Right now there’s only one sort of human. The future may differ. Transhumanism is happening, humans are being augmented with technology, widening the gulf between old and new. Mind-machine interfaces are being developed. Humans may link to the internet or each other, improve their physical abilities, work around diseases and disabilities.

Opportunity

Technology lets us access differing environments. Colonies can be built on the moon, Mars or asteroids, and will differ from those on Earth. Differing living conditions may drive transhumanist technologies; people would have reason to develop abilities such as radiation resistance or augmented vision. If you depend on technology, seeing local magnetic fields may prove useful.

 

Environmental changes and an ability to change ourselves may alter our view of normality and nature. I talked on science fiction and disability at the 2017 Eastercon conference, bringing up NASA’s Skylab missions. Astronauts roamed a large space in zero g, one astronaut said his legs slowed him. A disability on Earth becomes an advantage in orbit.

 

Diversity of both environment and humans can create cultural diversity. Imagine a climate where you can roll out of bed in any season and pluck fruit. Contrast this with an environment where barren winter months mean food must be stored during summer. The two cultures will vary, the need to plan will colour society, creating new norms. Now consider a nation where life depends on technology. The need to prepare, the need to expect disaster, to have skilled workers will affect those future societies.

 

Space born trans humans may see technology differently. Work will change, along with education, leisure, the arts. Standard humans may only play a limited role in space colonisation, our space born descendants will seem alien to us.

 

Problems will occur. There’s a risk of isolation, of one base seeming alien, even threatening to others. Social inequality may become intense, even communication may become difficult. Off world bases could be vulnerable to violence and sabotage. However, it may prove impossible to stop humans augmenting themselves, our best course may lie in handling the problems directly, rather than attempting to freeze research.

 

Ultimately, diversity is good. If you only hear opinions from people like yourself, you may miss the dissenting voice which sees the problem, or new ways of problem solving. New habitations, new types of human will help create new thinking styles, building a richer palette of possible opinion and viewpoints. So long as communications stay open, so long as differences do not hinder mutual understanding, transhumanism and space colonisation offer major opportunities for new experiences and new paths to understanding.