Anyone playing Mass Effect?

any impressions?

What is David Brin Uplift?

You better not have got my copy!  

Originally posted by Ted_L What is David Brin Uplift?

David Brin is a scifi author who came from a career in astrophysics.  His first novel, Sundiver, is not very well written but is a fun little murder-mystery type tale that set the foundation for what became two trilogies known as the 'Uplift novels.' 

The basic conceit of the Uplift universe is that a vast Galactic civilzation made up of many diverse species has endured over countless millenia (actually it's the 'Civilization of the Five Galaxies').  Human beings sort of accidentally make contact with said civilization in the not-too distant future, but only after having utilized genetic manipulation to 'uplift' chimpanzees and dolphins to consciousness. 

Well, wouldn't you know it, but this vast Galactic civilization is entirely based on uplift; patron species find suitable lower species on fallow planets to make their client species and uplift to consciousness.  These client species eventually uplift others once their multi-thousand years of lower-class client status has ended, and so through history have species become sapient, one after the other, creating a tangled web of loyalties and hostilities among the myriad species.

'Bootstrap' sapience is something that is generally accepted by this Galactic civilization as impossible.  Humans, having come late to the party, and insisting that they bootstrapped themselves to sapience, are generally disfavored (though not by all species).  Most aliens believe there had to have been patrons for human uplift who long ago abandoned the Earthlings or disappeared or who knows.  The facts of humans having uplifted two species on their own, pre-contact, and thus without proper permission and so on, and having no patron species to keep them in line or teach them proper ways of behaving sets humanity in an odd position of having the status of a patron species on the one hand, but also being firmly outside the Galactic mainstream on the other (not to mention, having uplifted one client species without permission would be bad enough, but having uplifted two. . . ; and then more insulting, humans don't even treat their clients as clients but rather give them full rights and treat them more as equals). 

The only species that is accepted to have bootstrapped themselves are the 'progenitors' (there is a progenitor-like species at the heart of the story in ME), and wouldn't you know it, all the faster than light technology and other space-faring goodies were created by the progenitors, who long ago in the deep mists of Galactic civilization history wandered off never to be heard from again.

The universe in ME is very much like a regurgitated version of Brin's Uplift universe.  Uplift is not as central a concept to the civilization in ME, but there are plenty of hints of it being in there. The specifics are all different (no chimps ), but many of the basic concepts seem to be directly ripped from the pages of Brin's novels.  I don't think of that as a bad thing; more of a tribute, perhaps, to a deep well of great scifi ideas rather than a cheap rip-off.  I don't know how Brin feels about it, though.

BTW Brin also wrote The Postman, which was made by Costner into my favorite bad movie of all time (even though the movie skips out completely on the central theme of the novel . . . ), as well as the very funny and enjoyable Kiln People, and a great novel of the near-future called Earth.  Glory Season is, I think, his best novel to date, at least outside of the five latter Uplift novels.  Looking on Wiki, I am also surprised to discover he is credited with writing the story line for Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future.

Mass Effect is so good-looking it's a little scary. 

I think I've bitten off more than I can chew with single player games right now, though... Mario Galaxy, Assassin's Creed, Mass Effect, and still playing Oblivion, of course.  Assassin's Creed is a little less intimidating than M.E., but equally gorgeous.  Might have to finish that before getting back to the space opera.