[quote=@Isotope]
<Snipped quote by Sigma>

You got it a bit wrong ye.

Microbial mats can be enormous, as in covering a continent large.  So the 'intelligent' species of my nation is as close to a conventional sapient as they are to geographic features.

As for the critters, they will be a species that feeds off the microbial mat (which is much like a giant brain) and by doing so the mat infiltrates their system and upon infecting the brain grants them some semblance of intelligence.  It isn't mind control, and it isn't telepathic, but the symbiotic mat in the critter brain IS connected to the original mat in that both entities will share a similar personality with like minded goals.  So while the critter and mat are distinct, if the critter stops eating the mat they become braindead, and if they continue to eat it the thoughts of the mat will continually influence their own.
[/quote]

That's really cool, and extraordinarily unique. I applaud your creativity :golfclap

So, will this be a "nation", in that it will have ships, territory, weapons, trade and such? Or are you planning on something entirely different?