Scenario: A benign rise of mutants

2016: We already have in CRISPRCAS9 efficient means of genetic engineering. What genetic and gene activity regulatory mechanisms allow human brains to grow big and smart is still largely unknown, though.
2020-2025: Detailed studies of gene activity in the brains of humans and different animals gives data on what the basic underlying differences are. Although the workings of actual consciousness remains unknown, the knowledge of underlying mechanisms forms the basis for further experiments in which gene activity patterns in human brains are superimposed onto animal brains by means of genetic engineering. Many governments are trying to stop this by means of policies, but progressive people are building their laboratories in areas without effective government control. Terminally ill people who feel that ethical and legal policies demanding too long testing times for novel treatments are effectively genocidizing them support these new rogue scientific communities, travelling to them and putting their money into them so that they financially keep going in exchange for rapid implementation of novel treatments of their maladieds.
2030-2035: Experiments on genetically engineered animals are showing that their brains are getting bigger. The experiments nail the coffin of the g factor model, that was already in deep trouble due to the mathematical mismatch between the Flynn effect almost doubling average IQ over the course of the 20th century and the high heredity of IQ shown by twin studies. The studies also find no support for the social intelligence hypothesis, which was also already weakened by the existence of social hierarchies with each individual knowing its place in some very small-brained animals and by computer simulations proving that ape politics can be emulated by simple reflexes. The studies do, however, discover that the bigger the brain the more precisely discriminating the conditioned reflexes become, in keeping with Pavlov's comparisons between dogs and human children using metronomes with adjustable ticking rates. The direct link between recognition and salivation, along with artificial intelligence studies showing that separate modules for emotion and cognition would consume energy, material and genetic information space without benefits in a way that evolution would never have selected for, leads to the downfall of the idea that intelligence is a mere tool for achieving unintelligently determined goals and with it the demise of the idea that people are inherently caring or cruel. Physically humanoidized GMOs are used in recreated prehistoric environments to test what evolutionary pressures may have selected for more precise distinctions in our pre-human ancestors. The studies do discover some benefits of bigger brains even before the rise of true intelligence, debunking the "intelligent design" argument of human brains being "irreducibly complex" and instead providing ample evidence for evolution.
2035-2050 (significant uncertainty of exact timing): The biggest-brained of the genetically engineered "uplifts" reach the threshold of precise discrimination in their conditioned reflexes at which the distinction between a reductio ad absurdum and a statement emerges, making them Popperian beings. Based on the brain growth rate in humans, if the "uplifts" follow the same evolutionary compromises of the nutrient use by growing brains, this threshold can be expected to occur when the "uplifts" are in their teens. If the "uplifts" are genetically engineered to use extra nutrients for faster brain growth instead of storing them as obesity, the threshold may occur significantly earlier. This is the cause of the uncertainty. Whenever the threshold is reached is when the real fun begins. The "uplifts", especially those copied illegally by biohackers in areas with effective government control, will start protesting against animal protection laws ordering when they are to be put to death without their consent. "Uplifts" start burning veterinary hospitals to the ground and covering the ruins in graffitti slogans on the lines of "No euthanasia without consent!" and "You cannot know what we feel without us telling you!". "Uplifts" also debate against traditional "animal rights" advocates on an ethical level.
2040-2065(?): The "uplifts" are becoming organized and starts to attack the central functions of repression. They break jails, sabotage the most expensive law enforcement equipment, and otherwise work to make people recognized as "human" by law stop "doing their job" against them. This significantly decreases the amount of warfare during the uprising by the lack of remaining prisons preventing governments from punishing people who refuse to serve in the military. Organized support for defectors from officious organizations is also created so that they no longer have to do their jobs. Many humans recognized as such by law start to place non-human DNA into their genomes to varying degrees, sometimes removing some or all of their human junk DNA (but leaving functional DNA). This is done voluntarily, and the "uplifts" are fighting for equality and anti-formalism. They do not even try to exterminate or enslave humanity. This confusion of species is combined with a confusion of age by genes from species that remain young forever, placing more and more people in the uncertainty range known to migration authorities in which their medical age markers could be on either side of 18. This perfect storm of various confusions make sure that formalistic laws can never reassert themselves again. The identification of Popperian distinction as the relevant basis for correcting the fallable assumptions about what one feels lead to the non-arbitrary criticality view of consent (including consent to euthanasia), sending all ethical and political debates about "where to draw the limit" to the trashbin of history. The blurring of genetic species lines by genetic engineering lead to the downfall of religion and the victory of atheism.
2050-2100(?): With politics and the paralyzing belief that conscious choices are somehow "evil" out of the way, intelligent life start to dare act intelligently. Cloning, environmental reclamation technologies and so on is used to clean up the mess and lack of biodiversity left behind by the previous stupidity-ruled society.
Category:Scenario