|
The presence of this race has caused great turmoil throughout the Alliance,
over how and under what criteria does the central government determine when
and if a synthetic organism, is sentient and aware. All sentient organisms
maintain certain inalienable rights as defined by the Confirmed Social
Sanctions Act of 2110. However, each sovereign mandates its own edicts
concerning what is sentient, and therefore equal. To Eridani and Phentari,
sentience is defined by physical quality, as well as the ability to perform
independent mental thought processes. Mutzachans and most of the other races
define sentience as that quality which allows one to make conscious and
rational decisions. All governing races agree that synthetic life-forms that
are inorganic, are less than equal. The notable exception to the inorganic
rule has been the Gemini, a silicon based life-form currently petitioning for
entrance into the Alliance.
The central government now faces the problem of what to do when Uncle Ernie and His Minions of Doom seed a planet with a race of synthetically manufactured killer rabbits. Fott are indigenous to distant Delphix-9 of the Netas Hydri star system in the And 3 galaxy. Reports verify that somewhere between 2256 and 2260, Uncle Ernie discovered the isolated star in an uncharted but annexed section of the And 3 galaxy. Freiberg and a group of his top terra-formers had long been seeking a world whose planetary conditions would favor supporting a man-sized rabbit-like creature. Such conditions prevailed on Delphix-9. The planet's biosphere and ecosphere were altered, producing a planetary matrix that was most promising to support such a creature. Uncle Ernie then returned to one of his secret bases and cooked up a dozen killer rabbits which he personally transplanted onto the surface of Delphix-9. The specimens were prolific, reproducing about once every two months. The population had grown to over five billion by the time the Human exploration ship Purveyor discovered the race in 2270. Fott are intelligent. They are extremely aggressive, but generally not towards each other. These creatures view all other life-forms as foreigners, and therefore their natural enemies. The rabbits manufactured with a general predisposition towards violence. Yet, they still maintain the same inquisitive nature common to most rabbits. The idea of traveling through space and conquering galaxies was interwoven into their thought patterns. The race was on the verge of developing space travel at the time they were discovered in late 2270. Uncle Ernie's sense of humor had long disturbed even the most twisted minds, and this latest of tricks has further exacerbated government officials because the Fott are synthetic but have been produced to meet all the criteria of a sentient life-form. They even meet the physical standards set by the Eridani and Phentari. The problem is this: Uncle Ernie genetically engineered the Fott to act like one of his favorite social misfits; Fotts are a bunch of rednecks!
|
|