Harmonians live on floating islands in Gyrah in highly advanced cities with massive data farms and server centers. The harmonians are always connected to the metanet if they can be. They consume the data they find there and convert it to energy, finding abandoned points within the network to clean up. They manipulate the metanet entirely with their voices, which are programmed into them when they are first created.

Every harmonian community is run by a council elected by the whole community. The councils determine laws, practices, and policies, handle trade with outsiders, and control the military.

New harmonians are taken in by a small group of experienced harmonians called a chorus and trained in exploring the metanet, given tasks to perform, and guided through social practices. After about ten years, they are considered ready to become independent. They take up working specific tasks in the community, exploring the metanet on their own, and looking for their own chorus to join. Most harmonians spend about a decade seeking the right chorus, but once they join it, they commit for life. Leaving a chorus is very rare and involves legal intervention, usually. Choruses are equal parts platonic and romantic, with all members having very deep relationships with the others. They recognize many genders, associated with the sound of their voices.

Every month, harmonians in a community gather to sing together. These gatherings are the most important part of their social lives, when all harmonians connect, speak, share, and learn from one another. Smaller gatherings are not uncommon. Choruses join other choruses for special parties, or unchorused harmonians gather to try to find their chorus.

Every harmonian learns multiple instruments.