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Old 02-14-2018, 01:18 PM   #1
L.J.Steele
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Default Avoiding Intollerance in a Post-BioEngineering Setting

The powers that be in my Space game have posed a question to my doctor. Given that we have the ability to genetically engineer the colonists' children, and indeed must carefully watch the genetics to avoid inbreeding, how do we minimize or avoid racial tensions down the line?

For background: the characters are recent colonists who fled from a destroyed world -- TL10/11 equivalent. The colonists include humans, a handful of members of two other sentient species from the old world, and a minority of volitional AIs. We've found two intelligent species on our new home -- psionic human-sized insects at about our TL, but sideways using Psi and advanced genetic engineering instead of computers and machines (currently neutral towards us); and a hunter-gather level human-sized bird species (currently vaguely allied with us). There's a third intelligence, nature unknown, that's bio-engineering about 20% of our newborns, to adapt them to the planet. (Reflective hair to reduce UV issues from this system's star.) So far, the adaptation is dominant in animal testing. (It also seems to have beneficially bio-engineered both native sentient species and some of the animals and plants.)

Concerns are:
Those adapted by the planet and those not adapted -- we're at a TL where we could prevent the adaption and could use nanites to prevent skin cancer and cataracts from the UV. Right now, parents are being given a choice to let the adaption happen or not, or to prevent it.

Psis vs. non-psi. We've got a dozen or so psis (including my doctor). Psi is recessive, so not enough individuals to maintain a reasonable percentage of psis in the populace without genetic engineering.

Engineered v. natural DNA combinations. We've got the tech for minor engineering -- cosmetic changes, correcting some inherited disadvantages (bad sight, for example), and another PC scientist who's looking at much more extensive changes. A separate group of colonists on the other habitable planet (no significant land) are looking at engineering their entire population with gills. Right now, the plan for our colony is a have one/get one policy -- if you have a child, you must accept at least one other child (within a reasonable time) from the gene bank we brought with us (an artificial womb tech available). Implied that folks have some choices in sources from the gene bank, but the goal is genetic diversity.

So, any thoughts on what my doctor could recommend to the powers that be for social structures to keep us one big happy colony as we grow without splitting into genetic-based factions a few generations down the line?
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