken]

Well, not exactly. The way I interpreted that was the Borg were seeking perfection even before they first encountered the Omega molecule, Omega just happened to represent everything they were seeking in perfection.

I do understand that, but at some point in the Borg's evolution Omega did come to represent their ideal of perfection. I am not sure how the organization of Omega would translate into Borg terms--maybe they would somehow make it the numerical/topological basis of their hive mind interplexing system.

 

[JesterFace]

Never understood the need for a queen, either.

I think introducing the queen was a mistake, before her appearance the Borg was a faceless enemy and you couldn't discuss with the Borg, they would just state their demands and that was it.

 

[Scotchy]

It seemed to me that Omega was their symbol of perfection. The goal related to that symbol was to stabilize and use the particle as an unbeatable energy source, just like some other races were attempting.
My guess is that the Borg would aspire to be at the same level as the Q - perfection being an all knowing and all powerful collective mind.

 

[C.E. Evans]

Perfection: When All is One and One is All.

Either that, or finding the greatest pizza in the Universe...

 

[Ghel]

My thoughts (as they are):
I have assumed that the Borg would have started in the distant past with voluntary enhancements (ex. implanting cell phones or other connectivity devices) to improve themselves or for convenience sake. Somewhere along the line, this got twisted into a very involuntary and very intrusive activity. Perhaps some threshold was reached or implanted AI software became self aware. Self-Aware software running INSIDE someones head could be an interesting recipe for disaster.
I doubt, even the Borg have an idea of what "perfection" represents to them any more than Vger did. It's most likely a fragment of an idea left over from who knows when that has somehow stuck around like an old piece of software. I doubt it's any more truly relevant to the Borg than it would be to a human.
Finally, given the number of actresses to play the Borg Queen, perhaps the queen is merely an assimilated, found, or cloned person who meets certain criteria. The queen could be a brain that is strong enough or weak enough to handle housing the AI or making the more organic/analog/human decisions that can't be accomplished by the AI. In this way, multiple people could be a queen, and if one dies, the software just transmits to the next adaptable person. In addition, perhaps the first queen was a female who looked kind of like Alice Krige so the AI "prefers" this body type--all female, all similar looking-- for its hosts. This would also allow them to remember their old life and be the embodiment of the Borg.

 

[137th Gebirg]

"Perfection" is the Borg's "religion", though they would likely be quick to disagree.

What would be the purpose for such "perfection"? What is the Borg's definition of "perfection"? I think this word is the Borg analog to "ascension". It feels a lot like what V'Ger tied to do in TMP. They wish to get to their next level of evolution that they believe will catapult them into a new mode of existence. Possibly a non-corporeal ethereal state. Unlike V'Ger, who thought the goal was attainable only by melding with its creator, the Borg believe the only way to attain this goal is through the acquisition of knowledge of all the species of the galaxy - "know all that is knowable".

It almost sounds like a variation of ancient Gnostic Christianity, where one's journey to understand God (hence, understand "perfection") is through the extensive study of useful things. Once all the pieces are in place, I believe it is the Borg's intention to construct some new kind of technology that will allow the Collective to move into higher dimensions, hence, "ascension". Since the Borg probably have no scientific proof that such an evolution is possible by any means, that moves it into the category of religion, where someone or a group of someones believes it's possible through a leap of faith.

 

[shapeshifter]

"Gene's Vision"

 

[137th Gebirg]

 

[The Wormhole]

"Gene's Vision"

The title of the thread clearly says "the Borg" not "Fandom."