What do you do with Hugh in "I, Borg?"

[colmquinn]

Cheers, I still think that the queen would've spotted the use of processing capacity and done something about it before it became terminal to the collective, then again maybe she would've gotten tied up in its pretty lines too

[Teaos]

Why? It would be the equivalent of repatriating a captured enemy agent having supplyed him with false intelligence. In this case the effect would be to crash the Borg collective network, destroying the key to their coordination and intelligence-gathering. The destruction of the Borg as a result of systems failure is merely a side effect of that primary goal and, due to the nature of the Borg, its effect would be limited to their military (albeit because the Borg are nothing but a military).

No its not the same. When you send and enemy soilder back you dont infect them with Ebola first.

[Mikey]

No its not the same. When you send and enemy soilder back you dont infect them with Ebola first.

But why would that be a bad idea?

[Teaos]

Rules of war. We're humans not monkeys with guns.

You start treating prisoners like that you open a whole can of worms.

[Mikey]

We're humans not monkeys with guns.

Some would beg to differ. However, that is not the point. We're not talking about modern Earth and the Geneva Convention; we're talking about how Starfleet could have combatted the single greatest current threat to the existence of the UFP. When those are the stakes, when you're facing an enemy as fearsome as the Borg were pre-Voyager, those dictates of social correctness go right out the window.

[Teaos]

But they didnt. Picard choose to put morals before survival. He had a choice of doing what was easy or what was right. Him choosing the right is whats makes him great.

[Mikey]

Any value judgement of that sort is inevitably colored by subsequent history. If he hadn't gotten so lucky, and the Borg went on to assimilate the Federation, his great moral character wouldn't have made him great; it would have made him an idiot and the greatest traitor ever known.

[Teaos]

You cant sell out your morals everytime your at risk.

Why doesnt America turn the middle east into a nuclear waste land? It would sure solve a lot of their supposed problems?

[Mikey]

There are some who want to do so. Why doesn't North Island invade South Island? However, you're again using a flawed analogy. Even if my own life were in danger from a threat out of the Middle East, there is no threat to the very existence of the USA. In addition, there are alternative ways of dealing with that situation. There were no alternative ways of dealing with the Borg. (Disregarding the idiotic treatment they received later, in Voyager.)

[Teaos]

Iran could get neclear weapons which could wipe out a good majority of Americas population and totally destroy its power.

Terrorists could get their hands on vio weapons that could totally crew over the US population.

There are many ways they could totally crew you over yet you don't destroy them... why? Cause your moral humans who don't sell those morals out when threatened.

[Mikey]

OK, let me re-state this:

In addition, there are alternative ways of dealing with that situation.

(emphasis added)

Iran (I won't attempt to spell its president's name) has in fact been shown to have dismantled its nuclear weapons program. But "alternative ways" doesn't mean the same thing as "alternative way." If the threat was that great, conventional war is an option. It would not be an option against TNG-type Borg.

[Teaos]

In addition, there are alternative ways of dealing with that situation.

Didnt they manage to destroy a cube before this happened? Seems like an alternative to me.

Iran was very recently shown to have stopped it. But it had been a threat for a long time. Also there is evidence they may have restarted it after they stopped it.

[Captain Picard's Hair]

Didnt they manage to destroy a cube before this happened? Seems like an alternative to me.

The Borg were stupid to send one cube at a time, and even then the Federation only just beat them off by the skin of their teeth. If the Borg ever got smart enough to send in five tactical cubes or something, the Federation wouldn't stand a chance.

[Mikey]

And as I said, diplomatic/political/economic measures are one alternative. Conventional warfare is another. None of these would work against the Borg.

[RK_Striker_JK_5]

It was kill or be killed with the Borg. Stop them or face assimilation. No mercy, no reason.