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The diversity of forms and modes of
embodiment and existence that sentience can take is astounding. Before
technology all sentient beings were biological. But with the emergence
of infotech and ai everything changed. Now mindkind can be divided into
a number of fundamental classes of beings, determined by composition,
origin, and toposophic level. These include artificials, biologicals,
cyborgs, virtuals, and many more. Even better, you can change from one
to the other. And copy yourself as well. But remember there may not be
a clone body for each copy |
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Under the archailects that rule over
known space, galactic ecology rests on a hierarchy of cognitive
ascendancy. Here you can find a review of the main grades of toposophic
beings. Each higher toposophic constitutes a new and more encompassing
and potent mode of functioning, which enables the Minds of that level
to subsume, own, control, love and care for, study, nurture, and/or
exploit, those of the toposophics beneath them. They in turn love and
worship, submit to, fear, and/or rely upon those toposophics above
them. And if you don't like your lowly station at the bottom of the
galactic pecking order, why, you can always ascend. But just be careful
of unreliable godseeds! |
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The near-infinite diversity of sophont
beings can be reduced to a number of basic categories - bionts,
cyborgs, bioborgs, vecs, uploads, and more. Here we see some of the
more common types, each of which can be divided into innumerable
different clades and variations. |
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Propelled by DIY geneering, bionics,
cyborgisation, software and wetware evolution, and deliberate planned
adaptation; isolated in ships hurtling through space at relativistic
velocities, or on asteroids or biospheres or planets; evolution
accelerated hundred thousand-fold. Humans, cyborgs, and aioids evolved
in myriad ways and through countless combinations and hybrids. |
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Not the familiar humanoids with
strangely coloured skin or a silver suit, but species utterly unlike
anything that has lived on Earth. And alien races differ among each
other as much as each differs from terragen life. But wait, there's
more. If you think alien bionts are strange, wait until you come across
alien AIs. Or maybe it is better you don't.... |
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Here you can see a reasonably
comprehensive overview of the main categories of sentients of the Orion's
Arm Universe, according to both toposophic grade, origin, and
major category. |
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