After reading the whole of Brin's Uplift novels, I find myself puzzled by something:
Why undertake the massive, expensive, intricate, and morally tricky process of Uplift
at all? There must be some intrinsic reason (that is, you can't say 'Because the
Progenitors did'. Then why did they begin the process?). Creating more sentients
can't be the answer because then it would be far more efficient to multiply your own
kind. Creating specialties (like dolphins would have been turned into ebcause of
their piloting skills) seems grossly inefficent, and again morally questionable.
'Prestige' (power) could only be a reason once the system is in place and generally
accepted. Thus far, I can only see two viable reasons- it might be done for the
purposes of having, to put it baldly, a slave species or more altruistically, to gain
the benefit of another world-view's advice and thinking-style. The formers is
unjustifiable and the latter seems unlikely. Has Brin esposed any feasible
explanations that I've completely missed or could someone help me out here? I'd be
grateful for a defintive answer on this nagging question.
~Maru
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