re: Stable Tech vs. Stale Tech

There are several things that have been missed in the discussions of the
levels of technology in the Imperium.

First, and most important, is that you must always bear in mind that the
Imperium has an extremely diverse range of cultures.  I have been considering
writing an article about it, but I'll summarize my ideas here.  We know that
there are forty-two branches of the human race, each of which possesses several
cultural strains within it, which have their roots in their pre-stellar
histories.  These cultural elements, in most cases, have not completely died
out, and many human cultures continue to develop and thrive.  Most such
cultures are dominant on only a handful of worlds each.  Some minor human races,
the Darrians, for example, have a wider influence.  The two most widespread
human cultural traditions are, of course, those of the Solomani and the Vilani.

Now, each of these cultural traditions carries with it a complex of attitudes
toward the nature and purposes of technology.  The Imperium has developed
a super-culture, which is what we generally think of when we talk about the
Imperium, but this super-culture is participated in by a relatively small
number of Imperial citizens:  the nobility, officials of the Imperial
government, members of Imperial services (the Scouts, especially), and
merchants.  Most others do not have the need or resources to participate in
this super-culture.  But I'm digressing.

The Imperial super-culture is made up of many disparate cultural elements, but
especially of Solomani and Vilani elements.  And we know how radically different
the Solomani and Vilani attitudes towards technology are.  The Solomani tend
to believe that technological advancement is inherently good.  The Vilani tend
to be much more suspicious of technology.

You can see the effects of these disparate attitudes manifested in many ways
in the Imperium.  There are High Stellar worlds distributed throughout the
Imperium.  But most TL 16 worlds are in Massilia sector--the rimward side of
the Imperial core.  Old Expanses sector has, if I remember correctly, more
TL 15 worlds than any other Imperial sector.  Vland sector, on the other hand,
has a wider distribution of technology levels, and several subsector capitals
aren't even in the High Stellar range, though Vland sector is the longest-
settled sector in the Imperium.

The difference between Solomani and Vilani attitudes is even more striking if
you look at worlds in the Solomani Confederation.  MOST WORLDS IN THE SOLOMANI
CONFEDERATION ARE HIGH STELLAR!

According to the World Builder's Handbook, by Tech Level 10, it is possible to
create cities in ANY environment.  Thus, in a sense, there is no need for
technology more advanced than TL 10.  Thus, I think, the Imperial attitude,
growing out of the Vilani attitude, is that it is a waste of effort to raise
the level of technology on a world above that required to meet the conditions
of that world.  That technology does continue to advance is due to the
neccesity of possessing the latest military technology, and the universal
desire for better medical care, as well as the Solomani tendency to love tech
for its own sake.

BTW, I suspect that an additional consideration is that worlds in the Imperium
tend to desire considerable autonomy and self-sufficiency.  The Solomani
Confederation is willing to sacrifice self-sufficiency for nearly universal
high levels of technology.  This, I believe, made it relatively easy for the
Imperium to reconquer the Solomani Rim in the Solomani Rim war, and relatively
difficult for the Solomani to seize Imperial worlds in the Rebellion.