Editing Assimilation (section)

== Treatment and defenses ==
Methods for preventing or overcoming Borg assimilation are of paramount importance to cultures that refuse to abandon members of their society captured by the Collective.

In 2153, Phlox determined that exposing himself to [[Omicron Radiation]] could disable the nanoprobes injected into his body by drones using technology originating in 2373. This method was uniquely applicable to Phlox due to his [[Denobulan]] physiology, which made him unusually resistant to assimilation and immune to the toxic effects of omicron radiation. 

The most basic, and arguably most practical, remedy was to kill the intended victim either prior to or in the early minutes of assimilation, before the nanoprobes could install standard Borg defenses. During the Borg's raid of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-E), [[Rank|Captain]] Jean-Luc Picard saw this approach to be the lesser of two evils, believing his assimilated [[Rank|crewmen]] were irrecoverable under the circumstances and better off dying as individuals than living as drones. 

When rescuing Picard himself in 2367, the crew of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D) was not under direct attack by the Borg and therefore had the luxury of considering other options. Upon connecting his [[Neural Net]] to Picard's Borg implants, [[Rank|Lieutenant Commander]] Data was able to isolate Picard's individual mind from the Collective. Disconnecting Picard from his implants was considered a risky procedure, but upon the destruction of the cube that assimilated him the Collective lost its hold on him physical recovery was swift, although the psychological trauma was more severe. 

In 2368 a Borg cube was disabled in an [[Electrokinetic Storm]] in the [[Nekrit Expanse]], causing approximately 80,000 drones to be disconnected from the hive mind. These former drones settled on a nearby planet, where their limited medical resources allowed them to remove most, but not all, of their cybernetic implants. After the population descended into war, they elected to form a new hive mind as the [[Borg Cooperative]]. 

The crew of the USS Voyager was forced to sever Seven of Nine’s link to the Collective when, through her, the Borg reneged on its alliance with the starship. Using a neural transceiver installed in him by the Borg Cooperative and a [[Borg Alcove]] installed aboard Voyager by the Collective, Chakotay tapped into Seven's consciousness in order to distract her while B'Elanna Torres shorted out the console she was attempting to assimilate. 

The [[Brunali]] genetically engineered Icheb with a pathogen that would infect the Collective after they sent him to be assimilated. After this pathogen killed all of the adult Borg aboard the cube which assimilated Icheb, the ship's [[Maturation Chamber]]s prematurely released the juvenile drones who were not yet fully connected to the Collective, giving Voyager an opportunity to liberate them in 2376.

A [[Neural Suppressant]] developed by Voyager's [[Emergency Medical Holographic Program|EMH]] in 2377 made it possible for Kathryn Janeway, Tuvok, and B'Elanna Torres to be physically assimilated without being connected to the hive mind and losing their individuality. This allowed them to surreptitiously operate within a Borg cube and sabotage its [[Central Plexus]]. Following their mission the three officers were returned to Voyager where their implants were safely removed without medical complications. Use of the neural suppressant apparently correlated to the lack of psychological trauma suffered in comparison to Picard's experience. 

Following Voyager's sabotage of the central plexus, the [[Borg Drone]]s that had been connected to [[Unimatrix Zero]] were able to regain their individuality and mount a resistance against the Collective. They were not, at least initially, able to remove their Borg implants due to the urgency of the conflict. 

Upon arriving in 2378 from an alternate future, [[Rank|Admiral]] Kathryn Janeway possessed several defenses against the Borg, including a [[Neurolytic Pathogen]] that prevented Borg nanoprobes from linking her to the hive mind while infecting the Collective.