Star Trek Reveals The Borg Have… Sex?

An official Star Trek tie-in has revealed the Borg actually have sex. Star Trek has always been a transmedia franchise, but traditionally the Star Trek tie-in books have been considered non-canon. “Canon is Star Trek continuity as presented on TV and Movie screens,” CBS Consumer Products’ Senior Director of Product Development Paula Block observed back in 2007. “Licensed products like books and comics aren’t part of that continuity, so they aren’t canon. And that’s that.” But that approach changed with tie-ins for Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Picard, with showrunners actually involved in the tie-ins. And the first Star Trek: Picard audiobook, Kirsten Beyer and Mike Johnson’s “No Man’s Land,” has introduced a surprising new twist about the Borg.

Set between the events of Star Trek: Picard seasons 1 and 2, “No Man’s Land” is essentially a character piece. It’s focused on the relationship between Seven-of-Nine and Raffi Musiker, as the two struggle to figure out how to move beyond their feelings for one another and make their romance work in a galaxy that’s still in such chaos. The audiobook served as a vital step along the journey to Star Trek: Picard season 2, where reluctant relationships are clearly a major focus. And, surprisingly, it reminds fans that Seven-of-Nine’s first time was while she was a Borg.

The two-part Star Trek: Voyager story “Unimatrix Zero” established that some Borg drones possess a mutation allowing them to enter a shared dreamscape when they are recharging. In this dreamscape, they are not Borg; they are truly themselves. Seven-of-Nine was assimilated when she was just six years old, and she remained a Borg drone throughout her formative years. There, she had a six-year relationship with Axum, and “No Man’s Land” reveals they shared a first kiss. What’s more, Seven-of-Nine avoids answering whether she shared her first experience of sex with Axum in the Unimatrix Zero dreamscape too.

Oddly enough, this isn’t the first time Star Trek has hinted Borg have sex. Data and the Borg Queen shared an intimate moment in Star Trek: First Contact, in a scene where Data assured the Queen he was “fully functional” before the story moved on to another scene; asked about this in a Watch From Home Theater screening, director Jonathan Frakes confirmed he took the scene to mean that the two had sex. But it seems the Borg Queen is not unique in her experience of sexual desire.

The implications of Unimatrix Zero were never really explored in Star Trek: Voyager. Seven-of-Nine’s ability to enter this dreamscape while recharging means she had indeed developed as an individual in spite of her assimilation, presumably making it easier for her to integrate into Voyager’s crew. More heartbreakingly, though, when Seven was removed from the Collective she would have also lost access to the dreamscape – meaning every time she recharged, she would have been reminded just how isolated she had become. It’s a powerful twist that has been forgotten by Star Trek writers, and it’s good to see it brought up again.

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Thomas Bacon
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Tom Bacon is one of Screen Rant’s staff writers, as well as a Peer Mentor for new writers and a member of the Care Team, offering support and a listening ear to members of the Comics group. A lifelong fan of major franchises including Star Wars, Doctor Who, and Marvel, Tom is delighted his childhood is back – and this time it’s cool. You can find him on Twitter @TomABacon.

A graduate of Edge Hill University, Tom remains strongly connected with his alma mater as a volunteer chaplain. He’s heavily involved with his local church, and anyone who checks him out on Twitter will swiftly learn he’s into British politics too.

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