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PERSONALITY: Motivated exclusively by the accumulation of power and pursuit of perfection, the Borg Queen is utterly without remorse or anything approaching compassion, guilt or empathy; emotions which she regards as inefficient, imperfect and little more than psychological relics. Issues of conscience are simply of no consequence. Conversely, she has displayed outbursts of what could be described as passion; anger, pleasure and even sexuality. The active use of emotion in manipulative negotiation with foes, would infer she can at least still access it, albeit in a form kept tightly in check. Although sometimes speaking in first-person perspective, the Queen also remarks that "I am the Borg", while also being known to declare that, "There is no 'me', only 'us'."

HISTORY:

"In their collective state, the Borg are utterly without mercy, driven by one will, alone: The will to conquer. They are beyond redemption, beyond reason."
- Captain Jean-Luc Picard

"The Borg is the ultimate user. They're unlike any threat your Federation has ever faced... They're not interested in political conquest, wealth or power, as you know it. They're simply interested in your ship. Its technology. They've identified it as something they can consume."
- Q

"I am the beginning. The end. The one who is many. I am the Borg."
- The Borg Queen

The Queen's origins, much like those of the Borg, themselves, have never been revealed. Any theories on this subject are pure speculation. What is clear, is that she provides co-ordination for the drones under her command, along with fulfilling functions such as the regulation of interspatial manifolds and the like. If the Borg recognise a hierarchy, then the Queen is occupies the uppermost position; capable of reasoned thought and effectively bringing, in her words, "Order to chaos," for the Collective, as a whole. Nevertheless, although having displayed the trait of self-preservation, Queens can be replaced and their destruction does not signify an end to the Collective, itself. She is valuable, but as expendable as any other component, should the need arise.

Quite whether they operate singularly or if multiple Queens exist simultaneously, is not yet known. In either case, she is responsible for a vast area of operations, with trillions of lives at her disposal, if not more.

The relationship between Queen and Collective offers much food for thought. Nevertheless, the Queen apparently has the final say in decisions and can countermand the Collective's will, if feeling justified. Her authority is absolute and can enact directives with merely a thought (sometimes physically voiced, sometimes not). Ruthlessness is no stranger to her and she is willing to sacrifice millions of Borg, simply to eradicate any she is unable to locate who show signs of deviating from their ordered schedule. Submission to the Collective seems to be an over-riding concern, with no room for individuality, whatsoever.

Nevertheless, over the course of several encounters with the crews of the USS Enterprise and Voyager, especially via the 'rehabilitated' drone, Seven Of Nine, the Queen has displayed an intriguing capacity for displaying emotions. In some ways, this makes her a walking paradox, yet she answers those who observe this of her, by expressing disdain for their relatively narrow vision. Whatever the truth behind it, it suggests she regularly operates on a level of thinking far in excess of humanity's usual three-dimensional way of perception. Indeed, the Queen has demonstrated intricate planning. Seven's own disconnection from the Collective is a case in point; the Queen stating that it had been no accident and was, in fact, allowed.

The more common Borg are regarded by her with a somewhat maternal sentiment, referring to them as, "My drones". Likewise, a personal liking for Seven was spoken of, meaning the Queen is capable of favouritism. A quality which also surfaced during Captain Picard's own brief period of assimilation, although she has demonstrated willingness to replace them without a second thought, once betrayal is revealed. These relationships may or may not include sexual interaction, as shown with the android, Data: The Queen being no stranger to using seduction for a more surgical means of coercion, rather than the Borg's usual strategy tactic of brutality. Although it could be said that this is her own personality expressing itself, the successful assimilation of a new individual or entire culture, has been portrayed as bordering on the erotic; akin to orgasmic release.

The Queen, herself, has spoken of once being a member of "Species 125" (humans being designated Species 5618). This revelation was a telling one, for she recalled being assimilated, rather than born into the Collective. More crucially, this linked into her own emotional core; she could still hear the thoughts of her own parents and must have been aware of how such a link can affect an individual, for she utilised it to show Seven her own assimilated father, still alive. As an attempt at emotional blackmail, one can only presume that the Queen, herself, appreciated how unsettling its significance would be.

While these glimpses of lost individuality provide for fascinating viewing, they can give a false picture of her true state: She is the epitome of the Collective, speaks for it and, like some technologically warped fusion between mother and child, soothes it of potentially fatal flaws and illness. Nevertheless, she is not above small displays of token gratitude, although quite how much of them are out of genuine selflessness or subtle manipulation, is often left unexplained.

During their multiple encounters, Captain Janeway developed something of a personal rivalry with the Queen, with the theme of protection often running through it: Janeway wanted her ship's safety guaranteed, through whatever means possible, whereas the Borg Queen wanted to assimilate and take their gathered technology for her own. The addition of Seven to Voyager's crew gave this subtext an even greater impact, especially during the Queen's attempts to lure the former drone back to her side.

Quite whether the Queen has truly been destroyed multiple times or just once, remains unanswered. Either way, she exemplified precisely the same methods and motivations, retained exactly the same memories, essentially making them the same entity in essence, if not existence. Her last encounter took the form of Voyager's fateful trip home, where an alternative, future version of Janeway assisted in her crew's departure, allowing herself to be assimilated, so as to introduce a neurolytic pathogen into the Queen, herself. The result being a complete and total loss of control over a great deal of infrastructure, cutting the Borg off from distant parts of the galaxy and dealing their hive-mind a crippling, if not lethal blow. During this process, the Queen literally began to fall apart, as systems malfunctioned and the Collective succumbed to viral infection.

Whether or not this would have led to her permanent deactivation, is not yet known...