Startide Rising is the story of the Earth starship Streaker and its crew of humans, dolphins, and chimpanzees. The animals have been gifted with Uplifting, a process by which they were helped to self-awareness by gene therapy and other scientific methods, and are now part of Earth's society. The ship discovers derelict wreckage of ships believed to belong to humanity's own Uplifters and is embroiled in a dangerous chase as other Uplifted alien races descend, hoping to claim the legacy as their own.
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