Anti-Homogenization Act

The homogenizing swarm is probably the worst sort of opponent humanity cares to face - something trying to make everyone and everything 'like them', thinking that one form - or one set of forms - is perfect. While the former - a single 'gray goo' organism - is considered to be impossible, the latter remains a significant potential threat, as demonstrated by the Virgon swarm.

Before the Purge - ages before the Virgon were encountered, the Solar Council and the gerentry at large recognized the thread that such a swarm could pose. Anything less than total annihilation of such a swarm - whether created by mankind or some alien intelligence - could not be accepted.

Going a step further - if such a swarm were to be encountered, it would be likely that defeating it would only be possible through technical, logistical, and strategic superiority. A stagnant, apathetic humanity would be eliminated.

Thus, the Act formalized the system of gerens that had slowly been forming over the past cycle, and actively promoted conflict between them - both sportlike and violent. It also created a subclass of humanity, known as the content - those 'Last Men' who did not care enough to challenge themselves further.

At a glance, mankind seems exceedingly fractured, bordering on anarchy. The response to the discovery of the Virgon, however, was nearly unanimous - the war was not abated because humans didn't want to fight anymore, but because most feel that somehow fracturing them will be a far superior solution.