When we look at the other, we see what we are not, but might have been. We recoil from the ways of the alien, even while understanding their origin—should we not equally abhor the scars of our own history?
–Xesturge Manifesto, excerpt

Xesturgism was a theory of cultural change which enjoyed a brief period of vogue in the 54th century s.y.v.p. Just as policies of nationalism and cultural exceptionalism were inevitable in the face of the vastness and diversity of the galactic milieu, so too was there bound to be a counter-movement against ideas which lent themselves all too readily to xenophobia. The Xesturgics argued that increasing interactions between the various peoples of the galaxy, assisted by technologies and philosophies which promised liberation from accidents of genetics, intelligence as a whole might slowly be refined and polished into a “pure” culture, unencumbered by history. The idea spread rapidly through Parliamentary space, as it spoke both to the aspirations and fears of the region’s commentariat.

The school’s relationship with the emerging Worldmind phenomena was mixed. While some felt that group minds were the most obvious and effective method of transcending individual biases, many warned that the union of many similar minds would simply forever enshrine the cultural disposition of the mind’s relatively homogeneous constituents.

Despite wide exposure, the theory failed to gain much mainstream credibility, its message thoroughly undermined by the radical diversity and disunity of the various movements claiming kinship with it.

—Heichner Kzolknov