[Psionics] Why do Mental Stab 1 and 2 have Malediction?

[VIVIT]

As with many Telepathy abilities, the levels of Mental Stab mainly affect range, and do so according to the following progression:

1. Skin-to-skin contact
2. "Any touch will do"
3. Linear range penalties as for a Regular spells
4. Normal SSRT range penalties
5. Long-distance penalties
6. No range penalties at all

The native context of this information is the description for the Telereceive ability (GURPS Psionic Powers,, p. 59). Other abilities that work like this simply say "Range is as for Telereceive (p. 59)." But since these abilities are based on a variety of different advantages with different default properties, the modifiers required to make the abilities work this way are often very different. In the case Mental Stab, there's an oddity: every level of that ability has Malediction, including levels 1 and 2, which are modified with Melee Attack (Reach C), and, in the former case, Contact Agent. According to Basic Set:

• Malediction is incompatible with modifiers that "only apply to convention ranged attacks," which seems to describe Melee Attack.
• Malediction is a penetration modifier, which definitely makes it incompatible with Contact Agent!

The more think about it, the less sense it makes. If Mental Stab 1 and 2 require the attacker touch the target, then in any combat situation, they will require an attack roll, allow a defense roll, and then require a quick contest of Will. For most maledictions—including higher levels of Mental Stab—the QC totally replaces the attack roll, but in this case, it logically shouldn't. This defeats half the point of Malediction. The other, more significant half of the point of Malediction is that it ignores DR. For Mental Stab 2, this actually does something, but for Mental Stab 1, you need to be touching bare skin, which doesn't have DR anyway!

For Mental Stab 1, Malediction does nothing advantageous at all, but is still a +100% enhancement. You get some points back for Melee Attack and Contact Agent, but only as many as you would get back if you didn't buy Malediction. There is a −50% nonce limitation of "Damage cannot exceed margin of victory", but that plus Malediction is still a net positive. If you remove both those modifiers, the cost goes down by 50% of the base cost, no QC is required, and the attack deals more damage.

Why do Mental Stab 1 and 2 have Malediction?