Furscape MUCK

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|These rules are included for archival purposes, and were originally proposed by Karinne deFennek.|

Furscape's psionics has little or nothing to do  with  mysterious or supernatural ability. Rather, it is accepted that some species have an organ for perceiving  electromagnetic  emissions  in the order of magnitude of the natural EM field generated by living things. This extra sensory organ operates as a sixth sense just the same as each of the five senses we are all familiar with.
 
This "organ" is actually a non-localized series of tissue spread throughout the body, so there is no one single "gland" or organ that can be removed with an invasive surgical technique.  The major reason for this is evolutionary - it occurred as a natural way for the body to prevent EM "radiation" from damaging surrounding tissue.
 
An optional step beyond the ability to perceive EM is the ability to consciously modulate your own field, or a part thereof, thus making it possible to send signals using biologically induced EM.
 
With these biological receptors and emitters, characters may use low energy EM as a means to communicate as if it were telepathic, much like a low energy radio broadcast.Note that characters lacking the biological "hardware" for psionics cannot receive messages from a psionic individual.
 
An interesting aspect of psionics on furscape being a  simple EM phenomenon, is that it ties in well with radio and electronics. A useful side of this is that a psionic interface on a device is possible, a less useful aspect is that trying to send a psionic signal to someone on the other side of an electrical power cable is like trying to yell a message across a roaring rives.
 
It is important to note that you cannot actually "read minds" with this ability, it is strictly broadcast-and-receive.
 
Anything for which low-energy EM fields are used, may possibly be emulated by psionics.  A popular example is the application where this is used for medical purposes, working on the body in  much the same way as acupuncture.  Additionally, anything that blocks conventional EM energy also blocks psionically-manipulated EM energy.
 
As an example, this EM field can be manipulated and serve as a form of psionic "sight".  Using this talent, a physician can perform simple medical imaging of a patient.  Electrical engineers can examine circuit boards and trace malfunctioning systems.  Note that training in the appropriate field is required in order to be able to interpret data gathered using this talent (An ordinary psionic could use this talent to see obvious bone fractures or obvious organ damage, but remember that even doctors today usually call in specialists to interpret X-ray images or magnetic resonance imaging results).  Characters who are visually blind can still use this ability to "see" shapes and navigate through a room.
 
Psionics on Furscape do not support psychokinetic or other fantastic effects - if you want to be lifting weights using the power of your mind, try somewhere else.  Additionally, the EM field generated is too low to allow players to act like living "masers" and generate damaging amounts of EM energy against living targets. 

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