Where the Borg Are by Thomas King

Author:Thomas King [King, Thomas]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781443419611
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2012-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

For a Borg/Klingon/Vulcan/Romulan/Federation molecular composite, Ms. Merry was remarkably understanding. “No,” she told Milton. “You don’t need to do your paper over again.”

“I know you can’t help it,” Milton told Ms. Merry. “It’s just that I don’t want to be assimilated.”

“Then you should probably stop watching so much television,” said Ms. Merry.

At the next community meeting, Milton’s grandfather got up during the open microphone period and read Milton’s paper out loud. It was a big hit, and, afterwards, several people came up and said it was nice to have a scholar on the reserve. Milton was flattered at first, but after he’d had a few cookies and some time to think, he felt a little depressed.

“What’s wrong, grandson?” asked Milton’s grandfather, as the two of them walked home under a spacious, starlit sky.

“I don’t know,” said Milton. “Doing that paper on the Indian Act and discovering what happened to the Borg was fun, but what good does it do to know that Europeans were created by a freak accident in deep space?”

“Probably not much,” said his grandfather. “But look on the bright side. Now that we know the truth, having Europeans around won’t seem nearly as bad as it once was.”

“You think so?”

“Sure,” said Milton’s grandfather. “They invented television.”

“That’s true.”

“And those ice cream bars covered with dark chocolate are pretty good, too.”

“They certainly are.”

Milton’s grandfather stopped and looked into the sky just as another shooting star flashed through the night. “And don’t forget the Borg.”

“The Borg?”

“Sure,” said Milton’s grandfather. “Europeans are no great shakes, but think how bad things would have been for Native people if the Borg had gotten here in one piece.” The old man paused for a moment and a frown began working its way across his face. “Unless, of course, we’re wrong.”

“Wrong about what?”

Milton’s grandfather wrinkled his forehead. “Of course. That’s what they want you to think.”

“Who?”

“The Federation.”

“Jean-Luc?”

Milton’s grandfather sighed and sucked at his lips. “When has the Federation ever lost a fight? When have they ever lost anything?”

Milton thought about this for a moment. “Never.”

“So, what if the deep-space accident never happened. ” Milton’s grandfather was chuckling now. “What if the Federation attacked the Borg and defeated them long before the Borg got to Earth.”

“You think the Federation attacked the Borg?”

“Why not. The Federation likes to fight as much as the Klingons.”

“Yeah, but they never start the fights. The bad guys always start the fights.”

“And they like logic, same as the Vulcans,” said Milton’s grandfather, “and they acquire things at almost the same rate as the Ferengis.”

“Yeah,” said Milton. “That’s true. But what about the Prime Directive? The Klingons and the Vulcans and the Ferengis and the Romulans don’t have a Prime Directive.”

“Lot of good it does,” said Milton’s grandfather. “The Prime Directive says you’re not supposed to interfere with another culture, but Jean-Luc Picard and Data and William Riker and Councillor Troy are always sticking their noses into other people’s business.”

“They can get a little pushy,” Milton agreed. “Especially Riker.”

“‘To boldly go where no one has gone before,’” said Milton’s grandfather.

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