No neex to be sorry about blah blah blahing. It's a core concept of transhumanism. Not just the effects on physical or mental capabilities but the questions regarding society as well. How many of us say we would never consider leaving the people around us for dreams or ideals, but only because we are never confronted with such an option?

At the very least, your mulling shows a greater depth of character than often seen. It may not be much, but I applaud it.

Indeed.

On the contrary, apologizing for not blah-blahing in the future may be necessary, if you have something like this for us to chew on.

In the inverse of the above, a lot of people consider stringent idealism to be a kind of addiction; anything that furthers their ideals is "worth it", however noble or ignoble the goal in question is. Once you've accepted that viewpoint, a lot of hopeless idealists' actions make a lot more sense. It's said about drug addicts, for instance, that they're like a boat speeding through a placid lake. They're getting smooth sailing, everything looks okay to them; it's only once you see the chaos their wake is causing that you realize something's wrong, all their family and friends and relationships churned and ruined in their pursuit.

How your relationships change, both with your loved ones, humanity at large, and with the various aspects of your own psyche, is one of the most interesting aspects of transformation/transhumanism.

What did they expect when they underwent this metamorphosis, and what did they actually get? Questions like that make it a really interesting subject, it lets you explore both what it means to be human and study the psychology of the character in question.

I find it all fascinating, keep up the story if you can!

I always find it fascinating to see more aspects of a transformation beyond the change itself, like how it changes the person's life and how they do things afterwards. It can make for some really interesting stories when done right, and some nice character growth.
Something I've been trying to do with one of my characters, Blue Ribbon, is her dealing with a change she never wanted. She had no intention of being turned into a blue bovine (or a female one at that...), but to me the interesting part about her character is figuring out how she copes with it. How it'll change her interactions with people she knew, and people she's meeting as a result of the change.

Like I said, just rather interesting stuff to delve into, and I don't see it done enough.

I dig it.

This is the kind thing that's been front and centre in my transformation fantasy hind brain ever since I was a kid fantasising about TMNT type stuff.

Mmm... There are certain things that would make this life hard to leave behind, but I think there are also certain situations ideal enough for me to make such a big leap...

If you look at humans as a society we are often making life-shaping decisions that have the potential to draw admiration or disdain from those we care about. Lately I've been fascinated by the inner transformations of some of my closest friends, whom I've known for over a decade, as they make choices about what city/state to live in and what kind of profession to pursue. The experiences that result from their decisions will continue to change them forever. It's different from a physical transformation in that they can still walk around in public without attracting stares and gaping mouths, but the change in confidence is comparable, I think. There will be people in their lives that don't understand why they want to do the jobs they want to do, or live far away. But once they made their decisions, they became more proud of themselves as assertive beings, in control and able to achieve their dreams, much as some of your TF subjects have been happily shaped into the forms they've always desired.

It's a very realistic consequence. Out in the real world, lives change very drastically when someone comes 'out' - be it as gay, religious, atheist, with disease or condition, transsexual, or even just changing your hair color.

Maybe some day we'll attach less importance (and have more technology) to make such parts of our identity more fluid, or optional.

(I have a funny anecdote about my SO with pink hair being harassed for her hair color by a black woman who had bleach blond hair. "It's not Halloween, you know!" started her squawking while we were in line for the movie.)

I'll confess to being a raging transhumanist. Better-faster-stronger-smarter and maybe even more moral if things go really well, the whole nine yards.

This sort of introspection and philosophy stuff is really the best part of TF-anything, in my opinion. I would harbor doubts, and entertain second thoughts, and fear regrets and rejection right up to the point of no return and for a long time after, but I'm convinced that I would make the same choice as Katherine would with the same inevitability - I'd just take longer about it than she would. Given the appropriate resources, I'd probably push it further than she did, too - would she shy back at learning to speak radio, for example? At replacing a quarter of her blood with nanomachines so she could run a marathon while holding her breath?

I am fairly convinced of humanity-at-large's biophilia, but I can't really imagine most people being willing to push other serious changes, even ones that don't directly conflict with remaining life-as-we-know-it.

I've explored a lot of similar themes in stuff I've written, but I've been much more oblique about it and I can't manage to draw this stuff to save my life (well, with one exception to date). I really regret that, because this chunk of concepts is such a ridiculously interesting set to sit down and think about.

It's amazing how a simple thought could spurn such insightful comments, I guess thats what happens when you're famous and have alot of watchers and friends.

That's interesting.

I'm imagining for some it's similar to moving away and then later returning to the old stomping grounds. You get your friends together--the ones who are still around. You talk about how things will be the same, you plan out what to do that day. You try to recreate the good times.

But those friends sort of bare witness to the ways you've changed. And you start to see things in your friends that are unfamiliar. You all continue the pursuit for the same relationship you always had, but both sides have that feeling... there's a spark missing. Nobody wants to admit it's gone. You part, and everyone tells themselves that it really was just like old times. Yet nobody calls to do it again sometime--not you, not them. You let yourself forget.

I feel too intimidated by the previous comments to drop off a comment. But if I do, I'd say "Medic!!!" :)