Mind transfer or identity transfer is a storytelling device seen in a variety of science fiction and supernatural fiction, in which one's consciousness is transferred into another body.Identity Transfer, In: The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction A "bidirectional" mind transfer is variously called body swap, mind swap, or identity exchange.Identity Exchange, In: The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction
The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction distinguishes the following mechanisms of identity transfer: Transfer of the personality to another body akin to mind uploading into computer Brain transplant Aliens taking over human bodies Shared identity, whereby the host body accepts another's mind
Body hopping is a trope wherein an entity inhabits a sequence of different bodies.Martin, Adrian. "Body Hopping: A Thought Experiment." Journal of Asia-Pacific Pop Culture 5.1 (2020): 7-22.
Early occurrences of mind transfer include The Year 4338: Petersburg Letters (Vladimir Odoyevsky, 1835), in which mind transfer is but a plot trick to travel into the future,Cornwell, Neil, Vladimir Odoevsky and romantic poetics: collected essays, London, England: Berghahn Books, 1998. and "Exchanging Their Souls" (Edward Page Mitchell, 1877), where it is used as a "wonderful cure" for a "Russian Prince Michalskovich".Collected Stories by Edward Page Mitchell
See also Human possession in science fiction Reincarnation Spirit possession Walk-in (concept)
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