Background: Tinker Zero's...

And why they are so important. This is for my setting, to explain a few things.

First of all, remember the PRT threat rating is just that. A threat rating. Primarily, "if you run into this guy in a dark alley, how do you stop him and what can he do to you."

And this means, that if you look at PRT threat ratings, the Tinker who can make a battery design 5% more effective is... A Tinker zero. Someone PHO ignores. Someone the gangs ignore, because they're not in the business of setting up factories. But...

Part of the reason why Taylor still lives in a 21st century city, even with the Endbringers, is precisely because there are Tinker zeroes, who can do things like "design better batteries." Armsmaster can do the same, of course, because he's not just a tinker, but a genius with a dozen doctorates, and yes, some of his patents go far to funding his activities when the PRT tinker budget isn't willing to buy a half-ton of Iridium.

But Tinker zeros are more common, less conflict prone, and in a number of cases, aren't noted as parahumans until and unless someone examines them. Cauldron knows more, but Cauldron isn't talking. Because Cauldron knows the reason for them.

The cycle may be bollixed, but aspects remain intact, and an important part of the cycle was that things had to be managed. Conflict, yes, but total societal destruction wouldn't help the experiment. So these minor "Tinker Zeroes" are part of the cycle, not a major part, not something expected to provide major results, but as a method of maintaining the experiment--providing nutrients for the bacteria in the Petrie dish.

After all the scientist doesn't want his bacteria to die... until the experiment ends, that is...

(out of "story" this is because with everything going on, Earth should be a wasteland, at the very least normal society should be completely different. But if you can assume a low level "churn" of developments that help keep the system functional enough to keep going, you can answer the question of why stuff is being developed when in reality technological progress should be stagnant or declining, largely due to the total disruption of the global supply chains.)