Summary

• The "Conspiracy" aliens in Star Trek: Defiant possess a hivemind similar to the Borg, but organic in nature.
• These parasites inflict body horror on their victims, overpowering even Borg nanoprobes.
• The revelation in issue 16 casts doubt on the Borg's ability to defeat these powerful aliens.

Warning: contains spoilers for Star Trek: Defiant #16!

Star Trek just confirmed there are hiveminds even stronger than the Borg, ones capable of defeating the Collective. Currently, in the pages of Star Trek: Defiant, Worf and his crew are facing a potential invasion from outside reality from the “Conspiracy” aliens. In issue 16, a shocking revelation is made about these parasites, one giving a tantalizing glimpse into their true power.

Star Trek: Defiant #16, part five of “Hell is Only a Word,” is written by Christopher Cantwell and drawn by Angel Unzueta. In a previous issue, B’Elanna Torres, the Defiant’s Chief Engineer, was infected by one of the parasites. In a last-ditch bid to save her, the ex-Borg Hugh “assimilated” B’Elanna, hoping the Collective would trump the “Conspiracy” aliens. Hugh was proven correct, but in this issue, the parasites once again assert themselves, and it temporarily overpowers Torres’ Borg nanoprobes.

She briefly comes back under the parasite’s control, but is eventually freed from their clutches.

The "Conspiracy" Aliens Are Not Unlike the Borg

Both Employ Body Horror To Chilling Effect

“Hell is Only a Word” has shed some light on one of the Star Trek franchise’s biggest unresolved plot lines. The parasites, introduced in the first season Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “Conspiracy,” almost successfully took over the Federation. They were defeated, and never seen again. Writer Cantwell and artist Unzueta have pulled back the layers on these terrifying creatures, revealing they possess a hivemind not unlike the Borg. Whereas the Borg use machines to create their hivemind, the parasites are organic. Furthermore, the Borg cannot assimilate the parasites, nor can the parasites infect a drone.

The Borg were introduced a year after the “Conspiracy” parasites, and became one of the franchise’s scariest villains. Part of what made the Borg so terrifying was their hivemind, as well as the assimilation process that made a person part of them. The total erasure of a person’s identity, as well as their body being used as a drone, created a disturbing, body-horror villain unlike anything seen before. The “Conspiracy” parasites have a similar emphasis on body horror. They take over their victims, inflicting pain and eventual madness.

Can the "Conspiracy" Aliens Defeat the Borg? It Sure Seems Like It

They Were Able to Supplant Borg Nanoprobes

This revelation about the parasites casts serious doubt on the Borg being able to defeat them. With such similarities between the Borg and the “Conspiracy” parasites, it stands to reason they would either be allies or enemies, and the Borg chose the latter. Hugh’s temporary assimilation helped B’Elanna overcome the parasites, but as the creatures began to swarm into our universe, and their power grew, they were able to override the Borg programming. Very few species in the Star Trek universe have been able to do this, but the “Conspiracy” parasites have, thanks to their superior hivemind.

Star Trek: Defiant #16 is on sale now from IDW Publishing!