Why didn't the Q destroy the Borg?
Posted by ramfoodie@reddit | TNG | View on Reddit | 263 comments
Posted by ramfoodie@reddit | TNG | View on Reddit | 263 comments
Such-Substance-6718@reddit
Humans were Q's favorite race. He was preparing them for the Dominion. Had he taken that chance away, the Federation would of not stood a chance.
CCF_100@reddit
He didn't feel like it
_badwithcomputer@reddit
He probably knew that the Borg would go from a single cube being able to destroy dozens of starships and planetary defenses, to getting destroyed by a single or small handful of average starships so why even bother.
1nspectorMamba@reddit
actually it’s a good point. if the Q wanted everyone in the galaxy to evolve they knew they needed to let the borg be to force everyone else to level up
tcrex2525@reddit
Didn’t Q introduce humanity to the Borg??
TheCh0rt@reddit
Picard questioned if Q did it so humans could collect data on them so when the attack finally came they could be ready for it. Argument being if Q never introduced them, they'd never see it coming. Q was quite hasty and forceful in his introduction and did not mince words. He let people die to show how serious he was about the Borg
GrandfatherTrout@reddit
Bit of a retcon; I think your first sentence was likely the writers’ intent at the time.
_badwithcomputer@reddit
I believe initially the destroyed outposts at the neutral zone in previous episodes (matching the destroyed planet they find in Q Who) were supposed to be indicators of the Borg before we finally meet them in Q Who.
But the writers strike ended that story line lead up, and a bunch of canned scripts were used which pushed the Borg story back a season.
https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/72831/who-was-responsible-for-destruction-of-federation-outposts-in-the-neutral-zone
thinkthingsareover@reddit
Huh...I always thought the destroyed outposts were supposed to be done by the Crystalline Entity. It's been quite a while since I've done a re-watch, but I thought that they were one of the first fairly consistent big baddies.
_badwithcomputer@reddit
Depends. Enterprise introduced the theory that the Borg already knew of humans due to a radio transmission sent from Earth to Borg space.
tcrex2525@reddit
Oh good catch, I forgot about that Episode… guess it’s time for a rewatch!
I never gave Enterprise a chance until 2020 during quarantine and I really enjoyed it. It doesn’t deserve all the hate it got. I’ve only watched it once so far.
SpocksLeftNut@reddit
It suffered from the "this new Star Trek sucks" syndrome that has plagued the franchise since TMP
GregGraffin23@reddit
And people disliked it being a prequel
SpocksLeftNut@reddit
I'd agree with that for sure. I do also remember there being talk about the series being set between TOS and TNG as rumours about a new series ramped up. Specifically I recall a lot of people hoping for a Captain Sulu series, so it would have likely altered canon too, had that been the case. I'm not trying to slander or defend any series, I just think it's been a pretty common trend for a new series to come out, not find an immediate audience, barely hold on as the series progresses and then years down the line it becomes more popular. Voyager is probably the biggest example of that I suppose, but I've seen a lot of folks rediscovering Enterprise. But us Trek fans are a finicky bunch
No-Illustrator4964@reddit
The amount of people hammering Voyager for being *politically correct" who now act like they were always a fan is truly nauseating.
loneranger5860@reddit
Yep, if the Internet was as prevalent, then as it is now, it probably wouldn’t have made it past season two. It would’ve gone the way of Starfleet Academy. No one gave it a chance. There were so many stories it could tell, and we could’ve watched the cadets grow year by year into full-fledged officers.
kcbrooklyn1@reddit
Stop trying to make StarFleet Academy a thing. It was a steaming pile of crap from its inception. There hasn’t been any real core canon Trek since Enterprise, end of discussion.
SpocksLeftNut@reddit
TheFourtHorsmen@reddit
Strange new world is pretty good.
kcbrooklyn1@reddit
Nah man, I tried. SNW is wack. That Gorn episode was supposed to be one of the best and I was dumbfounded by how bad it was. In just ONE Enterprise episode (In A Mirror Darkly), we got the best Gorn, full bodied Tholian (!), Orions, Vulcans and a few others (Porthos was a MF Rottweiler!).
And I still can’t finish the first episode of Discovery.
Sharticus123@reddit
They really fucked the show from the start with the opening song. It’s not even all that bad it’s just not a Star Trek theme song.
RampantAndroid@reddit
And then you hear it every time you watch enterprise (assuming you stick with it) and hate the damn song now. Initially I didn’t hate it but now…now I can’t really stand it.
Coming off the three prior shows which all had space and orchestra music, it was a jarring transition and a bad intro.
What also didn’t help is how Enterprise was going and changing things. First contact with the Klingons and Romulans. Bringing Soong into it. Etc. I’m old enough to remember people didn’t like it for that reason.
ValuableRegular9684@reddit
Yea, I always thought if they had really did the beginning and meeting of other races and the start of the Federation it could have been a monster hit. But the cheese eating dog, wimpy captain, ridiculous time war and a horny engineer killed it.
United_Fan_6476@reddit
Porthos was a good boy!
And someone has to be the horny guy on the boat. It's basically a Starfleet regulation.
United_Fan_6476@reddit
That last fucking episode deserves all of the hate.
serial_crusher@reddit
Plenty of people in the federation knew they existed, but also that they were a distant threat, and didn’t necessarily know how powerful they were.
Guinan and the other El-Aurians would have told people about them, and Seven of Nine’s parents went chasing the rumors.
Haruspex_Rex@reddit
That’s all retcon. The only inkling that the Borg existed were the destroyed outposts near the Romulan Neutral Zone in the season finale of season one. Guinan didn’t appear until season 2 episode 1 and the Borg didn’t appear until episode 16 of the season. The writers hadn’t planned it all out yet.
Fabulous-Sea-1590@reddit
Two fun fan theories I've read, probably in this very sub:
I'm his way, Q was trying to save humanity by giving them a preview of what to expect when the borg finally made real contact with the alpha quadrant.
And the El-Aurians seem to have had knowledge that made them dangerous to the Q. Since the Borg assimilated the El-Aurians, they were potentially a threat to the Q.
Split the difference: Q wanted to help humans get up to speed in hopes they could destroy the Borg without risking the continuum.
GregGraffin23@reddit
Or In his way, Q was trying to save El-Aurians,by giving them a preview of what to expect when the Borg finally made real contact with them
Only were Starfleet won, the El-Aurians, lost
loneranger5860@reddit
The Borg were no match for Q. Question is, why didn’t you just snuff them out if they were so evil and such a threat to the galaxy.
TigerIll6480@reddit
From things that Q said here and there, the Continuum seemed to have some sort of non-interference directive. They didn’t like him messing with humanity as much as he did. Taking an action like wiping out the Borg may have gotten him snuffed out before he could do it.
loneranger5860@reddit
Q could just snuff them back into existence after Q annihilated them.
AppropriateCap8891@reddit
One fact about conflict, it forces change. Be it simple crustaceans in the ocean, slightly smarter apes or civilizations or institutions. When things are peaceful you get stagnation. When there is conflict, one must evolve to get an advantage. Which typically forces the other to evolve also in order to counter that.
This can be seen in the adaptations of trilobites in the Cambrian, as well as among the combatants in WWII.
No_Detail9259@reddit
Like in the other space station show?
mregg000@reddit
“What do you want?”
No_Detail9259@reddit
Yep. But i didnt want to get banned for mentioning the name.
EagleBigMac@reddit
B5 B4 B gone?
Strict_Weather9063@reddit
What happened to DS 1-8?
mregg000@reddit
Y’know, I’d like to think that wouldn’t happen.
But I know better.
snowbum817@reddit
"Who are you?"
that_other_DM@reddit
Get the hell out of our Galaxy
solidus0079@reddit
“Im being nibbled to death by cats”
templar_muse@reddit
"You must save the eye that does not see.
You must not kill the one who is already dead.
You must surrender yourself to your greatest fear, knowing it will destroy you."
- Lwaxana Troi
momentimori@reddit
The Egyptian God of Frustration.
VGuyver@reddit
That reminds me of the corrupt politicians in Legend of the Galactic Heroes. They send everyone to fight and says war improves society and humanity, but absolutely refuse to entertain the idea of leaving their cushy seats to be on the front lines.
TF2PublicFerret@reddit
LOGH fan spotted in the wild! This is a blessed day.
8-bit38@reddit
Google "fascist imperial Japan" you'll notice even more similarities
Y-DOC@reddit
Pretty heavy-handed in Gundam, too, albeit there’s not a godlike being/collective of beings like the Q continuum making it/allowing it to happen - just rich, disaffected old guys.
BadmiralHarryKim@reddit
Q does seem more of a "What do you want?" than a "Who are you?" sort of fellow.
No_Detail9259@reddit
Idk. It seems blurred at times but i wont argue with you.
ClarSco@reddit
Yeah, I get the impression that Q was a "Who are you?" sort, but laid out "What do you want?" scenarios as tests of the former.
No_Detail9259@reddit
Yes!!!!!
MovingTarget2112@reddit
The one that stands for something, not some deep space franchise?
fastbadtuesday@reddit
That's roughly what he suggests in "Q Who" that he needed humans (Picard) to get their asses handed to them so they didn't get too arrogant and realise they can't just get along with everyone, the impact thou was the Borg now know about them and will be headed to earth, further forcing humans and other races to drop petty squabbles and unite.
Dry-Interaction-1246@reddit
Missed opportunity to train his favorite Picard and humans.
TheCh0rt@reddit
You assume he can!! Even he has said you should not provoke the Borg
South_Front_4589@reddit
I don't think they can.
I think the Q see the Borg as a massive threat to their existence and don't think they can take them on directly.
My theory is that this is why Q himself even gets involved with humanity. He's more than happy to throw the Borg at humans and see how they go. If humans manage to cause the Borg some damage, then brilliant. If not, he doesn't care anyway.
I think this is how the Q have operated for a long time. You don't become that powerful without taking out your rivals, and if you fight everyone directly you make yourself a target. But if you keep setting others against each other, that weakens both.
ScottyfromNetworking@reddit
Q has always been the writer’s “inciting incident”, un agent provocateur, but with more personality.
adamwnotanumber@reddit
Q wanted a contest between the Federation and the Borg to see who would win, to prove which was worthy of guarding existance AFTER the Continuum has ceased to be. Q's fascination with humanity was to do with his own self interest
crapusername47@reddit
Our Q did. You limited, unimaginative mortals just don’t see how.
He accelerated the Federation’s first contact with them by decades, if not centuries. Now, who did that work out for in the end?
DannyGloversDickbld@reddit
I mean technically, Earth made first contact with the Borg prior to first contact with the Vulcans. I wonder how that affected the timeline, long-term? Really, everything up until ST:FC should be considered the “true” timeline for Star Fleet. Everything else is just branches from that reality, no?
notherenwerebear@reddit
Personally I like how ST:SNW explained the timeline changes, it's all the Romulans fault
QualifiedApathetic@reddit
Years maybe, but not decades. The Borg had already "scooped up" several colonies at the edges of Federation and Romulan space, and they'd assimilated the Hansens years before. They were getting ready to make their move. Maybe their encounter with the Enterprise bumped up their schedule a bit, but it probably didn't make a huge difference.
Xgentis@reddit
At least the Federation was made aware of the Borg, without Q the Federation would have been completely uprepared when a cube showed up.
mmaqp66@reddit
From what can be inferred from Star Trek First Contact, the Borg realized that the chances of assimilating humans were already slim thanks to Q and their initial interaction in TNG. That's why they sent a Borg cube to try to assimilate humanity in the past. Sending many cubes wouldn't work, since humanity would never surrender and would prefer to die fighting. The only thing humans would be useful for is their resilience and extreme adaptation to any situation. Humanity has nothing more to offer them.
Jessica_Ariadne@reddit
Janeway weakened the collective so much that it couldn't survive watching the Enterprise D cosplay the Millennium Falcon. =P
The_Sibelis@reddit
They'd assimilated the El-urians, you know, the people the Q seem genuinely afraid of direct confrontation with and who can read their timeline alterations. (which is probably how the queen got that ability per Picard)
I do imagine after that 'don't provoke the borg' became a thing, who knows perhaps they provoked them into assimilation of the El-urians in the first place thinking it'd destroy their enemy instead of giving their natural weapons to a greater threat.
Imma_da_PP@reddit
Dude’s busy, ok?
Capable_Sandwich_422@reddit
This is the Star Trek version of the Doctor Who question about whether the Doctor should have wiped out the Daleks when he had the chance.
Steerider@reddit
He should have.
Capable_Sandwich_422@reddit
So he commits genocide? How is he any different than the Daleks if he goes through with it?
arlaneenalra@reddit
If you're going to bring the Doctor into, could he actually do it? The Dale's and The Cybamen seem to be inevitable contagious that just keep reappearing over and over again. The Q are arguably more powerful that the Timelords, but it might be the same kind of thing. The Borg could find a way to exist outside of where the Q can reach, maybe even another "universe" or pocket somewhere and perhaps decide they should start taking shots at the Q.
Stressedhumbucker@reddit
There was a story in classic Who where the Time Lords sent the Doctor back to when the Daleks were first being created with the mission of destroying them. He was about to fulfil the mission, but then had one of his moral quandaries and held off pulling the trigger. IIRC, in modern Who he also saved the life of the Dalek's creator when he was still a child, before he had created the Daleks. I'm not sure if that was such a clear cut opportunity to prevent them as the classic episode was, though.
Of course, the Daleks are such an iconic Who villain that the writers would always find a way to bring them back no matter what, even if the Doctor DID destroy them all at their root. I expect they'd pop out of an alternative dimension.
Steerider@reddit
Yep. All he had to do was touch two wires together. Boom. No more Daleks.
Of course he didn't do it. The BBC wasn't going to eliminate their favorite baddies.
Capable_Sandwich_422@reddit
That would require the Borg to create that on their own, which they can’t do. Their knowledge comes from who they’ve assimilated.
Stressedhumbucker@reddit
The Daleks are basically hate-driven murder machines. Having them in your universe is like having a nest of perpetually angry hornets attached to your house. They want to destroy every species that is not them. Wiping them out to stop them from causing more harm isn't really comparable to their own actions.
I love Doctor Who (the good eras, at least), but the Doctor's moral inconsistency when it comes to killing always annoys me. He'll go round indirectly killing all kinds of threats without batting an eye, but then If he's either wielding a literal gun or has the opportunity to completely wipe out a major, irredeemable threat, then suddenly there's a gigantic moral dilemma. Occasionally the dilemma makes actual sense, but other times it just seems inconsistent.
Capable_Sandwich_422@reddit
By changing history to where they never existed, you would change time so much that the damage from the change may be worse. It also negates the positives that come from them existing
Stressedhumbucker@reddit
The damage from the change may be worse? You might be right, but the impression I was left with from what I've watched of the show is that the Time Lords would have likely known whether or not that's the case. I don't think they usually screw with history at random.
Capable_Sandwich_422@reddit
A lot of the Doctor’s missions for the Time Lords weren’t sanctioned by their High Council. He was told that their projections showed the Daleks would wipe out life in the universe, but they may have just said that so he’d do it.
MrDeekhaed@reddit
DONT PROVOKE THE BORG
autismislife@reddit
I always wonder why Q said this. Surely they're meager compared to them.
I wonder if the Borg found a way to mildly annoy the Q, and that was extremely unacceptable.
But then if course you're assume the Q could just wipe out the Borg without a second thought, so maybe they developed some kind of defence against them, which would answer OP's question (even if the obvious explanation is that the Q don't really care about wiping out the Borg).
MrDeekhaed@reddit
Exactly
We don’t know why but it is an inconsistency with what we think we know about the Q and the Borg
It implies that the Borg are some kind of threat or potential threat to the Q
My mind tends towards the idea the Q cannot or will not (due to their own rules) wipe out the Borg with the snap of their fingers and if the Borg devote themselves to hurting the Q they can develop the means to do so
MaintenanceInternal@reddit
The borg took a lot of Guynans people I believe and judging from her showing hands when Q pops up, I'd imagine they have some resistance.
OhNoIBoffedIt@reddit
DON'T 😠 PROVOKE 😠 THE BORG 😠
(See, you need the eyebrows for emphasis.)
vorlash@reddit
Because, the first rule of the continuum is: YOU DON'T PROVOKE THE BORG!
Revolutionary_Pay_31@reddit
While the Q don't seem to have an issue with messing with other races, I am betting that they have rules on the elimination of other races. While a Q is more than capable of destroying the Borg, doing so would bring down the wrath of other Q upon them. For if you get rid of the Borg, you are only going to be setting the state for another, possibly more aggressive, species to take it's place down the line.
The other consideration is that the Q, being so far above every other race, simply don't care. The Borg are not a threat to them, in any way shape or form, so they don't need to be dealt with. Yeah, they are a threat to all other life in the galaxy, but that is everyone else's problem, not the Q.
MajorProfit_SWE@reddit
A threat for many species but not a threat for the Species 8472 as I understand it.
DinosaurSHS@reddit
I think if the Q decided the Borg were the bad guys (and in this case most of the galaxy would probably agree), then they would be setting a precedent for judgement that could backfire later, as in asking "where do we set the bar?".
Kind of like the ascended Ancients in Stargate.
socialmedia-username@reddit
I mean, Q's do pass judgment on the worth of entire races, but only in a court filled with midgets and loud/oddly-dressed people.
Trapick@reddit
Do they? Or do they just pretend to? We don't know of any species they've actually limited afaik.
acquaintedwithheight@reddit
They have an antagonistic relationship with the El-Aurian that kind of hints at direct conflict
Ralph--Hinkley@reddit
Right? They're not Douwds.
Jollyfroggy@reddit
I love the way the asguard deal with this.
Why didn't you just wipe them out.
Yeah, probably should have.
DarfWork@reddit
I mean Q was testing humanity on the basis of there moral...
But mostly I think Q think the Borg are bor(g)ing. A trial with the Borg would be like putting a pigeon on trial.
Boxinggandhi@reddit
They don’t seem to be bound by a code like the ancients. Although goofing around with mortals is frowned upon, it’s definitely not forbidden.
Calm_Ad308@reddit
“Q of course you fuck Picard, we’ve all done it, but you HAVE to put it all back when you’re done”
“…you mean fuck WITH Picard, right Q?”
“Huh?…oh yeah yeah whatever Q”
Carlos_Spicy_Weiner6@reddit
Because Q loved him some borg strange
MegaMonkeyMixer@reddit
Have you seen Clash Of The Titans?
Q is a God, they watch and manipulate.
Frostsorrow@reddit
"if I've told you once, I've told you an infinite number of times! Do not antagonize the Borg!"
Excellent-Hyena-4558@reddit
Q did tell Q Junior to "Never Provoke The Borg"
GregGraffin23@reddit
Why didn't Picard?
Maybe Q isn't into genocide
Stay_at_Home_Chad@reddit
Q isn't a good guy. He's a rascal
MultiGeek42@reddit
Good doesnt always mean nice. He forced the Enterpeise to slow down and look harder at their new outpost that was actually a living being. He gave the Federation a big heads up that the borg were coming. He helped Picard see that universe ending temporal anomaly. He also helped Picard see that his irresponsible youth shaped him into a better leader.
In doing so he cost some crew members their lives, and was generally kind of a prick, but what would have happened if he didn't get involved in those situations?
Stay_at_Home_Chad@reddit
Q sent the Enterprise into the Delta Quadrant, alerting the Borg to the existence of the federation and putting them on a course towards the Alpha Quadrant in the first place.
I'm not saying he malevolent, but the closest thing to "goodness" is a fondness for Picard, and an interest in him not dying.
MultiGeek42@reddit
Even before that episode of Enterprise where the Borg sent themselves a signal, they were going to come to the Alpha Quadrant sooner or later.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying Q is that good either. Chaotic good but like, barely. He really isn't concerned with individual lives except for his favorites.
Stay_at_Home_Chad@reddit
I would have called him Chaotic Neutral, but I think we're close enough in agreement on that. And I forgot about the fact that the Borg was alerted to the federation in First Contact. That came later, but I'll give you that one, too.
MultiGeek42@reddit
Its a little bit of a chicken and egg thing. If they hadn't had that conflict with the Federation when they did, they may not have sent the signal in the first place. The Federation may not have developed more powerful weapons without getting humbled by the Borg. What would the Borg have assimilated by the time they eventually spread to the Alpha Quadrant? If Voyager still encountered the Borg in the Delta Quadrant, they might have shown up just a few years later but with no warning.
Whatever happened, happened and could not have happened any other way.
solidus0079@reddit
He said "the" Q, not Q. The race, not the individual played by John DeLancie :)
Cute_Repeat3879@reddit
You imply disparity where none exists
solidus0079@reddit
"Deja Q" canonizes a disparity since "our" Q is exiled/punished by the others.
solidus0079@reddit
Didn't De Lancie's Q get exiled or punished at one point?
LegoRobinHood@reddit
Now I'm distracted by this example of using a definite article to distinguish between an individual and their abstracted/generalized .. species, just because of how the individual and the species share a name.
I know it's not totally unprecedented, but it's kinda funny
loneranger5860@reddit
I think it’s the Q Continuum, or Q, the one that looks like John Delancie.
loneranger5860@reddit
I don’t think they’re ever referred to as just “the Q”. It’s either the Q continuum or Q
ramfoodie@reddit (OP)
Yes, I meant "the whole Q continuum"... not just Q John Delancie
Stay_at_Home_Chad@reddit
I did miss the the, but I stand by my answer. The Q aren't benevolent. They're rascals.
Noshkanok@reddit
A rapscallion!
Stay_at_Home_Chad@reddit
Dare I say, a ne'er do well.
GetOffMyAsteroid@reddit
"I'm an idea man. Hard work isn't my forte."
jackrabbit323@reddit
He's a scamp.
ABC_Dildos_Inc@reddit
Q isn't linear.
treble-n-bass@reddit
Because he was enjoying the “game”
Joalguke@reddit
Shits and giggles
Capt_Cyral@reddit
Best theory yet.😉
burgundyblue@reddit
“Where’s the fun in that?” -Q, probably.
Graythor5@reddit
There's certainly something we don't know and may never know about the Continuum and the Borg. Many people have theories and you can find a lot of them on YouTube.
I personally think that there is a future where the Borg become a real threat to the Q somehow. The Borg are already capable of limited time travel so it may be related to that. If the Borg learn of the Q and can eventually figure out where they came from, it may be possible to travel back in time far enough to interfere with their accention to god-like beings. Then you end up with a time war. Maybe the Borg manage to assimilate a Q and this just screws everything up forever.
So Q is doing what he can to affect humanity and get them to destroy the Borg without being too obvious. He's acting on his own so the rest of the Continuum don't know and there for the Q that gets assimilated doesn't know.
Who knows?
Johnny_Strawhat@reddit
Maybe he can’t, or can’t without some unknown major consequence.
pakrat1967@reddit
I think what OP is really asking is if the Q considered the human race to be barbarous race, why didn't the Q consider the Borg as equally barbarous.
Neither are really any threat to the Q. The Q might view the Borg as a tool of Darwinism. Any species that can keep going after encountering the Borg. Has shown that the species deserves to exist.
There's also the very real possibility that Q (John D) was acting on his own when putting the Enterprise on trial. He wasn't following orders from the rest of the continuum.
Torlek1@reddit
That last statement of yours: I thought that too, until someone reminded me of AGT dialogue that did air in the original airing but was cut out in regular syndication.
Our Q is indeed following orders.
AnnieGoldleaf@reddit
Q is extremely worried that the Borg will adapt to them and then it’s game over.
Torlek1@reddit
How many El Aurians did the Borg assimilate?
Didn't they have that defensive power?
Felsys1212@reddit
If we all remember the episode Q introduces the Borg, Q also states that the Borg are not even the most dangerous threat. Perhaps Q was getting humanity ready for something bigger later.
Torlek1@reddit
The Dominion?
In plain conventional terms, the Dominion would count.
Species 8472?
If the Borg kept away from the Federation, they would still try and fail to assimilate Species 8472. Nobody would be in position to persuade them to cool down.
zzupdown@reddit
I don't they actually care one way or the other. I think Q was actually trolling Picard to see how humanity'd respond. I don't think the Q would actually planning to punish humanity in any meaningful way.
And the Borg are likely too one dimensional and uninteresting to command much attention by the Q. They're likely not worth destroying.
Jerfziller_380@reddit
I like to think that each sentient race in Star Trek was created by the Q, and sometimes they want to see how they will fare against each other in conflict. De Lancie Q created humanity and continuously challenges them to make them stronger so they can overcome races created by other Q in a game/amusement, or preparation for some ultimate enemy they will come into contact with. The universe is their Pokemon and we're his Pikachu!
Joalguke@reddit
They were canonically created by the Progenitors.
Mister_Buddy@reddit
I choose you, Picardchu!
BuckyGoodHair@reddit
At no point is he shown to be that evil or cruel or involved in our affairs.
TheAwesomeRan@reddit
To me they cant create or destroy only manipulate.
Weird-Bake3450@reddit
It was a test of Humankind. If you watching SNW? The Borg came from Earth, probably during the Eugenics Wars.
iXenite@reddit
It’s because The Q have no motive to do so.
Personmchumanface@reddit
why would they?
ramfoodie@reddit (OP)
The Q continuum seem open to judging entire races... that's how the TNG series first episode actually starts...then why not the borg?
rustydoesdetroit@reddit
Q put humans on trial for his own interests/amusement not because that’s what The Q do.
ramfoodie@reddit (OP)
He uses the word "we" in that encounter.
ringwraith6@reddit
Maybe it was a royal "we"?
1237412D3D@reddit
Let "us" make man in "our" image - El Elohim
ringwraith6@reddit
Sounds very Q like....
HorrorMetalDnD@reddit
https://youtu.be/FDJVtCZvkJ4?t=70&si=uV1Nb5_QjIooverc
Revolutionary_Pay_31@reddit
First of all, Q is not exactly known for telling the truth. After getting to see more Q throughout the years I am convinced that there was no "We", I think that it was just "He", and "He" likes to do things for his own amusement.
rustydoesdetroit@reddit
They also kicked him out of the Continuum for his bullshit. No reason to believe he was acting on part of the continuum because he said “we”
AmittaiD@reddit
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_we
HorrorMetalDnD@reddit
https://youtu.be/FDJVtCZvkJ4?t=70&si=uV1Nb5_QjIooverc
Reyals140@reddit
That's only true if you "believe" Q
There's no cannon proof anything he says is true and could have been just making stuff up to mess with Picard.
I mean honestly very little of what he does or says has lasting effects. Mostly could be explained away with "illusions and trickery"
CMDR_Kaus@reddit
Even when he lost his powers and became human, that could very well have been a planned test for Picard/humanity
Ulysse-Void-God@reddit
Answer the question. Why would they?
Revolutionary_Pay_31@reddit
Not the Continuum, but one Q. One Q likes to judge other races, probably for his own amusement. In fact in the episode "Deja Q" we have seen Q being punished by other Q for his actions.
Nooms88@reddit
It's established that humans represent a threat to the Q in their future, through their curiosity and desire to learn and potentially "evolve" into a competitor species.
You have to think the Q know the outcome of the Picard trials, how could they not and it's a warning as such.
The borg don't represent that threat to them, they do represent a threat and a pivotal role to other life in the galaxy, which is why q tells baby q, don't interfere with the borg.
It's likely about events 100,000 or 100 million years from now,
dathomar@reddit
If you take Q at face value, though, that would suggest that humanity is dangerous and everyone else isn't. The Borg, in the end, just aren't that big a deal. This can be evidenced with how adroitly the Federation manages to develop countermeasures against Borg. Humans are capable of being just plain more dangerous than everyone else.
Sierra_Smith@reddit
They are superior in every way. In a galaxy of mediocrity they are a beacon of entertainment.
opinionatedmoth@reddit
They’re also possibly afraid of the Borg. Q tells his son not to provoke them. We also know the Borg assimilated the El-Aurians who can both summon a Q and seem to have a defence against them (Guinan’s claw hand thing). So it’s possible the Borg have that power now too.
StriveToTheZenith@reddit
LMFAO guinans claw hand what a moment
huskiesofinternets@reddit
Why dont the Q just destroy sadness? They are a force of nature.
Remarkable_Energy341@reddit
John De Lancie looks so badass though.
DisciplineHot7374@reddit
For his own amusement.
Fainbrog@reddit
Would have been a rather series limiting action..
mdf7g@reddit
Head-canon: the Borg are the Q. They eventually succeed in their quest for "perfection."
And the Q, therefore, don't mess with the Borg because they don't want to risk altering their own past.
wesbug@reddit
I have this same head canon!!
Ulysse-Void-God@reddit
Why would he?
ryguymcsly@reddit
Why would he?
The Borg represent a path of evolution that, to the Q perspective, is a dead end. They’re never going to pursue the kind of transcendental evolution that rises to Q-like beings. They’re interested in maxing their stats in the physical universe. Humanity is on a path to get there (eventually) so they are interesting. The Borg are only interesting in that they are a foil for humanity.
Still though, ultimately the Q are bored gods. Whatever spices up the universe is good to them. If anything Q would keep nudging the Borg to be a problem but not so big a problem no one can overcome it.
HisDivineOrder@reddit
A Q invented the Borg to keep the universe interesting and always moving. If anyone gets complacent or thinks they're done making new fun things, the Borg exist to come cancel them.
Every life form is entertainment and the Borg exist to keep them fun.
Or else.
pixel_pete@reddit
The continuum seems to have their own version of a prime directive. Not non-interference necessarily but nothing that would fundamentally alter the course of a species that could eventually reach the level of the Q.
Q who is a loose cannon by Q standards, kind of circumvented this by putting the Borg on a premature collision course with the people who would be able to beat them.
donutincredible@reddit
Kevin Uxbridge: [of Rishon] I saw her broken body. I went insane. My hatred exploded. And in an instant of grief... I destroyed the Husnock.
Doctor Beverly Crusher: Why did you try to hide this from all of us? Was it out of guilt for not helping Rishon and the others when they were alive?
Kevin Uxbridge: No, no, no, no, no, you-you don't understand the scope of my crime. I didn't kill just one Husnock, or a hundred, or a thousand. I killed them all. All Husnock, everywhere. - Are 11,000 people worth... 50 billion? Is the love of a woman worth the destruction of an entire species?
EpsilonProtocol@reddit
I immediately thought about this when I saw the post title. How would the universe have changed if Uxbridge wiped out the Borg like he did the Husnock?
donutincredible@reddit
An interesting question, but the connection is about the right of one consciousness to judge the right of another to exist. Consider Picard’s reply:
allthecoffeesDP@reddit
That would have been interesting if they went and got him to fight the borg
donutincredible@reddit
Most TNG episodes are beautiful metaphors for morality and the human condition. Let this one land.
Det_JokePeralta@reddit
Q don’t really do “Morality” like other species do. As a whole they judge species not solely by their character, but by their ability to grow beyond what they are. Evil as their methods are, the Borg are obsessed with self-improvement.
AxMurderSurvivor@reddit
Why would they?
Yommination@reddit
They have no reason to. The borg are not a threat to the Q
Revolutionary_Pay_31@reddit
Ox91@reddit
I think they might be, because Q was pretty pissed at his son for messing with the Borg.
ExpectedBehaviour@reddit
Because that might count as... provocation.
https://i.redd.it/xfji2ougsq1h1.gif
SanchoPliskin@reddit
Prime directive or some bullshit.
amblingbotanical@reddit
Test
BigMomma12345678@reddit
Life would be boring without the borg, at least to him
tacosforsocrates@reddit
He did. The moment he placed the enterprise in the path of that borg cube.
Notchibald_Johnson@reddit
There was no reason to. The Borg weren't a threat to the Continuum. The Q like to watch and the Borg were just part of the story that was unfolding.
Ox91@reddit
Galactic voyeurs!!!
These are the voyeurs of the starship Voyager/Enterprise D!
shadowscar248@reddit
Exactly, think about them as extended viewers of the show itself. Why would they want to completely destroy such a great villain
Ox91@reddit
Q could be short for QUEEN!!! DUN DUN!!!! lol. Jk.
The way Q scolds his son for messing with the Borg makes me think they might be some kind of a potential threat to the species of Q.
ramfoodie@reddit (OP)
I meant why did "the"Q continuum as a whole allow the borg to rampage on, not just Q. The continuum must have a sense of what is too far.
DubsNC@reddit
Or the Q saw a need for the borg to help prepare someone or the entire galaxy. There are chicken pox parties that parents purposely take their kids to. Sometimes a little pain is worth it.
AcridWings_11465@reddit
When a vaccine is readily available, those are wildly irresponsible parents
DubsNC@reddit
Gotcha. It didn’t exist when I was growing up. It’s a calculated risk for parents. I assume the Q made a calculated risk about the Borg and decided to proceed how they have.
mcgrst@reddit
I think the chickenpox vaccine just keeps it from being as serious and it's still worth getting as early as possible. It's a right bear of a disease as an adult.
AcridWings_11465@reddit
No, it is not. A wild infection always carries a risk of mutations increasing severity and a vastly higher chance of complications for the same level of immunity that a vaccine provides. As an adult, you should be taking the Shingles vaccine past 35-40 anyway. Recovering from chickenpox as a child actually increases the odds of Shingles because a full infection has much higher viral load than a vaccine, which means the virus is almost certainly laying dormant.
mcgrst@reddit
I've just done some reading apparently the chickenpox vaccine has only recently been made available on the NHS. I stand corrected.
I assumed it was in with the dozens of other vaccines the kids got when they were little.
mregg000@reddit
Or even older teen, as my oldest brother can attest.
drkittymow@reddit
He doesn’t kill people ever in the show, does he? I don’t remember that anyway. He’s sort of observing and intervening/interfering without controlling.
chiaplotter4u@reddit
I like to think that the Q are not all powerful. While only implied, it seems that Guinan had some form of defense against Q. Obviously the Q can't be all powerful if they can wage war on each other and kill each other.
My head canon comes from a beautiful line of Q's: "Don't. Provoke. The Borg."
While it was probably meant only that the Borg would wreak havoc on other mortal races, I like to read it like the Q themselves have a degree of fear of the Borg. If Guinan can mess up with the Q, maybe the Borg can. Or if they can't, they're on the verge of finding out that they actually can.
Maybe Q can't just finger-snap them out of existence. Maybe they can, but it would do something very, very bad for the universe itself - perhaps a similar question to "what would happen if Q snapped Q out of existence". A lot of maybes, so I'll only add the last one: maybe the Q are no longer alone in the universe, the Borg could be a rivaling faction, someone with whom they have to share the plane at which the Continuum exists.
porntrek_86@reddit
He didn't have the power, Guinan's people had the ability to counter the Q but we're still assimilated by the Borg. They have the ability to monitor time and other dimensions.
ImpressiveJohnson@reddit
The Q didn’t solve the problems of the universe. Ever.
halu2975@reddit
He tells his son to not provoke the Borg. And he’s quite angry about it. So either they have a treaty of some sort or they’re an experiment. Or something else.
rootxploit@reddit
That’s Kevin Uxbridge’s job.
dathomar@reddit
They didn't destroy the Borg because the Borg weren't actually that big of a threat, in the grand scheme of things. Neither were the Dominion. Humanity was the threat and were the ones the Continuum kept an eye on.
JoeCensored@reddit
Q did destroy the Borg. He was playing the long game against the Borg. Everything he did regarding the Borg was all about getting Voyager in the right place with the right knowledge for Voyager finale Endgame.
The Q can see the future, how their actions shape events. In Endgame Admiral Janeway deals a crippling blow to the Borg. But if you go back a few episodes to season 7 Q2, Voyager only arrived at the Borg transwarp hub because Q at the end of the episode gives them that specific course on a data pad. Q wanted Endgame to happen.
Other events involving Q and Voyager were just to get Janeway in a position where she would trust Q enough to follow the course Q gives her.
Q in TNG introduces the Federation to the Borg early. He had to do this so when Voyager was flung into the Delta quadrant 7 years later they had sufficient knowledge of the Borg to not be destroyed on their first encounter.
Kai_Daigoji@reddit
Why don't you destroy the ant nest in your yard that will one day pose a threat to the peaceful ants two streets over?
Whole_Association_65@reddit
Kids step on ants on purpose. Not very sporting. The Q has outgrown such pettiness.
Hephaestus16@reddit
They do but every time they do it somehow lead to an even worse timeline. The one with 8472 eat everybody, the one where Moriarty becomes god emperor of the galaxy, the one where the the andromeda galaxy conquers the milky way, the dominion win, mirror universe, spot eats the galaxy etc. etc.
mregg000@reddit
Wut
much_longer_username@reddit
Worf doesn't tell Spot he is a pretty cat, which leads to the Felid war of 2388.
mregg000@reddit
Ok. Well I’m sure there is/will be a fanfic of this somewhere.
bsmithcan@reddit
The Q have rules about interference just like a prime directive except that it involves the entire Galaxy across both time and space. Our Q got punished for pushing the boundaries of those rules until they decided that he smartened up enough to be allowed to become again Q again.
Also there, was the episode of the teenage Q where they made it clear about how the Q felt about interfering and they killed her parents for it.
I don’t know enough about Picard series to know if this theory still holds true with what they added to the canon.
mattihase@reddit
Maybe they did judge them and sent them a very rude letter about it.
Lokitusaborg@reddit
Why would he? Do you destroy every invasive anthill that you see?
haikusbot@reddit
Why would he? Do you
Destroy every invasive
Anthill that you see?
- Lokitusaborg
^(I detect haikus. And sometimes, successfully.) ^Learn more about me.
^(Opt out of replies: "haikusbot opt out" | Delete my comment: "haikusbot delete")
OhNoIBoffedIt@reddit
Because they're fun.
mwonch@reddit
The entire point of Q sending 1701-D into Borg space was to teach them humility. Even Picard's attitude during the beginning of that episode was quite arrogant. The dangers the Borg represented to the humans/Federation would, in the end, both make them better AND worse...but overall an improvement.
Didn't need pure warships? PAH! Meet a group of automatons that will change your mind. While preparing the Borg, the Feds got into a scuffle with the Dominion. Thanks to Q, they were already designing/building warships and improving current vessels.
It was clear all along that humans in particular interested Q. Indeed more than OUR Q; other Q also found them interesting enough to...convert to their lifestyle (and were murdered for that). Still, the Q found humanity strangely compelling. Bratty Q's meddling brought out humanity's best (not intentional, I'm sure). Bratty Q basically became their unofficial steward.
Q taught them a lesson through bringing about an early encounter with the Borg, because Q knew arrogance breeds complacency. Complacency breeds stagnation. In this case, stagnation means death. Q gambled that the federation would make the adjustment.
Evening-Cold-4547@reddit
Why would they?
MikeyB_0101@reddit
Q seem to have a vested interest in humanity evolving or exceeding the continuum, which I have theories on… they are on our side despite being pains in the rear end
LQCQ@reddit
They can't. They are posers.
Which-Host-9073@reddit
Because they aren't the policemen of the galaxy and have no reason to destroy the Borg.
JohnR1977@reddit
what is that?
hotpepper3306@reddit
The Q continuum had rules they have to follow. If i remember correct me they said they guardian of orders
Voidstarmaster@reddit
The Continuum's equivalent of Starfleet's prime directive. Non interference.
And I know Q (John de Lancie) often interfered, but note that the other Q eventually punished him for it.
Further, it makes for a boring ass show (in any genre) if someone can and does just repeatedly show up and save the mortals over and over.
The Q probably regard nearly ALL sentient species in the universe as lowly lifeforms. Even the daoud and creatures like Armus and Tinman are probably orders of magnitude lower than the Q while still being orders of magnitude more powerful than us, the Romulans, the Ferengi, the Klingons, et al.
mybumisontherail@reddit
There was no need for the Q to destroy the borg, their omniscience and omnipotence knew that the their plan to introduce The Federation and Starfleet would result in Starfleet, and the Federation, as well as the rest of the galaxy would adapt, evolve and maybe ascend to a much higher level of being. If anything, their meddling by Q, sped up the process,as awful as it seems, I believe that John De Lancie's character most likely went against the Q continuums mantra, because Picard was his favorite human above all else and he wanted the human species to prosper .
ConstructionIll956@reddit
This one missed the whole point.
Prudent_Leave_2171@reddit
“Why doesn’t Ross, the largest of the friends, simply eat the others?”
primarycolorman@reddit
Too useful a tool until they assimilated a race that could detect Q, then they were too uppity to be fwb anymore and they manuevered the youth pastor in position to run them off. Why do work when you can delegate?
KweenKobold@reddit
They did. By exposing the Enterprise-D to the borg artificially early it set a chain of events that led to them never gaining a foothold in anything but the delta quadrant. If Q hadn't done that then they would have been unprepared and wiped out. Moving one ship across the galaxy is a very small "snap of the fingers" compared ot wiping out all Borg.
WarAgile9519@reddit
Why would they ? the Borg are only a threat to the lesser species .
shaikuri@reddit
The only Q that ever seemed to really care about mortals was too gentle to genocide.
Besides for them it's like the difference between ants and termites.
Over_40_gaming@reddit
How is that fun?
CharacterMaybe7950@reddit
If they can - if any alien can - then you don’t have a show.
And, yes, we saw Kevin Uxbridge.
But you have to retcon this stuff otherwise - as a story - nothing works. You’re always asking ‘why didn’t this happen?’ No death is permanent, no success earned.
Bushido_Seppuku@reddit
Stop focusing on the universe and focus on Q. What does Q want? To test Picard. Why? Here, say hello to the Borg.
Q is infinitely complex and simple. Enjoy the assimilation show. Encore! Encore!
[someone toss me the appropriate Mariachi meme por fa vor?]
outtatime369@reddit
They were part of the plan!
Mack_Daddy_1@reddit
"We don't even instigate the Borg"
punkwalrus@reddit
Remember Kevin Uxbridge? Who turned out was a member of a non-corporeal species self-described as "immortal beings of disguises and false surroundings," the Douwd? Wiped Husnock? He instantly annihilated all fifty billion with a single thought?
Picard confesses that the Federation (much less humanity) was not qualified to judge him or the issue and allows him to stay on Rana IV and to make Rishon live again.
So, that probably is a similar vibe.
Physical-Name4836@reddit
The Borg taught Star fleet many valuable lessons. Why do you think Q rushed their introduction?
CodeToManagement@reddit
The Q only really interact with people for entertainment- and that’s pretty much only Q himself, the rest of them don’t really show up without him
They are also pretty much as old or older than time, the Borg to them are insignificant. Q most likely knows what happens to the Borg in the end and also knows what could happen if they interfere.
patty_OFurniture306@reddit
There is also the one line in ..voyager? Don't provoke the Borg
So maybe they're wary if not scared of them.
sicarius254@reddit
Q basically helps the federation along by forcing contact with them which causes the federation to create tech to fight them…. Plus all of season 2 of Picard ends up with the good Borg joining the federation.
He just doesn’t snap his fingers to get rid of them.
stareagleur@reddit
In Dune, Leto II deliberately rules as a God over humanity for thousands of years to create a genetic imprint on Humans to have an aversion to the very concept of ever following an all powerful ruler or hero figure ever again to change human nature itself so that humanity won’t hold extinct.
I wonder if the Q night have actually allowed the Borg to exist as a kind of inoculation to intelligent species to prevent life as whole from going down that path and ushering in the end of all sentient life.
After all, Q showed an albeit warped fondness for Humans and admittedly and deliberately introduced them to the Borg early so as to give them time to prepare and survive.
Jgolu12@reddit
https://i.redd.it/hhmgjx3d0q1h1.gif
quigongingerbreadman@reddit
They possibly don't have the power to. The Borg have access to time travel/alternate reality technologies.
Or, if the borg pose no threat to them, simply don't care to.
The last possibility, the Q are far future borg who've evolved to observe and integrate cultures rather than assimilate and subsume them.
QualifiedApathetic@reddit
I seriously doubt the Q are less powerful than Species 8472, which was mopping the floor with the Borg until Janeway provided an effective weapon against them.
freylaverse@reddit
That would explain the hairline.
TheJohnnyFlash@reddit
For all his bluster, Q has his own prime directive and set of ethics that fit being a god.
Rare-Designer-1008@reddit
As Q told Q jr dont provoke the Borg
CodeMonkeyPhoto@reddit
What, and miss out on all the entertainment? --Q
flamingfaery162@reddit
For reasons unknown in Voyager Q says don't piss off the Borg so maybe it has something to do with that or that they were incapable of it.
RW-Firerider@reddit
I think the Q have strict rules what they can and cant do. We know that our beloved Q got banished for steping over the line, so some rules must exist.
We only know of a few instances where the Q actually killed someone, this seems to be a line they rarely cross and consider an extreme measure. Genozide, no matter how justified, is too much.
PastorNTraining@reddit
Oh…PIC season 2 - the worse season.
I don’t even know where to begin OP, Q wasn’t himself at all. The season promised Q level shenanigans and all we got was about 30 mins of him on screen the whole season.
The singing, dancing, battery eating, “I’ll assimilate you to the power of emotions” was awful, just awful writing.
He didn’t get rid of them because frankly the writers could barely patch together stories to rid us of the OG Picard cast and entertain us enough to get season 3 made.
You know, the crew we actually wanted to see.
They did Q dirty and I applaud Terry for including him at the end of PIC season 3.
Don’t waste time thinking about that season, the rest of us ignore it.
Feydiekin@reddit
Because the writers for Picard aren’t actually very good.
Omega593@reddit
i read a theory somewhere that the pressures of the borg collective brought out the best and most innovative in starfleet - look at the technical leaps between the 2360s and 2400. kinda like evolutionary pressures make for better adapted organisms.
CatLazy2728@reddit
for the same reason I don't play God Mode in new video games
bownt1@reddit
Q is a dick. that is what they do.
SentientFotoGeek@reddit
It's all a big circus for him. Why would he destroy the best show so far?
copperblood@reddit
When you got dance moves like this, why would ya??
raechelgr@reddit
would probably alter the timeline too much, the q continuum would kick him out (again)
ramfoodie@reddit (OP)
Meant the whole Q continum not just Q as they seem to have a nuanced philosophy on when to intervene.
HellyOHaint@reddit
That wouldn’t be interesting or fun