>>213878765>>213880305They should take it even further than that.
It should be something that *WAS* an independent being like a human or the 'engineer', but it *HAD TO* integrate with the ship in order to be part of a space-faring species.
And then have some human characters coming to the realization that the factions in their own society that dehumanize their people in this way are going to win. It's 'cosmic horror' and it can also plug directly into the 'corporate horror' angle that they also sometimes explore.