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What's the in-universe state of gene-research like this?

Miltonian

Miltonian

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Inactive Member
Gooood morning, at least to everyone where I live.

So I just joined and I don't know much about the setting yet, but reading the wiki is a good way to pass time when the coffee you drank to finish that damn assignment is coursing through your system. Anyway, I ran into a little issue. See, the character I have planned is an uplift, as in, a regular animal who has been uplifted to human-level intelligence. The story behind it is that he/she (haven't decided yet) is a 'proof of concept' for easily uplifting native intelligences. So for instance, say that explorers discover a planet abundant in resources yet very toxic to them. This new process would allow them to uplift the local fauna instead of extensive (and destructive) terra-forming.

Now, that is all in the future. The character I have in mind would be an Alpha version of that, just proof that things can be done. I was thinking a dog due to their long history as man's best friend, but other possibilities include dolphins (in Mech suits), otters, apes, and perhaps even a raven. These are all animals that either show innate understanding of humanity and/or the ability to use tools and learn. And, though I don't think this would be a good idea for a character, a sperm whale decked out in a pressure suit and wielding plasma cannons under its fins would be an excellent NPC to have guarding a space station.

My question, then, is this: which corporation/political body is most likely to be doing this sort of genetic research?
 
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Well, it's entirely possible, technologically speaking, in the Star Army universe.

As for a genetics research company, I'm not sure. Ever since PNUgen went under, we've been without a "main" genetics corporation. But I feel like this is something you could probably submit a setting article for fairly easily (it just needs a wiki page about a corporation that says it does things like uplifting). If we get the organization added to the wiki as canon, that's going to blaze a trail for future anthro characters and make it easier for the people who follow in your footsteps.

I guess the main questions, from a business standpoint, are:
  • Why would the creator of these uplifts do this? (For the money?)
  • If it's for money, how is it profitable?
  • If not, who's paying for it and why?
 
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Good questions. And, uh, wow. Didn't expect to hear from the founder so soon. Neat!

Anyway, here we go with your answers, or at least some thoughts on them.

Assuming the creator is a member of the Yamatai Star Empire, one thought I had is that the corporation (which I'll call Eco-Genesis) has a grant to terraform planets in preparation for colonization. In addition to any funding the government gives them, they get a percentage of anything the planet produces for the foreseeable future.

However, terraforming is expensive and even when finished, you need colonists to work the land. The land grant program helps, but the profits would be greater if there were more colonists. Of course, you can't force free citizens to go to some frontier world if they don't want to, but they found a loophole: indigenous species. If they could easily and cheaply uplift local populations, it would be a heavy initial investment but it would both cut the cost of terraforming and create a larger population from which to draw profits. Also, granting sentience to various species is, in their eyes, a charitable act.

So! There you go.
 
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I'm actually working on one with some others right now if you want to check it out here which has a product for gene manipulation you can find here. Both are still WIP but it gives you an idea of what's out there. If you are hesitant to make your own, I can ask the others if we can have animal research, as well, for you.

If you need help making wiki articles, shoot me a pm or you can ask in the chat and someone else will be able to help you out even further. Everyone is here to help!
 
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