The technology web is a static network of discoveries waiting to be made. Each Culture, depending on the path it chooses, can investigate and refine key elements of the Tech Web to increase the benefits given by a particular advance or to unlock technologies that can only be understood and harnessed once a suitable amount of refining and research has been done. While discovering a new technological advance often leads on to one or more new technologies, many of them can also be further researched - stretching the flat Tech Web into a third dimension. This gives Cultures in No Horizons an unparalleled flexibility when it comes to customising their society and pushing it in the chosen direction.

Of course, while the ability to specialise does give a Culture many options when one door is opened another may close. Time spent in one field of endeavour cannot be spent elsewhere (without increased resources), and specialising too deeply into some technology will enhance any negative side effects along with the positive benefits. There are even some technologies which directly counter each other's pros and cons so that a Culture can bring itself back from one extreme viewpoint by researching the other (perhaps due to a change in circumstance or play style).

Example: Refinement unlocks new technologies

Improved Psychic Focus, a technology within the psychokinesis tree allows, once discovered, the creation of several buildings - the Cyclopean Monolith which is a key psychic power generator and the Epic Crystal Palace designed to be the pinnacle of artistic design and beauty. However, further refinement of the Improved Psychic focus allows for this technology branch to expand and, after due investigation and experiment, the culture will uncover the secrets of Aerolith Manipulation, putting them on the path to creating mobile landscapes they can use to dominate the skyline of the sphere.

Example: Refinement provides balance

A deeply religious Culture which has survived a Crisis of Faith may then invest in one (or both) of the competing refineable technologies Religious Supremacy and Secular Society. Both have benefits to a Culture, but these tend to cancel each other out. The ability to refine one or both allows the Culture to tweak itself, but at an ever increasing research cost (since old ideas need to be rethought and new solutions found after the easy answers have failed to have enough impact). While Religious Supremacy increases the morale of followers and allows for certain training and Epic Projects to be undertaken, it costs more in infrastructure. Secular Society forgoes these benefits but has the advantage of reducing the cost of religious infrastructure which is good thee Culture struggling to meet the demands for upkeep from its population.