Uplift universe

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The Uplift universe is the setting for various novels and short stories by David Brin from the Uplift cycle. It got its name from the practice of lifting common in the Five Galaxies.

Works

  • 1. Uplift trilogy
    • Sonnentaucher ( Sundiver ), Heyne 1995
    • Star Flood ( Startide Rising ), Heyne 1993
    • Development War ( The Uplift War ), Heyne 1992
  • 2. Uplift trilogy (The American editions were split into two volumes for the German market)
    • Brightness Reef
      • Star Reef , Goldmann 1997
      • Stranger of the Five Galaxies , Goldmann 1997
    • Infinity's Shore
      • The Shore of Infinity , Goldmann 1998
      • The message of the dolphins , Goldmann 1998
    • Heaven's Reach
      • Ring of the Suns , Goldmann 1999
      • At the border of eternity , Goldmann 1999
  • Other
    • Contacting Aliens: An Illustrated Guide To David Brin's Uplift Universe , Bantam 2002
    • Aficionado , part of the Tomorrow Happens short story collection , Nesfa Pr 2003
    • Temptations , part of the anthology Far Horizons: All New Tales from the Greatest Worlds of Science Fiction , Harper-Voyager 2005

Aficionado is about the beginnings of lifting on earth, Temptations takes place after the events of Ring der Sonnen and At the Edge of Eternity and takes up some of the storylines that were left open. Both stories can be read for free on David Brin's official site.

background

history

Mankind is in contact and lively exchange with the civilization of the five galaxies, a loose association of oxygen-breathing species that have all elevated each other to the status of intelligence and sentience. Humans themselves have already started this process with two of their own species, the dolphins and chimpanzees . Only the earth stands alone with its point of view, because for many years no wolf race has moved into the focus of the many peoples. Most of the time, after a few hundred years, a previous patron could be found among them, but this has not yet been successful among the people. Only through skillful negotiation, a few patronizing older races and good luck has the Earth clan not yet been exterminated or even assigned to other species as clients.

Lifting

All space-traveling species were brought from a pre-intelligent state via genetic manipulation to higher consciousness and understanding and thus also to intellect by a so-called patron race. With this gift, the client race usually undertakes to show gratitude and devotion to their patron (see also debt bondage ). If this is usually settled after 100,000 years, the exact point in time is set by the cartridge, the clients are free to “raise” other species to intelligence (hence the term “uplift”) and further genetic changes caused by the cartridge are prohibited. Lifting is regulated so that no patron changes his protégés too far. Should this be done anyway, the patronage race will be ostracized and the galactic institutes can call a jihad against the race. The first breed to start this cycle were the progenitors. They are also the only race that is said to have evolutionary intelligence.

humor

Humor is a common trait of a race that is seldom found in the Five Galaxies. You can occasionally find a species with a sense of irony , but humor is few and far between. Many galactic races elude the reason for this feeling. The rims, terragenes and tymbrimi are among the few species that have a sense of humor, although the thennanin are said to have a very sluggish sense of humor that allows them, at least in part, to individually understand the actions of the 'humorous'.

The Galactic Institutes

There are various institutes that provide a loose set of rules for the coexistence of oxygen-breathing species. However, they are generally not strong enough to actually enforce this. In addition to the library , there are other institutes that are supposed to ensure civilized warfare, for example, or are dedicated to the search for new knowledge. Essentially, they provide a common basis for action and protocols for dealing with one another.

The only effective form of executive that the institutes have is the ability to call for jihad should a race behave improperly or ignorantly. In such a case, very extensive acts of war against them are permitted. To illustrate the actual impotence of the institutes, it should be mentioned that the inadvertent extermination of several space-traveling races has already occurred through the undue strength of jihad.

The Galactic Library

The main galactic institute. It contains and manages the accumulated knowledge from about two billion years, compiled by thousands of intelligent species. It includes star maps, technologies, cultural information, and more. It is also up to you to decide how much and what information is made available in the branches on spaceships and planets. But it is precisely the availability of the library that is the reason for the inertia of the large clans in researching new technologies; after all, most of the desirable technologies have already been invented.

The Uplift Institute

This authority distributes the licenses to uplift to all breeds. Generally, this license is granted to the breed that discovered the praesophonts. It also defines the criteria for lifting, which apply equally to each other:

A client must be able to control a spaceship.
A client must be able to judge and act logically.
A client must be able to become a patron.

These requirements are tested through ceremonies, during which a step guardian can be chosen at the same time, who accompanies the clients as a kind of mentor for the coming phase of the uplift and can intervene in the process in an advisory capacity.

The Institute for Migration

The task of this institute is the administration of the various planets and solar systems . It distributes leases across different worlds that can run for a few thousand to over millions of years. In addition, it deliberately leaves worlds fallow so that new upliftable species can develop on them. One order of magnitude further, it ensures a constant migration of the races through the spiral arms of the galaxies, whereby meticulous care is taken to ensure that contacts with the civilization of hydrogen breathers are very unlikely. It is also in the power of the Institute for Migration to lay fallow an entire galaxy.

language

The galactic civilization knows several languages, all of which are standardized by a galactic institute. Depending on its predisposition, a species can speak several of these languages, whereby when it comes to lifts it is usually important that at least one can be spoken without any problems. The languages ​​are all strictly logically structured and only know a few ambiguous terms and levels of interpretation. The earth languages ​​do not share this characteristic and are mostly very dependent on interpretation and context. This makes translation between the galactic and terrestrial languages ​​relatively difficult.

The main lingua franca in the world are English and Trinary. The former is a constructed language that is largely based on English , but at the same time has undergone major adjustments and standardizations in phonetics , semantics and grammar . The same is true of Rossik and Nihanik, who were based on Russian and Japanese , respectively. All three were developed, standardized and enforced during the time of bureaucracy on earth.

Trinar in return is a language developed by and for dolphins that is based on their articulation skills, but can also be spoken by humans. It has a threefold logic that is very difficult for Galactics to understand. It is based on the original proto-language of the dolphins, Primal, and is, due to its structure and structure, even more dependent on interpretation than Anglik. Most of the individuals who have long term dealings with the Earth Clan learn English.

Ideologies

The ideologies of the different clans differ mainly in the interpretation of facts that are accepted as more or less given:

  • The progenitors were the first intelligent species.
  • The progenitors lifted themselves and the first other races.
  • Then the progenitors disappeared.

Since the Galactic Library with its fund of knowledge is several billion years old, one can assume that over time, on the one hand, incorrect information has crept in and, on the other hand, data has been lost. Hence, everything else about the progenitors is considered guesswork and essentially falls within the realms of belief. Already in the way and the reasons that are responsible for the disappearance of the progenitors, the different faiths argue. Here is a list of the prevailing interpretations:

Abdicators

This ideology is based on the fact that races that have long since ceased to dwell on this level of existence, occasionally deliberately show themselves as presophonous species and go through the uplift cycle one more time. The progenitors are considered to be the oldest and most sublime race from the circle of the great spirits (this is how those races are called that no longer dwell on this plane of existence).

Affirmators

The confirmers assume that the progenitors developed themselves through evolution and independently attained full intelligence and sensitivity. This in itself philanthropic belief is turned into the opposite by the fact that they regard the Earth clan as presumptuous, heretical and arrogant, since they claim the same thing about themselves.

Followers

This belief is very similar to that of the Abdicators because of its roots. They represent a more aggressive variant of the abdicator belief and want to see this enforced everywhere. There are regular skirmishes and wars between these two related ideologies as they accuse each other of heresy.

Expectant

They believe that one day the progenitors will return and share their wisdom and knowledge with the other species.

Inheritors

According to the heirs, one day the progenitors will reappear and they themselves will be chosen to wipe all the unworthy races from the galaxies.

Races

Virtually all races come from various patronage lines that determine their rank in the galactic hierarchy. Their dealings with other species, both their clients and members of other patronage lines, correspond to this hierarchy. For example, a client race in the service contract shows people a lot of respect, although they may come from a much more powerful lineage. The most important cartridges and clients are often listed in the official protocol. For example, Bubbacub was presented as follows: Bubbacub, a-Pil (a indicates the belonging race), ab-Kisa-ab-Soro-ab-Hul-ab-Puber-ul-Gello-ul-Pring (ab denotes the course of the cartridge, ul the client races).

A parallel civilization should be considered that of the hydrogen breathers, who live on gas planets and move through space. Contacts between the two civilizations are very rare and are avoided if possible as there has been tension and wars between them before. Many of the rules of the Galactic Institutes are designed to reduce the number of necessary contacts to a minimum.

Cantén / edges

A plant race friendly to the Earth clan. In terms of appearance, they should resemble a 'giant broccoli '. Since they have no face, most people find it difficult to talk to them.

Cynthians / Synthians

This breed is very reluctant and cautious about their meddling in conflicts, yet they openly offer support to the Terragenes.

Gubru

This bird-like breed is largely white-pinnate and sexless, except for the colored-feathered queens and princes who gradually develop their gender during an intricate mating ritual. Your entire society is based on this ritual, the content of which is finding a consensus . You are hostile to the Earth Clan.

Pila

This breed, which is not dissimilar in shape to a teddy bear, can be found above all in posts in the Galactic Library, which seems to be their preferred field of activity. Since the Sundiver incident, they have been even worse at talking to people than they were before.

Pring

This formerly arboreal breed is the only two-eyed species on their planet that is otherwise ruled by one-eyed species. They are about two meters tall and slender, with pale skin. The most impressive features of their faces are, besides their large eyes, their cockroach teeth, which they used to gnaw the bark of trees with.

Rothen

Some people, the Dannikites / Danes , claim that these species are the patrons of mankind. They are described as tall and should have an angelic charisma.

Soro

The Soro is a time-honored reptilian race that is hostile to the Earth clan. Together with the tandu, they were frontline fighters in several jihad and were responsible for the accidental extermination of several races.

Tandu

These arthropods come from the same patronage line as the Soro, but are enemies with one another. Like so many, they despise people. Some of your clients have been heavily modified, so that several lawsuits have already been taken against them.

Terragene

The name Terragene is a term invented by Brin, derived from the Latin Terra = earth and the Greek Genesis = birth, origin, creation and denotes the small clan of the three intelligent races on earth: humans, chimpanzees and dolphins. In the culture of constant exaltation and mutual vassalage, people play a subordinate role, although it is respected. They are one of the few races that have independently made contact with the civilization of the Five Galaxies. As if this were not unusual enough, even if not completely unknown, in such a case the older patronage races would otherwise adopt this 'wolf breed' - if the humans had not raised two species themselves before the first contact. This gives people patronage status from the outset and not just that of a somewhat more developed pre-intelligent race. However, if some of the older cartridges hadn't taken a liking to humans and protected them, they would likely have been quickly eradicated or become a client race. However, betting on how many years the Terragenes will still exist as such is still popular.

But people see themselves without a cartridge and many are convinced that they have achieved their intelligence evolutionarily . But it is precisely this heretical view that makes the Earth clan many enemies, many of whom would be only too happy to take care of humanity. They would then see themselves as successors to the presumed unknown cartridge, which they believe to have raised humanity unfinished and then abandoned it.

What is atypical for the civilization of the Five Galaxies is that people quickly granted their clients the same or similar rights as they themselves have - although the uplift process has not been completed for the chimpanzees or the younger dolphins . It can be assumed that people will do the same with their future clients (for example the dogs ).

People are also noticed because of their imagination, their naivety and cunning. However, they do not have much choice either, as virtually all other space-faring races are technologically ahead of them by millennia. They have also built a solid reputation as eco-engineers, partly due to their amazingly fast-paced terraforming ventures of Venus and Mars .

It is also worth mentioning that a legal form was established before the contact that limits people's freedom of action on the basis of potential danger. Transmitters were implanted in these people with an increased probability of crime, so-called test subjects, which were used to continuously monitor behavioral abnormalities and aggression. For example, if test subjects approached an area to which they had no access, one of the more severe penalties was, for example, the further restriction of their already limited right to reproduce.

Thennanine

The thennanin are stocky and down to earth in nature, both in shape and general character. Not only is their body covered in leather-like skin, their ships are also massive and place great value on armor and defense. They are very big proponents of the uplift of presophonts and show this not only by their considerable number of client races, but also by their attention to the correct execution of the process.

Tymbrimi

On a journey in the direction of the constellation Swan, Vesarius I met these aliens as the first representatives and learned of the existence of the civilization of the five galaxies. If this first contact had taken place with another, warlike race, then the subsequent fate of the people would have been very different. The tymbrimi, however, are considered cranky themselves, so they were of great help to people in their first decades. They view people's origins as a great mystery that they would like to solve.

In terms of appearance, they are hairy, two-legged and four-armed, whereby a special feature of their organism allows them to adapt their appearance very strongly to environmental conditions and individual ideas.

Worlds

The Uplift Universe is home to countless worlds in its five galaxies, only a few of which are classically Earth-like planets.

Calafia

A very fertile water world. The people here live closely with the dolphins, and Japanese is a widely used language, also because of its poetic resemblance to Trinary.

earth

The home planet of the Terragenes. Due to the fact that it is the original planet of humans, the Galactic Institute for Migration has granted them a lease until extinction or migration, but only on the premise that no further uplift operations are carried out on the terrestrial species. Since the earth, unlike many other planets, has been lying fallow for hundreds of millions of years, a stable and exotic ecosystem has established itself on it, which is rich in oxygen-breathing and, in some cases, presophontous species. Thus, the earth is as vulnerable to neobiota as Australia after its discovery and colonization.

Fractal system

A modified Dyson sphere around a star, the retreat of the so-called ancients. These are those races that have withdrawn from the uplift cycle and turn inward to evolve further. They mostly have technology that is far superior to that of oxygen breathers, although they can at least partially understand it. Several trillion individuals live in one system alone.

Garth

A green, plant-rich world. After the Bururalli had almost irrevocably destroyed the planet's ecosystem and with it every species that could reach a significant size, their lease permission was withdrawn and, after 50,000 years, human beings were given. However, this only happened on the condition that the Terragenes would take care of the restoration of Garth.

horst

One of the Terragen colonies that existed before contact. On average, Horst is colder than the earth and is dominated by steppes and taiga. As in the case of Australia, at first mainly test persons, potential danger groups, radicals and the like were transported to Horst as colonists. These transports were only stopped shortly after the contact, but the world still has a dangerous overtone, similar to the former Wild West of the USA .

Jijo

A fallow world. At least the Institute for Migration has planned this for this whole galaxy, but refugees of various races have been hiding on Jijo, including humans. The Buyur used to lease Jijo, but left this world at the request of the migration institute after they had sunk their cities in subduction zones . The Baldigen, as the community of the hid is called, also settled in a zone of high geological activity, as unjustified colonization of fallow worlds are subject to heavy penalties, only one of which would be a jihad against the settler race. Therefore, their highest goal is to enter the path of salvation, i.e. to de-evolution and to fall back into the status of presophonts.

Kithrup

A formerly fallow, but not yet recolonized world. It is rich in metals and almost completely covered by water, with the exception of the occasional drilling island and volcanoes. The world used to be ascribed to the Karrank% so that they could die there in peace after they were brutally and purely earmarked from their cartridges. Due to the long period of time, at least one presophontic species has developed there.

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