The People
The People came together from various space-faring species which encountered each other and then built the Worldsphere.
Biology
The People, culturally, could be divided between organic and inorganic. Even within these classifications there was great variation in the People. Many of the organic People were humanoid, though with a wider range in variation than Humans, ranging in skin-colour, number of digits and other traits. Other People had vastly different forms, including the assimilated All of Us. The inorganic people came in the forms of spherical drones and ships. They were typically several times smarter than an organic People. (BNA: The Also People, BNA: Walking to Babylon)
Culture
The People's culture was widely made up of interest groups. These interests ranged from learning primitive cooking styles and studying other species to the study of time travel. (BNA: Walking to Babylon)
The ultimate form of punishment was social ostracising. (NA: The Also People)
History
Prior to 2564, the People fought a war with an insectoid species, generally known as the Insects, among other names.
Subsequently, the People formed a treaty with the Time Lords with the following stipulations:
- They were forbidden from any time travel research.
- They must keep a database of the Mutter's Spiral.
- They had authority to use any (even deadly) force when dealing with the Doctor.
The Doctor, aM!xitsa and God formed half of the original negotiating team. (NA: The Also People)
In 2594, WiRgo!xu, !Ci!ci-tel and I!qu-!qu-tala believed that the People had become complacent, since the war with All of Us was too easy and used the time travel technology of the Path to travel to the ancient Earth city of Babylon, 570 BCE. Ostensibly there to find a place to rough it out and develop a sense of humility, they also were attempting to break the treaty with the Time Lords and lead to a time war which would give the People a sense of risk. Bernice Summerfield eventually convinced them to give up this plan of action. (BNA: Walking to Babylon)
Behind the Scenes
The People have much in common with the Culture, featured in many of the novels of Iain M. Banks. The earlier books featuring the Culture pre-date the first appearance of The People.