"They call themselves many things: hackers, rebels, cyberpunks - but they all have one thing in common -- their dedication to humanity’s evolution... No matter what side of the debate you’re on, the Transhumanists intend to shape the future of humanity. Will you step into it with them? Or will they have to drag you kicking and screaming?" - The Transhumanists Intro video
Introducing... the Transhumanists! Art by Embreate
The Transhumanists are a diffuse faction with varying ideologies who all ultimately believe in one thing: the future of the human race does not exist in the human form. For "humanity" to survive it will need to become an altogether different species. The movement exploded after the Colossus Storms of the 2030’s. With so many societies left in tatters and society leaning heavier than ever on technology to save us from ourselves, there was new room for previously fringe ideas to flourish. As cybernetic enhancements and various medical technologies such as Life Extension were becoming more and more commonplace, some saw a digital form as the next logical step on the human evolutionary ladder. The machines will save us, because we will be the machines -- finally living up to our true potential.
Robots for sale, one seeming to pose specifically for the interest of the child. Art by Embreate.
Many Transhumanists are working not just on making themselves cyborgs, but escaping the corporeal form altogether. This includes using technologies like the MESH to create a hive mind and hypothetical projects whose end goal is to store humanity’s collective intelligence in a massive server underground that would be powered by the Earth's core. This ultimate goal is not just to ensure the eternal existence of "humanity," but to create a world that would render war and hatred meaningless. However, it might do the same thing for love and the sense of self.
Transhumanists are not a monolithic entity and there are many subdivisions within the faction. These divisions are centered around ideology, class, and what type of cybernetic bio-enhancements you have. Some Transhumanists are still largely functioning on flesh and blood. Fitted with mechanical implants and biological enhancements they still remain something resembling humans. Some have already transcended what we might consider humanity.
Included in this group that has already transcended humanity would be the MESHers. These are members who have become part of the cyber-hivemind known as the MESH. All individuals’ minds are connected to one another making up but a piece of a larger group. At this point, it is very likely that they have transcended the need for a body at all. Within the MESHers there are the Spiritualists who tie religion into technology and the MESH. The largest presence of Spiritualists resides in East India where The MESH and Buddhism have become one. Modern cyber monks there attempt to achieve enlightenment through technology. The concept of “oneness” that is the root of Buddhism is compatible with the oneness found by becoming part of the MESH.
A Transhumanist picking out a new cybernetic organ outside of a hospital. Art by Embreate.
The other major way of being a Transhumanist is through body modification. These body modders fall into several different categories based on what they want to achieve. One large group are the Modded Mundies: ordinary people augmented with consumer tech. This includes products such as digital tattoos, cybernetic prosthetics, and artificial robotic heart transplants. Taking these modifications one step further are the Amped-Up. These modders are obsessed with optimizing and enhancing the body and mind to dominate in their chosen field. In changing their biology, they are trying to attain superhuman beauty and strength. This group includes the modern enhanced athletes breaking the world of sports with unthinkable strength and reaction times, supermodels with perfect, almost scary, beauty, and the legendary Techno-Samurai of Japan. The group that pushes modding to its furthest limits are the Surge Freaks. They do radical experimentation with technology and extreme self-modding to make themselves more man than machine. Sometimes this experimentation happens against their will. Examples of Surge Freaks include people who saved their lives by making themselves into machines, people who have given themselves extra limbs to enhance their skills, and military programs that have soldiers pilot robots by fusing their consciousness to the robots.
A hacker in a room lit only by computer screens. Art by Embreate.
Also considered a subset of the Transhumanists are the Hackers. This includes a wide array of people who are very tentatively connected only through their use of hacking as a means for social change or personal gain. There are rebel Hackatvists and punk anarchists who use hacking as a means of protest and taking down oppressive systems. Fighting against these types are the government hackers, who also use their talents to spy on other nations. Company hackers engage in corporate espionage and steal trade secrets. While digital thieves have no greater ideology or motivation other than personal gain. Most of these hackers do have DIY mods that directly contribute to their hacking abilities, but they do not necessarily fall in-line with many other Transhumanists when it comes to completely transcending the human form.
A suped-up Surge Freak looks upon their city. Artwork by Rich35211