Imagine a space opera set in an alternate reality wherein transhumanism did not deliver a utopia of evolved humanity. Rather, it further fractured humanity. Why? Competing ideas about what humans should "evolve" into.
Life discovered on other planets offered new DNA and new, potentially symbiotic microbes. Also, it's much easier to transform people than to transform planets.
One underestimated problem with posthumanism:
- Would posthumans praise, curse, or even forget their progenitors?
Then humans met real aliens... And humanity's manifest destiny got challenged.
Being an un-citizen, Danatra Ong was protected under semi-sentient, animal cruelty laws. Anything she needed to survival in reasonable comfort and health was free for the taking. (For instance: would you arrest a cute monkey for "stealing" your hamburger? Or would you post photos of it on social media because it's so funny and adorable?)
Note: not all "exiles" live elsewhere.