Psionics in the 3rd Imperium - 1105ish

[Franbo]

Hello all,

I'm about to start a campaign which includes a Psionics character (Psionics rogue with only basic powers permitted if it matters) and have been trying to pin down what this means in practical terms in the 3rd Imperium (Using Mongoose Traveller 1105).

I am fine with the general atmosphere of distrust/superstition that pervades the Imperium, and how to play local planetary reactions to it, based primarily on:

(1) Legal Restrictions - what is banned/illegal for local planetary law (i.e. Core Book Law Levels - page 176).

(2) Psionic Understanding - how manifestations of Psionic power are perceived (i.e. Psion Book 4 - page 3).

What is less clear to me is where Imperial High Law stands on things.

The Core Book, Spinward Marches and the Psionic Suppression post on this forum would seem to indicate that while Psionic Institutes are officially banned and Psionic Drugs are illegal as part of High Law, there doesn't seem to actually be any High Law in relations to Psionicists themselves and use of Psionics.

I can come up with my own approach to dealing with this based on the information I have found, but was curious if there was any "official" answer out there.

Can someone point me in the direction of a "Canon" source/information on whether Imperium High Law 1105 actually has any sanctions for use of Psionics and Psionicist characters.

Thanks in advance,


Franbo

 

[dragoner]

http://wiki.travellerrpg.com/Psionics

How the Imperium deals with it is rather vague, some GM's I know make it a terrible crime, others, not so much.

 

[Franbo]

Thanks for the Wiki reference dragoner, that is helpful.

Just spotted the "Starports operate according to Imperial law (equivalent to Law Level 1 for most items, and Law Level 7 for Psionics)" text on page 179 of the core book, which would mean that Imperial High Law says use of Psionics is forbidden.

A few thoughts this brings to mind are:

- The lower law level references to "...government Psionicists..." would imply there is no licensing structure around this for Imperium Psionicists (although this might seem to not make sense considering there are a couple of "secret" Imperium Institutes still in existence allegedly)...

- The use of Psionics is illegal, but being a Psionicist per se isn't (I can just imagine the arguments in court if this wasn't the case...), which seems sensible (for example: without this assumption any Zhodani noble entering the Imperium would immediately be considered a High Law criminal, unless they had some kind of Diplomatic Immunity).

Any opinions on these two points (as well as the initial "canon" question still being kind of open)?

Franbo

 

[dragoner]

The use of Psionics is illegal, but being a Psionicist per se isn't ...

This is how I do it, similar to owning a gun is legal, but using it on someone is illegal; but there are different permutations by world laws, as you have found; room to play.

 

[Condottiere]

There's the incident in Schmitz's Hub universe, where a newly awakened Psyker gets a post hypnotic suggestion implanted as she returns home, to go forth and psi no more.

 

[CosmicGamer]

There are numerous references to the use of psionics being banned or criminal within the Imperium. I've seen no reference to Imperium citizens or outsiders with psionic abilities not being allowed to travel or even being mistreated if they do not actively use their powers.

It's not clear if the Imperium tries to seek out psionics for registering or research.

A philosophical point: one would have a hard time knowing they are psionic or being identified as psionic unless they used their powers; so in a way one could say it is illegal to be psionic and you are pretty much on life long probation. Caught using psionics, registered, sentenced, did your time, released. Perhaps children demonstrating psionic capability might get treatment instead of being marked a criminal and thus be registered.

As people mentioned, this may differ from world to world. On some, it could still be a witch hunt environment. In one system all it takes is for someone to say they witnessed someone using psionics and they get branded - perhaps literally. Perhaps elsewhere the penalty for psionic use is death via burning at the stake.

Another system might tolerate a group of peaceful psionics and help keep their secret and even, off the record, consult with them about missing children and whatnot.

 

[dmccoy1693]

For a more "everyday" approach, I present it to how many minority groups (racial or orientation) have been treated over the past century. Some places, a psion will be lynch mobbed. Others will have laws that make it near impossible for a psion to do anything while still not having it, technically, illegal. Parents will tell their kids to suppress their telepathic abilities, saying, "Can you try not sensing what someone else is feeling?" Take basic human ignorance and fear of what is 'different' and it pretty much describes itself.

 

[steve98052]

There are definitely canon instances of psionics under Imperial supervision, but at the same time use of psionics is illegal. That isn't unreasonable; consider the difference in present-day legal attitudes toward heavy weapons. Examples:
- It's OK for soldiers to use artillery as long as they're under orders, but don't try to own your own howitzer without getting into trouble.
- Licensed researchers can do medical research with drugs that would be illegal in any other circumstance.
- Wiretaps are legal when conducted by law enforcement with judicial consent, but illegal otherwise.

As for the distinction between being psionic and using psionics, reasonable analogies are the treatment of religious minorities in places that don't guaranty religious freedom, treatment of gays in recent history (continuing into the present in some places), and so forth.
- Even if it's illegal just to be psionic, one is probably safe if one never practices psionics in a way that can be detected or suspected strongly enough to upset the local law level.
- If it's only illegal to practice psionics, people who are psionic are probably safe as long as they stay clean.
- If there's no local law against psionics, Imperial laws against it probably aren't going to come down on anyone who doesn't make so much trouble that the Imperium can't avoid noticing them. (Modern US analogy: marijuana is illegal by federal law, but many states allow legal medical use and two allow legal recreational use. It's still technically illegal in those states, but federal law isn't likely to come down on anyone who doesn't really make trouble.)

 

[ShawnDriscoll]

Imperial nobles will use psionics in secret to have the advantage always.

 

[Rikki Tikki Traveller]

How do you address the concept that almost every human is psionic? Rolling psionic strength isn't subject to a "only x% of people are psionic", it just says to roll normally and subtract for age.

SO, would the 3I test everyone like B5 humanity did? if so, what would be the threshold for DOING something about it? PSI of 6+ or PSI of 9+???? What do you do with them when you find them?

The Psionic rules per the MGT book are VERY vague on all of these issues. The Psion book gives you some ideas for "activating" psionics or only having a certain percentage of the population be psionic, but the core rules don't address any of this.

Personally, I have always used that only a certain percentage of the population can even be psionic. That is the big difference with the Zhodani Nobility, EVERY ONE of them is psionic, even if their strength is very low. So, just rolling for psionic strength isn't enough, you have to roll for the potential to be psionic first.

 

[ShawnDriscoll]

I just let the Mongoose CharGen determine if a character is psionic or not.

 

[Epicenter]

Any opinions on these two points (as well as the initial "canon" question still being kind of open)?

I've always figured that in the Imperium, there's a lot of effort made to make people fear and hate psionics. This isn't just law, but part of the psychohistorical campaign that the Imperium undertook to ensure that there's a lot of fear and hatred of psionics; making something against the law is one thing, but when it is part of a custom or morality of the society to hate something, it's much more difficult to get away from it.

That said, the Imperium is not a place where communication is instant; if someone does something in Core/Capital, it'll literally take a month or more for that to be known in the Marches. Even at smaller distances, it can take weeks for information to get around (if it gets around at all).

As a result, posting "Imperium-wide bulletins" about the identity of some known psion is pointless; a psion could just take a higher jump ship or even few a jumps on a J-1 ship and be somewhere else which people are ignorant. Also, a psionic is indistinguishable from a non-psionic until he or she uses powers and there's no quick test to see if someone is a psion or not (at least not quick enough to do a simple scan like a metal detector).

This means that while the Imperium wants to make the possession of psionic powers illegal, it cannot realistically do it. Having huge wanted posters of psions and having those same fugitives running around the Imperium free makes the Imperium look ineffective and weak (which it really is in this case), but that undermines the confidence of those living in the Imperium and emboldens its enemies. Therefore, a bit of legal subterfuge is used to avoid this embarrassing situation: It is illegal to use psionic powers, but the law says nothing about having them.

However, it's important to note that Psionic Institutes (where research, training, and testing occurs) are also illegal since they were shut down. Presumably, it is forbidden to open new ones since practicing psionics is a crime. This means that someone who is an admitted psionic could be brought in for questioning about where he or she learned his psionics so the place could be shut down. If he or she doesn't answer, that's against the law. In order to get training, at some point the psion had to use powers; that's also a crime.

So in effect, being a psion is a crime.

Zhodani, if you're not a diplomat (or have some immunity like that), are basically never seen in the Imperium. Their society is so alien (seriously - Zhodani consider lying or obfuscation of the truth to be a mental illness) that they don't do well in the Imperium, psionics or not, so you don't see many Zhodani in the Imperium.

Alternatively, the Imperium government itself having psionics is probably one of those "everyone knows" things where people assume the Imperium has them, but having never run into them or seen evidence of them, they figure it's just not anything that has to do with them; I certainly don't think "Imperial sanctioned" psions run around in some psi-corps arrangement like in B5. More likely, Imperial psions are all a part of Imperial Naval Intelligence or other secretive organizations and keep the existence of their powers a secret.

 

[Condottiere]

If you take a Warhammerish approach, the Psykers would be Imperially sanctioned, though still distrusted as a possible fifth columnist and abomination.

 

[alex_greene]

Politically, the Imperium in 1105 is sort of like pre-Wolfenden Britain, c. 1966. Substitute the word "homosexual" for "psion" and you get the rough idea.

Wolfenden in 1967 marked a real world transition; the Criminal Offences Act (1967) allowed homosexual acts between consenting adults for the first time since Queen Victoria criminalised it ("The Love That Dare Not Speak Its Name,"). Being a homosexual back before 1967 was an offence so heinous, in the eyes of the government, that those notables in society who got outed were typically allowed "the gentlemen's way out" - suicide, dramatically portrayed in the likes of Agatha Christie novels as the shamed murderer retiring to his office "to write his confession," only to "accidentally" blow his brains out "whilst cleaning his gun." Historically, this attitude is what killed Alan Turing - and, even though MWM may never have seen this when he wrote his first draft psionics rules for LBB Book Three, nonetheless the subtext is there.

In a psion campaign, set in 1105, you could have some major Noble come along, look at the situation and enact something like a "Psion Offences Act," permitting the use of psionic abilities such as Telepathy between practicing psions. By 1115, there would be psions coming out into the open and making a name for themselves a la Quentin Crisp, with more than a faint echo of Aleister Crowley due to the nature of their predilections.

Within 30 years, there'd be open acceptance - at least, among the more forward-thinking parts of the central Imperium. Having major celebrities outing themselves as psions or admitting that their offspring have been born psions, the debate as to whether sports stars should have to register themselves as having Awareness Talent (and use of Psi-Drugs in sports becoming The Next Great Doping Scandal) ... these would become commonplace gossip.

It'd only be in the more backwoods parts of the Imperium, where old attitudes can't so easily be shaken off, that psions would still be in trouble - much like some kid with piercings, tats and green hair would be in trouble in some of the backwoods villages not too far from where I live.

I think about psionics in Traveller a lot. Go figure.

 

[Pyromancer]

How do you address the concept that almost every human is psionic? Rolling psionic strength isn't subject to a "only x% of people are psionic", it just says to roll normally and subtract for age.

SO, would the 3I test everyone like B5 humanity did? if so, what would be the threshold for DOING something about it? PSI of 6+ or PSI of 9+???? What do you do with them when you find them?

Almost no one is tested in the 3I. And if you are not tested and not properly trained (in one of those super secret psionic institutes), your latent psionic ability degenerates and vanishes over time.

 

[Tom Kalbfus]

Couldn't Psionics be used in any era or setting?

 

[Condottiere]

Sure, the question seems to be social acceptance, and how widespread the practice is.

Or you skew the dice rolls in favour of the protagonists and recreate Professor Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters.

 

[Rikki Tikki Traveller]

I would also think that the TYPE of Psionic ability would greatly affect the attitude of people.

NO ONE wants someone snooping around in their heads, but someone that can help lift heavy things might be more accepted.

I would think that Telepathy, Clairvoyance and Teleportation would be the least accepted. But Telekinesis and Awareness might be more accepted since they don't really affect other people's privacy. There may be Psions with Awareness that don't even realize that they are psionic. They simply have a knack of being able to summon great reserves of energy or concentration...

 

[alex_greene]

It's probably not a popularity contest.

On the one hand, you would have the public perception from the trids and good old TV, portraying telepaths as evil mind manipulators, kind of like the mysterious "Clairvoyant" from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., someone who everyone believed had psychic powers before he got busted as REDACTED.

Perhaps the popular action flicks and soaps would portray telepaths and clairvoyant seers as being like cult leaders or master eavesdroppers, gaining intelligence on the heroes' activities through their arcane powers; but invariably, the stories would show that these characters possess very little real fighting ability and a total inability to withstand the heroes' good old-fashioned gumption (or cybernetics or Awareness, the "acceptable" psionic power because it looks like martial arts to the uninitiated).

And then you'd have the psion-on-psion stories, treading along the tired old Joe Campbell George Lucas road, featuring a young farmboy who discovers that the Big Bad all dressed in black happens to be his Dad and fight to the death evil Emperor yadda yadda. Even a thousand years from now, who's going to remember Star Wars, let alone have the original movies?

Popular presentations of psions would vary from being the Big Bad, some human-sized black-clad walking force of nature telekinetically torching his victims through pyrokinesis, through some Magneto-like creature cutting a dashing figure even as he levitates the good soldiers by their belt buckles before dashing them to their deaths against the floor, to some sort of Charles X-like monster using his mind powers to control people's thoughts and alter their memories.

Just think of how the kids of the present day are so enamoured of The X-Men and Power Rangers. Now imagine the far future's version of Fox and SyFy churning out an endless stream of popular entertainment featuring psions as the bad guys, all flamboyant and over-the-top, cackling and moustache-twirling in as frankly a camp a manner as possible, whatever the far future's idea of camp happens to be.

And then there would be the news articles, after all the kidvid shows have ended. The news articles starting with stern reports on the trials of prominent personalities such as Nobles, politicians and TV presenters who are outed as psions. Other politicians on an antipsion platform are given far too much TV exposure, being wheeled out every time there are reports of plondak mutilations to complain about "Satanic psion cults" recruiting young people to go around maiming harmless farm animals and so on.

And then imagine the proud parents, brought up on a steady diet of psion hatred, suddenly discovering a vial of Psi-Booster in their son's jacket, and forcing him to admit that he is, in fact, a telepath - and that he's been hanging around with a bunch of older telepaths at the University. To the kid, they are his peers, the only people in the universe who understand him; but to his parents, their son has become a monstrosity, a spawn of Evil.

I think about Traveller telepaths a lot.

 

[Meanderer]

Epicenter wrote

As a result, posting "Imperium-wide bulletins" about the identity of some known psion is pointless; a psion could just take a higher jump ship or even few a jumps on a J-1 ship and be somewhere else which people are ignorant. Also, a psionic is indistinguishable from a non-psionic until he or she uses powers and there's no quick test to see if someone is a psion or not (at least not quick enough to do a simple scan like a metal detector).

This means that while the Imperium wants to make the possession of psionic powers illegal, it cannot realistically do it. Having huge wanted posters of psions and having those same fugitives running around the Imperium free makes the Imperium look ineffective and weak (which it really is in this case), but that undermines the confidence of those living in the Imperium and emboldens its enemies. Therefore, a bit of legal subterfuge is used to avoid this embarrassing situation: It is illegal to use psionic powers, but the law says nothing about having them.

This would appear to be an argument for no laws - if the standard for any law is that it can be universally enforced. The Imperium recognized the difficulties in enforcing a law where you cannot possibly track down everyone who has psionic abilities. This is why the Psionic Suppressions included a massive propaganda campaign to convince the population that psions were dangerous and to be feared.

If I recall, this flowed out of limitations on psionics from the first edition of Traveller. There were hints that it may be illegal and/or feared and that the responses vary from planet to planet. It may lead to deportation, fines, death, or maybe a lobotomy. This last part is a great one to throw in as it keeps the psionicist on his/her toes as to whether it is safe to use the powers. Getting your character brain damaged is no fun. This keeps the player thinking of whether or not to use the powers and keeps them from getting out of hand in the campaign. Important because sometimes an inopportune mind-read may spoil the plot of the adventure.

Further ideas, to not give the psionicist too much of an advantage over those who don't have psionics (other than forcing the psionicist to start very young to have undiminished psionic power) is to apply factors for incomplete or lack of training (rolls with penalties to do anything) or have some mental block the trainers could not work through that limits how much power the individual can use. The character might have a psionic strength of 9 or 10, but this may effectively be reduced to 4 or 5 in most circumstances due to the mental block. Factors may allow psionic strength to vary between this restricted amount and full (or could operate at full power all the time but having a range of penalties to rolls to do anything (giving the GM some ability to restrict what the character can do to prevent it from taking over the game.

This can also lead to adventure seeds as the character seeks training in how to unlock his/her full powers and, with training, can gradually reduce the maximum penalty to the point of eliminating the penalties altogether. Kind of a way to make the character level up gradually over the course of the campaign.