A Sovereign is a being who is the ruler of a polity, city, habitat, nation, world or empire as a result of their toposophic superiority over other sophonts in eir sphere of influence.
Includes: Toposophic dominion, imperial and other ai, posthumans and lesser ai, and other transapients. The term also applies to ordinary sophonts who keep subsapient beings as pets or servants, where these subsapients are under the care of the master and are at best semi-independent.
Civilizations and Polities that ban this kind of relationship or in which it does not apply :The Deeper Covenant and the Shadow Federation dislike autocratic rule by higher toposophics. Neither the The Objectivist Commonwealth or The Amalgamation have a concept of hierarchical sovereign rule.
Sentient Rights / Legal Status: Every Toposophic Sovereign is a law unto emself, at least as far as the beings under em are concerned. However it is often the case, especially in Sephirotic polities, that the sovereign is expected to treat eir charges, pets, and property with kindness; failure to do so may result in anything from legal charges being brought (centralist polities) to market boycotting (more libertarian NoCoZo and Free Zone regions, depending on polity).
Toposophics: Typically S1 or higher, although in isolated regions there are some ordinary sophonts, usually but not always beings of at least superbright intelligence in the appropriate fields, who have become Sovereigns.
Categories and Phyla: As far as sophont ownership, usually ai and po; however there are also slave-owning or harem-owning sophonts of various kinds, especially away from the large centers of civilization.
Estimated Percentage of Sophont Population: extremely small.
Further Comments: The single most important factor in shaping the ecology of the colonised galaxy. Toposophic Sovereigns may rule through brute force, superior technology, the sheer attraction to potential subjects of their superior planning and rule, or subtler forms of memetic persuasion.
Membranotoposophy - Text by M. Alan Kazlev Important subset of toposophy which maps transapient and similar cognitive states in terms of surfaces rather than as a linear scale or even a branching tree.