When the Star Trek team finds an individual member of a well-known evil collective injured, they face a moral dilemma. They welcome him onto the ship both to save him and to experiment on him, and find that hidden under the commands of the Collective, he is an individual. Although Hugh, the Borg, is in captivity for the majority of his time on the ship, it is the first time he experiences individuality and agency. The Borg system promotes assimilation, and the episode's most striking quote is, "You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile." The humans fear the Borg Collective because we strive for agency and individuality, and the Collective promotes passive thoughts through overpowering commands.