My Name is Cassius

<<*Regeneration cycle complete: Unit 13 of 15 Primary Processor of Unimatrix 591 ready.*>>

My name is Cassius. And I am Borg.

Such a simple concept, free will. Yet to the Borg, it is a foreign one: it is irrelevant, they would say… or rather, I would say. I am Borg, after all. Stepping out of my alcove to await further instructions, such idle thoughts are… strange, anomalous to appear in a Borg drone – but, I am not a normal drone.

<<*Receiving new directive: Unit 13 of 15 is assigned to decrypt and analyze data obtained from captured Federation sensor array; acknowledge and comply with new directive.*>>

<<*I... We are Borg. We will comply.*>>

My task received, I proceed to the storage bay in which the captured probe lay; such tasks are normal for me, as they are my assigned purpose in life – in the Collective – and such tasks I carry out dutifully.

You may notice my usage of the words ‘I’ and ‘me’, words that only individuals would use – after all, there are no individuals among the Collective, for individuality is irrelevant… but if that is true, than what am I?

The nature of my being is… complicated. I have been Borg for most of my life, with only faint memories of my time pre-assimilation. I was once a member of Species 5618 – Human – and I had lived on the Federation colony of Ryun Rhone VII. I was age eight at the time the Borg came, invading the colony to assimilate new beings into their collective. Amid the chaos of the attack, I was with my mother, trying to escape our apartment building; as we did, part of the building collapsed, raining rubble upon where I was standing – she pushed me out of the way before it could crush me, but at the cost of herself.

As she lay dying buried underneath the rubble, she made me promise: do whatever it takes to live. With that, she laid still; with me kneeling beside her… it was then, that they came: the Borg beamed down squads of drones to capture and assimilate all they could find – by happenstance, they found me beside my dead mother, withdrawn and catatonic from shock. I did not resist as they took me, as I was still dwelling upon my mother’s last words: do whatever it takes to live.

To live… what did it mean, to live? My life was over: my mother was dead, my home was destroyed… what did I have to live for? Such feelings of hopelessness were overwhelming… yet, at the same time, I did not want to die; did I really want to break that last promise to her as well? Death… death was the end, that much I knew at that age… but the Borg… they were still alive, right? No longer the people they once were, yes, but still alive, in some form… perhaps that was the answer?

As I waited in my confinement chamber, I made my decision: when the drones came for me next for assimilation, I submitted myself to it willingly; as I calmly laid on the surgery bed, I asked if I could stay myself – as Cassius – when I became a drone. It was pointless to ask, I knew, but I tried anyway: if I was to become a Borg, I wanted live as one – to live with my decision…

<<*Unit 13 of 15 reporting task complete: I… this unit has completed decryption of the probe’s data memory – files detail its origin as the Federation starship designated as [USS Adam], located in [Mutara Sector].*>>

<<*Vessel 9379 changing course to intercept; this vessel will be assimilated. The Collective must grow.*>>

Curious, how such a wish came true… to this day, I still do not understand why. I carried out my assigned function, I served the collective faithfully, I was… content, accepted my new existence. Yet, though I could hear the trillions of voices comprising the Collective in my mind, the combined will flowing through me like water, I was not washed away… affected by it, yes, its dominating drive soaking into my very being, but not dissolved... why is that?

Is it because of my own willpower? No, a child cannot stand against the Collective; resistance is futile, after all.

Is it because of my promise to my mother? The Borg do not have feelings of compassion or empathy – they simply are.

Is it because I submitted myself to them willingly? The Borg do not care if you were willing or not, you will be assimilated regardless… but… I find this to be the most likely reason… to actually desire assimilation, to become Borg, is something that the Collective rarely, if ever, encounters. Perhaps the Queen is involved in some way?

Regardless, such questions are irrelevant to my purpose: serving the Borg Collective. I have performed my task, and I will perform many more like it.

In the end, I am but one of many.

I am Unit 13 of 15 Primary Processor of Unimatrix 591.

My name is Cassius, and I am Borg.