Intro to Technology
Technology in Ethnis has diverged from the familiar and into three Tech Clades, each alike in worth but differing in use, fabrication, and resource. While there are overlaps in materials and function, each Clade shines or sours in different circumstances and in the hands of different users. Sometimes, the best tool for the job is just the one you're most familiar with.
To survive in Ethnis, you're going to want to familiarize yourself with one of these, and to learn all the best ways to avoid the rest.
What are the Clades?
Encapsulates the analysis and advancement of using materials and energy to succeed.
The domain of circuitry and forges, Mecha distills the material realm into purest forms. Dynamo hearts pump fire and lightning through rubber veins and metal neurons. This is as close as you get to drawing life from clay without supernatural aid.
The domain of Meta—the spirit. Meta is difficult to analyze and seems affected by forces metaphorical. Clever minds have regardless managed to harness and automate it into Psio Tech, which can shape the world in ways the other Clades cannot.
The domain of organs and gristle. Orga is all of the gooey bits of the physical realm which Mecha excludes, yet complements. Psio and Mecha alike probed into the realm of Orga and have found within it the ability to change the shape of nature, and the self.
The Domain of Gates and Keys. Nobody knows where the Wayhalls and Indices came from, or what powers them.
So many people, planets, and factions in Ethnis. Nothing is evenly distributed, light speed is sluggish, and superluminal speeds isn't much better. Tech doesn't disperse evenly. Quality control looks more like medical triage than professional consideration.
Some fellow on Victoriana publishes plans for a plasma pistol to grenade conversion kit, and three weeks later some Aen kid on Jhoutai accidentally blows out the 45th story of his house with a new design and an explosion of unusual force. Streamers rush to the spot to churn tragedy into propaganda and entertainment. His story is broadcasted to the stars. The original creator blasts his brains out for having indirectly killed a kid. Six competing corps send fifteen competing mercenaries to sieze the kid's schematic. Half of them stream it. Seven die by each other's hand. One goes missing. One was never even there. Two share the victory. The grenades are in the field before news even has time to jump one gate down the Hall. The grenades explode the moment the pin is pulled. They forgot to fix the errors in the schematic. A lot of soldiers die, but not the intended ones.
There's too much going on to think. Nobody knows what's happening and it gets worse every time we rediscover a lost world and pillage its tech.
A Closer Look
Mecha
Mecha tech harvests and harnesses the natural forces of the universe to achieve its goals. In this, it is straightforward, even if the extremes of its capabilities are anything but.
Psio tech might be actual magic, but Mecha has that metaphorical magic of hard work well done. Mecha sees a problem and it fixes it with the least resources and the most reliability. Psio relies on the spirit, which falters. Orga relies on the flesh, which hungers. Mecha relies on math, which is constant. It's the most common clade.
Mecha is made-from and powered-by all matter of natural materials. The harvesting, refinement, and storage of these materials is the most expensive of the Clades. Mecha is the hardest working Clade, which means it requires the most upkeep. Mecha's influence wanes without infrastructure.
Psio
Psio harvests and harnesses the supernatural forces of the Soul to achieve its goals. While it does abide by an internal logic, its rules seem esoteric compared to the grounded natures of the other Clades.
Psio still uses physical materials as its medium—predominantly gemstones, which are good at storing Meta, and wiring, which is good at conducting it. Psiya Imbues these mediums with elemental effects in a form of automation, albeit a slower than Mecha or Orga.
Psiolic—those who study Meta—distrust any description of Psio as magic: Meta can be studied, quantified, and controlled, and anyone can do it. How is it magic?
Psio is powered by the spirit. Abundant and powerful of Psio tech requires an abundant and powerful spirits to maintain. Monoliths, as the only source of meta, are essential to Psio infrastructure.
Orga
Orga harvests and harnesses the natural forces of biological process. The Edenic and Jhoutaioan biospheres are rich with adaptions to their environments. Orga adopts these traits to adapt to any environment.
Mecha and Meta are the lenses by which Orga is viewed. Without either, Orga could not have taken root. Now, as the Sophont take to new worlds, they bring the flesh and blood of the old worlds with them, transforming them into tools or sculpting them onto their bodies
New lifeforms are created regularly, some for purpose, some for vanity. Most Orga tech is weird, cheap, and unreliable, with the occaisional marvel to push the envelope. Most require some particular diet or formula for sustenance. Despite this, Orga is ubiquitous in The Hub and Outer Worlds alike. The possibilities are endless. Like moss growing on a wall, Orga fills in all the cracks.
Tech and You
No tech mutually excludes another. The best examples of modern technology combine the three Clades. How will you use them?
Even if you're not interested in focusing on Gear, it's good to know how to upgrade and upkeep your own.
For the truly mad—build your gear from the ground up from scrap to tool. There's no finer tool than the one made to your exact specs.
Kitashi
Another excellent Ademal's article. It's a pleasure for the eyes to see and always very valuable to read.