Animal Uplift

Uplifting is the scientific practice of boosting a non-sapient species to intelligence, creating minds where there were none before. A being created in this way is termed an uplift.

History

The origins of uplift science is lost to the sands of time. It is known that ancient humans were the only species of obligate tool-using sapients on Terra until the advent of biotech before the Meteor War. Some of these species managed to establish themselves on extrasolar colonies and build up their own societies.

Process

Uplift is usually attempted on a species already considered somewhat smart, for instance showing tool use or exhibiting complex social structures. The process is twofold: first, the species must be given a brain capable of intelligence, and second, their bodyplan must be modified so they can use it. These secondary modifications usually include a resized skull to hold a much larger brain, and some form of manipulator limbs (such as turning paws into hands). Traits from multiple species can also be mixed to create an entirely new being. The first generation of a new uplifted species is usually birthed from artificial gestators.

While an ancient and finely-tuned practice, it is not completely accurate or failure-proof. Unexpected genetic interactions can cause death in utero, or intelligence enhancement can fail and leave entire generations mentally disabled for life. Even if everything works according to plan, problems can emerge decades later as the first individuals mature and age. Ethical uplift, if such a thing is possible, cannot be rushed.

Legality and Morality

Many governments outlaw uplift and many organizations condemn it based on moral principles (like the possibility of creating artificial slave races) or the aforementioned chance of grave failure. Still, this does not stop sufficiently determined clandestine projects. Uplifts can also face discrimination and bigotry, though the modern law of the Unified Era is that individual uplifts are not responsible for any unethical acts in their creation and must be given the same civil rights as all other people.

Uplift Culture

Newly-uplifted species are in a curious position since they have no native culture of their own and the wider one they are born into belongs to a different species and thus is likely unsuited for them in many respects. The cultures which emerge come about through a combination of natural psychological tendencies and deliberate creation.

The lack of an endogenous culture can be psychologically distressing to members of newly-uplifted species, they may wonder about what exactly they are and where their place in the universe is. Some uplifts come to resent their creators, others seek to imitate them, while still others become haughty and glad they weren't born as a crude un-optimized human.