Endgame (VOY)

[Eishtmo]

I wrote a thing a while ago on the origin of the Borg, mostly as a kind of STO fanfic, but I like it well enough. Here:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PLG ... sp=sharing

[SuccubusYuri]

I rather like how Chuck casually suggested perhaps peace was the original goal in Unity. For all we know.

Think the Kaleds and the Thals from Doctor Who, at war for so long no one even remembers why. But then! A breakthrough in cybernetics allow you to experience the emotions of others, allows you to empathize with them. And after so many centuries of turmoil, as people within their factions share their emotions, everyone realizes, "We're all tired." They all knew they were tired of war, but when they looked on themselves saw how exhausted, how empty they were maintaining it. And both sides agree to a grand compromise. Forever their planet would be linked this way, sharing their thoughts and emotions so that no misunderstandings could take place again. Because hate is the driving force of their conflict, perhaps now they can close that chapter now that they can empathize with the other side. And so weary from such a conflict, the original Borg breathe a sigh of relief on armistice day, knowing that they would never war again.

[StrangeDevice]

Ah, but surely we must spread this unity abroad? No longer will these worlds be victims of war, they themselves freed from the tyranny of misunderstandings will be able to develop art, culture and civilisation unparalleled in this corner of the galaxy or the other. Surely, it is the duty of the Borg to reach out their fingers, bestow each new world with this magnificent gift of cooperation and you can see where this is going...

It's like how the Daleks and Cybermen are peacemakers in their own warped way. The cosmos will be a tranquil garden with a single dominating life form controlling every world, working in perfect harmony without fear or prejudice.

Eishtmo's idea for the Collective is an intriguing one, it actually reminds me of an idea I had for my own VOY rewrite. The series started out with Annika Hansen who got disconnected before we meet her on screen. We get to know her over roughly three years and in that fourth, she's captured and reassimilated. The crew get her back by disconnecting her in a similar way to the canonical "Scorpion", but shy Annika is gone permanently and we're left instead with the wolfish Seven of Nine who "killed" her.

[J!!]

lall i want to do is create the perfect genetic soldier.



personally, i'm very glad they never tried to create any kind of origin story for the borg. they work best in my opinion as this mysterious and unfathomable menace, whom the heroes just barely ever manage to survive encountering.

[StrangeDevice]

lall i want to do is create the perfect genetic soldier.



personally, i'm very glad they never tried to create any kind of origin story for the borg. they work best in my opinion as this mysterious and unfathomable menace, whom the heroes just barely ever manage to survive encountering.

Me too, but I'd love to see some of the characters speculate as to their origins based around their own experiences with other cultures and their own society, see how many different nightmares they embody.

[Dînadan]

I rather like how Chuck casually suggested perhaps peace was the original goal in Unity. For all we know.

Think the Kaleds and the Thals from Doctor Who, at war for so long no one even remembers why. But then! A breakthrough in cybernetics allow you to experience the emotions of others, allows you to empathize with them. And after so many centuries of turmoil, as people within their factions share their emotions, everyone realizes, "We're all tired." They all knew they were tired of war, but when they looked on themselves saw how exhausted, how empty they were maintaining it. And both sides agree to a grand compromise. Forever their planet would be linked this way, sharing their thoughts and emotions so that no misunderstandings could take place again. Because hate is the driving force of their conflict, perhaps now they can close that chapter now that they can empathize with the other side. And so weary from such a conflict, the original Borg breathe a sigh of relief on armistice day, knowing that they would never war again.

Maybe the Memorial from 'Memorial' was the prototype for this armistice? They built it, realised how fucked up it was and moved on to direct interfacing and abandoned the Memorial Planet because 1) it was fucking over anyone that tried to get close enough to turn it off and 2) with the new neural network in place anyone who tried to get close enough to turn it off meant the whole collective got fucked over by it so they just said "sod it" and left it alone while they set off on their voyage of being galactic peace and unity.

[Eishtmo]

The problem with making any backstory for the Borg is that, well, they weren't really designed with one. They were a force of nature, and woe if the winds blew them in your direction. There would be hints and pieces at what might have been, but ultimately, any actual backstory would ruin them as a menace.

Any backstory would be translated through the writer's own perceptions of what was important. Was it a rampant virus? A peace deal that went horribly wrong? A series of at the time reasonable choices that paved the road to hell? Ultimately, it would disappoint a great many people, and weaken them as a force of nature they were always meant to be. Which then got torpedoed when the Borg Queen showed up.

[Admiral X]

Pretty much my feeling, too. I liked it better when they were the mysterious space elder gods. They were the perfect foil to the Federation - they couldn't be talked down or negotiated with, and trying to fight them would be like trying to hold back a tsunami. There was no individuality amongst them, which is part of what made them hard to understand, and completely different from us. And then they ruined it by making the queen for First Contact under the theory that the audience needed an easier to understand antagonist. Then VOY made it worse by continually nerfing the Borg so they actually had a chance against them, and then by trying to explain them.

[cdrood]

I just rewatched the video and the episode is really an instance of killing a fly with an atomic bomb. Using time travel to save three people (and a few more unnamed ones) hardly makes sense. She as no clue what might result from the change. Is it really likely that once exposed to more opportunities that Seven and Chakotay would even stay together. This is literally her first relationship. Is Tuvok's mental health worth someone not being born? What about the Doctor's marriage? Going by the actress' age, she would have been 25 when Voyager returned. In the new timeline she'd be 9. Is the Doctor likely to ever even meet her?

I think a fix, which might even fix some other Voyager problems would be to, as others have said, make the future bad. For example, what if Sever of Nine is a Trojan Horse. She and he Borg nanoprobes they use so casually have infect Earth and The Alpha Quadrant. All along, the Borg have been letting Voyager "win" in their encounters to help get them that world that keeps eluding them. Seven wouldn't even have to know her status. Then make the mission be to go back in time and kill her before she can destroy the Federation. Now you create a moral dilemma the characters have to deal with that's also personal. It also makes the Chakotay relationship more plot relevant.

[Artabax]

Back-story of the Borg:
Once upon a time, the Borg were mighty.
Then Riker fucked them to death.
Then Janeway smugged them to death.
Then Janeway smugged them to death.
Then Janeway smugged them to death.