Editing Borg (section)

==Physiology==


The physiology of each Borg drone varied according to the species from which it was assimilated. (Star Trek: First Contact) Drones were typically humanoid, although the Collective has demonstrated a willingness to assimilate non-humanoid life forms. (VOY: "Scorpion")

Upon assimilation, a drone would cease to grow body hair and develop a corpse-like, grayish skin coloration. Cybernetic implants would be either surgically attached to the body or grown internally by [[nanoprobe]]s injected into the bloodstream. (TNG: "The Best of Both Worlds"; Star Trek: First Contact) The nature of these implants varied from drone to drone, depending on its intended function. In certain cases, parts of the body such as an eye or an arm would be amputated altogether to make room for the cybernetics. (VOY: "The Gift", "Dark Frontier") The implants of a fully assimilated drone allowed it to function for extended periods without shelter, food, water, or even air. A drone's only requirement would be a supply of energy to maintain the implants that in turn maintained its biological functions. This energy would be supplied during regeneration cycles within a [[Borg Alcove]]. (TNG: "Q Who", "I Borg")

[[Borg Drone]]s were equipped with a myriad of technologies integrated into their bodies which enabled them to perform their duties within the Collective, several of which were universal to all drones. A neural transceiver kept them connected to the hive mind. (VOY: "Scorpion, Part II") A personal force field protected each drone from most energy-based attacks. (TNG: "Q Who") As of 2373, each drone possessed a pair of [[Assimilation Tubule]]s embedded in one hand for the purpose of instantly injecting individuals with Borg nanoprobes. (Star Trek: First Contact) A cortical processor allowed a drone to rapidly process visual information.

Drones also contained fail safes designed to deactivate and even vaporize their own bodies, thereby allowing the Collective to eliminate damaged or dead drones without leaving remains to be exploited by outsiders. (TNG: "Q Who") The captured drone Third of Five also made comments indicating that this vaporization may have been a form of resource reabsorption. (TNG: "I Borg") One of these fail safes was intended to automatically deactivate drones experiencing strong emotional states, which the Borg interpreted as a sign of disconnection from the hive mind. (VOY: "Human Error")