Transhuman: Difference between revisions

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* ''[[Ghost in the Shell]]'' is all about this.

* In the entirety of ''[[Blame]]'', we do not see a single purely biological human. Everyone is heavily modified, be they cyborgs, human-descended androids, or gene-modded superhumans. The closest to "pure" human we get is Seu, and he's an eight-foot giant with enough enhancements to fight in hand-to-hand combat with advanced Silicon Life warriors, who has been reconstructed and had his personality restored from backup countless times. Most "normal" humans were exterminated by either the Silicon Creatures or the Safeguard, given the events of ''NOiSE'','' [[Blame]]'s'' prequel.

* ''[[Biomega]]'' - <ref>[[Spiritual Successor]] to ''[[Blame]]''</ref> takes this [[Up to Eleven]]: The very first chapter features pretty much everybody who wasn't a robot, cyborg or mutant of some sort being wiped out by a full-blown [[Zombie Apocalypse]].

* ''[[Biomega]]'' <ref>[[Spiritual Successor]] to ''[[Blame]]''</ref> takes this [[Up to Eleven]]: The very first chapter features pretty much everybody who wasn't a robot, cyborg or mutant of some sort being wiped out by a full-blown [[Zombie Apocalypse]].

* ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]''

* ''[[Puella Magi Madoka Magica]]'' presents a very disturbing take on this theme. Yes the girls do become supremely powerful, but in doing so {{spoiler|their souls get ripped out of their body and placed inside a [[Soul Jar]]}}.

* In ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]'', humans have various degrees of self-enhancement. Some become walking armor, some get artificial limbs, and still others get transmuted into chimeras with new functional abilities. They have various degrees of acceptance of these transformations, as none of them was by choice. There are also the Homonculi, who consider themselves an evolved form of humans.

== Comic Books ==

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** It's notable that only a small percentage of them gained their powers deliberately; usually it was a [[Freak Lab Accident|Freak Accident.]] This is arguably a necessary component of a superhero universe; if super-powers were easily reproducible, then the heroes themselves would stop being special.

{{quote|'''[[The Incredibles|Syndrome]]:''' "And when everyone's super, no one will be."}}

* ''[[Transmetropolitan]]''

* ''[[Transmetropolitan]]'' {{context}}

* ''[[The Surrogates]]''

* ''[[The Surrogates]]'' {{context}}

* In the appropriately named ''Transhuman'' by [[Jonathan Hickman]] medical advances make it possible to give people super powers. However there is a one power limit so everybody opts for [[Healing Factor]].

* [[Iron Man]], in recent years, has been doing everything he can to transhumanize himself, ranging from cyborg parts to a [[Super Serum]]. Of course, it's debatable how much of this is symbolic of the lack of humanity in his ''behavior'' during the [[Marvel Civil War]] and its aftermath. Many fans theorize that the Extremis Formula ''caused'' a lot of his [[Cybernetics Eat Your Soul|erratic, high-handed behavior,]] either by directly affecting his mind or just giving him a superiority complex.

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== Film ==

* ''[[Blade Runner]]''

* ''[[Blade Runner]]'' {{context}}

* ''[[Gattaca]]''

* ''[[Gattaca]]'' {{context}}

* ''[[Repo! The Genetic Opera]]''

* ''[[Repo! The Genetic Opera]]'' {{context}}

* Arguably, the protagonists in the ''[[Tetsuo: The Iron Man]]'' films. Sure, they become grotesque walking lumps of scrap metal, but as the films go on, they can sprout guns from their bodies, become giant tanks things and crawl on walls.

* Arguably,{{verify}} the protagonists in the ''[[Tetsuo: The Iron Man]]'' films. Sure, they become grotesque walking lumps of scrap metal, but as the films go on, they can sprout guns from their bodies, become giant tanks things and crawl on walls.

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== Live-Action TV ==

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== Live Action TV ==

* The Traveler (and later Wesley Crusher) from ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]''.

** Not to mention the [[Cyborg|Borg]].

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** Gary Mitchell and Dr Elizabeth Dehner both acquired psi-powers from the galactic energy barrier - within a few hours Mitchell could read the entire library of the ''Enterprise'' and could telekinese, create small objects, and project energy from his fingers, with Dr Dehner just a short way behind him. It's impossible to be sure, but they might have hit Q power levels a few days later if they had lived. Unfortunately, [[With Great Power Comes Great Insanity|Gary becomes a psychopath.]] Spock believes [[Transhuman Treachery]] in such a situation to be inevitable, as the transformed would come to view mere humans as a petty annoyance.

* Several of them have popped up in ''[[Fringe]]''

* ''[[Stargate]]''

* ''[[Stargate]]'' {{context}}

== Literature ==

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* In Nietzsche's [[Thus Spake Zarathustra]], Zarathustra preaches that mankind's future lies into the [[Ubermensch]]. A form of spiritual/mental transcendence into godhood.

* [[Alastair Reynolds]]' work is full of this, especially the Revelation Space universe.

* ''[[Neuromancer]]''

* ''[[Neuromancer]]'' {{context}}

* ''[[Schismatrix]]''

* ''[[Schismatrix]]'' {{context}}

* ''[[The Culture]]''

* ''[[The Culture]]'' {{context}}

* [[Greg Egan]] often uses this trope in his novels.

* ''[[Lilith's Brood]]''

* ''[[Lilith's Brood]]'' {{context}}

* ''[[Beggars in Spain]]'' is about the rise of a new breed of transhuman, the "Sleepless".

* ''[[Childhood's End]]''

* ''[[Childhood's End]]'' {{context}}

* ''[[Oryx and Crake]]''

* ''[[Oryx and Crake]]'' {{context}}

* ''[[The Diamond Age]]''

* ''[[The Diamond Age]]'' {{context}}

* ''[[The Turing Option]]'' by Harry Harrison and Marvin Minsky.

* ''[[The Quantum Thief]]''. Notably the society of Oubliette on Mars is resistant to most transhuman technologies, being built on the ideals of privacy and individuality, yet from the reader's perspective it's still filled to the brim with transhuman technology designed to ensure this state of affairs. For starters the citizens all have a specialized privacy sensory organ called Gevulot through which the majority of their communication takes place.

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* The Mesan Alignment in the [[Honor Harrington]] series has been practicing the biological form of this in secret for quite some time and believe they should share it with the rest of the galaxy... by force.

** There's also a brief mention in on of the early books that there are a handful of planets in the galaxy where cybernetic transhumanism is a common practice but they're fairly isolated incidents.

== Tabletop Games ==

* In the 4th edition of ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'' most epic destinies put you beyond the abilities of mere mortals, even to the [[A God Am I]] levels with epic destinies like demigod or godmind.

** Also, the Elan Race in 3.5e's ''[[Psychic Powers|Expanded Psionics Handbook]]'' and the bloodline feat chain of the same name in 4e D&D's ''Psionic Power'' is essentially this: humans who underwent body modification to turn themselves into an immortal being powered by thought.

* ''[[GURPS]]:[[Transhuman Space]]'' has these, as the name suggests.

* ''[[GURPS]] [[Transhuman Space]]'' has these, as the name suggests.

* In ''[[Shadowrun]]'', many people have some degree of mechanical alteration - cybereyes are the most common bit of cyberware in the world. Mages on the other hand can't use them with out messing up their Essence/magic. Also, the metahuman races are humans who have been altered by the return of magic.

* ''[[Warhammer 40,000]]'' has mechanicum [[Cyborg]]s, [[Bio Augmentation|augmented]] [[Super Soldier]] [[Space Marines]], as well as their [[Psychic Powers|psychic]], [[The Corruption|Chaotically]] powered, and [[Cyborg]] versions, [[Genetic Engineering Is the New Nuke|genetically engineered]] [[Super Soldier]] [[Our Orcs Are Different|Orks]] who also come with crude cyborknetic and psychic versions, and [[The Undead|undead]] full-body [[Cyborg]] conversions that come in [[Our Elves Are Better|Eldar]] and [[Terminator]] rip-off versions. There are undoubtedly countless more examples, [[Everything Trying to Kill You|all of them trying to kill you]].

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** Abyssals too. Except that rather than become something more than human, they become something less - something hollow and malignant, a walking conduit to Oblivion. The ultimate destiny of the Abyssals could be Deathlords Mark Two - or something greater and more terrible than even the Deathlords can imagine. Or, y'know, they could kick the Void in the face and powerload hope and light into their Shards until they can achieve redemption and become Solars. One of the nice things about ''Exalted'' is that there's always a choice.

* In ''[[Strike Legion]]'', transhumanism is ubiquitous. The average human in either the Imperium or the Star Republic is already genetically enhanced to the point that they make modern humanity look like degenerate apes. This is before factoring in extensive bio-augmentation, cybernetic implants, and nanotech enhancements which are commercially available to civilians and military. And ''that'' is before one gets into the Imperium's countless supersoldier programs (cybernetic modification, genetic modification, [[Demonic Possession|extradimensional modification]], genetically-enhanced [[Reality Warper]] powers....) and the Republic's [[One-Man Army|Legion]] [[Person of Mass Destruction|Process]].

== Video Games ==

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* The Advent from ''[[Sins of a Solar Empire]]'', in contrast to the [[No Transhumanism Allowed]] Traders. Part of the reason why the Traders exiled them in the first place. The alien race present in the game, the Vasari, are as of their in-game state, also technologically improved to varying degrees from their biological baseline.

* Terran Ghosts from ''[[StarCraft]]'' and ''[[Star Craft 2]]'' both thanks to their inherent psychic abilities and the technology and training that helps them harness it (and keep it under control). Also, Protoss Dragoons, Immortals and Stalkers are mildly transProtoss by virtue of their mechanical bodies.

* ''[[Metal Gear Solid]]''

* ''[[Metal Gear Solid]]'' {{context}}

* ''[[Deus Ex]]''

** Transhumanism is a major theme in ''[[Deus Ex: Human Revolution|Deus Ex Human Revolution]]''. You've got people in support of it, people against it, lots of reasons for both, and Adam Jensen himself has lots of cybernetic upgrades, also called augmentations.

* ''[[Half-Life 2]]''. "Transhuman" is a [[Transhuman Treachery|politically loaded]] word in the ''Half-Life'' [[Vichy Earth|universe]].

** To clarify, any human who volunteers to join the Overwatch is brainwashed, gutted, dismembered, and rebuilt as a cyborg. [[Cybernetics Eat Your Soul|The augmentations make them entirely dependent on the Combine.]]

* ''[[BioShock (series)]]''

* ''[[BioShock (series)]]'' {{context}}

* ''[[Command & Conquer]]''. Mostly Nod cyborgs and Yuri's psychic army.

* ''[[EVE Online]]'', just watch the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jfFKSIqkvM intro movie].

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* In ''[[Crysis]]'', this is the ultimate goal of Jacob Hargreave. He has been working for {{spoiler|[[Really Seven Hundred Years Old|more than a century]]}} to prepare mankind for war with the [[Sufficiently Advanced Alien|Ceph]], using [[Imported Alien Phlebotinum|their own stolen technology]] to enhance human technology, and it culminates in the Nanosuits, which are hyper-advanced [[Powered Armor]] designed to turn their wearers into "post-human warriors." They go so far as to {{spoiler|literally replace entire organs, co-opt brain functions, and generally turn their wearers into full-on nanotech cyborg supersoldiers}}, and are capable of {{spoiler|sustaining a person even after death}}, and on top of that, they contain internal machinery and advanced computers that can sample, analyze, and adapt to Ceph environmental weapons.

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== Web Comics ==

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== Web ~~Comic~~ ==

* Kimiko of ''[[Dresden Codak]]'' is all for transhumanism. In the ''Hob'' storyline, an alternate universe version of her didn't do a terribly good job of carrying humanity through its Singularity and apparently came to a sticky end. The human remnant of that reality did make the step into trans-humanity in the end though.

* Yuri of ''[[Spacetrawler]]''. When she lost her limbs, she obtained robotic replacements. And she went the extra step of [[Bio Augmentation|BioAugmenting]] herself with part of an [[Technopath|Eeb brain]]... and [[Catgirl|cat ears]].

* ''[[Freefall]]''

* ''[[Freefall]]'' {{context}}

* ''[[Schlock Mercenary]]'' is loaded with the stuff. Cyborgs, [[Nano Machine]]-based boosts, genetically engineered sophonts (including [[Uplifted Animal~~|uplifted animals~~]]), and that's just for humans.

* ''[[Schlock Mercenary]]'' is loaded with the stuff. Cyborgs, [[Nano Machine]]-based boosts, genetically engineered sophonts (including [[Uplifted Animal]]s), and that's just for humans.

** Interestingly [[Schlock Mercenary]] approaches the the concept from the other side as well. Haban II and The Fleetmind/Petey started out as pure [[~~A Is~~]] residing in computer systems but both have since have partially migrated into organic vessels. Haban started as the AI half of the human/AI team of DoytHaban but after his gate close suffered a severe head injury, functionally killing Doyt, leaving one version with Haban as the sole intelligence. Petey on the other hand created multiple 'blank' clones and use hypernode communicators to wire them into the Fleetmind Gestalt to act as physical representatives.

** Interestingly ''[[Schlock Mercenary]]'' approaches the the concept from the other side as well. Haban II and The Fleetmind/Petey started out as pure [[AI]]s residing in computer systems but both have since have partially migrated into organic vessels. Haban started as the AI half of the human/AI team of DoytHaban but after his gate close suffered a severe head injury, functionally killing Doyt, leaving one version with Haban as the sole intelligence. Petey on the other hand created multiple 'blank' clones and use hypernode communicators to wire them into the Fleetmind Gestalt to act as physical representatives.

* ''[[A Miracle of Science]]''

* ''[[A Miracle of Science]]'' {{context}}

* The Valkyries of ''[[Cwynhild's Loom]]'' are cyborg [[Super Soldiers]].

== Web Original ==

* ''Very'' deeply explored in [[Orion's Arm]], to the point that baselines (regular non-modified humans) are something of an endangered species by 10,600 AT. It's also not limited to humans; several xenosophont species have also embraced self-enhancement, and animals both terragen and alien have been [[Uplifted Animal|provolved to sophonce]].

== Real Life ==

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[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]

[[Category:Cyberpunk Tropes]]

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[[Category:Transformation Causes]]

[[Category:Transhuman Tropes]]

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