Technology of the Firmament

The technology of the Firmament is advanced by 21st century standards, but still has a lot of limitations. It’s also very limited outside of the core Foundation worlds. Some examples of the kind of technology available include:

• Large fusion generators; the size of a small building, or miniaturised versions small enough to fit into a starship. They are powered by Helium-3, which is most commonly harvested from gas giants.
• Costly but feasible creation of starships that can reach significant percentages of the speed of light.
• Costly metadimensional technology, including the spike drive and stealth system. Not cheap enough to enable interstellar trade of anything but exotic goods. Bottlenecked by rare elements.
• Antigravity technology, most commonly found as a bulky module in starships and space stations. Also used to make vehicles hover, but can only make very light things fly.
• Robots and complex machinery, including heavily automated processing plants and factories.
• Advanced computing technology, including expert and autonomous systems - but not true AI. The datapad in your pocket is as powerful as a cutting-edge 21st century computer. The terminal on your desk is a supercomputer.
• Clunky and obvious cybernetic prosthetics, like limbs or eyes. A wide variety of cyberware and bioware, though the brain is still largely off-limits.
• Brain-computer interfaces, usually using electrodes. Sensory recordings and full immersion into VR environments is feasible, but “skill chips” and technology to modify or copy the human brain is not.
• Hypersleep technology, requiring costly gases but making it possible to enter suspended animation for centuries.
• Limited organ, limb and tissue cloning. Also, limited genetic manipulation of human and alien life - though usually with difficult-to-predict side effects.
• Longevity treatments exist, but dementia is inevitable. Few people remain mentally healthy for more than 200 years, and most die before 300 even with the treatments.
• Force field technology, which is very expensive and almost as power-hungry as a starship. Requires bulky projectors the size of a small building.
• Laser weaponry, which is expensive but feasible as a high-end alternative to kinetic weapons.
• Limited terraforming, mostly using fusion-powered machines to slowly alter a planet’s atmosphere over the course of several decades.