The basic technological building blocks of the ancient world were an extremely small subset of those of the industrial age. Minerals were limited to what could be found on or near the surface. Plant and animal resources were subject to slow, disorganized selective breeding that took centuries to yield significant improvements. Materials were processed using techniques that were art as much as science. Yet the great empires of the past – and ultimately the tools that would produce the industrial world – were built on this foundation.

• Materials
• Chemistry
• Power
• Tools and Basic Equipment
• Information Technology
• Robots and Cyborgs
• Machines as Characters