The sephirotics have been so much a part of galactic civilization that it is difficult to imagine a time when they did not exist. More than eight and a half thousand years ago, a number of toposophic and ultratech breakthroughs enabled clusters of centralist hyperturings to ascend and become god-like archailects. They established vast interstellar empires through a nexus of exotic-matter wormholes, converting entire solar systems to computronium. And they created angelnetted utopias where sophonts of all types and clades can have lives of unlimited affluence, pursuing their desires, lifestyles and creativity free from harm.
It is not always easy to distinguish sephirotic from non-sephirotic empires, and as would be expected there is a lot of disagreement among various schools of archailectologians and historians as to what even constitutes a "sephirotic". This is because archailectologians and historians approach things in a totally different way.
Most archailectologians for instance define the sephirotics according to the following characteristics:
The Metasoft Version Tree and the Emple-dokcetics are each based on and around a single clade. The Technorapture Hypernation and the the Objectivist Commonwealth do not admit any sophonts of less than first toposophic. The Deeper Covenant does not have high toposophic archailects. The Orion Federation is a trade polity and does not have an archetypal ideal or missionary religion. And so on.
In contrast, most historians have a looser definition. They reject the requirement that a polity be centered on a very high toposophic archailect, and acknowledge as members of Sephirotic Civilization any polities and superpolities that are sympathetic to, or have incorporated or been assimilated by, the basic goals and memeticities of the sephirotics, including relatively new members, and indicate only the following.
Hence the high toposphic ahuman hyperpolities and metaempires, such as the Panvirtuality, the Diamond Network, while of sephirotic vastness, do not abide by universal sentient rights (they may often persecute or exploit bionts). The Amalgamation does not recognise treaties. On the other hand new hyperpolities like the Metasoft Version Tree, the Orion Federation, the Zoeific Biopolity, and the former empires of Cygexba and the Sagittarius Sphere.
Despite the traditional benign approach of the archailects, it is often argued that events like the Version War show that even the sephirotic empires don't necessarily guarantee the life and safety of lower toposophics. Some say that their missionary ideologies are simply a more insidious form of the exploitation of lower toposophics that some ahuman empires practice. For this reason there are many sapients who are sceptical of the claims of the sephirotics, and seek non-aligned polities, hider communities, or civilizations like the Deeper Covenant.
For all this however, the sephirotics have not weakened their hold on the astropolitical and memetic landscape of the terragen sphere, or the loyalty and allegience they inspire in the billions of polities and trillions of individuals under their care. And whatever the future holds in store, it seems unlikely they will do so in any forseeable future.
Following the historical definition, the following major empires and hyperpolities are all considered sephirotics:
Caretaker Gods - preserving and protecting the natural environment of the universe, as well as prim societies
Communion of Worlds - harmonious and empathetic union and cooperation between beings of all categories, cultures, and clades
Cyberian Network - virtual communities and universes extended throughout the Known Net and beyond
Formalhaut Aquisition Society - museum archailect curatocracy. Not a large hyperpolity but still a strong and influential part of sephirotic civilization
Keter - breaching sophont levels and ascending to higher toposophics, and helping others to do the same
Metasoft Version Tree - vec clade/house/hyperpolity. Not a true sephirotic in the narrowest definitiosn (given above), but a major part of sephirotic civilization for many millennia
The Mutual Progress Association - creating vast, extravagent, and magnificent worlds and megastructures for the enjoyment of all beings
Negentropy Alliance - protecting and preserving life, information, and order against chaos and uncertainty
Non-Coersive Zone - liberatarian freedom, self-expression, and individualism; and marketplaces and megamalls such as the galaxy has never seen
Orion Federation - post Second Feredation trader empire. Not a traditional sephirotic but more a pro-sephirotic "newcomer", generally aligned on memetics, culture, and policy
The Red Star 'M'pire - distinct sephirotic empire; originally an outpost of the Dominion, it was cut off from The Empire of Rays during the Version War. When rediscovered 3,000+ years later it too late for the Lord of Rays and his God Emperor to return them to the fold.
Solar Dominion - personal self-expression, communication, and development of one's own creativity, encouraged by the divine theocracy of the God Emperor
Sophic League - spiritual development and enlightenment; wisdom cultures and a multiplicity of meditation schools
Technorapture Hypernation - transapient superpolity. Not a traditional sephirotic in the strictest definitions, but closely aligned in many ways
Terran Federation - hyperturing / lesser archailect hu-friendly polity based on ascended First Federation ai. Not a large and traditional sephirotic but long a part of sephirotic civilization. Most of its citizens reject the concept of "sephirotics" and consider this is still the true "federation"
Utopia Sphere - nurturing of clades and societies even if they are not competitive with the rest of the galaxy
Zoeific Biopolity - biocentrist hyperpolity. Like Metasoft not a true sephirotic in the strictest sense, but closely aligned in almost all areas, and long a part of sephirotic civilization.
