Editing Grazerite (section)

==Society==

The basic social unit among the Grazerites is the upsol, a conglomeration of anywhere from a hundred to five hundred individuals who work, relax, eat, and ruminate together. Grazerites append the names of their upsols to their given names; Jaresh-Inyo, for instance, is Jaresh of the Inyo upsol. Grazerite life centers on the group, not the individual; privacy, for example, is a concept unknown to them. Favorite activities, aside from the teaching and entertainment of children, are thinking and talking. Grazerites like to think together. Agreement comes naturally to them, and discussions often consist of each speaker slightly restating and refining the statements of the last. They can while away endless hours in this manner, never getting bored.

Several institutions of higher learning sprang up on Vacca III after contact with the Federation. Their role is to train Grazerites for contact with other friendly species. At these academies - staffed equally by Grazerites and aliens - students learn how to prosper in the unfamiliar environment of the Federation. They experience the shock of disagreement, learn about the strange discontent of many other species, and train themselves to speed up their decision-making.

Grazerites are self-confident; only rare individuals raised outside the upsol structure are prone to sefl-esteem problems of any kind. Thoughtful and contemplative, they are uncomfortable making snap-decisions. Grazerites are optimistic, certain that there's an answer to every problem, given enough time to think about it. Extremely patient and highly resistant to boredom, Grazerites excel at tasks requiring a long attention span and close focus on details.