Human-animal hybrids and chimerasParahumans have been referred to as "human-animal hybrids" in a vernacular sense that also encompasses human-animal chimeras. The term parahuman is not used in scientific publications. The term is sometimes used to sensationalize research that involves mixing biological materials from humans and other species. It was used in a National Geographic article to describe an experiment …show more content…
A parahuman created starting from a nonhuman-animal template could be considered a biological uplift, as in the works of David Brin, while a parahuman based more closely on the human form and genome might also be called posthuman or transhuman. The role-playing game Transhuman Space and the related book "GURPS Bio-Tech" use the term parahuman interchangeably with variant human to refer to a wide array of heavily modified racial templates. These range from a "Gilgamesh-Series" resembling normal humans but with increased lifespan; a "Lepus-Series" resembling anthropomorphic rabbits; to a "Tek Rat" described as a mix of human, raccoon, and possum. The television series Dark Angel featured a group of parahumans (referred to in the series as "transgenics") with animal DNA selected to enhance their abilities to serve as supersoldiers. In Chapterhouse: Dune, by Frank Herbert, there is a species called Futar; they are a genetically engineered human/feline hybrid trained to kill the Honored Matres. The TV miniseries First Born dealt with the subject of a geneticist, portrayed by Charles Dance, who created a human-gorilla hybrid. John Scalzi's Old Man's War series also includes parahumans, where elderly "soldiers" are mentally transferred into a force-grown body that, though humanoid, has animal characteristics to help …show more content…
Wells. During the Golden Age of Science Fiction, Cordwainer Smith's parahuman underpeople (humans derived from animal stock) were an important part of his Instrumentality stories. More recently, Caitlín R. Kiernan, who has described herself as a parahumanist,[citation needed] has explored the subject of parahumans in a number of science fiction stories, including The Dry Salvages, "Riding the White Bull", and "Faces in Revolving Souls". John Crowley, in his novel Beasts, centered his plot around lion-human hybrids, with a lone fox-human hybrid acting as a kingmaker. H. P. Lovecraft's short story Facts Concerning the Late Arthur Jermyn and His Family involves the repercussions of the mating of a white explorer and a white she-ape and their having offspring.
Humor authors such as Lewis Carroll in English and Sukumar Ray in Bengali have had parahuman characters in their writings. More recently, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Maximum Ride, Fullmetal Alchemist, and Blue Submarine No. 6 are themed around human-animal