whatis filler tech, exactly?

[dumbluck]

I guess this brain of mine isn't big enough to wrap around this one. But i'll give it one more shot: i'll try the "example" approach.

in this example, the ai is trying to research armor, shields, PD, and missles.

here is the research queue:

Chemestry
missles
filler tech 1
FT 2
armor 1
Military science
FT 1
FT 2
armor 2
PD 1
FT1
FT2

etc
etc
etc

Ok Turn one, 1000 research points:
chem 0%, missles 0%, FT 1 0%, FT 2 0%

Turn 2: FT 1 and FT 2 completed
chem 2%, missles 2%, ...
error: can't research armor w/out first researching chemistry.

ooooooooooo, why is the ground moving under my feet?????