Well, I don't think thats a fair question WJ. After all we are talking about a race of creatures created for heavy labour, I don't think the aliens were trying to make the genes look 'pretty' as it were. After all do you complain about a tracktors paint job?
As the story goes, they were intended for slave labour, it was only a bi-product of interplanetary politics that saw us rise to todays levels. I kinda like the story
It would make a neat comic book or something.