A
group mind,
hive mind,
group ego,
mind coalescence, or
gestalt intelligence in
science fiction is a single,
collective consciousness or
intelligence occupying many bodies or entities. Its use in literature goes back at least as far as
Olaf Stapledon's science fiction novel
Last and First Men (1930). A group mind might be formed by
telepathy, by adding brain-to-brain communication to ordinary individuals, or by some unspecified means. This term may be used interchangeably with "hive mind". A
hive mind is a group mind with almost complete loss (or lack) of individual
identity; most fictional group minds are hives. The concept of the
group or
hive mind is an intelligent version of real-life
superorganisms such as an
ant colony or
beehive, and consequently,
insectoid aliens such as
Zerg and Ceph often have such a mind.