130 is about 1 in 50 people.

Which perhaps is still remarkable, but I think it is a much higher frequency than most people would intuit from the number.

this doesn't really mean anything? you would find similarly high iq people around anyone with the power and the money to acquire them.

Personally I tend to feel less respect for people who are noticeably dumber than I am. I think that's basic human nature, or at least my nature.

Tyrants know this. You see it when they feel threatened and start purging their subordinates. If they don't respect you they can fear you instead.

This project will produce a lot of fairly intelligent drones who will know to color inside the lines. I doubt that any Feynmans will emerge.

The "openness" trait from big five personality research (pretty legit) correlates with IQ. More open people are both more likely to question the status quo and are more likely to be more intelligent (in the strict sense of the word) than average. This suggests but doesn't necessarily mean that anything would come of it.

There's also the question of whether or not the genetic changes they attempt to make would increase intelligence independently of openness, which is likely possible, but that would require a deeper understanding and familiarity with the subject.