Created by Captain Michael Turlogh Kane on Aug 16, 2016 @ 3:16pm

THE BORG

Modern Borg are no longer the mechanical zombies they were fifty years ago, and do not forcibly assimilate others into the Collective. The Collective itself is gone, having been transformed into the subspace information superhighway known as the Network. An average Borg today (if there can said to be such a thing) is a fully cognisant individual with empathy and a range of emotional awareness, who is free to choose their own path in life.

The generation that was saved by Hugh and his companions following the destruction of the Borg's transwarp hub in 2375 is dying out. Today's Borg is likely to be the result of a union between male and female (both sexual and in-vitro fertilisations are common) Borg, who in turn are ex-drones. Being a Borg is not a racial term, and may die out in several generations as the children of ex-drones find their own cultural identity.

The Borg still practice the blending of organic tissue and cybernetic devices, but it is now completely voluntary. Some Borg eschew the cybernetic and prefer to live out their lives as a full organic, while others integrate as much cyberware as they can into their bodies in the style of their monstrous forefathers.

Borg cyberware comes in many forms, but they are generally some combination of wearable technological devices, chemical modifications, and mechanical structural enhancements, all designed to enhance the Borg's capabilities beyond those of a 'normal' organic. Bionic limbs are common, as are cybernetic eyes or ears. Dermal plating can enhance strength, and almost every Borg in existence is wirelessly connected to the Network through a brain-implanted receiver.

This comes at a cost, however. The more invasive implant surgeries a Borg chooses to undergo, the further they move toward being more machine than organic. Heavily-enhanced Borg bear striking resemblances to their forebears, being emotionally detached and losing the empathy that saved their people from extinction fifty years ago.