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This topic has moved here: Subject: Tiers of Technological Achievements
  • Subject: Tiers of Technological Achievements
Subject: Tiers of Technological Achievements

Forklifts never die. They're just missing in Forge.

I recently thought of this, specifically last night. Isn't the Tier of Technological Achievements similar to a human growing up?

http://www.halopedian.com/Tiers_of_Technological_Achievement

Tier 7: Pre-Industrial

Tier 7 is one of the most common and stable states, with limited weaponry and environmental threats. Societies tend to be small and scattered, driven by subsistence farming, foraging, or hunter-gathering needs. Technology is limited to simple hand made tools, weapons, or agrarian implements and methods, but a very broad understanding of planetary and solar mechanics is not uncommon.

The infantile stage. When we were babies, we had toys, we were highly sociable. We had simple plastic toys, were intelligent, yet we knew nothing.

Tier 6: Industrial Age

Tier 6 is often the pinnacle for a civilization. Agrarian societies can remain stable in the pre-industrial stage, but Tier 6 population strain and mechanized food production invariably create political and economic pressures very few can balance. Moving past this usually promises advancement. Some societies improve environmental and medical understanding concurrently with mechanical and transport advancement. Those that do not are frequently doomed.

We became slightly more mature and smarter, adapting to new things, and we could feed ourselves.

Tier 5: Atomic Age

Tier 5 species usually begin focusing on clean energy production. The occasional belligerent species will use atomic energy for weapons, often resulting in mass extinctions. In-atmosphere craft are a hallmark, often leading to manned space flight, albeit in a short-scale.

We leave our homes more frequently. We go to school and learn more things, and we get into fights.

Tier 4: Space Age

Tier 4 is often the final resting place for species intelligent enough to break free from their cradle's surface only to fill the gulf surrounding it with war. Their comfort-focused technology can include medical advances.

The teenage years. We "break" from the cradle of our parents.

Tier 3: Space-Faring

Species has efficient Slipspace navigation, mass drivers, asynchronous linear-induction weapons, holocrystal storage and semi-sentient AI (though their creation requires memory transfer from the freshly deceased and/or flash cloning). They have had no outside influence.

We got our own cars, phones, and computers.

Tier 2: Interstellar

The species has the ability to perform exceedingly accurate Slipspace navigation, near-instantaneous communication and man-portable application of energy manipulation.

This can be comparable to the evolution of communication. Telegraphs become phones (I think). Also, we have better phones and computers. We also reach full adulthood.

Tier 1: World Builders

The species has the ability to manipulate gravitational forces, create AI with full sentience, fabricate super-dense materials, perform super-accurate Slipspace navigation, the ability to create life, and the ability to create worlds.

We become fully independent. We have our own homes, with advanced technology, possibly more advanced than our parents' technology.

Tier 0: Transsentient

As the Forerunners had no examples of civilizations with technological accomplishments greater than themselves - with the exception of the Precursors - this is a theoretical ceiling. It is suspected that they can travel across galaxies and accelerate the evolution of intelligent life.

When we become old and elderly. We are wise and know many things, be we deteriorate.

Well, this may simply be one of the most idiotic things that you have ever seen, or Bungie may have done this on purpose.


[Edited on 03.30.2011 3:09 PM PDT]

  • 03.30.2011 2:14 PM PDT

For Teir 0, if you think of it in a similar context of the movie 2001 (which was my first impression when I came in this thread), it represents death, moving on.

You're right: it is like a civilization--humanity--growing up. The final stage of life is death, or moving on, becoming something beyond the physical, beyond consciousness. Transsentient, ascension.

Take a look at the Covenant, who I see as being middle aged. They never advanced, or matured, much after they hit this stage of devolopment. What advancement came was very little and slow.

The Forerunners, Teir 1, is the stage of being older, a senior. They are extremely wise and experienced, but still prone to mistakes. They're still "human" like anyone else, and their civilization's mortal growth has ceased. Due to their age, their wisdom has grown and they respect life more then the younger, teens and children.

The Precursors, Gods, Teir 0. They have trancended reality and perfected themselves to becoming one with the universe. They watch over the universe (earth) after having partaken on the Great Journey, the path to ascension (dying and going to heaven).

The evil of their greatest civilization is forced to be left behind (The Captive, Gravemind. "Your heresy will stay your feet, and you will be left behind") in a form of punishment (hell).

If you think about it, Halo's story could be considered one of a story of civilization's advancement, like 2001. Humanity's "coming of age" story, if you will.

I think you're spot on.

[Edited on 03.30.2011 3:06 PM PDT]

  • 03.30.2011 3:04 PM PDT

Forklifts never die. They're just missing in Forge.

You know, I was thinking of the elderly as Tier 0 before I posted this, but I forgot. Thanks, adding that to the OP.

  • 03.30.2011 3:08 PM PDT