While fiddling around with a UWP descriptor, I was trying to describe tech levels for use in the breakout. I came up with these --
TL-0 = "may be primitive to stone age"
TL-1 = "can range from the bronze to middle ages"
TL-2 = "is akin to the age of sail, circa 1500 AD"
TL-3 = "is similar to the industrial revolution, ranging from 1700 AD to 1900 AD"
TL-4 = "is early mechanization, circa 1900 AD, including electricity and analog computers"
TL-5 = "is circa 1930 AD. Ground cars, machine guns, and polymers are common"
TL-6 = "is the early nuclear age, circa 1950 AD. Fission, early computers and electronics are used"
TL-7 = "is circa 1975 AD. Rockets, organ transplants and missiles are well-known"
TL-8 = "is circa 2000 AD. Photonics, commcasters and jammers are recent innovations"
TL-9 = "is circa 2020 AD. Early fusion, NAFAL, Gravatics, cryogenics, and Jump-1 are available"
TL-10 = "is circa 2100 AD. Practical fusion, lifters, and datacasters are becoming available"
TL-11 = "is circa Imperial Year 0. Fusion plus, semi-organic brains and Jump-2 are on the market"
TL-12 = "is circa Imperial Year 300. Anti-geriatrics, positronic brains and nuclear dampers are in use"
TL-13 = "is circa Imperial Year 550. Robots, Comm-plus, cloning, biologics and wafers are typical"
TL-14 = "is circa Imperial Year 800. Geneering, self-aware systems and psi-shields are created"
TL-15 = "is circa Imperial Year 1100. Anagathics and Jump-6 are available"
TL-16 = "is the Darrian maximum. Anti-matter, artifical persons, artifical intelligence and black globes exist"
TL-17 = "is the near future, fusion rifles and Hop-1 may be available"
TL-18 = "is the far future. Collectors, disruptors and holovisors are used"
TL-19 = "is the far far future. Elemental matter transport and disintegrator pistols may exist"
TL-20 = "approaches magic. Limited global matter transport and white globes may be known"
TL-21 To 32 = "is accelerating toward singularity. Relativity rifles and stasis may exist"
TL-33 = "has reached the technological singularity"