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Medium Energy Emission Civilisations (MEECs)
Medium scale civilisations that have been detected in the Milky Way and elsewhere | |
 Image from Bear | |
| Around 100 extant MEEC civilisations have been detected in the Milky Way alone, some close to or even inside the larger High Energy Emission Civilisations. | |
In the current era around 100 Medium Energy Emission Civilisations are currently active in the Milky way, including six inside the Terragen Sphere; most of these exhibit energy use somewhere between Kardashev I and II levels. Another forty MEECs have faded away in the last ten thousand years, some of them apparently ceasing to exist as techological civilisations, others reducing their emissions to a fraction of previous levels for unknown reasons. It is possible that some of these faded civilisations are still operating at very high technological levels, but have reduced their emissions deliberately.
Medium Energy Emission civilisations often have spaceflight and extraplanetary colonies; some have interstellar flight and are spread out among several stars. Terragen civilisation just before the Technocalypse could be classified as a MEEC, and even afterwards, for much of the First Federation Era, the Terragens were still at a comparable level. Several xenosophont civilisations in direct contact with the Terragen Sphere are also at MEEC level, such as the Muuh, the Soft Ones and the Silent Ones. Both the Muuh and the Soft Ones have quite extensive empires but they use only moderate levels of energy and modest technology.
Many MEEC civilisations are confined to single systems, several inhabiting single planets. Examples of single system MEECs in the Terragen Sphere include The Black Acropolis, Rak Mesba and the Miracle City.
Five MEEC civilisations outside the Terragen Sphere are currently in contact with the Terragen Sphere by electromagnetic messages; the messages sent to these civilisations are carefully managed in order to reduce their cultural impact, but it seems inevitable that some disruption may occur in these civilisations, especially if they can observe the level of technology available to Terragens.
MEECs have been observed in 80% of nearby galaxies, and have been detected up to three billion light years away, though at such distances they can be difficult to distinguish from naturally-occurring phenomena.
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Development Notes
Text by Steve Bowers
Initially published on 07 October 2015.
Initially published on 07 October 2015.
