| ATRI Level | Power Sources | Transportation | Weapons/Miscellaneous |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | No Technology | ||
| 1 | Fire | Melee weapons, bows | |
| 2 | Animal Power | Riding Animals, Boats | Melee weapons, bows, crossbows |
| 3 | Wind Power | Sailing Ships, Balloons | Matchlocks, flintlocks |
| 4 | Steam Power | Steamships, Railroads | Early percussion firearms |
| 5 | Electric Power | Submarines | Early percussion firearms |
| 6 | Internal Combustion | Automobiles, aircraft | Advanced percussion firearms |
| 7 | Atomic Power | Jet Aircraft, Orbital Spacecraft | Advanced percussion firearms, atomic weapons |
| 8 | Solar Power | Interplanetary Spacecraft | Early gauss and laser weapons |
| 9 | Fusion Power | Hyperdrive | Advanced gauss and laser weapons |
| 10 | Cold Fusion | Displacer drive | Antigravity; plasma weapons and blasters |
| 11 | Antimatter Power | Reactionless Thrusters | Force fields, tractor beams |
| 12 | Zero Point Energy | Warp drive | |
| 13 | Teleportation | Displacer weapons, disintegrators | |
| 14 | Probability Drive | Interdimensional travel | |
The Terran Empire rates planets and civilizations according to the Available Technical Resources Index (ATRI). Military planners and traders created the ATRI scale, so it focuses on transportation and power sources. Since it uses fairly broad classification categories, two civilizations at the same ATRI level may look very different. Similarly, some species or states advance more rapidly in some fields than in others - for example, the Varanyi mostly have ATRI 12 technology, but lag behind in some areas.
At the end of the Xenovore Wars period and during the formation of the Empire, Humanity was ATRI 10 on the most advanced planets, though many worlds only had ATRI 8-9 technology due to the devastation of the war and being cut off from the mainstream of Terran civilization. As the Terran Empire expanded, encounters with more species, analysis of Mandaarian technology, and other developments helped Imperial science reach a solid ATRI 10 throughout the Empire. Thereafter, the pace of development slowed as Imperial secrecy rules and monopolies stifled innovation. The Empire reached ATRI 11 in the mid-2500s (spurred on in part by the Ackalian Border War and the Galactic War), but after that progress slowed considerably. As of Marissa III's reign, the Empire remains firmly within ATRI 11. (Humanity achieves ATRI 12 early in the Galactic Federation period [i.e., after 2703]).