Well, let me double check this section to make sure it's fine. This is an excerpt from the Culture section.Due to their scientific achievement, the Namilee are capable of doing things that would make other species awed. For one, their replication devices are able to reproduce most anything they need on a daily basis, even be used to regenerate wounds or create plants from a database of stored plant DNA. They are able to synthesize metals which other species cannot. This technology has allowed them to recreate some of their lost comforts from home while aboard the New Hope. Having seen the horrific results of what happens when other species possess advanced technology - such as the utilization of that technology to destroy other civilizations - the Namilee are incredibly wary of exchanging knowledge of this replicating power with anybody.
But perhaps more interesting than that is their ability to easily modify the genetic traits of an individual and modify the body non-intrusively at the same time. Though generally avoided, as natural diversity within the gene pool is treasured, this process is conducted in cases when someone's genetic code makes them at risk of dying an early or painful death, or simply when someone desires to modify themselves enough to request such a transformation. Chromosomes - including sex chromosomes - can be modified and their phenotypic implications made reality in the same instant. Moreover, the genetic material from one person can be used to create sexual product of another, meaning that a male's DNA can be used to synthesize eggs and that a female's DNA can be used to synthesize sperm. The societal ramifications of such technologies have utterly transformed the Namilee's perception of their mortal condition.
Despite their ability to modify life, however, the Namilee have no intention of creating more of their own species through replication techniques, nor do they know how to do so without creating an inherently flawed people. Regrowing a lost limb is one thing. Using pre-existing DNA structures to create plantlife or to modify an organism is one thing. But to create sentient life, to try and make that life an individual, to deny it any of the usual processes of growth associated with normal life: that is both questionable and, in some ways, just out of the Namilee's grasp. And if it weren't out of their grasp, the Namilee would still ponder the ethical ramifications of utilizing technology for that purpose. Genetic abnormalities would almost certainly be present - partly why chromosomal changes are so carefully considered before the gene modification procedure is conducted - and there may be problems unforeseen by modern science that could also arise from creating an entirely new member of one's species with replication technology.
Other societal questions have been posed by the development of replication technology. Can replication be used to restore life to the dead? The science seems to support that it one can, at least, use the DNA from dead tissue to recreate the lost individual, even if the individual knows nothing of themselves. Are there spiritual ramifications for doing so? Does this disrupt the energy of life? Could the technology be used to immortalize people, to effectively give them eternal life by rejuvenating or replacing their cells? The science there is muddled and unclear. If that is so, is it wrong to withhold the technology out of fear of other species destroying themselves?
It is a messy series of questions that have yet to be answered.
I love it! But don't let the Xim find out you can change genes so easily, or that you disapprove of cloning. They'll flip the fuck out
