Animal Uplift

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

Among humans, uplifting was first developed during the mid-twenty-first century on Terra, as a consequence of a biotech revolution then in progress. The Ancient American military helped pioneer the process and used it to uplift canids into lupens.

Process

Uplift is usually attempted on a species already considered somewhat smart, for instance showing tool use or exhibiting complex social structures. It is done at the zygote stage, by modifying the genome of a single-celled embryo. 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. For Earth animals, human genes are inserted to catalyze growth of neurons as the uplift develops. Secondary modifications are also inserted to resize their skulls to hold a much larger brain and give them 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 the state of the art has improved much over time, it is not a completely accurate or failsafe process. 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 Stellar Compact is 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.