Some sci-fi concepts make for interesting jumping-off points when theorising about alien life. Perhaps there are aliens that have evolved or learned how to exploit physics as-yet unknown to us, giving them abilities akin to magic. Entities/shards from Worm come to mind.
How about purely informational beings with no physical body. Could they be considered 'alive?'. We can already simulate the nervous system of a nematode (http://openworm.org/), what if you scale that up to a fruit fly? Or an octopus? If it's 'thinking' in exactly the same way as a flesh-and-blood creature, is it conscious? Sapient? Sentient?
How about purely informational beings with no physical body. Could they be considered 'alive?'. We can already simulate the nervous system of a nematode (http://openworm.org/), what if you scale that up to a fruit fly? Or an octopus? If it's 'thinking' in exactly the same way as a flesh-and-blood creature, is it conscious? Sapient? Sentient?