March 18th Weekly Open Thread: The Borg Edition
With this entry, we continue (sort of) our series of Star Trek Cars, although this one may actually be more deliberately Trekkian in origin than those others. For those unfamiliar with this whole "Borg" thing, I direct
readers to the relevant Wikipedia page:
Borg is a collective proper noun for a fictional alien race that appears in various incarnations of the Star Trek franchise. The Borg are a collection of species that have been turned into cybernetic organisms functioning as drones of the collective or the hive. A pseudo-race, dwelling in the Star Trek universe, the Borg force other species into their collective and connect them to "the hive mind"; the act is called assimilation and entails violence, abductions, and injections of cybernetic implants. The Borg's ultimate goal is "achieving perfection".
I actually find this to be a fascinating concept, something of a melding of different science fiction end-of-the-world scenarios. Instead of a purely biological (e.g., Invasion of the Body Snatchers) or machine (e.g., The Terminator, The Matrix) entity or collective taking over humanity, with the Borg we have a combination of the two. I should also point out, however, that this isn't an entirely new concept.
Among probably others with which I am unfamiliar, the Dr. Who series also had a species of cyborg -- the Cybermen -- attempting to absorb other species into their collective, although the Borg took the concept to a higher level, being possessed of a 'hive mind" rather than justa large collection of autonomous beings with a common goal.
Admittedly, this is all just a nerdy prologue to the car of the week provided here. I have no idea what the story behind this car is; the photos were sent to me by a colleague from the University of North Dakota. I've not even determined what make/model/year it originally was. Apparently, this "Borg car" has often been seen parked near the engineering building, and she decided to snap a couple of photos. An engineering student's project car? A Trekkie's project car?
Or could it be. . . .
Don't say you weren't warned. . . .
I for one welcome our new cyborgian automotive overlords. And if we survive the coming automotive apocalypse, you can still discuss anything of remote automotive interest here as well.
Two more views:
The Borg-Picard photo comes from StarTrek.com.
That Car Guy (Chuck) on March 18, 2013 at 07:40 AM
I can't think of a better (late model) car to assimilate than a Saturn Ion. It can only be improved by joining The Collective.
Chris Meirose on March 18, 2013 at 09:38 AM
College boy burned the wrong girl & got keyed & cracked.
Bill T. on March 18, 2013 at 10:06 AM
It looks like it should be parked outside a body shop, either being stripped for parts or the aftermath of a sideswiping. Does the collective want it?
John B on March 18, 2013 at 11:13 AM
Wouldn't a Saturn or Fiero be the logical (to use a Vulcan expression) choice because of their plastic skin over a steel frame?
Take off the skin and I'd think all you'd have to do is weather proof the door hardware and perhaps handg the lights...and maybe not even that.
Gregory Williams on March 21, 2013 at 10:28 AM
Lemme guess, transmission by BORG-Warner.