Looking at a thread about Borg vs. Dalek, I thought about another Who/Trek debate. Namely, who can assimilate species better. The Borg, with nanites that slowly grow in mechanical parts, or the Cybermen, who create their army with drills and whirs and buzz and hiss?

Then there's Mass Effect's Reapers...

Zombies. Zombies "assimilate" the best. 1 scratch and your fate is sealed.

When I saw the thread title I immediately assumed we were talking about who looked hotter as a Borg drone.

I am disappoint.

The replicators from Stargate of cause...

But only because they never met the Borg.

The Borg win this one. Assimilation takes a matter of minutes, and while not a complete drone, still adds to the hive mind's capability to form tactics and planning. Even after being assimilated, doesn't take very long to make a complete drone. The assimilation technique is also very efficient. One quick stab of those needle/tube thingies and the process has begun.

The Cybermen? Not so much. They require subduing their target, keep them that way long enough to hack the skull open with large clunky tools, then remove the brain and spinal column. Keep in mind, this means that they also need to have Cybermen bodies pre-built.

It also appears that the Cybermen require an intact brain and spinal column for the Cyberman body. Since assimilation process removes the spinal column and parts of the brain, I would guess this means that the Borg could assimilate the Cybermen, and the reverse would not be true (Could be wrong though).

So, yeah, I think the Borg have the advantage in almost every category.

Replicators Vs. Borg? I've had that conversation before... NOT doing it again.

Glad I'm not the only one.

Since someone else brought it up however... Torres took to leather and tube fashion rather well.

You just brought the memory of Robert Picardo in tights back to me.

I still think Mass Effect's Reapers have the upper hand on this one. Sure they might find a few of themselves assimilated by the Borg, but all they have to do is keep at least one Borg drone near themselves. In time it will be "indoctrinated" by the Reapers as it still has an organic brain. And as the drone could still be connected to the rest of the Borg Collective, eventually it will become indoctrinated as well.


I wonder how powerful a Reaper made from the Borg would be...

Michael Dorn did it better.

I'd go Borg on this one as well... Any drone is capable of beginning the assimilation process, not so with any Cyberman... Additionally, drones are created for a variety of tasks, where Cybermen are all built equally, so no variety at all... And yet ironically, any assimilated drone, with suitable medical facilities, can be restored to their near-original condition. Once a Cyberman's a Cyberman, there's no going back