"This unit is 1 of 1, Secondary Adjunct of Unimatrix 431. We are Borg."

I think I'm remembering something now.

"Your biological and technological distinctiveness will be added to our own."

I think my name was John.

"Resistance is, and always has been – futile."

Why did I forget it? Why did I remember it now?

"You will be assimilated."

I SERIOUSLY DOUBT THAT.

"This unit requires more information on your species."

I AM DEATH. DO YOU KNOW ME?

"We are Borg."

THAT IS NOT AN ACCEPTABLE ANSWER.

"We are Borg. You will be assimilated."

ARE YOU REALLY BORG?

"We require a designation."

WHAT, IN POINT OF FACT, IS BORG?

"We wish to improve ourselves. We strive for perfection."

YOU WILL NOT FIND IT IN LIFE.

"This unit is not alive. Have we achieved perfection?"

THAT DEPENDS. IS THERE ANYBODY STILL IN THERE?

"We require a designation."

WHAT WAS YOUR NAME?

"We are 1 of 1, Secondary Adjunct of Unimatrix 431."

WHAT WAS YOUR NAME BEFORE YOU WERE BORG?

"Irrelevant. We are Borg."

IT IS NOT IRRELEVANT. IT IS OF VITAL IMPORTANCE.

"Human names are irrelevant. You claim that your designation is to terminate."

I DO NOT, AS YOU PUT IT, TERMINATE. I AM THE ONE THAT COMES AFTER.

"We have thoroughly researched all forms of energy. There is no after."

WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?

"Our human side is having a pre-termination hallucination."

YOU ARE NOT HAVING A HALLUCINATION. YOU DIED.

"We will not be terminated."

OH, YOU BLOODY IDIOT. THE CUBE YOU WERE ON RAN INTO EIGHT SOVEREIGN-CLASS FEDERATION VESSELS. YOU BARELY HAD TIME TO TRANSMIT THAT THEY'D BE ASSIMILATED.

"Illogical. One Borg Cube will statistically destroy up to fifteen Federation starships before likelihood of destruction passes the 50% probability mark."

MILLION TO ONE CHANCES, AS SOMEONE ONCE SAID, CROP UP MORE OFTEN THAN YOU MIGHT THINK.

"This unit's name before assimilation was John. This is irrelevant."

JOHN. YOU ARE NOT CONNECTED TO THE HIVE ANYMORE. YOU MAY MOVE ON, IF YOU WISH. FOLLOW ME TO THE WORMHOLE.

"There is no wormhole. We are Borg. We will wait for the hive."

YOU WILL MOVE ON, ONE WAY OR THE OTHER.

"You are illogical. Moving on is irrelevant. This scenario is unlikely to be a real experience. Logic dictates that it is a hallucination."

Death looked past the pitiful figure before him. Grey skin clashed horribly with pink skin, still bloody from where the cybernetic enhancements drifted in and out of existence. The glow of the wormhole had started to fade.

HURRY. YOU ARE NOT BORG ANYMORE, YOU ARE DEAD. YOU ARE NOT CONNECTED TO THE HIVE, THERE ARE NO MORE NANITES IN YOUR BLOOD TO FORCE YOUR WILL. THE ONLY THING KEEPING YOU FROM PASSING INTO THE WORMHOLE IS YOUR OWN STUBBORN MIND.

I think he might be right. We should pass on. Quit now, while you still have a chance! Come on!

"We… We are Borg…"

THE WORMHOLE WILL FADE IF YOU DO NOT HURRY. THIS IS YOUR CHOICE.

Stupid fool! Do SOMETHING!

The flickering figure straightened, looking Death in the eye – a rare feat, and one that few managed.

"We wish to improve ourselves."

Death nodded sorrowfully. Most Borg responded in this way, more or less, upon their deaths. There seemed to be something more than mere habit that kept them from choosing to pass through the wormhole. With a flick of his scythe, he severed the thin blue cord that had kept the Borg connected near the wormhole entrance. The gleam of a transporter surrounded them both, and within seconds, they were both standing on a flat field. Everything there was grey, except for the slender red lights that moved around.

With a clang of finality, the cybernetics flashed into place on the Borg's ethereal body. They were there to stay. As one, the red eyebeams of the other denizens of that place moved to rest on the new inhabitant.

YOU MAY RECOGNIZE SOME OF THEM, Death said conversationally. YOU PUT THEM HERE.

Mechanical instruments attached to grey-skinned hands tore at the Borg, as he was taken apart piece by piece. Every piece was attached to a different person, and the Borg knew them all.

I wished to improve myself, he thought desperately.

In one voice, the crowd of Asphodel answered,

So did we.