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Why do they call them "drones"
Posted: 2004-02-11 09:01pm
by Shrykull
drone1 ( P ) Pronunciation Key (drn)
n.
A male bee, especially a honeybee, that is characteristically stingless, performs no work, and produces no honey. Its only function is to mate with the queen bee.
Well, we never see them mate with the borg queen, but drones do all the work in the collective practically.
Posted: 2004-02-11 10:14pm
by justifier
Drone is commonly used to describe something that is dumb/no thought at all and which there are many of. Fitting
Re: Why do they call them "drones"
Posted: 2004-02-11 10:20pm
by Robert Walper
Shrykull wrote:drone1 ( P ) Pronunciation Key (drn)
n.
A male bee, especially a honeybee, that is characteristically stingless, performs no work, and produces no honey. Its only function is to mate with the queen bee.
Well, we never see them mate with the borg queen, but drones do all the work in the collective practically.
Seems to be merely a term utilized to fit their "hive" like mentality and design.
Posted: 2004-02-11 10:54pm
by Stark
It was an appropriate term when used by Starfleet in TNG, but its deeply silly to have the Queen refer to her 'Drones'. Wouldn't she have a borg-y name for them?
Posted: 2004-02-11 11:20pm
by Robert Walper
Stark wrote:It was an appropriate term when used by Starfleet in TNG, but its deeply silly to have the Queen refer to her 'Drones'. Wouldn't she have a borg-y name for them?
Yes. "Seven of Nine, Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix Zero One" (ref STVOY "Scorpion") or "Four of Twelve, subjunction of unimatrix 525" (ref STVOY "Unimatrix Zero"). Drones is merely a term applied to them as a group, and drone is applied as a general label when specificity isn't required. For example "he will make an excellent drone".
Posted: 2004-02-16 01:14am
by Lord Jax
cause there is a queen relationships with her "lackies" you know you have to call your "lackies" something.
Posted: 2004-02-16 03:32pm
by Kurgan
Yeah, they should make all the Borg chicks and call them "workers."
Then have a couple of wussy Frenchmen loverboy Borg and call them "drones" and they just sit around drink and bang the "Queen."
Already more interesting than how it is now!
Posted: 2004-02-17 06:50am
by Sarevok
The Borg social structure is like an insect colony. So the leader is the queen and the workers are drones. It is as simple as that.
Posted: 2004-02-17 09:57am
by Kurgan
Well like I said, the term "worker" is more apt for what the Borg Drones "do" in the collective (maintainence, guard duty, fighting, care for "young" etc).
In insect societies "drones" are males who lack defensive capabilities. Basically just sperm donars for the Queen.
The other thing is the workers (like the Queen) are always female.
Maybe the writers were confused about the insect analogy when they created the Borg, but I have a hunch it just "sounded cooler" to call them drones and they didn't want to risk making the "Communism nightmare" analogy too clear cut by calling them "workers" (to many the Borg Collective is an obvious analog to Communism, but of course if one doesn't distinguish between this and the "good" Socialism of the Federation, it risks confusing people?).