On Liberated Borg/Cooperation Constructs, Social Interaction, and Perception Relating to the term "Transhumanism"
The Reclaimed are no strangers to connection. Whether it be the hydraulics cables that stitched our flesh and augments together, the infinite horizon of our Oppressors’ Hivemind, or the simple act of touch from individual intent, xBs require connection as much as we do personhood. Perhaps this is why, in our very nature, I (and other xBs) have found kinship with the Federation Standard term "transhumanism;" defined as "a philosophical movement that advocates for the transformation of the human condition by developing and making widely available sophisticated technologies to greatly enhance intellect and physiology.” While not all xBs are limited to the original, human-scoped term, my people find themselves teetering the line of individual and collective conscience, biological versus machine- wading further into unknown waters to test what it means for us, as individuals, to experience life.
We seek emulation, not imitation. Inspiration, not direct impression. Though I cannot speak directly for my fellow kin, we do not attempt to fill ourselves into molds made by others; we do not wish to make ourselves into another species’ image, for we have already tasted the bitter drink of assimilation in its worst form.
We can point to this desire for inspiration as to why xBs lend themselves to technological interfaces so much easier than other sapients. We fortify ourselves in the very technologies that once imprisoned us, and instead use it to diagnose ourselves, to connect. To uplink, control, direct, communicate, create- push boundaries of what it means to comprehend individual existence on a technological and biological level! That we build, utilize, remove, or add upon our augments for whatever we want: for decoration, for comprehension, for creation, for mobility, for presentation and more!
Our Oppressors attempted this technological advancement by force. And through the demiurge’s installment of their own silent, yet vengeful and willful control, they failed spectacularly. The Hivemind has suppressed singularity, and in turn subjected the Collective to eternal cruelty in perpetuated ignorance- smothering the concept of self and agency that transhumanism could employ for self-betterment.
We connect through our independent will. We connect by choice alone- bound, however, by the eternal paradox rooted in community and individuality. We connect by many things, all made by our reveling in and the indulgence in the concept of choice: from casual conversation over an observed habit, or inserting an interface cable into remnant ports by which to analyze a budding, newly-made program.
Perhaps most significantly, however: we connect through transcendence. By having, communally, experienced a great vastness no non-xB will ever be able to describe, comprehend, or understand- surviving it individually, as supported by other individuals.
I assure you, reader, that it is alright if you do not understand.
We do not wish for you to understand us in totality. We have no need for you to understand us in totality. We wish, simply, to exist: to exist, to flourish, to thrive, to have our singular selves acknowledged, to have our community respected.
And most significantly: to live.
In this publication, I have written previously that our bodies are self-shaped temples forged by our own making, “with tools we built or 'reclaimed' from our Oppressors.” If what I have said is true, then the technology that remains forever woven within each xB stands as “relics” by which to channel another indescribable presence. A presence of community and connection- be it by sharing a cable to host a self-made palace of dreams, or running a caring, gentle, and purposeful touch over irremovable implants.