My inspiration came from The Matrix Reloaded:
My character was Smith (15th level Red Wizard) with 5 clones of himself (using the Simulacrum Spell) Each had a ring of Telepathic Bonding 'built in'.
Together they were a collective consciousness - they thought and behaved as a single person - just like Smith in The Matrix Reloaded.
The background story was that Simth was looking for the secret to immortality and got inspiration from Mind Flayer colonies - on how the Overmind was a collective consciousness; except that his clones were just that - clones. He sought out ways to make them into real characters (i.e. gain XP, HD, etc.)
Vishnu.