Disclaimer:  The events and individuals depicted in this historical essay are not intended to bear any resemblance to any people or events in real life.  Any such resemblance is purely coincidental and unintentional, subject to the whims of fate and your own deranged mind.  (I figure your mind must be pretty deranged if you actually intend to read this thing)  In addition, this essay has nothing to do with anything and does not attempt to make commentary on any real life situation, current or historical.  Any correlation is purely in your head and has been manufactured by your subconscious as a result of childhood trauma or some bizarre as-yet-undiagnosed psychological disorder.  This essay is merely a scholarly paper outlining the evolution and historical development of a unique species, a discussion of the bizarre possibilities of multi-dimensional Punnet objects, and an indication of the author's excess of free time.
P.S.  I started writing this when I was sitting in a coffee shop having consumed way too much caffeine, having gotten very little sleep, and with someone who dropped out of high school as a result of ADHD, so it's not my fault.
P.P.S.  I guess maybe the time and concentration I devoted to this essay after that really are my fault... Don't think I really have any more excuses.

 Once upon a time, there was a race of creatures invented by the dearly departed hero Dr. Seuss called the Sneetches.  Most of the Sneetches' evolutionary history is entirely unremarkable up to the point at which they began to develop technology; however, they are entirely unique in the bizarre stimuli to which they were subjected, the subsequent historical development of their culture, and the types of social relationships they developed due to a variety of social, evolutionary, biological, and mutogenic factors.  Although the biggest differences between groups of Sneetches resulted fairly late in their evolutionary development from major external intervention, there was previously considerable regional variation in physical markings which clearly defined a dichotomy in Sneetch society.  Nevertheless, a number of commonalities in culture and in physical form have prevailed throughout the Sneetches' recent history.  These include their fine yellow feathers which protected their pre-technological ancestors from the elements and provided camouflage against a background of the bright yellow foliage, their pointed snouts which allowed their pre-agricultural ancestors to pick through vegetation for insects, small lizards, rodents, and other small animals, and the tufts of longer feathers on the tops of their heads which are profoundly important in the Sneetches' complex mating rituals.

 The early ancestors of the Sneetches originally evolved in the southern portion of the second largest continent.  Their origins can be traced back to a species of exothermic amphibious lizards called the Squishiferix aquaticus, which dwelled in the slimy tidal marshes of the Megariver Delta during the mid-Quadrassic Period, feeding on insects and small vertebrates that burrowed in the mud.  Very little is known about the Squishiferix  and its close relatives, as the fossil record from this period is extremely spotty due to massive seismic upheaval of the areaat some time around the start of the Quintaceous Period.  As the marshes began to dry up in the latter part of the Quadrassic Period, the Squishiferix and its relatives gave way to small lizard-like land dwellers, the most common of which is known as the Petriamans squamata.  The Petriamans developed a tough, chitinous outer body covering to conserve moisture and to protect them from the rough gravel in which they built their nests.  Their ability to burrow into the ground and survive extremes of temperature enabled them to survive the cataclysmic collision of a comet with the calm continent that killed off over 50% of the planet's species, including the mighty and fabled Zacks, and marked the beginning of the Quintaceous Period.

In addition to precipitating the extinction of over half of the species currently in existence, it dramatically re-engineered the topography of the planet.  According to most theories, this cataclysmic cometary collision caused climatic chaos, kicking up millions of tons of dust into the upper atmosphere, and plunging the planet into a massive ice age that lasted into the middle of the Quintaceous Period.

This post-collision ice age necessitated a transition from an exothermic state to an endothermic one, as well as the development of a protective layer of downy feathers to conserve body heat.  This species was known as the Eosneetchicus nonfrigidus.  At this point, the evolutionary line of the Eosneetchicines splintered into three important and highly successful branches, and a number of smaller, unsuccessful branches as well.  The first major branch developed into the Mesosneetchians, great airborne predators of the middle to late Quintaceous Period.

The second gave rise to the Ornithydrids, the large family to which belong the Yertles, the Aeneids, the Muddonauts, and all their aquatic avian relatives.  All Ornithydrids are excellent swimmers, and perfectly adapted for life in the water.  There are both fresh and salt water dwelling Ornithydrids.  While most return to land to reproduce, many spend their entire lives on water, nesting in clumps of floating aquatic plants.  This large family continues to be extremely successful, with its members flourishing on every continent and all latitudes except for very far south.

 The third major branch gave rise to the Celeritemuertians, which were extremely successful for a short time but mysteriously became extinct just as they had begun to spread beyond their continent of origin.  Many theories for their downfall have been put forth, but the most popular and, to date, the most plausible, is that a highly contagious virus or other disease broke out and killed the entire population in short order.  When the climate changed again at the end of the Great Quintaceous Ice Age, the immense temperate forests and lush foliage that had previously shielded the Eosneetchicines from the strong winds which had previously characterized the climate of the region disappeared due to increasingly wet, boggy, and tropical conditions.  The previously arboreal Eosneetchicines gradually developed an ever more refined ability to glide as the forests became more sparse, and finally developed true flight.

 The Mesosneetchians ruled the skies for  couple of million years.  After that, the extinction of the large predatory flightless avians known as Seussosaurs opened up a promising new ecological niche which the ancestors of the Sneetches eventually filled.  They developed heavier bodies, more powerful bones and muscles, and slowly lost the ability of flight.  Paleosneetchologists have disputed for some time which intermediary forms actually led ultimately to the modern Sneetch from their avian ancestors.   The prevailing theory, however, is that while the Mesosneetchians gave rise to several similar branches, the most successful of which, and the one that ultimately led to the modern Sneetch, was the Protosneetchus habilissimus.

 There is much debate over the exact lineage of the modern Sneetches at this point.  The Protosneetchi branched into a number of related groups, some of which may even have coexisted, and it is uncertain which of these was the actual ancestor of the modern Sneetch.  There are also many inconsistencies in the fossil record which so far have precluded certainty about the link between the Protosneetchi and the modern Sneetch.  According to contemporary theory, the wings of the Postmesosneetchians became smaller and useless for flight around the beginning of the Boroniferous Period, as their descendants adapted to the changing types of prey animals.

 The wings remained as small, semi-articulated limbs useful only for building nests and tending offspring.  However, at some time which is disputed greatly by paleosneetchologists, the Protosneetchi habilissimi began to develop the dexterity in their vestigial wings to enable them to carry and manipulate objects with increasing facility.  At around the same time as their dexterity began to increase significantly, their brains also increased in size and they became more intelligent.  Paleosneetchologists are also in dispute over whether the increased intelligence came first, and increased dexterity became more important for survival because they were able to make intelligent use of it, or if they instead gained increased dexterity first, so that increased intelligence was advantageous since the Sneetches had the dexterity to make use of it.

 Whichever came first, coevolution of the two traits to some degree is almost certain.  With their increased intelligence and dexterity, the Protosneetchi habilissimi  were able to perform specialized tasks requiring increasing forethought and fine motor control, such as making tools of stone for cutting meat, and later making tools for use while hunting.  It is thought that this remarkable adaptation is what enabled the Protosneetchus habilissimus to eventually push out its cousins such as the Protosneetchus stultus and the Protosneetchuscephalostercor.

 While obviously critical to the eventual development of modern Sneetch civilization, the ability to make and use tools of stone, wood, and other materials was not the only adaptation that was important to the survival of the early Sneetchonids.  They were not the only predators dwelling in their habitat, and by no means the largest.  This meant that in addition to being predators themselves, they were also viable prey for any number of larger animals.  As the flat plains on which the early Sneetchonids hunted are characterized by lush yellow foliage, the early Sneetchonids evolved a yellow coloration for camouflage against predators. The most notable of these are the Mooly Wamoth, which hunts in packs and also possesses yellow coloration, and is confused by a prey animal of similar coloration due to its poor eyesight, and the Hesomippus, which is an aerial predator and hunts by searching for a silhouetted shape that contrasts its background.

 A second important adaptation was the tuft of elongated yellow feathers on the Sneetches' heads.  While it probably originally evolved as additional camouflage to enable the Sneetchonids to resemble certain types of grasses while hunting and thus avoid scaring off prey animals, the head tuft later began to play a major role in the complex Sneetch courtship rituals.  Although it is not certain exactly what kind of significance the head tufts held for early Sneetchonids, they continue to be an important expression of Sneetch culture.  Early cave paintings place great emphasis upon the head tufts also as a form of religious expression, often depicting the head tufts as straining to reach the gods.  Later Sneetch artwork often depicts heretics or criminals as possessing either bent head tufts, or none at all.  Interestingly, however, the head tufts were not central to the main divisions in later Sneetch culture.

  The earliest division between Sneetch populations was the presence or absence of the pentagrammatic blue marking on the bellies of those Sneetches whose ancestors had migrated north during the post-Boroniferous ice age to what is now the Island of Hortonwhoia.  During the ice age, when a significant portion of the planet's water was frozen in glaciers and sea level was considerably lower than at most times during the planet's history, a land bridge connected the northern part of the continent with Hortonwhoia.  At the time, the region was  populated by yellow grass and trees with sparse blue pentagrammatic foliage and a far more temperate climate than the continent.  Although it was far enough north that the very large, cold-blooded Mooly Wamoths were no longer a threat as they could not thermoregulate effectively, Hesomippi were still a threat, as was the Pteroarchaeryx, a large, powerful, mammalian land predator that has rather poor eyesight.  As a defensive adaptation, this migratory population of Sneetches evolved the blue pentagrammatic marking on their bellies. This allowed them to hide not only from these predators, but also from belligerent competitors such as the Gigantic Googoose.

 At the end of the Ice Age, the glaciers melted and dramatically changed the landscape of Hortonwhoia.  The migratory starred population was forced to move back across the shrinking Isthmus of Tweedlebeetle and again merge with the Plain-Bellied population.  This disparity in coloration and ancestry produced severe conflict over status in the developing Sneetch society.

 In fact, this competition between Star-Bellied groups and Plain-Bellied groups is considered to be one of the most important competitive motivating factors in the development of Sneetch civilization.  The earliest Sneetch civilizations began as small guarded colonies of either Star-Bellied Sneetches or Plain-Bellied Sneetches which competed heavily over resources and land.  The colonies eventually developed into small fortresses which guarded large areas of arable land from competing tribes.  As these fortresses became larger, they developed into large theocratic conglomerates of either Plain-Bellied Sneetches or Star-Bellied Sneetches.  In many of these early civilizations, interbreeding between Plain-Bellied and Star-Bellied was considered one of the most heinous sins possible and was punished severely.

 Early Sneetch artwork depicts not only the deeply rooted conflicts between groups of Sneetches but also a fascination with the head tufts.  Early Sneetch gods were often depicted with grotesquely large, long, or elaborate tufts of feathers on their heads, whereas the head tufts of competing populations of Sneetches were usually depicted with their head tufts broken, battered, eaten, or otherwise destroyed in any number of ways.

 At various points in history, either the Star-Bellied Sneetches were in power, or the Plain-Bellied Sneetches were.  Large civilizations of both almost never coexisted close to each other for any appreciable amount of time.  With the improvement of technology, the expansion of the global Sneetch population, and ever increasing demands for technology and natural resources, the conflict grew in its destructive potential proportionally to the improvements in Sneetch technology.  In fact, many major innovations were made as a direct result of this age-old conflict.  The entire Industrial Revolution was the result of growing competition over space and resources, and the need to remain competitive militarily by improving the efficiency of production and resources use.  This trend continued until the Nuclear Age, when the cooler heads advocating diplomacy finally started to get the attention of those who realized that there were now many warring factions with the capability of blowing up the world.

 The Sneetches had only just begun to open up some flows of cultural dialogue and positive diplomatic relations between Star-Bellied civilization and Plain-Bellied civilization when a new variable was introduced into the system.  A travelling entrepreneur of unknown origin named Sylvester McMonkey McBean made the rounds of the Sneetch towns, starting with the Plain-bellied areas.  He brought with him two large machines, whose workings are still a mystery to Sneetch scientists.  They were the Star-On Machine, and the Star-Off Machine, also known as the McBean Apparatus.  McBean toured the towns of the Plain-Bellied Sneetches, whom at this point in history were at a significant economic disadvantage due to extreme destruction in the last major conflict, and offered what seemed to be a ray of hope for a people with none.  He offered to put blue pentagrams on the bellies of the Plain-Bellied Sneetches so that they could melt into the Star-Bellied crowd and not fear for their safety.
 

  The Plain-Bellied Sneetches came in droves, hoping to provide a better future for their children by blending into an atmosphere that would not be hostile to them.  At first McBean's plan met with great resistance from Sneetches who felt that it was important to retain their plain-bellied cultural identity, but the pressure to fit into and take advantage of the burgeoning Star-Bellied economy was too great, and in a matter of weeks, a significant portion of the Plain-Bellied population had converted themselves.  Next McBean entered the Star-Bellied towns It was a gigantic mixing machine that, when Sneetches were inserted, employed sophisticated technology of rapid genetic manipulation and growth stimulation, thereby effecting a swift phenotypic change.  The presence or absence of a star on the belly of a Sneetch that underwent this procedure was effectively randomized, so that not only did Star-Bellied Sneetches come out without stars and vice versa, but also did many Sneetches come out with more than one star or even with stars of different colors.

 However, as the Sneetches discovered later to their great dismay, the mixing machine interfered far more deeply into their genomes.  In fact, it altered not only the number of chromosomes they had, but the number of sets of chromosomes they had as well.  Whereas originally, all Sneetches had two sets of chromosomes, with each parent contributing half of its genetic material, or one set of chromosomes, to its offspring, the number of sets of chromosomes possessed by Sneetches who went through the machine was randomized as well as the number of pentagrammatic markings, although not in conjunction with that number.  The result was that instead of requiring two parents for normal sexual reproduction, Sneetches who came out with one, three, twenty, or even twenty six sets of chromosomes required one, three, twenty, twenty six parents respectively to complete a single normal sexually reproductive act.

 Sneetches with odd numbers of sets were somewhat better off in terms of finding viable mates in sufficient numbers because all Sneetches with a given odd number of sets of chromosomes were essentially hermaphrodites, with only one gender, although a single sexual act required a specific number of them as dictated by their number of chromosomal sets.  However, those Sneetches that ended up with even numbers of sets of chromosomes also ended up with that same number of different genders.  This was not a great inconvenience for the quadruploids or hexaploids, but for the 26-ploids, for example, it was extremely problematic.

 This would seem to have solved the prejudicial problems of Sneetch society as most conflicts in Sneetch culture dealt with the presence or absence of the blue pentagrammatic markings, but it was not to be.  The gross genetic variations produced by the randomizing properties of the machine, while all viable in some way, were also bizarrely unusual and unheard of.

 In fact, there has been considerable debate throughout Post-Trasformational history about the design, intent, and possible intelligence of the mixing machine.  After all, the precise and careful changes that the machine made in the genomes of the Sneetches it processed, while random to a degree, would have required incredible knowledge of Sneetch genetics, exquisite forethought, rigorous attention to detail, and an overall design so that Sneetches of given numbers actually would come out genetically compatible with each other.  Unfortunately, however, the mixing machine was destroyed by a group of right-wing reformist self-righteous judgemental star-bellied imperialist hillbilly religious fanatic gun-totin' tobacco-chewin' road kill-eatin' cousin-marryin' paranoid head-tuft-choppin' communist marxist fascist capitolist republican terrorists who objected to the way it had turned their superiority complex upside down shortly before the Sneetches discovered the sweeping changes that had been made to their genomes.  It was therefore impossible to study the machine and find a way, if not to reverse the changes, then at least to homogenize the population to the same number to facilitate the continuation of the species.

 For the first generation of Sneetches to undergo the drastic genetic randomization, the alterations that had been made to the Sneetches' genetic codes were very difficult to reconcile with what had previously been known about Sneetch genetics.  In fact, at first the Sneetches did not realize the full scope of the transformation.  It was only when Sneetches in large numbers began to report having trouble reproducing as had previously been normal, and Sneetch scientists began to investigate all of the effects of the transformation, that they discovered the depth and magnitude of the changes that had been effected.  Fertility clinics soon became swamped with Sneetches trying unsuccessfully to reproduce.  After failed attempts at fertility drugs, artificial insemination, and other techniques, scientists eventually began analyzing the genomes of the larger Sneetch population in an effort to discover the changes that had occurred.  What they found was that the Sneetches' numbers of chromosomes had been vastly altered.

 In fact, there were very few diploid Sneetches anymore.  There was a large population of triploid Sneetches and a significant number of icosaploid Sneetches, and a significant population of undecaploid Sneetches.  The rest of the Sneetch population was distributed randomly with numbers of pairs of chromosomes ranging generally between three and twenty-six.  There was even a small minority of haploid Sneetches which were capable of reproducing completely without a partner.

 The newfound genetic variation within Sneetch populations would not have posed nearly such a problem for Sneetch society, and in fact in many ways precipitated a veritable renaissance of Sneetch culture and science, except for the drastic changes that had to occurred in Sneetch reproductive practices and the numerous new divisions between groups over the issue of sexual reproduction.

 These many societal divisions became quite problematic for many Sneetches' social lives, in that their plans of quietly settling down with a mate and raising a brood of Sneetchlings became quite impossible because in order to bear a brood, they not only had to find mates with the same numbers of sets of chromosomes as themselves, but in some cases had to find a dozen or more viable mates in order to complete a single reproductive act.  This became a gross moral problem for the more conservative sections of society, as the necessity for immense orgies involving up to 26 different individuals, sometimes with as many as twenty-six different genders, simply for the purpose of normal reproduction was viewed as perverse and even sacreligious.

 In the early days after the Transformation, there were a large number of fanatic religious conservative organizations which objected strongly to the new types of reproductive acts that were required by the new chromosomal situation.  Many, such as the Faith Healers and the Society for Moral Integrity committed heinous acts of terrorism against the more active and vocal supporters of embracing the new lifestyle possibilities.  Others such as the Idealism Dialogues and Inter-Organizational Truth Society also known as IDIOTS, chose to deny the changes altogether and continue to attempt reproduction in the traditional manner.  Unfortunately, not only did they object on moral grounds to the vast orgies that a multi-ploid, poly-gendered society must necessarily embrace, but it happened that they also objected on moral and religious grounds to any and all artificial insemination techniques.  As a result, this organization did not survive more than a generation or two after the transformation, its members being unable to produce offspring who could carry on the tradition.

 In addition to the mechanical and technical challenges of reproducing when there are large numbers of genders, there also arose many complex social situations because Sneetches had to find others with their same number of  chromosomal sets.  It became necessary for all Sneetches interested in reproducing at all to wear number tags designating their numbers of  sets.  There arose as well a large body of new literature based upon conflicts and situations that arose due to genetic and physical differences between Sneetches of different chromosomal numbers, as well as dealing with the new social and moral issues that arose when Sneetches had to reproduce.  The most classic and well-known works in this genre include The Unrequited Chromosome, which tells the tragic tale of two Sneetches who were male and female lovers before the Great Transformation and were forced to separate afterward because one came out with a set number of twenty, an the other twenty-one, The Great Clan, in which a lone Sneetch with twenty-five sets searches the world alone until finding a hidden community of other Twenty-Fivers and finding peace, and The Sin of Twelve,  in which a Twelver from a conservative religious community deals with deep religious and moral angst when he is forced to choose between a lonely life of strict religious observance and a life with a Twelver community that goes against  his strict religious upbringing.

 At first, the transformation plunged Sneetch society into turmoil.  There was a significant generation gap during which very few Sneetchlings were born before the Sneetches had figured out the problems and begun to accept their transformed states.  Clinical depression was at an all time high, and many Sneetch conflicts were initially exacerbated.  However, ultimately, the transformation brought about sweeping social progress as well as vast technological innovation.

 The Transformational Renaissance, as it was called, touched every aspect of art, science, and society.   The Sneetches made great strides in genetic engineering and achieved a greater understanding of the mechanics of their own genetic codes in their effort to restore their reproductive capabilities, mapping the entire Sneetch genome for every known chromosomal set number.  As two-dimensional Punnet squares were no longer adequate for describing genetic possibilities, it became necessary to add as many dimensions as there were numbers of sets of chromosomes.  Therefore, to describe all of the genotypic possibilities of a 26-ploid mating orgy, a 26 dimensional object was necessary.  The Sneetches were forced to innovate an entirely new branch of multi-dimensional mathematics in order to deal with this new necessity.  Society and government were forced to evolve whole new forms in order to deal with the new religious, social, political, and legal complications.

 The Transformational Renaissance was the single most important event in Sneetch history by all accounts.  The innovations that were made during this period ushered in a whole new era in Sneetch history.  Interestingly as well, the head tufts that had always been important in Sneetch mating rituals became even more so.  Sneetches would decorate their head tufts in highly unusual manners to depict their chromosomal number.  Whereas before, a single unified head tuft had been desirable, Sneetches began dividing their head tufts into several sections according to how many sets of chromosomes they had, as well as dying and decorating them with beads, rings, and feathers, in order to show pride in the new individual cultures that grew out of the new social groups that developed.

 The presence or absence of stars on the bellies of the Sneetches became an issue that was completely out of the realm of discussion.  With the larger, more important genetic differences, most Sneetches could not care less about the specific markings of other Sneetches.  In fact, due to the greater potential for genetic recombination and genetic mutation, especially among the Sneetches with larger numbers of chromosomes, some very interesting patterns began to emerge.  Not only were there Sneetches with more than one pentagrammatic marking,  but there were also Sneetches with other geometric figures and patterns that covered large parts of the surface area of their bodies.

 Eventually, due in part to the societal problems that arose as Sneetches tried to find viable mates, as well as to the technological renaissance and the overpopulation that resulted from so many Sneetches experimenting wantonly with their new reproductive capabilities, the Sneetches began to colonize other planets in their solar system.  By this time, the Sneetches had lived several generations with these chromosomal differences, and through sheer reproductive logistical necessity had begun to organize themselves into large clans, groups that by heritage all shared the same number of chromosomal sets.  When colonies on other planets began to be established, it became most reasonable for the respective colonies to be segregated by numbers of chromosomal sets.

 For example, the Quadruploids colonized the third planet from the central star, called Knox (the Sneetches originated on the fourth planet, called Cathat).  After large terra forming efforts had been greatly successful, the Quadruploids led a comfortable life on the planet Knox, where they were free to build a society based upon four genders instead of two.   Quadruploid society was strictly segregated into four separate sectors except for annual rituals in which members of each sector who were of the appropriate age were allowed to mingle for a period of six weeks, during which they would hold massive quadruple orgies and religious ceremonies, and then return to their sectors to bear their Sneetchlings.  Quadruploid Sneetchlings were cared for by only the trimales for a period of three years, after which they were sent to their sectors according to their genders and raised there.  Each sector had a slightly different type of representative government that was shrouded in secret from the other three sectors.  The center of Quadruploid government was a Quadrumvirate Council headed by one member from each sector and containing ten other members from each.

 Likewise, the twenty four-ploids colonized the moons of Samaiyam, the sixth planet from the sun, and built their society around large clans containing members of all twenty-four genders.  Typically, clans scheduled mating rituals as large community events in which everyone would participate who wanted to.  Most often, there would be a mating circle in the center of the festivities containing twenty four Sneetches at any time, one of each gender.  All those who wanted to participate would take turns filling the spot for their genders.  There would also be games, food, and entertainment.  Often these mating rituals revolved around projects or events such as fundraising and building.  Twenty four-ploid culture was renowned over the whole solar system for its vibrancy and richness.  Although each of the large clans had separate forms of government, they each sent several representatives to the twenty four-ploid congress, which governed all activities on the moons of Samaiyam.  While twenty four-ploid society was remarkably open and rich for twenty four-ploids, and for the most part friendly to outsiders, its major vice was that it allowed no voting rights to non-twenty four-ploid residents.

 The Undecaploids (who had only one gender but required eleven individuals for reproduction) developed a society in which households contained up to eleven members, and young Sneetches would join one when they came of age.  Moving between households was very common; while some households remained the same for years, others contained only transient members and changed frequently.  Households with fewer than eleven members would invite members of other households or combine with others for mating purposes.  The Undecaploids had a socialist governmental system in which most things were owned communally, either by households, groups of households, or by the general populace.

 By contrast, the Haploids, who colonized the outermost planet, developed a sort of rugged capitalism.  They tended to be loners, living alone and valuing their personal space highly.  However, they were very respectful of the rights and privacy of others and were a generally conflict-free people.

 The Hexaploids and the Heptaploids formed an alliance and built a space colony around the remains of an early space research station.  Known as Heptahex, this colony developed one of the most bizarre and unusual social structures of all.  The Hexaploids had six different genders, whereas the Heptaploids had only one.  Sexual acts between Hexaploids and Heptaploids became as casual and common as a handshake in other Sneetch colonies as a form of greeting, as no offspring could result.  However, while behavior between Hexaploids and Heptaploids was extremely casual, behavior between Sneetches of the same number became strictly socially regulated by many complex taboos and formal rules of contact and association.  The government of Heptahex was largely computerized, with daily optional electronic votes determining policy and government action.  The position of highest power was occupied by one Hexaploid and one Heptaploid, and it was the office of Co-Supervisor of Programming.  The station supported itself mainly by the enormous and well renowned Heptahex University which was attended by all of the best and brightest of every chromosomal number.  The Hexaploids and the Heptaploids maintained a casual and understanding atmosphere toward the residents of the University, although few of those associated with only the University ever understood the depth of formality and custom within Hexaploid and Heptaploid society.

 The segregation of colonies, while allowing many rich and various social structures to develop, became a new source of prejudice after several generations of Sneetches  had grown accustomed to living in colonies with Sneetches of their same numbers.  Several hundred years after the original colonization of the rest of the solar system, when all of the inhabitable chunks of rock became overpopulated, a new series of wars broke out.  Different groups of Sneetches with different numbers of chromosomes began to fight over resources and planets.

 As usual, when simple conflicts over resources and space arise, the conflicts were inevitably complicated by strong feelings of cultural supremacy and Numeralism (like nationalism only based on chromosomal number) not to mention religious and moral conflicts that arose because different groups of Sneetches did not approve of other groups' lifestyle tendencies.  For example, the highly communal and socialist Undecaploids disapproved strongly of the Haploids' tendency toward individualism and capitalism.  The Haploids in turn found the casual sex between Heptaploids and Hexaploids extremely distasteful, and the twenty one-ploids found the specific methods used by the twenty two-ploids to be scandalous and offensive.  So therefore system-wide conflict erupted for several generations, prompting yet another period of rapid technological growth.  During this period, advances were made  in all fields of science and engineering.  Most notable, however, were the advances in mining techniques, energy usage, and chemical engineering.

The Sneetches eventually alleviated the initial conflict over resources as they became more able to make more efficient use of the mineral content of comets and asteroids and other pieces of debris.  However, the conflict continued because of all the hard feelings that had been aroused by several generations of genocide all around.  The Sneetch societies became more segregated and closed than ever before.  The Heptahex University was shut down by an invading Fourteen-ploid army and used as a staging point for an attack on the Fifteen-ploid colony.  During this period of conflict, a large Sneetch exodus from the system began, in which many groups of Sneetches fled into uncharted space in vast colony ships.  The turning point in the conflict was when a lone haploid visionary leader, who had managed to keep the Haploids largely neutral for some time, brought together several of the leaders in the abandoned Heptahex University, as it had once been a symbol of unity and understanding among different Sneetch groups, where they signed a one month cease fire in order to begin peace negotiations.  However, the exodus continued for some time even after the conflicts settled because many Sneetch groups felt dissatisfied and disenfranchised by the concessions that had been made.

 As the Sneetch population thinned and Sneetch civilization spread out into the space around their system of origin, the potential for conflict diminished.  Sneetch societies were able to peacefully coexist with only minor conflicts for the most part for many generations.  With the passage of thousands of generations, genetic differences predictably widened between colonies of Sneetches, such that they developed into increasingly disparate forms.  The increased potential for genetic recombination and the segregation of populations after the transformation, along with the sweeping changes in society, culture, lifestyle, environment, and technology made for swift evolution of the Sneetches.  Although the exodus continued, many colonies building immense deep space colony ships that scattered to the far reaches of the galaxy at relativistic speeds, and almost never cane into contact with other Sneetches, there were still Sneetches that remained in the home system.  However, as the physical and ecological requirements of various groups of Sneetches developed according to different requirements, conditions, and social pressures, populations found that they were more able to coexist rather than less able as long as they remained accepting of enormous social differences because they made use of different resources and occupied different ecological and social niches.  So, in the end, Sneetches did manage to get along with each other peacefully.

Note to reader:
If you just read this whole thing, and if you understood it, internalized it, and considered it thoughtfully as the serious scholarly essay that it is obviously intended to be, then I am not the only one with too much free time.

If you enjoyed this, didn't enjoy it, think I'm a genius, think I'm off my rocker, have suggestions, or REALLY have too much time on your hands, you can email me all about it at [email protected].

Hey, there will be more Sneetchlore coming, as I add, revise, etc... I'm thinking examples of Sneetch art and literature, expanded evolutionary history, expanded cultural analysis, description of the actual mechanics of 26-gender mating rituals, etc, so check back!