An uplift is a non-human animal that has been raised to intelligence via artificial means at some point in its ancestry. Generally this refers to surgical/genetic enhancement by humans during the initial stages of the exodus from Earth.

During the initial human expansion from Earth, chimpanzees were uplifted for use in the space programs that required fairly complex tasks, beyond the brain of a baseline chimpanzee, to be performed, but had an unacceptably high failure/fatality rate for a human crew. Due to their similarities to their older cousins, chimpanzees are the most accepted uplift genome in modern society and mix freely with the human populations of the outer settlements like Saturn.

Originally uplifted for use in the Martian Terraforming Project as surveyors and explorers, tasked with keeping maps and surveys up to date with the rapidly shifting Martian landscape over the course of the project. Fatality rates were high as the corvidae were treated as expendable, and this engendered a lasting suspicion and dislike of the Solar government amongst the corvid population. The corvid 'home world' is Saturn's seventh moon, Hyperion, and the formal citizenship term for most natural-born corvidae is 'Hyperionian'. Corvid naming conventions are a chosen name followed by the species of the person, followed by the location they were hatched.

Uplifted as an experiment in different zero-gravity body forms. Primary population centers are mostly found on Titan.