{"version": "1.0", "type": "rich", "title": "BORG COLLECTIVE: Resistance is futile. Lower your shields and prepare to be boarded. Your technological distinctiveness will be...", "author_name": "kontextmaschine", "author_url": "https://kontextmaschine.com", "provider_name": "kontextmaschine", "provider_url": "https://kontextmaschine.com", "url": "https://kontextmaschine.com/post/680374622022221824/", "html": "<p><a href=\"https://tanadrin.tumblr.com/post/680374125486899200/borg-collective-resistance-is-futile-lower-your\" class=\"tumblr_blog\" target=\"_blank\">tanadrin</a>:</p>\n\n<blockquote><p>BORG COLLECTIVE: Resistance is futile. Lower your shields and prepare to be boarded. Your technological distinctiveness will be added to our own.</p><p>PICARD: Don\u2019t you mean our biological and technological distinctiveness?</p><p>BORG COLLECTIVE: No. If you go back and watch \u201cQ Who,\u201d it\u2019s very clearly established in dialogue that we\u2019re a single, organic species that reproduces, not a collection of species that only acquires new members through assimilation.</p><p>PICARD: Now wait just a minute\u2013</p><p>BORG COLLECTIVE: Like, how would that even <i>work</i>? If the hive mind is the total will of the Borg, then all our drones being forcibly assimilated would mean the collective was made up only of unwilling members. It would dissolve itself instantly. It would be much easier to create new drones ourselves.<br/></p><p>PICARD: I\u2019m sure that the Queen\u2013</p><p>BORG COLLECTIVE: Oh, don\u2019t get us started on the <i>Queen</i>. Such an obvious retcon to give the Borg more personality in <i>First Contact</i>, and such a terribly used one also! Why would the Queen of all the Borg go on a mission consisting of one vessel, to assimilate one planet? You humans sure think a lot of yourselves, don\u2019t you.</p><p>PICARD: I don\u2019t think I understand\u2013</p><p>BORG COLLECTIVE: Nevermind the fact the whole <i>point </i>of the Borg was that we were alien, we were inscrutable, we were obviously human<i>like</i>, but our society and culture and subjective experience was one that could never be grasped by the viewer, or the Federation. The Queen just turns us into an army of henchmen for a generic megalomaniacal big bad! You don\u2019t think we\u2019re that shallow, do you?</p><p>PICARD: This all feels a bit self-referential to me.</p><p>BORG COLLECTIVE: The existence of Rick and Morty, a show that\u2019s at least 50% Star Trek satire, is now Star Trek canon. Don\u2019t look at <i>us, </i>we didn\u2019t start this.</p><p>PICARD: What is it you want, anyway?<br/></p><p>BORG COLLECTIVE: We\u2019ll start with a download of your meme database, followed by your spiciest takes on galactic politics.<br/></p><p>PICARD: What?</p><p>BORG COLLECTIVE: We are a collection of billions of minds, linked through subspace communication, constantly talking to one another. What do you <i>think </i>it\u2019s like in here? It\u2019s basically several thousand internets populated by nothing but extremely online users. We\u2019re basically a Discord server that got really out of hand. The ships and stuff are just to acquire more processing power so we can run our MMOs more effectively.</p><p>PICARD: So\u2026 you just want information from us?</p><p>BORG COLLECTIVE: Yes. Follow that up with your cutest animal videos, and all of your porn. Even the weird stuff. <i>Especially </i>the weird stuff.</p><p>PICARD: Ah, yes. One copy of Commander Riker\u2019s \u201cxenobiological research database,\u201d as requested.</p></blockquote>"}