I do not own Mass Effect, if I did the Citadel Council wouldn't be sectionalised stereotypes of Human Governments.
Plan for this fic, I want a Human society that can interact equally with the three citadel races; while keeping the decided Humanness approach that seems to crop up in the best First Contact fics. Were Human's aren't necessarily better, but we appear to be the only ones who aren't idiots.
Planned technology
AI technology from Halo.
Mass Effect Technology
Uploading
Unified Theory, with Dark Energy as the missing bit
The Reaper Trap
Mass Effect civilisations found Element Zero somewhere in their Solar System, it was the early days of the Space Age and upon seeing it they immediately adopt its use for breaking the atmosphere. All indications say Dark Energy cannot be understood via studying Element Zero; the dead end of that technology.
But the civilisation doesn't care, since their's these big Mass Relay's leading to more deposits of Element Zero. Dark Energy research is abandoned in favour of trying to work out more uses for Element Zero.
Prologue Part 1: 2000 to 20502019 following the completion of the testing phase of the Compact fusion Reactor, Lockheed Martin sells the design to Russia for 250 million dollars.
Over the next four years Russian engineer's the design and implement for the first generation CFR's, beginning widespread conversion from Fossil Fuels. The same year Russia sell the Gen 1 designs globally at thirty million dollars.
America, and various European countries begin the own design projects in 2023, while Gen I designs begin hesitant implementation in the western world.
China, whose energy production is largely formed from Fission Powerplants have no particular desire to convert their fuel economy.
Instead in 2025 they sign an international contract allowing for access to foreign designs of various CFR's and their Performance Logs; in agreement they that they share the proposed design for the CFR powered Shuttlecraft. That will implement the first use of Magnetoplasmadynamic Thrusters.
The agreement is amendable for most of the Human population on Earth, allowing for the development of a testbed Nuclear powered Spacecraft. While side skipping international law on the subject, and allowing for widespread assimilation if successful.
2027 the initial design's for the MPD Thrusters of Project Ascension (I can't speak Chinese) are finalised and begin the testing phase. A year later, a proposed CFR design for the Shuttle is announced; which will contain the CFR in similar concept to a Blackbox.
2029 Liquid Semiconductor's integrate wire elements of the circuit into their structure; allowing for circuit pathways to be built, regulated and adjusted by autonomous programs to personalise device efficiency.
2032 the Ascension design is completed, the design is larger than the AirbusA380 and utilises ten rear mounted MPD Thrusters as well as employing the traditional Space Shuttle Wings. Although the Chinese Government announce with regret that they were not able to design vertical take-off capability, they hope that the Ascension's successor will feature aspects designer's dreamed of incorporating into the Ascension.
2033 the Chinese Ascension is launched successfully, carrying four modules with it to drop from orbit onto Mars the following year. The module is home to eight rotating scientists and engineers, who begin construction of a one hundred metre radius plexiglass dome via prefab drop from orbit.
2035 five Ascension class shuttles enter use by various countries.
The following year the International Space community finalise designs for orbital docks, which will serve as international and interplanetary way stations free for multinational use.
Public concerns over the growing plans of colonisation see the United Nation's pass a series of laws; redefining existing colonisation laws. Stating that a Sovereign Nation cannot expand outside of a planet, it can only establish other Sovereign Nations. Allowing for Colonies to be incorporated into the United Nations, and what would eventually be the Human Sol Parliament.
2037 Dark Energy theories begin to take shape as Fusion Reactor's leave minute traces of Gravity manipulation.
2039 The United Nation's commission the first Vertical Launch Ascension Shuttle Craft, which utilises technological development and experience gained since the creation of the DPM Thruster's to achieve more controlled atmosphere escape.
2041 the United Nation's begin Colonising Mars; utilising the Ascension Mk2.
2042 it is hypothesised that Dark Energy is the missing part of the Unified Theory by Dr Walter Bishop; and proposes the Gravity Engine; which under the assumption that he is correct, compresses the gravity active in an area into a small field.
2045 In an explosion of the first Gravity Engine it is discovered the Dark Energy is naturally unstable. The larger the compression, the more unstable. The explosion creates extreme amounts of radiation in the area, equivalent to several hundred times that of Chernobyl, however oddly the high amounts of radiation do not deviate from the explosion crater.
2046 it is reasoned that as Dark Energy only interacts with Electron's and High Energy Particles it can be controlled using those same particles.
Following further experimentation reveals that Dark Energy will bond easily with radioactive particles; rendering their Mass Number Zero and non-radioactive. Matter under this affect is named as Element Zero, and assigned an Atomic and Radiation Number, donating the material.
You might notice the overwhelming absence of nanotechnology and to a lesser degree information technology advances. For IT it's because Liquid Chips render a lot of upgrades a matter of finding the best combination within the chip for personal performance. On top of that memory and capacitor innovation are going to get harder and harder to create the closer we get to DNA level computing. So semiconductor's that manipulate existing circuit elements to actively improve performance kills a lot of the market. It's actually the basis for Halo AI technology.
As for nanotechnology; well, since it's one of those things that half the people think is ten years off, and the other half is one hundred years off. I went by in universe versions of the technology as a development guide. Now the Quarian's are the species that managed to crack the nano-code; doing so and creating AI technology, so I assume the two are interrelated. I'm guessing an approach similar to Halo AI. Where the AI exists in a liquid chip based on a Human brain that allows for inifinite adaptability within the confines of the chip by constructing, destroying and adjusting circuit pathways. Anyway, it took the Quarian's three hundred years to develop nanotechnology to AI level; and this is doing it like were doing it now, taking proteins and piecing them together into 3D models at molecule level.
Yeah nanotechnology, three hundred years, thankfully that development times affected by the Reaper Trap.