Sapiation

The process of engineering or reconstructing an animal or similarly pre-intelligent entity such that it achieves sapience. This process is highly frowned upon, with those disapproving of the practice calling them abominations. The past few decades have seen them achieve wider acceptance, but they are, regardless, exceptionally rare, and combined with their sterility and unenhanced forms, they are often pitied as a passing curiosity.

Before the Purge, the most frequent subjects of sapiation were bonobos and dolphins. Other great apes and a number of birds were also frequently sapiated. It is rare that they receive any other significant biological enhancements, however, though dolphins played an extensive role in tweaking the human mind and many felt that the gift should be returned in kind - see Porpan.