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Uplifting

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Sun, 2008-08-17 13:31

Feldion

Uplifting

While transhumans in this setting will be able to use biotech to create new bodies, or augment the ones they currently occupy, does the setting have any sort of uplifting procedure? Uplifting is the process of 'raising' animal's to human levels of intelligence and sentience, is there any such thing in this setting, and if so are they playable or would they be just a quirk of the setting? Also, what are everyones' thoughts on this?

Sun, 2008-08-17 23:04

GregH

...and bioroids too?

...what Feldion said. Also is there anything like Transhuman Space's "bioroids". Specific classes of human-derived/altered groups that were designed for specific purposes? The space-based cyborg human, the human spliced with animal DNA, the guy with gills, etc? Or is it more along the lines of these bodies existing BUT they are used as special-purpose bodies for resleeved humans and AI? And what is the legal status of such beings?

Mon, 2008-08-18 01:04

kylleran

Yes, yes and yes

As for uplifts, yes there are uplifts. Neo-hominids (chimps, gorillas, and orangutan), avians (African Gray parrots and ravens), and Octopi. And a lot of morphs are specially tailored for certain environments. A good example would be Ruster morphs which are genetically modded to deal with the thin atmosphere and biting cold temps on a partially terraformed Mars. But we're operating off the assumption that most morphs you're likely to use are for the most common tasks. Custom built morphs are certainly possible but very expensive. Users are far more likely to take a 'stock' body and modify it with cyber/bio/nanoware. As for legal status it's the Ego (personality) that inhabits that body that possesses legal rights, not the body itself. And the right to a body is certainly not a universal right in EP.

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Brian Cross
Posthuman Studios

Mon, 2008-08-18 09:37

Imago

uplifting

No dolphins ;) ?^^ ... Can uplifted animals and humans change bodies at will? Could imagine this would be a bit of a problem for the completely different sensorics...

Mon, 2008-08-18 22:50

GregH

"Next?"

So there are some engineered species that are their own entities? Not just specific models of bodies? The neo-hominid and avain bring to mind Michael Criton's novel "Next", fun read if you have not read it yet. Very interesting story with transgenic parrots and simians getting the better of their "masters".

Sat, 2008-08-23 03:09

Tzeentch

What role do uplifted animals

What role do uplifted animals serve? A way of letting certain species survive the eco-apocolypse? Off-hand they don't seem to make a lot of sense when you can just create a custom organisim ran by a nonsapient AI and not worry about the incredible complexity of upgrading intelligence in an animal.

Mon, 2008-10-27 00:50

RobBoyle

There are some transhumanists

There are some transhumanists who think that uplifting other animal species to sapience is an ethical obligation, in order to improve their quality of life (see http://jetpress.org/v18/dvorsky.htm). Companionship and understanding the nature and process of intellectual development would be other key reasons. There are also organisms in EP that are genetically engineered and implanted with a cyberbrain to effectively be an AI-piloted biological robot.

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Rob Boyle :: Posthuman Studios

Mon, 2008-10-27 00:53

RobBoyle

There will be neo-dolphins

There will be neo-dolphins too, but we're not including them in the main book as undersea locales are rare and they're not as practical as other uplifts. Yes, humans and uplifted animals may resleeve into each others' bodies. There's been some research that indicates that human brains adapt to new sensory inputs quite easily, actually. Our brains are wired for pattern recognition.

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Rob Boyle :: Posthuman Studios

Tue, 2009-04-21 00:42

GregH

Squid?

Side thought here... did squid make the list for uplifting as well? I had this crazy thought of an infomorphed ex-giant squid pilot that goes by the name of "Scylla"...

Tue, 2009-04-28 19:58

#10

RobBoyle

No, the only animals we've

No, the only animals we've noted as uplifted so far are gorillas, chimps, orangutans, octopi, ravens, gray parrots, dolphin, and whales. Elephants would probably have made the list, but it's unlikely any survived the Fall. There are numerous other animals that have been modified into "smart animals," which are sometimes used as cheap labor (for example, smart rats keep habitats clear of litter and debris). Squid (and cuttlefish) seem to be comparable to octopi intelligence-wise, so there has likely been some work done into uplifting them. One of the follow-up sourcebooks will have a section on Uplifts, and will feature some additional uplift/morph character possibilities.

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Rob Boyle :: Posthuman Studios

Thu, 2010-02-04 19:05

#11

humapuma

Just some thoughts....

...but what would the psychology of uplifts be like? Are they very close to human as a result of the Uplifting process (ie force 'evolving' animal intelligence using human patterns and templates), or completely different due to their origins? Or a bit of both? Just wondering: I'm neither an expert on psychology or pretending to be a fish! (this is joke - not sarcasm)

Tue, 2010-02-23 07:44

#12

nick012000 nick012000's picture

Re: Uplifting

Out of curiosity, Rob, you say that there'll be a book on Uplifts; will this book contain rules for the Uplifting process? Also, will it contain any information on attempts to uplift suitable xenofauna species that transhumanity discovered through the Pandora Gates? Would uplifted xenofauna count as xenomorphs, uplifts, or both?

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+1 r-Rep , +1 @-rep