(The Optimae themselves, particularly the Culture, prefer the term "Involved.") Approximately 4,000 Shellworlds were built, but almost 2,000 were deliberately destroyed, for reasons unknown, by another presumed extinct race, the Iln. Like many Shellwords, the core of Sursamen is known to be inhabited by a mysterious creature called a Xinthian Tensile Aeranothaur, whom the Sarl worship as their "WorldGod."
The Optimae, particularly the Culture, prefer to use the term "Involved."  Approximately 4,000 Shellworlds were constructed, but almost 2,000 were destroyed by another presumed extinct race, the Iln. Like many Shellworlds, the core of Sursamen is inhabited by a mysterious creature called a Xinthian Tensile Aeranothaur, whom the Sarl worship as their "WorldGod."