Chapter 84

Borg 2.0

On board Socrates

March 28, 2378

The technomages still had their Circle, their ruling body, but it was nearing time to make changes to their order. The process that had merged the telepaths, Borg, and technomages had infused them with myriad abilities. Now, as Galen walked through the halls of the cube, he could hear the background noise that telepaths had been dealing with since their emergence on Earth in the early twenty-second century.

Galen walked into the commissary and saw his love, Isabelle, eating breakfast with Lyta and Byron. The four had become close friends after the merging process, which baffled Galen somewhat. All his life, he'd been an introvert, with only the brief time that he'd been with Isabelle shortly after his initiation into the technomage society where he'd opened up. Then came the day on Z'ha'dum when he had found how to free the tech inside his body and allow his tech to fully join with him, and he had managed to finally calm the demons inside him.

Now, to many of the technomages' surprise, Galen was the veritable life of the party. His old mentor, Elric, was even speechless at the transformation that had occurred with Galen. But to Galen, it was simply the result of freeing the tech inside himself and inside all of the others, Borg included.

The process that he had proposed would merge the Shadow tech with the Borg implants as well as the telepathic gene. It had been a risky endeavor, but he managed to convince the two people key to the whole operation: Lyta Alexander and Anna Sheridan. The process grew out of the attempts to "deprogram" Anna from the deeply rooted instructions that the Shadows, and later the Ragendora, had programmed inside her. Now, her mind was free and she had turned her energies to helping the Borg enhance their ships with the Legendoran technology. She had been able to exceed herself, and was an inspiration to all of the young ones.

Elric peaked in at the foursome seated at the table and then continued on his way. Despite the rejuvenation he felt from the process, he still was his old stoic self. The Circle was still in tact, after a fashion. They missed Kell, their former leader who had fallen into disgrace because of his actions regarding his knowledge of the Shadows, had opted to stay out of the reformed Circle. Herazade, Blaylock, and Ing-Radi were there, and so was their newest member, Alwyn.

Alwyn used to harangue the Circle for the way they led the mages, and Elric never though that there would be enough support to get him elected to the Circle. However, Blaylock, of all people, had championed his bid. Alwyn was the most shocked that his most vehement critic would be the one who would also be his most ardent supporter.

As he sat down at the head of the table, Elric felt the burdens of being the leader of the mages again. It was a position he did not want, but he accepted it because of the need that the mages had for someone like him to shape their future. "Let us begin the meeting. The agenda for today is for the expansion of the Circle to allow the Borg and the technomages to elect representatives."

The debate was intense, but not heated. Intellectual, but none too emotional. Elric had figured that passing the measure was a given, as Alwyn and Ing-Radi would support him. Blaylock would seem to be the most opposed, yet he announced in the meeting that he would support the measure, albeit with his own addendum.

"I believe we need an addition to the Circle when it comes to ruling us, especially given the addition of the telepaths and the Borg. To aid in the synthesis of our three sides, I propose a legislative body to be elected at each convocation. They would assist us, the Circle, which would become the executive body, in setting policy.," said Blaylock.

"May I ask when you did a mind meld with President Garrison Hollifield, dear Blaylock," joked Alwyn. Blaylock took the jab in stride and continued, "We can fully shape the idea at the next convocation in three years time, but for now, it is something we should consider."

They talked late into the night, finally breaking around 1am ship time. Picard had recommended the Earth clock because the majority of those who went through the process were human, and, as such, their bodies were used to the twenty-four hour clock.

Picard had his own worries at the moment, as the shuttlecraft that he'd been expecting finally made it inside the cube. He went down to the shuttle bay and met the arrivals.

Deanna Troi looked like he'd expected her to look: shaken and weak. She had heard of the news of the loss of her husband and had been virtually inconsolable. Dr. Beverly Crusher had come along to monitor Deanna, as well as her mother, Lwaxana.

"Are you sure about this, Deanna," Picard asked her.

"Yes, I am. Otherwise, I'd have nothing left to live for. Without Will, life seems pointless. This, though, could help me see the light again,"
Deanna said with a sad smile.

Lwaxana turned to her daughter and asked, "Be well, my child. I wish you did not do this, but if this is what you want, then I will accept it and be happy for you!" She hugged her daughter and wiped a tear from her eye.

"I'm staying," Crusher said suddenly, and caught everyone off guard.

Picard was thunderstruck, and tried to make words come out of his mouth with no luck. Crusher added, "I love you, Jean Luc, and I cannot stand being in a universe away from you anymore! If I can safely undergo the process, then I will join you and the others. I am sure it's safe for Deanna, but not so sure about me. Nevertheless, I am not leaving your side ever again."

Picard walked up to her and asked, "You sure?"

Crusher touched the back of his head and smiled, saying, "I've never been surer of anything in my whole life!" They embraced and kissed, and Lwaxana turned to her daughter and whispered, "Lucky gal!" For the first time since learning of her husband's death, Deanna smiled.

A couple of days later, Deanna Troi and Beverly Crusher were lying in the tubes used in the conversion process. They had been thoroughly examined by the Borg and the technomages, and they found that both could take the process without risking their health or lives. As the process began, Picard and Lwaxana Troi sat in the office above the floor where the tubes were kept.

"What is to become of my daughter, Jean Luc," she asked him.

"I do not know. Once the war is over, we'll be able to sit down and decide about things. The technomages' Circle has been open to allowing five members from the Borg and five members from the telepaths to join and help govern us. Where we'll go from there...I don't know."

"Well, I hope she'll be all right. You should have seen her when she learned of Will's death! It was like her heart had been ripped out of her, tossed to the floor, and stepped on! It was heartbreaking to see!"

"I can imagine so.," Picard said. "When I learned of Will's passing, I had a hard time dealing with it, and still do. He once said to me, 'I intend to live forever'."

"Ah, the invections of youth! I remember saying such nonsense as a young lady!"

"Well, the Legendora can live almost that long. From my dealings with them, I've learned one thing."

"What's that," Lwaxana asked.

"That life should be short, so we can appreciate the time we have. I get the feeling that they are tired of having lived so long. It's like they are wanting to pass the torch to someone, only they haven't found a suitable recipient yet."

"Could that be us?"

"Possibly. I think that is part of the reason why we are all here."

Anna Sheridan knocked on the door and entered. She said to Lwaxana, "Ambassador Troi, the procedure will take several hours yet, so I took the liberty of preparing a room for you to rest."

"Yes, thank you. Jean Luc, would you please inform me of when the procedure is finished? I would like to see my daughter before I leave."

"Of course.," said Picard, and Lwaxana left with Penelope, who had come with Anna.

Anna walked up to Picard and said, "Seeing her eyes when I met her for the first time reminded me of what it must have been like when John found out that I was dead. I hope that being with us can help heal her."

"I hope so too. How much longer will they be in there?"

"Another twelve hours. You should get some sleep. There is a meeting in the morning to decide who will be on the new Circle. I suspect that you'll be a part of it."

"What about you, Anna?"

"I'll do what I can. I'm technically considered a Borg, since I have no natural telepathic abilities, but I've not been among the Borg long enough to feel like I've been able to be a leader to them."

"You might be surprised, but then again, you never know with elections. Come, I need some rest, and I bet you do as well."

Anna shook her head and they departed the office, with Picard looking back out the window one last time at the tubes where Beverly Crusher and Deanna Troi were being transformed.