Startide Rising

Startide Rising is a science fiction novel by David Brin. Published in 1983, it is the second book in the Uplift Series, preceded by Sundiver and followed by The Uplift War. All the novels in the series are set in a distant future in which various species of animals have been imbued by humans with super intelligence using a process call biological uplift. Some of the species that have been uplifted include neo-chimpanzees, neo-gorillas, neo-dogs, and neo-dolphins. Startide Rising is primarily concerned with neo-dolphins.

Set in the year 2489 C.E., Startide Rising follows the crew of the Streaker, an intergalactic spaceship crewed by 150 uplifted dolphins and seven humans. While exploring interstellar space, the crew finds a fleet of abandoned spaceships. Each ship is the size of a small moon, and before being abandoned they were arranged in the shape of a star cluster. Creideiki, the neo-dolphin captain of the ship, sends several members of the crew to investigate, suspecting that the ships belong to the legendary Progenitor race, the alien species that first uplifted humans.

The crew members return to the ship with several mysterious artifacts and one well-preserved alien corpse. Dr. Gillian Baskin, the human medical officer, begins examining the corpse. However, another human scientist on board, Dr. Ignazio Metz, expresses concerns that her discoveries will be used to further intergalactic warfare. Gillian dismisses his warnings, and has the ship’s communications officer use psychic powers to project information about the alien back to earth.



A reply arrives from Earth, telling the crew of the Streaker to go into hiding until it receives further orders. However, before the Streaker can comply, it is attacked by ships belonging to several different alien races, all of which want the information from the Progenitor ships for their own. The Streaker is heavily damaged but manages to escape. The ship touches down on a planet called Kithrup, which has the materials they need to repair their ship. The surface of Kithrup is covered in oceans, making it particularly hospitable to the dolphin members of the crew.

However, before the crew can begin to make repairs, the several different alien races follow them to the planet. All the alien armadas want the coordinates of the Progenitor ships, and so they begin fighting one another, ignoring the grounded Streaker for the time being. The crew of the Streaker desperately begins searching for the supplies they need, hoping to escape the aliens before they turn on them.

During the fighting, a Thennanin alien cruiser crashes into the ocean nearby, causing a tidal wave. Some of the neo-dolphins panic and revert into a pre-uplifted state, beaching themselves on top of the ships. Meanwhile, Toshio Iwashika, a human officer, and Lt. Hikahi, his dolphin partner, find a pre-sentient species that they call the Kiqui. They debate the merits of uplifting the species at a later date.



With the pressure mounting, two dolphins named Krat and Takkata-Jim plot a mutiny. Creideiki desperately tries to keep the situation under control. He eventually comes up with the idea of stealing parts from the crashed Thennanin ship to make the necessary repairs. The salvage team finds that the ship’s hull is largely undamaged, and forms a plan to use it as a shell to cover the Streaker’s escape. Gillian, who has been riding along with the salvage crew, also salvages a copy of the gigantic library that houses all knowledge. It is important to get a copy of the library from the alien ship, as Gillian and others have come to suspect that Earth’s copy of the library has been sabotaged or tampered with.

Takkata-Jim leads the crew in mutiny, sabotaging some of the equipment on the Streaker. Creideiki suffers brain damage, but the loyal crew fights off the mutineers. Takkata-Jim attempts to flee in a shuttle, but the loyal crew overrides the controls and turns the shuttle into a beacon to draw off the alien armadas overhead. In the confusion, the survivors of the Streaker make their escape hiding in the hull of the Thennanin ship.

They nearly escape, but are intercepted by several ships belonging to the alien race called the Brothers of the Night. However, several Thennanin ships that have been fooled by the Streaker’s disguise come to the rescue long enough to allow the Streaker to get away. The Streaker escapes to a transfer point that allows fast travel back to Earth, leaving a message to the alien ships as they go, mocking them and chastising them for their warlike ways.



Startide Rising won the Hugo, Nebula, and Locus awards for best science fiction novel. Prior to publication, parts of the novel were excerpted and published under the title “The Tides of Kithrup” in May 1981 issue of Analog magazine. Beginning in the early 1990s, Startide Rising served as inspiration for the video game series Ecco the Dolphin.