Type 10 Societies

A Type-10 society has broken the light barrier, and is capable of building faster-than-light starships to visit neighbouring solar systems. The defining element of a Type-10 society is that the Homeworld will be the main political entity --when members of this society say "home," they will universally be referring to the homeworld, even if that particular citizen has never set foot there.

Faster-than-light starships will enable this civilization to explore beyond their solar system, while still maintaining close contact with home. (Enterprise, 2001)

Contact with aliens will lead to a new unity amongst this society; different factions will be compelled to set aside their differences, forming a single government as a united front against (real or imagined) enemies --this can also lead to a revitalized homeworld, as this civilization seeks to eliminate poverty and crime (the better to welcome alien delegates). Early Type-10 societies may be rife with internal conflicts, as renegade factions resist unification. In later stages, this society may get pulled into interstellar wars with neighbouring civilizations (in this case, the loss of the homeworld can be catastrophic). Innate xenophobia has by now become a threat to survival, and must be overcome if a society is to advance to Type-11.

The loss of Caprica and their own internecine struggles nearly led to the extinction of the Kobol subspecies of humanity. (Battlestar Galactica, 2003)

Any interstellar empire (with multiple worlds forcibly suppressed by one more powerful species) will functionally be a Type-10, regardless of footprint.

Footprint: Multiple nearby solar systems (one sector).

Sustainable Population: Trillions, possibly divided among biologically distinct subspecies and unrelated alien species.

Government: Representative council (parliament, board of shareholders, High Council, etc) on Homeworld; colonies will likely have appointed leaders who are politically/economically/militarily dependent on the Homeworld.

Bureaucracy: Labyrinthine, factionalized. Some agencies may rival the government for power (and thus will effectively be the government).

At some point, the Sebaceans must have had a centralized civilian government, but now only the Peacekeepers remain. (Farscape, 1999)

Language: Various dialects, related to a common "proper" tongue. May include a heavily simplified dialect for use with aliens. Technological "universal translators" can cover all internal languages (alien tongues will require more work).

Literacy: Universal.

Network: Universal in home system, limited at each colony. Starships will likely carry their own servers (and will thus be networks unto themselves), under the control of whatever military or political authority owns the ship. Ansibles allowing real-time interstellar communication will likely be invented, though limited to official traffic. Unlike civilian gear (designed to access a cloud), star crews will carry robust communication and sensor gear, able to reach an orbiting starship.

Religion: Divergent (extremist/moderate) sects growing among colonies. Internal schisms are likely, possibly leading to civil war among the colonies.

Science: Theoretical and technological progress is rapid, backed by studies of alien technology. FTL technology exists, but engines are large and power-hungry. The xenosciences (xenobiology, xenosociology, etc) will be recognized, as will advanced forms of physics (relating to FTL and quantum phenomena --possibly leading to interdimensional theory). Fully-sapient AI may be present, but rare. Terraforming may become an obsolete technology --easier to seek out already-habitable worlds. Energy-manipulation technology leads to advances both offensive (directed-energy weapons) and defensive (forcefields). Advances in gravity control and magnetic shielding make "augments" unnecessary. High-fidelity 3D holograms are common, and tractor-beam technology is in its infancy. Scientists will be experimenting with physical teleportation. Mecha pilots may rely on neural interfaces to control transformable or AI-enabled machines.

A Machine Caliber like Chamber is equipped with a highly-intelligent AI, energy weapons, holographic interfaces, and gravity-manipulation technology --and is custom-tailored to form a symbiotic emotional bond with its pilot. (Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet, 2014)

Medicine: Technology allows for cellular regrowth and cloned transplants. Foetal modification may be common. Genetic augmentation may be either normalized or completely prohibited in the wake of the wars of the Type-9 era. Medical robots are common, and controlled neural interfaces and nanotechnology are a standard part of most medical toolkits.

Education: Universal. Standardized at lower/basic levels, and increasingly focused at higher levels (students from colony worlds will be educated to be labourers by default, students from the Homeworld will study more advanced subjects). A standard high school education will include elements of astronaut training (possibly as an elective), as well as advanced physics (including basic FTL theory) and genetics.

Energy: Homeworld will be completely dependent on high-tech power sources, with the most advanced (and powerful) generators restricted to government or military control. Colonies may revert to lower-tech reactors, solar/wind/tidal collectors, or even slave labour.

Industry: Fabricators used for mass production (though factories will still be needed, just to have enough room for larger products). Technology becomes increasingly homogenized (for ease of fabrication) --personal customization is common, especially on less-developed worlds. Corporate espionage becomes common, as designs (IP) are now more valuable than raw materials. The Homeworld will be orbited by large shipyards and spacedocks, assembling the civilization's interstellar fleet.

Military: Powerful and well-equipped, potentially aggressively xenophobic --may become an independent force holding the Homeworld and colonies under a military regime (in the name of "protecting the species"). Bulky directed-energy weapons are common military assets, providing a wide range of effects, ranging from nonlethal to instantly fatal.

Economy: Increasingly reliant on interstellar trade to feed the resource-hungry homeworld and the at-risk colonies. Massive FTL-equipped freighters will ply the spacelanes. After generations of economic specialization (on the Homeworld and in habitats), colonies will blossom as melting-pots of diverse talents --far-flung colonies cannot afford to rely on a single industry. Bustling shopping centres will be common in most communities --importers and retailers order products on speculation (a special order may take weeks or months to arrive from Homeworld, assuming you can even place the order and afford shipping). A shadow economy may emerge, conducting trade beyond the control of the government-monitored and unreliable cyber-economy (using hard currency instead of electronic credits).

On far-flung colonies and even space-stations, malls will be vital not just to commerce, but to morale and diplomatic contact. (Babylon 5, 1993)

Food: Varied. Planetary colonies and interstellar trade will open up new food sources. Shipboard food will still consist mainly of processed or entirely synthetic rations. Colonies will rely on seed stock from the homeworld, or native food sources --the latter will make colonists weaker and less robust, lacking the genetic modifications that have become standard.

Travel: Interstellar FTL travel is in the hands of corporate/military/state interests, using large energy-hungry starships (to carry the bulky engines/generators). In-system travel is within reach of private citizens, and planetwide travel is casual. Most citizens will remain in their particular solar system out of convenience, traveling to habitats or resorts for vacations. Space pirates may exist, but will likely be restricted to small in-system ships (interstellar-capable vessels are too expensive to buy and too well-guarded to steal), and crews will likely rely on wealthy patrons to bankroll them.

Spaceflight: Technology now allows "naturals" (assuming they still exist) to travel easily in space, obliviating the need for Augments to run space industries. Surface-to-orbit travel is almost trivial, and "the space program" is now simply orbital traffic control. Advances in fuel, propulsion, and inertial control simplify interplanetary flight; ships no longer need to rely on carefully-plotted orbital assists, but can now manoeuvre and accelerate as needed. Space yachts will be common in wealthier systems. In interstellar space, expect to encounter only larger ships; freighters and warships backed by government/corporate/military powers.

Alien contact: Diplomatic. Contact with alien intelligences is almost inevitable for this society. First encounters in space will typically involve either military (scouts or patrol ships) or corporate (freighters en route between colonies) interests, and will be treated with great significance --while this species will be aware of aliens, they will have met very few, and will likely be cataloging each new encounter. Contact could be peaceful or violent: recommend initiating communications contact from extreme range before approaching.

The botched First Contact between Humans and Minbari triggered a war that nearly led to humanity's extinction. (Babylon 5, 1993)

Examples (reality):
Examples (fiction): Earth (and Vulcan, Andor, and Tellar) during the Enterprise-era, the Bajoran Republic (at the time of the Cardassian Occupation), the Gorn Hegemony, the Centauri Republic, the Minbari Federation, the 12 Colonies of Kobol, the Tiresian/Robotech Empire, the Invid Regent's hive, Peacekeepers (representing the cusp of Type-11), the UNSC, the Galactic Alliance of Humankind, the Viis Empire, and Heinlein's Arachnids. The setting of Blade Runner (based on Roy Batty's speech about "attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion"), and Aliens.