Somaalien

Somaalien is a term used in speculative fiction and theoretical discourse to describe beings that integrate alien biological elements into a human body, creating a hybridity of somatic and extraterrestrial traits. The word is a portmanteau of soma, from the Greek for body, and alien. It is not a scientifically recognized category; rather, it functions as a conceptual or narrative device.

In fiction and thought experiments, somaaliens may involve various forms of integration, such as alien-derived tissues that influence physiology, altered sensory perception, or neural interfaces that bridge human and non-human nervous systems. Authors and analysts use such scenarios to explore questions of identity, agency, consent, and the ethics of bodily modification, as well as the social and political implications of encounters with non-human life.

Scientific status and critique: somaalien is typically treated as a speculative construct rather than an empirical finding. Its use highlights themes central to posthumanism and biopolitics, including how bodies can be redesigned, owned, or controlled, and what counts as human when non-human elements are embedded in the soma.

See also: xenobiology, chimerism, transhumanism, posthumanism, hybridity, bioethics.