The parasite, whether a terrestrial or alien entity in search of a human “host” body, has from its origins tickled the darkest and most morbid fantasies of science fiction narrative, calling into question the inviolable property of the human body. Jack Finney’s “The Body Snatchers” (1954), also thanks to its various film adaptations, has certainly contributed to the dissemination of the sub-genre focused on the hostile intentions of the parasite as an invasive otherness. But what if a greater contemporary awareness of the body as an experimental machine led us to reconsider parasitism as an opportunity for transhuman enhancement? And what if it could push us further, even to the point of desiring an empathic relationship with the parasite, as if it were a state-of-the-art Tamagotchi? Forced coexistence could be seen from a perspective of mutual convenience in which the parasite becomes a desired host, essential for survival in a changing environment, eventually becoming a friend and confidant. And what if the next evolution were instead a totalizing fusion?
