Blindsight

When an unknown alien intelligence is detected sweeping the cosmos with a powerful signal, humanity dispatches the 'Theseus,' a specialized first-contact vessel, to investigate. Its crew is a collection of augmented, enhanced, and neurologically divergent individuals, each chosen for their unique ability to perceive and process information in ways a 'normal' human cannot. There's a synthesist with a partitioned mind, a biologist who perceives in extended spectra, a pacifist soldier, and a genetically resurrected, highly intelligent 'vampire' hominid as their commander. Tasked with making introductions to an entity that seemingly does not wish to be found, they soon discover that the aliens, known as 'Scramblers,' challenge humanity's most fundamental assumptions about consciousness, intelligence, and the very value of subjective experience. 'Blindsight' plunges into deep philosophical waters, exploring the potential meaninglessness of consciousness and the terrifying possibility that the universe might favor efficient, non-sentient life over our own.