(epic music)
(electricity sparking)
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- [Narrator] There have been 799 episodes of Star Trek
over the past 55 years.
And of those episodes,
more than 300 writers have created scripts
responsible for weaving the big Star Trek story
that we know today.
So as a result of having so many Talaxians in the galley
it should surprise no one that we occasionally come across
a Star Trek paradox that leaves us scratching our heads.
While researching for our recent video,
"Q Changes Borg History During Picard Season Two,"
we came face to face with a brain bending paradox
we'd never run across before.
It's actually pretty subtle,
but it cuts across three Star Trek series
as well as a movie,
and it effects and incredible amount
of the canon we know and love.
Science fiction is riddled with the need
to suspend your disbelief to enjoy the moment on television.
But when we realized this had to do
with Jean Luc Picard's nemesis,
we knew we had to dig deeper.
If you were excited, intrigued, or terrified of the Borg,
then this is the video for you,
Because we are about to explain the great Borg paradox.
And you aren't going to want to miss this video.
But before we share this head scratching paradox,
make sure you stay tuned until later in the show,
where we'll show you how to get an amazing Loot Crate box
with some must-have scifi goodies inside.
And if you haven't already subscribed to our channel,
please do so now
and give us a thumbs up if you want more amazing revelations
about your favorite shows.
Also click the notification bell to never miss an episode
because YouTube is a fickle mistress.
- She's fickle, impulsive, spontaneous.
- [Narrator] And make sure you stay tuned
until the end to see how to get
this awesome Star Trek inspired We Are the Borg
graphic design from the amazing artists at mixedtees.com.
Despite being in 34 episodes of Star Trek
and the movie "First Contact,"
there is an incredible amount of information we don't know
about the Borg in canon.
Their origin is shrouded in mystery
and they could be hundreds of thousands of years old.
We believe they Started in the Delta quadrant,
but we don't really know for sure.
Our first introduction to the Borg came in the Star Trek:
The Next Generation episode "Q Who."
After Picard assures Q humanity is ready for anything,
the god-like being throws the Enterprise
into the Beta quadrant and face-to-face with the Borg,
who they are definitely not ready for.
This introduction of the Borg to the Star Trek universe
isn't more than a Q lesson at the time.
We don't really question where this relentless,
hive-minded monster comes from.
Most of us assume the Borg came from exactly
where Picard met them in the Beta quadrant.
"Q Who" aired in May, 1989
during Next Generation's second season.
At that time, there really is no discussion
as to where they come from.
It has been speculated that the Borg
were moved to the Delta quadrant
to give the crew of Voyager a familiar foe
during its third season in 1997,
but a Next Generation technical journal from 1992
contains a rough map of the galaxy
indicating Borg space is in the Delta quadrant.
This means Star Trek writers and producers
likely determine the Borg's location
following the events of "The Best of Both Worlds."
But before we explain why they might've done that,
let me show you what Loot Crate sent us
in their latest scifi themed box.
This month, Loot Crate sent us a scifi The Expanse box.
Each scifi box is a different fan experience each time.
Sometimes we receive t-shirts, collectibles,
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Loot Crate is a pioneer of the surprise fandom box.
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This is the perfect gift for a friend--
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- [Narrator] Or relative.
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- [Narrator] Or even an amazing treat for yourself.
- Treat yourself.
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- [Narrator] This is the gift that keeps on giving,
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- [Man] Three words for you: treat yo self.
- [Narrator] "The Best of Both Worlds"
is a cliff hanger ending for season three of Next Gen
and the first episode of season four.
This is where Picard becomes Locutus
and we are forced to deal with the bloodbath at Wolf 359.
It's possible that in the aftermath
of Locutus' actions against the Federation,
which accounted for the loss of 11,000 Starfleet members
and their families,
Trek decision-makers wanted to move the Borg
as far away as possible to allow the show to recover
and let Picard's character heal and create closure.
This move to the Delta quadrant is important
because too much Borg
could have easily bogged down the show.
They need to be treated like a strong spice,
just a sprinkle, only when you need them.
As a result, we wouldn't see Borg back on Next Gen
until the episode of "I, Borg" in season five.
Also the move to the Delta quadrant
is what sets up the Borg paradox,
but we're getting ahead of ourselves.
Hold onto that thought for a moment.
The events of the Borg during the Next Generation
are pretty straightforward.
Picard encounters the Borg because of Q,
and then escapes.
The Borg pursue,
although it would take another season and a half
before they catch up to Picard.
They assimilate Jean Luc, leaving him with trauma,
but also give the Federation experience
and technology to help them fight back.
We get a few more Borg stories during Next Gen,
but we don't really learn much more about the Borg.
But during the movie "Star Trek: First Contact,"
we get an interesting piece of news.
Dr. Crusher explains that in the 21st century,
the Borg are still in the Delta quadrant.
- During the 21st century,
the Borg are still in the Delta quadrant.
- [Narrator] This was intended as a teaser
for upcoming episodes of Voyager,
in which the Borg were featured.
It would be more than a year after the movie's release
before we see our first Borg in Voyager
at the end of the episode "Blood Fever"
during season three.
And this is where our paradox really begins to take form
and we can thank time travel for it.
The Borg travel back in time
to assimilate Earth in the past.
We learn they have a queen.
- I am the Borg.
- [Narrator] Picard and the good guys win,
but a couple of drones are left frozen in the Arctic ice.
Fast forward 90 years to 2153
during the Star Trek: Enterprise episode "Regeneration,"
those Borg frozen in the ice are found
and thawed out by scientists,
who then are immediately assimilated.
The Borg make it to space and start wreaking havoc.
The Enterprise engages and destroys their vessels.
- Target their warp core.
Hit them with everything we've got.
- [Narrator] However, before Captain Archer
obliterates them, they manage to send a message
with Earth's location to deep inside the Delta quadrant.
- They told their home world how to find Earth.
- [Narrator] But the crew of the Enterprise isn't worried
because it will take 200 years to get there.
- It would take at least 200 years
for a subspace message to reach in the Delta quadrant,
assuming it's received at all.
- [Narrator] This is the climax of the Borg paradox,
specifically called a bootstrap paradox.
The term is derived from the expression
to pull oneself over a fence by one's bootstraps,
which is an impossible task.
The 200 year message into the Delta quadrant
would eventually arrive sometime around 2352
and give the Borg enough time
to use their trans-warp network to get to the Beta quadrant
and meet Jean Luc and his Enterprise crew
during the events of "Q Who"
and thus, the loop would begin again.
- It sounds to me
like we've only postponed the invasion, until what?
The 24th century?
- The paradox is created
because it's the message from the Borg 200 years earlier
that sent the Borg on their journey
from the Delta quadrant in the first place.
And that message could never have been sent
if the Borg don't run into Picard.
Confusing, right?
The Borg's motivation is literally being lifted up
and moved forward by their own bootstrap.
The question we will always wonder
is if the writers on Enterprise knew this would happen
when they allowed those drones to send the message
to the Delta quadrant.
Executive producers Rick Berman and Brannon Braga,
you have some explaining to do.
- Da da da da da da!
- Come on, how corny.
- On the big scale of paradoxes,
this one is pretty easy to suspend your imagination for.
A tough paradox to swallow
is wondering how John Connor
was able to send his own father into the past
to sleep with his mother so he could be conceived.
- Come with me if you want to live.
- Wrap your head around that Terminator brainteaser.
- I don't understand.
- Regardless of what's happened to the Borg in the past,
we can be certain that we'll be seeing more
of the ultimate Star Trek baddies
as new shows are developed.
Let's hope we finally get a Borg origin story.
And for the love of all that is holy,
please find a way to connect it to V'ger.
But that is a story for next time.
- Did we just see the beginning of a new life form?
- Yes, captain.
We've witnessed a birth.
Possibly a next step in our evolution.
- [Narrator] What do you think of the Borg paradox?
Does Star Trek need more or less
of our favorite Federation menace?
Let's talk about it in the comments below.
Also check out this Star Trek
We Are the Borg graphic design at mixedtees.com
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(melancholic music)