Not as far as you might think--maybe even less than the average human. We're one mind with the other cells that make a body, naturally, but even that can scatter in a way that humans can't. If we're cut up or blown up then it depends entirely on the decisions of the pieces how much forms up again, and if the individual cells are in too much danger they'll just up and leave.

I'm not part of a hive mind, I am the hive mind. Any of my cells could survive on its own for far longer than yours could. *He winces. Thinking about what it would take for him to willingly dissolve is unpleasant.* The dog was the parent-colony to mine, but we don't share a mind any more than you do with your parents. We'd have to combine physically to read each others' thoughts.

It's part of why the situation back home was just as unpleasant for us as for anyone else--there were at least two infection vectors involved, so there was no way for us to know who to trust either. Norris an me knew each other because we were both from the dog's line, but then Mac went and dragged in a burned Thing as well.