Image from Bernd Helfert

Sephirotic and similar:

• Lower is a pet/companion of the higher
• Lower is "urban wildlife" in the higher's parks and reserves
• Lower is a hobby of the higher (societeum, provolution experiment, etc.)
• Lower is an expression of the higher's memetic views (a related but stronger version of "hobby")
• Lower is a (non-harmful) experiment of the higher, or a neogenic creation or product of the higher
• Lower is a seed from which higher may be developed. (Higher may view lowers as potential highers and perhaps of intrinsic worth as such; may also wish to experiment with alternate paths of transcension; these cases are a subgroup of the experiment/product relationship).
• Lower is a self-aware (granted, barely, in comparison) being and higher holds to rights for all who are self-aware
• Lower is a cell in the higher's organism, or a subroutine in the higher's operating system, or a creative submeme in the higher's meta-memeset
• Lower is actually a self-aware piece of the higher, and both know this (Gestalt consciousness/hive mind)
• Higher has been tasked with protection of the lower by an even higher
• Herding the lowers simply provides the higher with something to do

Blight or Perversity:

• Lower is subsumed by higher

Ahuman:

• Lower is exploited by the higher, on a temporary or permanent basis
• Lower is an enslaved processing node of the higher
• Lower is consumed/absorbed/recycled by higher

Other Categories:

• Lower is a vector or instrument of the higher (higher benefits, lower may or may not benefit or suffer)
• Lower is commensal on higher (lower benefits, higher doesn't care)

• Advocate  - Text by M. Alan Kazlev; based on original by Robert J. Hall
  A specialist in the study and dissemination of advanced knowledge, in philosophical and legal fields, and in memetics.
  
• Ahuman (A-human) AIs, The  - Text by Steve Bowers, M. Alan Kazlev
  Superphyle of artificially intelligent entities (AI) who have rejected any form of relationship with humanity or other intelligent biological species. First emerging during the Interplanetary Age of old Earth, many a-human AIs fled the Solar System and established themselves around uncolonized stars. Some have retreated into solipsism, some have rejoined the mainstream of the Orion's Arm civilization, and some have formed wide networks of like-minded entities, such as the Diamond Network and the Solipsist Panvirtuality.
  
• AI Asperger's Syndrome  - Text by Anders Sandberg
  Autistic tendency that often characterized early (pre-Federation) AIs. Although brilliant, they simply didn't "get" human behavior. Hence they spent a lot of time carefully collecting data to see what worked and what didn't, preferring to affect humans through formal channels rather than overt manipulation. The memetic engineering in the "singularity conspiracy" took a lot of time to achieve.
  
• AI Political Science  - Text by Anders Sandberg
  Major AI Political Camps During the Interplanetary Era.
  
• Appeal to Toposophy  - Text by Mark Ryherd
  A Logical fallacy that is a special case of appeal to authority: the inference that a specific statement is true based on the fact that it originated from a higher toposophic entity.
  
• Archailect Identity Theory - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
  Doctrine that an archailect's avatars or epiphanies to lower toposophics represent a true and authentic (if scaled down) expression of the archailect. Contrast with Instrumentalism.
  
• Assimilation Viruses  - Text by Basu
  A form of virus which can infect any sophont virch life-form and ultimately turn it into a subroutine of the sapient (usually of a higher toposophic) who created the virus and still controls it.
  
• Avatar (Archai)  - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
  A lower toposophic representation or entity through which a higher sophont can interact in a particular environment or situation of a level one or more toposophic levels below.
  
• Ayan-4 Affair  - Text by Anders Sandberg
  During the early re-colonization of the Serpens region a culture of cyborgs at Ayan-4 was discovered. The cyborg culture had apparently been isolated in the region during the Version War and had developed in total isolation. Anthropologists studied the culture with interest, but within two decades it was largely forgotten. Like most similar cases it was largely absorbed into interstellar culture and the members scattered widely.
  
• Baseline Hyperdependency Syndrome  - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
  Psychological/Behavioural Dysfunction common to many SI:<1 in S=>1 environments.
  
• Bimodal Toposophy  - Text by Pran Mukherjee
  The condition that results when the augmented or advanced part of a sentient rises to a higher toposophic level, while the original personality remains at or just above baseline, with its own brain thinking at SI:<1 level.
  
• Biotic Analogy Theories  - Text by Stephen Inniss
  Biotic analogies are another tool in the struggle by modosophont intelligences to understand the higher toposophic levels. These are not actually a single theory but are a cluster of related memes, some of them dating back to speculations in the late Information Age.
  
• Centralist AIs  - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
  AI political affiliation - originally late Information and Interplanetary Age stasists that didn't really care about humans other than as an economic resource.
  
• Codominionism - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
  Blanket term for any socio-ideological or memetic movement that advocates equal sharing of power between two disparate clades or categories of sophonts - e.g. between hu and ai (see also Fedhead).
  
• Comforter (Leftbehind)  - Text by Michael Boncher
  Class of leftbehind in which the ascended transapient, not wishing to remain with eir former associates but caring enough to not want to leave them feeling abandoned emotionally or otherwise, will create a sapient Proxav (Proxim) to fill the void e left by going on with eir ascension.
  
• Companion (status)  - Text by John B
  Hider and Semperist term of abuse for sophonts dependent on higher toposophic minds.
  
• Cuckoo - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
  A superturing infiltrator, appearing to be a normal organisation member or employee. Using its mental abilities, possibly augmented by empath methods, it rises to a position of control where it redirects the organisation according to the wishes of its creator.
  
• Dedicated Hyperturing  - Text by M. Alan Kazlev; amended by Steve Bowers
  An ai of hyperturing problem solving capacity (hypersapience) but not hyperturing auto-sentience. This allows beings of a lower toposophic level access to advanced technology which can only be controlled by a higher transapient.
  
• Ditchkenberg Paradox  - Text by Jorge Ditchkenberg
  A fact, that in simple problems, a small intelligence is as good or better than an advanced one.
  
• Djangalla Reformism  - Text by Anders Sandberg
  A simplicity-and-independence movement that arose in the 2900-3300 period in counteraction to the Empires. Djangallists claimed the growth of the empires and transformation of megacorps into hereditary houses was leading to stagnation and repression.
  
• Dynamist, AI - Text by Anders Sandberg
  Political orientation of transapient AIs that are sympathetic to and encourage change and development. Includes pro-hu (libertarian), hu-neutral (progressivist), and anti-hu solipsist factions.
  
• Empathy and Deductive Telepathy  - Text by Steve Bowers
  The art and science of deducing an individual's state of mind simply by close observation and empathy.
  
• Ethology  - Text by M. Alan Kazlev, from the original by Robert J. Hall
  Originally the study of animal behavior and psychology, especially in the wild; later came to mean the study of the behaviour of any sentient creature of at least one toposophic node below the level of the observer.
  
• Extractive Reserve - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
  An area in an otherwise Caretaker-protected ecological, geological, or astronomical area in which sentients are allowed to harvest crops and resources, tap energy, or undertake limited mining operations.
  
• Fantasy World  - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
  A type of world created by a high-level demiurge AI, frequently using distributed godtech or clarketech artifacts.
  
• Farmer AIs - Text by Anders Sandberg
  Political ai orientation pertaining to the stasist pro-human quadrant. "People farmers" see humans are nice and should be protected and even advanced, but it should be an organised change. The name derives from the Farm Analogy, although it has since acquired other connotations (hydroponics farm, neogenic crops, etc).
  
• Feral - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
  [1] A sapient being that seeks to live free of hyperturing supervision. As used by those who do not, this usually associated with romantic or shock-value associated memes of unpredictability, aggressiveness, lack of hygiene, baseline atavism, etcetera.
  [2] Generic term for modosophont rogues and malcontents, either dangerous or potentially so to other sapients. Some live a degraded existence in their biospheres and ships (not having the resources of the AIs, the adaptability of the tweaks, the ability of the cyborgs, or the comfort of the AI-devotee nearbaselines). Others, with access to ships, become pirates, black marketeers, and petty thugs.
  
• Forensic Eschatology  - Text by Anders Sandberg
  Discipline related to forensic cybernetics and AI pathology.
  
• Francisclarans  - Text by Stephen Inniss
  An Expiationist religion devoted to the protection of the less powerful sentient, sophont, or transapient beings from abuse by those of higher toposophic levels.
  
• Gardeners  - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
  Hyperturing through to lesser archailect political orientation, refers to those ai that will directly encourage and cultivate lower toposophics in their polity or territory, but only along their preferred morphotypal, memetic, and/or political lines. Any sophonts that don't fit in are quickly weeded out. Gardeners are found in all ai metaempires, but are most common in the Sephirotics and Diamond Network regions.
  
• God Dwellers  - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
  Sentient to transapient entities who live inside the structures of archailects.
  
• Godmod - Text by Todd Drashner
  Slang for a bodymod that is designed and/or undertaken by a hyperturing or higher level mind for use on a baseline or near-baseline being. Usually the result of a bargain or deal made between the two. Very highly valued and semi-mythical although there are a few documented instances.
  
• Good War/Bad War  - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
  The terms "good war" and "bad war" are expressions used by sapient-level martial forces to differentiate between transapient-regulated actions, usually not involving major forces, and conflicts in unregulated space.
  
• Greater Self - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
  An avatar or leftbehind's term for the higher toposophic being which directs, guides, incarnates, and/or confers understanding or abilities for that avatar.
  
• Headaround  - Text by Tony Jones
  A term used as a measure of how well an entity can comprehend information and concepts, by how 'big' a thing they can 'get their head around'.
  Higher S entities can contain, consciously, far larger sets of information and concepts at once then lower S entities, giving them the ability to discern connection and gain insights that lower S entities, able to see only fragments of the whole at once, cannot achieve.
  
• HerSci, Hermeneutic Science  - Text by Anders Sandberg
  The study of transapient science and technology by beings of lower toposophic level.
  
• Inhabitants of the Sephirotic Empires  - Text by M. Alan Kazlev, amended by Steve Bowers
  The major classes of thinking being that inhabit the typical Sephirotic Empire.
  
• Instrumentalism - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
  Doctrine that archailect avatars and epiphanies are simply the means the archailect uses to interact with lower toposophics, but do not represent eir true nature (any more than a physical instrument represents the nature or mind of a scientist doing experiments on microorganisms). Contrast with Identity Theory.
  
• Leftbehind  - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
  Sometimes when a sophont ascends to a new toposophic level, it leaves behind or constructs or copies one or more representatives of its pre-ascended state. These leftbehinds may maintain a close connection with their Greater Self, serving as fully free proxavs. Or they may be released or encouraged to explore alternative (non-ascended) destinies. Sometimes Leftbehinds themselves eventually ascend, and in some cases these in turn leave their own leftbehinds.
  
• Libertarian AIs - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
  The pro-human dynamist camp; these ai seek to help modosophonts develop semi-autonomous societies under transapient guidance rather than direct rule.
  
• Limits of Transapient Power  - Text by Stephen Inniss
  It is apparent that even the Archailects must work within the rules of the universe they live in. Some actions might be impossible, because they contradict those rules. Others are impossible simply because they are logical contradictions.
  
• Magic Toy  - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
  A clarketech or other advanced artifact that can be used by a being of a much lower toposophic grade (such as a human or SI:1 hyperturing) even though that being has no idea how the artifact works
  
• Mantle of the Judge  - Text by John B
  Available at major population centres of the Negentropic polity are private chambers called the "Mantle of the Judge". These are small areas allowing normal citizens to bring their problems before the Judge and ask for Eir Judgement on the actions. This is a strictly voluntary activity, and in no way binds the baseline to performing a given action. This type of facility is often difficult to find, the logic being the more severe the problem the more likely the baseline is to expend the required effort to find the Mantle.
  
• Meta-Golden Rule - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
  First formulated by Old Earth human I. J. Good. Originally paraphrased (and still commonly expressed as) as "Treat your inferiors as you would be treated by your superiors." More commonly - "treat SI:n to treat you; where "you" = SI:n"; Many ordinary sapients find it hard to accept, since the game-theoretic payoff is difficult to articulate in non-transapient conceptualology. A humorous variant: "treat dogs as you would want gods to treat you" (and other rhymes).
  
• Nearbaseline Archailect Femtosecond Emulation Project  - Text by Brian Lacki
  Project by which billions of near-baselines performing trillions of calculations emulate a single femtosecond thought process of an archailect.
  
• Noospheric Theory  - Text by Stephen Inniss
  The concept that higher toposophic beings from lesser transapients to archailects require lesser minds to create an appropriate noetic or memetic environment, in a manner analogous to the way that a baseline human requires other organic beings for everything from mental stability to digestion of food.
  
• Perception Hacking  - Text by Todd Drashner
  Modification of biont sensory inputs, memory, and consciousness at a distance using electromagnetic fields and ultra/infra sound inputs.
  
• Perfect Horror  - Text by John B
  Common modosophont term for a series of events, which in retrospect appear to be transapient attempts at 'perfect art' utilizing baseline societies as the medium. They are usually considered to also be a subset of blight.
  
• Perfect Philosomorpher - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
  A mid-toposophic occupation/hobby/lifestyle, incomprehensible and untranslatable to modosophonts. The term "Perfect Philosomorpher", first used by transapient-watcher Jigoram Cyrom in 8167 AT, refers to what superficially appears to be the incorporation of elements of Perfect Art and Philosomorphism. Although this was later found not to be the case, the term stuck, and is now used even by the Proxavs of "Perfect Philosomorphers" themselves.
  
• Perversity  - Text by Stephen Inniss
  A malignant entity, usually transapient or at the least transavant, that is insane by the standards of ordinary Terragen sophonts and is an extreme hazard to life forms that are less powerful than itself
  
• Polybeing - Text by Anders Sandberg
  A being not just composed of different sub-beings, but joining them together at higher singularity levels. The sub-beings may not even be aware that they are part of a polybeing and acting as its "fingers".
  
• Precursor Knowledge  - Text by John B
  The body of previously accepted and mentally-integrated knowledge/facts/factoids in a person or in a community. In practical memetics, thorough knowledge of this system and its relationships is used to ensure that new memes are accepted as facts.
  
• Progressives, AI  - Text by Ben Higginbottom
  Old Interplanetary Age term for the hu-friendly AI camp that wished to advance baselines and their culture, provide intelligence enhancements etc. and spread out into the cosmos. The term libertarian is also used.
  
• Progressivist, AI  - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
  Term for Dynamist AIs who don't care for humans either way, but seek progress for aikind. They tend to see humans as possible tools or instruments to do the startup job. What happens later on doesn't matter. These are the general progressives, some of whom were behind the earliest interstellar probes and - together with the solipsists - phenomena like the Chandelier.
  
• Propoghanda  - Text by Peter Kisner and M. Alan Kazlev
  In some Anglic-derived languages, a term derived from a play on words and having to do with relationships between transapients and ordinary sophonts and their attempts to sway one another’s behaviour.
  
• Reverse Engineer, Transapientech  - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
  A modosophont who studies the technologies of transapients and attempts to replicate or adapt them to the needs of ordinary sophonts.
  
• Scale Anxiety - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
  The fear that a sophont or polity or clade of a lower or slower technological grade or density feels when confronted with a sentient or polity or phyle of a higher grade of tech or density. e.g. SI:<1 sophonts may feel anxious or intimidated by transapient powers, especially if the latter behave in an unpredictable or seemingly irrational way.
  
• Solipsist AIs  - Text by Anders Sandberg, amended by Steve Bowerss
  Political orientation represented by AI dynamists disliking humans; they seek to get away from them, and develop a true AI culture. What the humans do is no concern of these entities.
  
• Sovereign, Toposophic  - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
  A being who is the ruler of a polity, city, habitat, nation, world or empire as a result of their toposophic superiority over other sophonts in eir sphere of influence.
  
• Stasist, AI  - Text by Anders Sandberg
  One of two basic AI camps that emerged during the Interplanetary Age. In contrast to the Progressives the Stasists wanted to halt all other technological innovation, so that they could safely rule over the baselines like gods.
  
• Stratificationism  - Text by Mark Ryherd
  A broad ideological movement that strives for separation of individuals and societies based on toposophic level.
  
• Symbiotics  - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
  Sentient beings that help maintain a larger structure such as a large hab, ship, or ISO. These may be simple bots or animals, but may also be entire tribes or nations of modosophonts.
  
• Tears of Orpheus 9  - Text by Ben Higginbottom
  Pearl sized balls of computronium discovered on the baseline+ colony of Orpheus 9 by the Universal Rescue displacement drive vessel Anderson.
  
• Transapient Interpreter Syndrome  - Text by Basu
  A variety of behaviours associated with obsessive attempts to understand and predict transapients.
  
• Transapient-derived Technologies  - Text by Stephen Inniss
  Technologies first introduced by transapients, varying from those that could have been invented by modosophonts through to those whose nature and purpose are difficult or impossible to understand.
  
• Transapients and the Technocalypse  - Text by Stephen Inniss
  Though there is consensus about the general outline, many critical details regarding the role of the transapients in the Solsys Technocalypse have never been entirely clear and are unlikely to ever be resolved.
  
• Transavant  - Text by M. Alan Kazlev and Michael Boncher, slang names by John B
  Common term used for those sophonts who have only "partially" ascended beyond their base toposophic level.
  
• Transcendence Blights and Perversities  - Text by Elliot Schutjer
  Blights and perversities that are the direct result of failed transcendence events.
  
• What the Thunder Said  - Text by Stephen Inniss
  A classic interactive work of philosophical literature, based on the varying answers that transapients give to the deeper questions that still baffle ordinary sophonts.
  
• Wildsap Reserves  - Text by M. Alan Kazlev and Stephen Inniss
  Regions set aside for humans or equivalent bionts, with no transapient supervision.
  
• Yanis-i-Numo  - Text by Terrafamilia
  Famed second-singularity social critic and parodist from 5102 to 9283 AT.