[Psionics/Infinite Worlds] The Psion skerry

[Prince Charon]

(Expanded from this post.)

Psion-1 and Psion-2 are a pair of very similar worldlines (indeed, the date and time on each is nearly the same, save that Psion-2 is pi seconds ahead of Psion-1), that appear to have been historical echoes until local 1981, when people on both worlds who were born after the Trinity detonation in 1945 began to develop psi abilities (and various people on each began effective research into psi-tech). Often these were the same people on each world, and generally with similar powers to start with, if not the same ones (though they didn't necessarily activate in the same way). However, the way they deal with them is quite different:

On Psion-1 (local year 2019, discoverd by Infinity in local-2007), the vast majority of psis feel a strong compulsion to keep psi a secret from the public, mostly justifying it as a fear of persecution, though others do so out of a desire for power, wanting to become the secret masters of the world. This worldline has a number of conspiracies, both government and corporate, some hunting psis to control or destroy them, and some helping them hide, and/or fight the other conspiracies. There are many rumours of powers and conspiracies on this world, more than on most other parallels in the same era (which is how Infinity knew to send some of their own psis to check), but the public generally doesn't take them too seriously, despite the occasional blatantly weird event.

Knowledge of the paranormal community is covered by Hidden Lore (mainly 'Astral,' 'Paranormal,' or 'Conspiracies'). (Most psis on this Earth will have Compulsive Secrecy (Psi) or Vow (keep powers secret), as well as 'Secret (Psi) [-20]' and sometimes Paranoia. Psychic animals exist, but are very rare; psychic plants and fungi are even less common.)

Though psi is scientifically studied on this Earth, the need for secrecy limits how it can be applied. Psi-tech and related sciences are less advanced on Psion-1 than on Psion-2, and nearly all psychotronics should be treated as Experimental. None are mass-produced, apart from the P-Web and psychotronic Mind Shield devices (hats and hoods are more fashionable on this Earth than on Homeline in 2019). A few of the more well-funded conspiracies have experimented with the creation of Drones or Psiborgs; if discovered, the less-immoral psionic conspiracies tend to respond quite violently; drones are somewhat more common than psiborgs, being both easier (though slower) to create, and less obvious if witnessed. Psi-drugs exist, but are not mass-produced unless they have a useful mundane effect to justify it (e.g. Mind Hype is the street name for an experimental 'nootropic' drug developed by the Swiss conspiracy company Biotech Chulan; drug dealers near college campuses tend to stock up, and jack up the price, around exam time, though not all exams would benefit from it - often, the first thing the IQ bonus does is cause the user to think 'I really should have studied harder'); all are Experimental.


The psis of Psion-2 (local year 2019, first reached by Infinity in local-2009), in contrast, feel compelled to use their powers in a fairly public manner, specifically acting like comic-book characters (often complete with secret identity). Generally, the ones with stronger criminal tendencies will tend to be compelled to villainy, while the ones with stronger heroic tendencies will feel compelled to heroism. Those without much of either may get one or the other at random, or based on those around them when their power first manifest; alternatively, they have the urge to become entertainers, or they may have no compulsion at all (especially if their powers are relatively weak for the area, or they have something else that prevents them from being an adventurer). Powers are not a secret on this world, and skeptics are fairly rare, but rumours of conspiracies do still exist - it's just that they cannot simply 'disappear' a well-known super, which makes them less of a direct threat. OTOH, supers do still tend to get themselves killed fairly often, which means that most of the same people are alive, or dead, on each world.

Knowledge of the paranormal community is covered by Current Affairs (mostly 'Supers,' 'Science & Technology,' or 'Headline News'). (Most psis on this Earth will have something like Compulsive Costumed Heroism or Compulsive Costumed Villainy, and often the Secret Identity disadvantage. Psychic animals and such are quite rare, though not so rare as on Psion-1.)

The open nature of psi has allowed psi-tech and psi-related sciences to develop faster on Psion-2 than on Psion-1. A number of psychotronic devices are being mass-produced (but think of the tech as Emerging rather than Mature), and a wider range of psi-drugs are available, though in most cases a prescription is required. Books on maximizing the utility of your psi abilities are quite common, and some are useful (hence there are a wider range of known psi techniques here than on Psion-1). Mad scientists occasionally experiment with Drones or Psiborgs, both of which are quite illegal (Legality Class 0, or LC1 in especially bad governments) in most of the world; animal-derived psiborgs are sometimes legal (LC3 in a few nations, but LC2 or worse in most others). Psi-drugs are common enough to be considered Emerging, but often require a prescription.

One worry for Infinity is that the existence of Psion-1 has been public knowledge on Psion-2, though not vice-versa, since an inter-dimensional teleportation incident in 1997 (which also strained secrecy on Psion-1); other worldlines are also somewhat known to the public. Such 'crossover events' are not frequent, as they are difficult to achieve (though oddly less difficult to reverse - getting there is a possible-but-rare result of a critical failure, while returning to one's native worldline while still within the skerry simply requires concentrating on something familiar from that worldline and taking extra time before initiating an autoteleport or exoteleporting a traveler to their home timeline - the latter may require telepathy or retrocognition), save through the use of astral projection, which generally does not endanger the secrecy of psi on Psion-1.