Our ancient ancestors were often generous in deeming things alive. But in the age of science, we make a careful distinction. Hyperlife is a particular type of vivisystem endowed with integrity, robustness, and cohesiveness-a strong vivisystem rather than a lax one. A rain forest and a periwinkle, an electronic network and a servomechanism, SimCity and New York City, all possess degrees of hyperlife. Hyperlife is my word for that class of life that includes both the AIDS virus and the Michelangelo computer virus.
Biological life is only one species of hyperlife.
A telephone network is another species. A bullfrog is chock-full of hyperlife. The Biosphere 2 project in Arizona swarms with hyperlife, as do Tierra, and Terminator 2. Someday hyperlife will blossom in automobiles, buildings, TVs, and test tubes. Water striders will forever retain certain characteristics unique to carbon-based life.