History Main / TransHumanAliens

* In ''Anime/GargantiaOnTheVerdurousPlanet''[[spoiler: the Hideauze are revealed to be this. They are descendants from humans who volunteered themselves to be part of genetic experiments that would allow the human body to survive the harshness of space in search of a new homeworld to escape an Earth going through global cooling. That group, known as the Evolvers, were opposed by other humans who formed the Continental Union, the forebear of the Galactic Alliance. They wanted to escape Earth as well, but as humans, and relied on technology more than genetics. This contradicts everything Ledo learned about the Hideauze being a hostile alien force that wanted to wipe out humanity.]]

* In ''Anime/{{Macross}}'', [[spoiler: the Protoculture, and arguably the Zentradi, as the Protoculture were more or less advanced humans who created the Zentradi to fight for them. Could be inverted, since the Protoculture either engineered or at least biologically altered humanity's ancestors, making humans the "Trans-Protoculture" aliens.]]

Compare/contrast with HumanAllAlong and HumanSubspecies. Not to be confused with {{Ultraterrestrials}}. See also NoTranshumanismAllowed and {{Transhuman}}.

* In M.C.A. Hogarth's ''Literature/ParadoxUniverse'' the Pelted are multiple races of genetically engineered [[PettingZooPeople human-animal hybrids]] created as part of "Project Homefront".

* In ''WesternAnimation/StarVsTheForcesOfEvil'', mewmans are introduced as HumanAliens from another dimension, having a near-identical appearance but a fair amount of BizarreAlienBiology that distinguishes them. The last season reveals that they're actually descended from humans, and exposure to magic is what led to their different biology.

* Creator/IsaacAsimov's Solarians eventually genetically re-engineered themselves into a race of hermaphrodites with psychic powers in the name of their world's social code, opposing any physical contact between human beings.

* The Omar in ''VideoGame/DeusExInvisibleWar''.

-->--'''A Cyberman''', ''Series/DoctorWho'', "The Tenth Planet"

* The Downstreamers from Creator/StephenBaxter's ''Literature/ManifoldTime'' and ''Literature/ManifoldOrigin'' books are descendants of the human species from the very end of the Universe, after the Heat Death. Since much or all of the material universe has disappeared in their time, they function as disembodied minds hosted in a computational sub-stratum of the Universe itself, where they can survive indefinitely. This allows them to access entire galaxies' worth of energy and complete control over space and time. [[BlessedWithSuck It doesn't mean they enjoy it]], however.
* ''Literature/TheTimeMachine'' is an early example with the Morlocks and Eloi as future humans (the result of respectively factory workers and privileged elites developing into separate species) and neither presenting that pleasant an outcome for the human race. The Morlocks are subterranean monsters with the intellect to operate machinery, the Eloi are beautiful creatures with low intelligence who live pampered lives. The latter is maintained by the former for food.
* ''Literature/ManAfterMan'' is all about this in a heavily HumansAreBastards way. Much of the book is about various genetically engineered species of humans all heavily dehumanized (and [[CripplingOverspecialization cripplingly overspecialized]] to boot). The book ends with an alien species coming to earth and destroying all life on land. They are the evolved remnants of the humans who went into space at the beginning of the book.

* ''The Literature/BelisariusSeries'' by Creator/DavidDrake and Creator/EricFlint features in its backstory two opposing factions in a far-future war. One faction is made up of Transhuman Aliens, humans evolved or genetically engineered to live on alien worlds, some even evolving into gigantic {{Space Whale}}s. Others scuttle about on crab-like legs that are modified ribs. The opposing faction fancies themselves the original, pure-blood humans, and [[FantasticRacism wants to wipe out]] all the evolved and engineered subspecies of humanity. Of course, this far in the future, they aren't recognizably human any more, either.
** More precisely, the [[SpaceWhale Great Ones]] are so different as to be made of non-organic crystals and forcefields, but think like human beings; whereas the New Gods resemble impossibly perfect humans, but have lost all compassion for those not like themsleves to the point where they seem less human than the Great Ones. The ideology of the conflict is whether humanity should be defined by your mind or by your biology. This is why one faction is trying to alter the past into a meritocratic society, and the other into a caste-based eugenic society.

* Several ''Franchise/StarTrek'' ExpandedUniverse novels have the crew meeting "aliens" who turn out to be heavily modified humans.
* The Homo Ludens in the Creator/StrugatskyBrothers ''Literature/TheTimeWanderers'' are essentially [[spoiler:a select group of human beings that have [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence ascended to a higher level of existence]] and left the Earth, having lost all interest in their old lives, friends and relatives, but also having promised to defend their lesser brethren if need be. They're benign, just rather detached]].

* In ''[[Creator/PoulAnderson The Avatar]]'', [[spoiler:the Others seen to fit this trope, and actually invite Caitlín to become one of them.]]
* Lots and lots in Creator/AlastairReynolds works, notably ''Literature/RevelationSpace''. The Ultras vary from human-seeming to animated works of art; the Skyjacks are permanently adapted for life in space; the Stoners are heavily augmented humans who go so far as swapping sexes and appearances the way most people choose hairstyles - Zebra, in Chasm City, has horselike legs, zebra stripe skin pigmentation, a mohawk that runs all the way down her spine, horselike ''eyes'', and [[GenderBender hasn't always been female]]. Not that any of that gives the hero a moment's pause before bedding her. In Zima Blue, outside of the Revelation Space universe, an artist who appears to be a transhuman turns out to be [[spoiler:a pool-cleaning robot who developed sentience and modified itself repeatedly over the centuries.]]
** Even more so in ''Literature/HouseOfSuns'', where we have a galaxy of staggeringly diverse beings, from sea-life to giant space-dwellers to semi-sentient weather, all of which are in fact evolved or modified human stock. The only reason the central characters are remotely recognizable as human comes of their spending the eons since the original diaspora flitting around at relativistic speeds and thus have passed much less subjective time in the meanwhile.
* In Creator/JackVance's 1962 story, ''Literature/TheDragonMasters'', a human colony is plagued by alien kidnappers. After fighting back and taking captives, the story shifts ahead many years, and the captive aliens have been bred into [[OurDragonsAreDifferent Dragons of many breeds with many purposes]]. When the alien slavers return, it's revealed that they have [[BodyHorror done the same with their human captives.]]
* In Steve Alten's ''Phobos: Mayan Fear'', the grey aliens held captive in Area 51 turn to be transhumans from the future, [[spoiler:specifically the ancient Mayans leaded by Chilam Balam through the wormhole created in the past by the present CERN.]]

* In ''Diplomatic Act'', a book co-written by Creator/WilliamHKeithJr and ''Series/Babylon5'' actor Peter Jurasik, TheGreys ("Homus" is their real name) turn out to be humanity's descendants from the future.

** Series wide, the human members of [[YouWillBeAssimilated the Borg]] could qualify. The vast majority of Borg drones seen seem to be human, including the various Borg Queens. That said, this is a series famous for its HumanAliens, so they could just be aliens that look a lot like humans.
*** Kes, an ascended Ocampa, counts

* Nietzscheans and the Castalian fish-people from ''Series/{{Andromeda}}''. Nietzscheans are humans genetically engineered to be superior {{Ubermensch}}en by a literal NietzscheWannabe MadScientist a thousand years or so before the events of the series. They can eat almost anything organic, have nanobot-enhanced immune systems, and [[SpikesOfDoom bone spikes]] growing out of their forearms (in addition to the usual SuperStrength and other enhanced physical abilities). The Castalians are humans genetically engineered with gills to live underwater and breathe water rather than air. They've got nifty water-tank backpacks with tubes to their neck gills for when they have to come out of the water to meet others. Nietzscheans are pretty much neutral, Castalians generally fairly good guys, although they've done some nasty things to survive in the CrapsackWorld after the fall of the [[TheFederation the Commonwealth]].

* In M.C.A. Hogarth's ''Literature/ParadoxUniverse''
** The Pelted are multiple races of genetically engineered [[PettingZooPeople human-animal hybrids]] created as part of "Project Homefront".

** The Pelted are multiple races of genetically engineered [[PettingZooPeople human-animal hybrids]] created as part of "Project Homefront", an attempt to seed the universe with "friendly aliens". Unfortunately the project was racked with scandals as the corporations contracted for the project abused the Pelted, and after the GenerationShips left the Solar System's economy was wrecked by a war between Earth and Mars. Humanity did not take it well when their "children" came back on FTL ships with matter replicators and teleporters.
** Before FirstContact with true aliens the Pelted attempted their own version of Project Homefront with the third generation Pelted, which they attempted to give fabricated cultures and even false memories to. All three species uncovered the ruse, no hard feelings though. The Glaseah rejected their fabricated culture and assimilated into the Alliance, the Ciracaana split between those who wanted to join the Alliance and those who preferred a nomadic tribal life, and the Phoenixes created their own inscrutable culture.
** [[spoiler: The [[SpaceElves Eldritch]] on the other hand keep their human ancestry a closely guarded secret, most of the Alliance believes them to be true aliens, despite looking considerably more human than most Pelted.]]

* The Helghast from ''VideoGame/{{Killzone}}'' are the descendants from a group of exiles who modified themselves to survive their DeathWorld home planet. Due to this, they can't breathe regular air any more, and have very prominent [[GasMaskMooks gas masks on their armor.

* Implied by [[http://www.futuretimeline.net/the-far-future.htm#superhuman FutureTimeline.net]], at least in the Far Future [[http://www.futuretimeline.net/beyond.htm#1000000 section]].

* The beings responsible for creating the wormhole in the movie ''Film/{{Interstellar}}'' are speculated to be simply humans from the extremely distant future, who, like the Downstreamers in ''Literature/ManifoldTime'' have evolved to exist in strange 5-dimensional space and can thus travel through time as though it were a physical dimension, and influence the material Universe via gravitational alterations[[spoiler:, much like the "ghost" who directs the protagonist to the hidden NASA base is revealed to simply be ''himself'' from the future, influencing his own past.]]

** More precisely, the [[SpaceWhale Great Ones]] are so different as to be made of non-organic crystals and forcefields, but think like human beings; whereas the New Gods resembe impossibly perfect humans, but have lost all compassion for those not like themsleves to the point where they seem less human than the Great Ones. The ideology of the conflict is whether humanity should be defined by your mind or by your biology. This is why one faction is trying to alter the past into a meritocratic society, and the other into a caste-based eugenic society.

* In ''Anime/{{Macross}}'', [[spoiler: the Protoculture, and arguably the Zentradi, as the Protoculture were more or less advanced humans who created the Zentradi to fight for them. Didn't work so well.]]

* Many, many kinds of TranshumanAliens in ''OrionsArm''. Generally positive in portrayal.

* The many races of Creator/MarvelComics' [[Franchise/{{Micronauts}} Microverse]] are all descended from a [[http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/earthswordinthestar.htm future humanity]] which fled through time, space and dimensions to escape a genocidal war.

* Lunarians from ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'' were humans that moved from earth to the moon in ancient times. They also have the most advanced technology in the series, live on the source of Gensokyo's magic, and include a pair of {{God Mode Sue}}s that systematically defeat many of the main characters.

* ''The Literature/BelisariusSeries'' by DavidDrake and Eric Flint features in its backstory two opposing factions in a far-future war. One faction is made up of Transhuman Aliens, humans evolved or genetically engineered to live on alien worlds, some even evolving into gigantic {{Space Whale}}s. Others scuttle about on crab-like legs that are modified ribs. The opposing faction fancies themselves the original, pure-blood humans, and [[FantasticRacism wants to wipe out]] all the evolved and engineered subspecies of humanity. Of course, this far in the future, they aren't recognizably human any more, either.

* ''Literature/TheTimeMachine'' is an early example with the Morlocks and Eloi as future humans and neither presenting that pleasant an outcome for the species.

* An early ''DragonMagazine'' article for the ''TabletopGame/GammaWorld'' RPG (several editions ago, and [[{{Retcon}} no longer canonical]]) justified the unrealistic physical hardiness of its "pure strain humans" by revealing that they're descended from genetically-engineered superhumans. Untampered humans' descendants are all mutants; "pure strains" only ''think'' they're the original human type because they closely resemble the humans in ancient pictures.

* [[spoiler:The Reapers]] in ''Franchise/MassEffect'', although [[spoiler:they're more along the lines of Trans''alien'' Aliens.]]