Principal among Genellan's motifs is the relationship of one galactic race to another. Social pathologies will always be the subject of endless conjecture. Scott G. Gier surmises that all enlightened societies will perform within a continuum of self-interest, and that the ultimate definition of good and evil will be a function of that self-interest. For most galactic races (should we ever be fortunate enough to confront them), this quantification of ethical behavior will likely have a high degree of overlap; cooperation will in almost every instance provide mutual benefit. And perhaps, just perhaps, there is such a thing as "goodness" in the absolute sense.

However, Gier maintains, as is the case with all statistical distributions, there will be aberrations. As certainly as there is life on other planets, there will be belligerent, aggressive, predatory lifeforms, lifeforms that will not cooperate.

Gier's books contain a cast of billions, entire planets and their populations. The major characters are products of their societies, of their respective racial identities, and of their experiences with each other. At this point in the saga, four intelligent races have been identified: