Locutus of Borg

From Memory Alpha, the free Star Trek reference.

Caption:	Locutus of Borg in 2367
Former species:	Human
Assimilated:	2366
Separated from the Collective:	2367
Actor:	Patrick Stewart
Caption:	Locutus of Borg's complexion is drained, during the final stages of his transformation

"I am Locutus... of Borg. Resistance... is futile. Your life as it has been... is over. From this time forward... you will service... us."^file info

Locutus of Borg was the Borg designation forced upon Captain Jean-Luc Picard after his assimilation in late 2366. The Borg intended to use Picard as an intermediary, a spokesman for the Human race in order to facilitate the assimilation of Earth.

Picard's assimilation also allowed the Borg to acquire the whole of Picard's knowledge and experience, as well as his own personal knowledge (a fact that was made apparent when Locutus addressed Commander Riker as "Number One"). Picard's detailed information regarding Federation technology and strategy yielded the Borg a significant tactical advantage when Starfleet confronted the Borg Cube at Wolf 359. (DS9: "Emissary")

This access proved two-way however, as the crew of the Enterprise-D were able to capture Locutus and use his link to disable and destroy the Borg vessel by sending the Borg cube a command to regenerate, creating a feedback loop that destroyed the cube and severed Picard's link to the Collective. (TNG: "The Best of Both Worlds", "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II")

Though his implants were removed and his wounds were allowed to heal, Picard's assimilation continued to haunt him. He returned to Earth, paying a visit to his family in La Barre, France, where he eventually confronted his demons. (TNG: "Family")

When Benjamin Sisko made contact with the Prophets in 2369, one took the form of Locutus as he appeared on the viewscreen of Sisko's ship, the USS Saratoga, shortly before the Battle of Wolf 359. (DS9: "Emissary")

When the Borg attempted a second invasion in 2373 (See: Battle of Sector 001), Picard's experience with the Borg allowed him to pinpoint a weakness in the Borg defenses, allowing the fleet to destroy the invading vessel. It was later revealed that the Locutus was to have been more than a mere drone. The Borg Queen had intended for Picard to become her counterpart, an equal, but when Picard refused to give in to the Queen and accept his assimilation, despite being incapable of moving even a finger following assimilation, the Queen was forced to turn Locutus into just another drone. (Star Trek: First Contact) Even Borg drones such as Hugh/Third of Five still recognized Picard as Locutus after his separation from the Collective, possibly because the Borg's belief in their perfection meant that they couldn't believe anyone would actually leave the Collective (coupled with the fact that his memories presumably remained in the Borg's hive mind). (TNG: "I, Borg", "Descent")

Contents 1 Appendices 1.1 Appearances 1.2 Background 1.3 Apocrypha 1.4 External link

[edit] Appendices

[edit] Appearances

[edit] Background

• Locutus was played by Patrick Stewart. His name is probably derived from the Latin loqui - to speak, whose past participle is locutus - 'having spoken'.

• There is a noticeable difference in the makeup design of Locutus between the TV series and Star Trek: First Contact. Among the changes seen are airbrushed "wiring" on the skin (or beneath it), slightly more detailed Borg implants and a completely new body suit. The changes enhanced the somewhat sparse original look and corresponded with the "new look" of the Borg for the movie. During an interview, Patrick Stewart explained that this scene was not meant as a flashback to "The Best of Both Worlds" but to indicate that Locutus was still within him, evolving and growing with Picard in his mind.

[edit] Apocrypha

• In the Star Trek: The Next Generation comics, it is shown that Locutus, while unable to physically resist the Borg, was capable of working against the Borg through secondary systems such as the subspace communications network.
• In a comic story, the Enterprise crew were attacked by a telepathic weapon called the Chova, which forced its victims to experience dreams and hallucinations focused on their personal failures. However, it was discovered that those with Multiple Personality Disorder could render the Chova inert (The multiple personas overwhelming the Chova, which could only attack one personality at the time), so Picard was deliberately infected with the Chova, as his mind meld with Sarek, the probe that gave him the memories of Kamin and the remnants of Locutus still in his mind gave him the makings of an MPD. The four defeated the Chova, but Locutus then attempted to regain control of Picard's body, nearly "killing" Kamin and Sarek before Picard gathered the mental strength to stop Locutus.

• In 2376, a new Locutus of Borg was created by the Borg that had captured a Dominion cloning facility. This Locutus led an attack upon the Federation and the Klingon and Romulan empires in an attempt to gain an Omega particle, resulting in the assimilation of Spock (Who was on his way to a Romulan-Klingon peace conference) and the conquest of Earth. However, aided by the USS Premonition, a time-traveling ship from the future under the command of Captain Thaddius Deming, the USS Enterprise-E was able to undo this Borg victory, and the Locutus clone was destroyed after a brief confrontation with the original Picard. (Star Trek: Armada)
• In 2380, the assimilated Vulcan T'urell, who considered herself a Borg Queen, referred to Picard as "Locutus", much in the way the Borg Queen of 2373 also addressed Picard. (Star Trek: Legacy)
• During the novel The Return by William Shatner, it is revealed that Locutus is not as unique as he has been portrayed; according to this novel, the Borg commonly assimilate a specific individual from a new species to act as a "speaker" to the new race to try and convince them of the merits of assimilation, thus making the process of assimilating a species easier and less 'wasteful'. During the events of the novel, the Borg create a Romulan "speaker" known as Vox, who subsequently proposes a Borg/Romulan alliance as a means of effectively conquering the Federation and the Romulan Empire, secretly intending to assimilate the Romulans the first chance they get. The Borg also attempt to assimilate Spock, thus turning him into their "speaker" to the Vulcan people, but due to Spock's past mind meld with V'Ger – an aspect of the Borg Collective – the traces of the Collective in Spock's mind from the meld result in the Borg assuming that Spock has already been assimilated, and thus leave him alone.
• Picard became Locutus once again in the novel Resistance in an attempt to defeat the Borg Queen and neutralize them. After Locutus sent the Borg into a state of hibernation, Dr. Crusher was able to restore him to his normal self.

[edit] External link

• Locutus at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works