  The future of space and ground based telescopes is intimately tied to
technology and algorithm development surrounding wavefront sensing and control.
Only with cutting edge developments and unusual ideas will we be able to build
diffraction limited observatories on the ground that contend with
earth-atmosphere, as well as space-based observatories that sense and control
for optical aberrations and telescope jitter. There exist a variety of
mathematical bases for decomposing wavefront images, including the zonal modal
basis, Zernike polynomials, and Fourier modes. However, previous bases have
neglected the most vital element of astronomical optics: our field is only as
good as the people in it. In this paper we propose a new Many Headed Hydra
Modal Basis (hydra heads) for wavefront decomposition, using physical
representations of the Adaptive Optics community. We find that the first author
makes the best wavefront decomposition, on the order of a correct
reconstruction within $\sim 1\%$ of the original turbulence image. We discuss
engineering implications of the Many Headed Hydra Modal Basis, as applied to
deformable mirror technology and within active and adaptive optics control
loops. Finally, we explore predictive control avenues, by positing that the
first author being the most effective wavefront predicts a successful future
for them as a high contrast imaging scientist.
