I. Overview of the Uplift Series
Those who are familiar with David Brin's work are familiar with the Uplift book series.
They are about a fictional universe of beings that "Uplift' other beings of potential
intelligence from their animal nature. The books view humans as anomalies that don't
fit in with the galactic puzzle who have uplifted dolphins and chimpanzees.
"Startide Rising' is the second of six books based in the Uplift universe. The story takes place far in the future on a space ship called Streaker; the first ship crewed and captained by Dolphins. Dolphins move around the ship through an oxi-water environment. The ship is captained by a neo-fin named Creideiki. The ships purpose was to test how well a dolphin crewed starship could perform.
Dolphins were uplifted by humans through genetic engineering and communicate speaking a language called Anglic, an English-derivative that humans speak. Unmodified dolphins speak primal a sort of semi language considered rude among neo-fins. Trinary is another language spoken by humans and dolphins which is composed of chirping, whistling and clicking. It's a poetic language that cannot express past, present or future tense and is used as a sort of art form.
Earth Clan is the name given to Humans and all uplifted creatures from Earth. It is unique from other civilizations for being the only world supposedly uplifted through natural evolution. All other beings throughout the universe have been uplifted through a course of billions of years that originated with the Progenitors. A galactic government oversees uplifters throughout the universe and governs an archive called the library: a repository of all knowledge. Earth Clan prides itself through its little use of the library and tries to find solutions through a more creative outlet.
II . Ecco, Defender of the Future: A Connection?
Brin as a writer had alot of creative templates at his disposal for the making of Ecco,
Defender of the Future. He could draw upon ideas from the original Ecco the Dolphin series
as well as ideas from his own Uplift universe. The result became an Ecco the Dolphin game
with a rewritten storyline containing elements from the original series.
Analyzing Ecco, Defender of the Future what makes it an Ecco the Dolphin game if its storyline is different from the original series?
- It portrays Ecco as a heroic dolphin who has to save time by traveling through alternate versions of the future.
- Ecco's main antagonist are alien creatures who try to manipulate time.
- Crystal glyphs containing encoded messages aid Ecco on his quest.
- Ecco uses metaspheres to morph into the shape of his enemies.
Where is David Brins artistic touch and did he draw from elements from the Uplift series? To answer this question we will compare one of his books that focus on dolphin characters with Ecco, Defender of the Future.
Startide Rising - Genetically enhanced dolphins live alongside humans and explore the vastness of space.
Ecco, Defender of the Future - Dolphins and humans form a civilization where they co-exist and set out to explore space.
Startide Rising - Streaker crash lands on an unknown planet and many of the dolphin crew members resort to their primitive state.
Ecco, Defender of the Future - The alien Foe upset dolphin's delicate balance by stealing noble traits that define their intelligence.
Startide Rising - Streaker contains machinery designed specifically for dolphin operation.
Ecco, Defender of the Future - In "Man's Nightmare" dolphins become slave of man and operate underwater machines.
What evidence have we gathered that shows Brin recycled old ideas to write the story for Ecco, Defender of the Future? Evidence that he wanted to make an Ecco the Dolphin game. Elements from Startide Rising and the Uplift series are only fingerprints. The ideas aren't old they are fine tuned for perfection and anything new would divert from the writing style Brin is accustomed for.
Sources: David Brin's Official Website , Startide Rising - Wikipedia