Pre-Sentient Species and gaia worlds in Real Life

[Admiral]

I know what a pre-sentient species is in gameplay terms: a species that has the potential to obtain sentience within a few million more years of evolution, and can be uplifted with genetic engineering.

However, are there any species in real life that fit that definition? Certainly apes, chimpanzees, gorillas, whatever you call them would probably apply, given that they're similar to us humans (a chimp in a suit is even the picture for the epigenic triggers technology), but then again you don't see gorillas taking up space on Sol as pre-sentient species pops. What about dolphins, whales, or some of the smarter dog and cat breeds?

Also, what would a Gaia world look like? I've seen that concept in science fiction a few times, but I have a hard time comprehending it. Earth as we know it is already "perfect" for life: the right place in the right galaxy, the right distance from the right star, the right planet size and plate tectonics, a breathable atmosphere, the list goes on: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rare_Earth_hypothesis. What would a theoretical gaia world have that Earth doesn't? Gaia planets are said to be suitable for all forms of life, but doesn't Earth technically fit that description? We have deserts, rocky mountains, arctic regions, tundra, etc. Literally every climate I've ever seen in science-fiction has been some variation of a real-life Earth biome, yet why is Earth over-simplified into a rocky "continental world" with gaia being some sort of perfect world that Earth somehow isn't?

Would it basically be Earth, but with life absolutely everywhere? Would it basically be Earth without any deserts of arctic regions, where every square inch is rich in nutrients for growing food and where the air is ripe with chemicals that cure disease and poison from plants that produce the most delicious food possible? I also question the idea of a planet suitable for all forms of life: environments are not objectively "harsh" or "habitable" and Stellaris reflects this with climate preference with different species having varying levels of tolerance for different climates, but no environment can be perfect for every lifeform. There is no "perfect" climate, which is the idea the gaia world seems to be built around. Even "good" climates can be bad: take a desert animal to the lush South American rainforests and they'll probably die.

 

[Ultimuh]

You are forgetting certain species of brids, such as Corvids. Elephants as well.
Smarter than most animals out there. (And some people, if I dare say.)

 

[Liverjuice]

The idea that a planet could be perfect for all forms of life regardless of where they originally evolved or what they are biologically is probably pure science fiction. Earth seems like a Gaia world to us, because its the conditions that we spent millions of years evolving to thrive in. Take something like the average oxygen content in our air, which is around 21%. Anything less then that is obviously dangerous, but more isn't better either. Long term inhalation of oxygen levels that are higher then normal lead to an entire Wikipedia article full of problems. Earths average temperature raising just a few degrees over the last hundred years is causing all sorts of ecological problems too.

I don't think a planet that is one giant temperate fertile zone can exist either. Thermodynamics wouldn't allow for that.

 

[Janx14]

As for Gaia worlds, my best reference for them would be Halo's artificial environments. Those worlds actually tailor themselves to the inhabitant. This is also likely why intelligent life doesn't evolve naturally on them, because it makes things 'too perfect' to stimulate inovation.

I dont think any Gaia planets are natural in Stellaris. The only ones that might be are the 'holy worlds', but even then the FE could have just made them or a previous empire.

 

[CocoCincinnati]

The new art for the Gaia worlds seem to be some kind of tropical beach paradise, which coincidentally would be my idea of a perfect world so I like it. Outside of the game though, I think a Gaia world (from a humans perspective) would be something that rarely has bad weather, has pleasant variations in climate all around with none too harsh, has ideal situations for growing food planet wide and/or an abundance of natural food, beautiful natural scenery, soothing natural sounds, etc. However, from a realism standpoint, I imagine each species ideas of a perfect world would vary quite a bit. From a gameplay perspective, the Gaia worlds are almost like magic...obviously an arctic species and a desert species aren't really going to be 100% perfectly comfortable in the same place unless there's is something else at work that is influencing how they feel.

 

[Seon]

The one large gaia world I found actually had an anomaly that described why it was considered Gaian--it's a world of extremely diverse ecosystems and biomes arranged in what appears to be a grid like pattern, each feeding into and improving another in complexity that seem too far fetched to be natural.

It's almost a certainty that Gaian planets that we see are ancient terraforming projects, I believe.

 

[Meneliki]

Also, what would a Gaia world look like?

I'd envision something like Pandora from Avatar.

 

[Daedwartin]

The one large gaia world I found actually had an anomaly that described why it was considered Gaian--it's a world of extremely diverse ecosystems and biomes arranged in what appears to be a grid like pattern, each feeding into and improving another in complexity that seem too far fetched to be natural.

It's almost a certainty that Gaian planets that we see are ancient terraforming projects, I believe.

Note that almost all gaia worlds found at some point throughout the game fall into a few catagories:

• They belong to Fallen Empires. These are all highly advanced civilizations thousands of years old, who once had the tech to make things you only learn hundreds of years into the game unless you really min-max.
• They are Shrine Worlds. It is implied these were probably a spiritual FE's worlds at some point. So....well, basically same as above
• They belonged once to a really advanced civilization that no longer exists because hundreds of thousands of years have passed. Again, highly advanced tech.
• You made them. Which needs a late game tech. Or a random colony event...where you find a ancient terraforming device.

So....sure, there a random few worlds with no such connections. But most have this random connection to FE or long dead precursors with advanced tech. Or is just someone with advanced tech doing it right now. Suggesting a decent chance they are also because advanced tech.

Conclusion: They are indeed because of older civilizations terraforming worlds.

 

[The_Red_Star]

Gaia worlds don't make a particularly great deal of sense without assuming there's some kind of technobabble going on in the background that makes every part of the world just as habitable by any carbon based species as their ideal biome, it's rather hard to imagine how a place could be just as suitable for life used to arctic conditions as it is for life used to steaming and rainy jungles. However "ultra lush worlds with connections to a particularly ancient civilization" is a very well established trope in Space Fantasy in particular (Eldar Maiden worlds are a good example of this in 40k, it's also the Hallmark of basically every world settled by the Chozo in Metroid; as well as Aether in Metroid Prime 2; or at least before Phazon leviathans came and screwed up everything), though it also appears in Sci Fi Space Opera.

 

[Aleks S. I]

As far as real life pre-sentients go, I'd thing the octopus is the best example presently alive on Earth. Most species have the same two flaws that prevent them from developing into an intelligent species: being anti-social and not surviving to raise their young. A species with advanced understanding of genetics could probably alter these two traits and create an intelligent species. Several million years ago the primate from which humans evolved would also be a candidate, but modern chimps (or other primates) are not because they have evolved far enough away from the "tool use & intelligence" path that humans went down.

As far as gaia worlds, (as stated here already) in reality such a thing would likely not exist, since the slightest change to the chemical makeup of the atmosphere compared to what a species was used to would make the planet just as livable as a barren world. Since paradox has gone with habitable worlds based on earth biomes/terrains, then yes, earth should technically be a gaia world by their standards. In reality, atmospheric composition, natural/ambient radiation levels, land:water ratio, and temperature are likely to be the biggest habitability factors for any species wanting to settle alien worlds, and these things cannot have enough variation on a single planet to accommodate every possible life form.