Star Trek Confirms the 'Conspiracy' Aliens Share Similarities With the Borg

Summary The parasites from the "Conspiracy" episode are back and deadlier than ever - and are now similar to the Borg.

Worf and the crew discover an infestation on Starbase 99, and the story hints at a hive mind similar to the Borg.

The "Conspiracy" aliens could be the Federation's biggest threat yet, functioning like an "organic Borg."

Warning: contains spoilers for Star Trek: Defiant #13Star Trek has confirmed the parasitic aliens from “Conspiracy” are highly similar to the Borg. Introduced at the end of Star Trek: The Next Generation’s first season, the “Conspiracy” parasites had been one of the franchise’s longest running mysteries. Now, 36 years later, IDW is resolving it by bringing the parasites back, and in Star Trek: Defiant #13, fans learn they share a good deal in common with the Borg.

Star Trek: Defiant #13 is written by Christopher Cantwell and drawn by Angel Unzueta. Worf and the Defiant’s crew have discovered an infestation of the parasites on Starbase 99. The infected hosts attack, and as Worf and company kill the parasites, it becomes clear the aliens have a hive mind. The issue ends on a cliffhanger, with B’Elanna Torres now infected by the parasites.

Torres tells the crew they will be “absorbed” into the parasites’ hive mind, a statement that chills Hugh, who recently joined the Defiant’s crew, to the bone–as it reminds him of his former masters: the Borg.

Both the "Conspiracy" Aliens and the Borg Are Terrifying Star Trek Foes

And Now The "Conspiracy" Aliens Are Deadlier Than Ever

“Conspiracy” is a classic episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. It is gory and dark, infused with dread and paranoia–and for many years went without resolution. The parasite’s sole on-screen appearance ended with them sending a signal into deep space, which Data conjectured was a homing beacon, a vanguard of an invasion. It never arrived, and the parasitic aliens were forgotten. The producers of The Next Generation may have been seeking a new enemy race to supplant the Ferengi, who fans felt were a joke, but the parasites failed to catch on.

The Borg were intended to be introduced at the end of The Next Generation's first season, but was delayed until the second.

While the parasite aliens never returned, Next Generation did eventually find a new, and better enemy: the Borg. Introduced during the show’s second season, the Borg are a cybernetic race whose single goal is to assimilate all other life forms into its collective. Various Star Trek episodes have established the assimilation process is a traumatic one that results in the loss of identity and self. A victim’s body becomes a channel, or a conduit, through which the Borg act. This, when coupled with the body horror motif of the Borg, have made them Star Trek’s deadliest species.

Related Most Star Trek Fans Completely Missed TNG's Most Epic Borg Story Star Trek: The Next Generation - Hive explores the relationship between humanity and the Borg unlike any other series in the franchise's history.

The "Conspiracy" Aliens Are One of the Star Trek Universe's Biggest Threats

How Will Worf and His Crew Stop Them?

And now, Star Trek has shocked fans by revealing the two seemingly opposite races share similar methods of incorporating others into their hive mind. The parasites (who still have not been formally named) function in tandem with each other, and killing one can hurt the whole, similar to the Borg. The parasites could be viewed as an “organic Borg,” infecting their hosts without the use of nano-probes or other such devices. The “Conspiracy” aliens could have been the biggest “what-if?” in Star Trek history, but now they have returned to conquer the Federation in ways similar to the Borg.

Star Trek: Defiant #13 is on sale now from IDW Publishing!