SM Frequently Asked Psionic Questions

What's this "SNS" you speak of?

 * Speculation refocuses the psychic discussion in more functional terms. As a description of the overall phenomenology, the field is termed “Spectral Neural Sensitivity” (SNS). In field operations, it is referred to as psionics (or "psi" – hence the Greek character in the warning placards).

Isn't magic and psionics the same thing?

 * No. In many cases, they can create similar effects but they draw on different power sources.

What's stronger: Magic or Psionics?

 * In the Speculation implementation, SNS/PSI is comparable in power to the arcane. It may be less flexible, but it is more wide-ranging.

Can Magic do the same things?

 * Given the arcane sensitivity to human neural wavelengths, magic can mimic many psionic abilities, and may sometimes do so with more flexibility, at higher apparent powers simply because they are accessed at lower levels. At higher levels, psionics are more attuned to particular tasks and can overpower comparable-level arcane efforts (at least to manipulate the mind).
 * There is a complex relationship between psionic and arcane functions, especially in relation to projected phenomena.

Astral projection

 * The ability of the practitioner to extend sensory awareness to a remote site.

Consciousness

 * The neurologically-anchored pattern of conscious thought. From the inside, this is the ego, the signature stream-of-consciousness that defines human self-awareness.

Consciousness, Second-level

 * A persistent, semi-responsive, field emanation unique to every individual. The relationship of second-level to first-level is roughly analogous to the phenomena of sprites over thunderstorms. There are some theories this may actually be what some religions term a "soul."

Extra-Cranial Cognition (ECC)

 * ECC expands the ability of the conscious mind to operate in a virtual space. Similar to using a hard drive for "virtual RAM" or shunting CPU tasks to a graphics processor, this is a process that generates a neurologically anchored field that calculates outside the neurons themselves. This redefines the mind, allowing the rare few practitioners to literally think outside their head.

Psychokinesis

 * Projection of coherent kinetic energy.

Pyrokinesis

 * The ability of the practitioner to project non-coherent kinetic energy (generally infrared heat).

Systems Medicine

 * The ability to initiate medical process by SNS methodology.

Telepathy

 * Mind-reading ability.