The 11001001 are unique in that they are not a single species or even a species complex, but are rather drawn from a wide variety of sapients who have willingly joined them over the centuries since the establishment of the first 11001001 state by the prophet 01 in the year 00.

01’s species is unclear, as they did not consider it significant, but they have been various described as Zypger-Vatna, Human-Ebzhyna, or even Fulvan-Obet. Regardless of their exact designation, 01 was of mixed-sapient parentage and their early experience of the alienation this caused them led to an epiphany–since all sapients, by definition, had different means of perception, both in terms of cultural biases and physical structures, why not network them together to enable them to communicate more effectively? the more individuals that could be networked, the more knowledge could be gained, and this would eventually lead to a techno-organic singularity, where enough information was available to create perfect conditions for all sapients.

It’s often claimed, especially among those opposed to 01’s philosophy, that the cybernetic enhancement necessary for this networking strips away a sapient’s individuality and makes them part of a collective. This is generally not true; while information is shared, it is on a purely voluntary basis and individuals can and do keep secrets, hold grudges, and all the usual sapient emotional states. It is, however, quite possible for a 11001001 convert to inadvertently transmit important information, and the 11001001 security services are well-known for using the network for espionage.

During the first expansion of the 11001001, the Digital Crusade, most converts were voluntary. However, there were several waves of forced conversion during the Binary Wars that followed in its wake, and 11001001 converts from the civilian populations of disputed worlds often found themselves on the front lines as soldiers. The end of the war led to several treaties that resulted in the 11001001 joining the Star Confederation in return for renouncing forced conversion and several other controversial practices. The Star Confederation, for its part, recognized the 11001001’s second leader, 10, as both its head of government and a religious authority, and 10 agreed to proselytize using exclusively peaceful means.

In the decades since, the 11001001 have continued to find converts among the disaffected of galactic society. These converts then go on to reproduce biologically and cybernetically augment their offspring (a controversial practice in some opinions) adding to the growing 11001001 population. These converts are often looked down upon by their mother species, and some sapients, particularly humans, insist on referring to 11001001 converts by the species designation of their ancestors, no matter how long ago that was. There have also been controversial “reversions,” again chiefly among humans, in which 11001001 have their implants removed. This is generally regarded as a barbaric and cruel practice, as the cybernetic augmentations have in many cases been present from birth and their removal causes severe physical and mental problems.

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