The humans of the world now known as Capital had about six thousand years of recorded history before achieving interstellar flight, whereupon they immediately encountered the Ancients. They settled nearly twenty worlds before encountering, to their great surprise: more humans.

It turned out that Capital was one of at least four (known to date) "Earthlike" worlds, shepherded by the Precursors into nearly-but-not-exactly identical evolution. The Inukari, like the Zhdez and Terrans, are a separate race of humanity.

Inukari have slightly less sexual dimorphism than Terrans, but more than Zhdez: Inukari adult males are not as large as Terrans, and adult females tend to be smaller-breasted and broader in the shoulders.

Psychologically, Inukari are more inclined than Terrans to sort into leader/non-leader types, which overall has led to less large-scale conflict than Terrans have had. They regard Terrans as "all leaders" and Zhdez as "all followers" and regard themselves as the happy medium.

They prize education at all levels of society, with a tradition of attending multiple universities as young adults (a sort of incorporation of wanderjahr into education), and then of frequently taking (and teaching) formal and informal classes throughout the rest of their lives.

Inukari technology is roughly on par with Terran, and somewhat behind Zhdez in many fields.

Psionic ability is spread across the population at about the same rate as Terran, or possibly higher (Terran social taboos make this hard to estimate), and less than Zhdez.