If we haven't
learned anything from stories like "The Rats if NIMH" or
the recent "Planet of the Apes," we ought to. In the NIMH
series, lab rats at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
have had their intelligence enhanced, and as a result, the rats
escape and formulate plans to end their dependence on human society
and to form their own. In "Planet of the Apes," researches
improved the intelligence of apes in their attempts to find a cure
for Alzheimer's. The apes quickly decide humans are a threat and an
enemy, and begin an aggressive revolt against humanity. Yet despite
the fairly logical conclusions these movies suggest will occur when
"uplifting" animal intelligence, there are people like
George Dvorsky (of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging
Technologies) who state that it is our "ethical imperative to
uplift," and that "As
the stewards of this planet, it is our moral imperative to not just
remove ourselves from the Darwinian paradigm, but all the creatures
on Earth as well. Our journey to a post-biological, post-Darwinian
state will be a mutual one."
As seven alien races struggle to co-exist in an uneasy alliance, the Inter-Stellar Union sends Union Guard agents on missions to preserve the crucial balance. These specialized operatives must do what regional security cannot, dealing with smugglers, pirates, terrorists, and even greater challenges in order to bring stability to a universe that needs it desperately. Without the Union Guard, the races will not be prepared to face a looming alien threat they can only hope to defeat together.
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