We've seen Sookie rescue her vampire boyfriend Bill on the brink of death, only to have him turn on her and in his weakened state uncontrollably feed on her. When she awakes from her coma it seems as though their relationship may finally have reached an end, but of course theirs isn't the most twisted one around. That distinction perhaps falls on the werewolf couple Alcide and Debbie. After forsaking Alcide for another werewolf and an addiction to vampire blood, a confrontation forces Alcide to kill Debbie's mate to save Bill and Sookie. Debbie sets out on a path of revenge to destroy all that Alcide loves, and despite this a part of Alcide still seems to love her.

Bill doesn't leave Sookie simply because of the danger he poses her. Bill can't provide her with children, someone to grow old with, or the time in the sunlight she deserves. He loves Sookie, which is why he has to let her go. Similarly, Jessica has abandoned her relationship with Hoyt, because he's so good and sweet that she feels he deserves to be with someone who deserves him.

Will relationships between humans enhanced with biotech, nanotech, or neurotech and the unenhanced be as fraught with problems? It's hard to imagine that transhumans would be imbued with the same drive for blood as vampires, but certainly any great power can be dangerous if not wielded properly, even with the best of intentions. There are pitfalls we need to guard against, but it's important to remember the upsides that make it all worth attempting.

While fortunately most relationships today are not as dysfunctional as those illustrated in True Blood, many people have to deal with domestic violence as Crystal seems to. There are a variety of ways emerging technologies could help combat such problems, for instance by eliminating the strength differential between men and women, but what about the rest of us? Do our relationships stand to benefit from human enhancement, or does it threaten our individuality?

Some couples seem resigned to live with each other's flaws, but their relationship has become so stagnant that it brings to mind this exchange from the Simpsons :

Marge: "Women will tell you that you're a fool to think you can change a man, but those women are quitters! When I first met your father, he was loud, crude, and piggish....But I worked hard on him, and now he's a whole new person."

Lisa: "Mom...??"

Technology gives us a real opportunity to change ourselves. Some people would rather love and be loved not in spite of, but because of their flaws. That's fine, that's their choice. But I would rather be loved for who I aspire to be, and take part in relationships where the partners help each other achieve and become better persons.

Sookie comments that if she weren't so stupid, she'd have fallen in love with someone like Alcide, and he says the same about her. By the end of the episode though, she and Bill look like they're back together. Unfortunately, even the three thousand year old Russell doesn't seem to have made much progress in his relationships, still bickering with his lover Talbot and marrying Queen Sophie-Anne for political reasons. But it's not just romantic relationships where things are dark. Worse yet is the Merlotte family, which took advantage of their shapeshifter son Tommy by putting him into dog fights.

The human father Joe Lee bore the primary responsibility for this, but his shifter mother, who used to endure the same treatment, was also complicit. Apparently, family love wasn't strong enough to avoid taking advantage of the freakish nature of shifters. Would transhumans similarly face discrimination?

That's a very really danger. We still have a long way to go combating discrimination even on the basis of traits such as sex, race, and sexual orientation. Race doesn't have the genetic basis that is often assumed, but what if it did? What if races had natural differences in athletic ability or IQ? As much controversy as race and IQ generate, it shouldn't matter. As Skepdic says, referencing Peter Singer, higher IQ would not justify racism, nor would it justify "any other kind of -ism, for that matter." But how can we prepare ourselves for NBIC tech that would create genuine differences in such traits, whether by enhancing IQ, compassion, strength, or self-control?

Self-control is another trait that is in short supply in True Blood. As Sookie has learned more about herself and her mental powers beyond telepathy, she recognizes she isn't so very different from Bill. What she can do with her brain is "every bit as deadly as Bill's fangs," and she knows "what it's like to be afraid of my own body, to not be sure what it's gonna do next." She's killed, but it's her ability to read minds that can make people uncomfortable around her.

When Debbie's quest for revenge brings her to Sookie's house, Debbie says to her:

"You fuck vampires and werewolves because your own kind rejects you, they know you're nothing but a freak!"

Debbie isn't quite right, despite her paranoia Sookie hasn't been sleeping with Alcide and her attraction to Bill has more to do with not having to hear his thoughts. But it's certainly difficult for all of the non-humans in True Blood to find acceptance, whether they have enhanced strength, or the capability to regenerate body parts, change form, or use their brain in unique ways. We need a framework of rights and respect that instead of being based on tolerating surface differences, is based on embracing deep neurodiversity and greatly differing physical capabilities.

Far from threatening individuality, transhumanism should be seen as highlighting the need for such a framework and a real acceptance of individuality.