The Squeem are an alien race in the Xeelee sequence.
The Squeem are a telepathic hive-mind, with the components being formed from fish-like individuals. The Squeem were the first intelligent species encountered by Humans that did not evolve within the solar system. According to the Silver Ghost's AI, the Squeem were first encountered "somewhere among the stars", though it is unclear whether this means literal interstellar space, or is poetic language on the part of Eve. Prior and during their occupation of Sol, the Squeem operated an interstellar network of trading outposts and colonies, presumably funneling resources or technology to the Squeem homeworld.
The Squeem's telepathy is likely biological, as it is stated that they do not have a concept of integers, and do not count. This implies the structure of their thoughts are entirely alien, and suggests they never had a concept of self as distinct from their elements. This is supported by the fact that the whales in Raft are also slightly telepathic, meaning that non-technological telepathy is allowed in the Xeelee sequence.
Occupation of Sol[]
The Squeem were initially friendly, bursting into the solar system with large ships and an excess of publicity. The Squeem engaged in open trade with humanity for a short period, exchanging resources and cultural products. This period ended, however, when the fact that humanity did not possess hyperdrive technology was discovered. This put the Squeem at an enormous technological advantage, and the decision was made to occupy the solar system. In 4874 A.D, in a coordinated attack, hyperdrive ships carrying cannon-platforms appeared across the planet. Several cities were destroyed in the attack, and organized resistance to the occupation collapsed quickly.
A small pocket of unconquered humans lived in the ice dwarf Chiron. The humans made the decision to leave the solar system by accelerating Chiron via GUT-drive. The Squeem sent a probe to follow, which was eventually destroyed when the event horizon of a black hole expanded out to meet its ergosphere.
The Squeem occupation was initially weak, and a new resistance movement formed. The Squeem were a fresh-water species, and so inhabited the Great Lakes in Northern America. The rebellion was successful in poisoning the Lakes, and killing an enormous number of Squeem. The Squeem were damaged, and occupation grew far more harsh in retaliation. To break the spirit of humanity, the Squeem sterilized the oceans of Earth, killing every species of fish, aquatic mammal, coral, and more. This worked too well, and humanity as a whole lost its ability to effectively produce value working under the occupation. The Squeem realized that they had acted too harshly, and administered a memory-block to all humans, causing them to believe that the oceans had been sterile since the Bottleneck period of the Anthropocene, as a result of human activity.
The Squeem occupation was ended in 4922 A.D, when Jones negotiates for hyperdrive technology in exchange for the secret of how to stop the runaway growth of a Xeelee flower.
After Occupation[]
The Squeem are used as translation devices by the Interim Coalition of Governance. The Squeem's telepathy is utilized to translate languages, much like a babel-fish. The Squeem are a victim of the Assimilation, a period in human history where the biological and technological uniqueness of destroyed alien races are added to humanity.