The Collective Without Conscience

A Mirror-Universe Borg and the Current Political and Cultural Moment in the United States

I’ve been thinking a lot about the current political and cultural moment in the United States, and the comparison that keeps coming to mind comes from science fiction. The closest analogy is the Borg Collective, not as we know them, but as a mirror-universe version that replaces purpose with chaos and collective good with individual gain.

In Star Trek, the Borg are terrifying because they are unified. They seek perfection through collective knowledge. They assimilate others in service of what they believe is a greater good. Their actions are ruthless, but they follow an internal logic. There is structure, hierarchy, and purpose.

What we are seeing now is a distortion of that idea.

This mirror-universe Borg operates under the appearance of unity, but without coherence or responsibility. There is no Borg Queen. No single guiding intelligence. Instead, there is a shared idea that is loose, reactive, and constantly shifting, held together by fear, outrage, loyalty, and underlying self-interest rather than reason.

The central figures in this collective are not leaders at all. They function as signal broadcasters, pushing out information that is often chaotic, contradictory, or plainly false. Truth and consistency matter less than alignment and volume.

The drones absorb it willingly.

Followers take in these messages aggressively and wholeheartedly, defending them regardless of evidence. The collective reinforces itself not through knowledge or improvement, but through repetition and hostility toward anything that challenges the narrative. In this mirror-universe Borg, loyalty replaces logic, and repetition replaces knowledge.

Unlike the original Borg, this version does not assimilate in order to grow stronger. It eliminates instead. Elimination takes the form of defunding, delegitimizing, or discrediting anything that cannot be controlled.

Institutions meant to provide oversight, public services, or factual information are attacked or dismantled when they no longer serve the idea. Programs, protections, and people who do not fit a narrow definition of acceptability are treated as threats to be removed rather than differences to be understood.

This is the most dangerous part of the comparison.

While the collective appears unified, it is deeply self-serving at its core. Each central figure acts in their own interest, using the collective as a shield. Power, money, and control are the real goals, not for the drones and not for the collective as a whole, but for individuals positioned to benefit from chaos.

This is what makes the mirror-universe Borg more frightening than the original.

The classic Borg were terrifying because they were unified and purposeful. This version is dangerous because it is chaotic, selfish, and disguised as unity. It lacks conscience, direction, and accountability, yet it wields enormous power through loyalty and fear.

A collective without conscience is more dangerous than a unified enemy.

Chaos wrapped in loyalty is harder to confront than order. And unlike science fiction, there is no reset button.