# How many individuals have the Borg assimilated? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 27, 2017, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-individuals-have-the-borg-assimilated/797457 "2017-09-27T18:52:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![A\_Dodgy\_Dude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a87d85/32.png) [@A\_Dodgy\_Dude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_Dodgy_Dude)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2017, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-individuals-have-the-borg-assimilated/797457/1 "2017-09-27T18:52:59Z")
I assume the tens of billions, at least. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2017, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-individuals-have-the-borg-assimilated/797457/2 "2017-09-27T19:02:11Z")
Seems a fair guess, given how long they’ve been at it and how much territory they eventually cover: [http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Borg\_history](http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Borg_history) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2017, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-individuals-have-the-borg-assimilated/797457/3 "2017-09-27T19:05:20Z")
How many? Lots and lots! Resistance is futile. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2017, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-individuals-have-the-borg-assimilated/797457/4 "2017-09-27T19:19:10Z")
IIRC the highest Borg designation we ever hear in the TV shows is just over 10,000 so let’s call it 10,000 as a round number (also, there is more Star Trek after this and the Borg keep going but have to pick a date somewhere. I assume the Borg number each new species sequentially and not randomly (sequentially is more efficient and thus Borg-like). As to how many the Borg assimilate each time is highly variable and not every species is successfully assimilated (such as humans or Klingons). In some cases a few hundred thousand. In others millions. If they assimilated earth one would suppose they’d nab a few hundred million (the rest dying fighting). So, as a WAG, call it 10 million on average. That would mean they have assimilated 100 billion individuals. That is a super soft guess though. Too many variables we do not know for a very good guess. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2017, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-individuals-have-the-borg-assimilated/797457/5 "2017-09-27T19:24:16Z")
Are we counting Borg-born babies that receive their implants and nanites in infancy? There are probably a lot more of those than adult assimilations. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2017, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-individuals-have-the-borg-assimilated/797457/6 "2017-09-27T19:29:30Z")
They used to not assimilate anyone. They raised Borg Babies in drawers. They ignored you if you walked around inside their ships. They didn’t care about others much at all. And there used to be just one cube. Because, why would there be any more? ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2017, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-individuals-have-the-borg-assimilated/797457/7 "2017-09-27T19:48:36Z")
Damn you Sweden!!! > **[Björn Borg](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bj%C3%B6rn_Borg)** > > Björn Rune Borg (Swedish pronunciation: \[ˈbjœːɳ ˈbɔrj\] (listen); born 6 June 1956) is a Swedish former world No. 1 tennis player. Between 1974 and 1981, he became the first man in the Open Era to win 11 Grand Slam singles titles with six at the French Open and five consecutively at Wimbledon. > Borg won four consecutive French Open titles (1978–81) and is 6–0 in French Open finals. He was the first man since 1886 to contest six consecutive Wimbledon finals, a record surpassed by Roger Federer's ... ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2017, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-individuals-have-the-borg-assimilated/797457/8 "2017-09-27T20:15:30Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > Damn you Sweden!!! > > [Björn Borg - Wikipedia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bj%C3%B6rn_Borg) I’ve always wondered about the Swedish Chef; you can’t see his eyes. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2017, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-individuals-have-the-borg-assimilated/797457/9 "2017-09-27T21:31:50Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > IIRC the highest Borg designation we ever hear in the TV shows is just over 10,000 so let’s call it 10,000 as a round number (also, there is more Star Trek after this and the Borg keep going but have to pick a date somewhere. I assume the Borg number each new species sequentially and not randomly (sequentially is more efficient and thus Borg-like). > > As to how many the Borg assimilate each time is highly variable and not every species is successfully assimilated (such as humans or Klingons). In some cases a few hundred thousand. In others millions. If they assimilated earth one would suppose they’d nab a few hundred million (the rest dying fighting). > > So, as a WAG, call it 10 million on average. That would mean they have assimilated 100 billion individuals. > > That is a super soft guess though. Too many variables we do not know for a very good guess. This would be my guess. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2017, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-individuals-have-the-borg-assimilated/797457/10 "2017-09-27T21:47:08Z")
> [@A\_Dodgy\_Dude](#): > > I assume the tens of billions, at least. Your estimate matches [SyFy’s](http://www.syfy.com/syfywire/deadliest-aliens-in-science-fiction). Species 8472 killed tens of billions of Borg, so that has to be the lower boundary. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2017, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-individuals-have-the-borg-assimilated/797457/11 "2017-09-27T22:58:58Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > Your estimate matches [SyFy’s](http://www.syfy.com/syfywire/deadliest-aliens-in-science-fiction). Species 8472 killed tens of billions of Borg, so that has to be the lower boundary. There are a few additional notable comic-book examples deserving of being on that list, in addition to Thanos and Krona. Marvel’s Beyonder wiped an entire galaxy in the first issue of _Secret Wars_ just to show he meant business (and was on the verge of wiping out everything when he was finally stopped), and DC’s Mister Mxyzptlk and Bat-Mite destroyed the entire DC multiverse, though they fixed it afterward because apparently it’s a regular thing they do (_Superman and Batman: World’s Funnest_). ---
**Author:** ![TaoPilot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TaoPilot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TaoPilot)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-individuals-have-the-borg-assimilated/797457/12 "2017-09-28T13:34:23Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > They used to not assimilate anyone. They raised Borg Babies in drawers. They ignored you if you walked around inside their ships. They didn’t care about others much at all. > > And there used to be just one cube. Because, why would there be any more? Yep, they were not about assimilating at all. They were tech geeks that just wanted everyone’s technology. Then one day they were chasing the Enterprise to add the tech to their own, when the ship suddenly vanished. Not knowing that it was Q that sent it away, the Borg decided that humans were just that damn impressive, and needed to be brought into the collective. That’s why the Borg were awesome on TNG. Then the writers forgot everything that made the Borg interesting, and they were simply wasted on Voyager. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-individuals-have-the-borg-assimilated/797457/13 "2017-09-28T13:50:53Z")
> [@TaoPilot](#): > > Yep, they were not about assimilating at all. They were tech geeks that just wanted everyone’s technology. > > Then one day they were chasing the Enterprise to add the tech to their own, when the ship suddenly vanished. Not knowing that it was Q that sent it away, the Borg decided that humans were just that damn impressive, and needed to be brought into the collective. > > That’s why the Borg were awesome on TNG. Then the writers forgot everything that made the Borg interesting, and they were simply wasted on Voyager. And on Voyager, the Borg didn’t know noth’n about raising no Borg babies. (Ref. “Drone”) ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-individuals-have-the-borg-assimilated/797457/14 "2017-09-28T14:23:05Z")
In the show, it was easy to imagine humans getting assimilated because they were the same size and shape but could/did they assimilate other bigger or odd shaped beings? ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-individuals-have-the-borg-assimilated/797457/15 "2017-09-28T14:33:12Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > In the show, it was easy to imagine humans getting assimilated because they were the same size and shape but could/did they assimilate other bigger or odd shaped beings? Well, they tried to assimilate the Omega molecule and got their asses kicked. And they tried to assimilate species 8472 and also got their asses kicked. I get the impression they should stick to assimilating humanoids.