Starfleet has a fascination with Borg technology and it’s
understandable. The Borg, as malevolent as they are, pose a great threat to the Federation
and every other power out there on their level or below that is not the Borg. But more than that,
their technology represents over 900 years of accumulated innovations from tens of thousands of
species from across the Milky Way in their encroaching territory.
The Borg go after the unique innovations and biological traits found in any
species they come across that they compute will add something to their collective, once they are
aware of a trait or development, then they make calculated moves to acquire it, adding its
distinctiveness to their own. Hi all, Ric here and today we’re looking at just
how Borg technology has influenced Starfleet.
Understanding the danger the Borg pose is a priority
for Starfleet, alongside learning from their enemy’s developments. So it is that most Starfleet
ships are to salvage or notify command of found Borg technology when they can, for the potential
information it can uncover and the analysis it can provide those in Starfleet Research and
Development. This video is going to take a look at how
Starfleet has used Borg technology to evolve its own ships, starting from the first time Starfleet
encountered them. Back in 2153, March the 1st, a team of researchers
investigate a potential crash site in the Arctic circle and discover the remains of a crashed Borg
sphere as well as two preserved bodies in the ice. This debris was the surviving wreckage from the
sphere that was destroyed by a time travelling Enterprise-E in 2063. The three person science
team manage to take some basic readings from the hull and two preserved Borg Drones before they
regenerate and resuscitate. This information it sent
back to Starfleet. They also manage to uncover a transwarp coil, but it looks like this information
does not manage to make its way beyond the outpost as soon after, the Drones reactivate,
assimilate the crew and leave in their transport for the Delta Quadrant, upgrading the ship as they
go. With the
Enterprise NX-01 in pursuit, the Biometric data on the Borg is sent to the crew, who
manage to take additional scans of the assimilated transport vessel, however Commander Tucker
was only able to even identify a handful of the modifications. The crew then manage to observe the
assimilation process first hand on a couple of Tarkaleans the Borg attacked.
With not real time to properly reverse engineer
this Borg tech, it becomes a race to simply counter it with the limited
available resources at hand. It looks like the information that Enterprise
collected was also sent back to Starfleet, however the
information itself appears to have been classified, or at least filed away as
the limited information gathered was not enough to really learn from, considering most of the
principals involved, like transwarp were not even understood in the 22nd century.
After this, the next meeting with the Borg was from the
Enterprise D in 2365, well technically there was the USS Raven, however that ship never made
it back to the Federation with any data at all considering its fate of assimilation.
The Enterprise however managed to take far more detailed scans
and even engaged a Borg cube for a limited time, learning a great deal. While the crew was unable
to contend with the force at the time, this information would later be sent back to Starfleet
command which immediately began setting up a taskforce under Admiral J.P. Hanson including
divisions such as Tactical analysis headed by Lt. Commander Shelby. However, the Enterprise’s
encounter had left not actual technology of the Borg behind, so they only had the sensor
logs to go by.
This led the project to simply develop its own countermeasures
to the Borg, rather than attempt to replicate any technology, but in a way, this did
spur on Starfleet’s development and approach, but not enough.
The battle of Wolf 359 in 2367 also resulted in very little gain from the Borg, however the
assimilation of Jean Luc Picard and subsequent recovery and removal of those implants would have
allowed extensive analysis of the biological integration
process of the invasive Borg modifications. These would be logged and the process disseminated
through Starfleet, as can be seen later when the USS Voyager is able to reverse the
assimilation of multiple drones over its journey. Hopefully
some medical advances may have been made too, with the prosthetics and level of integration the
Borg could manage, but that is speculation. It was the USS Voyager itself that offered
the greatest insight into Borg technology Starfleet had
seen beginning with the exploration of a damaged cube in 2373 and the unprecedented team up
against Species 8472 later that year. Extensive Borg modifications were made to the USS Voyager,
and many of these were very well documented, even if the majority were removed for their
invasiveness and untrustworthy nature. Over the course of its
journey through Borg space on its way home, Voyager had its Cargo Bay transformed into
a Borg regeneration chamber, giving the crew a far better insight into this function amid the
collective. The power flow systems of the ship were
bolstered with Borg developments, improving drive efficiency, although not all the improvements
agreed with Starfleet design and had to be removed.
The general speed and efficiency of the ship’s computer systems was upgraded too, with Borg
created code devised by Seven Of Nine, who retained 18 years of assimilated collective
knowledge that she shared with the crew. A Secondary Hull reinforcement was performed,
which improved structural integrity, allowing for traversal of Fluidic Space, as well as
the bolstering of deflector shields regeneration rate. The
Deflector array was heavily modified to create a dimensional rift, and Photon torpedoes and phaser
arrays were altered to be able to deliver nanoprobes on hit. Most
(not all) of these modifications were less about introducing a
lot of new technology, and simply using Borg experience to amplify
and improve Starfleet designs. Many of these improvements were added
in a scaled down variety to the Delta Flyer project too.
However, new technology was installed too. For example, several recovered Data Nodes contained
valuable information that was added to Voyager’s database,
especially its navigational one. Which is just as well, deprived of Starfleet stellar
updates, Voyager spent much of its journey flying blind,
scouting out in shuttles, or bartering for maps. The
information provided by the vastly travelled Borg and their assimilated knowledge base, increased
Voyager’s knowledge of the path ahead and more . The ship was able to fabricate Borg technology
to improve its sensor systems and create a whole new Astrometric lab. To give you an idea of the
power this lab had, the new sensor system could analyse and observe 3 billion separate stars at
once, a feat that was ten times more effective than
the baseline Intrepid capabilities, already top of the line for Starfleet.
The next biggest development that the ship stole from the Borg was a transwarp coil, which allowed
for warp travel vastly exceeding Federation levels. This was
installed with the aid of Borg data but the modification proved to be incompatible with
Federation tech and eventually gave out, but not before results were seen and a vast amount of
information gathered. Plus they still have the burnt
out coil. By 2379, all this information was returned
to Starfleet, amid the vast recordings and modifications Voyager had received over the years,
giving them much to pore over. It looks like this may have restricted the Intrepid class Voyager to
being analysed for its technology as by 2383, we have a new USS Voyager-A in commission.
Between 2387 and 2399, the Romulan Free State managed to locate a damaged Borg Cube,
codenamed the Artefact and began to research it intently. They additionally allowed other
researchers onto the Artefact to work and share in the results, giving many species their first
prolonged look at such technology. By 2401, the USS Stargazer had been launched, the first of the
Sagan-class that had Borg technology built into the design from the
start. Now it’s a little unclear if every Sagan class has Borg tech in it,
but I suspect this is the case. Amid the improvements no doubt
witnessed on the Voyager, which I would not be surprised to learn
became pretty much Federation standard, it appears to also
have had major improvements to its communications speeds, allowing it
to network with many other ships. It also had multiphasic shielding, however this was a
development well underway from Starfleet before the Borg, but it is also probably improved.
Sufficed to say, the sensor and astrometric advancements would be
right at home on a ship called both Sagan and Stargazer.
Unfortunate then that the first thing it encountered was the Borg,
which boarded, saw very familiar code in the ship’s systems and
easily took control of the vessel. Yay, looks like Starfleet might have
gotten a little to optimistic with its inclusion of Borg tech.
While Borg technology can be implemented to improve upon pretty much any aspect of a ship, the
addition of any physical alterations must be treated with the utmost care. In the same way
assimilation nanites will convert a creature into a Borg Drone,
Borg tech itself is similarly vindictive. Once installed, much Borg tech will attempt
to overwrite the base systems, resist removal, or convert things to its use, often simply forming a
beacon or something to draw the attention of the collective. Although not seen on screen,
it is possible too that the technology itself can assimilate
individuals, so any salvaged Borg gear needs to be quarantined, intensely studied and neutralised
before it is brought anywhere near active Federation gear. But what
is for sure, is that the more Starfleet understands the Borg,
the less of a threat they become. Assimilation can be reversed in
time, intimate knowledge of a cube can render it vulnerable or destroyed. The Starfleet of Wolf 359
was steamrollered in a one-sided battle by a single Cube,
6 years later at the battle of Sector 001, they destroyed one. I suspect in the 25th century,
Starfleet vessels might be able to engage the Borg with fewer ships than before, thanks to the
ingenuity of its officers. Early on, it looks like most of the Borg's advancements would be
classified or be biological in approach, with the 22nd century
Starfleet being too far behind the curve to glean much else from them.
By the 24th century, Starfleet was grappling with concepts it understood, but was more focused on
overcoming the technology of the enemy. Once that was in hand, well then they started to actually
dissect Borg devices and in traditional Starfleet style, the most interest they had, was in the
Borg's knowledge pool and sensor systems. Good thing there is no Prime
Directive in reverse that says the Federation cannot acquire better
stuff if it falls in their laps! Thanks for watching this breakdown
of how the Federation used Borg tech over the years since their
encounter, undoubtedly these two powers have shaped each other, so who knows where the future
will take the Borg. Thanks again, and until next time, I’ve been Ric and goodbye!