Basic Trope: A species gives/receives technology from another species, outside of client species' current technology level.
- Straight: Loray Collective, a Interstellar Empire comprised by a species of benevolent hive-minded humanoids, established First Contact with newly founded,pre-spaceflight United Nations. As a trade exchange, they decided to teach humanity basic technology needed as a space-faring civilization as well as new ideals to change human mindset to a more altruist thinking.
- Exaggerated:
- United Nations' technology and social structure are completely learnt from the Loray Collective.
- Loray Collective do not mind teaching humanity how to create deadly weapons, including Planet Killers.
- Many alien species' technology are under Loray Collective's guidance.
- Lowry Collective does this to a hunter-gatherer civilization.
- Downplayed:
- Loray Collective do have tech exchange, but it is more of a thesis/blueprint paper transfer. Hence the humans have to figure a way in order to create it out of the papers.
- Loray Collective only teach humans on civilian technology, since they worry that introducing weapons technology will accelerate humanity's own destruction or hamper their own advantages.
- Justified:
- Loray Collective's ethos is about using benevolent means to gain a good reputation and prioritizing mutualism over zero-sum games (no-holds-barred competition).
- Loray Collective thought that it is better to "pacify" its potential rivals so that they can be their allies instead of bitter rivals/enemies.
- Loray Collective is at the verge of extinction and it want to pass its legacy to other species.
- Loray Collective is at war with Poshtan Imperium, so it needs a new ally to fight against the Imperium.
- Inverted: Poshtan Imperium actively "de-advance" spacefaring civilizations to pre-spaceflight levels as a means of preventing rebellion among its subjugated species.
- Subverted: When Loray Collective and Poshtan Imperium have a grand fleet battle in the Solar System, United Nations stayed out while broadcasting the battle for all humans to watch. When the battle ends, both sides retreated due to heavy losses and United Nations proceeds to take the ruins for their own research.
- Double Subverted:
- ......but after some time Loray Collective realized that their last battle have a pre-spaceflight civilization knowing it, so it proceeds to establish Technology Uplift as its own modus operandi.
- Turns out that Loray Collective actually detected mankind earlier, but the Poshtan Imperium was trying to conquer and subjugate humans as third-class citizens. So it went to the battle first, then sent out diplomatic corps to do the uplifting.
- Parodied:
- During the uplifting process Loray Collective didn't bother to translate the blueprints, cue hilarious creations of mankind.
- The new technologies in the uplift program includes non-narcotic drugs and interactive toys.
- Cultural Exchange is also in the program, after some time humanity have adopted the kit-bash of human and alien cultures that may be hilarious or insulting to 21 century humans.
- Zig Zagged: United Nations actually developed spaceflight and basic FTL travel as well as 21 century railguns and nuclear-tipped hypersonic missiles. And then come along the Loray Collective who gave out advanced technology. After some decades, the United Nations developed their own tech better than the Loray Collective.
- Averted: Loray Collective do not technologically uplift pre-spaceflight civilizations.
- Invoked: At the capital ship's computer database of the Loray Collective, United Nations is in the list of "Potential Ally Candidate: Pre-Spaceflight" while the ship is cruising to the Earth, visible from a distance in space.
- Exploited:
- Loray Collective take the chance of the Uplifting Program to steal more info about humanity.
- Alternatively, Poshtan Imperium uses this method to slowly grip humanity to its own influence.
- Defied: Loray Collective have a law that forbids any technological uplift on any pre-spaceflight civilzations.
- Implied: The ships of United Nations share significant resemblance to Loray Collective's ships.
- Deconstructed:
- When Loray Collective made first contact with United Nations and proceeds to introduce new technologies, humanity at first tried to reverse engineering them. But one of the technologies is a weapon that can destroy a planet's biosphere if handled wrongly. Humanity, still haven't mastered how to use it properly, made a fatal mistake and accidentally blows it up, killing off humanity; Alternatively, some people survived the ordeal and had a extremely bad impression on the collective despite its compensation efforts.
- Loray Collective made contact with United Nations during a Civil War by former nations trying to have a last struggle for their sovereignty/in a period where nation-states are at the verge of war. The collective originally wanted to introduce technology to at least halt the fighting, but humanity only thought about getting rid of their enemies after knowing that the Collective isn't malevolent. Hence, every single nation fought each other for the access of the technology, dividing mankind even further and cumulating in a global existential crisis of mankind (may injure the Collective itself during the process, especially if one of the nations decided to put the blame for the war on it).
- Loray Collective did succeed on uplifting the technology of humanity. But because they forgot to put emphasis on social uplifting, humanity ended up either as a ultra-capitalist Cyberpunk society or a dictatorial galactic empire of oppression and exploitation (in which the latter may signify Loray Collective's demise). In worse case scenarios it may be distrusted by humans even when the plan is just going to start and the plan fails after UN/some nations decided to have hostile relations with it.
- Loray Collective's technology is too advanced that it drastically changes the society of humanity such as closing up various jobs and changing political landscapes. Humanity is unable to cope with the changes and got into ways that the Collective not wanting humanity to take. Eventually humanity start to voice out opposition to the collective, putting the program to a halt or worse, sparking open warfare among two races.
- Reconstructed:
- Loray Collective put emphasis on Social Uplifting over Technological Uplifting. Its diplomats often spread altruistic thinking and mutualism within the human masses as much as they could to pacify them. When humanity have put aside their own malevolent human nature, the Collective proceeds to initiate their technology uplift. The Collective also considers the pros and cons of their introduced technology on humanity and adjust the programs accordingly.
- Loray Collective uses disguise and underground organizations to uplift humanity.
- Loray Collective visits mankind after all powers has been fallen, jack up personal protective equipment during First Contact for its diplomats and learnt human languages as well as 50+ contingency plans in order to make sure their plan does not fail.
- Not wanting to give up on mankind even during war between humanity themselves, Loray Collective used their mind-wipe superweapon to clean up every single memory of humanity about their own faction allegiance and history (more importantly, why they want to wage the war and what they are doing right now) before resuming their program.
- Played For Drama: Loray Collective generously offered technology uplift to all human nations in the 21st century. Emma, the protagonist who works as a nation's First Contact Team Leader as well as Xeno-Communications Director, witnesses the societal, cultural, economical and political effects of the uplift on modern society.
- Played For Horror: In an alternate timeline, Shawn was the President of United Nations who established contact with Poshtan Imperium. As the Imperium introduces various technology uplift programs, he somehow found out that these programs are not without the Imperium's hideous intentions......
