Star Trek: 10 Character Fates Worse Than Death
7. Being Assimilated By The Borg
The Borg were first introduced in an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation titled "Q Who?" In the episode, Q takes the Enterprise to the other side of the galaxy, where they meet the Borg, and it soon becomes apparent that the Federation is, in no way, prepared for the threat.
The Borg operate as a Collective, where each member is an individual who was assimilated at some time in the past. Assimilation works from the inside-out, as nanoprobes are injected into a victim's bloodstream. Once inside, assimilation begins immediately, and within a few minutes, all individuality is lost.
When they were first discovered, assimilation appeared to be a permanent situation, as removal from the Collective proved debilitating, but Captain Jean Luc Picard was taken during their second appearance, and before long, he was reintroduced as Locutus of Borg. This was unusual, as he was a designated individual, and his role was to work as an intermediary for the assimilation of the Federation.
Fortunately, his crew managed to rescue him and remove his Borg implants, but the memories of his assimilation continued to assault Picard for the rest of his life. Nightmarish visions and post-traumatic stress plagued him, and he described being assimilated as a fate far worse than death.