[Psionics] [Space] Psi Trek - Worldbuilding

[Prince Charon]

Antimatter and Technological Progression

I probably should have asked this earlier.

Antimatter-based power and weaponry are quite common in Star Trek, in large part because antimatter is probably the most efficient form of energy storage known to modern science (well, in theory - right now at TL8, manufacturing it is extremely inefficient, although some claim that a large part of that is because we're doing it with scientific instruments that also do other things, rather than with dedicated machines designed by engineers to just make antimatter efficiently). It's also rather dangerous in large amounts for that same reason, and rather difficult to store... at least currently. At later tech levels it may be quite easy to manufacture, and much safer to store for long periods. GURPS Ultra-Tech suggests that this should happen at TL11. A lot of Star Trek tech fits within TL11, so this isn't a huge problem. Of course, psychotronics could allow this at lower tech levels, but psychotronics in this setting have issues working without people being around, which may be considered a good reason not to use psychotronic antimatter storage (though psychotronic antimatter production is another matter). If we're using psychotronic fusion technology, this is much less of a problem - if a fusion reactor loses containment, I'm told that it tends to shut down, rather than explode like a 'Mech reactor in Stackpole's BattleTech books.

My current intention is to go with something between the Accelerated and Fast Technological Progression from GURPS Ultra-Tech p8, with TL9 starting in the early 2020s, TL10 being delayed by the Genetics Wars, getting a slower start some time after they end, and TL11 starting in the mid-22nd century, at which point antimatter manufacture becomes cheap enough to be really useful. Is this generally acceptable? If you have an idea that you like better, what is it?

EDIT: OK, it seems we're using natural psi-reactive crystals and specific 'mining' locations to produce enough anti-matter to make matter-antimatter annihilation viable as both a source of power and a warhead's physics package.