As the most popular, restored tale of the Borg will hit the stores in April, I figured it's a good time to look back on STNG's most popular enemies. If you haven't read the sources of these origins you may want to look away.
If you look closely enough they are out there...here's what we have so far:
Origin
The origin of the Borg is never made clear, though they are portrayed as having existed for hundreds or thousands of years (as attested by Guinan and the Borg Queen). In Star Trek: First Contact, the Borg Queen merely states that the Borg were once much like humanity, "flawed and weak", but gradually developed into a partially synthetic species in an ongoing attempt to evolve and perfect themselves. This theme or relation to humanity is repeated in other sources.
Borg Invasion:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=7HggEf9xrLY
In TNG's "Q Who?", Guinan mentions that the Borg are "made up of organic and artificial life [...] which has been developing for [...] thousands of centuries." In the later episode of Star Trek: Voyager, "Dragon's Teeth", Gedrin, of the race the Vaadwaur, says that before he and his people were put into suspended animation 892 years earlier, the Borg were just a few assimilated colonies inside the Delta Quadrant and viewed somewhat like a minor pain. Now awake in the 24th century, he is amazed to see that the Borg control a vast area of the Delta Quadrant. Seven of Nine comments that the Borg's collective memories of that time period are fragmentary, though it is never established why that is.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anMOQ3vTy9k
I hate this origin most of all, it makes NO sense whatsoever. V'Ger was from a machine planet, they were sentient but very logical. It was confused only by its merging with the Voyager probe and it's resulting damage. It got what it wanted...something new to explore in a desired MERGING with human beings. This and The Matrix movies are the greatest examples of a positive Singularity in film..in both cases after some conflict, there is a merging or working together and peace. It's the exact opposite of assimilation. Tacking on a Borg origin to this story cheapens the good ending of STTMP.
Borg Documentary:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7txo8OfYONA
So finally here's my take on it: a slightly revised and condensed origin of the Borg I've posted since the late 90s.
ORIGIN OF THE BORG
I have an interesting idea for the Borg. It is based on the Galactic Center series of novels by Gregory Benford. In it, he hypothesizes that all lifeforms that are intelligent/advanced enough, would seek the rich energy at the center of any galaxy--especially ones with black holes at the center--which spew forth gamma, radio, and all sorts of energetic waves. This would be an ultimate source of energy for any species, and an ecosystem similar to hot vents at the bottom of the sea, which supports many various lifeforms, despite the difficulty in existing there. However, organic life may find existence at galactic center too difficult. The ecosystem would cause the organic forms to die, and their hardy machines to continue on. The machines would "evolve", create new, more advanced machines. The best machines would exist closer to the black hole, natural selection would shape their form, they would get the best of the energy while less advanced forms would absorb photons further out. There would be predators, prey and parasites, as in any biological ecosystem. My idea is that the Borg are at a level of machine evolution where they are part man, part machine--very advanced, but less advanced than the other machines which Benford calls mechanicals, or "mechs". The Borg have sent out numerous ships to gather all raw materials in a desperate attempt to accelerate their evolution, and catch up to the mechs. They want that energy! The only means of traveling that distance to galactic center in a reasonable time is by the transwarp conduits they use. Most of the oldest Borg exist at galactic center fighting for scraps like scavengers. The Borg "queen" was one of them, and was entrigued by Data and humans after being gone so long from the rest of the galaxy. Hence her behavior in STFC.
The mechs on the fringe of galactic center will be mostly interested in their absorption of energy, however, close rivals will surely struggle with, and pursue them, giving the Borg's hunt a sense of urgency. In Benford's books, the most advanced mechs near the event horizon of the black hole have shed their advanced metal/ceramic bodies, and become pure energy, as in the biological model. Many of the mechs will exist as "herds" of gigantic sheets of energy-absorbing "wing" or solar-type panels. Some of them will be gigantic, as they live in zero gravity, and try to maximize surface area to collect energy waves. Photovores dozens of square miles in area are common. They will be hunted by packs of jagged-shaped metallic predators called metallovores that can absorb energy and materials in fusion furnaces, and turn them into needed alloys, as the sun has been fulfilling the old alchemist's dream of transmutation of matter. Mech ships would be created out of several large, mech bodies, and would have a segmented, complex look. The most advanced metallic mechs even have weapons that can distort space-time itself. You can see what the Borg would be up against.
So far in ST up to DF, the Borg origins are left enigmatic, and no doubt this will be the case for a long time because the writers would not want this fascinating race to lose any of their mystery. But most people I have seen tend to overlook that their reasons for assimilating(if not their actual creation/origin) are mentioned time and again. They simply feel theirs is the best way..they feel the enhancement of lifeforms is their prime directive, and unleash their single-minded collective will on everyone they encounter. Is this a satisfying reason? Possibly, its not unlike the Nazi ideal of Aryan perfection, and so they appear to be like the stormtroopers in SW--which to me is somewhat of a disappointment. They should be much more interesting than this, and I feel my idea above supplies the rationale that does not conflict much with established history. In Dark Frontier, the Queen mentions that she is of an assimilated species, now this could still mean she is one of the oldest Borg, or it could be the NEW queen is a newer species and that the original Queen we saw is still from a similar but older species (just speculation if it were to fit into my origin). I feel that the idea she is a coordinator rather than leader of the Borg has as much evidence as the common conception of her because of the "hive", "insect" and hierarchical analogies that seem obvious.
END:
While the evolution to AI/mechanical species is a common concept in fiction (Culture series, Anvil of Stars, etc) and within speculation of scientists (Hawking, Dick, Bostrom, Marovec, Benford, Vinge, et al) I felt I should credit Benford with the direct inspiration.
http://www.gregorybenford.com/
http://www.worldswithoutend.com/sea...c+Center+Series&t=1&at=All&gid=0&ys=0&ye=9999
RAMA
If you look closely enough they are out there...here's what we have so far:
Origin
The origin of the Borg is never made clear, though they are portrayed as having existed for hundreds or thousands of years (as attested by Guinan and the Borg Queen). In Star Trek: First Contact, the Borg Queen merely states that the Borg were once much like humanity, "flawed and weak", but gradually developed into a partially synthetic species in an ongoing attempt to evolve and perfect themselves. This theme or relation to humanity is repeated in other sources.
Borg Invasion:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=7HggEf9xrLY
In TNG's "Q Who?", Guinan mentions that the Borg are "made up of organic and artificial life [...] which has been developing for [...] thousands of centuries." In the later episode of Star Trek: Voyager, "Dragon's Teeth", Gedrin, of the race the Vaadwaur, says that before he and his people were put into suspended animation 892 years earlier, the Borg were just a few assimilated colonies inside the Delta Quadrant and viewed somewhat like a minor pain. Now awake in the 24th century, he is amazed to see that the Borg control a vast area of the Delta Quadrant. Seven of Nine comments that the Borg's collective memories of that time period are fragmentary, though it is never established why that is.
Legacy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anMOQ3vTy9k
I hate this origin most of all, it makes NO sense whatsoever. V'Ger was from a machine planet, they were sentient but very logical. It was confused only by its merging with the Voyager probe and it's resulting damage. It got what it wanted...something new to explore in a desired MERGING with human beings. This and The Matrix movies are the greatest examples of a positive Singularity in film..in both cases after some conflict, there is a merging or working together and peace. It's the exact opposite of assimilation. Tacking on a Borg origin to this story cheapens the good ending of STTMP.
A medical accident cause by Kirk?? Well he DID seem to hate machines didnt he? This doesn't really seem to fit well with the few "canon" elements we do have, mainly from Voyager and First Contact, still I could entertain the idea the Borg were not an intentional result of directed medical knowledge from an advanced species. More likely though, as many scientists as well as science fiction authors suggest, most biological species will likely end up as mechanical AI or partially mechanical at some point.Species will eventually outstrip the biological limitations and even we as a species in 2013 have already ended our biological evolution.
This is more like it, I haven't read the books (I started reading the series after it)but I like this one better. I like the irony of the ending though I'm not sure I buy it. I also think the thrown in time part is a bit convoluted. It seems possible that sheer survival might lead to this evolution..a group mind could be perverted, and it also provides an origin for the "Queen". Still I'm not completely satisfied.
Borg Documentary:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7txo8OfYONA
So finally here's my take on it: a slightly revised and condensed origin of the Borg I've posted since the late 90s.
ORIGIN OF THE BORG
I have an interesting idea for the Borg. It is based on the Galactic Center series of novels by Gregory Benford. In it, he hypothesizes that all lifeforms that are intelligent/advanced enough, would seek the rich energy at the center of any galaxy--especially ones with black holes at the center--which spew forth gamma, radio, and all sorts of energetic waves. This would be an ultimate source of energy for any species, and an ecosystem similar to hot vents at the bottom of the sea, which supports many various lifeforms, despite the difficulty in existing there. However, organic life may find existence at galactic center too difficult. The ecosystem would cause the organic forms to die, and their hardy machines to continue on. The machines would "evolve", create new, more advanced machines. The best machines would exist closer to the black hole, natural selection would shape their form, they would get the best of the energy while less advanced forms would absorb photons further out. There would be predators, prey and parasites, as in any biological ecosystem. My idea is that the Borg are at a level of machine evolution where they are part man, part machine--very advanced, but less advanced than the other machines which Benford calls mechanicals, or "mechs". The Borg have sent out numerous ships to gather all raw materials in a desperate attempt to accelerate their evolution, and catch up to the mechs. They want that energy! The only means of traveling that distance to galactic center in a reasonable time is by the transwarp conduits they use. Most of the oldest Borg exist at galactic center fighting for scraps like scavengers. The Borg "queen" was one of them, and was entrigued by Data and humans after being gone so long from the rest of the galaxy. Hence her behavior in STFC.
The mechs on the fringe of galactic center will be mostly interested in their absorption of energy, however, close rivals will surely struggle with, and pursue them, giving the Borg's hunt a sense of urgency. In Benford's books, the most advanced mechs near the event horizon of the black hole have shed their advanced metal/ceramic bodies, and become pure energy, as in the biological model. Many of the mechs will exist as "herds" of gigantic sheets of energy-absorbing "wing" or solar-type panels. Some of them will be gigantic, as they live in zero gravity, and try to maximize surface area to collect energy waves. Photovores dozens of square miles in area are common. They will be hunted by packs of jagged-shaped metallic predators called metallovores that can absorb energy and materials in fusion furnaces, and turn them into needed alloys, as the sun has been fulfilling the old alchemist's dream of transmutation of matter. Mech ships would be created out of several large, mech bodies, and would have a segmented, complex look. The most advanced metallic mechs even have weapons that can distort space-time itself. You can see what the Borg would be up against.
So far in ST up to DF, the Borg origins are left enigmatic, and no doubt this will be the case for a long time because the writers would not want this fascinating race to lose any of their mystery. But most people I have seen tend to overlook that their reasons for assimilating(if not their actual creation/origin) are mentioned time and again. They simply feel theirs is the best way..they feel the enhancement of lifeforms is their prime directive, and unleash their single-minded collective will on everyone they encounter. Is this a satisfying reason? Possibly, its not unlike the Nazi ideal of Aryan perfection, and so they appear to be like the stormtroopers in SW--which to me is somewhat of a disappointment. They should be much more interesting than this, and I feel my idea above supplies the rationale that does not conflict much with established history. In Dark Frontier, the Queen mentions that she is of an assimilated species, now this could still mean she is one of the oldest Borg, or it could be the NEW queen is a newer species and that the original Queen we saw is still from a similar but older species (just speculation if it were to fit into my origin). I feel that the idea she is a coordinator rather than leader of the Borg has as much evidence as the common conception of her because of the "hive", "insect" and hierarchical analogies that seem obvious.
END:
While the evolution to AI/mechanical species is a common concept in fiction (Culture series, Anvil of Stars, etc) and within speculation of scientists (Hawking, Dick, Bostrom, Marovec, Benford, Vinge, et al) I felt I should credit Benford with the direct inspiration.
http://www.gregorybenford.com/
http://www.worldswithoutend.com/sea...c+Center+Series&t=1&at=All&gid=0&ys=0&ye=9999
RAMA
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