After the End: Serenity

[quote = An Instructor’s Guide to Integrating New Worlds]

NOTE: This guide is by no means comprehensive and is intended only to give a general idea of how to evaluate a world at Tutorial induction. Its use for any other purpose is discouraged.

Planets are all different from each other; prior to integration into the Order, they often also have significant differences across the face of the planet. One of those differences is tech level. The standard tech grade classifications are:

0 - None. This tech level is extremely rare, and usually only possessed by sapients without hands. This requires significant modification to the Tutorial.

1 - Stone tools, wood hardened in fire (~Stone Age), bone, hide, sometimes leather. Common for Tier 0 worlds. Minimal changes are recommended, especially in crafting, as additional information may be required for understanding basic concepts.

2 - Adds Pottery, weaving, ropemaking, more complex tools (but still easily obtained materials). Fairly common anywhere; higher Tier worlds have better materials which makes improving past easily obtained materials seem pointless.

3 - Smelting and metal use or the use of power other than muscle power and mana. There is some dispute about the second condition, since it’s rare on higher-Tier worlds, but it is generally agreed that at low Tiers, using other power sources is an advantage. Some argue that this should be an even higher Tier, but since it is commonly abandoned by high-Tier planets, it has a low Grade. Metal use is commonly seen on Tier 2 and higher worlds, where mana is prevalent to simplify metal extraction and alloy creation.

4 - “Simple machines” - some areas achieve tech 4 even without metal, this includes significant use of wheels, pulleys, levers, etc. Some scattered use of simple machines is not enough; this has to be widespread and part of everyday life (e.g. a hand crank grain mill instead of pounding grain by hand). More common on higher-Tier worlds where more of the population has been off planet, this usually develops well after integration.

5 - More complex machines, even in relatively rare circumstances. Human historical examples of Grade 5 tech would be the Roman Empire and ancient China (Earth would likely have been assessed at Tier 4 during EA's where this was localized). Also relatively common, Grade 5 tech is often found in specific enclaves on Grade 4 worlds. It is often seen as a novelty item rather than a useful item, since on Tier 3 or higher worlds, it’s not generally better than someone doing it for themselves, or sometimes hiring a specialist. This is the height of artisan-made goods and the highest “common” Grade; every higher Grade is at least somewhat specific to the planet that developed it. This can include goods such as spaceships capable of cross-universal travel, as long as the spaceship is artisan-made, however these are extremely uncommon due to the high associated cost (it's often said that quality comes from Grade 5 while quantity comes from Grade 6).

6 - Early mass production - e.g. castings, stamping metal. Interchangeable components instead of artisan-made individualized components. Equipment can still be created and repaired by hand but many things are no longer done by artisans. Initially this may cause a step backwards in quality; the Grade is not awarded until the mass production produces approximately equivalent (though often less ornate or specialized) goods. Limited artisan production may still be used for specialty items or items that are harder to mass produce.

7 - Small scale and high precision. It is truly no longer possible to create some goods as an artisan without significant mechanical or magical support. This is often coupled with significant mass production of cheap (possibly low quality) goods. In such cases, it often becomes possible for items deemed as luxuries in most places to become common.

8 - Information tech. What this means varies significantly from world to world, but the key characteristics are the ability to easily and quickly move information. Using information to replace physical items is a common step on higher Grade-8 worlds. There is some argument about whether or not Grade 8 should be split into multiple Grades, as there are significant difference in the power of different Grade-8 worlds, but these worlds are rare enough that no consensus has been reached as to how they should be split.

9 - Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. In this case, literally; a Grade 9 world has technology that can only be distinguished from magic by the fact that it doesn’t use magic. There is only one known world that has managed to completely replace magic with technology; generally, a world will be Grade 9 in only a few areas, which are highly guarded. Grade 9 tech is valuable, since it will often work in places where equivalent magic may be unreliable. A world should almost never be assessed as Grade 9, as Grades 6, 7, or 8 wil be more descriptive of the actual experience of the Tutorial attendees.

The Tutorial should be geared to the tech Grade of the participants. The standard Tutorial is best suited to participants of Grades 2 through 6, although it has been found to work well for most Grade 1 situations. This is over 90% of Tutorials, so the first Tutorial may follow the standard and be altered as needed to fit the specific circumstances…

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