The Borg are an immensely powerful civilization of cybernetically enhanced life forms originating deep within the Delta Quadrant of the Galaxy. The specific age and origins of the Borg race is unknown, but it is believed that the Borg Collective has been in existence on the order of thousands of centuries. It is also unclear as to how and why the Borg evolved to their partially cybernetic state, although it is speculated that the Borg were once completely organic lifeforms, much like the human race.
Each Borg member, or "Drone" is connected to a sophisticated subspace communications network, forming what is termed "The Borg Collective", also commonly referred to as the hive mind or collective consciousness. With this connection, the entire Borg species operates as one gigantic organism, as if the Borg Collective were one huge entity and the individual drones and ships merely components of the greater whole.
Within this shared consciousness, the ideas of individuality, freedom and self-determination are nearly meaningless concepts. For example, Borg Drones do not refer to themselves in the first person (i.e. "I" or "me"), rather in the plural, such as "we are Borg". Individual Drones do not have names in the common sense, rather they are designated into numerical groups, such as "Third of Five" or "Seven of Nine" and so forth. If a drones function is changed, it is given a new designation.
The Borg do not "seek out new life and new civilizations" in the ordinary sense. Rather than expending time and resources to communicate diplomatically with alien races they encounter, the Borg operate by conquering entire worlds through a process known as "assimilation". The process of assimilation involves capturing members of other races and turning them into Borg drones by grafting cybernetic devices on to them and linking them to the collective consciousness. This serves to strip the victim of their individuality. It is not clear if the Borg continue to procreate in a normal manner. Although there are "nurseries" aboard Borg vessels known as maturation chambers, it seems more likely that the Borg also assimilate infants.
Through the assimilation process, the Borg are able to absorb the knowledge and experience of a chosen civilization and its technology. It is important to note that the Borg select only those worlds which will augment their "perfection", simply destroying the inferior civilizations they encounter. Individual members of assimilated races are implanted with sophisticated cybernetic implants, permitting each individual to perform a specific task as required by the Collective. Thousands of species and thousands of worlds across the galaxy have been incorporated into the Collective in this fashion. Entire races have had their worlds devastated by Borg raids. Many species in the Delta Quadrant, like the Farn and the Sakari, have been depopulated almost to extinction. The Borg were also responsible for the near-extinction of the El-Aurian race in the Alpha Quadrant circa the late 23rd century.
All races that are assimilated are altered both physically and mentally when turned into a Borg drone. Generally humanoid in appearance, the Borg implant themselves with cybernetic devices and semi-organic units, or "implants", granting them superior technological and combat capabilities. These devices will serve to increase the density of muscle fiber and link the drone's mind to the collective consciousness. Borg drones are also equipped with various types of task specific hardware in order to perform their designated work tasks.
The Borg exhibit a high degree of intelligence, granting them vast adaptability in their tactics. Most means of defense or offense against them were found to work only once, almost immediately afterwhich the Borg developed a countermeasure. This ability to adapt has made the Borg a tremendous threat to free societies and perhaps the most feared race in the known universe.
