5. Hive and Distributed Mind

Telepathy and joint consciousness have long been a feature in SF stories. Here, we sample several visions and see how cognitive theory and brain-brain communication technology relate to the scope and plausibility of these fictional portrayals. One dimension of variation here is between possession and mind manipulation on the one hand, and an equitable and beneficent sharing of consciousness on the other. The former is exemplified in Aldiss’s power-hungry fungus, the latter in Sturgeon’s vision of a superhuman Gestalt where the whole is more than the sum of its parts, and the moral conscience is the capstone.