Civilizations

Sufficiently Advanced contains descriptions of over a dozen civilizations, spread all across the universe.

• The Eternal Masquerade, where all citizens wear masks from birth to death. Brilliantly colored in their anonymity, the Masqueraders wear a dozen faces but maintain their true identities.
• The Cognitive Union, an engine driven by cybernetically controlled slaves. Insiders see the Union as a utopia, but outsiders see the terrible cost at which it was built.
• The United Planets of Mechanica, who believe that humanity resides in the brain, and that all else can be replaced - and perhaps is even meant to be replaced.
• The Disciples of the Void, who believe that only in the silent depths of space can they hear the voice of God. Their pilgrims visit the rest of the universe for a sense of perspective.
• The Tao of History, an entire civilization devoted to recreating history through the use of post-Transcendental technology. Their exploits are broadcast to every civilization where someone will pay to watch.
• The Glorious Stardwelling Armada, who explore both the universe and the myriad forms that humanity can take. The Stardwellers alone build starships - no other civilization roams the depths of space at will.
• The Roamers, who travel via wormhole from one inhabited world to another, never taking root and rarely finding welcome. Everyone knows that they are spies, but everyone hopes to get the best end of the deal.
• The Alliance of Independent Worlds, determined to make their way without the aid of the Transcendentals. So far, so good…
• The Society of Eternal Life, who believe that by making copies of themselves they may live forever. Each Replicant has many instances at once, and talking to yourself isn't a euphemism here.
• The Rationalist League, who have removed emotion from themselves at a genetic level. These Logicians maintain their political power through their protection of Old Earth.
• The Association of Stored Humans, who were scanned into computers and now choose exist as data alone. The Stored argue that their digital world is just as real and valid as the analog world from which they came.
• Old-Worlders, living in peace and simplicity on Earth (and other worlds) as they have since before the invention of the automobile. The Amish are the stereotypical Old-Worlder culture.
• Spacers, sent out before the advent of wormhole travel, still choosing their way of traveling between the stars. Their diligence and discipline help to keep their massive spaceships operational after thousands of years.
• Cargo Cults, who have lost the understanding of the technology they brought with them, but use it still. Dozens of these exist, each dysfunctional in its own interesting way.

There are also many societies that span across the civilizations. Society members must believe in their ideals, but receive special benefits for it. The Hospitalers seek to preserve life while the Darwinians kill thousands in the name of forced evolution and the Hyperevolutes try to evolve themselves. The Artisans society alter their brains to improve artistic ability, but the Heterolinguists do it to avoid memetic assault. Group Minds form when people link their neural meshes together. These and more exist in many different civilizations, all trying to further their own causes.