(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 call themselves "Involved" and have built approximately 4,000 Shellworlds but destroyed almost 2,000 of them. Another extinct race, the Iln, is believed to be responsible for this destruction. The core of Sursamen is inhabited by a mysterious creature called a Xinthian Tensile Aeranothaur, whom the Sarl worship as their "WorldGod."