Geometers' culture is a direct result of their history. Apparently, there were two intelligent lifeforms on the planet: the Geometers and those they called the Furry Ones (humanoids with fur covering their bodies). The Furry Ones were the more aggressive species and waged war on the Geometers. To fight them off, a Geometer doctor created a disease that completely wiped out the Furry Ones. The genocide horrified the Geometers, and they vowed to make any other race they encounter their friend (whether they want to or not). Some time later, a plague struck the Geometers but was cured when a doctor working with molds discovered antibiotics. The death toll was high, and the Geometer society was in disarray, allowing the Mentors to take full control and establish the "friend philosophy" as law. It has been suggested by some Geometer historians that the plague was engineered by the same doctor who stopped it at the behest of the Mentors, who were planning to use the disorder to take over. Such historians are silenced and placed in sanatoriums (i.e. prisons). Once space travel was discovered, the Geometers found two other intelligent species (non-humanoids this time) in their system. These were the first races on which their regression-progression methods were used and used successfully.