The Numerous Distinction are a race of bipedal primates, resembling wolves and monkies, with prehensile digits on their feet and hands, and a prehensile tail. They get their name from their extreme pack-bonded society. While most species have large sexual dimorphism, or some form of hierarchy such a patriarchy or matriarchy, The Numerous Distinction is often described as "congressional" in nature. Their typical evolutionary group is over 2,000 individual members and their offspring. Their social interactions are extremely regimented, and centered primarily on deliberating decisions for hours, days, or months. However, when crisis looms, their instincts change, and every single person falls in line. If, for example, after much discussion, war were declared, Generals would be elected, and ranks would be formed where they stood. These ranks would last until the crisis abated. The entirety of their society would be completely, 100% invested into the war, and every single able-bodied adult would become a soldier. This mentality means they are a traditional, highly work-oriented society concerned with precision and perfectionism. They have no social classes, tend to regard pets in a more similar light to 'roommates,' and are psychologically incapable of understanding the concept of 'slavery.' They do not however, appreciate being forced into the Network, and make long-winded, bombastic complaints to that effect. They reproduce sexually. They mate for life, typically, though divorces are somewhat common, as the children are raised in groups of hundreds to thousands anyway. Marriage, divorce, and everything before, after, and inbetween are extremely rooted in vague and unnecessary traditions, and usually involves the input of the entire society before the ordeal is done. Law seems to be rooted into their genetic make-up, due to their intensely social nature. When someone does go to trial, it is usually a most heinous crime- and defendants are often trialed to death, literally lasting years to decades of hearings of a court that will often change judges and juries multiple times. Thankfully, no one else has to be subjected to this. Extremely friendly, or about to bite their head off. No in between. Thankfully, unless you've managed to offend an entire group of them, they are unlikely to actually bite anyone. Though they have often gone to war, in their past, over 'insults to their honor,' they are not an openly 'hostile' species. Aggressive, perhaps. But they can also be aggressively affectionate. Their innate sense of social responsibility means that when they encounter a wounded, ill, alone, or in-danger member of another species, they are essentially adopted by the first one to set eyes upon them. One might think the network would be instantly understandable to their species, but it's demands on them forced them to space their species far apart, and in far fewer groups than they would prefer (or is even healthy for them). The Numerous Distinction requires family and community to maintain emotional and spiritual health. A single member forced in isolation could die in as little as several months. Their technical expertise and natural climbing and agility make them well suited as mechanics, engineers, and general maintenance personnel on stations, mining colonies, or other dispersed stations. The network they never wanted to join forces them to maintain the network. You might only see one if you catch them mid-work. They are an industrious people, when not deliberating over the most menial group decisions. In the immediate case, a strong-minded response. If they die from an accident, they first make the situation safe. If they died from a threat, they eliminate the threat with voracious efficiency.
Then they mourn, as they lived, communally. Usually huddled, with the immediate family of the victim(s) in the middle. They murmur prayers, they hold them tight, in one, massive group hug. Vanna is the primary deity of the Numerous Distinction. Vanna is a creator that brought order to the chaosy-nothing of the universe. Vanna is a monotheist entity, with no counter (no devil or demons). All evil in the universe comes from the chaos that existed before. The concept of demons was introduced to their society by... what else? The network. Their nose is sensitive enough to smell a berry tart pastry a kilometer away? Their arboreal home world means they have a unique form of 3 dimensional dancing? The Numerous Distinction have a dedicated military (despite Network mandates), a parliamentary political system with four branches- the primary parliament of their homeworld having over 8,000 members, and a rather complex government with some offices served by election, others by lottery. Most meals, being communal, are cooked communally. in giant family conveyor belts. Long wooden, carved tables with hand cranks that move everything down the line. Different families, different styles, different woods, different mechanisms. there is no 'dominance' in Numerous Distinction society. They are so overly social that all forms of hierarchy outside emergencies are deemed rude, and what we might call "degenerate" or "anti-social" behavior. It works for them better than most species! Perfect? No. Elders still hold more weight than children, some personalities outshine others. But remember their society was neither Patriarchal nor Matriarchal. Even their ancient ancestors were classified as ‘Congressional’. But, of course, that only sounds nice until you want to break up with your girlfriend but can’t until you ask The Community. The ND's and the Network: Joining the network was a complicated decision for them. For a solid year, they lingered on the possibility of isolation. Most simply attributed this to their now known distinctive propensity for exhaustive debate. But the truth of the matter is, the Numerous Distinction, a society that so relishes their politics and community as one asked the network if it was a "Democracy." The answer it got back was upbeat, positive toward "equity" of the species, and ultimately very long and very vague. This, combined with their designation of Tier 1.88 intelligence, had them frothing mad for a very long time. To this day, they still ponder biting anybody who calls them a tier 1.8, and almost always will bite someone who calls them a "dumb monkey." You see, ND's intelligence is not evolved individually, nor as a hive mind, but something in between. Whenever one ND applies for a position, for example, you almost always have to hire 2-4 to work side by side. However, those employers generous enough to do so will often report that they never experience any project shortfalls, setbacks, or other disturbances from their work. New intelligence research on their capabilities show that Tier 1.88 reflects the individual intelligence of your average Numerous Distinction individual. But taken together, their intelligence seems to genuinely not just add small increments, but nearly multiply. A group of 5 ND's have a collective intelligence closer to 1.97. A group of ten may reach 2.05. And 20 to forty, depending on the individuals involved, can easily reach the same productivity, problem solving capability, memory retention, and decision making as a Tier 2.25 species. This is their greatest strength, and their greatest weakness. It can actually continue to increase from here, though with decreasing returns. The smartest group ever assembled of nearly 2000 could plateau near 2.44. This is why they do not like the network. They are not morons. But the Network's tier system is, to them, a social class or public hierarchy, which they naturally despise. More so since it is not designed to accommodate their unique form of intelligence. This is why the Numerous Distinction has a secret. A secret kept for generations from the Network. A portion of their species decided to reject the network altogether. After some negotiation, this was allowed. A continent was allotted to accommodate those that wish to be un-networked. This continent is often referred to as the 'dark' side of the planet, though it rotates like most others. There is a distinct, monitored border between the networked and un-networked portions of the planet, and while free trade travels across, and sometimes people immigrate one way or the other, there are still distinct political lines. You see, the Numerous Distinction's "Dark" Counterparts maintain not just an army, but a fleet. This fleet contains two Strike Carriers, Two Battleship-Cruisers, and one Dreadnaught Flagship. These craft will depart for training maneuvers once every other year. They pass by their sentinel drone, disguised as commercial craft and traveling sub-light speed until their far away. Then their guns pop out, they do some good training, and come home. On their way home, they tuck their weapons back in, drop back to sub-light speed, and tow some asteroids back home for appearances. These ships are a statement of Independence for the Numerous Distinction. A statement that they can hold their own, ARE their own. They have never intended to raise arms unnecessarily against anyone, including the network. Many ND's have guessed why they've been getting away with this. Some posit that the Network genuinely does not know about the fleet and the army. Otherwise they would have said something. Some posit that the Network is aware of the fleet to some degree, but turns a blind eye because they once responded to a distress signal, and arrived many days before Network counterparts saving trillions in commercial value and thousands of citizens lives. However, more depressingly, and more truthfully, the Network DOES know about the fleet. It has known since the founding. But this particular fleet resides on a planet with over 20 billion networked citizens, within the Phoenix Nebula with over one trillion networked citizens. And whenever the network might decide to lay claim to these ships, it can do so. Which means, in the end, The Numerous Distinction does not have a fleet of two Strike Carriers, Two Battleship Cruisers, and One Dreadnaught Flagship. The NETWORK does. And the Numerous distinction, as a slightly lower tier civilization, has been doing them the unknowing generous favor of keeping the ships maintained and ready.