Kardashev Type 3.0 Galactic Civilizations

A civilization that commands the energy output of an entire galaxy, roughly 10^37 watts, by harnessing the power of billions of stars. Such a civilization would have colonized or engineered most star systems, built a galaxy-spanning network, and could perform feats like re-routing star clusters, extinguishing supernovae, or even regulating the rate of star formation. They are essentially immortal and omnipresent within their galactic home.

Kardashev Type 3.0 Galactic Civilizations *Example: The Imperium of Man in Warhammer 40,000 sprawls across the galaxy but is arguably still below a true Type 3.0 due to its inefficiency. A true Type 3.0 would be more like the Culture from Iain M. Banks' novels, or the Forerunners from Halo at their peak—able to move stars and wield galaxy-altering technologies.*

by Abzugal February 3, 2026

Kardashev Type 4.0 Universal Civilizations

A civilization that has transcended its galaxy and harnesses the energy of the entire visible universe. This implies mastery over cosmology itself—the ability to manipulate dark energy, harness the radiation of the cosmic microwave background, and perhaps even control the expansion rate of the universe within their domain. Their projects span billions of light-years and billions of years.

Kardashev Type 4.0 Universal Civilizations *Example: The Q Continuum from Star Trek, beings that exist outside of time and play with cosmic forces, or the Time Lords from Doctor Who at the height of their power, approach this level. A Type 4.0 civilization might be responsible for the apparent fine-tuning of physical constants, or be fighting a war using galactic clusters as ammunition.*

by Abzugal February 3, 2026

Kardashev Type 5.0 Multiversal Civilizations

A civilization whose energy source and domain extend beyond a single universe into the multiverse—the hypothetical set of all possible universes with different physical laws. This involves accessing energy from other universes, creating or destroying pocket dimensions, and navigating the landscape of string theory or quantum branch points. Their science is one of infinite possibilities.

Kardashev Type 5.0 Multiversal Civilizations Example: The Downstreamers from Stephen Baxter's Manifold series, who eventually engineer entire universes to their specifications, or beings that can move between alternate realities at will, like the Interdimensional Council of Reeds in Marvel Comics, operate at a Type 5.0 level.

by Abzugal February 3, 2026

Kardashev Type 6.0 Metaversal Civilizations

A civilization that exists and operates across the totality of the metaverse—the informational or Platonic realm from which all physical universes may emanate. Energy here is not just physical but informational; control is over the source code of reality. This civilization might treat individual universes as subroutines in a vast simulation or as expressions in a cosmic mathematical fabric.

Kardashev Type 6.0 Metaversal Civilizations Example: A civilization that exists as a conscious entity within the Library of Babel containing all possible information, or the hypothesized Simulation Architects who run our universe as one of many instances, would be Type 6.0. They manipulate the logical and mathematical premises of existence.

by Abzugal February 3, 2026

Kardashev Type 7.0 Xenoversal Civilizations

A civilization that transcends even the known multiverse/metaverse framework, operating in a "xenoverse"—a realm of existence or set of dimensions utterly alien and incomprehensible to any lower type. Their energy and technologies are based on principles completely outside any physics we can conceive of, perhaps involving extra-dimensional geometries or transfinite mathematics.

Kardashev Type 7.0 Xenoversal Civilizations Example: The Outside in many cosmic horror stories (like the realm of the Color Out of Space) represents a xenoverse. A Type 7.0 civilization might be composed of entities that exist in the spaces between mathematical truths, or that feed on the potential energy of unrealized possibilities.

by Abzugal February 3, 2026

Kardashev Type 8.0 Hyperversal Civilizations

A civilization that encompasses and commands an infinite hierarchy or stack of multiverses (a hyperverse). This is control over not just a set of universes, but over the very dimensional scaffolding that generates them. Energy is drawn from the transfinite differences between nested levels of reality, and their actions can cascade up and down the entire hierarchy.

Kardashev Type 8.0 Hyperversal Civilizations *Example: In fictional cosmologies with layered realities (like the Mage: The Ascension universe with its infinite Spheres, or the Many-Angled Ones from Marvel), a being that controls the entire stack would be Type 8.0. They don't just play with universes; they play with the frameworks that create universes.*

by Abzugal February 3, 2026

Kardashev Type 9.0 Kiloversal Civilizations

A civilization whose domain is a "kiloverse"—a vast, but perhaps not infinite, collection of thousands (kilo-) of distinct hyperverses or equivalent cosmic structures. This represents a scale of organization so vast that the concept of "individual universe" is as meaningless as a single atom is to us. Their engineering projects might involve balancing the cosmological constants across entire ensembles of reality-stacks.

Kardashev Type 9.0 Kiloversal Civilizations Example: There is little direct fiction for this, but it would be akin to the Anti-Monitor from DC Comics at his fullest power, threatening not just one universe but the entire infinite Multiverse, or a being that exists as the administrator for a vast, but finite, array of simulated omniverses.

by Abzugal February 3, 2026