Individualism
The Pak'Ma'Ra have a saying that roughly translates as "Pak'Ma'Ra, all same, all different". Understanding this philosophy is essential to understanding the Pak'Ma'Ra government. When the other races first contacted the Pak'Ma'Ra they asked to speak to their leaders and were presented to an old Pak'Ma'Ra named something which sounded roughly like "Ssh'ssh'ya'ssh". The next time they asked to speak to a Pak'Ma'Ra leader they were presented to yet another Pak'Ma'Ra with a completely different name. They soon realized that "leader or ruler" meant nothing to the Pak'Ma'Ra. Anyone who wishes can speak for the entire race, since Pak'Ma'Ra are all the same. However as they are also different, this "spokesman" can take no action on anything until ALL Pak'Ma'Ra consider the subject. In time other governments figured out they could deal with specific groupings among the Pak'Ma'Ra and actually achieve what passed for treaties.

The Pak'ma'ra do not have an organized religion.

The Pak'Ma'Ra civilization has existed for about 15,000 years, changing very slowly until their contact with other races.

Pak'Ma'Ra are descended from carrion-eater stock. They do not understand the concept of "cooking". They live alone or at most with one other of their race, called Nish'ka, the thought mate. There is no concept of marriage, the thought mate is simply a very close friend. Pak'Ma'Ra habitats are usually organic, caves, grottoes, etc. A Clustering of these habitats forms a village. As solitary creatures, the Pak'Ma'Ra do not build many cities. The ones they have are usually built around starports.

These villages have gathering places during which tasks are divided up by mutual agreement. Thus one group of Pak'Ma'Ra may provide food, another may build, a third may engage in research, a fourth in teaching, etc. These tasks are worked at diligently for however long they take. Then there is rest and meditation and discussion until needs arise again at which point the Pak'Ma'Ra gather again and divide the tasks, however they may fall to different Pak'Ma'Ra this time.

Once or twice each Pak'Ma'Ra year the inhabitants of the village gather at a designated location to discuss their lives and share any new knowledge gained. Once every five years, all Pak'Ma'Ra journey to a massive plain to do likewise and assign tasks of importance to the race as a whole. As the population has grown, Pak'Ma'Ra groups have taken to sending a representative or two to such gatherings.

It was the realization that the Pak'Ma'Ra are an almost completely task-oriented society that made interaction with them possible. For example, traders in foodstuff found that they could bargain with whatever group was dealing with food production at the moment and make an agreement which would be honored by whatever group took on the task next. This led to speculation that the Pak'Ma'Ra possessed a hive mind. But research showed that this was untrue. In essence, the Pak'Ma'Ra have a hive-mentality; They do share knowledge and divide work efficiently but every Pak'Ma'Ra is an individual. Many believe the Pak'Ma'Ra are telepathic within their own species but the fact that they have a very complex spoken language tends to belie that theory.

When the Pak'Ma'Ra first met other races it was a jolt to their concept of the universe. Faced with an influx of new ideas, many of which they could not grasp, the Pak'Ma'Ra became curious. After long debate they decided to add a task to their lives, the task of discovery. Pak'Ma'Ra were sent all over the galaxy simply to observe other beings and hear new ideas. These ideas would be brought back to the homeworld and debated. Those that seemed logical were then adapted into Pak'Ma'Ra culture, though very slowly. This change is continuous and no one can quite guess where it might lead in the future.

The Pak'Ma'Ra have had interstellar flight for only about 75 years. Pak'Ma'Ra technology is all based on crystalline power sources, similar to the Centauri and Minbari power sources. The Pak'Ma'Ra concentrated most of their technology on transportation and communication..