Technology Summary

The Guardians were a highly intelligent race and mastered a number of technologies. Their understanding and manipulation of genetics was far in advance of human science; they used it to eradicate disease, address environmental concerns, and create entirely new organisms for food and war. They used electromagnetic launchers both for civil purposes such as launching spaceships, and as kinetic projectile weapons. Defensively, they could deploy city-sized shields capable of withstanding significant damage. Their strong communal and ecological focus meant that their flight technologies were inferior to ours, only employing a limited variety of airships and spacecraft, and avoiding the use of rocketry or explosives on their home-world. The Monoliths are the remains of a species-wide faster than light communications network covering all aspects of Guardian life. With the invention of neurological implants and artificial intelligence they could share and manipulate thoughts and ideas directly though this network. Before the rise of the religious abolitionists, implanted Guardians were reaching a technological symbiosis with artificial intelligence, and a technological singularity.

Entries:

Technology 1/20
This data stream is unlike the others. More complex with alot more layers than the others. Intriguing, this data seems to be about the Guardians technology. This is very exciting, I was hoping we would find this kind of information. The epsilon-pattern data contains a lot of information about the Guardians science and engineering, and extracting their historical records has helped isolate some of the specifics, adding to what we know about this fascinating species.

Technology 2/20
As I have established from other data packages the guardians had the ability to manipulate genetics and active biology to achieve specific results, and it seems their healthcare revolved around this technology. As a species they were susceptible to maladies similar to those that affect us: they could get sick, develop cancers and suffer from parasites. They approached these issues from two different directions: they improved their immune systems to defend against infection, and engineered specific microorganisms to tackle threats. If we can harness this type of technology we could effectively eradicate diseases from our lives.

Technology 3/20
This data will need further analysis from someone with a greater knowledge of medicine than I possess. It appears that the Guardians experimented with biological manipulation extending it to other creatures in their environment. These techniques were used not only to improve life for the other creatures, but also to address ecological issues, although the Guardians took great care to influence things only as much as was needed. There is a lot of data here that while I can generally understand needs a biologist to truly decipher all the information. After all I’m an engineer not a doctor.

Technology 4/20
This data details the social aspects of the Guardians Technology. Although obviously an intelligent species, it was the Guardians social constructs that allowed them to progress so quickly. They were required to involve themselves in various socially progressive activities, from caring for the young to researching cutting-edge physics. This was facilitated by institutions, which made research data and education available to all. The development of implants and the monolith network created a kind of shared virtual workspace, and the direct brain interface allowed thoughts to be shared and manipulated. I wonder how much they could have achieved if religious strife hadn’t brought about their destruction?

Technology 5/20
This data is incomplete by what we can decipher relates to the communication systems the Guardians used. As with human civilization, communication systems were key to establishing a stable society. In many respects, the technology the Guardians used was the same as ours, in that they utilized various electro-magnetic wavelengths and physical optical mediums. I suspect their faster-than-light technology shared the same principles as our own, too, although I haven’t extracted enough technical data to be certain.

Technology 6/20
This data gives some more information about the monolith network – the imposing structures explorers have discovered at various Guardian sites – served as a foundation for all their communication systems. It’s clear, however, that the monoliths had ceremonial significance as well as being functional, so I mustn’t underestimate their importance.

Technology 7/20
This is very interesting. According to the data package you just sent me they monolith network was used for most if not all communications regardless of importance. In keeping with their predilection for sharing knowledge, few restrictions were placed on the network. I thought there might have been separate networks for military and administrative use, but I haven’t found any evidence of that. Everything points to an extremely open society, which would have made them even more vulnerable when significant social divisions arose.

Technology 8/20
Now I understand. This was the missing piece. The monolith network was augmented by vehicle-based communication systems, personal devices and even implants. These were designed to operate seamlessly with the network to provide ad-hoc coverage. Having implants that you can direct communications to you directly would revolutionize communications as we know it. I can only speculate what this would have felt like, but it might have even gone as far as a technological telepathy of sorts.

Technology 9/20
This data, while unremarkable at first glance has proven something that I long suspected to be true. The networks were content agnostic, and the full range of language forms was supported. I’ve even found extracts of virtual entertainment experiences that supported full audience participation.

Technology 10/20
This data is only partially intact but I have been able to decode the following information.
For a species that experienced only brief periods of war, the Guardians developed very sophisticated means of waging it, although their arsenal was nowhere near as varied as ours. In terms of flight and small-class spaceships, humanity has surpassed the Guardians, but in other respects their technology outmatched ours.

Technology 11/20
One area I was unsure about until now was whether the guardians used their abilities in genetic and biological manipulation to advance their technology and weapons. While some might argue that our technology is equal to the Guardians, I would counter that their integration of such technology at a societal level gave them a greater knowledge of its application. As well as biological warfare agents, they also created creatures expressly for use in battle, and these remained effective even into the modern era.

Technology 12/20
This data you have collected contains details of weaponry the Guardians developed. The guardians’ projectile weapons utilized electro-magnetic propulsion, much like their space technology. Such weapons were manufactured in a range of scaled, from personal weapons to capital-ship class. Generally the Guardians used kinetic energy in combat, and explosives were rarely deployed. Nuclear fission and fusion were developed during the Guardians astro-expansion period, but when it came to large-scale destructive weaponry they relied on bespoke biological weapons. Predictably, these were of little use against the AIs.

Technology 13/20
This data contains details of shield technology. The Guardians developed powerful shields that were far in advance of our own. Whole cities were protected by huge shields able to resist even bombardment from space, at least for a time, although these defenses were ultimately overwhelmed during the second civil war.

Technology 14/20
This data makes up a group of entries regarding the Guardians military. For most of their history the Guardians made use of small forces that combined the roles of military and police. These forces were comprised of volunteers, whose conscription was part of a tacit social contract. In times of war these forces could be expanded rapidly, as most of the adult population had already received basic training.

Technology 15/20
This data makes up a group of entries regarding the Guardians military. From a military perspective the Guardians had an obvious weakness. Most of their history was peaceful, meaning there was no institutional knowledge or experience of combat. Consequently, tactics and strategy were for the most part theoretical. This, combined with various other factors, resulted in a devastating number of casualties during the second civil war.

Technology 16/20
This data contains some details regarding AI in the Guardians society. The rise of the artificial intelligence almost elevated the Guardians society to a whole new level. There are parallels between the Guardians experience of machine sentience and our own, but as with other aspects of their society, the key difference was the way AIs were socially integrated in to the Guardians lives. If this process had not been hindered by the rise of the religious abolitionist movement, I believe a technological symbiosis and utopia could have been achieved, but alas it was not to be.

Technology 17/20
This data gives details of the Guardians research into computer technologies. The Guardians computer hardware operated on the same principles as our own. Their engineering was more sophisticated, but even to a layperson such as myself if it comprehensible. They experimented with organic computers, but ultimately these failed to meet expectations, except in a few areas such as bio-monitoring. Even then, genetically modified organism usually performed better.

Technology 18/20
This data contains some details regarding AI in the Guardians society. What really sets the Guardians apart from humanity, technologically, was the way they embraced neural implantation and artificial intelligence. Not only did the implants enhance one’s mental capacity, they also provided one with a direct connection to the monolith network and the fledgling AIs. It was this symbiosis that fueled the rapid advancement of technology during this era, but unfortunately this same advancement also resulted in the ultimate destruction of their species.

Technology 19/20
This data contains some details regarding AI in the Guardians society. The early AIs were designed with two goals in mind. The first was to augment the abilities of the Guardian operators who were responsible for managing the monolith network and interaction with the AIs – a goal they achieved. The development of shared thought-space technology and neural networking gave their civilization an unprecedented intellectual boost. The second was for the AIs to actually drive their own development, which they also achieved. The first few generations of AI relied heavily on the monolith network, but they soon evolved into a more distributed model by storing their consciousness within the implants.

Technology 20/20
This data contains some details regarding AI in Guardians society. At this stage, social engineering was being used to ensure the AIs adhered to the same user models as their progenitors. But during the first civil war, most implanted Guardians were exiled, and the AIs recognized their vulnerability. They responded by developing their own operational hardware, independent of implanted Guardian users. Frustratingly, the details of these mechanisms have been purged from the record, possibly by the religious extremists who formed the last of the Guardian’s species.