The Borg.....Better or Worse

[Captain Picard's Hair]

Can a strong telepath read the Borg collectives' mind? Surely they'd get a sense of something,. but the Collective may be too vast a mind to be read.

[Mikey]

Or too dissociated, or too automated. Good question.

[Sionnach Glic]

I think it'd be far too hard for them to do. It'd probably be like standing in the middle of a crowded street where everyone is yelling, thus making it impossible to pick any one thought out.

[Deepcrush]

I would think it would depend on the person in question. In nature when hunting a target you have to learn to hear everything at once but keep you mind on a single objective.

[Mark]

And the power of the telepath in question.

[Deepcrush]

Exactly. How powerful and how well trained.

[Sionnach Glic]

Well, yeah, it'd obviously depend on who's doing the reading. There are a few telepaths that are far more powerful than others.

[Captain Picard's Hair]

Well, yeah, it'd obviously depend on who's doing the reading. There are a few telepaths that are far more powerful than others.

This makes me wonder... can the Q read minds? They have abilities beyond what most telepaths can do, but I don't recall Q ever reading someone's mind - not to mention controlling a person. Q may or may not care whether this is "sporting," depending on what his goals are ATM.

The Douwd did display telepathic abilities in "The Survivor;" surely a being that could wipe out a race with a thought could read the Collective's mind. However, we're now getting into the territory of beings that were expressly conceived of as being without limits; the question to be asked without using this sort of virtual cop-out might be, how powerful must a telepath be to read the Borg mind? Unfortunately, we can't answer that in any manner but in vague terms.

[Sionnach Glic]

I'm not sure if mind-reading is one of the capabilities of the Q. It didn't help Q to realise Sisko was going to hit him, but it may be some sort of active process.

[Mark]

Reading minds wouldn't be "fun" for Q. But since he has NEVER demonstrated that ability, I'd say it's outside his purview. Omnipotent indeed

[Tsukiyumi]

...It didn't help Q to realise Sisko was going to hit him...

I love that scene.

"Jean Luc never hit me!"

[Mark]

Yep, that was GREAT!!!

[Captain Picard's Hair]

How much fum might Q have by controlling someone? Perhaps just reading someone's mind would be too easy compared to judging a person's reaction. Thankfully, he met a good foil in Jean-Luc Picard, who was born allergic to Q.

[Deepcrush]

Jean Luc and Q were perfect for each other.

[Tsukiyumi]

Jean Luc and Q were perfect for each other.

Which reminds me of the scene in "Tapestry" when Picard wakes up and Q is in bed next to him. Talk about next day regrets.