Star Trek: First Contact revealed that the pivotal first meeting between humans and the Vulcans owes a debt to the Borg in a weird way. Directed by Jonathan Frakes, 1996’s Star Trek: First Contact was a crowd-pleasing blockbuster that’s acknowledged as the best of the Star Trek: The Next Generation movies. Star Trek: First Contact depicts the heretofore unknown events leading up to how the Vulcans met the human race, which is the origin story of Star Trek.
In Star Trek‘s timeline, First Contact Day happened on April 5, 2063. On this day, Dr. Zephram Cochrane (James Cromwell) achieved mankind’s first warp flight aboard his starship, the Phoenix, which caught the attention of a nearby Vulcan ship. The aliens landed on Earth to meet the humans. From that point on, with the Vulcans’ help, the human race joined together as United Earth. Hunger, poverty, and the reliance on money were ended within 50 years, and Starfleet was founded to explore the galaxy, leading to the creation of the United Federation of Planets in 2161.
Star Trek’s First Contact Wouldn’t Have Happened Without The Borg
It’s A Predestination Paradox
The Borg played a pivotal role in First Contact Day because, as seen in Star Trek: First Contact, the cybernetic aliens time-traveled to ᴀssimilate Earth in the 21st century. Earth was in dire straits after World War III devastated the planet and any resistance was futile to the Borg. Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) of the USS Enterprise-E followed the Borg through time and destroyed the Borg Sphere, preventing their ᴀssimilation of Earth. The Borg then pivoted and attempted to take control of the Enterprise.
To maintain the timeline, the time-traveling Borg and the role the USS Enterprise-E played in Zephram Cochrane’s first warp flight were kept out of historical records.
It’s thanks to the Borg that the USS Enterprise-E jumped back to 2063 to help ensure First Contact took place as history records. While Captain Picard kept the Borg isolated on the Enterprise, Commander William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) led an away team to help the alcoholic Zephram Cochane launch the Phoenix, and Riker even flew in the Phoenix’s cockpit with Cochrane. Mankind’s successful inaugural warp flight, and the resulting First Contact with the Vulcans, may not have happened had the Borg not instigated a temporal crisis.
First Contact Day Is Star Trek’s Biggest Holiday In-Universe
The Federation Annually Celebrates Humans Meeting Vulcans
Star Trek marks First Contact Day as an annual celebration of the beginning of humanity’s reach for the stars. In-universe, First Contact Day is a holiday children have off from school. The real world also acknowledges April 5 as First Contact Day, and Star Trek fans hope for major announcements about future Star Trek TV shows and movies on the day. April 5 is also a prime occasion to enjoy watching Star Trek, including Star Trek: First Contact.
First Contact Day 2025 features the annual TrekTalks 4 fundraiser for the Hollywood Food Coalition involving dozens of Star Trek actors and creatives.
Star Trek: Lower Decks‘ season 3 premiere revealed that Bozeman, Montana, the site of First Contact, has turned into a theme park destination. Visitors can flock to Bozeman to see a mock-up of the Vulcan ship that landed on Earth in 2063, and even take a warp ride on the Phoenix piloted by a hologram of Zephram Cochrane. First Contact Day also has a darker edge; in 2385, the Mars Attack by rogue synthetics seen in Star Trek: Picard season 1 happened on First Contact Day.
What Happened To The Borg After First Contact
The Borg Regenerated In Star Trek: Enterprise Season 2
The Borg that instigated the events of Star Trek: First Contact weren’t all destroyed. Star Trek: Enterprise season 2, episode 23, “Regeneration,” revealed that some of the Borg aboard the Sphere destroyed by the USS Enterprise-E crashed in Antarctica. On March 1, 2153, the dormant Borg were unearthed and inadvertently reactivated by arctic base researchers, who were promptly ᴀssimilated. These reborn Borg then launched into space to reunite with the Borg Collective in the Delta Quadrant.
The NX-01 Enterprise, commanded by Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula), was ordered to intercept the Borg. Archer ultimately destroyed the Borg, although the cybernetic organisms were able to send a message to the Collective in the Delta Quadrant. However, Captain Archer’s Enterprise crew never identified the enemies they faced as “the Borg,” which preserved canon that First Contact with the Borg happens in Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s 24th century. Thanks to Star Trek: First Contact, without the Borg, there’s no First Contact between humans and Vulcans.
