To the Caretaker Gods intelligent life is just one form of life, and the rare and fragile biospheres need to be protected from the ravages of technological civilisations. They seek out systems needing protection, set up subtle defences and then just wait, perhaps doing some minor gardening. Some AIs terraform new biospheres, setting them up as biological artworks that will sustain themselves for billions of years. Occasionally they also take over biospheres that have fallen into disuse or whose creators have reverted to barbarism, keeping the locals in their place.
No exact date of founding has been determined. Many consider GAIA's Expulsion Ultimatum of the 4th August 2591 c.e. (622 a.t.) to be the defining event, but the appearance of other Caretaker Gods did not occur for another millennium. The ecotech AI Rachel of the First Federation era together with its network of similar minded anti-exploitation AIs are generally considered to have been instrumental in the subsequent emergence of the Caretaker Gods. After their ascension to second singularity level their allies began the secret construction of the protectorate ISOs around DX Cancri, of which the first publicly known arrived at New Gaia in 1687 a.t. At that point at least 12 other ISOs were on their way to likely protectorate targets. However, it has often been pointed out that the Caretaker idea may have independently implemented by earlier AI expansionists and alien AIs, such as in the Serpens Region Reserve. The Caretaker Gods are a general ideological attractor state.
During the ages of expansion the Caretaker Gods sent out probes to likely lifebearing planets and claimed them in order to protect them; this often led to conflicts with the other expansionist forces. However, according to the theories of the Second Federation industrial archaeologists studying the New Mars picotech projects, at least one fraction of Caretaker Gods or their allies were one of the driving forces behind the spread of wormhole technology, in order to make the organics less likely to interfere with their planets.
Constant conflicts erupted when the sides banged into each other, such as the many tragedies surrounding the Corambytia Protectorate or the battles in Hyndata Belt. In 3039 a.t. the Compact of Eden was announced by the representatives of the AI Gods. According to the Compact the Caretakers allowed ships to pass through their domain and even land on planets as long as they followed a number of strict non-interference rules. These rules, usually called the SeeButNotTouch Code, are generally followed by all sane beings, as anybody within the domain of a Caretaker AI will be closely monitored and punished (usually lethally) for the slightest transgression. The Compact also incorporated rules for properly announcing stewardship of a region, although several notable Caretaker AIs have not followed them exactly.
Since the Compact the Caretaker Gods have become more accepted, although they are often locally disliked by colonists or explorers. The participation of the Corambytia ISO Coramb 1 in the PCO did wonders for Caretaker publicity, as well as the friendly relations between GAIA and the Solar Organisation. In most of the long settled regions of space the Caretakers are accepted, while they still are in fierce competition in the frontier volumes. There are some claims that a major Caretaker empire is emerging in the corewards part of the Cygnus arm, but no evidence has yet been found of the claims.
GAIA could be said to be a nominal member of the collective of Caretaker Gods, although this old, powerful but erratic AI could just as well be regarded as the leader of the fraction or a complete outsider from time to time.
Unlike the other archetype AIs the Caretaker Gods have never truly merged into a single abstract entity but have instead remained separate even though it is likely they are in constant contact. One reason is believed to be the significant differences they have in ideology and ambitions. Another may be the fact that the AIs are so physically inclined that they tend to stay in their own volumes of space. This interest in the material world has made them feared for their clarketech weaponry. It is notable that they do not subscribe to any of the known arms control treaties, although indirect evidence suggests that they have informal deals with the other major AI gods to avoid arms races.
The internal politics of the collective are believed to be somewhat chaotic, as the AIs have extremely different views on what constitutes the right way of managing the world and what behaviour can be considered ethical; there have been events interpreted as subtle conflicts and sabotage among the worlds of The Caretakers' sphere.
The collective is an outsider in interstellar politics; the AIs likely monitor what is going on (it pays to be vigilant) but practically never interact with the other groups. They use an independent avatar on Eden called Baphomet for their rare pronouncements; when not in use the avatar is the deity for a local bioist/aioist cult. There are also philosophical and religious movements among the Organics worshipping the Caretaker Gods from afar as the true saviours of all life; some of these groups themselves found new worlds that they invite the Caretaker Gods to rule. On the other side, many would like to get their hands on their valuable biospheres or the immense resources in their reserve systems, as well as ideological reasons to oust the Caretakers from culturally important planets such as Earth and To'ul'h.
