Borg vs Firearms
Posted: 2004-08-28 06:10pm
I am currious, I tend to be very against teh idea that borg can adapt to firearms because they have to have encounted a weapon like them. What are others opinions and why?
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Adapt how? GAT says that even if they had shields that would take it, the kinetic energy would still be transferred into it and cause damage.Admiral_Handsome wrote:The first few borg will be minced. Then they will have adapted and since firearms cannot be tuned to fire at high em spectrum level, we would all die
The borg ship can take the impact of photon topedoes. I therefore (rightly) assumed that this meant the shield were capable of absorbing KE. If the ships have this tech then it is reasonable to assume the drones can have it too. Don't just think of the shields as a solid object that protects but still transfers recoil. Think of them as shock absorbers as well.Adapt how? GAT says that even if they had shields that would take it, the kinetic energy would still be transferred into it and cause damage
A fair point. But the borg could not adapt to any of 8472's tech. Their claws must have some of that tech on them Like Wolverines adamantium claws but much more high techThen there's S8472, who turned a heck of a lot of drones into sushi. If the Borg could adapt to bullets, they should be able to adapt to being clawed.
Admiral_Handsome wrote:The borg ship can take the impact of photon topedoes. I therefore (rightly) assumed that this meant the shield were capable of absorbing KE. If the ships have this tech then it is reasonable to assume the drones can have it too. Don't just think of the shields as a solid object that protects but still transfers recoil. Think of them as shock absorbers as well.Adapt how? GAT says that even if they had shields that would take it, the kinetic energy would still be transferred into it and cause damage
Also, Trek universe has dampening fields that remove forces, it may be possible also have a modified defelector dish like the one on a starship.
Admiral_Handsome wrote:A fair point. But the borg could not adapt to any of 8472's tech. Their claws must have some of that tech on them Like Wolverines adamantium claws but much more high techThen there's S8472, who turned a heck of a lot of drones into sushi. If the Borg could adapt to bullets, they should be able to adapt to being clawed.
In the Voy episode "One" a advanced drone did have KE shields, so its not impossible. The question is if the current collective has KE shields.Mr Bean wrote:Heres a fun old debate
"Naaameeee one example ooof aaaany booorg droooonneeee eeeevveeeer aaadaaapppptiiing tooo a kinetic aattaaack"
Said slow to make an point
You cannot adapt to a kinetic weapon, you can out of thing air suddenly be immune to any kinetic weapon, kinetic energy must go SOMEWHERE
The most common arguement is that the Borg simply do not possess KE shielding, and that they are vulnerable to these types of attacks. The most noteably example being when Captain Picard in First Contact fired a holographic tommy gun at two drones and killed them with "bullets"(whether said projectiles were really bullets or complex forcefield projections is a matter of debate). Other examples include drones being dispatched by physical attacks, like Worf's Klingon blades and Data's superior strength and speed.Kitsune wrote:I am currious, I tend to be very against teh idea that borg can adapt to firearms because they have to have encounted a weapon like them. What are others opinions and why?
Actually, a far simplier explanation is that Species 8472 individuals are simply too strong for any type of Trek personal generated shield to stop. A badly injured (ie: almost dead) member of Species 8472 was able to tear right through Voyager's outer hull (which incidently also uses forcefields to aid in structural integrity). That same individual was also witnessed to physically punch right through a forcefield generated by ship's power and anchored to the ship's mass.Admiral_Handsome wrote:A fair point. But the borg could not adapt to any of 8472's tech. Their claws must have some of that tech on them Like Wolverines adamantium claws but much more high techThen there's S8472, who turned a heck of a lot of drones into sushi. If the Borg could adapt to bullets, they should be able to adapt to being clawed.
Uh a 3 km sized starship made of super strong alloys is a lot tougher than a flesh drone. This is a no limits fallacy.Admiral_Handsome wrote:The borg ship can take the impact of photon topedoes. I therefore (rightly) assumed that this meant the shield were capable of absorbing KE. If the ships have this tech then it is reasonable to assume the drones can have it too. Don't just think of the shields as a solid object that protects but still transfers recoil. Think of them as shock absorbers as well.Adapt how? GAT says that even if they had shields that would take it, the kinetic energy would still be transferred into it and cause damage
Also, Trek universe has dampening fields that remove forces, it may be possible also have a modified defelector dish like the one on a starship.
The only protection afforded by a bulletproof vest is against penetration of the impactor; the wearer still gets knocked on his ass and is almost never in any condition to simply get back on his feet again. Impact trauma still results in injury even if it is lesser than that of a bullet actually ripping through a body. Fragile things like microcircuit implants will not withstand a very sudden inertial change.Robert Walper wrote:Second, the assertion that imparted momentun would rip internal implants out or cause terminal internal damage is, IMO, a rather hasty conclusion. The fact that Borg personal shields are body conforming is the potential key to how they would handle imparted momentum. The internal implants generate the personal shields, but theoritcally, all that would be needed to handle the momentum would be the shield imparting the momentum to the drone's outer body by virtue of physically contacting it before the implants are moved too much. For example, if the internal implants can safely move one inch, and the distance between the drone's outer body and personal body conforming shield is less than that, the drone would would handle imparted momentum like a wearer of a bullet proof vest. The exception being the energy shield in all likelyhood being far more reliable (ie: an energy field doesn't get dented or worn down aside from power supply/consumption).
First off, I'm not implying this theoritical KE shield would make the drone invulnerable to imparted momentum, or any KE attacks for that matter. I'm pointing out a KE shield could be easily practical in the Borg technology tree given it's known properties. Yes, the drone could still be knocked on it's ass by a high enough caliber weapon. But the point being KE shielding would stop penetration, like a bullet proof vest.Patrick Degan wrote:This definitely requires a response:
The only protection afforded by a bulletproof vest is against penetration of the impactor; the wearer still gets knocked on his ass and is almost never in any condition to simply get back on his feet again. Impact trauma still results in injury even if it is lesser than that of a bullet actually ripping through a body. Fragile things like microcircuit implants will not withstand a very sudden inertial change.Robert Walper wrote:the drone would would handle imparted momentum like a wearer of a bullet proof vest.
Agreed. I'm not suggesting a No Limits Fallacy for this hypothetical KE shield. It's obviously going to have limits. Even assuming the shield can stop high velocity impactors, there is still going to be significant damage. This is where one of the drone's advantages comes into play, regenerating damaged tissue and organs. Heck, Borg nanoprobes can revive a clinically dead body up to 73 hours old. If the KE shield stops the majority of physical damage via blowing holes in the drone, it's done it's job.Furthermore, vests can be penetrated given enough fire directed against them; they do not confer invulnerability no matter what dopey bullshit Hollywood movies regularly depict, and they definitely won't protect the wearer against very large caliber, high-velocity rounds.
I presume you mean the power required to operate it? I don't see why Borg shield power generation couldn't equal the time a physical vest would hold up under equal assault, or surpass it for that matter. Power availability for Borg personal shielding I don't know.And as for the notion that an energy forcefield is "more reliable" than a physical barrier, a little thing called the Second Law of Thermodynamics is the first strike against it.
Where are all these No Limits Fallacies coming from? Where have I suggested the shield could be powered indefinitely, or even for extremely long periods? That could be another reason said shielding is not typically employed, power consumption.Strike two is the finite energy supply of the drone,
Borg nanoprobes can survive exposure, using lower SDN calcs, to kiloton yield warheads, which is damn impressive considering nano sized machines should be eradicated by such exposure.and strike three is collateral damage caused by multiple KE impacts interrupting power circuitry if fragile implants are affected.
Not disputed. Where have I suggested this shield system would be perfect or infalliable? A vest is neither perfect nor infalliable, and yet they are still deployed. Why? They offer a degree of protection. Same with the KE shield system I've suggested might be possible.It wouldn't even be necessary to keep firing until total shield failure occurs; all that's necessary is that the shield "blinks" for just a second and you've got one very dead drone. Particularly if enough firepower is delivered at very high velocity. Something like this:
Actually, Trek shields of all kinds have consistently performed rather poorly against high-momentum impactors.Grand Admiral Thrawn wrote:Wow, a massive starship's shield generators can absorb the recoil imparted to them by a torpedo so a shield generator inside a body can. Brilliant Shirlock.
Odd that you read the words but do not comprehend them, and add an insult for good measure . If a borg ship can absorb the impact of several photon torpedoes (many megatons) without even the slightest vibration felt by those inside, than I can safely assume they must be able to absorb KE. Having said that, it would be no surprise to find the exact same tech miniaturized and put on a drone.Wow, a massive starship's shield generators can absorb the recoil imparted to them by a torpedo so a shield generator inside a body can. Brilliant Shirlock.
They can tear through a ships hull? I don't remember that, but if its true then yes, your right that no borg shield would withstand an attack.Actually, a far simplier explanation is that Species 8472 individuals are simply too strong for any type of Trek personal generated shield to stop. A badly injured (ie: almost dead) member of Species 8472 was able to tear right through Voyager's outer hull (which incidently also uses forcefields to aid in structural integrity). That same individual was also witnessed to physically punch right through a forcefield generated by ship's power and anchored to the ship's mass.
Claiming a Borg drone's personal shield generator could possibly compete with that kind of attack is setting the standard just a tad too high IMO
No I'm talking about the case when the torpedo actually detonates, and doesn't just impact. If it detonates then the ships should feel the force.A ship will have a relatively easy time handling the impact of a photon torpedo because the ship out-masses the torpedo by several orders of magnitude
Not that I think I really need to point this out, but a drone outmasses a bullet by quite a bit too. Possibly alot more given the added mass of implants and mechanical attachments.Ted C wrote: A ship will have a relatively easy time handling the impact of a photon torpedo because the ship out-masses the torpedo by several orders of magnitude.
I agree on all accounts, although I'd submit it seems inaccurate to utilize the term "adapt" to physical attacks. You'd think your shield either blocks solid objects or not.The question of whether a Borg drone could possibly adapt to physical weapons depends on the momentum of the projectile, the mass of the drone's shield generator, and how the shield generator is fixed to the drone's body. The shield generator itself has to be able to withstand the impact, as does its mooring mechanism and the Borg tissue in the vicinity.
The afore mentioned example comes from STVOY "Prey".Admiral_Handsome wrote:They can tear through a ships hull? I don't remember that, but if its true then yes, your right that no borg shield would withstand an attack.Actually, a far simplier explanation is that Species 8472 individuals are simply too strong for any type of Trek personal generated shield to stop. A badly injured (ie: almost dead) member of Species 8472 was able to tear right through Voyager's outer hull (which incidently also uses forcefields to aid in structural integrity). That same individual was also witnessed to physically punch right through a forcefield generated by ship's power and anchored to the ship's mass.
Claiming a Borg drone's personal shield generator could possibly compete with that kind of attack is setting the standard just a tad too high IMO
That's an interesting suggestion, although not by any means new. We know Federation technology (subspace fields) can "displace" mass, making an object effectively "lighter" relative to it's origanal state. Treknology might have the capablity to channel momentum in a similar manner(how the hell this would be done is beyond me, but then, so is mass lightening). This would go a long way towards explaining examples like how a hand phaser can hurl fully grown humanoids into the air while the individual firing the weapon doesn't even flinch (Star Trek III comes to mind).I am not suggesting that a Borg shield is merely an impenetrable barrier to the bullets. I'm saying that they have the tech to absorb KE and channel it elsewhere, just like dampening fields do.
I see you completely ignored the point of the rebuttal, moron. The fact that you can make something work on a large scale does not mean you can necessarily make it work on a small scale. By your imbecilic logic, the fact that US warships have fire-suppression systems must mean that US infantrymen do too, so they should be immune to napalm.Admiral_Handsome wrote:Odd that you read the words but do not comprehend them, and add an insult for good measure . If a borg ship can absorb the impact of several photon torpedoes (many megatons) without even the slightest vibration felt by those inside, than I can safely assume they must be able to absorb KE. Having said that, it would be no surprise to find the exact same tech miniaturized and put on a drone.
That thing only worked for a few shots, and then drained its power. Moreover, it was attached to a relatively large device, not microscopic internal implants. And that "small cannon" remark is just stupid. Given a fixed power output for their onboard systems, they can't throw in everything but the kitchen sink. It's pretty obvious that you've never designed anything in your life, hence the concept of design trade-offs is clearly foreign to you.Don't believe its possible? Well remember that episode when Worf and Troi were stuck on that wild west holodeck program with the safeties off, and the computer made a holo figure of Data into the evil bad guy? At the end of that, Worf was forced into a shoot out by the holo Data. and guess what? Worf reconfigured his comm badge (I think?) to make a personal defense shield. Data fired his gun (which was an old revolver, you know the type, they are like small cannon with massive recoil) and Worf stood there completely still while the bullets bounced off. There is a perfect example of a KE absorbing shield for you. And since the Borg downloaded all the data on the Enterprise, they would have that tech (if they didn't already).
Yeah, that would be really useful if this combat took place on a Borg shipRepulsor shields are nothing new. Remember when Worf tried to rescue Picard when he was Locutus on the Borg ship? Worf ran towards Locutus but was thrown back onto the ground by a shield protecting him. The same shield could easily be used to deflect bullets.
Did we actually see how they tore through the ship's hull? Because S8472's attack didn't cleave Ensign Kim in half, did it? And what about EVERY SINGLE FUCKING TIME A BORG DRONE HAS BEEN HIT WITH A PHYSICAL OBJECT WITHOUT A SHIELD BLOCKING THE IMPACT?They can tear through a ships hull? I don't remember that, but if its true then yes, your right that no borg shield would withstand an attack.
I love the way you're so hopelessly ignorant that you don't recognize that momentum and KE are different things.I am not suggesting that a Borg shield is merely an impenetrable barrier to the bullets. I'm saying that they have the tech to absorb KE and channel it elsewhere, just like dampening fields do.
What does that have to do with anything, moron? We're talking about momentum transfer in collisions, not fireball shockwaves.No I'm talking about the case when the torpedo actually detonates, and doesn't just impact. If it detonates then the ships should feel the force.A ship will have a relatively easy time handling the impact of a photon torpedo because the ship out-masses the torpedo by several orders of magnitude
As an example, think about the US tests when they detonated a small nuke in the middle of a fleet. The ships were thrown around like rag dolls, even though the ships out-massed the small nuke device.
Right, because Kelvar body armor keeps the person up?Robert Walper wrote: First off, I'm not implying this theoritical KE shield would make the drone invulnerable to imparted momentum, or any KE attacks for that matter. I'm pointing out a KE shield could be easily practical in the Borg technology tree given it's known properties. Yes, the drone could still be knocked on it's ass by a high enough caliber weapon. But the point being KE shielding would stop penetration, like a bullet proof vest.
Additionally, while the shield itself stops the impactor, the typical leather armor would provide some additional padding protection I'd think. Coupled with Borg redundancy via their nanoprobes and above average mass, they could survive an attack far better than your typical soldier IMO.
Also, as an additional thought, bullets impacting a kevlar vest have a small area of effect, mainly due to the armor being deformed (correct me in this area if I'm mistaken). A energy shield on the other hand, will not "dent" or change shape. Thus, the shield maintains it's original form, which should spread out the imparted energy far better.
Once again...it's aamazing the Borg never did this against a simple Tommy Gun...or were those two just defective drones?
Agreed. I'm not suggesting a No Limits Fallacy for this hypothetical KE shield. It's obviously going to have limits. Even assuming the shield can stop high velocity impactors, there is still going to be significant damage. This is where one of the drone's advantages comes into play, regenerating damaged tissue and organs. Heck, Borg nanoprobes can revive a clinically dead body up to 73 hours old. If the KE shield stops the majority of physical damage via blowing holes in the drone, it's done it's job.
Nice to see because you don't know variable A...you assume it's powerful enough though.
I presume you mean the power required to operate it? I don't see why Borg shield power generation couldn't equal the time a physical vest would hold up under equal assault, or surpass it for that matter. Power availability for Borg personal shielding I don't know.
The FACT you can't show the strat up energy and you're assuming that it exists because they are the Borg.
Where are all these No Limits Fallacies coming from? Where have I suggested the shield could be powered indefinitely, or even for extremely long periods? That could be another reason said shielding is not typically employed, power consumption.
Oh Fucking Vey...
Borg nanoprobes can survive exposure, using lower SDN calcs, to kiloton yield warheads, which is damn impressive considering nano sized machines should be eradicated by such exposure.
Why it must be assumed Borg implants are fragile items that cannot take any significant impacts or interia change is beyond me.
No but you've avoidied any mention of a show of proof that such a mechanism exists on THAT level.
Not disputed. Where have I suggested this shield system would be perfect or infalliable? A vest is neither perfect nor infalliable, and yet they are still deployed. Why? They offer a degree of protection. Same with the KE shield system I've suggested might be possible.