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Do the Borg believe that Data is inferior to them somehow?

Data's technology is demonstrated to be somewhat compatible with (and perhaps superior than) the Borg in The Best of Both Worlds, and in Descent Part 1, Data shows that he is physically stronger than a Borg drone.

Certainly the Borg want to assimilate all of humanity, however they have shown favoritism (the Drone episode from voyager comes to mind as an example) when there is a particularly "juicy" target. Does Data not qualify as such? or is the entire enterprise at the same level of "juiciness" for the Borg?

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    guess you havn't seen first contact.
    – Himarm
    Commented Nov 25, 2014 at 17:44
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    their assimilation works through nano probes that infest a biological creature, since data has no biological parts he is in essence immune to traditional assimilation, and his neural-net is far to complex for the borg to decipher/force assimilate him. it has to be a choice for data.
    – Himarm
    Commented Nov 25, 2014 at 17:49
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    @Himarm: They assimilate ships and all sorts. I think it's fair to say that nanoprobes could do a decent number on Data.
    – Lightness Races in Orbit
    Commented Nov 26, 2014 at 1:10
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    @LightnessRacesinOrbit in the movie they specifically talk about how they wouldn't be able to do much to him, and like i said data is far more advanced then federation ships, and most of the other ships the borg have infiltrated.
    – Himarm
    Commented Nov 26, 2014 at 1:31
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    @Himarm: That was about the cryptography of the Enterprise's codes. Doesn't really say anything about assimilation.
    – Lightness Races in Orbit
    Commented Nov 26, 2014 at 1:51

3 Answers 3

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In the movie First Contact the queen actively attempts to assimilate/turn Data into a Borg, by giving him skin implants that allow him the real sensations of a biological being, thus tempting Data. The Borg are unable to assimilate Data as he is technically more advanced than they are mechanically, however Data can choose to join the Borg and he would then be able to assimilate into the hive, and gain biological components.

The queen says he would be like her equal in leading the Borg (if I remember correctly). Data actually considers it for a fraction of a second but decides he is content to become more human on his own.

Data and the Borg Queen

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    It's revealed in that film that the Borg Queen originally wanted to share leadership with Picard, but he refused and was turned into Locutus instead. I guess even Borg Queens get lonely sometimes. She should join eHarmony.
    – James Sheridan
    Commented Nov 26, 2014 at 0:44
  • @JamesSheridan haha, i think its because she wanted to have an equal, someone to discuss and debate with about plans ect, with the collective she knew everything that the others knew, she never got to see opposing views, or tactics.
    – Himarm
    Commented Nov 26, 2014 at 1:32
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    I'm sure she wanted all those things too. But mostly, it was the sex. Hell, I'd sleep with Picard, and I'm a heterosexual man.
    – James Sheridan
    Commented Nov 26, 2014 at 1:52
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    If I recall correctly, the Queen doesn't have any lower bits, just a sexy looking spinal column.
    – RoboKaren
    Commented Nov 27, 2014 at 20:06
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    Dat spinal column
    – Broklynite
    Commented Feb 17, 2016 at 10:37
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I think the story of the Borg queen desiring a companion brings out the age old idea that if there is a shred of humanity in someone, they desire companionship. This, I believe, was to inspire the hope that is included in the very idea of Star Trek, that things will get better. With a Borg queen longing for companionship, there is the possibility of infiltration, wooing, and redirecting of the Borg.

Captain Kirk actually solved the Borg problem in the book "The Return".

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  • Isn't he dead by the time the federation encounters them?
    – Hal
    Commented Jun 5, 2015 at 14:28
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    @Hal Pitiable things like that cannot stop the great Captain Kirk. The book was co-written by Shatner, and spares no ego.
    – zibadawa timmy
    Commented Sep 10, 2015 at 10:05
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The borg needed his command codes. Assimilation would not necessarily recover encrypted data and may even alter how data encrypts and decrypts by the usual Borg upgrade process. "I understand that you have no interest in me, that your goal is access to the encryption codes for the enterprise computer!" He would also be upgraded, and possibly reprogrammed, which would likely alter how he encrypts and decrypts, and may actually make him more problematic as he would be a Borg upgraded Soong type android! This makes sense if then data is also encoded in a relativistic rather than absolute fashion, relating data to other data (see Marvin Minsky's frames theory). Locutus says, specifically, that Data will be obsolete in the new order. However, technically, he does have brain scans of a great number of scientists and was stated in one episode to have improved one of his systems, so who knows what he would become! I do not believe they cared, but we do.

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    Could you elaborate on the relevance of Minsky's theory of frames? As a non-expert, I have a bit of trouble understanding its meaning here.
    – Adamant
    Commented Jun 6, 2016 at 5:19

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