Humanity is very restrictive, don't you think? All that bipedalism, opposable thumbs and only two genders to choose feels kind of restrictive. So if you could be a non-human sentient being what would you be? Me, I'd be a Tine (from Vernor Vinge's Fire Upon the Deep). Group minds appeal to me and the Tines have the advantage of being one of a non-insect/biomechanoid group mind. They don't have opposable thumbs, they manipulate tools with teeth and stumpy paws. They can have 360 degree panoramic view. Their personality can change over generations as new members join a pack and old ones die. This process can be voluntary and heterogenous ('loose'-souled people) or controlled like a scientific experiment. I like the idea of having an evolving soul.What would you be?
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The essentially greedy part of me would like to be a multiply-instantiated sort of being, like a crowd of teleport booth copies of myself, only with the ability to merge and share the experiences of the individual elements over time.
I think that Walter Jon Williams did something with this in a short story, but I can't remember the name of it. It's not far off David Brin's KILN PEOPLE.
The idea appeals to me a lot when the alarm rings and I wish I (or at least a version of 'I') could stay in bed, even though I know the day has to be faced.
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