Hi Lynne, apologies for the gobbledegook in advance. Unless you read a lot of science fiction most of these ideas will be new, because text SF is about a decade behind visual SF.

A transhuman is the lead-up to a Singularity which in turn creates a thing called "posthuman". It's a transitional entity; simply that.

A Singularity is a bit more diffucult to describe. Depending on whether it is a strong or weak version Singularity, would give rise to posthuman forms that are god-like (which I personally find dodgy, even psychopathic perhaps) or to posthuman forms that are stewards and guardians of human systems (the notion I strongly favor and prefer), much like the modern notion of Gaia.

Imagine, if you will, a group of strong, wise, powerful dominatrixes, intermeshed with every human system, able to predict consequence and behavior with uncanny quickness; imagine beings many orders of complexity MORE intelligent than humans can imagine being, beings whose entire purpose in existence is stewardship and guardianship and the steerage of life towards the optimal good.

These are the kind of beings who would impose population controls on humans wisely and humanely.

Problem is, in order for this kind of singularity to occur, we need transhumans about to design the things!

And THAT is what a transhuman is... by definition a transitional form towards a Singularity. Their function is to disrupt. They are described in veiled forms through superheroes, and in less veiled forms now through the TV show "The 4400", which gives a rather strong version of transhumanism as mutation imposed from the future backwards.

The version of transhumanism I prefer is a choice one makes to become a living bridge into the future. It is a deliberate conscious thing for me. But that's just my take on it. I like to imagine transhumanists try to minimise the disruption their presence causes the world by compassion... but I can dream on there! In another century perhaps.

Peace,

Paul Bard.