[IW] What if Psionics were Real?

[AlexanderHowl]

I was wondering how people would think that the history of a parallel world would have diverged if the Society for Psychical Research had discovered quantifiable psionic powers during the 1880s and published peer-reviewed research of verified psionic phenomena by the 1890s? I am thinking that the colonial empires would have fallen apart rather quickly as the revolutionary groups within Africa and Asia would have grabbed onto psionics as a way to level the playing field against the superior militaries of their colonial oppressors. I also think that the new Great Power would have also grabbed onto psionics as a new way to gain status and power. Do you think that the I-Cops would allow researchers to go to such a world or would it be banned and the coordinates buried to prevent anyone from getting near a telepath? What do you think?

[Anthony]

I would expect the organized colonial powers to be also more organizing about exploiting these new discoveries.

[Flyndaran]

Completely depends on the specifics of the powers and prevalence and trainability of the talents.
Unless telepathy and other short-cutting information gathering abilities don't work at all, which cross timers would probably never be certain of anyway, it would be blacklisted for anyone but carefully chosen researchers.
Someone would keep an eye on it if only to watch for psychic world jumpers.

[PTTG]

I myself would presume that a certain treatment or defensive setup would exist to enable some level of security on a crosstime assignment.

The options that come to mind:
- The first scout befriended a powerful psi who found out about the Secret and happens to agree with keeping it, and providing psionic "cover" for a future team (the PCs).

- The first scout discovered a text with "basic mind-reading defenses" such as the nature and types of effective metal foils that block mind reading, and presumably block outgoing abilities as well.

- Homeline has a team of explorers with Mind Shield training from other worldlines.

- Homeline has a team of recruits that are given deliberately misleading information, possibly from a third world-line, possibly unaware of the Secret entirely.

- Homeline's scientists are pretty sure that these devices will block incoming mind reading attempts, and they only need one of these D-cell batteries! ...an hour.

[David Johnston2]

Originally Posted by PTTG

- Homeline has a team of explorers with Mind Shield training from other worldlines.
.

Actually Mind Block (skill) training seems like it should be a standard element of scout training.

[mr beer]

Extremely dependant on the many variables, as stated, this is a bit like asking 'what if magic was real?'.

[malloyd]

Originally Posted by mr beer

Extremely dependant on the many variables, as stated, this is a bit like asking 'what if magic was real?'.

The title is *exactly* like asking "what if magic were real?", psionics being just an alternate name for magic in most discussions, but with the limitation to stuff that 1880s "psychical" researchers were looking at it's maybe more answerable.

I think for the most part effects will be minor - psychical research mostly looked into proving immortality and contacting the dead, which I suppose means killing your agents doesn't prevent them from reporting, but by and large unless the dead know stuff the living don't, or can be made to tell you things they wouldn't have when alive, it's not particularly useful as a strategic or political tool.

The clairvoyance stuff may have more applications, but seems to require knowing where to look - seeing inside envelopes and the like - not searching the world for something - so some of the stuff people do for security against spy planes or worrying about hidden cameras starts early, but a secret meeting at a location nobody knows to monitor still secure.

[tanksoldier]

I am thinking that the colonial empires would have fallen apart rather quickly as the revolutionary groups within Africa and Asia would have grabbed onto psionics as a way to level the playing field against the superior militaries of their colonial oppressors.

...because those colonial powers wouldn't have been better at psi, too. Right.

Keep in mind that not everybody in the colonies thought colonialism was a bad thing. That's actually a re-write of history based on modern sensibilities.

...sort of like the Hebrews in The Life of Brian asking "What have the Romans ever done for us"? Roads, language, schools, medicine.... well, except for all that...

[fchase8]

In GURPS Infinite Worlds - Lost Worlds, there is the world Cyrano, where a French bishop discovered psionics in 1638, and Bourbon France & allies conquered the world - until Han psychics in China developed and overthrew the Europeans, first in Asia and eventually all the way to Europe. So it has oppressed people using psionics to overthrow the colonial empires (of course, also has habitable Mars and floating spice barges...).

Europe in the nineteenth century was far more scientific, so psionics wouldn't have as big an impact. It would obviously depend on how powerful the abilities are, and how widespread (can anyone do it, with enough training, or only people born with the ability?).

There could be a 'nineteenth century with psionics', the same general world with something added, like how GURPS Castle Falkenstein is 'nineteenth century with magic & fairies'.

[ericthered]

Infinity handles psi better than magic. Each conveyor has a psi shield for each patrolman. At least the official conveyors with patrol members.