The Uplift Universe is a fictional universe created by science fiction writer David Brin. A central feature in this universe is the process of biological uplift. A fictional universe is a cohesive imaginary world that serves as the setting or backdrop for one or (more commonly) multiple works of fiction. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... A recent picture of David Brin. ... In science fiction, a biological uplift is a common but by no means universal term for the act of an advanced civilization helping the development of another species by bringing a non-sapient one into sentience, or by giving a sapient one spacefaring capabilities. ...

His books which take place in this universe:

• Sundiver (1980)
• Startide Rising (1983)
• The Uplift War (1987)
• The Uplift Storm Trilogy
  • Brightness Reef (1995)
  • Infinity's Shore (1996)
  • Heaven's Reach (1998)

There is also a short story Aficionado (originally titled Life in the Extreme) and a novella Temptation, both published in 1998, which are set in the same background. Brin also wrote Contacting Aliens: An Illustrated Guide To David Brin's Uplift Universe which is a non-fiction book about the background of the series. Sundiver is the first book of David Brins first uplift trilogy. ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... Startide Rising is a 1983 sci-fi novel by David Brin and the second book of six set in his Uplift Universe (preceded by Sundiver and followed by The Uplift War). ... 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Uplift War is a 1987 science fiction novel by David Brin and the third book of six set in his Uplift Universe. ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) is a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... Heavens Reach is the third novel in the Uplift Storm series by David Brin. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ...

The Uplift Universe has been mentioned as the inspiration for the universe of the Star Control computer games. The Star Control series is a trilogy of computer games with a cult following. ...

In this universe, a galactic civilization with thousands of planets has existed for billions of years. This civilization is perpetuated by the act of Uplift, in which one sapient species genetically modifies a non-sapient species until it is sapient. When the modified species gains sapiency, the two species normally enter a master and indentured servant relationship, where the modified species serves the modifier species for millennia in gratitude for the modification. The modified species is known as a client of the modifier species, which is known as the patron species. Through the history of this universe, most sapient species belong to clans in which they can trace their genetic heritage of clientship to patron species. At the start of the Uplift books, humanity has already uplifted two species - chimpanzees and bottlenose dolphins and has started the uplift of other terran animals. Humanity with its clients is known as Earthclan. NGC 4414, a typical spiral galaxy in the constellation Coma Berenices, is about 56,000 light years in diameter and approximately 60 million light years distant. ... The word civilization (or civilisation) has a variety of meanings related to human society. ... A planet is generally considered to be a relatively large mass of accreted matter in orbit around a star that is not a star itself. ... In biology, a species is the basic unit of biodiversity. ... Genetics (from the Greek genno γεννώ= give birth) is the science of genes, heredity, and the variation of organisms. ... An indentured servant is an unfree labourer under contract to work (for a specified amount of time) for another person or a company/corporation, often without any monetary pay, but in exchange for accommodation, food, other essentials, training, or passage to a new country. ... The term client may have the following meanings. ... Generally, patronage is the act of supporting or favoring some person, group, or institution. ... See also Clan (computer gaming) A clan is a group of people united by kinship and descent, which is defined by perceived descent from a common ancestor. ... Human beings are defined variously in biological, spiritual, and cultural terms, or in combinations thereof. ... Type species Simia troglodytes Blumenbach, 1775 Species Pan troglodytes Pan paniscus Chimpanzee, often abbreviated to chimp, is the common name for two species in the genus Pan. ... [[{{{diversity_link}}}|Diversity]] {{{diversity}}} Binomial name Tursiops truncatus Montagu, 1821 Trinomial name {{{trinomial}}} Type Species {{{type_species}}} {{{subdivision_ranks}}} Bottlenose Dolphin range (in blue) Synonyms {{{synonyms}}} The Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) is the most common and well-known dolphin species. ... This article is about the dolphin mammal. ...

Unlike most SF universes, humanity does not possess advanced technology in this galactic civilization. Though humanity is a space-faring species, it is several centuries behind in technology to the major galactic powers. Mankinds' position is made much more precarious by the fact that humanity has no known patron species. Most of humanity believes itself to be a wolfling species that emerged into sapiency solely through natural evolution, without genetic manipulation of a patron species. This belief is considered heresy and ridiculous by most of the galactic civilization and has made most of the galactic powers to be enemies of Earthclan. The fact that Humanity had already uplifted two species when it encountered the galactic civilization gave Humanity patron status, which is one of the few lucky turns it has had in its difficult position as pariah in the galactic civilization. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... A speculatively rooted phylogenetic tree of all living things, based on rRNA gene data, showing the separation of the three domains, bacteria, archaea, and eukaryotes, as described initially by Carl Woese. ... Heresy, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is a theological or religious opinion or doctrine maintained in opposition, or held to be contrary, to the ‘catholic’ or orthodox doctrine of the Christian Church, or, by extension, to that of any church, creed, or religious system, considered as orthodox. ... Pariah, originally the name of the pariah people in India, has gained widespread use as an analogy, especially in the phrase social pariah, as a term for anyone despised or rejected by others. ...

The tradition of uplift is attributed to the Progenitors, the first sapient species in the universe. This species has disappeared into legend millions of years ago. Several galactic religions have grown up around the meaning and purpose of uplift and the intent of the Progenitors. Some of the most powerful galactic clans are fervent followers of these religions and the religious competition between them has been the source and excuse for much of galactic warfare.

The galactic civilization has several bureaucracies that are tasked with specifying how species deal with each other and the uplift process. One of the most widely used organization is the Galactic Library, which is the repository of all knowledge gathered from all of the galactic space-faring species. The origin of the library is another long lost mystery. The vastness and age of the knowledge held by the library has made it into something of an oracle among the galactic clans. Bureaucracy is a concept in sociology and political science. ... Modern-style library In the traditional sense of the word, a library is a collection of books and periodicals. ... An oracle is a person or agency considered to be a source of wise counsel or prophetic opinion; an infallible authority, usually spiritual in nature. ...

The galactic civilization is made up of mostly oxygen-breathing species. This oxygen-breathing civilization has known about other orders of sapient life, which include hydrogen-breathing, transcendent, mechanical, memetic, and quantum. General Name, Symbol, Number oxygen, O, 8 Chemical series Chalcogens Group, Period, Block 16, 2, p Appearance colorless Atomic mass 15. ... General Name, Symbol, Number hydrogen, H, 1 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 1, 1, s Appearance colorless Atomic mass 1. ... Transcendental in philosophical contexts In philosophy, transcendental experiences are experiences of an exclusively human nature that are other-worldly or beyond the human realm of understanding. ... The word mechanical can mean one of several things: A device or principle described as mechanical relates to a mechanism or machine, or the realm of Newtonian mechanics. ... Meme, (rhymes with cream and comes from Greek root with the meaning of memory and its derivative mimeme), is the term given to a unit of information that replicates from brains and inanimate stores of information, such as books and computers, to other brains or stores of information. ... The word quantum, pl. ...

The first book of the series, Sundiver, is a detective story which gives an introduction to this universe. The second book, Startide Rising, is about the Earthclan space ship Streaker (crewed by uplifted dolphins and their human mentors) which finds a colossal and hidden derelict fleet. Rumors spread throughout the galaxy that this ship has found the remains of the Progenitors. The third book, The Uplift War, gives a local account of the galactic war that ensues with viewpoints coming from some uplifted chimps. A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. ... War is a state of widespread conflict between states, organisations, or relatively large groups of people, which is characterised by the use of lethal violence between combatants or upon civilians. ...

In the Uplift Storm trilogy, survivors of the space ship Streaker continue to evade the various galactic powers and along the way encounter a hidden planet where the inhabitants have avoided most of the uplift schisms which plague the galactic civilization. They eventually make contact with the other orders of life.

The short story Aficionado is the earliest set of all the currently written work and gives an account of the early days of the human uplift program. The novella Temptation was set just after the ending of Heaven's Reach, and tells what happened to some of the characters from the trilogy after the main story ended.

Ecology and stewardship of genetic diversity are major themes in these books. Religious orthodoxy and the behavior of static societies are also themes. (Ecology is sometimes used incorrectly as a synonym for the natural environment. ... Genetic diversity is a characteristic of ecosystems and gene pools that describes an attribute which is commonly held to be advantageous for survival -- that there are many different versions of otherwise similar organisms. ... The word orthodoxy, from the Greek ortho (right, correct) and doxa (thought, teaching), is typically used to refer to the correct theological or doctrinal observance of religion, as determined by some overseeing body. ...

External links

• Exhaustive list of species populating the Uplift Universe