Assimilation of a Vulcan into the Borg is not unheard of, and it seems that everyone’s favorite half-Vulcan, Mr. Spock, will soon be added to that very exclusive list. The logic of Vulcans, while often dubbed as inhumane by the likes of Dr. Leonard McCoy and others, is no match for the cold, hard disdain for individuality of the Borg’s hive mind. Spock will be assimilated in the near future of Star Trek: Boldly Go, but we have hope for a (mostly) full recovery.
A January cover for the Star Trek: Boldy Go comic series features an assimilated Spock. Historically, the Borg have been known to ignore smaller groups of people and individuals. They’re looking to assimilate the masses: entire starship crews, cities, planets, etc.
But they do make exceptions. Remember that Captain Jean-Luc Picard was chosen as an intermediary, Locutus of Borg, in 2366 during The Next Generation. Picard was originally meant to be an equal to the Borg Queen, but when he refused to give in for an easy assimilation, she and the rest of the Borg were forced to make him into an everyday drone.
Of course, Captain Picard was saved, but the experience haunted him for the rest of his life. And, now, it seems that Spock will undergo a similar fate in the January installment of Star Trek: Boldy Go — he’s an impressive individual with a good knowledge of the inner workings of Star Fleet, making him a prime candidate for assimilation.
And, again, Spock wouldn’t be the first Vulcan to undergo assimilation. When Tuvok was second officer on the USS Voyager under Captain Kathryn Janeway, he was assimilated into the Borg during the crew’s seventh and final year through the Delta Quadrant. The Voyager’s first officer, Chakotay, was also assimilated for a time.
So, the precedent is there, and it’s terrifying. The new cover isn’t just a warning of what could be, it’s a prediction for what will happen inside the issue’s 32 pages. But, luckily, the precedent for Star Fleet officers assimilated by the Borg also leads us to believe that Spock will be freed from their grasp (but also haunted for quite a while afterward).
Star Trek: Boldy Go #4 arrives in January.
