OK,.. on the "aesop" concept:
There MUST be a way for the aesop domains (AD) to "fade away", as absolute conversion of all land to "AD" status ceases to be "fun" to play.
One "solution" might be a kind of "flipped over creation procedure", where whenever a human AND an aesop dies within the "bounds" of a domain (within a few seconds/minutes of each other), that aesop domain ceases to exist A CERTAIN PERCENTAGE OF THE TIME.
Now, it would be "difficult" to notice that this "procedure" (or "rite") existed, so it would possibly take quite a bit of time (decades to centuries?) for this to become widely known, but it would eventually become widely known. Or would it?
The ramifications of this are interesting.
* Aesops can always create their domains by "sacrifice" VERY EASILY.
* Humans can always wipe domains by "sacrifice" WITH DIFFICULTY.
* Defending territory becomes VERY important.
* The first humans to notice "the rite" MIGHT want to keep it secret (as long as possible) and "use it" in maximal secrecy so as not to tip off the "opposition".
* The first aesops to notice "the rite" MIGHT want to identify humans who "seem" to know of it's existence and target them, and "their organizations", for assassination.
..and other things I haven't thought of yet.
Perhaps, if the last existing aesop domain is located, and the last existing aesop is "sacrificed" to eliminate it, some OTHER unwanted-by-humans phenomenon happens (such as a great "checkerboard" pattern of NEW aesop domains occurs over the entire planet that only lasts for 10 minutes but converts the entire human population in every-other "square" to aesop-form appropriate for the location, starting the whole process over again).
Yeehaw!
<shaka!> Aloha!