5

In the Star Trek: Voyager episode Drone, the doctor’s mobile emitter and Seven of Nine's nano probes come together to make an advanced Borg drone.

Seven of Nine's dialog:

SEVEN: This technology resembles a Borg maturation chamber, but many of the components are unfamiliar.

CREWMAN: Commander. (They have found Mulchaey. He is still alive.)

SEVEN: He was punctured by an extraction tubule. It removed a tissue sample. There are residual nanoprobes surrounding the wound. Their encoding sequences are identical to my own.

Given that they have or can create a maturation chamber, why can't the Borg take alien DNA and harvest their own Borg, rather than assimilate?

Other than not hearing the "We are the Borg" introduction, what would be the problem?

7

They could and maybe they do, but the main reason they assimilate is to gain new knowledge and technology. To quote them:

”We are the Borg. Lower your shields and surrender your ships. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Your culture will adapt to service us. Resistance is futile.”

A home grown baby borg drone from DNA wouldn't know anything

| improve this answer | |
  • +1 fair enough, but then why have the maturation chamber in the first place? If I can just assimilate a species and gain all there knowledge what would be the point of growing a baby? – user108190 Dec 13 '18 at 14:59
  • 2
    I guess it's about numbers as well, sometimes they just need more drones – GordonBennett Dec 13 '18 at 15:00
  • @BasementJoe - Why waste a perfectly useful biological form just because it's currently too immature to serve as an effective drone? – RDFozz Dec 13 '18 at 18:12
  • @RDFozz - I don't have an issue with borg drones that are immature. I just don't see the need for sending Borg drones when they can take alien DNA and grow there own drones. As pointed out with this answer, it's about knowledge as well. – user108190 Dec 13 '18 at 19:19
  • 1
    @BasementJoe - Let me restate. Assimilation is primarily about the gaining both the biological and the technological aspects of a species. It can also be a source of new drones. However, it may not represent a sufficient supply of drones. The maturation chambers allow them to grow new drones (as well as to grow the young of a newly assimilated species to the point where they can be effective drones - presumably something not done until they have reached their full growth). Clearly, the Borg don't have use for a bunch of children of any species running around a ship. – RDFozz Dec 13 '18 at 20:25

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