Psionics, the power to alter the fabric of reality with just a thought or a flick of the hand.

Many have wondered when was the first psionic born, or how do psionics actually work. What do we know is that, despite the name, psionics aren't simply psychic powers like mind reading or telekinesis (even though they are part of the repertoire). In truth, its the alteration and control of reality.

(Just to make clear, the term 'psionics' refers both to the power and the people that use it).

Where do psionics come from? Nobody knows. There are many theories about the subject: some scholars believe that they the result of genetic experiments done by some ancient Precursor empire, while others believe is a simple biological ability that many have the capacity to have, but few the capacity to use. What it's known, however, is that the use of psionics depends on the reserves of psionic energy that an individual has, that certain species (like the älfs and the doboids), are natural psionics, that insulating suits hinder the use of psionics,that only organics can use them (to this day, no synthetics have been recorded using psionics) and that consuming Zro, an extremely rare aeorosl of exotic particles, enhances psionic capacity greatly at the cost of addiction.

PSIONIC POWERS.

-Pure psionics: using the pure energy of psionics in their raw state to cause damage (like psionic bombs or lances).

-Telekinesis: the most simple ability, yet among the most destructive if used right, is simply grabbing and moving an object from one point to another with the mind. Can be used offensively in many ways, but chiefly by accelerating an object to high velocity to mimic mass drivers. The heaviest object ever directly moved and confirmed was a heavy Hegemonic battleship during the last days of the Hegemony War, causing destruction nearing teraton range when it crashed on a nearby planet. However, there are rumours of psionics strong enough to move planet-sized objects and even small stars.

-Pyrokinesis: exciting the atoms of something (doesn't matter from what; even air counts) to create fire and manipulate it at will. Psionics rated higher than blue can generate ionized plasma.

-Cryokinesis: the reverse of pyrokinesis, the atoms of an object are slowed down to literally freeze the subject.

-Body manipulation: another form of telekinesis, this involves using a body like a puppet. Some psionics have the ability to pseudo-reanimate the corpses of dead organisms, turning them in what many call zombies; these are little more than meat puppets, but can serve from distractions to cannon fodder, and some are still able to use weapons.

-Telepathy: the perception of thoughts by the of the mind. Some reports say that the most powerful psionics can communicate with people located light years away from their location, but for the moment those are just rumours.

-Mind reading: related and similar to telepathy, but instead of exchanging thoughs the psionic can read the mind of non-psionics without the 'readed' being aware (skilled psionics can do this to less powerful ones). Can be resisted by non-psionics through sheer force of will, but these defenses can be overcome by brute force, resulting in what is coloquially called 'mind rape'.

-Mind manipulation: a more complex variant of mind reading, it deals with the control of organics through their minds (like hypnosis, which bends the affected to the will of the psionic, or possesion, in which the psionic assumes direct control, plus a plethora of others like the induction of hallucinations), culminating in permanent possession, the complete and permanent transplant of a mind on a foreign body.

-Healing: the acceleration of the cells of a body to hasten the healing period. Only reccomended if there are protein bags at hand or the body has the nutrient.

-Teleportation: ripping a hole in the fabric space-time to essentially make a shortcut, similar to the experimental jump drives.

-Barriers: formation of energy barriers, or 'shields' as they are known coloquially, that can stop from matter to energy to gases and even mind probes (or the inverse, as containment). Powerful enough psionics can create shields able to completely cover ships up to battleship size. However, although usually more resistant to any damage than conventional shielding, these barriers are taxing to the psionic and attacks that hit also affect them, and the technique requires the consumption of Zro, so they are used mostly as last resort.

-Physical enhancement: simply making one better physically, like short rushes to reach point B faster, or forcing the body to pump adrenaline to increase strength.

TIERS.

Like laser weaponry, the different tiers of psionic capacity are determined by the color of the psionic 'aura' that an individual may display when using powers like mind control or telekinesis, classified from red to gamma. The higher is the intensity of the color, the more psionically capacity and reserves the individual has.

-Red: most psionics in the Milky Way (confederate, hegemonic, independent and others) are red. Even though they are the weakest psionics, those categorized as red can, for example, lift objects weighing up to ten tonnes with telekinesis and basic pyro/cryokinesis.

-Blue: a step above from red, these psionics are thrice as powerful as reds, and have higher psionic reserves.

-Ultraviolet/purple: the highest color the common civilian will see, psionics in this category can effectively use all the psionic abilities, although not to the level of the next two tiers. This is the highest tier for species that are not naturally psionic.

-Green/emerald: the second rarest color and the highest confirmed to actually exist, able to throw multiton weights to the orbit of a planet, control large groups of organics, destroy large buildings and more. Only innate psionic species can reach this tier.

-Gamma/gold: the rarest color of all, and several times more powerful than green psionics. Currently, are no confirmed gamma rated psionics, but there are records of them in the past. Due to their amazing psionic capabilities (among them, the total control over entire planets, psionic blasts rating in the teraton range, covering small fleets in imprenetable barriers and other similar feats), many consider that, if a gamma psionic existed, they would might as well be gods.

Well, another interlude, this time about psionics. Since the only thing we know about Stellaris psionics is that they are used to demoralize enemy troops, I made them a mix of how psionics are used in XCOM, biotics and general psychic powers.

I didn't even imply the existence of The Shroud because Interludes are basically public knowledge; only certain government people know about it.