Borg (Star Trek)

The Borg

A Borg insignia, designed by Rick Sternbach (first appeared in the episode Q Who)
Founded	Before the 15th century
Base of operations	Delta Quadrant

The Borg are a fictional alien race that appear as recurring antagonists in the Star Trek franchise. The Borg are a collection of species that have been turned into cybernetic organisms functioning as drones in a hive mind called "the Collective" or "the Hive". The Borg use a process called assimilation to force other species into the Collective by injecting microscopic machines called nanoprobes, as well as with surgically adding cybernetic parts. The Borg are driven by a need for 'perfection', and assimilate other races to further that goal. Aside from being recurring antagonists in The Next Generation television series, they are depicted as the main threat in the film Star Trek: First Contact. In addition, they played major roles in the Voyager series, and serve as the way home to the Alpha Quadrant for the isolated Federation starship USS Voyager. The first encounter between humans and the Borg is depicted in the 2nd season of the series Enterprise in the episode "Regeneration" in the which the phrase 'you will be assimilated; resistance is futile' is heard by the crew of Starfleet's starship USS Enterprise for the very first time.

The Borg have become a symbol in popular culture for any juggernaut against which "resistance is futile". TV Guide named the Borg #4 in their 2013 list of the 60 Nastiest Villains of All Time.

In the text commentary to the collector's edition of Star Trek: First Contact, Michael Okuda revealed that Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG) writers began to develop the idea of the Borg as early as the first-season episode, "Conspiracy", which introduced a coercive, symbiotic life form that took over key Federation personnel. It was thwarted by the Enterprise crew and presumably never heard of again (the 'alien conspiracy' plotline itself was scrapped when it became clear that the concept was too grim for Star Trek's target audience). Plans to feature the Borg as an increasingly menacing threat were subsequently scrapped in favor of a more subtle introduction, beginning with the mystery of missing colonies on both sides of the Neutral Zone in "The Neutral Zone" and culminating in the encounter between Borg and the Enterprise crew in "Q Who?".