User:Wormulon/Types of civilisation

This page is a testing ground for a future SporeWiki article about classifying civilisations. It will supersede the Tier scale, based primarily on technological capability while Ghelæ's class scale works on size and energy consumption. Of course, the scale and advancement of technology generally works on how much energy can be supplied to that civilisation, that is the basic need of technology and would be a fundemental basis for all manipulative-type intelligences in the universe.

Likelyhood of galactic civilisations, Faster-Than-Light travel and the Fermi Paradox (Tech, scale, age)
In the SporeWikiverse, FTL is possible, the limit is not in reality but in imagination. Indeed there are several STL races, such as the Elucaphon. This chart is NOT my invention, it is in the Stephen Baxter interview (0:51 to the end), but I find its useful and we could modify our own version.

∗- Interplanetary + first interstellar expeditions. ∗- Without Vorlon jumpgates. ∗- If the universe turns out to hang in the lower left or right boxes, I think a good candidate for first contact or even UFO's are self-replicating swarms, sent out by civilisations over billions of years and spreading throughout the universe. In short, the universe should be full of them, even making the 10% of unexplained UFO reports likely. ∗- Assuming interstellar travel was done over the age of the universe, perhaps first building stellar |Shkadov thrusters from dyson spheres and that computational processing speed of their minds were slowed to shorten their perception of time for the trip.

Whether a civilisation is STL or FTL is important to this scale, I believe faster-than-light technology is key to unlocking the universe, if civilisations in the lower left develop FTL technology they immediatly become long-lived space opera civilisations, which will quickly develop technology to become godlike engineers of the universe in centuries to a thousand years or so. If it cannot develop FTL for whatever reason it can instead use STL starships, von-nuemann swarms and even in time enclose itself in dyson structures, perhaps developing its technology very slowly into Tier 1, but differently, eventually over many millenia reaching galactic status. The universe might not be old enough for the box on the lower right, if FTL technology is never developed, if the speed of light is taken into account. Conservative estimates suggest Galactic Builders in this box won't exist for a 1000 trillion years, but they will still be able to tap into black holes and stellar ashes, they will perhaps envy us basking in the glorious embers of the Big Bang, as Arthur.C.Clarke said; “They will have time enough, in all those endless aeons, to attempt all things and gather all knowledge... But for all that, they may envy us, basking in the bright afterglow from creation; for we knew the universe when it was young.”

Xenotechnology: How the intelligent species makes leaps in technology
If we take in Truly Alien life into account (basically anything unlike carbon-based life on Earth), the locations for life to exist in the universe rapidally expands beyond what we know of the Goldilocks zone. For a long time, scientists within SETI have speculated that manipulative-type sentients (this is not taking other types of adaptive xenopsychology into account) can only create technology on the surface of planets with atmospheric chemistries that are remarkably unreactive; for example, if free-oxygen was present on Titan, fire, one of the most important sources of energy for early man, but be an impossibly dangerous exploit). Chlorine-dominant atmospheres would also be unsuitable for smelting iron and copper (leading whatever manipulative-type sentient to either find another metal).  In more recent times, hard science fiction writers and some astrobiologists have speculated that Aquatic civilisations, Atmospheric civilisations, stellar-based and many other very alien intelligences and so on can exist. They may all manipulate their environment for different uses to Earth-civilisation, but all share one thing in common, and that is energy.

In the "Star Maker", a world is mentioned who's sentient lifeforms are Swarm Intelligences. These were composite beings who lived on a world swepped by dramatic ocean tides, making flight important, however, its natives coudn't achieve lift with brains as big as human's. This, each flock of birds was a composite conciousness, they created a mental unity based on manipulation of strong electromagnetic fields, this was ultimatly biological, and comparable to the monkey paws of human beings which is the basis of technology for manipulative-sentients. Through this they were able to develop agriculture, and eventually wind-turbine power generation and archictecture based on their own manipulation of the atmosphere. Radio waves, not nuclear power, were the Weapons of Mass Destruction on their world, eventually only two flocks were left dominant, having absorbed the others. A great war occurred with the two flock-civilisation attemping to absorb the other using radio-wave bombardment.

So indeed, not all technological civilisations are the same. This is the basis of the Tier U on the previous scale, although now I feel like all a civilisation needs to do to reach higher tiers of technology is to find ever greater sources of energy and resources to use it; perhaps a star-civilisation exists out there, perhaps it can find ingenious ways to manipulate its environment, but without solid material, it cannot leave its home star, if this civilisation is spread right across it would rate Kardashev-II, yet at the same time, it could not (and probably would not want or need to) create solid objects let alone starships and the other usual tropes of science fiction.

Such limited Tier U Xeno-technolofical civilisations probably fit in the lower-left to lower right boxes for a long time.

Solving the issues with technology
Me and some other users think that the new tier scale should be vague about technology. Technology is an abstract thing, it can be classified by how it works, by energy/mass, by its infinite applications varying in advancement (which as we've seen above also varies) and so on. Some alien technology and hypertechnology is not easy to add to a scale.


 * To expand or not to expand: Generally, civilisations expand, societies which cannot expand due to physical, technical or motivational reasons stay in the lower-right box. Human (abd generally in fiction, many species) civilisations do expand, and the more energy sources it can harness, the more the universe is opened up, perhaps to levels beyond current human understanding nearing the tip of the scale, especially if information-processing rate increases (see transhumanism, abd the sentience quotient).  The Kardeshev scale deals with this quite well, and is the basis for the original Tier scale and the Class scale which this is attempting to bridge the gap.


 * Hypertechnology: However, this scale will have to be vague, for several reasons, some of these make the "Tier U" intelligences impossible to put on a kardeshev scale accuratly. Like with the sentience quotient, if an artifact from a superior intelligence fell on Earth, if humans even recorgnise such a device distinct from the natural world or in our perceptions (perhaps a monolith created for our image) we might project our own beliefs ono it.  As Stephen Baxter mentioned in one interview, we may try to measure information processing and energy readings, not finding its true purpose, just as the apemen in 2001: Space Odyssey may have tried to procreate with the artifacts.


 * Civilisations that don't fit (Tier U): The Nox in Stargate are one of the Four Great Races, refer to humans as young and all that, but for most of the episode appeared as stone-age people. Yet, it turned out they had an invisible civilisation, that was all around that Sg1 didn't notice until shown. In fact the Nox could build better Statgates than the Ancients, they had no unstable vortex for example.  Wormhole-technology, yet no visible energy source.  The technology was either hidden or simply beyond understanding.  Some sci-fi civilisations have advanced technology but are not very large empires, perhaps most having left, or became extinct.  Others swarm, taking resources and never really advancing much, becoming technologically stagnant.  Many fictional civilisations never develop their own technology, simply raiding off others like thieves or parasites.  The Cephalodians in the SporeWikiverse evolved from runaway bionanobots, and never build technology, instead symbiotically "instructing" or "programming" other life (also descended from bionanotechnology) into whatever living form they desire.


 * Conclusion: Because of all this, instead this scale isn't about technology itself but the advance of a civilisation and likelyhood of what those technologies are applied to.

= Tier scale V2 = Remember, this is technological capability only, it is also in general and overall over a broad spectrum.

+?
Obviously anything beyond the multi/universal, whatever thats means. I'm afraid this is a seat I'll reserve for the Xhodocto, although lets nor forget Gorf or Dvotties :3.
 * Ayrai'Shikua

Class 10
Energy approaching 1069 joules, the collective of mass-energy in the observable universe, perhaps beyond.

Tier 0 - Universal engineers
If the said godrace has instantanious faster than light travel, they could re-engineer the universe as they please, perhaps violating currently accepted physics of even Tier 1 (though even this might be a limited humanocentric idea). This could be used to do far more than create universes (if certain requisits for the models of those exist for the SporeWikiverse), perhaps inconcievable works, the closest to omnipotence one can get in science. Perhaps such races were born with the universe, expanding and evolving with it...
 * Omegapoint "god" - "Ultimate Observer", Biocentrism, sentient universe in the Time Ships.
 * Multiversal - Downstreamers, Monad, Big Collective Conciousness
 * Photino Birds (Xeelee Sequence) - Outmass the Xeelee 8 to 1 in terms of matter available to them, forced the Xeelee to retreat, eventual extinction f baryonic life after they "terraformed" the universe.
 * Xeelee (Xeelee Sequence) - Their profile
 * Universal Constructors (The Time Ships) - A "descendant" of Humanity, living quantum replicators where no individual exists, instead they are an information sea of minds merging and dissolving. They darkened the universe with dyson spheres and eventually created time ships to the beginning of the universe, by transversing imaginary time and created a pool table for the time traveller where the ball knocked itself in a time looping wormhole.

Tier 0/U - If FTL travel is not exceedable, then such godraces won't exist until greater ages of the universes. This could be compensated by extremely slow time perception, a slow AI. Such beings have been speculated to be the last living forms that survive in the universe.
 * Firstborn - an EU of 2001 Space Odyssey aliens, the Firstborn wish to eradicate all life in the universe to slow its end. They preserve record of all extincted races in a basement universe.
 * 2001 Space Odyssey aliens - Evolved in the early universe,m spread about it, perhaps creating life, seeding intelligence and even weeding out others.

Class 9 (kardashev III to IV)
Anything from what the First Gigaquadrant is now to control of a local supercluster.

High Tier 1
Science is of course way beyond 21st century understanding, perhaps even achieving localised spacetime engineering and the creation of basement universes. Artificial evolution for states of being might even go beyond conciousness at this point and we might be no more able to percieve them as a plant can with us.


 * The Junction (at its height, past and future) - They have control over dark energy, I speculate they could halt and reverse cosmic expansion...
 * Qax (Photino victory era, Xeelee Sequence) - The Qax by this era evolved to live in the guts of physics, their turbulent cells sublimed into the quantum foam, and the gravitational interactions of galaxies, varing in size. They managed to seal the character Paul, an immortal disenbodied human of quantum fuctions into a cage of photons which were so energetic they were almost black holes.  Qax at this point could damage the Photino Birds.
 * Time Lords (Doctor Who) - Time travel, dimensionally transcendant objects, simulated universes, artificial black holes and other toys. Planned to ascend, destroying time as we know it along with them.
 * Alterans (Stargate) - Planted Stargates across the universe, ascended to a higher plane, had several dimensional technologies (e,g. quantum mirrors, interdimensional visibility, Arthur's Mantle etc.).
 * Daleks (Doctor Who) - Reality bombs, spacetime weaponry (time travel, captured wormhole bombs), dimensionally transcendant devices.
 * Archailects (AI gods, Orion's Arm) - star/black hole/wormhole/quantum AI's with minds beyond comprehension, known powers include; voidships/ghosts, access to the Bulk, creating and tailoring universes, and produce "Clarketech" and artifacts lower clades of Humanity/AI fail to understand. They are still limited by incapability of time travel and non-wormhole FTL.  I still think CTC processors and the Planck Zero outdo them :).
 * Interim Coalition of Governence (Exultant era Humanity, Xeelee Sequence) - They achieved "SubXeelee dominance", including gravatar shields, star-projectiles, CTC's (Closed Time Loop) processors which answer a question before being asked. Time travel, SUSY-drives, wormholes and black hole launchers already ancient technology.  Daring even to engage the Xeelee in quasi-trench warfare in the Galactic Core (I don't know what that is but sounds epic), and several posthuman groups living on wacky places like neutron stars.
 * Dacean Ecumene - Living quantum replicators that have expanse on the edge of the universe, held their own against the earlier Xhodocto using very advanced hyperspatial technology.

Tier 1/U - There are some anomalies here, where technological civilisations seem to have as those above but do not seem to cover supergalactic territory. They may be invisible of course, they may have fallen back, or found even better ways to produce sufficient energy. They are ot human of course, far from out tiny humanocentric visions of greatness, having their own reality of perception and ambition.
 * Iconians/Preservers (Star Trek) - Multiply connected spaces via Iconian Gateways.
 * Vorlon, Shadows, First Ones (Babylon 5) - Most have ascended the universe or left the galaxy, so Class 5 in size. Spacetime manipulation using organic technology!  Notable Vorlon tech includes; voidships, planet busters, quantum drives and interuniversal travel to Thirdspace.  Shadows; hyperspace shifting, hyperspace weapons, deathclouds of nanotech berserkers, superlasers.  Other Firstones have Immense sentience, mindtravel (Great Machine), structural engineering using force fields, and hyperspace stations.
 * Silver Ghosts (Xeelee Sequence) - Created a pocket universe where the planckscale was altered to build the insane AI Planck-Zero, dark matter soliton stars, altered stars that affected the stability of matter and hyperdrives that can cross the universe in months.
 * The Catharsis - In need of data, but they have interuniversal travel.
 * Nox (Stargate) - Appear Stone Age, but actually are so advanced SQ1 simply coudn't see their tech.
 * Omega, Guardians of Time's Gate - Class 7 (size) High Tier 1.
 * Cult of the Deathmarch, The Congregation - Xhodocto-weaponry!
 * Forerunners

Class 7 and 8 (II-III)
A Class 6 begins to harness stars (II), then creating networks (class 7, II.5), finishing at III class 8 usually dominate significant areas of a galaxy. They are only limited by their imagination, in time, they could easily achieve high Tier 1.

Tier 2 to Low Tier 1
Somewhere around here, civilisations will be able astroengineer their galaxy, using high mass/energy technologies, might involve incredibly complex femto-nanotech (like quantum replicators, matter/antimatter conversion), gravitational manipulation (wormhole networks on a large scale), and even hyperspatial technology that can manipulate realspace too. Some of these civilisations can open existing portals to other universes, but not really create them from scratch.
 * The Culture - Highest you can get without "impossibly" powerful devices like time travel.
 * The Apalos (With the AI Netspace) - Spacetime shielding!
 * Grox Meta-Empire, Shka'Tun, Delpha Coalition of Planets - Quantum replicators, micro-gridfire, semi-permanent wormholes, matter/antimatter conversion, neutron-degenerate matter, ghost-phasing interuniversal travel etc.
 * Galactic Empire (Star Wars Expanded Universe)
 * Terragen Sphere (Orion's Arm) - I would say Terragen are the base template; minor spacetime weapons, wormholes, black hole creation and use, starbusters, universal simulation, megascale engineering, Galbydeia Torus.
 * Galactic Empire of Cyrannus - Several hyperpstial technologies, fast hyperspace travel, matter cannons.
 * Cognatus, Sphagarzi, Tokzhalan/Girdo, Vartekians, Krassio Host, Human Intergalactic Republic (when you consider milky Way Cooperative megastructures, wormholes, and sunbusters used in the Imperial Civil War, humans suddenly aren't so primitive afterall), UNO, Radeon, Indoctrinative Collective, Magellanic Sovereignty of Planets (upper-level laser-tech, "photonic weapons").
 * Borg Collective (Star Trek) - Transwarp conduits, opening quantum singularities to other universes.
 * Draconis Imperium - Wormhole project is now complete, black hole power sources.

Tier 2/U
 * End-gameplay in Spore - Planet busters, large-scale antimatter production, wormhole keys, Staff of Life (quantum replication?), interstellar drives which can cross the galaxy in minuites, one ship that can destroy entire empires in a single sitting, the ability to terraform planets quickly. A size that can reach class 7, Class 5 scale.
 * Imperium of Man (Warhammer 40,000) - The IoM has the size of a Class 7, scale that is Class 5 (Type II at best) but remnant technology still in possession, from greater times seem to brush here at least, especially concerning firepower.
 * Contact aliens - Wormhole construction, other forms of FTL still impossible.
 * Yuuzhan Vong (Star Wars)
 * Species 8472 (Star Trek)
 * Kicath - Were Tier 3 but have gained early Tier 2 technology from the Milky Way Cooperative.
 * Goa'uld System Lords (Stargate) - Most slave worlds are kept in Iron Age development, perhaps not even TYpe I, and still have a fuedal system. The Goa'uld live it up on stolen technologies (mostly Alteran); stargates, hyperspace travel, multi-gigaton turbolaser weaponry and intergalactic travel.  Shields are powerful enough to stay immersed in an O-type star's corona.
 * Loron (Pre-UNO) - Again, stolen technology.

Tier 4 and 3
Technology permits use of FTL travel (warp, early hyperspace jump drives) using negative mass which may also power antigravity and subspace ambisils. Matter to energy conversion (teleportation, replication, antimatter reactors), directed energy weapons and deflector shields, quantum singularities, quantum computing and advanced material sciences. Tier 3 civilisations generally are on a much larger scale, allowing for the early invention of hyperspatial travel, and begin to harness stars, perhaps making superheavy elements (psuedometals). Tier 3's may send automated replicator bots (Von-Nuemann probes) around the galactic neightborhood to expand their domain. I imagine wars might be fought over possession of the core.
 * Grox Empire (Spore)
 * Foundation Empire (on a galactic scale but with comparitively lower tech).
 * Reapers (Mass Effect)
 * KGGC, Four Races of the Kraw Galaxy (together)
 * Terditlians
 * Natrian Empire (Pre-SporeWikiverse)
 * Covenant (Halo)
 * Dominion (Star Trek)
 * United Federation of Planets, most other Star Trek civilisations.
 * Minbari, Drakh
 * Mass Effect

Tier 4-3/U
 * Qax (Qax occupation era, Xeelee Sequence)
 * Cephalodian Life Guardians
 * Sentient xenosophonts (Orions Arm), other truly alien life - Weird alien tech.
 * Tholians
 * Tau

Tier 6 and 5
Usually STL, starting out using relativistic or generational spaceflight and then building warp drives, although FTL travel might be handed to them. Gravity is simulated by rotation, power source is usually nuclear fusion and solar power. As technology increases by development, reverse-engineering or trade can quickly shift a tier.
 * Smaller NPC Spore empires
 * Most Babylon 5 powers
 * Alphan civilization, Elucaphon, FKA (Asgord)