Moreauverse

What if dogs could talk?

Sometime before 1980, the Kokkola Process was invented to engineer a new, uplifted-animal body. Early Kokkola Hybrids had transplanted human consciousness; within a few decades, they were being created completely from scratch. “Moreaus” are dogs, or cats, or anything upliftable and patentable. What they are not, of course, are first-class citizens.

Moreauverse stories tend to focus on this tension. They rarely involve animals only, and deal with the latent (and less-than-latent) speciesism involved as humanity deals with its creations. Most are set within the Yucatan Alliance, a loose anarcho-capitalist confederation of powerful corporations and the mercenary Colonial Defense Authority that exists to protect them.

This is a medium-hard universe, with a heavy mil-SF bent taking its cues from Heinlein and Haldeman to lend a 70s aesthetic to much of the technology. Many of the characters are military personnel; military service can be used to earn the money needed to purchase citizenship. Presuming, of course, that as a moreau you can demonstrate you’re worth it… somehow.

It’s here you can find Runshana, alias Jules Verne, first moreau soldier ever to enlist. And “Elvis” Kalija, pilot of an A-17E Intruder III strike starfighter. And the salvage ship Svarog, its captain emancipated from a life wired directly into a space station’s computers. And the Denel Rooijakkals combat walker, a mech used in dangerous orbital operations. And the first moreau rebellion for independence.

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