Technology Classification

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Technology Classification

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Technology Classification

The ends of invention

Technology can be classified according to how advanced it is (via the T-Scale), the size of entire device and/or it's operating components (it's scale), and how it is organised (it's state). A final axis is the primary make-up of the technology's operating components, or Substrate. All these properties enable technologies to be assigned a Tech Code which give an at-a-glance summary of the technology's properties.


Technology Levels

Technology levels can be broadly classified into the following groups, representing different stages of technological advancement. they are mostly arranged in ascending order of advancement, although specific conditions may lead to a given civilisation having access to technology well beyond their overall level (for instance a Steamtech civilisation may have self-repairing and/or self-reproducing examples of Cybertech or greater on their homeworld, or such technology may be "gifted" to them by a higher technology civilisation). The usual methods of measuring technolgical advancement is through the T-scale, but different levels on the T-scale are given names dependant on what the dominant form of technology is at that scale.


<T0* - Autech

An autechnological society has no distinction between it's technology and it's members - the organisms in an autechnological society have naturally evolved abilities that give them capabilities equal to Primtech or higher technological levels, or breed certain members or "castes" for technological functions using selective breeding, or both. Autechnological levels are distinguished by an asterisk.


T0 - Primtech

Primtech forms the base of the technology sophistication pyramid. Civilisations with a T-scale rating of 0 have discovered fire (or it's local equivalent if the civilisation is on a non-Earthlike world), along with the wheel and primitive metalworking. Agriculture of some kind is almost always present, and the more advanced Primtech civilisations posess writing or it's local equivalent, along with all the things that go with it such as codified laws, basic astronomy and mathematics.


T1 - Horologitech

Horologitech civilisations are capable of constructing simple mechanical devices at the very least, but are often capable of building some quite intricate inventions driven by draught animals, slaves, springs, wind, sunlight, or moving water. Devices such as ballistae, waterwheels and mechanical clocks are common but most impressive of all are the mechanical computers (ref: Antikythera device) that a well-developed T1 civilisation can build. Such devices are precursors to the difference engines commonly invented by Steamtech civilisations.


T2 - Steamtech

The technology of T2 level civilisation is typically dominated by a triumvirate of steam power, gunpowder, and the beginnings of advanced computation technology. Difference engines and networks of steam-powered railroad networks are very common, and advanced Steamtech civilisations are capable of some relatively impressive feats of engineering. Some advanced Steamtech civilisations even make it into space if they are fortunate enough to develop the oxygen-enriched steam rocket.


T3 - Teslatech

Civilisations with this level of technology have just begun to probe the secrets of electromagnetism, greatly increasing their potential. This is the point where most civilisations develop an inkling of the great power of the universe that can be unlocked by technology. Advanced T3 civilisations occasionally make it into space, launching vessels into orbit with >100Km long Gauss Coils and moving between orbits with solar sails, steam rockets or even primitive magsails.


T4 - Dieseltech

Civilisations with a T-scale rating of 4 have their technological landscape dominated by petroleum-based & hydrocarbon fuel production and usage. The internal combustion engine is the undisputed king of power plants at this level, having displaced steam engines and even electric motors to an appreciable degree. For civilisations on worlds without significant hydrocarbon deposits, T4 may be very short or even skipped over entirely. For those with access to significant deposits, the carbon unlocked by the combustion of hydrocarbon fuels can seriously destabilise the homeworld's climate. Primitive spaceflight is not uncommon with T4 civilisations.


T5 - Nuketech

Nuketech civilisations have unlocked the power of the atom, and in the process significantly change their world for good or ill. While most civilisations that have survived long enough to reach this level have the wisdom not to annihilate themselves, there are many mute testaments to the danger that T5 technology can represent to a civilisation. Advanced T5 civilisations can make heavy use of Nuketech, especially fission-based technologies. Primitive spaceflight is a common achievement, and advanced Nuketech civilisations can manage to colonise other planets and even seriously consider a first interstellar flight.


T6 - Cybertech

Cybertech civilisations, while incorporating many aspects of Dieseltech and Nuketech civs, are differentiated from them in that they are dominated by high-speed electronic communications and information technology. Cybertech civilisations can vary greatly in advancement, from disparate nation-states connected by a planetary communications network to an interstellar polity connected by wormholes. Early 21st century Earth is an example of a fairly primitive Cybertech civilisation.


T7 - Ultratech

The difference between a lower-level Ultratech civilisation and a higher level Cybertech can be very blurred, but the watershed is usually considered to be the invention of an FTL drive of some sort. This is considered the lowest technology level required to maintain a large scale interstellar or small transgalactic civilisations. Ultratech civilisations have commonly mastered the technique of uploading mind-states and downloading them into new bodies, and can also construct megastructures.


T8 - Supertech

Most of the known transgalactics fall under this category. Supertech civilisations, especially the more advanced examples, have a tendency towards being post-scarcity societies. Supertech civilisations have little trouble building Megastructures in comparison to Ultratech civilisations, for whom such activities are a major undertaking. At the later stages of this technology level, hyperspace is discovered.


T9 - Hypertech

This technology level considerably builds on and expands the inventions, discoveries and advancements made at the previous techbology level. Building Megastructures is considered routine, even for the very largest examples, and Hypertech civilisations usually start building Gigastructures, especially those further along this level of technology. A minority of the known transgalactic civilisations, including Transhumanity, are at this level of technological advancement.


T10+ - Godtech

At T10 and above, things get quite difficult as far as classifiying technological advancement goes. This due in part to the fact that none of the known transgalactics apart from the most super-intelligent AIs among the most advanced civilisations have reached this level. Even though some AIs in some transgalactic civilisations reach T10 and even higher, the technology level when one averages things out remains below T10. Civilisations such as the Horologium Supercluster Super-Civilisation (HSSC) and the Starchitects are universally agreed to represent god-like levels of technology hence anything with a T-scale of T10 or above is considered Godtech. Sometimes it is difficult to tell between Godtech and extremely advanced Autech, as the tendency of civilisations at this level is to completely merge with their technology.


Technology Scales

Technology in the 101st century NY has a huge range of scales, ranging from Megastructures that dwarf stars to autonomous technological entities that are not much larger than the fundamental components of matter. Finer and finer manipulation of matter also allows technologies to become denser (see section entitled "Technology Densities") by packing more and more smaller parts into a given space.


Gigatech: 1Ly+

This class of technology covers artefacts and processes that take place over interstellar distances or greater. This includes GC-Rings but also constructs such as the Particle BeamRider Network, various wormhole networks and Cyberspace. At the higher end of the scale, Gigatech is represented by Galactic Spheres, Cosmic String Constructs and specially engineered universes.


Megatech: 1Gm - 1Ly

This is class of techology is perhaps most famously represented by the various Megastructures that are common to Transhuman space and to the volumes of other advanced transgalactic civilisations. Due to the immense forces involved at this scale, superstrong materials are a must. Mastery of the larger scales of technology also requires mastery of the very much smaller scales.


Macrotech: 1000µm - 1Gm

The scale of the everyday world, and the scale which (from the point of view of most of Transhumanity anyway) joins the two extremes together. There are countless examples of macroscale technology.


Microtech: 1µm - 1000µm

Technology on the scale of cells and bacteria. Microbots and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) are the most common examples of such technology. As with all technology scales, better understanding and control over smaller scales translates to improved mastery over larger scales - for example, a microbot with picotechnological components will be more flexible and powerful than a microbot with merely nanotechnological components.


Mesotech: 500nm - 500µm

Microscopic technology intermediate between the nano- and micro/macro- scale; works with the overlap of quantum field effects and conventional macroscopic physics, chemistry, and biology. Also known as "Virotech" due to mesobots being approximately the size of viruses, and sometimes being "cyborged" viruses themselves.


Nanotech: 1nm - 1000nm

Technology on the scale of strands of DNA or chromosomes. Can be biological- or mechanically-based, but the distinction tends to blur at advanced technology levels. Nanotechnology is the smallest scale technology that can be found pretty much anywhere in the Known Universe.


Picotech: 1pm - 1000pm

Picotech is used to enhance nanotech in order to produce more sophisticated nanites and nanobots, which themselves are often augmented by picobots that piggy-back onto them to provide various functions. Aggregate picomachinery is also often used to regulate fission/fusion reactions and sculpt atoms. At this scale quantum effects begin to become apparant, and most modern picotech takes advantage of this.


Femtotech: 1fm - 1000fm

Femtotech is responsible for advanced nanotechology and picotechnology, using specially-engineered atoms with unique properties for a variety of effects such as material strength enhancement, metamorphic technologies, matter/energy conversion, and artificial elements and matter.


Attotech: 1am - 1000am

Technology composed of individual quarks or numbers of preons. Attotechnology is an essential component of Hyperfluid Drives and Hyper-Dense Computing Nodes (HDCNs).


Zeptotech: 1zm - 1000zm

Technology on the scale of individual preons or "stringballs" - approximately preon-sized groupings of engineered superstrings that usually form part of a larger technological device.


Yoctotech: 1ym - 1000ym

This rather "sparse" scale of technology acts as a "bridge" between Zeptotechnology and Plancktechnology, enabling macroscopic civilisations an adequate level of control over the very fundamental units of spacetime and matter.


Plancktech: less than 1ym

Paradoxically, the smallest scale of technology has applications that are light-years in scope. Plancktech is what enables wormholes, Distortion Drives, and other spacetime-manipulation technology to work.


Technology States

Technology can vary in form as well as scale, and mastery of extreme technology scales are usually closely linked to masteries of extreme or unusual states of matter or their equivalents. Some technologies can adopt different states, in which case multiple S-numbers are included seperated by slashes (for example, a bank of Utility Fog can form a solid, liquid or "gas" meaning it has an S-value of S1/2/3). The following list is in order of increasing energy density, also known as the S-Density Scale.


Low-energy States (S0+)

Technology that takes the form of and/or behaves like Quantum Hall states, Quantum Spin Hall states, Condensates, Superfluids and Supersolids. Note that only pure Spacetime-based technology can be S0; most S0 technologies are closer to S0.1 - S0.9


Solids (S1)

Technology at this S-value can hold it's own shape without any kind of container, and is the most common in the Known Universe. This category includes the various different types of solids such as Amorphous Solids and Crystalline Solids. Forcefields can effect the environment like solids without actually being made out of matter.


Liquids (S2)

Technologies that are constructed from or approximate various liquids, such as String-Net Liquids or Liquid Crystals. Goobots are a prime examples of this technology state.


Gases (S3)

Technology at this S-Density Scale is constructed from or behaves like a gas. Utility Fogs and Smogscreens are an example of such. This also includes technologies made of or acting like Supercritical Fluids.


Plasmas (S4)

Including both cold and hot plasmas, this S-Density Scale of technology is most commonly found in the hearts of engineered stars or in the freezing depths of deep space. Plasma constructs outside stars have a tendency towards being Megastructure-sized or greater.


Degenerate Matter (S5)

Matter under very high pressure, supported by the Pauli Exclusion Principle. Electron-Degenerate matter is the state of choice for technologies that are expected to work under such conditions as the crusts of white dwarf stars, while Neutron-Degenerate matter is the material of choice for technolgies designed to operate in neutron stars, pulsars, magnetars and so on. Strange (or Quark) Matter and Preon Matter are types of Degenerate Matter with correspondingly higher energy densities.


Very High Energy States (S6+)

Technologies with an S-value of 6 or greater are (usually!) found in conditions that arose very shortly after the Big Bang, requiring extremely high energy densities. It should perhaps be noted that the S-scale is circular, not linear - beyond an energy density of about S8 or greater depending on the scale of the technology, matter collapses into a gravitational singularity like those found in the centres of black holes, which have an S-value of 0 due to being made out of spacetime rather than matter. Common states include Quark-Gluon Plasmas, Weakly Symmetric Matter (which unifies the Strong, Weak and Electromagnetic forces) and Strongly Symmetric Matter (which unifies all four forces of nature - Strong, Weak, Electromagnetic and Gravitational).


Technology Substrates

Technology is made out of a wide variety of different materials, which can be grouped into the broad categories listed below. A suitably high T-Scale can enable different substrates to take on the properties of others - for example, while there is no real distinction between biotechnology and hylotechnology below the nanoscale, sub-nanoscale technologies and non-biological technologies can nevertheless have "biomimetic" properties - it can behave like biotechnology or a biological organism without actually being made of biological materials. Another example is Spacetime Armour, which can behave like a solid under certain conditions.


Hylotech (Inorganic)

Technology constructed out of non-biological matter. The most common technological substrate by far, Hylotech forms the bedrock upon which all other technologies rest.


Biotech (Organic)

Technology constructed out of biological matter. Biotech is often self-repairing and self-maintaining, but these abilities are generally a trade-off for greater material strength and durability. "Pure" biotech is actually quite rare, with most biotech being enhanced with hylotechnology and other substrates, constituting Borgtech rather than Biotech.


Borgtech

Technology that melds biological organisms or biotechnology with other technological substrates, usually Hylotech but others are also used. Considering the ubiquity of nano-immune systems and similar technological enhancements, it could be argued that Borgtech represents a "transitional" category that will soon unite with Hylotechnology as Transhumanity increasingly modifies itself with technology.


Virchtech

Technologies such as computer software, virtual universes, computer viruses, and virtual entities. Virchtech is currently dependant on other technological substrates for it's existance, but attempts are being made to see if the virtual world can be freed from the material.


Exotic Matter

Processes and devices that involve highly unusual forms of matter such as degenerate matter, mirror matter and negative matter. Exotic Matter is an essential substrate for the construction of wormholes, HDCNs, Q-Drives, Distortion Drives, Mirror Gates and Krasnikov Tubes.


Spacetime Engineering

Devices and processes made of the very stuff that makes up existance, the fabric of spacetime. Wormholes and Krasnikov Tubes are made almost entirely out of the fabric of spacetime.


Hyperspatial Interfacing

Technologies involving the interaction of normal space and Hyperspace. Interfacing Hyperspace and normal space allows FTL travel, energy gathering, communication, teleportation, and a much greater understanding of our universe.


Universal Engineering

The ability to engineer entire universes into machines for a specific purpose. Multiple universes can form part of a single machine of inconcievable power.

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Example: Graviton Drives have a minimum Technology Level of T7 or more, and it's femtoscale operating components can be found in the specialised accelerators designed for maximum graviton production. The physical drive itself is comparitively small compared to the gravitational fields that is uses while operating, giving it an S-Density Scale of approximately S0.1. For this reason also Graviton Drives are classed as a form of Spacetime Engineering. So now one can assign a short code to the Graviton Drive, which might look like T7-fm-S0.1-SE.

Funnily enough, this code can also be applied to living things and other non-technological entities - so baseline humans would have a Tech Code of T0*-nm-S1.75-Bio.
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