Technological Period

A Technological Period or Tech Period represents a broad swath of time for a sophontic society or civilization while it develops technologically.

• It is represented by nine TLs, 9-TLs, or three Tech Epochs.
• Sophontology separates current and projected history into three periods of nine TLs and a transition epoch of three TLs for a total of thirty TLs or a Tech Era.

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Please see the following AAB Library Data articles for more information:

• Technology
  • Technological Research
    • Ancients Foundation
    • Biotechnology
    • Imperial Research Station
    • Technology Incubator
  • Technological Systemics
    • Accelerating Tech Level
    • QREBS
    • Tech Age
    • Tech Eon
    • Tech Epoch
    • Tech Era
    • Tech Level Comparison Chart
    • Tech Period
    • Technology Level
    • Three Prime Technologies
    • Universal Technological Profile

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Description (Specifications)

A Technological Period or nine TLs is not represented by any precise length of time, rather different sophont societies progress through the TLs at different rates. One society might progress through nine TL's in only a few hundred or thousand years while another might take millions or billions of year... or more. Regardless of the length of time, the Tech Period represents a certain set spectrum of technology with rough guidelines as to power creation (...or energy creation), distance communications, and star travel.

The most common metric from the Three Prime Technologies is star travel, the degree to which a sophont society can employ efficient, far-reaching FTL star travel...

Five generalized civilizational periods are hypothesized:

1. Planetary & Star System Travel (TL:1-9 - Kardaschev Type 1)
2. Interstellar Travel (TL:10-18 - Kardaschev Type 2)
3. Intergalactic Travel (TL:19-27 - Kardaschev Type 3)
4. Transdimensional Travel (TL:28-30 - Kardaschev Type 4)
5. Chronotaxis or Time Travel (TL:31-33 - Kardaschev Type 5)

The Three Major Technological Periods

Three basic stages of techno-political behavior have been suggested by Sophontologists:

1. Planetary States (TL:1-9 - Kardaschev Type 1)
   1. Balkanized States (Not unified planetary state)
   2. World-State (Unified planetary state)
2. Interstellar States (TL:10-18 - Kardaschev Type 2)
3. Intergalactic States (TL:19-27 - Kardaschev Type 3)

Transitional Technological Epoch

Sophontilogical Era (TL:1-30):

1. Transcendent Civilization (TL:28-30)

New Sophontilogical Era (TL-31+):

1. Ascendant Civilization (TL:31-33)
2. Singularity (TL-34+)

IISS Chronological Periodization

• Technological Age (1 TL) → Technological Epoch (3 TLs) → Technological Period (9 TLs) → Technological Era (30 TLs) → Technological Eon (31+ TLs) → Singularity (Post-Technological Period)

History & Background (Dossier)

In the highly diverse section of the galaxy known as Charted Space, a very wide variety of technological civilizations exist and often coexist, which means that metrics and protocols had to be developed not only for surveyors and scouts, but also for merchant princes, explorers, and sophontologists... among others. Rough guidelines exist for every TL, but alien civilizations have a way of exceeding or defying benchmarks, so the much rougher Technological Epoch designation was invented by the IISS. It encompasses three TLs spanning a very wide period of development making classification much easier, especially after a first contact scenario when little might be known about a new sophont society.

So, for instance, a very early technology civilization containing technological benchmarks from TL-1, TL-2, and TL-3 capabilities, would be known as a TL:1-3 society. The epochs are grouped into batches of three and when a society contains a higher benchmark than a set grouping, the higher tech epoch is defaulted to. For instance a society that might intitially be judged as a TL:1-3 society is observed to have TL-4 technologies, so it would then be reclassified as a TL:4-6 society, or simply a TL-4 society if higher technologies (...TL-5 or TL-6) were not judged to be present.

It is a flexible and inexact measure of technological development.

Standard Polity Growth Sequence

MACRO LEVEL:

• Proto-Society → Society → Civilization → Singularity (Post-civilizational)

MICRO LEVEL:

• Proto-Society → Band Society → Tribal Society or Chiefdom → City-State → Nation-State → World-State → Pocket Empire → Interstellar State → Intergalactic State → Final State → Singularity

Civilization Stages

1. Pre-existence
2. Creature Existence
3. Proto-civilization
4. Sophontic Civilization
5. Ascendant Civilization
6. Transcendent Civilization
7. Singularity

Civilization Stages
#	Stage	TL	Society	Remarks
1.	Pre-existence	TL-Negative	None	Not much is known about the origin of life, which is conjectured to be abiogenesis, or life arising from where there was none. In this environment, no conventional life is theorized to have existed, but A-life, or pseudo life, is thought to have pre-existed conventional life.
2.	Creature Existence	TL-Negative	None	The first life is thought to have been exceedingly simple, probably acellular, pre-DNA, and almost unnoticeable. But it was conventional life, and later life built upon it. More sophisticated life evolved from these humble origins into sophisticated multicellular creatures. However, these creatures lack higher intelligence, civilization, and technology.
3.	Proto-civilization	TL-0	Proto-Society	The very first creatures to evolve multiple hallmarks of sophonce become known as Proto-sophonts, and they develop Proto-civilizations, recognizable by later sophonts as early societies with basic but fundamental technology. Proto-sophonts are classified as: TL–0.
4.	Sophontic Civilization	TL:1-27	Band Society → Tribal Society or Chiefdom → City-State → Nation-State → World-State → Pocket Empire → Interstellar State → Intergalactic State	Sophonts are sophisticated, highly intelligent technology-using species. They develop advanced technologies, cultures, societies, and civilizations. They actively seek to master themselves and their environment. They use a variety of technologies: (TL-1 to 27).
5.	Transcendent Civilization	TL:28-30	Final State	Transcendents have begun the transition to the Singularity. They control advanced technologies (TL-28 to 30) and have cultures and societies paradigmatically different from less advanced sophonts. Many such societies begin to explore alternate dimensions and pocket universes.
6.	Ascendant Civilization	TL:31-33	Final State	Ascendants are working towards an active transition to the Singularity. They control the most sophisticated technologies imagined by sophontdom (TL-31 to 33). In nearly every practical way but not in every effect, they have achieved omnipotence. The key technologies defining transcendents are temporal technology, reality manipulation, chronotaxis (time travel), and manipulation of time itself. Their powers are near limitless. Some lesser sophont species call them "space gods." They have goals and motivations near incomprehensible to less advanced beings.
7.	Singularity	TL:34+ Post-Technological Period (PTP)	Singularity	The Singularity is a very nebulous term for both black holes and a hypothetical condition of life beyond technology, civilization, and life itself as confusing as that may sound. Some call it the afterlife while others call it the Post-Technological Period. Some even think that it is a future stage of life when sophont and machine merge. There is scant evidence for it, but many thinkers hypothesize that it exists.

References & Contributors (Sources)

This list of sources was used by the Traveller Wiki Editorial Team and individual contributors to compose this article. Copyrighted material is used under license from Far Future Enterprises or by permission of the author. The page history lists all of the contributions.

• Traveller Wiki Editorial Team
• Author & Contributor: Lord (Marquis) and Master of Sophontology Maksim-Smelchak of the Ministry of Science