Everyday Life in a Type II Civilization | Unveiled

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Everyday Life in a Type II Civilization</h4>

The sun is the key ingredient for life on Earth. Without it, this world would be a shivering, hostile and almost certainly lifeless place. But, actually, we only ever make use of a tiny, tiny fraction of what the sun has to offer… so what if that were to change?

This is Unveiled, and today we’re taking a closer look at what everyday life would be like in a type two civilization.

Type two is the second grade on the Kardashev Scale. At type one, a civilization has become advanced enough to harness the entire energy output of its own home planet… while, at type three, it has full dominion over its own home galaxy. Type two is a midway mark between those cosmic checkpoints. Here, a civilization has harnessed all of the energy from its own home star. In our case, that would be the sun.

Humans already rely on the sun (in some way or another) for nearly everything we do. We grow, see, energize, keep time and heat our bodies by this blazing ball of fusion in the sky, and that’s despite it being located around ninety-three million miles away from us. Due to the Earth’s rotation, only one side of our planet can ever feel the effects of the sun direct at any one time, which is why we have night and day. Meanwhile, the sun’s incredible energy is hardly ours alone. It shines out into space, across the solar system, in all directions… which means that the very, very vast majority of its power never even comes close to reaching us. At Kardashev type two, that’s the vital thing that would change.

As we are, only about a billionth of the sun’s total energy makes it to Earth. Of that, more than fifty percent is either reflected back away from our planet or absorbed by the atmosphere before it reaches the ground. Much less than ten percent of our billionth is used by plants for photosynthesis, no matter how crucial that process is to how our world currently works. Nevertheless, we still receive an estimated 10,000 times more energy from the sun than we actually require to function. We receive about enough in one hour as what we need in one year; it’s just that we don’t yet know how to capture it all. 

Already, then, it’s clear how far behind type two modern humans are. At type two, we’d first have access to all the sun’s energy, not just one billionth of it… and then we’d be able to distribute it all with maximum efficiency, leaving nothing lost or unaccounted for. Staying just on Earth, there would be huge changes afoot. First, even the phrase “everyday life” will’ve lost its meaning, because there wouldn’t necessarily be night and day as we know them. While the Earth may still rotate to face away from the sun, it’s a good bet that type two would rechannel solar energy (the light and the heat) to wherever it’s needed, irrespective of time. This means that energy from the sun could be watching over us 24/7 even when the star itself is only visible in the sky on Earth’s other side. A type two civilization is “always on”, which has its benefits and problems. On the one hand, it all works at peak functionality all of the time, rather than allowing for time differences as we have on Earth right now… but, on the other hand, there’s a clear risk of burnout for time two beings. Relentless life and energy certainly sounds good, but what about the need for rest?

For this reason, it’s likely that a type two being is very far removed from human beings, as we understand them today. Physically speaking, they’d be strengthened and made much more fail safe, probably through a combination of complex gene editing and super-advanced tech upgrades. Think unbreakable skeletons, layered with super dense, custom-spun muscle, carrying digitally enhanced vital organs, and allowing for super-sensitive sensory organs. Perhaps the human brain would be the most changed, however, and mostly to adapt to a dramatically quickened type two pace of life. Brain implants to negate sleep; memory chips to expand brain “storage”; and stimulus controls to ensure optimum efficiency. The brain is already described by some as the most complex structure in the universe… but, at type two, we’ll have tamed it and we’ll control it.

As such, while we can imagine Earth at type two, it’s a sure bet that we’ll have long since left this world by then. Fuelled by the sun’s total energy output - harvested by a Dyson Sphere, or a variation of - jetting across the solar system would be part and parcel of a type two life. Sure, many of these journeys would be entirely robotic, with unpiloted ships ferrying goods and services from planet to planet, controlled solely by AI. But, if a type two being (in itself) has overcome such biological hurdles as the need for sleep, then it’s possible (maybe even likely) that they will also have beaten aging. 

We took a closer look at the real world science that could soon make humans immortal in another recent video, so be sure to check that out. But, however we were to achieve it, one offshoot of it is that even the longest trips would be suddenly achievable. A future propulsion jaunt from Earth to Mars shouldn’t be a problem anyway… but a type two would also be able to survive much longer haul. Like to the edge of the Kuiper Belt, for example, or into the heart of the Oort Cloud. Whether through a faster-than-light vehicle or a temporary pausing of its own life cycles, traversing the solar system is like crossing a city for type two. Easy.

So, with all of this in mind, what would everyday life actually be like? First of all, you probably never really “wake up” at the start of it. Instead, your body’s always working at close to full power. Perhaps there are periods when just part of your brain shuts off for recuperation - like dolphins do in regular life - but in general you’re an ultra-efficient machine. And, in more ways than one. Your body is post-biological, which means that “taking care of yourself” would include things like running systems checks, reconnecting to servers, and debugging your own software. 

Type two civilizations haven’t yet advanced enough for a true hive mind… but all beings are certainly much more connected. Physically connected, at least, while the emotional connection is harder to predict. In many ways, our emotions can be viewed as inefficient to our lives as a whole. When humans are angry, they can say things they don’t mean… and cause long term problems in doing so. When they’re scared they can miss opportunities. When they’re over-confident they can make big mistakes. By the time of type two, these kinds of “errors” are well on their way to being eradicated. Would this be for the best, though, or is there more to lose than gain? Let us know what you think in the comments!

Theoretically, the economy at type two should be leveled out and much fairer. In a type two world, there’s no competition for energy, it’s just universal to all residents. And, while there would still be “jobs” to work, some models predict that these will’ve transformed into more general social roles, perhaps without the need for money and wages to change hands. A particularly vital role would be any connected to the running of the Dyson Sphere at the heart of it all. In a well established type two setup, the Sphere itself is manned entirely by machines that are essentially indestructible and probably self-replicating. But retaining some form of control over these machines is still important, because it’s not as though even a type two group has yet reached the true peak of its powers. There are still places it needs to expand to and higher goals it needs to achieve… there are still strategies that it needs to deliver on.

Again, type two can be broadly seen as a kind of major crossover point for any growing group. From power struggles to limitless energy; from one-world living to a multi-planet existence; from organic life to artificial beings; from inevitable death to endless immortality. But all of those transitions are wrapped up in (and guided by) the next move up the Kardashev Scale, to type three. Because a type two doesn’t rest on its laurels. It conquers a star system, and then it aims for another… and another… until an entire galaxy is under its gaze.

In some ways, type two is a tech utopia made real… but, in others, it’s merely a stepping stone toward an even loftier goal; galactic power and then, maybe, complete rule of the universe.