One of the most common tropes in science fiction is sophisticated interaction with cetaceans (dolphins, whales, orcas, etc.).<br /><br />Dolphins were written up as a PC species for Traveller.<br /><br />The RPG Blue Planet features dolphins & orcas as PCs. They have sonar-based technology.<br /><br />Dolphins & orcas are members of the Federation in Star Trek, and there are several on board the Enterprise-D, working in the navigation department (according to the technical manual). They are even mentioned there in one episode of TNG.<br /><br />Star Trek IV treats whales as a sapient species.<br /><br />The book Cachalot, by Alan Dean Foster, goes into great detail about dolphin & whale culture. They are given a colony on a water planet as a way of apologizing for past atrocities against them.<br /><br />In Larry Niven's Known Space, whales are in the process of a lawsuit against humanity for past whaling. He says they are prolonging & dragging the case out because the love the "legal gymnastics".<br /><br />In the Pern series, dolphins assist humans in colonizing Pern.<br /><br />In David Brin's Uplift series, dolphins are building & flying their own spaceships. They have technology that allows them to move about on land.<br /><br />In the real world, scientists have stated that cetaceans constitute the equivalent of an intelligent alien species on Earth, and a good example of how difficult it would be to communicate with aliens in real life. Scientists have officially lobbied to have cetaceans declared "non-human persons", due to their intelligence.<br /><br />In my own game, cetaceans are considered a sapient species, although they mostly keep to themselves.<br /><br />Opinions? Thoughts?
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