The Borg have a number of distinct and unique technologies at their disposal from regenerative
nanites that can repair entire superstructures to centuries worth of different species arsenals.
But one technology that Starfleet has its eye on is the Borg Transwarp capabilities.
Following Slipstream Drive and Coaxial Warp, we’re going to look at the potential for
Starfleet and the Federation to replicate this faster-than-light method of travel.
Hi, Ric here and first off, let’s look at what Borg Transwarp is. An important distinction
to make is that this is a very different technology than the great experiment in transwarp performed
by Starfleet in the late 23rd century. In fact, Transwarp as a term is usually applied
to any form of propulsion that exceeds warp speeds while remaining below the theoretical
warp barrier of 10. Honestly this terminology needs to be adopted and officialised by Starfleet
in my opinion as the Warp scale is going to get increasingly crowded after the warp 9
mark as the increase is exponential in nature with 9.5 being at least twice the speed of
9 and 9.7 being multitudes faster still. So just call any speeds after a certain point
Transwarp and introduce a new scale so people don’t have to start saying engage at Warp
9.99999975…9. Wow, okay, barely a minute in and already
derailed. Back on topic. The most experience with the Borg Transwarp
comes from the USS Voyager during its extensive encounters with them in their home territory
of the Delta Quadrant where they are able to get detailed looks at the technology and
even manage to steal elements of it for their own use. Plus Seven of Nine’s extensive
knowledge of the apparatus. Unlike Slipstream Drive or standard Warp, the Transwarp used
by the Borg required the inclusion of extra elements external from the Starship. A Network
of artificial subspace corridors have to be created and maintained in order to utilise
a Borg Transwarp Drive. This network of energy conduits spans throughout much of the Delta
Quadrant and even had branches all the way to the other Quadrants.
These roots are immersed in subspace and therefore undetectable by standard means, being a realm
apart from normal spacetime. The corridors themselves are maintained by interspatial
manifolds that direct the corridors and prevent them from collapsing. Intelligence gathered
indicates that the corridors have at least six focused hubs that act as control centres
for the network and as a nexus for Borg ships. The vessels themselves, alongside standard
warp capabilities are connected to this network via several internal Transwarp coils and the
ability to open a subspace rift into which the ship would traverse. Once inside the network,
a ship rode through the energy conduits at exceptional speeds relative to normal space
and then could exit the corridor lightyears away.
The method used to create the corridors in the first place is a subject of much speculation
from Starfleet, with the study of several subspace phenomena to further their understanding.
Attempts to create a corridor apart from the network have failed and resulted in near a
catastrophic warp core breaches showing that while the understanding of these corridors
may be improving, Starfleet tech is still behind in making it a reality.
Further proof of this can be seen when the USS Voyager manages to obtain a single transwarp
coil and integrate It first with the Delta Flyer and then with Voyager itself. They manage
to get it working without incident both times, hitchhiking the Borg’s Network several times
and cutting 15 years of their journey home. The coil eventually burnt out and this may
be due to Starfleet’s inferior knowledge of how to maintain such a device and I’d
suggest the power load was too much for a single coil to bare, hence the reason for
multiple on Borg vessels. Whatever goes on in a transwarp coil, it seems too complex
to simply replicate. So what about its use from Starfleet? Well,
ever since they became aware of the technology, they have been looking into it, as stated,
but it has several limiting factors. The first is that as of Voyager’s return, Starfleet
has yet to replicate multiple elements of the network but this is only gated behind
time as the Federation will eventually solve most problems it is confronted with. The biggest
issue is its reliance on a network of gates, manifolds and hubs to easily allow access
to Transwarp. As mentioned, spontaneously trying to create a corridor without these
assets is a no-go so firstly an extensive infrastructure needs to be established Quadrant
wide. It’s also a very energy intensive method
of travelling as the Delta Flyer has to transfer life support to maintain the shielding necessary
to remain in the transwarp conduits. Again, not levels beyond Starfleet capabilities,
but still a taxing amount. The Transwarp Hubs themslves seem to orbit a stellar object of
some description, perhaps using it as a power source so there seems to be a great deal of
energy needed to maintain the network. Both of these issues are not insurmountable
for the Federation but the technology has its limits. While Transwarp provides hyper-fast
travel across established areas of space, charting into the unknown will have to be
done without its aid as I doubt you could create the necessary components of a network
in an area you haven’t visited yet. So you’d have to go there conventionally, create Transwarp
links, sink them into subspace and then you may be able to connect the new hyperspace
lanes, I mean Transwarp conduits, to the rest of the network. It’s basically a video game’s
fast travel. You’ve already been here once, would you like to travel again in a fraction
of the time? I’m going to turn to Star Trek Online again
to see how Starfleet could adapt this technology and by 2399, they had begun honest experimentation
with replicating Transwarp gates, a sort of Stand-alone hub with only one entrance. Over
the next decade or so, they managed to link several of these together and by 2409 several
major Federation outposts were linked together with this method allowing for travel times
of minutes between certain points. The network is still fledgling in its design and no-where
near the complexity of Borg levels, who have had centuries to gradually expand their corridors,
but it’s a practical start and something the Federation can incrementally develop with
time. Of course, they could just hijack the Borg’s
network again but that comes with its own series of risks. Most of which are stabby
tubules and menacing music. So that’s how I see Transwarp Corridors
being implemented in Star Trek’s future. It also provides a certain amount of leeway
for writers to explain vast travel distances in minutes that otherwise didn’t add up
if used correctly. We need to get to the Vulcan System from Cardassia? Instead of weeks of
travel, let’s just say they went to the DS9 junction and then Warped from Sol. Need
to travel for days for tension sake? We’re in unexplored space, or there’s no gate’s
in the area or the network is offline because we’re still learning.
This is how I hope it gets implemented in the future as it is a method of travel that
Starfleet cannot afford to shelve or it risks being superseded by other powers.
Thanks for watching this video on the Transwarp corridors of the Borg, Until the next one,
I’ve been Ric. Thanks again, and goodbye.