Fan Theory: The Borg were defeated by choice
The Borg was one of Star Trek’s most hated and feared villains…or were they?
It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that the Borg were one of Starfleet’s toughest villains. They could adjust to any new environment and adapt to frequencies in a manner of seconds, making them difficult to kill. Not to mention, they were machines with the strength of machines, and fighting them was no easy task. Yet, each time, the Borg crossed paths with the Enterprise and Starfleet, they were somehow defeated, even if in a minute way. With such power at their disposal, how was this possible? Fans have an idea.
The Borg weren’t really all about assimilation.
Nope. In fact, they were just there for the technology. While the Borg was away, the Federation, knowing they were a constant threat, was always working on ways to defeat them. Technology would be upgraded and defense systems were improved which was enticing to the Borg.
In a way, this makes sense as they did make some pretty serious mistakes for beings so incredibly advanced. Like leaving Hugh behind or leaving any of their Borgs behind. Why would they allow their enemies access to the bodies and potential information those bodies could provide? Why wouldn’t they have disintegrated them, or, at the very least, taken them back to the ship?
In addition, why did they allow practically anyone aboard their ship? Of course, it’s supposedly because they weren’t concerned about what the Federation could do to them. But they clearly should have been.
If the Borg had so many cubes and assimilated species at their disposal, why not just move in and take over the entire world? Why give the Federation and Starfleet time to change their strategies and build a defense against them? They clearly had the capability to crush their enemies, and yet, they didn’t. So you can see why the theory is plausible.
What do you think? Was the Borg only interested in assimilation or something more?