Non-Unionist life

The concept non-Unionist life refers to hypothetical, highly intelligent and potentially non-humanoid life forms that are not part of the Union of Nation States.

Researchers have catalogued over 450 planets that harbor life as of 2218. Some of them harbor moderately advanced life forms, such as small animals. 58 planets harbor flora and fauna as advanced as Terran flora and fauna. 6 of those (including Terra) harbor humans. Each race originated independently from each other. This led to the common DNA tree theory. The discovery of planets harboring life that was not reminiscent of Terran lifeforms led to the creation of the modified DNA tree theory, which tried to combine the diversity of life forms discovered with the knowledge that some of these planets harbored extremely similar life forms. As a result of the modified DNA tree theory, author and xenobiologist Jesse Di Maria coined the concept "non-Unionist life" in his book "Green Men From Mars and the Illusion of Omnipresent Extreme Convergence". The book dealt with the hypothesis that there are undiscovered, highly intelligent life forms in existence, that are not reminiscent of humans.

Traäna Disc
A couple of artefacts found throughout the galaxy support the non-Unionist life hypothesis. The most important of these is the Traäna Disc, a metal object found on the planet Lydia Minor I by Tsanua Traäna, a Fustärn researcher representing a team of Terran-Harvian xenobiologists who studied the flora of Lydia Minor I in 2169. While gathering samples of flowering plants on a ridge near Research Area 394, Traäna stumbled upon the disc, which was not of human origin. As of today, it is not known who made the disc, nor is its use known to mankind. Severly scholars have argued that it is either an hoax or a piece of heat-damaged scrap metal from one of the expeditionary vessels that the team used. The object is currently stored in the Munich Museum of Xenobiology and Extraterrestrial Geology.