TRINITY CONTINUUM: ÆON

MANUSCRIPT

Character Sheet mock-up by Onyx Path forum users shadowninja & slagheap.................................... 2
Unity: A Tale of the Æon Trinity............ ............................... .............................................................. 4
Introduction ............................................. ............................... ............................................................ 12
Chapter One: History Overview - The Crash & After ............ ............................................................ 22
Chapter Two: The Earth (& Luna) .......... ............................... ............................................................ 37
Chapter Three: Space .............................. ............................... ............................................................ 87
Chapter Four: Character Creation ........... ............................... .......................................................... 120
Chapter Five: Organizations ................... ............................... .......................................................... 133
Chapter Six: Other New Rules ................ ............................... .......................................................... 191
Chapter Seven: Psi Power Rules ............. ............................... .......................................................... 205
Chapter Eight: Technology ..................... ............................... .......................................................... 284
Chapter Nine: Storytelling Advice .......... ............................... .......................................................... 336
Chapter Ten: Antagonists & Supporting Characters ............... .......................................................... 351
Chapter Eleven: Setting Secrets .............. ............................... .......................................................... 386

© 2018 Onyx Path Publishing, www.theonyxpath.com

 Name: Concept:
Player: Aptitude:

Attributes
Approach Mental Physical Social
□ Force Intellect ●○○○○ Might ●○○○○ Presence ●○○○○
□ Finesse Cunning ●○○○○ Dexterity ●○○○○ Manipulation ●○○○○
□ Resilience Resolve ●○○○○ Stamina ●○○○○ Composure ●○○○○

Skills Paths
□ Aim ○○○○○ Origin ●○○○○
□ Athletics ○○○○○ Role ●○○○○
□ Close Combat ○○○○○ Society ●○○○○
□ Command ○○○○○ ○○○○○
□ Culture ○○○○○ ○○○○○
□ Empathy ○○○○○ ○○○○○
□ Enigmas ○○○○○
□ Humanities ○○○○○ Edges PSI
□ Integrity ○○○○○
□ Larcency ○○○○○ □ ○○○○○ ●●○○○○○○○○
□ Medicine ○○○○○ □ ○○○○○ □□□□□□□□□□
□ Persuasion ○○○○○ □ ○○○○○ □□□□□□□□□□
□ Pilot ○○○○○ □ ○○○○○ □□□□□□□□□□
□ Science ○○○○○ □ ○○○○○ □□□□□□□□□□
□ Survival ○○○○○ □ ○○○○○
□ Technology ○○○○○ □ ○○○○○ Aptitude Modes
□ ○○○○○
Specialties □ ○○○○○ ○○○○○
□ ○○○○○ ○○○○○
○○○○○
Enhanced Edges
Auxiliary Modes
○○○○○
○○○○○
Aspirations ○○○○○
○○○○○
○○○○○
Short ○○○○○

Weapons
Long
Unarmed Blunt 1
Skill Tricks Melee, Grapple, Worn
Contacts
○○○○○
○○○○○
○○○○○
○○○○○
○○○○○
○○○○○
○○○○○
○○○○○

Equipments Combat Values

Bruised Injured Maimed
Experience □ □ □
Total Bank Spent Def Init Soft Hard
 Origin Path:__________________________ OOOOO
Name:
Role Path:____________________________ OOOOO
Player:
Allegiance Path:______________________ OOOOO
Concept:
Other Path:____________________________ OOOOO
Aptitude: Other Path:____________________________ OOOOO

ATTRIBUTES
Mental Physical Social
□Force Intellect OOOOO Might OOOOO Presence OOOOO
□Finesse Cunning OOOOO Dexterity OOOOO Manipulation OOOOO
□Resilience Resolve OOOOO Stamina OOOOO Composure OOOOO

SKILLS OTHER TRAITS

Aim ______________ OOOOO
EDGES INJURY CONDITIONS
Athletics ________ OOOOO
___________________________ OOOOO □ Bruised ___________ -1
Close Combat _____ OOOOO
___________________________ OOOOO □ Bruised ___________ -1
Command __________ OOOOO
___________________________ OOOOO □ Injured ___________ -2
Culture __________ OOOOO
___________________________ OOOOO □ Injured ___________ -2
Empathy __________ OOOOO
___________________________ OOOOO □ Maimed ____________ -4
Enigmas __________ OOOOO
___________________________ OOOOO Taken Out
Humanities _______ OOOOO
___________________________ OOOOO Psi OOOOOOO
Integrity ________ OOOOO
___________________________ OOOOO
Larcency _________ OOOOO
___________________________ OOOOO
□□□□□□□□□□
Medicine _________ OOOOO
□□□□□□□□□□
___________________________ OOOOO □□□□□□□□□□
Persuasion _______ OOOOO ___________________________ OOOOO □□□□□□□□□□
Pilot ____________ OOOOO ___________________________ OOOOO
Modes
Science __________ OOOOO ___________________________ OOOOO
_______________ OOOOO
Survival _________ OOOOO
Path Contacts _______________ OOOOO
Technology _______ OOOOO
___________________________ OOOOO _______________ OOOOO
___________________________ OOOOO
SKILL TRICKS ___________________________ OOOOO Aux Modes
__________________________ ___________________________ OOOOO _______________OO
___________________________ OOOOO _______________OO
__________________________
__________________________ SKILL SPECIALTIES _______________OO
__________________________ ________________________
ASPIRATIONS
__________________________ ________________________
________________________
__________________________ ________________________
________________________
__________________________ ________________________
________________________
__________________________ ________________________
__________________________ ________________________
Defense: _____ Armor:_____
__________________________ ________________________
Experiences: _____________
__________________________ ________________________
Initiative is Athletics +
__________________________ ________________________ Cunning or Empathy +
Dexterity
Unity: A Tale of the Æon Trinity
By Leath Sheales
The room beyond the open door was minimalist, but spoke volumes about Nippon. The desk to
the left appeared to be molded from a single piece of unknown material. Its writing surface
washed gently with images of waves against the shores of the Home Islands. To the right was a
couch and two single lounges, all arranged around a low coffee table that appeared to be a
younger sibling of the desk. Both the desk and the lounge setting were arranged facing each
other, with the entrance on one side and window on the other. The man who inhabited the office
could easily turn his head to see the UN building’s inspiring view of Olympus and upwards to
the sky where Earth glittered like a multi-hued jewel. He could stare straight ahead, ordering the
wall to transform into a single massive vidscreen to show whatever he wanted. Or he could see
who was entering his sanctum. As he was doing now.
Amina, rather than entering, was staring at his personal assistant who was standing beside the
doorway, gesturing her through. She studied the assistant’s face carefully, leaning in close for
detail. The assistant stared back at Amina with a pleasantly neutral expression. She took no
offence at the scrutiny; part of her purpose was to invite it. The man in the office also took no
offence, but did shift slightly with impatience. Amina saw this from the corner of her eye and
took the hint. She walked through the doorway, moving to the lounges; the man gestured for her
to do so and stood from his desk to join her.
“Nakamura-san, my name is Amina Buhari,” she introduced herself as they both sat. Her voice
was smooth, her expression and body language indicating appreciation but not subservience.
This was a meeting of equals, and Nakamura was slightly taken aback, though he quickly
covered his surprise. “May I compliment you on the quality of your servant,” she said, steering
the conversation into compliments and pleasantries, aiming to settle Nakamura but also keep him
off balance at the shifting conversation. “I’ve rarely seen a robot so lifelike, especially the skin
texture. The artificial pores and fine hairs are incredible.”
“Thank you, Ms Buhari,” Nakamura replied, unsure exactly what was the purpose of their
meeting. He stopped after this short sentence, letting the quiet of the office envelope them,
aiming to take control of the conversation by forcing her to fill the silence.
Amina smiled, undeterred, as she prepared to completely unbalance him. “I’m from Æon, and
I’m here to help.”
***
Yamashita Sachi threw herself around the corridor’s corner so quickly that she tracked wide and
bounced off the opposite wall. The collision twisted her balance, forcing her to make several
quick shuffling steps to keep from falling over. Her shoulder ached from the impact. Sachi
grinned at the thudding pain down her arm and the increasing burning from her lungs. Pain
meant life. She was still alive, despite the seemingly endless run of bad luck she’d experienced
on this job.
Catching her balance had slowed her momentum. She didn’t have time to rest — the clock ticked
onwards despite her success or failure — so she turned the scrabbling steps into purposeful
bounds, driving her legs like pistons against the cold metal floor, forcing herself onwards.

1
Sachi had a small but powerful build. The combination of dense muscle and short limbs gave her
natural leverage that she used mercilessly whenever opponents underestimated her. It also meant
that she had to push twice as hard to outpace larger, leaner opponents.
Though she was physically fit — beyond fit — she panted as she ran. Her fitness came from
growing up in the officially unpopulated sections of the Nippon arcology. She did what was
needed to survive and avoided the authorities when they deigned to acknowledge these areas of
the city existed at all. Her natural aptitude was greatly magnified after she escaped Nippon and
was found by the Vitakinetic Order. The Prometheus Chamber transformed gifted human into
perfection.
The shoulder ache persisted, which told her she’d incurred a heavier injury than simple bruising.
It would have been a moment’s effort to know exactly how she was damaged, and probably not
much more to repair it, but she didn’t want to waste the time. Even before her training she would
never bow to pain, refused to let it be her master.
She found the location she was searching for deep within the abandoned sections of Nippon.
With her senses pushed beyond normal human limits, her keen eyes picked up traces of booted
feet on the floor. She smelled faint traces of antiseptic chemicals and human sweat. The corridor
ended in a hatchway guarded by a crablike, many-armed drone.
Sachi increased her speed and tackled the robot, using her momentum to tumble both and forcing
a moment of confusion too difficult for the machine’s mind to calculate. Her right arm kept her
body tight to the robot while her left grabbed a retractable cable protruding from the pocket on
her thigh. She worked to shove the plug into the bot’s hardware I/O port before it worked out
enough to send a wireless distress call. She’d been trained in physical guerrilla hacking by some
of the best Nipponese outcasts food could bribe, and had practiced the art more times than
anyone should. The crab kicked out, trying to regain control, knocking her hand out of the way,
but she twisted and brought it down again, altering her grip and position to avoid being crushed
under its chassis. She snagged the plug into the socket on the third try and slapped at the
minicomputer in her pocket. The scramble code was uploaded in microseconds and the
maintenance drone twitched and scrabbled in pathetic machine distress as its brain dumped into
an endless loop executing meaningless commands.
Sachi lay on the ground for a moment longer, allowing herself to breathe and smile at her
success. Celebration was short-lived; time was wasting and she heard the staccato march of
reinforcements. Either the drone had managed a distress call or she hadn’t lost her earlier
pursuers as she’d thought. She rolled into a seating position and grabbed a miniature pry-bar
from another pocket. The bar made short work of the door’s access panel and she had the
minicomp’s cable into the port before the panel clattered to the floor.
***
Amina waited patiently while the robotic assistant served tea. Nakamura wore an expression of
forced calm, though flashes of extreme worry and anger crept through. Though she didn’t make a
show of it, Amina watched every micro-expression carefully. She was developing an
understanding of the man, even in the silence.
Finally, the servant finished pouring and left, closing the door behind her. Nakamura couldn’t
completely mask the slight tremble as he took a sip from his cup.
“As I said, Ms Buhari, I have no need of your assistance,” he said. She heard the lie, and even
the hint of desperation in his voice. He wanted her help, but he needed to be persuaded.

2
“Let us speak frankly, Mr Nakamura,” she said, her voice confident and reassuring, “We know
that your daughter, Yuna, was kidnapped while vacationing in Makaro-Shima. We know that the
kidnappers told you not to contact anyone, and we know they forced you to use your position to
pass hardtech designs to them.” She paused and sipped at her tea.
Nakamura appeared dumbstruck, all stoicism and pretense of ignorance gone. “But,” he said,
“How?”
Amina shook her head slightly. “The how isn’t important, Mr Nakamura. What is important is
that we also know that the kidnappers haven’t honored their end of the deal, and have demanded
more.” Tears welled up in the man’s eyes and he lowered his head, avoiding her gaze. Amina’s
expression showed sympathy and understanding. “I believe they’ve sent one of her hands as
proof of their seriousness, yes?” She pushed at his emotional triggers. “That can be reattached, of
course,” she said. Nakamura looked up into her eyes, elements of anger mixed with his grief. “I
understand your nation distrusts psions,” she continued, “But Nipponese medicine is quite
advanced. I assume your doctors have preserved it? If not, you also have other options that are
remarkably life like.” Amina kept watching Nakamura; his eyes strayed to the door where the
robotic servant had retreated. “As I said, Æon wants to help. We will find your daughter, and
return her to safety.”
A tiny signal of hope penetrated the cocktail of confusing emotions Nakamura struggled to keep
under control. “What do you need from me?” he asked. Amina smiled and nodded her head
encouragingly. Everything about her said that they were partners in this, and that she and
Nakamura had bridged the distrust for the greater good.
“First, tell me everything you can about the people who took Yuna.”
***
Jack cast a critical eye over the room. This work was normally Sarah’s job, but she had tasks
elsewhere. Obtaining the information they needed had fallen to Jack, and he was doing what he
did best — improvising.
He looked at the man hooded and bound to the old-fashioned chair in the center of the basement
room, and to the semi-circle of holodisplays a few feet beyond. Jack kept the room dimly lit for
his own benefit. His captive wore a blindfold that looked like a pair of antique aviator goggles.
The biotech kept a firm seal around the eyes, to keep moisture out while wicking away tears that
could lead to condensation on the inner lens. Though originally made to help neutrals visualize
the myriad energy wavelengths that suffused the world, they had another setting that Jack was
using now. Complete blackout. Not even a stray photon could pierce the biotech/skin bond until
Jack allowed it. When possible, Jack preferred to work in darkness. Bright lights just added a
jumble of chaotic wavelengths that he had to filter out and ignore.
Jack moved around the room, adjusting the position and angles of several screens once more. He
went back to the man, pivoting left and right to check that the screens were precisely where he
wanted them. Finally, Jack nodded his head, satisfied.
With the tiniest flicker of concentration, Jack tapped into the ever-present wireless signals and
checked the time. He sighed. He needed the man to be awake for this. For a moment, Jack toyed
with the idea of sparking tiny pulses into his amygdala to increase the chance of provoking
weird, terrifying dreamscapes. He decided against it. He wasn’t a torturer, although the man
didn’t need to know that.

3
The man jerked awake, moving his head in blind confusion and unconsciously testing his bonds
before he even realized he was restrained. He tried to yell his distress but only muffled grunts
made it past the gag across his mouth. More biotech. Almost complete silence, and it monitored
the captive’s vitals to ensure they received enough oxygen.
“Hey, Mr Williams, good morning,” Jack said, though it was just past 8 in the evening. Jack
wanted to increase the man’s confusion, the worry at what had happened in the lost hours would
help cut his resistance. “Here’s what’s going to happen. I’m going to show you images, ask some
questions, and you’re going to do your best to answer them.” More muffled attempts at speech.
“No need to talk,” Jack continued.
He stood close to Williams and placed his hand on the man’s head. Williams tried to shake
Jack’s hand away, but his bonds held tight. Jack pursed his lips and frowned in concentration.
“That’s it,” he murmured, “Just relax and this won’t hurt a bit.” Crawling sparks played across
Jack’s hand, jumping excitedly to Williams’ scalp. Williams’ hair stood from his head as it
charged with static electricity.
Jack shifted his fingers and narrowed his eyes as he psionically pushed. He felt some resistance
— unexpected, intriguing — and shoved. Williams grunted against the sudden alien feeling.
“Fighting makes it worse,” Jack murmured. He gestured to the surrounding screens with his free
hand and several flared to life. Garbled, static-filled signals filled them. They may have been
people or places, but were too broken to tell. Jack saved them anyway for later analysis.
Jack tapped the biotech lenses, commanded them to project images. “Now,” he said, “Recognize
that place?” Williams saw a picture of his home, and several of the screens flared in recognition.
Neural networks fired tiny electrical fireworks, racing across the brain. Jack’s fingers picked up
the faint pulses. He couldn’t understand them — he wasn’t a telepath — but he could translate
mental impulse into electronic signal through his psi. Jack noted the positive response and
adjusted his fingers for a clearer signal. “How about this?” The image changed to Williams’ wife
and children. Another positive, with more of the peripheral screens flashing with what Jack
recognized as stress. “Good. Cooperate, and they’ll be fine. If not,” the images vanished from the
lenses. More stress response.
“You and your associates like to kidnap people for money.” Jack fed images through the lenses,
too fast for Williams’ conscious mind to register them all, but his subconscious surged with a
mix of signals. He recognized some, but not all. “One of those people was a young woman from
Makaro-Shima.” Another image and recognition response.
“I want to know where she is,” Jack said. The lenses rapid-flashed images of different cities.
Jack watched for positive responses and honed in on suburbs and locales.
Williams struggled, trying to avoid giving away what he knew. The biotech lenses revealed
Williams had closed his eyes. Jack curled his fingers and held Williams’ hair uncomfortably
tight. He resisted the urge to hurt the man. Though Jack hated Williams for what he did,
kidnapping was as close as Jack would come to emulating him.
“I’m not in the mood for games, Williams,” Jack hissed into his ear. With his free hand, he
touched the lenses and surged a pulse through them. Williams’ eyelids spasmed open and stayed
that way. Painless, and temporary, but terrifying to someone whose knowledge of psions came
from sensationalized OpNet dramas. “You’ve lost your blinking privileges,” Jack whispered
menacingly, “When your eyes dry out they’ll itch so much you’ll want to claw them from your
sockets. Eventually, they’ll shrivel and die from lack of moisture. If you’re very, very good, I’ll
let you have eye-drops when we’re done.”

4
Jack touched Williams’ stomach and another pulse triggered intestinal contractions; Williams
barely managed to stop from soiling himself. “If you’re not good, you’re really not going to
enjoy the rest of your short life.”
“Now, let’s continue with location.”
***
“What did they want, Mr Nakamura?” Amina asked, “What was so important that they
kidnapped your daughter to force your compliance?”
Nakamura looked increasingly wretched. His façade of control had crumbled. He shook his head.
“I don’t know,” he said. A lie, and one that Amina spotted easily.
“We often know more than we think,” she said, not directly calling him on his deception, but
pushing him nonetheless. “When you accessed the files, you must have seen something. Some
clue, however small, of what they took.”
“Maybe,” he said, “Maybe it involved medical research, a device that worked at the cellular
level, some kind of genetic induction therapy?”
Amina nodded, “That’s good, Mr Nakamura, thank you.” She knew there was more information
to be had, but she was patient. As upset as Nakamura was, he wasn’t a stupid man. He knew
more than he was willing to say. Amina had time to work on him, to painstakingly draw the
details out until she had the full picture.
***
Olivia stood at the computer terminal, mentally ticking through the instructions Sachi had
provided, to access the command structures and take the corrupted files she’d provided. Olivia
had a basic knowledge of hardtech operating systems but she lacked Sachi’s expertise. The
display changed as Sachi had said it would and Olivia slotted the storage device into its socket.
Though she faced the terminal, she wasn’t looking at it. Her head was cocked slightly to one side
and her eyes were glazed with a faraway look. She straightened and backed away from the
terminal.
A security guard opens the door, considering the control room. He thinks he heard something,
and as far as he was aware, no one was scheduled to be working in here now. He can see most of
the room from the doorway, and he can see one of the displays is active, running activity. He
scans to the left of the room first, leaving his right side exposed.
Olivia pounced from the guard’s blind spot, grabbing his arm and dragging him into the room in
a spinning motion designed to keep him off balance. As he stumbled she hooked her leg behind
his and pushed his chest, sending him crashing to the floor. She quickly turned and shut the door
to muffle any noise that could warn others.
The guard lands heavily, still unsure what was happening. Scrambling backwards, he grabs at
the holstered pistol on his hip, drawing it and shooting at his unknown assailant’s back.
Olivia stepped to the right and ducked, as the laser’s beam burned a small, circular hole into the
door. She dropped her left knee and rolled back in the opposite direction. The rapid changes were
quicker than the still-shocked guard could track. He burned two more holes in the walls before
Olivia was on top of him, striking quickly at his throat. He dropped the gun and gasped for air as
she slid around behind him, locking him in a choke hold and pushing his head forward with her
body to increase the pressure. He fell unconscious within moments.

5
Four minutes and 38 seconds after the scuffle, a routine patrol discovers an unconscious body on
the floor of the control room. The guards quickly place the facility on alert and corner the
intruder. She’s injured, but captured alive. Eventually she breaks under interrogation and
reveals what she knows. By the time anyone comes looking, the illegal aspects of the operation
have moved to a different location.
The terminal chimed in completion as the files finished installing themselves. Olivia grabbed the
storage device and tucked it back into her pocket. She frowned and concentrated, sifting through
the myriad potential futures, searching for the best outcome.
In four minutes and 38 seconds, a two-person patrol checks the control room. They miss the
young woman who left the room minutes before, struggling to carry an unconscious guard in a
fireman’s lift. They continue their patrol. Though they give the nearby washroom a cursory
glance, they don’t think to check the cubicle farthest from the door where the woman holds the
unconscious guard propped up on the toilet. They close the door and continue their circuit. The
woman cuffs the guard with his own equipment and makes an impromptu gag from the torn
sleeve of his shirt. When he is found an hour later, the woman has already escaped the building
using the ceiling crawl space. The changes to the computer system aren’t discovered until it is
far too late.
Olivia sighed and grabbed the guard’s arm, hoisting him up and lowering her shoulder to carry
his heavy form. It was time to leave.
***
Amina took a minicomp from her bag and gestured to the wall. “May I?” she asked politely.
Nakamura nodded and her Agent connected to the display. She sent several images across, some
showing an illicit hardtech production facility, others showing a young woman missing her right
hand being helped into an ambulance to be taken for medical treatment.
“I don’t understand,” Nakamura said, tears welling in his eyes.
Amina brought up other photographs. “We believe you do, Mr Nakamura. These show you
meeting with the people who ‘stole’ your data. They were your business partners, were they
not?” Nakamura shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He called for his assistant via cybernetic
implant and was dismayed that she didn’t respond.
“The Nippon police picked up on your scheme and started hunting for you, didn’t they, Mr
Nakamua?” Amina continued. “You got cold feet, but your partners weren’t willing to let you
back out of the deal. They took Yuna, but it wasn’t enough. How many body parts were you
willing to let them take before you’d admit your fault and seek help?”
Amina stood as the door opened and UN police entered, arresting Nakamura for his part in the
criminal conspiracy. His expression turned from shock to fury.
“You witch,” he spat, “You read my mind, implanted information.” He snarled, “Illegal search,
nothing will stand up in court.”
“I’m not a psion, Mr Nakamura,” Amina said with a sigh, “Not even a hint of latency. I took the
test three times, to be sure. I’m as baseline as you, but I have been told I have a trustworthy
face.”
***
“Come on, come on,” Sachi muttered as the door resisted her hacking. The door had its own
minor Satisfactory Intelligence that didn’t want outsiders getting in — or insiders escaping. The

6
SI’s firewall and countermeasures pushed back hard. Sachi pumped everything she had at the
command systems, peeling back layers of control code, smashing the sides of peripheral
awareness subroutines, searching for some way in.
Frustrated, she grabbed her pry-bar again and wedged it into the side of the door. She pushed
hard, leveraging her entire body against it. She knew whatever additional security Nippon was
going to throw at her would arrive soon. Metal screeched in protest and the door budged a
fraction.
Sachi released the tension, took a breath, and flooded psi throughout her body. Bone density and
muscle mass grew in seconds. Her skin rippled and bulged with the sudden increase. The fabric
of her smart clothing resisted for a moment before relaxing fibers to meet new requirements.
She grabbed the pry bar and pushed again, this time her efforts reinforced by the sub quantum
universe. The door moved further, opening a small gap between hatch and frame. The pry bar
snapped. Sachi dropped the useless metal and drove both her hands into the gap, grinding her
teeth together and pushing herself beyond her known limits.
The first droid rounded the corner. It was an old police interface model and looked mostly
human, except for the perfect neutrality of its facial expression and the cold, dead eyes that saw
Sachi. The lighter unit was slightly faster than bulkier models, and it blocked the path of the two
clearance-and-destruction units that tried to round the corner behind it. Its original programming
could barely have taken this situation into account, and the modifications made by the criminals
who acquired it had slowed its processes. It sought additional instructions and that bought Sachi
a few valuable seconds.
The door finally gave, snapping open and surprising Sachi. Her additional force threw it open so
hard that it slammed back against the wall, denting it and twisting its hinges.
Sachi ducked inside and saw the combination hospital/laboratory/prison beyond. Dozens of
malnourished, mistreated people lay strapped on wheeled beds. Some were barely conscious
from whatever drugs the IV lines attached to the beds flooded into them. Others were barely
alive, having been repeatedly subjected to hideous experiments. Two android nurses patrolled the
room, ensuring none of the test subjects died before every scrap of data had been gleaned. Every
victim wore a psi-inhibiting collar, keeping them from using their abilities except as their captors
demanded.
Rather than immediately rushing to help the victims, Sachi scanned the room carefully, trying to
ignore the noise of the security robots as they reached the twisted doorway with lethal intent.
I’m here, do you have what you need? She shouted silently with her thoughts.
Incoming, Sarah’s reply echoed inside Sachi’s head.
With a sharp buzz, a glowing circle flared to life to her left, and through it another room became
visible. Five people hurried through it. Sachi felt Sarah’s mental link take hold and her brain
processed the room from multiple angles, mingling her sensory input with the rest of her team.
As soon as the team arrived, Sachi ignored everything else and rushed to the teleporter. Rahmat
knew what she wanted through the psionic link and held his hands outstretched to take hers.
Their subquantum signatures mingled as the two psions combined their powers. To the
Vitakinetic, each living template was distinct. To the teleporter, all space was one. Sachi pushed
her healing though Rahmat and out into each victim at once. The effort was immensely draining,
compounded by the reserves Sachi had spent opening the door. She slumped as her power faded,
satisfied at the increased strength of life she could now feel within the room. Rahmat still held

7
her hands — he needed the continued strength and sense of life — and steeled himself as he
prepared to teleport everyone out and to safety.
The robots tried to react to the new situation but Jack worked faster. Lightning exploded from his
hands, forking and jumping from robot to robot, overheating and melting their circuits. The
lighter units simply stopped, their servos locked up. Instant emulated rigor mortis. The combat
models seized for a moment, but they were built to withstand such attacks and their artificial
brains kicked in redundant pathways while they rebooted primary function. These backup
functions couldn’t keep Olivia at bay as she pressed the attack with pistol and taser in hand, not
waiting to see the outcome of Jack’s assault. She already knew.
Standing back from the violence, Amina reached out and took the hand of the nearest ‘patient’.
“Who are you?” he asked, feeling stronger than he had in weeks. The air shimmered as Rahmat
phased everyone out of the physical universe and translated them into subquantum particles.
“We’re from Æon,” Amina said as the room faded from view, “We’re here to help.”

8
Introduction
We are on a journey to keep an appointment with whatever we are.
— Gene Roddenberry
Trinity Continuum: Æon is a game of psychic, cinematic science fiction adventure set in the
vastness of the Trinity Continuum. It covers multiple timelines and accommodates many
different genres of play. The one unifying feature is that in Trinity Continuum: Æon humanity
has discovered a way to awaken certain individuals’ latent psionic powers, transforming them
into powerful psions.
This game requires the Trinity Continuum Corebook to play, and builds on the Storypath
system by adding rules for impressive psionic powers and advanced technology, including exotic
noetic biotech that can bond with and enhance characters’ powers. The Trinity Continuum
Corebook allows you to play characters and craft heroic science fiction adventures set in the
present day. Trinity Continuum: Æon expands these possibilities – both into the future, and
onto strange and distant worlds orbiting other suns, sometimes inhabited by alien intelligences.
The game is set in 2123, almost 20 years after a group of eight people learned to unlock their
vast psychic potential. These individuals, known as proxies, employed the same technology to
grant thousands of others these powers. The newly empowered individuals, called psions, now
use their powers to protect Earth from the return of hostile superhumans known as Aberrants and
to help humanity expand outward to the stars. Most psions work for one of the psi orders created
by the proxies, while others either work for the powerful international organization known as the
Æon Trinity or eschew any allegiances and hire themselves out as freelancers.
From this starting point, almost anything is possible. Psionic teleporters, and more recently,
living Leviathan jump ships allow humanity to take its first steps towards exploring and
colonizing the galaxy. Trinity Continuum: Æon is designed for interstellar play styles ranging
from awe-inspiring space opera where characters solve intergalactic mysteries that extend back
hundreds of thousands of years, to military science fiction where humanity battles horrific and
deadly creatures, to more localized, but equally exciting stories of settling alien worlds or
making first contact with aliens who could become close allies or bitter foes, depending upon the
characters’ actions.
Trinity Continuum: Æon is also ideal for adventures on Earth and in the warrens of the vast
lunar city of Olympus. The range of possibilities here is also endless, with tones ranging from
grim to idealistic. Opportunities for dystopian cyberpunk campaigns can be found in the United
States, which is now the openly fascist FSA. Similarly, the corridors of the lower levels of
Olympus are a perfect setting for futuristic crime dramas, and the Aberrant-destroyed ruins of
France are ideal for post-apocalyptic adventures.
Players and Storyguides seeking more optimistic adventures also have many Earthly options.
Storyguides can set social science fiction campaigns focused on issues of freedom and power in
China’s prosperous, humane, but carefully controlled cities. They can also create scenarios
involving transhumanist intrigue amidst the thriving arcologies and living cities of Sudamérica,
or campaigns that mix social science fiction and space opera in the flourishing cities of a united
Africa known as the UAN. Setting a campaign on Earth even offers the possibility of political
science fiction campaigns on and under Earth’s oceans as floating and undersea cities struggle to
cast off their prior allegiances and join Oceania, Earth’s newest nation. While the potential scope

1
of a Trinity Continuum: Æon campaign is vast, it's also possible to set an entire campaign in a
single city or on one sparsely populated colony world.

Hope, Sacrifice, Unity

Like all of the games set in the Trinity Continuum, the themes of Hope, Sacrifice, and Unity
are an important part of the setting, with unity being the most important in this particular game.
This is a setting where humanity faces deadly threats, including horrific Aberrants, the hostile
aliens known as Chromatics, and other less obvious but equally terrible dangers. To overcome
these menaces, psions, Talents, and unpowered neutrals must work with each other and seek
alliances with the alien Qin and other species. A single psion possesses impressive psychic
powers, but a group of psions working together can expand and multiply their powers in ways
impossible for even the most powerful individual to replicate.

Heroism
Just as Trinity Continuum: Æon can be used to tell a wealth of different stories, it also allows a
multitude of different heroes. It is a setting where characters fight to defend their world from
external threats, while also working to make it even better. You can play valiant explorers on
Leviathan jump ships, heavily armored infantry using psionic powers and futuristic weapons to
fight Aberrant monsters, or tireless first responders who assist with disasters both on and off
Earth. All of these characters and many more work to protect and defend their worlds from both
external dangers and internal threats and injustices.

Optimism
The overall assumption in Trinity Continuum: Æon is that humanity can triumph over
obstacles and the future can be a better place than the past. In this setting, many problems that
threaten our own world, like global climate change, energy shortages, and famine, are distant
memories for almost everyone, but other problems remain and new ones have arisen. Part of the
optimism inherent in this era is the knowledge that while the world of the early 22nd century is
far from perfect, dedicated heroes can improve it. Characters can fight the obvious threats of
hostile aliens and returning Aberrants, and also attempt to solve more familiar menaces such as
crime, official corruption, economic inequality, and natural disasters.
Competence
While players are free to play highly able Talents (see the Trinity Continuum Corebook, pp.
XX-XX), most characters are psions – individuals with latent psychic powers who gained active
psychic powers with the help of powerful devices called Prometheus Chambers. These powers in
and of themselves do not define a character, but they give psions abilities that others lack –
permitting them to fly, heal their own and others’ wounds in an instant, read someone’s deepest
thoughts, or even alter their shape.
Psychic powers have a long history in science fiction. In most cases, these powers are used as
evidence that humanity has untapped potential that individuals can learn to unleash. They permit
humans to transcend the need for technology and to overcome the barriers separating them from
one another, not merely barriers of language and culture, but even the barriers separating one
mind from another. Perhaps most importantly of all, in Trinity Continuum: Æon, psions and
their powers represent the future of humanity. Although only a small percentage of humanity are
latent psions whose powers can be unlocked in a Prometheus Chamber, humanity continues to
evolve, and in time such powers may belong to everyone.

2
How to use this Book
Welcome to the Trinity Continuum: Æon. This book is a supplement for the Trinity
Continuum Corebook, and requires it to use. Trinity Continuum: Æon provides complete
information on the worlds of 2123 and all of the wonders it contains. It also includes rules for
creating and playing psions as well as a variety of advanced weapons and other devices.
Chapters
Chapter One: History & Background provides a rough timeline extending from the present
day to 2123, with a discussion of how and why the world changed during this time.
Chapter Two: Earth & Luna explains the current status of the various nations of this era, as
well as information on the new nation of Oceania and the huge lunar metropolis of Olympus.
Chapter Three: Space provides information about worlds beyond Earth and Luna that humanity
has visited or colonized. This chapter includes information about human settlements within the
solar system, and also descriptions of eight extrasolar colonies or settlements.
Chapter Four: Character Creation explains everything you need to create psions, neutrals, or
Talents in Trinity Continuum: Æon. This chapter includes new Edges and six new Paths.
Chapter Five: Organizations gives detailed information the major organizations available to
characters in this setting, including the eight psi orders and the Æon Trinity. Paths for each of
these organizations are also included here.
Chapter Six: New Rules provides rules for dealing with dangerous Quantum Flux, new rules for
hostile environments, and information on handling hacking, surveillance, and counter
surveillance is this high-tech era.
Chapter Seven: Psi Rules provides complete rules for the eight psionic Aptitudes that psions
have access to, as well as rules for psions working together to combine their Aptitudes.
Chapter Eight: Technology & Equipment describes the wondrous new technologies available
in the early 22nd century, from advanced weapons, spacecraft, and robots, to exotic noetic
biotech.
Chapter Nine: Storyguiding gives detailed suggestions for designing and running Trinity
Continuum: Æon campaigns, including information about how style, mood, and location can
work together and for using psions and Talents in the same campaign.
Chapter Ten: Opponents & Allies provides rules for using the various alien species as well as
extensive rules for creating and using Aberrants, and examples of psion and neutral supporting
characters.
Chapter Eleven: Setting Secrets reveals much of the secret history of the setting up to 2123,
including the origin of the Prometheus Chambers and the truth about the Chitra Bhanu purge.
This chapter also provides a rough history of the near future of the setting – if the characters
don’t decide to alter the course of these events, which they almost certainly will. If you are not a
Storyguide planning to run this game, you might want to skip this chapter.

Inspirational Media
The following are suggestions for media that can help give Storyguides and players ideas for
characters, stories, and the feel of various powers and aspects of the setting.
Television
3
Babylon 5 – This five-season series is an excellent cinematic space opera that nicely balances
gritty realism with a grandiose scale and galaxy changing events. Also, Earth’s Psi Corps has a
fair amount in common with the Ministry.
The Dead Zone – Based on a very different novel, the protagonist of this series is a powerful
Clairsentient who learns both the advantages and problems of this particular ability.
The Tomorrow People (2013 version) – Although it’s set in the modern day with psychics who
must hide their powers, this show does an excellent job of showing the potential of psychic
powers.
Novels
Alastair Reynolds – Blue Remembered Earth, On the Steel Breeze, and Poseidon's Wake form
an excellent trilogy about a highly advanced Earth which is utopian by modern standards, but
still has important conflicts, and where humans are dealing with both ubiquitous surveillance and
contact with advanced and potentially dangerous aliens.
Andre Norton – Forerunner Foray: Norton wrote many excellent novels involving psychic
powers and space travel, but this is one of the best and one that foregrounds psychic powers the
most.
Andrea K. Host – The Touchstone Trilogy: An excellent YA series where a young woman from
Earth find herself on a high-tech planet working with powerful psychics to defend their people
from deadly monsters, some of whom may have once been human.
Ann Maxwell – Change: Maxwell wrote many wonderful novels about psychic powers, but this
one is about humanity developing them, while being aided by psychic aliens.
Anne McCaffrey – The Pegasus series (To Ride Pegasus, Pegasus in Flight & Pegasus in
Space) and the subsequent The Tower & the Hive series (The Rowan, Damia, Damia's Children,
Lyon's Pride, The Tower and the Hive) are in many ways very similar to Trinity Continuum:
Æon. In these novels, humanity learns about psychic powers, and eventually powerful
teleporters allow humanity to travel to the stars and eventually make contact with aliens.
Arthur C. Clarke – Childhood's End: A brilliant classic involving alien, psychic powers, and
the future of humanity.
Joan D. Vinge – Psion, Catspaw, & Dreamfall: An excellent trilogy about psychics living in a
high-tech, somewhat cyberpunk, interstellar setting where they must keep their powers hidden.
John Shirley – His Eclipse trilogy (Eclipse, Eclipse Penumbra & Eclipse Corona) is more than
20 years old, but remains a classic about revolution and fascism in a cyberpunk future.
Julian May – The Galactic Milieu series (Intervention, Jack the Bodiless, Diamond Mask, and
Magnificat) are all about humanity learning about psychic powers, traveling to the stars and
joining a psychic confederation of aliens.
K. B. Spengler – Stoneskin: A wonderful novel about an interstellar setting tied together by
people with a gift for teleportation.
Ken Macleod – Newton's Wake: Characters from a variety of cultures that came about in the
wake of a horrific post-human disaster explore a network of teleport gates and discover a long-
isolated colony world.
Linda Nagata – The Bohr Maker, Deception Well & Vast: An excellent series set in a cosmos
full of strange human colonies and unfathomable aliens.

4
Walter Jon Williams – Angel Station: Far future, schemes, deceptions, and adventure amidst
first contact with biotech-using aliens.
Video Games
Mass Effect 1-3 – This trilogy of games has a lot in common with Trinity Continuum: Æon,
from ancient alien threats, to biotic powers that are fairly similar to many psion powers.

Glossary
Although many terms and jargon specific to this setting are defined elsewhere in this book, for
ease of reference they are also included here.
Aberrant: Once-human creatures with unstable quantum powers who left the solar system in
2067 and returned to the solar system as hideously inhuman monsters in 2105. Prior to the
Aberrant War, these beings were known as novas. Also see Nova.
Aberrant War: The end of the Nova Age (see below), when growing number of Aberrants
began attacking humanity or fighting among themselves before departing for the stars after the
Chinese Ultimatum (see below). This war lasted from 2056-2067.
Æon Trinity: A large and powerful worldwide aid and development organization that gained
much of its renown and power when it helped humanity rebuild from the Aberrant War.
Æsculapian Order: An international emergency services organization focusing on disaster
relief, search and rescue, and emergency medical services. They are also the psi order that
controls the Vitakinesis Prometheus Chamber (see below), and are based in both Zurich-Geneva
Switzerland and Port-au-Prince Haiti.
Aptitude: One of the eight different categories of psionic powers: Biokinesis, Clairsentience,
Electrokinesis, Psychokinesis, Quantakinesis, Telepathy, Teleportation and Vitakinesis. Every
psion can only master a single Aptitude, depending upon which Prometheus Chamber they used.
Aqua: A human who has been modified for living underwater. There are two types of aquas,
amphibious humans known as "phibs" and fully aquatic humans that can breathe both air and
water known as "selkies". Also see Oceania
Auxiliary Mode: Psions can gain a small amount of skill at Modes outside their psionic
Aptitude.
Bharati Commonwealth: The official name of the Indian bloc, but used rarely by foreigners;
"India" is still preferred. Includes present-day Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh,
and Sri Lanka.
Belt, the: Spacers’ slang for the Asteroid Belt.
Biotech: Biological appliances; biotechnological devices, also called bioware and bioapps.
Biokinesis: One of the eight psionic Aptitudes. It allows the psion reshape their body in
profound ways and to manipulation noetic biotechnology in powerful ways. Slang: Shifters
Blessure, la: French for "the wound", the popular name for the portions of France and Belgium
destroyed and poisoned by the Esperanza disaster (see below).
Chinese Ultimatum: The decree issued by China in 2067 that all Aberrants must immediately
leave Earth or China’s orbital nuclear weapons platforms would begin bombarding Earth.

5
Chitra Bhanu: Originally a Vishnavi messianic term used to refer to the eradicated Bombay-
based quantakinetic order that controlled the Quantakinesis Prometheus Chamber.
Chromatics: Mysterious and hostile aliens that first attacked Karroo Station and recently
attacked Earth
Clairsentience: One of the eight psionic Aptitudes. It allows the psion to see the past, the future
and distance locations. Slang: Clears, seers.
Coalition Ark: A vast hardtech alien spacecraft more than 70 kilometers long, which is traveling
near the speed of light and is on a course for the solar system. This ship seems to be inhabited by
hostile aliens.
Corruption: The subatomic degradation of both living beings and inanimate objects caused by
Aberrants misusing or possessing inherently warped Quantum powers. Often mistaken for and
used as a slang term for Quantum Flux (see Quantum Flux)
Electrokinesis: One of the eight psionic Aptitudes. It allows the psion to control bioelectricity,
light and technological devices. Slang: EK, zapper
Esperanza Disaster: In 2120, Aberrants attacked the large EU space station Esperanza and
caused it to crash near Paris, turning much of France and Belgium into radioactive disaster areas
and Quantum Flux Zones (see below) which remain mostly lawless.
FSA: The Federated States of America, a repressive regime consisting of the former nations of
Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Created by a military & corporate take-over of the
United States during the Aberrant War, the FSA then conquered Mexico and then Canada.
FSM: The Federated States Military, the FSA's well-armed and politically powerful military.
The FSA spends a greater percentage of its national wealth on the military than any other nation.
Grav Crystals: Nova age technology that can create stable artificial gravity over large areas.
Holodisplay: Holographic 3-D displays where the images appear to float in the air. Holodisplays
have replaced vidscreens in many applications, and almost all minicomps have small
holodisplays.
Holosim: Games where the player or players are immersed in a holographic environment. Home
holosim rooms are a common sign of middle class affluence.
ISRA: The Interplanetary School of Research and Advancement. ISRA is both the psi order
based in Olympus on Luna, which controls the Clairsentience Prometheus Chamber and also a
growing religious movement with more than half a million members.
Joe Hologram: An everyday person; the average citizen. While the slang term survives, the
computer agent from which it originated has long since fallen into obscurity.
Jump Rings: A small but growing network of expensive and complex bioware devices that can
teleport people between major cities anywhere on Earth and Luna. There are jump rings in
Beijing, Chicago, Jomo Kenyatta, Mumbai Sao Paulo, Sydney, and Olympus on Luna.
Khantze Lu Ge: "Castle in the Air"; China’s Alpha Centauri Colony (the Chinese refer to it as
Kongzhong Lou Ge).
Latent: A human with the potential to become a psion. Fewer than one in 10,000 people are
believed to be latents. Most latents can become any of the more common types of psion –
biokinetics, clairsentients, electrokinetics, psychokinetics, telepaths or vitakinetics. However,

6
both Quantakinesis and Teleportation require a more powerful latency that is relatively rare. See
Prometheus Chamber.
Legions, The: A semi-independent division of the UN military force dedicated to protecting
humanity from external threats, including Aberrants. Consisting of seven brigades, the Legions
are also the psi order based in Australia, which controls the Psychokinesis Prometheus Chamber.
Leviathan Jump Ship: The kilometer and a half long biotech starships built to return humanity
to the stars after all teleporters left Earth. There is growing evidence that these starships are
conscious intelligent creatures.
LP: Pronounced “lep”, a common slang for Less Prosperous nation, referring to nations like
Russia, the Ukraine, and the FSA.
Maker: 3-D printers that produce most consumer goods.
Matrix: The living vats used to produce biotech devices.
Metacorporation: Term for large international (and occasionally interplanetary) corporations in
the 22nd century. The status of metacorporations varies wildly between nations.
Minicomp: The smartphone and mobile OpNet terminal that also serves as means of both
identification and payment for most humans. A biocomp is a biotech minicomp.
Ministry of Noetic Affairs (MNA): A division of the Chinese government that handles noetic
research, advises diplomats and alien contact personnel, and performs covert intelligence.
Popularly known as "The Ministry", this organization is also the psi order based in China, which
controls the Telepathy Prometheus Chamber.
Mode: Every psionic Aptitude is divided into three Modes. Each Mode represents a different
aspect of that particular Aptitude.
Neutral: A human who is not a latent psion and thus cannot gain psion powers. Pejoratively
called "blanks" by a few psions.
Nippon: "Japan". Includes the "Kuril" (Chishima) Islands.
Nihonjin: "Japanese." Used as both a cultural and ethnic adjective.
Noetics: The study of psionic energies and phenomena.
Nova: Powerful superhumans who first appeared in 2018, and who were initially regarded as
heroes and saviors, but who turned on humanity, leading to the Aberrant Wars (see above). Since
then, they have been called Aberrants.
Nova Age: The era between 2018 and 2067, when hundreds of superbeings with unstable
quantum powers first transformed the world in many wondrous ways and then turned on
humanity (see Aberrant War).
Nova Força Nacional: The New National Force, shortened to Norça, the psi order based in
Sudamerica, which controls the Biokinesis Prometheus Chamber.
Oceania: Earth's newest nation, a confederation of floating and underwater cities, many of
which are home to large populations of aquas.
Olympus: The vast international lunar settlement built near the Lunar south pole. Olympus has a
population of almost 50 million.

7
Orgotek: Originally a consumer electronics corporation, it then became the first major producer
of commercial bioware. Today it produces everything from biotech vehicles to biotech
augmentations. It is also a psi order based in the FSA, which controls the Electrokinesis
Prometheus Chamber.
PN: Pronounced “pin”, a common slang abbreviation for Prosperous Nation, referring to nations
like Australia, China, Nippon, Sudamérica, and the UAN.
Prometheus Chamber: A powerful piece of bioware that transforms latent psychics into psions.
Each psi order has a single Prometheus Chamber and each chamber gives psions a single
different psionic Aptitude. Psions can only survive a single use of a Prometheus Chamber.
Proxy: One of the first eight original psions. Each Proxy possesses a single psionic Aptitude and
controls the Prometheus Chamber that produced that Aptitude in latents.
Psi Nippon: The Nihonjin youth culture that embraces biotechnology and psions. Most either
live outside Nippon or wish they could. They’re considered delinquents by proper Nihonjin
society, but not yet viewed as a threat to Nippon’s cultural stability.
Psi Order: One of eight original and seven surviving organizations founded by one of the
psionic Proxies. Each psi order controls one of the Prometheus Chambers and roughly half of the
members of each psi order's members possess the psionic Aptitude provided by that chamber.
Psiad: Rumored psions who gained their powers without the use of a Prometheus Chamber.
Their existence is a popular but unproven urban legend.
Psion: A latent psychic whose powers have been activated using one of the Prometheus
Chambers.
Psiware: Slang term for noetically active bioware.
Psychokinesis: One of the eight psionic Aptitudes. It allows the psion to move objects and create
fire and force fields. Slang: Psychs, TKs.
Qin: The Mandarin character for "elegant" or "pleasingly artificial." Also a Cantonese term for
the "painted" class of Chinese opera characters. Name given to the first alien race humans
contacted.
Qinri: Mandarin for "sun of the Qin."
Qinshui: Mandarin for "ocean of the Qin"; designation for the Qin homeworld.
Quantakinesis: The rarest of the eight psionic Aptitudes. It allows the psion to alter matter and
energy and manipulate others' noetic and quantum powers. The Quantakinesis Prometheus
Chamber was destroyed and all quantakinetics were supposedly killed. Slang: Chibs (see Chitra
Bhanu).
Quantum Flux: The unique and inexplicable variations to physical laws that permit humans to
erupt into Novas and Nova’s Quantum powers to function. Popularly, but mistakenly referred to
as Corruption.
Quantum Flux Diseases: Serious, but mostly non-contagious diseases that are usually both
progressive and incurable. They are caused by too much exposure to Corruption.
Quantum Flux Zones: Regions containing high levels of Corruption, where soil fertility is low
and most plants and animals that live there exhibit significant genetic damage. Creatures that live
there for too long often develop Quantum Flux illnesses.

8
Quarantine, the: Japan’s "Closed-Door Policy," 2053–2105, when no outsider could visit the
Japanese mainland.
Rock, the: Earth; orbital-station slang.
SI: Short for satisfactory intelligence. This is the term used for the standard comm & network
software that is capable of speaking and understanding colloquial speech. SIs are not conscious
or intelligent, but many people react to them like they are.
Subquantum Field: The subtle but pervasive psionic energies that permeate the entire universe
and are concentrated in intelligent living beings. Psionic powers operate by affecting the
subquantum field. Also called the implicate order.
Superior: The Nihonjin government is rumored to create enhanced individuals who lack noetic
powers, but are still exceptionally impressive. These individuals are known as Superiors. In
addition to their innate abilities, Superiors are always believed to possess extensive Nihonjin
cyberware.
Telepathy: One of the eight psionic Aptitudes. It allows the psion to read and control minds and
emotions. Slang: Teep, tel
Teleportation: One of the rarest of the eight psionic Aptitudes. It allows the psion to move
themselves and others instantly from one location to another and to warp space. Slang: Jumpers,
porters.
Terraforming: Manipulating a planetary environment artificially to make it more like Earth.
Tesser: The bio-organic computer that performs calculations for the Leviathan-class jump ships.
Total Allergy Syndrome: A psychogenetic disorder with which the sufferer becomes
oversensitive to such a degree that contact with just about anything can be deadly. Sufferers live
in plastic-bubble environments.
UAN: United African Nations, the prosperous coalition of African nations.
Upeo Wa Macho: Swahili for "the horizon", the psi order based in the UAN, which controls the
Teleportation Prometheus Chamber.
VARG: Short for Vacuum Assault and Reconnaissance Gear. Small VARGS, like the BioVARG
(p. XX) and the MiniVARG (p. XX) are suits of powered armor, but full-sized VARGs are large
devices that straddle the line between powered armor and vehicles. Rules for full-sized VARGS
appear in an upcoming supplement.
Vatican Reforms of 2084: The conciliatory bull that updated the Vatican to the 21st century. It
permits women to join the priesthood, and instructs the clergy to take a more active role in
charity work.
Vitakinesis: One of the eight psionic Aptitudes. It allows the psion to heal and enhance both
themselves and others. Slang: Boosters, docs.
Wanjing: "City of Endurance"; designation for the Chinese colony on Mars.
Yi: Mandarin for "one"; Chinese designation for Alpha Centauri A.
Yuan: The Chinese unit of currency that is now the dominant currency of the world in much the
same way that the US dollar was in the late 20th century.
Yutu Yinchan: "The Rabbit in the Moon"; Chinese section of Olympus.

9
10
Chapter One: History & Background
A time of trouble approaches. We must not reject the hidden when they reveal
themselves nor mistake one twisted branch for the entire tree. It’s also vital that
we fight the masters and not the slaves or the deceived. Only through unity can we
prevail.
— Otha Herzog, 2123
In the first half of the 21st century, the world was transformed and then almost destroyed when a
few humans transformed into powerful superhuman beings who were first called novas and then
Aberrants. The Chinese government forced the Aberrants off Earth with the threat of nuclear
destruction and over the next 40 years, humanity rebuilt and took their first independent steps to
the stars. Then, the Aberrants returned more monstrous than before, but a new type of artificially
enhanced human known as psions arose to protect humanity. In addition to fighting Aberrants,
the psions gave humanity easy access to new worlds in other star systems and produced
advanced biotechnology that is transforming life on Earth. In this new era of amazing wonders
and terrible dangers, humanity has encountered both friendly and hostile alien species and is
beginning to take its place in the galaxy.
Æon Timeline
The following is a brief timeline of the Nova Age, the Crash, and the rise of the psions.
[BEGIN FORMAT: PLEASE FORMAT THE TIMELINE SECTION IN A
DISTINCT FASHION FROM THE REST OF THE TEXT. ALSO, WHEN THERE
IS MORE THAN ONE SEPARATE ENTRY FOR A SINGLE YEAR (THE FIRST
ONE IS IN 2115), PLEASE INDENT THE FIRST LINE OF EACH SEPARATE
ENTRY.]
2020s–2050s – Novas invent hyperfusion and superconducting batteries, giving humanity
unlimited cheap energy, reverse global climate change, and cause much of the Sahara Desert to
bloom. During the height of the Nova Age, novas also built research bases on several asteroids
and planets within the solar system and explored the stars. Novas led an exploration team to
Khantze Lu Ge in 2030 and founded several other extrasolar colonies. In addition, several groups
of humans paid space–travelling novas to help them establish colonies on habitable extrasolar
planets. A few of these colonies were founded in secret and records of most others were lost
during the OpNet Crash.
2053 – Japan closes its borders and changes its name to match the one it uses internally —
Nippon. Until 2105, no outsiders are allowed to step onto Nihonjin soil, and all contact with the
outside world comes through the large offshore floating settlement of Makaro–Shima.
2054 – While attempting to redirect a hurricane, water-controlling nova Felice Taylor
accidentally creates a series of megatsunamis that sweep across the entire width of Florida,
killing millions and transforming the state into a series of islands. Taylor appears to have died
attempting to prevent the disaster.
2056 – A group of Aberrants calling themselves the Space Brigade take over the Olympus lunar
base, controlling it and cutting it off from Earth until the end of the Aberrant War.
2056 – After a decade of increasing nova violence and destruction, the United Nations condemns
nova violence and urges member governments to create an international registry of novas. By
this time, most people regard novas as inhuman threats and deadly monsters rather than as
wondrously gifted humans.
2056–2067 – This era is later known as the Aberrant War. Aberrants attack, and in many cases
conquer or destroy large cities on other regions across the globe.
2061 – Aberrant Calvert Wycoff explodes in Hastings Nebraska, in a huge plasma explosion that
obliterates anything within 200 kilometers, and seriously damages soil fertility for more than
1,000 kilometers.
2062 – Facing famine, the United States invades Canada and Mexico to acquire their farmland,
beginning the formation of the FSA.
2066-67 – The Possession Crisis – The Aberrant Mungu “Backlash” Kuwasha uses his powers to
take control of networked devices all across the world in an attempt to create a society of perfect
machines. When humans thwart his efforts, Backlash crashes the OpNet and destroys the
majority of its servers. Although most data can be salvaged, some is lost and fully restoring the
network takes almost five years.
2067 – China takes control of all of the orbital nuclear weapons platforms and delivers the “Earth
Strike Ultimatum” where it threatened to destroy Earth unless all Aberrants immediately depart.
All remaining Aberrants leave Earth, ending the Aberrant War. Then, China gives up control of
the Earth’s fate and humanity begins to rebuild. The Inhuman Technology Protocols pass the UN
with strong support by the Æon Trinity. Many Nova Age technologies are banned or heavily
restricted. Project ReWrite begins deleting or restricting information about these technologies.
2067–2075 –The Crash, the world slowly begins to recover, but the devastation of the Aberrant
War leaves most nations in chaos and the world economy in a shambles. The Urban Schism
Begins.
2070-2086 – Computer enhancement and other mind-computer interfaces become increasingly
common as people seek to escape from memories of the Aberrant War and the difficulties of
rebuilding.
2086 – After several serious incidents, the UN passes the Shanghai Accords. This treaty bans
computer enhancement and other technology allows electronic access to thoughts and memories
except under special license. The Shanghai Accords also prohibits all but the most carefully
controlled and monitored uses of AS (artificial sentience). This ruling has no effect on Nippon,
but elsewhere, public opinion turns against cyberware and hardtech in general.
2090–2103 – With completion of the Mount Kenya Space Elevator in 2090, space travel
becomes even cheaper and easier than before. Humanity begins a major push outward into the
solar system. The Sudamerican space elevator is completed in 2102.
2104 – Most small Corrupted Zones suddenly vanish, both Wycoff’s Blight and the Venezuelan
Plaguelands shrink, and the Plaguelands become considerably less dangerous.
2105 – Aberrants destroy the asteroid mining station on Vesta and other asteroid stations.
Nippon ends the Quarantine and opens its borders.
2106 – Aberrants attack Sydney Australia. Video transmissions from Vesta and Sydney reveal
that these Aberrants were far less human-looking than most of those who left after the Chinese
Ultimatum, and seem to care about nothing except destruction and murder. In Sydney, a force of
almost 500 psions defeats the Aberrants. These psions then announce their presence to the world.
2108 – First contact with the alien Qin by a Chinese expedition.
2109 – The Qin establish embassy on Luna.
2111 – The other psion proxies declare Chitra Bhanu to have been corrupted by Aberrants. Most
quantakinetics are killed in the ensuing battle. Dr. S.K. Bhurano and her closest associates
seemingly destroy themselves in a mysterious blast.
2115 – First contact with the alien Chromatics, when they attack Karroo Station.
Upeo wa Macho explorers contact the human-nova colony of Eden.
2116 – Upeo wa Macho mysteriously vanishes, cutting humanity off from the stars.
2118 – Oceania becomes an independent nation that is recognized by the UN.
2119 – An Aberrant attack on the Mazat research station orbiting Luna destroys one of the
Leviathan jump ship prototypes, setting the jump ship project back by many months.
2120 – The Esperanza space station crash near Paris, devastating France.
2121 – Telepathic messages from the Khantze Lu Ge colony around Alpha Centauri report that
Aberrants have attacked and overrun almost half the planet.
2122 – The first Leviathan jump ships are completed, humanity returns to the stars.
First contact with the Coalition Ark ends in the damaged jump ship fleeing from the
Coalition.
Chromatics attack Earth, and are discovered to be using captured teleporters to transport
their ships.
Upeo wa Macho returns from the stars.
Teleporters locate and observe the war-torn Nova Age human colony of Marfisa.
2123 – Present day
[END SPECIAL FORMAT]

The Nova Age

The 30 years from the 2020s to the 2050s was an era of wonder and unbounded optimism.
Inhumanly brilliant novas created new energy sources like hyperfusion reactors and inexpensive
room temperature superconducting batteries. These superhumans used their powers and the new
technologies they invented to abolish hunger, reverse global climate change, make desert bloom
and banish famine. Novas also invented technologies that provided cheap energy and continuous
access to the OpNet to the vast majority of humanity. Novas and the technologies they created
also helped humanity build a colony on Mars, greatly expand humanity’s lunar colony, and travel
to the stars.
Technology advanced in leaps and bounds as novas worked with humans to cure cancer and
diabetes, repair damaged or severed spines, and allow humans and novas to connect their minds
to computers in ways that allowed them to share thoughts and navigate the OpNet with their
minds. Eventually, nova genetic engineers soon went far beyond healing and began altering
humans, creating a new species of humans adapted for life in the oceans. A team of novas even
began attempting to terraform Mars.
The Aberrant War
The nova era was one of wonders, but also terrors. While many novas helped humanity save
Earth from climactic disaster, enhance themselves, and travel to the stars, others sought to rule
nations, slay their enemies or use their new-found powers to bend people to their will. Some
novas who sought to advance science cared little if human experimental subjects died and others
performed reckless experiments that occasionally failed catastrophically.
For three decades, peaceful and productive novas greatly outnumbered violent and destructive
ones, but nova mercenaries, terrorists and criminals posed a serious threat that was initially
handled by other novas. However, in 2049 a lengthy battle between a nova anti-terrorism unit
and a group of nova criminals killed more than four thousand residents of Sao Paulo Brazil,
when the fight destroyed several large apartment complexes. In 2054, Felice Taylor, a water-
controlling nova, destroyed southern Florida with a series of megatsunamis, when her attempt to
redirect a hurricane disastrously backfired. This event killed more than seven million people,
setting off a wave of anti-nova sentiment.
Tensions between humans and novas continued to escalate. In 2053, Japan expelled all novas and
cut off all contact with the outside world. Japan remained closed until 2105. Until that time, the
only contact it had with the outside world was via the floating city of Makaro-Shima, where
outsiders were only allowed to visit for a few weeks.
During the first three decades of the Nova Era, the Lunar colony, known as Olympus grew from
a dozen people to more than 50,000, but in 2056, a group of novas known as the Space Brigade
took control of the Lunar Colony. Their threats of killing everyone in the colony and the ease
with which they destroyed spacecraft sent to free the colonists forced the world to watch as this
group of renegade novas turned humanity’s first off-world colony into a brutally authoritarian
dictatorship.
In response to novas taking control of Olympus, the United Nations denounced nova violence
and called for the creation of a global registry of novas, who most people now called Aberrants.
Many Aberrants saw this message as a declaration of war between humans and Aberrants and
increased their attacks on humans. A growing number of Aberrants considered humanity to be
either a threat or worthless beings wasting valuable resources.
In 2061, Calvert Wycoff, a nova who was also an apocalyptic fundamentalist, destroyed himself
in a vast explosion when officials attempted to free his disciples from his thrall. His explosion
instantly killed more than half a million people and ruined the fertility of most US farmland. At
this point, US policy went from attempting to register and contain Aberrants to killing all
Aberrants on sight. US troops killed more than a dozen low-power Aberrants and all but the most
powerful Aberrants left the US. By 2062, the world was engulfed in war. Humans battled
Aberrants while rival groups of Aberrants fought one another.

An Introduction to Quantum Flux

By Jenisha Ngomo
From: Aberrants: The Twisted Legacy
One of the most enduring remains of the Aberrant War are the zones of Quantum
Flux, popularly known as Corrupted zones or less commonly tainted land. The
largest is Wycoff’s Blight, which covers much of the central portion of North
America. The latest research indicates that the uncontrolled release of dangerous
quantum energies damaged the land’s subquantum field. The soil and rocks in
these areas appear chemically identical to similar soil and rocks, but most psions
and sensitive noetic equipment can tell that these materials are in some ill-defined
manner damaged and warped. As a result, prolonged exposure to these materials
is harmful to all life.
 All life forms from soil bacteria to humans are significantly less fertile in zones of
Quantum Flux, and birth defects and other mutations are more than an order of
magnitude more common. In adult organisms, sterility, cancers and Corruption
diseases increase to a similar degree. Tests reveal that the effects extend down at
least one kilometer below the surface. Soil and rock removed from a Corrupted
zone return to normal within two years. Living things removed from Corrupted
zones test positive for exposure to Quantum Flux for at least a year. Side effects
like Corruption diseases or genetic damage are usually permanent.

The OpNet Crash

By 2065, the war between humans and Aberrants was nearly continuous, with new attacks
occurring several times a week. Aberrants ruled the island of Bahrain, turning the human
residents into slaves, and the Aberrant Dragon’s Eye forcibly uploaded most of the inhabitants of
Kuala Lumpur, transferring their edited minds into her army of mechanical warriors.
By 2066, household robots were common, and most large devices, from cars to refrigerators
were connected to the OpNet. That year, the Aberrant Mungu “Backlash” Kuwasha initiated
what became known as The Possessions Crisis, taking control of more than 30 million household
robots, cars and other devices. Backlash announced that he was seeking to create a perfect
society of machines living independently from humanity and used many of these devices to kill
their owners.
In this same era, almost 10 million people were using implanted neural interfaces. These devices
allowed users to control electronics and navigate the OpNet by thought. These devices also
allowed people to share memories with other neural interface users, creating a form of electronic
telepathy that many predicted would transform humanity. When the authorities attempted to end
Backlash’s control of networked devices, Backlash responded by inducing seizures and
hallucinations in more than two million neural interface users. Battlefield EMP weapons ended
Backlash’s reign of terror, but at that point he retaliated by crashing the entire OpNet.
The devastation of the last few years of the Aberrant War killed millions, but the OpNet Crash
affected everyone on the planet. In an instant, the entire OpNet ceased to function, leaving many
people without easy access to data and communications for the first time in their lives. In a few
cities and towns, phone service was sufficiently separate that it continued to function, but in the
rest of the world, all electronic communication failed. The result was total chaos. Automated
shipments of food, raw materials and manufactured goods ceased. In nations that had adopted
mandatory networking for automobiles, even cars and buses stopped working.
Between the riots and the food shortages, estimates place the total death toll from accidents,
violence, disease, and in some cases starvation directly caused by the OpNet Crash at more than
twelve million people. Fortunately, Backlash had only destroyed the optical servers that
controlled traffic on the OpNet. The broadcast towers and fiber optic cables that formed the
OpNet’s physical infrastructure remained intact. Many cities were able to restore their own
portion of the OpNet within three months, and almost half of the total OpNet was restored within
two years.
The Chinese Ultimatum and the Exodus
During the Nova Age, China became one of the major space powers, launching crewed
spacecraft to Mars, sending a starship containing colonists in suspended animation to Alpha
Centauri, and building a network of space stations around the Earth. Hours after Backlash took
down the OpNet, China announced that several hundred of these spacecraft and space stations
were armed with fusion missiles that were now aimed at Earth. One of these stations launched
six nuclear missiles at Aberrant-controlled Bahrain, destroying the island. Next, the Chinese
government announced that if all Aberrant attacks did not immediately cease, these stations
would launch all of their missiles at Earth. Chinese officials also revealed that this attack would
happen automatically unless periodic signals were sent to each of the spacecraft and space
stations. The Chinese government offered Aberrants two options, surrender and face human
justice or move to Luna, where China promised they could live independently. The Aberrants
spurned these options and instead departed from the solar system en masse. Minutes after the rest
of the Aberrants had departed, Aberrant leader Divis Mal appeared in the UN General Assembly
chamber, vaporized the Secretary General, announced, “Your legacy is our future”, and vanished
along with all of the rest of his kind. Humanity encountered no trace of Aberrants for the next 38
years.

Radio Communication between The Light of Wisdom Lin Huan and Orbital
Commander Han Feng Date: 9:7:2067
• Han (16:51:09): Madame Premier, our latest orbital scan indicates that the
Aberrants have all departed. We have won. I give thanks that your wise policy
succeeded and saved our world.
• Light of Wisdom (16:52:31): Congratulations commander. Issue the order to
stand down and prepare to return to Earth. In three days, there will be a
celebration to honor this day, and I desire your presence.
• Han (16:53:23): Madame Premier, the world is in chaos. Sensors and radio
traffic indicates that there are at least seven on-going wars at the moment. Might I
humbly suggest that we could do much good if we used our present might to help
bring the rest of the planet to its senses. Without your wise leadership, backed by
the power of our orbital armada, it could be many decades before the world is
again at peace. With one word, you could end this madness.
• Light of Wisdom (16:55:40): Stand down, my brave commander. I have given
this matter much thought — I mourn for much of the world, but for now China is
safe. How long would that safety continue if we attempt to rule the world? The
Aberrants have just departed; people will be looking for a new enemy to blame
for their many troubles. If I announce that China is their new liege, we become
that enemy. We could destroy any town, village, or city, or even the entire world.
However, what shall we do about suicide bombers or military leaders with
Aberrant-made weapons?
If we had not acted as we did, the world would have perished. That danger is
over, and China’s safety is dearer to me than even the lives of my own children.
We shall not risk that safety when there are other options. The barbarians shall
fight and die, and eventually they shall find peace. Until then, we shall be safe and
prosperous.
• Han (16:56:58): Yes, Madame Premier.

The Aberrants’ departure left China in control of the Earth, a power they swiftly relinquished
when the Chinese Premier ordered the satellites and space stations to all stand down. A year after
their Ultimatum, China began decommissioning or disarming the vast majority of these satellites
and space stations. After the Aberrant Exodus, humanity began to rebuild.

The Post-Exodus World

After the Chinese Ultimatum, the world changed. The era of miracles and terrors was over. This
new world had much in common with the previous era, but there were many changes. The world
now struggled with two lasting legacies of the Aberrants, Corrupted zones and dangerous
technologies created by Aberrants.
Project ReWrite
The results of the OpNet Crash were twofold. As they were restoring the OpNet, The Æon
Trinity, worked with the United Nations to delete information about the construction of the most
advanced and least understood pieces of technology developed by Aberrants. The effort was
known as Project ReWrite and was openly supported by all of the world’s most powerful nations.
Possession of unregistered Aberrant technology or details of their creation became a serious
crime under the UN Inhuman Technologies Treaty. In addition, everyone wished to make certain
that a disaster of the scale of the Crash could never happen again. The result was a significant
expansion of the OpNet. Previously, the wired and the wireless OpNet were both part of the
same integrated system, and crashing one crashed both. After the OpNet was rebuilt, the wireless
and wired OpNet were each capable of operating fully independently. In addition, most of the
nations of the world build in multiple redundancies in their portions of the OpNet.
The New OpNet
The rebuilt OpNet functioned much like the previous one, but in 2086, after the dangers of neural
interfaces were made horrible clear, the United Nations made them illegal. Since that time, the
only people who used neural interfaces were the very wealthy, especially daring criminals and a
few carefully monitored spies and special agents. Even in 2123, the vast majority of users access
the OpNet via display glasses or contacts, or in some cases implants that tie into sensory nerves.
The dreams of humanity becoming a mentally connected supermind died. However, the
appearance of the psions rekindled some of these dreams, using psionic power rather than
advanced technology.
The wireless OpNet access is now available anywhere on Earth. The only exceptions are
specially shielded buildings and other secure locations, deep caverns, and some older tunnels and
basements. Although many nations monitor their citizen’s OpNet traffic, few try to restrict it,
because almost everyone now understands that doing so is impossible, and attempting to do so
would result in widespread civil unrest. For almost everyone on Earth, OpNet access is as much
of a basic human right as access to medical care or working plumbing.
Augmented reality is an integral part of OpNet use. Almost everyone uses augmented reality to
access the wealth of data all around them. Publicly accessible information is instantly and easily
available, and most children now grow up with their agents answering their questions and
keeping them safe. In addition to wireless access, the OpNet also supports a wealth of wireless
monitoring. For most residents of cities in wealthy nations like China, Brazil, or the UAN, street
crime is largely a thing of the past, as is police brutality. Only spies and organized crime can
effectively avoid this surveillance. However, in less wealthy nations like the FSA, Russia or the
Ukraine, and in rural regions or disaster areas, surveillance is erratic or nonexistent and old
patterns of violence and brutality remain.
When humanity left Earth, they took the OpNet with them. Wireless broadcast towers and
satellites exist on Luna, Mars, and every settled extrasolar colony. However, away from Earth,
the OpNet can be noticeably less useful. One of the biggest surprises that many immigrants to
Mars or of the extrasolar colonies face is that that some information is simply unknown.
Residents of extrasolar colonies are often surprised when they examine a strange creature while
wearing their OpNet contacts and receive the response “This life-form is not listed in any known
database.”

Calling A Blank
After the Aberrant War, ubiquitous surveillance became the norm. The details of
who could access this surveillance and how it could legally be used differed from
one nation to the next, but everyone expected to be watched in any public space in
any urban area on the planet, and also in many rural areas. However, some people
are sufficient wealthy and powerful that they can declare a location temporarily
exempt from all surveillance, and can even prevent any minicomps or other
devices connected to the OpNet from recording anything in this location during
this time.
Doing this is referred to as “calling a blank” and can only be done for short
periods of time, typically no more than a few hours, and in an area no larger than
a city block. However, in this area, nothing will be recorded and cameras outside
this area are prohibited from recording anything they can see inside this area,
instead recording neutral grey boxes that delineate the borders of the “blank
space”. Calling a blank is especially difficult in the UAN and Australia, and is
most commonly used by wealthy and powerful full citizens in the FSA and by
government officials and their close allies in China.

Recovery & The Urban Schism

By 2075, the world had recovered from the worst of the Crash. Humanity had also resumed
regular contact with the colonies on both Luna and Mars and radio signals indicated that the
colony on Khantze Lu Ge was thriving. Earth began moving forward, and at the same time many
people began moving outward. Until the Crash, humanity had been moving into cities for several
centuries. In the early 21st century, more than half of humanity lived in cities, and by the time of
the Chinese Ultimatum, this number had increased to almost 80%. However, a combination of
economic troubles, the fact that cities had been the primary targets during the Aberrant War and
the easy availability of technologies like makers, high efficiency solar cells and portable
hyperfusion reactors, caused this movement into cities to reverse. With sufficient raw materials,
a hyperfusion reactor and a maker, a community of several dozen people could supply 90% of its
needs, including food, if they were willing to eat maker produced protein paste.
Between 2075 and 2105, millions of people moved to remote locations and set up small towns,
outposts, and compounds housing between one and several hundred people. Some sought to
isolate themselves from a world they found to be corrupt and spiritually impure. However, most
people sought the freedom to live and express themselves as they wished and were happy to
trade with anyone who was willing to respect them and their way of life. The majority of the
Urban Schism occurred in North and South America, Siberia and Australia. Western Europe,
China, India, and Southeast Asia were all far too populous to offer the large areas of wild land
necessary for people set up hundreds of small settlements.
Despite not being worldwide, the Urban Schism caused the percentage of the population living in
cities to decline by almost 10%. Most of these small settlements are located in remote regions,
including the Andes and the Rockies, as well as the Amazon Jungle, Siberia, the Australian
Outback and the edges of Wycoff’s Blight. In the FSA, many of these settlers fled the
government’s repression and brutality, moving to regions too sparsely populated for the FSA to
bother patrolling. However, even in liberal democracies like Australia and Brazil some people
wished to live in isolated, largely self-sufficient communities. Almost all of these communities
are connected by the OpNet. Residents regularly share maker templates for various devices, as
well as warnings about bandits and similar sorts of news.
While millions moved from cities to small communities in wilderness areas, other urbanites
retreated into arcologies. Immediately after the Crash, widespread violence, starvation, and
banditry made arcologies popular. In these new arcologies, people, manufacturing facilities,
parks and vertical farms all existed inside a large access-controlled building complex. By the mid
2080s, the world had recovered sufficiently for most nations to cease worrying about riots,
hunger, or banditry, but many people continued to crave the convenience of living in an arcology
and so the construction of new arcologies continued.
In between the two extremes of small self-sufficient rural compounds and vast largely self-
sufficient arcologies are traditional cities. They survived the Crash, but now 30% of people live
in rural areas, 20% of people live in arcologies, and only half of Earth’s population still live in
traditional cities. Of course, despite claims by advocates of isolated communities or arcologies,
cities are not dying or even continuing to shrink. Instead, all three lifestyles are thriving, with
roughly equal number of people moving to and leaving each type of location. However, since the
return of the Aberrants, the number of people moving into rural areas is slightly down, since
many people worry about the risks of being isolated from emergency services in the event of an
Aberrant attack.

Work in 2123
Almost all office work, like almost all factory work is automated, with SI
(Satisfactory Intelligence, see p. XX) software and robots taking the place of
human workers. In 2123, 25 hours a week is normal for full time work, and the
majority of jobs still done by humans involve overseeing automation, working
outdoors in partially automated jobs like construction, and various scientific,
technical, and creative pursuits. Many humans also perform high-end service
work, where human cooks, waiters, tailors and butlers provide prestige service to
the wealthy. However, more than a third of all humans on Earth lack paid
employment. As a result, all but the poorest and most desperate nations provide
some form of guaranteed income to citizens who are not able to find jobs in this
largely automated world. These payments range from a meager pittance paid for
with mindless labor in the FSA or Russia to a modest income in more egalitarian
nations like Australia, China, Sudamerica, or the UAN. In these nations, almost
all of the unemployed have passionate hobbies, which range from intense VR or
augmented reality games, to volunteer work, to many forms of creative
expression.
Crime & Violence
Except for France and Belgium, which are now violent disaster areas, the majority of the world
has a rate of crime and overall violence similar to the developed world shortly before the dawn
of the Nova Age. However, the nature of this crime and violence has changed. The presence of
ubiquitous surveillance means that most petty criminals and people who commit casual violence
are swiftly apprehended, at least in cities and arcologies that have well maintained surveillance
equipment.
In Beijing, Sydney, Sao Paulo, Mumbai, Lagos, and many similar cities and arcologies, most
crime that isn’t committed by minors or people who are intoxicated is organized crime.
Sophisticated criminal gangs armed with the latest anti-surveillance measures steal cars and
break into houses and shops. Most of these thefts and burglaries are simply to acquire valuable
goods that can be resold, but criminal gangs can also be paid to steal specific objects, ranging
from art to data files containing valuable research. The most violent and brutal gangs and
syndicates have standing rates to threaten, beat up, or kill a target. Except for immediate and
unplanned crimes of passion, almost all murders in cities and arcologies with high quality
surveillance are contract killings. More than a few jealous spouses, business rivals and people
with grudges are willing to pay large amounts of money to have the object of their enmity killed
in a manner that’s almost impossible to trace back to them.
In poorer nations like Turkey or Russia or almost all of the less prosperous regions of the FSA,
aging infrastructure, civil unrest, and poverty combine to mean that many security cameras have
broken due to age and neglect, while others are frequently stolen or destroyed, leaving large
regions with little or no effective surveillance. The portions of poorer cities with the least
surveillance are also the most crime ridden.
Cities with the most surveillance usually respond swiftly and effectively to crime. If someone
trips an alarm at a high security Orgotek lab or a vault in Beijing, drones are launched
immediately, and up to a dozen police or guards often arrive in less than two minutes. However,
police response to breaking into a jewelry store in a town in Iowa or the offices of a small
corporation in Rio will be both slower and less extensive. Typically, the local police dispatch
several officers who send up one or two observation drones. Usually the officers take between
five and 20 minutes to arrive, with the drones arriving slightly earlier. However, even this sort of
response, combined with other officers & advanced software watching the criminals’ movements
on local surveillance cameras allows the police to easily catch anyone who isn’t a skilled
professional or a psion.
Although most psions work for one of the psi orders or the Æon Trinity, and the vast majority of
the rest are law-abiding citizens, several dozen psions are known criminals and there are a fair
number of other crimes where psion involvement is suspected. Of course, sometimes police
suspect psions helped commit a crime if they don’t know how a crime was committed.
Unconfirmed rumors of psiads who developed psi powers without the use of a Prometheus
Chamber have caused a few overly suspicious or imaginative police officers to assume psi
powers were used in any remotely mysterious crime.

The Return of the Aberrants and Rise of the Psions

Researchers across the world were surprised in 2104, when several Corrupted zones vanished
overnight, and most of the larger Corrupted zones, including Wycoff’s Blight shrink by as much
as third. No one could explain this phenomena. Then in 2105, a group of Aberrants appeared in
the solar system and destroyed a mining station on the asteroid Vesta. Less than a year later,
these Aberrants attacked the spaceport in Sydney Australia. Video transmissions from Vesta and
Sydney revealed that these Aberrants were far less human looking than most of those who left
after the Chinese Ultimatum. They also seemed to have no motive except killing as many
humans as possible.
Within minutes of their attack on Sydney, all of the attacking Aberrants were driven off by
several hundred super-powered beings who flew, teleported, created laser beams and bolts of
fire, and used other impressive powers to defeat the Aberrants. Immediately after this attack, the
leaders of these new super-powered individuals appeared on the OpNet to answer questions and
reassure humanity. Their primary spokesperson was Alex Cassel, the head of Orgotek, a large
and prosperous corporation in the FSA that specialized in high-end consumer electronics.
Cassel said that he had worked with renowned physician Dr. Matthieu Zweidler and bio-
physicist Dr. S.K. Bhurano to find ways of enhancing human potential in a safe and controlled
fashion. He mentioned that the recent shrinking of several Corrupted zones was a result of their
early research. He went on to say that Otha Herzog, a mystic and philosopher who claimed to
occasionally have visions of important upcoming events contacted him and revealed that the
Aberrants were returning and that Alex Cassel’s research was essential to safeguarding
humanity.
Herzog also identified four other people who needed to be part of this effort — astronaut Bolade
Atwan, UN General Solveig Larssen, environmental activist Giuseppe del Fuego, and Chinese
official Rebecca Bue Li. Bhurano, Cassel and Zweidler then created eight miracles of
biotechnology that they called the Prometheus Chambers. Each chamber was designed to
develop and enhance a particular noetic power, and each one was specifically created to work
with one of the eight people Alex Cassel had assembled. All eight individuals used their
Prometheus Chamber and gained impressive powers. Cassel referred to himself and the other
seven individuals who first used the Prometheus Chambers as proxies, because they each drew
their powers from the wondrous subquantum realm.

The Prometheus Effect: An Analytical Presentation

— Excerpt: The third Noetic Conference, Olympus, 6.10.2111
The Prometheus Effect, labeled such by the Æsculapian Proxy Dr. Matthieu
Zweidler, remains a mystery even to most psions. The actual mechanics of the
process involve the latent psion imbibing biofluid, then being immersed in a gel-
filled psiware chamber. The subject falls into a fugue state while her body is
infused with nano-organisms. A psion monitors the subject through a biolink and
follows a very precise process to trigger the latent to a full psion. In the orders’
early days, proxies were present for each latent’s awakening. Most have passed on
the responsibility to a few key underlings. From what we are told, only Giuseppe
del Fuego, the Norça Proxy, still monitors his psions’ transformations personally.
New psions describe their emergence from the fugue state, as their bodies rise
dripping from the chambers, as being reborn. Powers are typically uncontrollable
but weak for the first few days after being “triggered.” Control and strength derive
from familiarity with and training in the psions’ new abilities.

All eight efforts at enhancement were a resounding success, and for the next year, each of these
eight people used genetic tests developed by Cassel and Bhurano to identify other latent psions
who could be enhanced in one of the Prometheus Chambers. Working together, the proxies
assembled a force of more than 500 psions. Alex Cassel’s natural charisma, combined with the
fact that the psions had saved Sydney from the Aberrants helped shape public opinion so that
shock and suspicion soon became awe and gratitude.
A few months after revealing the existence of the psions, Cassel’s company Orgotek began
releasing the first noetic bioware. These devices included everything from living vehicles and
weapons, to devices that enhanced human capabilities or gave psions additional powers. While
ordinary humans, called neutrals by psions, could not use the most advanced biotech, ordinary
biotech revolutionized fields from construction to medicine.
In 17 the years since 2106, psions have defended the solar system against Aberrant attacks, taken
humanity to the stars, and made contact with alien species. Almost all nations openly embraced
the psions and the noetic biotech that Cassel and the other proxies produced. The only exception
was Nippon. Immediately after the Aberrant attack on Vesta, Nippon ended its 52-year
Quarantine. However, less than two months after the Battle of Sydney, the Nihonjin government
enacted strict laws prohibiting all noetic biotechnology from entering Nippon and carefully
regulating all visits by psions. This decision trigged pro-psi protests from groups in Nippon that
came to be known as Psi Nippon. In an effort to satisfy protestors, the Nihonjin government
allowed the floating city of Makaro-Shima to become independent and allowed Psi Nippon
supporters to freely immigrate there.

The Age of the Psions

Psions gave humanity the stars, as well as their first contacts with alien species. However, not all
of these contacts were peaceful. The 17 years since the psions revealed themselves to the public
have been a time of troubles both on Earth and out among the stars.
The Qin Contact
In 2108, a Chinese spacecraft in a previously unvisited star system received alien radio signals.
Upon locating their source, the ship’s teleporter jumped the ship into orbit above a world that
they called Qinshui. Contact with the Qin proved to be exceedingly easy, since the Qin were both
peaceful and naturally telepathic. In 2109, a human embassy was established on Qinshui, and a
Qin embassy was established on Luna. Although the Qin lacked faster than light travel, they
possessed exceptionally advanced biotechnology. They are unwilling to trade the secrets of
manufacturing this biotechnology, but were happy to provide humanity with a wide range of
biotech creations. Their living airships are now used by both Brazil and the UAN, and their
terraforming microbes have greatly speeded up the process of terraforming Mars. Current
estimates indicate Mars will become fully habitable in 75 years, rather than the 1,100 years
predicted for the previous terraforming process. Also, unlike human biotechnology, most Qin
biotechnology consists of organisms capable of independent feeding and reproduction.
Qinshui is a miracle of biotechnology, and researchers believe that the Qin has heavily modified
their entire ecosystem. The Qin are not remotely humanoid and only appear in public wearing
humanoid biotech suits. After Upeo wa Macho vanished in early 2116, the Qin on Luna worked
with Orgotek and the Æon Trinity to create the Leviathan jump ships
The Chitra Bhanu Purge
In 2110, OpNet rumors claimed that Dr. S.K. Bhurano and the entire quantakinetic order, Chitra
Bhanu, had been working with Aberrants, rather than merely researching cures for Aberrant
caused Corruption diseases. Further allegations surfaced in 2111. When the other proxies asked
to inspect the headquarters of Chitra Bhanu, Dr. Bhurano called the other quantakinetics to her
headquarters, and a tense inspection soon became a pitched battle that ended with most
quantakinetics being killed. Dr. Bhurano and her closest associates in the psi order all perished in
a powerful energetic event that was either suicide or a botched attack. Since that time, there have
been only seven psi orders, and humanity now must consider that Aberrants are even able to
corrupt psions.
Chromatics Attack Karroo Station
Humanity’s second contact with aliens went far less well than the first. In 2115, unknown aliens
piloting biotech spacecraft attacked asteroid miners at Karroo Station in the Crab Nebula. A few
days later, the aliens began direct attacks on the space station itself. These attackers were driven
off, and the defenders were able to recover several badly damaged Chromatic fighters as well as
the bodies of almost half a dozen dead Chromatics. The Chromatics were discovered to be semi-
reptilian aliens with powerful Photokinesis and Thermokinesis and more limited abilities in the
other Electrokinesis & Psychokinesis Modes. Even during their voluntary exile from Earth,
members of Upeo wa Macho helped protect Karroo Station from further attacks and in one
memorable incident destroyed an entire Chromatic fleet.
Upeo Wa Macho Vanishes
In 2116, tensions between Upeo wa Macho and the other psi orders increased. Publically, the
disputes were about the other psi orders asking too much of the teleporters and treating them
more like a valuable commodity than fellow psions. In actuality, the dispute also involved the
recent discovery of the peaceful nova ruled world of Eden by a Upeo wa Macho exploration
team. Bolade Atwan, the Upeo wa Macho proxy, and several of the other proxies feared a repeat
of the events surrounding the Chitra Bhanu purge. As tensions began to rise, the other proxies
summoned Ms Atwan to an emergency meeting. Less than half an hour before the meeting,
Atwan sent word to all teleporters, including those in other psi orders. They all vanished,
departing for the stars. Publically, the other psi orders and the Æon Trinity released no
information about the vanished teleporters.
Suddenly, humanity was cut off from the stars. Telepaths working with clairsentients were able
to keep in telepathic contact with Khantze Lu Ge, but all of the other extrasolar colonies were too
far away for such contact. In early 2121, reports that Aberrants had overrun much of that world
horrified the people of Earth. This news also redoubled efforts by the remaining psi orders and
the Qin trapped in the solar system to build noetic starships that could duplicate the teleporters’
ability to jump to other star systems. The first Leviathan jump ships (see p. XX) departed for the
stars in late 2122. Their first missions contacted all of the colonies cut off from Earth and helped
humanity contact Upeo wa Macho. Since that time, Leviathans have also begun exploring other
worlds, including several discovered by the teleporters during their long absence from Earth.
The Esperanza Crash
Aberrant attacks on Earth continued after the teleporters’ departure. However, most were easily
repelled by psions and national militaries. Although fear of Aberrant attacks remained high, a
growing number of people became convinced that the psions were able to prevent Aberrants
from causing anything more than relatively localized harm. This feeling of complacency ended
with the Esperanza disaster.
In 2120, a large group of powerful Aberrants attacked the recently completed Esperanza space
station. This large space station was funded by the EU in an attempt to revive its weak economy.
The station was built in two parts, one section was a luxury orbital hotel and the other was a
facility for creating expensive industrial radioisotopes and researching new transuranic elements.
The Aberrants didn’t just destroy the Esperanza, a powerful Aberrant, now called Zeus, aimed it
like a missile towards Earth. Because it was in high Earth orbit, its descent took several minutes.
During this time, telepaths and clairsentients worked together to attempt to contact Bolade
Atwan and the other teleporters for immediate aid, but no help arrived. The Esperanza struck
Paris at high velocity, vaporizing a third of the city and spreading the radiation from the station’s
manufacturing facilities across most of France.
The battle against the Aberrant attackers continued on the ground. Before it was over, the
Aberrant Zeus created a large Corrupted zone around the impact zone – Earth’s first new
Corrupted zone since the end of the Aberrant War. The impact caused more than 12 million
casualties, most of them in Paris. Radioactive fragments of the Esperanza fell all across France
and in Belgium.
More than a third of France’s population died within the first week after the Esperanza crash, and
the majority of the survivors soon fled. However, some were stubborn to leave. Others were
refused entry into other nations due to sufficient levels of Corruption or criminal convictions.
Evidence of membership in radical nationalist fronts, Aberrant cults or other unpopular
organizations kept even more people from leaving France.
For the past two and a half years, relief workers have attempted to bring aid and restore order to
this devastated region. While life in much of eastern France is improving, most residents still live
in refugee camps. At the same time, banditry remains common throughout western France and
Belgium, and in some locations Aberrant cults operate openly. Currently, the population of
France is roughly 10 million and falling, and the population of Belgium is predicted to soon fall
below one million.
The Chromatics Attack Earth & The Teleporters Return
The most recent and alarming contact with the Chromatics happened six months ago, when a
Chromatic mothership appeared above the Earth and released several dozen of fighters and
transports that attacked Olympus, several space stations, and a handful of targets on Earth. This
attack was repelled with only minor losses and psions captured several Chromatic prisoners as
well as two fighter craft that had suffered only minor damage. Since this attack, researchers have
established limited communication with these Chromatic prisoners. The researchers learned that
all Chromatic captives hate humanity and believe humans are murderous monsters devoid of
honor or compassion. Also, none of the captives understand how their technology functions or is
created. Studies of the Chromatic spacecraft also revealed them to be based on old human
designs, but with the additions of Chromatic genetic material.
Attackers also discovered that the Chromatic mothership used a restrained and heavily drugged
Upeo wa Macho teleporter as their method of interstellar transport. One of the two teleporters
who rescued from that vessel reported that she was captured by the Chromatics when another
teleporters led her into a trap. Both teleporters also reported that when they were not forcibly
connected to a Chromatic mothership, they and other captive teleporters were heavily drugged
and kept in a facility fitted with a psionic damping field that prevented them from teleporting.
This revelation, combined with the discovery from the Leviathan that visited Karroo station that
a pair of teleporters used an unknown weapon to destroy most of a Chromatic fleet that was
about to attack the station, revitalized public interest in and support for Upeo wa Macho. Within
a week of the Chromatic attack on Earth, Teleportation Proxy Bolade Atwan returned to Earth,
along with many of her teleporters. Ms. Atwan is now convinced that most of the 90 teleporters
who have mysteriously vanished are now Chromatic captives. She is currently working with the
Æon Trinity, the UN, and the other psi orders to locate both these teleporters and the Chromatic
homeworld. Most researchers now believe that someone or something supplied the Chromatics
with spacecraft and captured teleporters.
The Coalition Ark
The most recent contact with an alien species occurred during the last year. In 2122, deep space
probes reported a huge object 12 light years away headed toward our solar system at almost the
speed of light. Fearful that this was part of some new Aberrant attack, a Leviathan jump ship
visited this object later that year. This expedition reported that the object was a huge starship
more than 70 kilometers long that was inhabited by more than a dozen species, including the
humanoid Envoys who seemed in charge of negotiating with visitors.
The first expedition ended in tragedy, when a quarter of the personnel were killed, and the
remainder fled back to Earth. The next expedition arrived even more heavily armed than the first,
and was warmly greeted in several Earth languages. The Envoys explained that the members of
the previous expedition were killed because one of the members accidentally triggered their
warrior caste’s defense protocols, and that the deaths were a terrible mistake. Negotiations went
smoothly until a biokinetic on the contact team realized that the Envoys were manipulating the
emotions of all of the human contact team using exceptionally powerful pheromones. After the
contact team began using filter masks, a Clairsentient survey discovered vats containing young
Envoys with obviously human features that appeared to have been created using the previous
contact team’s genetic material. Further exploration revealed that a distant section of the
Coalition Ark radiated Corruption signatures consistent with at least one moderately powerful
Aberrant. The second contact team then hastily, but peacefully departed. However, their Tesser
drive malfunctioned, leading them to suspect some form of sabotage by the Coalition. Their last
contact with Earth was that the Leviathan was headed away from the Coalition Ark using
conventional drives and that they were asking for rescue.
Chapter Two: Earth & Luna
Look again at that dot. That’s here. That’s home. That’s us… The aggregate of
our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic
doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and
destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love,
every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of
morals, every corrupt politician, every “superstar,” every “supreme leader,”
every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there-on a mote of dust
suspended in a sunbeam.
— Pale Blue Dot by Dr. Carl Sagan
The total human population is roughly eight billion people and almost 99% of them live on
Earth. While humanity now has permanent bases all across the solar system as well as a handful
of growing extrasolar colonies, Earth is humanity’s home and Olympus on Luna houses the vast
majority of people who live off Earth. Because Olympus is so large and well established and
jump rings now permit instantaneous transport between Earth and Luna, many people now
consider Olympus as much as part of Earth as the undersea cities of Oceania.
On both Earth and Luna, most people live in cities or arcologies, but almost a third of Earth’s
population lives in towns, villages or high-tech wilderness compounds. Jump rings, high speed
trains, and various air and space vehicles allow residents to travel anywhere on either world in
less than half a day. Also, the OpNet allows easy two-way communication between anyone
almost anywhere on either world.

Lifestyles Across Earth & Luna

Earth and Luna are unofficially divided into prosperous nation (PNs or “Pins”)
like Australia, China, Nippon, Sudamérica, and the UAN and less prosperous
nations (Leps), like Europe, the FSA, Russia, and the Ukraine. For most citizens,
life in the PNs is remarkably easy. Advanced automation handles the vast
majority of work that humans performed in the 20th and early 21st centuries,
makers create customized good for low prices, and energy is relatively cheap.
Most people have houses or apartments containing robots and automation that
perform almost all of the cleaning and, if desired, most of the cooking and
shopping for necessities. Less than two thirds of the residents of PNs have jobs,
but everyone has access to a moderately generous basic minimum income.
The situation is very different for individuals living in one of the LPs. Average
work hours are longer, especially for the poor. While all of these nations possess
some sort of basic minimum income, it is barely sufficient for survival and in
most, the unemployed must “earn” it by working long hours performing mindless,
and occasionally dangerous labor. Also, most home automation is restricted to
middle class and wealthy residents.

The OpNet is filled with stories of brave pioneers seeking their fortunes among the stars, but the
vast majority of humanity prefers living on Earth. Every year, millions of people travel to
different cities or even different nations on Earth or Luna, seeking to improve their lives or leave
the past behind. Even if offered the chance to do so, only a fraction of them would consider
moving elsewhere in the solar system or to an extrasolar planet.

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Australia
Down Under. The Lucky Country. The Great Southern Land. Oz. Gafaland. Terra Australis
Incognita. Australia has a hundred names, each associated with a culture more distinct and
vibrant than the next. Harnessing and melding this diversity is the nation’s greatest strength, and
the conflicts emerging from that unification are its greatest source of trouble.
History
Geographic isolation and minimal involvement in Nova Age geopolitics spared Australia from
the Aberrant War’s worst ravages. Afterwards, the nation recovered with characteristic aplomb,
which positioned it as a key regional provider of relief and reconstruction aid. Relatively intact
infrastructure, reversal of the previous century’s anti-immigration laws, and reconstruction-
related job growth attracted immigrants from devastated regions around the globe. While many
remained in the coastal cities, thousands of enterprising (or desperate) newcomers struck out to
settle the Outback. The luckiest and most capable prospered, establishing communities that still
flourish. The unlucky and the unprepared met tragic ends.
With their traditional trading partners in shambles, Australian economic strategy shifted toward
self-reliance. Booms in mining, heavy manufacturing, and agriculture began in the 2070s. The
hidden key to the nation’s postwar success, though, was large-scale relocation of another
industry: mass media. With North American and Asian production hubs in ruins and the rise of
FSA government censorship, studios and talent flocked to Australian shores. An entire
generation grew up to images of Australian prosperity and opportunity. Although these
recordings and vids glossed over problems like class inequalities and immigrant slums, the
positive public relations more than offset those inaccuracies.
As the FSA and UK shifted their foreign policies in the war’s wake, a wary Australia distanced
itself from both, asserted more regional leadership, and expanded its arms industry. Grateful aid
recipients sought alliance in the face of a formidable China and a militant FSA. Australia found
itself the unplanned keystone of a regional defense coalition and in 2081 founded the
Australasian Regional Defence Pact (ARDEP). The 2090s brought belated attention to space. A
focus on domestic and regional issues caused Australia to neglect the high frontier and the
country found itself playing catch-up. Rather than build its own space industry from nothing,
Australia invited foreign investment, redeveloping old missile ranges and tracking stations to
support the space renaissance. This strategy’s lynchpin was the audacious Sydney Spaceport,
planned as the world’s first intermodal port for air, sea and space cargo. Opening in 2103 to
international acclaim, SSX rapidly became the South Pacific’s spaceflight hub.
2106’s Aberrant attack shocked a country that had been slouching toward wealthy complacence.
Australia was one of the first nations to recognize the psi orders and to expand government
relations with the Æon Trinity. The unexpected boon of the Legions’ local basing gave ARDEP
member militaries a potent ally against Aberrant incursions.
Australia Today
To describe Australia — well, which Australia?
The global view starts with a wide-angle orbital shot, watching the terminator sweep west as
dawn breaks over the Tasman Sea. Coastal jewel boxes glitter in the sun: studio city Sydney,
Melbourne’s painstakingly preserved vintage charm, the cutting-edge cutthroat think tanks of
Brisbane, Darwin’s exploding melting-pot arcology, Perth’s heavy industrial muscle. Inland, the
trackless outback is home to the underdog Aussie Battler, teeth gleaming, hat cocked rakishly,

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Outback dust coating his boots, devil-may-care gleam in his eye. Carefully packaged images,
cut, mixed, and retouched and then exported, show oiled bodies frolicking in the surf, the slam
and blaze of Legions live-fire exercises, the nightclubs’ age-old mating displays.
The regional perspective spans the South Pacific. New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Melanesia,
Micronesia, and Polynesia. The Austronesian Union’s island nations revolve around Australia.
Mutual security and prosperity flow from this alliance but also draws people away from these
islands. Small businesses and educated citizens are leaving their birthplaces for Australian job
markets and tax incentives. Eager to halt the slide, AU members now seek foreign investors and
widen their economic exclusion zones, ratcheting up tensions with China and Oceania.
Australia is inextricably linked to the sea, a sea full of Australian ships and Australian cities.
Like England before, Australia’s wealth and power have deep maritime roots. Between coastal
communities and offshore arcologies, 90% of Australians live within 50 kilometers of the sea.
Half the nation’s jobs depend on the water. Simple energy efficiency keeps maritime shipping
the most cost-effective means of moving goods across the planet. The world’s largest merchant
fleet flies the Red Ensign.
Down on the streets, the reality more sharply diverges from the vids, most noticeably in the
abundance of Australians who are not blonde-and-bronzed. Less than half of Australians are
Anglos now, even after last century’s American flight and this one’s European diaspora.
Australia is one of the few nations to see steady population growth between the war and today,
largely thanks to immigration. Generations of East and Southeast Asians have stirred that
melting pot. Pacific islanders, too, and not just from the rest of the AU. The western shores are
home to a few Africans, and Sudaméricans similarly call the east home. But there still aren’t
many Aboriginal Australians in the port cities. Their history at newcomers’ hands isn’t a source
of pride.
Sydney is best known to outsiders, particularly the off-world travelers who route through the
spaceport and its jump ring to Olympus. The world knows this city’s tangled expressways,
arching skyline and overflowing harbor from a thousand crime dramas’ establishing shots.
Operatica, The Vault, Off-Port, 910 — these celebrity hangouts are familiar from paparazzi
reports and world premieres. The sprawling industrial sectors and gang turf are vid-familiar, too.
Then there’s SSX, unwitting venue for the psions’ debut, its main concourse still flaunting
defiantly unrepaired scars.
Melbourne clings to the look and feel of prewar Europe, preserving its colonial architecture and
expanding outward rather than building on top of its history. It’s the nation’s cultural heart,
educated and understatedly trendy, birthplace of uniquely Australian sports, performance, and
street art. Old money dwells here, and plays here, too, in world-famous casinos and deliberately
obscure private clubs. Much of that cash flows into the discreet, well-spoken underworld whose
invisible taxes keep this one of the world’s most expensive cities.
Something’s missing from most city streets, though: recent immigrants. The Aberrants’ return
and the Legions’ shield brought new refugees to Australia, seeking perceived safety. Esperanza’s
fall forced the tide higher. Unprepared for the sheer numbers, the urban majority is defensive.
Even long-standing pro-immigration ethnic communities feel unfairly pressured to absorb the
new arrivals. State and local governments “encourage” newcomers to settle in the Outback rather
than assimilating into already-overcrowded coastal cities. Ethnic, cultural, and generational
tensions are ready to boil over. Scarcely a night goes by without civil disorder making headlines.

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The Outback is another Australia in cultural, economic, and geographic senses. It doesn’t quite
live up to the popular image of pristine arid wilderness and breeding ground for hardy Aussies.
Rather, it’s a national icon most urbanites would rather keep at a vidscreen’s safe distance, and
it’s not all undeveloped. Nova Era intervention still keeps huge swaths green, making Australia a
net agricultural exporter. Recent immigrants outnumber native-born Outback residents even as
isolation keeps them unintegrated. The aboriginals aren’t happy about the growing influx of
outsiders.

Outback Enclaves
Modern tech lets you bring your own infrastructure, pick a spot, and tell the world
to root itself. If you’re crazy enough, you can declare sovereignty over that soil.
Congratulations, you now rule your own micronation!
The legal difference between a normal nation and a micronation is lack of
international recognition. Most are taken seriously by no one, including
themselves, though a few nutters wind up in trouble for tax evasion or weapons
violations. Visit enough and you’ll see micronational currency, citizenship papers,
flags, and armies. Currently, we have about ninety. The Outback’s the traditional
location but some are offshore and one’s on a tethered aerostat.
The oldest is Hutt River, 80 square klicks that “seceded” in 1970 over a farm law
dispute. Recent high-profile declarations include North Windjana Gorge (2103,
critically acclaimed wine “exporter”), the Tiwi Littoral Republic (2108,
Aboriginal aquas “at war” with Oceania), the Empire of Buckley (2118, ex-
Legionnaire commune and gun club), and Nouveau Lyon (2122, French refugees
protesting immigration policies).
— Professor Kelly Maitland, Political Dynamics Department, Monash University

International Relations
Australia’s foreign policy centers on economic stability, with its allies’ welfare taking
precedence. It’s not expansionist or bent on exporting its philosophy, although some nations
charge the media corporations with cultural imperialism. In more peaceful times, it would be
content to maintain prosperity and otherwise be left alone.
China is Australia’s biggest rival. Both nations call the western Pacific home and compete for
nearby natural resources. China and the Ministry resent their typecasting as villains or, at best,
morally ambiguous foils in Australian entertainment exports. To the regular protests in the UN,
Australia replies that its studios wouldn’t make such fare if the world didn’t want to watch it.
Still, discourse stays civil and the two nations have extensive trade. Maritime trade and resource
extraction also bring Australian corporations into conflict with Oceanian member-states. Several
major disputes over territorial claims are slowing making their way through the World Court.
Cooling relations have led Oceanian firms to break off contracts and partnerships, harming their
Australian business partners.
Recent administrations have grown complacent with the Legions’ presence and defense cuts
have hollowed out Australia’s land and aerospace forces. However, the Australian Navy remains
among the world’s top “wet” navies due to its border security and commerce protection
responsibilities. It falls short of the FSM’s power projection and China’s sheer numbers, but its
personnel and tech are first-rate. Outside the ARDEP, Nippon is Australia’s closest defense
partner.

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Psions of all Aptitudes are common enough in the Legions’ media coverage that few Modes raise
eyebrows (though the lethal ones do fall under weapon laws). The Legions are Australia’s
unequivocal favorites, but most psi orders have general acceptance. The Ministry has official
recognition but a public cold shoulder thanks to its media image.
Threats and Features of Interest
Australia is a land of opportunity for those willing to take control of their futures. By modern
standards, it’s a safe and secure place — for the most part. Australia’s most pressing social
problem remains immigration. As rapid urban overcrowding strains the infrastructure and local
economy in every port city, class tensions and anti-immigrant violence are boiling over. National
media coverage isn’t helping the citizenry’s political polarization, either. Protests and rallies are
common, though police have been able to break up any mob violence before it gets under way.
Sydney is a vortex of wealth, power, and privilege, which leads to a sensation of consequences
evaded. Due to their rarity and unique gifts, psions are persons of interest to the rich and carefree
even if they aren’t celebrities in their own right. However, most are more like pets than true
equals. A seemingly safe invitation can suck characters into a scandal or cover-up that can leave
them disgraced or blackmailed. Melbourne’s just as bad but the celebrities there are well-heeled
corporate moguls and semi-legal crime bosses from three continents who are always on the
lookout for a new edge on the competition. Job offers are common but flow through so many
cutouts that characters may never know their real employer or how dirty her money is.
A half-century of settlement hasn’t appreciably reduced the size of the Outback. There’s plenty
of space to get lost and the climate and native life are among the planet’s most lethal. Millions of
years of isolated evolution have created native species that make Australia second only to
Sudamérica in untapped biotech potential. In a few places, mutations stemming from Aberrant
Corruption make the wildlife even more dangerous (and, in certain circles, more profitable).
Many Outback communities are off the map and the grid because they don’t want to be bothered.
Most micronations and immigrant enclaves are harmless, but some are festering and predatory
social anomalies. Garden-variety cults and illicit enterprises make enough trouble but the rare
Aberrant-worshippers are far worse. There’s also trouble brewing in the form of ecoterrorism
directed at new settlements. So far, it’s been confined to vandalism and sabotage, but some
immigrants are starting to push back and bloodshed is imminent. Any incident here, away from
urban law enforcement’s ability to rapidly contain it, has the potential escalate into something
that sparks nation-wide riots or worse.
Aberrants have to be stupid or powerful to challenge the Legions on their home turf, but there’s
no shortage of the former and an occasional example of the latter. A few lair in the Outback or
under the Pacific to avoid detection, awaiting unwary travelers. Authorities attribute most
mysterious disappearances to this predation. Overt attacks are rare and well-planned, with targets
chosen for maximum psychological impact. There’s no evidence of Aberrant involvement in
Australia’s social problems but that very lack of evidence makes some analysts nervous.

China
China’s greatest problem is that it has always been big. Too big. Since the beginning of history,
China has struggled with its own enormity and managing the responsibilities of governing such
an expansive nation. It wasn’t until the arrival of a Chinese nova, a preternaturally wise child
with amber eyes, that a solution of sorts was discovered.

5
The nova, nicknamed the Bodhisattva as she would answer to no name, introduced a mass of
seemingly simple legislations. Employees who worked the mandated eight hours a day, for
example, were granted rebates with local groceries within a three-kilometer radius. The
companies who respected the rebates, in turn, were granted discounts with their own suppliers
and so on, so forth.
Though initially rudimentary seeming, the complexity of the interlocking benefits made for an
interesting predicament for those looking to take advantage of the system. Any misstep, no
matter how small, cultivated a domino effect that few were willing to risk. The result was a
child’s world, with a child’s understanding for ethics, superimposed on an autocratic government
with fantastic military power. It seemed ludicrous from without, but it worked well enough to
allow China to remain stable and even to thrive both before and after the Crash. However, no one
truly understands how or why the system works and all attempts to duplicate it elsewhere have
failed.
History
For all of his faults, Chairman Mao Zedong was a revolutionary leader who completely
transfigured the face of China. His rule, while autocratic and deeply flawed, allowed the country
to rapidly become the world’s largest economy and a key figure in international politics. China
grew even more influential in the early decades of the 21st century, as novas began transforming
and then almost destroying the world.
China quickly became a major force in the international space race. After sending its first
astronauts up to Mars, a secondary team, replete with building material and supplies to construct
long-term extraterrestrial settlements soon followed. Eventually, these efforts led to launching
the starships that would later found the colony on Khantze Lu Ge. Unknown to the public, these
projects also included the creation of several hundred orbital nuclear satellites, China’s insurance
against the burgeoning risk of Aberrants.
The decision proved wise. When the Aberrants attacked humanity, more than 500 Chinese
spacecraft aimed their missiles at Earth. An ultimatum was given: the Aberrants would depart or
they would die, along with the entire planet. China was in a position to unleash full-scale nuclear
holocaust, a fact they were happy to demonstrate when Aberrants in Bahrain attempted to stage
an assault.
The Aberrants departed en masse, leaving China to deal with the repercussions of its actions.
Some world leaders praised China’s courage, others were enraged by China’s willingness to
sacrifice the entire world, and the wisest were pleased and surprised that China did not use this
opportunity to conquer the planet. Even today, politicians in the FSA, and to a lesser extent, in
Australia still talk about the Chinese willingness to sacrifice others — the phrase “Chinese
callousness” remains popular in the FSA.
Rebuilding China proved less complicated than managing international politics. During the
restoration process, China incorporated a stunning array of new technologies into its
infrastructure and architectural design. Many remnants of its ancient civilization, houses, public
buildings, and monuments were swept aside. Like the phoenix rising from its own ashes, the
nation emerged glittering and awe-inspiring, cold steel and smooth asphalt as far as the eye could
see.
It was only several years later that the populace realized that China wasn’t quite the utopian
society it appeared to be. A series of seemingly random arrests, coupled with the efforts of
suspicious journalists, revealed that surveillance technology had been deployed everywhere.

6
From immunization shots to billboards, to the roads themselves, every aspect of China was now
carefully monitored, cross-referenced, managed, and metered for maximum happiness.

The Autonomous Regions

The horrors and devastation of the Aberrant War produced profound political
changes in Asia. The nationalist independence movements of the 20th century
crumbled as residents of many small nations realized that only states that could
defend themselves or obtain the services of a powerful defender could be
considered truly safe and free. Many small Asian nations sought China’s the
protection, either from mad Aberrants or from the bloody conflicts that followed
the end of the Aberrant War. Since the Aberrants returned before renewed
nationalist feelings could grow, there is currently little protest against China’s
paternalism. The residents of most of China’s Autonomous Regions realize that
they and their nations would be far more vulnerable without China’s aid and
protection.
Today, Korea, The Malay Republic, Mongolia, Taiwan, Tibet, and the Philippines
are all Autonomous Regions under China’s control. These nations are largely
independent. They can all set the majority of their own laws, and several,
including both Taiwan and the Philippines, have democratically elected
governments. However, all Autonomous Regions must allow China to determine
their foreign policy and to monitor and control external trade. Also, while the
governments are largely independent, to maintain peace, order, and harmony the
Ministry’s telepaths and behavioral intervention agents have just as much
authority in these nations as they do in China.

Culture
Despite what Australian popular media would have people believe, life in China is better than it
has ever been before. Following the rebuilding of the country, the entire nation now enjoys state-
of-the-art infrastructure, a far cry from its cramped, dystopian state in the 1900s. Coupled with
the fact that the country’s population is now distributed among its many arcologies, Chinese
citizens now benefit from better living environments, an unparalleled education system, and state
benefits unmatched by any other nation in the world.
The government practices strict censorship of foreign media, ostensibly to protect against the
transmission of dangerous technologies or mind-warping messages sent by Aberrants. Naturally,
the populace, especially the younger generation, bristles under the strict control. Hackers, many
of which call themselves Creative Commoner Activists, work around the clock to access and
disseminate overseas entertainment and news to the public. Few succeed and those who do rarely
enjoy their victory for long. The cryptographic algorithms utilized by the government alter with
surprising speed, as do the variety of custom-designed security programs. Some theorize that an
artificial intelligence might be behind it, although no one knows for sure.
Still, the citizens of China remain content. What little unfiltered information from the outside
world that bleeds into China is taken for granted, brushed off as the fanciful imaginings of
jealous outsider. And for good reason. The population enjoys considerable freedom, outside of
matters pertinent to other countries. Women are accorded equal rights. Men are given paternity
leaves matching those of their spouses. Working hours are government regulated and an
excellent basic citizen’s income ensure that no one is ever lacks necessities. In comparison to all
that the state provides, the things required of its denizens seem almost inconsequential.

7
Every resident of China, regardless of whether they were birthed in the country or immigrants, is
required to undergo mandatory minor surgery in order to install a variety of biomechanical
hardware, including a simple identification tag, health monitoring systems, and devices that
monitor everything from location to emotional state. The procedure, of course, is free. But the
repercussions are long-lasting. Once implanted, the machinery cannot be removed in China — at
least not without first traversing a kaleidoscope of court cases. Given the phenomenal price tag
involved, few choose that option. Even individuals who emigrate usually continue to maintain
their hardware, an easy feat given that China has licensed the knowledge to a variety of foreign
companies. While these implants restrict freedom, they also largely eliminate the possibility of
identity theft and the need for passwords or physical keys. These biomonitors are also
responsible for the Chinese population’s impressive health and longevity. Even before the spread
of noetic medicine and vitakinetic healing, the average lifespan in China was nearly a decade
longer than in most other prosperous nations and rivaled that in Nippon.
Crime
Crime is virtually non-existent in China. At least, on a superficial level. It is widely known that
criminal organizations entered mutually beneficial agreements with the government during the
Aberrant War. Chinese officials approached the heads of the local crime gangs, offering an
alliance that would allow the organizations to continue profiting while reducing their personal
costs. The crime lords, starved for stability and already ragged from defending their territories,
said yes.
As a result of this partnership, prostitution, drug dealing, gambling, and other such pursuits have
all been legalized, although they are strictly monitored. Discrete personnel swiftly remove
anyone of an inappropriate age, or lacking the correct licenses and send them for rehabilitation or
probationary action. Naturally, all of these conditions are volatile. A bribe of sufficient size can
make virtually any sin disappear. Crimes of a more malevolent nature are also handled by this
joint partnership between the governments and the Triads. Contract killing is permitted, for
example, but only if the victim also belongs to a criminal gang, the relevant parties survive the
gauntlet of red tape, and are not outbid by their would-be victim.
This is not to say that China is completely free of lawless behavior. While organized crime is
now, albeit somewhat secretly, co-operating with the government, independent ne’er-do-wells
still attempt to profit from a growingly complacent society. In a curious twist, unaffiliated
miscreants enjoy a greater freedom than they ever had before, as long as they avoid violence.
Most citizens are aware of this unique co-operation and as such, are far less likely to report
anomalous incidents and non-violent crimes than they normally would, leaving the daring to do
as they will. People also understand that government operatives and people who pay sufficiently
large bribes can also insure that their actions leave no records and have no consequences and that
anyone who looks to closely into such events invites trouble.
On the flip side, discovery and retribution are swifter than ever before. A pickpocket who does
so only sporadically or stops after a few days may never be noticed, but one who continues
committing crimes is certain to be caught. Also, all but the subtlest violent crime instantly alert
police SIs, leaving anyone foolish enough to commit assault, armed robbery, or any similar
offence facing dozens of armed drones backed by well-trained police.
Daily Life
With China having shed many of its traditions, the country is still groping for an entirely new
identity, divorced from its millennia-old history. Today, China brims with artists, hackers,

8
philosophers, and creatives of every other denomination imaginable — each eager to make their
mark, and to take advantage of the many benefits provided by the government.
The Neo-Beijing arcology, practically shimmers with the color. With the help of Brunei’s bio-
architectural technology, this metropolis is constantly being altered, remodeled, and otherwise
rewritten to suit the needs of its general populace. Art festivals take place virtually every other
week, many of which have achieved international acclaim. Unlike in the past, officials make no
attempt to censor creative work, even allowing blatant political criticism. In order to acquire
significant funding, however, individuals must make art pertinent to the country, something
many are happy to do.
These freedoms make for many genuinely happy citizens, something that outsiders are often
stunned to witness. Especially in Australian media, China is often misrepresented as a walled-up
society, where thoughts are heavily policed. The truth is otherwise. The country has more
individual liberty now than ever before. Though the Office of Noetic Security possesses a strong
influence in the Chinese cities, it is a subtle organization, less concerned with flashing the
hypothetical badge and more about maintaining harmony. Some Chinese people point out that
while they would prefer to be without the Office, its presence helps guarantee that their doors
can be left unlocked and wide open to receive strangers. Others freely admit to the help an ONS
agent provided to them or suspect that at least once lucky coincidence in their life may have been
due to the ONS.
Internal movement in China is unrestricted outside of a high security facilities and travel to and
from China is exceedingly easy, depending on where you’re coming from. Visa rules have long
since slackened. The country now features the speediest processing time for international
travelers. The arduous part of the journey takes place after landing, when visitors are sprayed
down with antibacterial spray and checked for Corruption. Entering China without a visa
requires the visitor to either belong to one of its thirty-five allies, or to have a sufficient
explanation. Visa-facilitated travel requires nothing save an official ID from a UN-recognized
nation.

Europe
The passage of a century has left most of Europe almost unrecognizable. The European Union
clings on as a fraying, tenuous web, while nations that were once economic powerhouses lie in
shambles. The ugly politics of isolationism, xenophobia, and paranoia have found solid footholds
here. It currently has much in common with the age of shattered states and utter devastation
following the First World War.
Western Europe
Western Europe suffered terribly during the excesses of the Aberrant War. Empowered lunatics
unleashed a horrific death toll amidst densely populated, highly developed nations. The first-
world infrastructure and heavy investment into the technological, service, and finance industries
were just as vulnerable to the less physical depredations of the Aberrants — the OpNet Crash
and the economic depression that followed the War.
A new era of social and political unrest washed through the European states as they struggled to
cope. Borders shifted and tensions flared. The European Union, sitting atop a powder-keg, struck
upon a solution — the Esperanza. This project would put an orbital platform into space, setting
Europe’s foot firmly back onto the ladder of space development. It would forge a fresh sense of
communal purpose amongst member states and provide an opportunity for investment and
economic revitalization.

9
Europe’s hope was shattered when the Aberrants returned from their exile. Almost three years
ago, an Aberrant aimed the orbital station like a meteorite at the world below, riding the
radioactive ruin down as an apocalyptic steed. The impact devastated much of France, the
Netherlands, and Belgium; huge fragments struck surrounding regions in a hail of fire and death.
Ten million died immediately in a moment of Corrupted flame and nuclear light.
The Esperanza atrocity stabbed into the heart of Western Europe like a spear and the wound still
bleeds fresh. Refugees pouring from the ruined regions found little welcome in the hard-pressed
nations all around. Haphazard camps and grim processing centers sprang up where borders meet.
Shattered economies struggle to recover. There is hope to be found in the aftermath of
Esperanza’s fall; the Æsculapian Order gleams bright amidst the devastation, and the once-great
powers of Europe haul themselves up from the depths of despair. The world, though, has moved
on, and Western Europe has a long way to go to catch up.
Western Europe At A Glance
Western Europe is a place defined by borders and boundaries, suspicion and vigilance. Nations
gird themselves in barbed wire and concrete; refugee processing camps play host to an endless
parade of displaced civilians under the glare of bright searchlights, guards, and automated
weapons emplacements. The media plays up the stereotypes and fears of Corruption, disease, and
crime coming from the devastation known as la Blessure (French for wound). Politicians ask
why their hard-pressed peoples should shoulder the burden of caring for the poor, huddled
masses at the gate.
The situation is slowly improving. Aid to refugees and victims of la Blessure is growing more
efficient in its administration and deployment, as the wider world realizes that this disaster will
not be solved by a quick fix. The utter confusion, finger-pointing and blame games that followed
the impact are subsiding, revealing the long road to recovery that lies ahead.

Esperanza’s Breath
Foreigners coming to Western Europe are surprised by the ubiquitous nature of air
filters and breather masks. The impact of the orbital platform hurled immense
amounts of detritus up into the atmosphere that dimmed the sun for months. Even
three years later, atmospheric particle levels remain exceptionally high, and most
citizens have to clean their dwelling’s filters on a weekly basis. Media scare
stories about Corruption or radioactive dust feature regularly, and the pollution
has led to a genuine condition commonly called Esperanza’s Breath. Incidents of
all respiratory problems have soared.

The Esperanza Blessure — France, Belgium & the Netherlands

The Esperanza tore an immense scar across Western Europe. The earthquakes and tidal waves
that accompanied the apocalyptic impact reduced the Netherlands to a sinking morass. Paris was
incinerated. The rolling landscape of most of the rest of France and half of Belgium was utterly
ruined, becoming a wasteland of Quantum Flux, radioactivity, and wreckage.
Much of the surviving population of these once-great nations dwells in shanty towns and camps
along la Blessure’s border. They are impoverished and dependent on international aid for their
continued survival. Apart from a few resilient enclaves, France’s agriculture and industry lie in
ruins. What little recovery the region has seen is confined to ports and towns on the western
coast, gateways into the dark interior for scavengers, criminals, and relief teams.

10
More than a million inhabitants live in la Blessure itself, scraping by in areas of low radioactivity
that are mostly clear of Corruption. No-one wants these last few survivors, often not even their
own kin in the processing camps. The settlements that dot the landscape are oases amidst the
despair and madness, scavenging what they can to keep machinery in order and their people
alive. Travel between enclaves relies on armored vehicles made from old civilian automobiles.
Bandits, Aberrant cultists, and worse still lurk amidst the wreckage, waiting for prey.
No one knows how many Aberrants are active within la Blessure, the region’s Quantum Flux
hides them from clears. Their agenda and relative power levels is also unknown, but those that
came down with the descending Esperanza and survived are now at the center of growing cults
and cultivate herds of warped servants out in the worst areas of Corruption. Some rule over
survivor enclaves like barons, but most just pass through settlements, taking what they want.
Occasional savage attacks test the defensive walls surrounding la Blessure. The refugees in their
chaotic encampments have no such protection from Aberrant depredations.
Amazingly, there are those to whom la Blessure calls. Risking life and limb, treasure-seekers and
looters search for salvage amidst the Esperanza’s blackened, twisted bones and the ruined
metroplexes of France. The sinking Netherlands play host to slow, rusting vessels that ply the
watery streets, venturing into rotting buildings in search of a big score. Criminals travel through
la Blessure without fear of law enforcement, using refugees and relief convoys to mask their own
illicit trades. Some of the locals tolerate theses interlopers because they bring food, money and
goods; others prey upon them with glee.
The French Diaspora has spread refugees from la Blessure across Europe. Even for those who
make it past the processing camps and into the comparative safety beyond, life is difficult in their
new homelands. Many are too devastated by what they have experienced to do more than keep
their heads down and continue surviving. Some dream of returning to France, cleansing it of la
Blessure, driving out the Aberrants, and rebuilding. It’s a vast and overwhelming task, though,
and even with the support of those few French expatriates who retained some of their wealth and
foreign influence, most French Diaspora communities are focusing on building a new life rather
than trying to fight for their former home.

Blessure Weather
From: BLTJetHunter
To: Peregrine745399
Subject: Weather Patterns
Encryption: DSE
Date: 11.25.2122, 9:06 PM
Grine,
Absolute 100% confirm that the weird shit going on over the Bless has got to be
Aberrants. No way the Grand Slam could be responsible for this stuff even three
years on. No way it causes storms to pop up out of nowhere.
I got a confirmation on AEU-7366-AEI — it got dropped in Year One Post-Slam
by a lightning storm over Limousin. Loaded to the gills with evac’d military and
govt hardware, never recovered. Problem is, even if we found 7366 and it didn’t
have mutants crawling all over it, how would we get hundreds of tonnes of tech
back out of the Bless? Can’t trust the skies.
No, I don’t know how the Black Jets do it, but I’d dearly love to.

11
The Deutsche Allianz and Austria
Germany and Austria are a confusing patchwork of city-states, communities, and provinces that
almost hark back to an earlier age of history. Both technically exist as overarching polities but
possess only the barest bones of authority. Most power has devolved to local regions in a grand
experiment of autonomy. Sadly, the idealism of the Allianz is a poor match for the realities of
modern Europe. Its eastern-most regions have fallen before Polish aggression, and its western
provinces struggle to deal with the ongoing aftermath of the Esperanza impact, both refugees
and the few areas of la Blessure caused by wayward fragments of the station that fell on German
soil.
Italy
Italy is a rising star recovering faster than its neighbors from economic depression and cultural
shock. Italian politics is a hotbed of rigorous debate and open democracy backed up by a
surprisingly brutal police force; dissent and protest are all happily tolerated, but organized crime
receives no mercy. Aberrant influence amongst old crime families nearly toppled the nation
during the War, leading to a determination that Italy never faces such an internal threat again.
More than any other European nation, Italy has extended its hand to the charities and relief
organizations of the world. Thousands of Blessure refugees travel through its ports every year,
carried off via sea to secondary processing centers in Africa or further afield. Unfortunately, this
has made Italy a natural breeding ground for Aberrant cults to take root in, threading their
tendrils further through the French Diaspora.
The Northern Collective
Consisting of the northern Scandinavian states of Europe, Denmark, Finland, Norway, and
Sweden, the Collective emerged in the late 21st Century. The socialist state was hit hard during
the Aberrant War, pulling itself back up from deep economic depression just in time to founder
under the weight of its investments in the Esperanza. Now infrastructure crumbles, the
population is impoverished, unemployment runs rampant, and people flee decaying arcologies.
Splinter sects and new faiths have found fertile ground amongst a people eager for new hope, but
Aberrant cults hide amongst this new religious revival.
Portugal & the Spanish Provinces
The Iberian peninsula juxtaposes the growing power of Portugal against the diminished Spanish
Provinces. Portugal is thriving even in the wake of the Esperanza atrocity, its open freeports
serving as a major hub of world trade. The culture is tolerant of almost any brand of ideology,
faith or trade, even Aberrant cultists. The law, by comparison, is vigorously and harshly
enforced. The Portuguese welcome all to do business, but all must do business in peace.
Spain shattered into devolved, autonomous provinces. Unlike the voluntary social experiment of
Germany, Spain tore itself apart into its components through violence and political unrest. The
Provinces vie with one another for resources and influence; the northernmost reaches of Spain
are growing closer to total collapse as they attempt to deal with the humanitarian crisis of la
Blessure with little help from their southern cousins.
Switzerland
Once a bastion of neutrality, Switzerland has emerged as a leading light in Europe. Prosperous,
highly developed, and serving as the headquarters of the Æsculapian Order, Switzerland
weathered the storm of the War and the Esperanza well. It is now a hub for the administration of
what is left of the European Union apparatus, as well as for relief efforts into la Blessure.

12
However, a groundswell of support is buoying up extremist political elements who encourage a
return to isolationism and the rejection of outsiders; after all, they say, what has Europe brought
Switzerland but financial cost and hardship?
The United Republic
Mockingly referred to as the Fortress Islands, the United Republic of the British Isles emerged
from a forcible reunification of its component nations during and after the Aberrant War.
Pursuing a policy of measured distance from the mainland, the Republic’s lack of investment
into Esperanza protected it somewhat from the aftermath. Now it seeks to exploit opportunities
that have emerged from the chaos. The hyper-managed agricultural land and urban vertical farms
of the Isles has stepped into the void left by France, producing crops to feed the hungry mouths
of the mainland. Plans proceed apace for the construction of a space elevator that Republican
ministers are convinced will succeed where the Esperanza failed.
The Republic guards its coastal borders ferociously against refugees. The media fans the flames
of xenophobia against foreigners, diverting attention away from the tensions that simmer beneath
the Republic’s surface, unrest, protests, and political violence show that the population has not
forgotten the reunification. The United Republic is a police state that relies heavily on
technology to monitor and control its citizens, but it is successful enough that order continues to
be maintained for now.

Black Jets
The Black Jets thunder over the Channel and into la Blessure on classified
operations. Rumors spiral around why the United Republic sends heavily armored
shock troops into la Blessure and what might be worth the risks. The few reports
of Black Jet troops from survivor enclaves within la Blessure speak of unfriendly,
sometimes brutal expeditionary forces deploying into the wasteland, hunting
down and dragging back captives and creatures. One rumor that refuses to die is
that they’re after Aberrants.

Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe stands on the brink of war. Powerful nations keep hungry watch over their
borders, eyeing their neighbors and waiting for the first sign of weakness. Although it is almost
as poor as Western Europe and desperate for resources, Eastern Europe has retained much of its
infrastructure and industrial base. Both are being turned to the purpose of conquest.
The Struggle for Power
Eastern Europe was spared the worst of the Esperanza disaster, but the impact of Western
Europe’s collapse gravely wounded the other half of the continent. The rampant nationalism and
belligerent strategies of these nations did not simply spring up in the past three years, however. It
stems back across decades of depression, tensions, and enmities, stoked by the Aberrant War and
carefully fostered by political factions.
There’s no easy way out for any of the participants. The first moves in the game of conquest
have been made, and every nation fervently believes it needs more than it has. Anti-war
sentiments are a minority voice. Not everyone is content to stand aside and let conflict erupt,
however. The Æon Trinity seeks to avert open warfare and ensure as peaceful a revolution as
possible in the unpredictable and potentially explosive nation of Romania.
Eastern Europe At A Glance

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Eastern Europe is a place of tension and of opportunity. The nations have not suffered like their
western counterparts and seek an edge to revive their past glory. They all believe that edge has to
come at the cost of rival nations. Spies and infiltrators are commonplace tools amongst the great
powers. People are suspicious of outsiders not because they might be Corrupted or refugees, but
because they might be foreign agents or saboteurs.
Despite the oppression, the secret police, and the surveillance cameras, Eastern Europeans share
a flame of ambition. There’s a sense that anything could be possible, that they’re on the way up,
and that prosperity will soon return. They also fear that someone is going to try and take it away
from them. A shivering feeling of potential builds in undercurrents throughout the societies of
Eastern Europe. Some smell revolution in the air.
Czech Republic
Militarily weak, the Czech Republic has used its prowess in the arena of culture and media to
forge a different path. The Republic fights through words, music, and art rather than artillery and
drones. Pitching itself as a cultural capital that the whole world can benefit from, the Czech
Republic has signed treaties with both Australia and the UAN. It supplies an entire industry of
media vids, actors, and artistic expression, exporting to its patrons in return for wealth and
protection. Compared to the grim continent in which it is ensconced, the Czech Republic stands
out as a font of individualism and optimism.
Greece
Greece slumps on the shores of the Mediterranean, slowly dying. The New Turkish Protectorate
has absorbed portions of its northern and eastern territories, and now it sits back and waits for the
wounded beast to bleed out. What’s left of the Greek economy has been turned to the war effort,
but the final invasion never comes. Listless troops and twitchy pilots wait, the tension growing
with each passing month. Sooner or later someone’s going to snap.
Magyarorszag
Magyarorszag, once called Hungary, is living on borrowed time. Although proud and
independent-spirited, Magyarorszag is smaller and poorer than the regional powers of Poland
and the Ukraine. The government is frantically trying to bootstrap itself up to the big leagues
before the first shots are fired, pouring what wealth it possesses into mercenaries and military
technology. Magyar spies and agents move into the northern nations and Romania on the hunt
for any advantage that can be gleaned. On the political stage, Magyarorszag does everything it
can to serve as a mediator in disputes that affect Poland, the Ukraine, or Russia, knowing that
every year the war is put off is another year the country has to prepare itself and dig in.
New Turkish Protectorate
The resurgent power of Turkey is a shining example of prosperity and order in the region. Barely
touched by the economic crisis that shattered the continent, the New Turkish Protectorate has
spread its wings over Bulgaria, portions of the Shatter, and parts of Greece. Elsewhere, its
influence grows in Russia’s bordering states and what is left of the Middle East. The NTP’s
expansionist policy holds to the notion that it is helping its neighbors, an elder statesman
bringing wounded and crippled states into its fatherly embrace. The reality may be quite
different, but the NTP runs an effective international relations and media department.
Under the carefully managed propaganda, the NTP struggles with internal unrest that threatens to
bloom into rebellion. Religious sects are at odds with the secular government, demanding that
the Protectorate become a religious state — a new Ottoman Empire. While the country is

14
predominantly Islamic, the generals and ministers have no desire to relinquish their power and
return to the distant past. Tough crackdowns on religious dissidents only seem to fan the flames,
while pro-democracy activists attempt to set the autocrats and zealots against one another in an
effort to make room for positive change.
Poland
Poland is an industrial behemoth bent on conquest. Its borders have already expanded over the
eastern reaches of Germany, part of Belarus and all of Lithuania. The country’s heavy
manufacturing base and vast, mechanized farms have armed it with the infrastructure needed to
build and maintain an army supported by armor and drones.
Buoyed on a tide of intense nationalism, Poland sees itself as the responsible adult in the region.
It conquers its neighbors because they are mired in disorder and poverty, whereas it knows better
how to use their resources for their own good, and for Poland’s benefit too, of course. In the
meantime, Polish manufacturing is beginning to reach new markets both around the world and
off it. It grows wealthier, and stronger, and prepares for the next stage in stabilizing Eastern
Europe through force of arms. Its government is democratic, and most the populace strongly
supports arming the nation for war.
Romania
It’s not a question of if Romania will implode, but when. Romania is ruled by a Queen with only
the most tenuous of links to the old royal family, wielding absolute power over her subjects. This
bizarre set of circumstances is due to Romanian novas who helped overthrow the democratic
government just before the War. While the Aberrants themselves are long gone, they left the
Queen and her loyalists a stockpile of Aberrant technology, the exact limitations and nature of
which is not entirely certain. Who dares poke the hornet’s nest and see what horrors the Queen is
sitting atop?
The people of Romania dare. The country is mired in increasing civil unrest. The government
crushes dissent with casual brutality, but all it does is push the citizens to greater anger.
Neighboring nations watch with growing alarm as the country edges closer to the brink, while
spies and Æon Trinity operatives sneak across the border to try and discover just what
technological madness the Aberrants left behind.
Russia
At the edge of Europe, Russia watches and waits, its ambition fueled by bitter resentment. The
past decades have been cruel to that nation. The scars of the Aberrant War and deep financial
problems have resulted in Russia having to offer up portions of its eastern territories to China
under mutual development schemes. Russia wants to step back up as a major player on the world
stage by proving its strength on its western borders, bringing old territories into the fold and
harnessing their resources. Rumors of secret military treaties between Russia and the FSA worry
both of their neighbors. For now, it is content to use its agents to foment rebellion and unrest
across the region, knowing that sooner or later an opportunity will present itself.
The Shatter
A rough smear on the map, the Shatter spreads across the Balkans in a dizzying array of city-
states, autonomous provinces, and independent polities. The Shatter is what remains of several
smaller nations (and the bordering regions of some larger ones) that dissolved through decades of
civil war, unrest, and the occasional brilliant moment of social experimentation. These self-
sufficient enclaves vary wildly in nature. Some are high-tech, sparkling jewels of modernity and

15
wealth, while others are dilapidated shambles of poverty and despair. The Shatter lacks the unity
needed to stand strong against the surrounding powers that covet it. In the face of growing NTP
aggression, portions are actually reversing their devolution and gathering under old banners of
nationality and allegiance. Serbia has been the first to declare itself reformed, and is now
energetically seeking to re-establish its old borders.
Ukraine
The Ukraine is a model of stark efficiency — a totalitarian police state where the trains always
run on time. There’s food on every table and a roof over every head, but luxuries are rare, and
freedom of expression almost non-existent. The Ukrainian government see expansion and
conquest of weaker neighbors as the most effective way of recovering economic strength, and
the country is undergoing a military build-up with heavy recruitment drives amongst the rural
population. Its armed forces are powerful enough to take on either Poland or the NTP, but not
both at once.
Even as it spreads its own infiltrators and spies into the region, the Ukraine is itself the
battleground of a proxy war by its neighbors. The sheer oppressive nature of its rule has left the
government facing growing unrest amongst its citizens, aided and supported by Polish and
Russian agents. These agents are shaping extremist political movements to support their own
ends, stirring up the first sparks of a civil war. If those embers catch and the fire spreads, the
Ukraine will become prey to be torn apart by its neighbors, and the flames will spread
throughout Eastern Europe.

Federated States of America

The land of the free, and the home of the brave? Not the Federated States of America. In 2123,
the FSA clings to power through ruthless observation and control of its people, both citizens and
non-citizens. Built on a foundation of fear and paranoia, the FSA marches forward under the
sway of metacorporation money, jingoistic racism, religious fervor, and government control.
History
The glory days of the United States of America are long past, replaced with the FSA’s paranoid
suspicions. American suffered more than most in the Aberrant Wars. Nova emergence wasn’t
linked to any particular country, but the presence of Aberrants increased the likelihood of new
eruptions, and the US attracted hundreds of these godlike beings to its shores.
When tensions between Aberrants and humans spilled into war, America was home to some of
the first and largest battlegrounds. In 2054, the nova Felice Taylor accidentally swept a series of
mega-tsunamis across the state of Florida, killing millions and transforming the land into dozens
of islands. Taylor disappeared in the floods, presumed killed in the devastation she wrought.
The detonation of the Aberrant Calvert Wycoff in 2061 devastated North America’s heartland,
instantly vaporized everything within 200 kilometers, and Corrupting the land for another
thousand. The Aberrant energies reduced soil fertility by 90% and twisted the genetics of every
living thing within the Blight — today mutated spawn still escape the zone to spread their
Corruption.
The Blight destroyed the country’s agricultural belt and angered the already frightened citizens.
Famine swept across the nation, with the rich stockpiling what they could and leaving the poor to
starve. The already wide class divisions within the nation grew starker; a vast gulf separated the
“haves” from the “have-nots.”

16
Military Saviors
Starvation wasn’t the only peril faced by the United States. Aberrants attacked every urban
center, maddened by Corruption or desperate for their own twisted survival. Millions were
killed; the country was destabilized and exhausted. The only thing between American ideals and
cultural extinction was the US military, supported by well-paid private security forces and the
corporate controlled military industrial complex. The armed forces were depleted, but canny
officers understood the consequences of the Blight and ordered their soldiers to seize munitions
and rations. The military had structure, discipline, and weapons to keep them and their families
safe from the chaos surrounding them.
With the civilian government in disarray and the people desperate for leadership, the military
declared independence from political bodies and assumed full control of America’s remaining
defense network. It commandeered whatever it required to fight the enemies of freedom.
Opportunistic politicians quickly engaged with the new power structures, calling in favors and
using their political skills to secure field commissions within the new military government. They
sold the new junta to the people and delighted in power without the irritations of elections and
public scrutiny. Opponents to the new regime were arrested or murdered.
As the military government stabilized its authority, it greedily eyed the resources of its northern
and southern neighbors. America’s stockpiled goods wouldn’t last forever and the global
Aberrant War had collapsed trade. Devastating earthquakes across Mexico killed millions and
destabilized the government. Under the guise of securing its borders, America annexed Mexico
and crushed the depleted opposition.
With Mexico secured — and South American nervous about what was next — America launched
surprise attacks into Canada. Canadian forces were ill-prepared for the unexpected aggression.
They mounted a well-organized and effective defense that might have repelled the invaders had
Quebec not turned on its own. American spies had worked hard to win Québécois support and
promised the region independence as its reward. Canada fought hard for nearly five years before
having to surrender and accept American control.
Rise of the Military-Corporate Complex
Canada’s submission came just in time. American resources were almost depleted and the
military had diverted civilian provisions to its soldiers; public support waned and violent revolts
erupted. To counter the threat of destabilization, the government turned to a mixture of God and
an aggressive sense of national superiority to keep the population placated. Christian faith was an
important motivator for the military. Religion soothed soldiers’ consciences when they fought
rampaging Aberrants rather than saving civilians. Faith in God’s plan comforted troops as they
followed the junta’s orders. The generals favored doctrines that all humans were filled with sin,
and could only achieve salvation through fulfilling God’s wishes, which primarily involved
punishing the unrighteous and the unclean. The military encouraged civilians to join militant
churches that supported the junta; the faithful filled their bellies while apostates starved. The
priests proselytized that God’s love came through faithful obedience to the government.
Unsurprisingly, church services quickly filled to capacity.
With the country nearly stable, but government resources exhausted, the private corporations that
had profited from war seized the chance for greater power. They proposed an alliance with the
military that blurred the lines between corporate and government. Corporations gained the
authority to enact their own laws within their holdings, and in return guaranteed financial and
manufacturing supply to the military government. The rise of this “military-corporate complex”

17
was the death knell of the old USA. From its ashes rose the grim phoenix of the Federated States
of America, supported by the powerful FSM, the Federated States Military.
Citizenship
FSA citizenship isn’t complicated. Everyone with at least one parent who is an FSA citizen gains
second-class citizenship, affording some rights and protections to the individual. Second-class
citizens are protected from unauthorized searches and seizures of property, can attend public
meetings and if charged with a crime can request to have it heard in a court — for a fee.
First-class citizens buy their way into the privilege. Every ¥10,000 paid in taxes earns an
individual one vote, and those with three or more votes are first-class citizens. First-class citizens
enjoy full protection of their property and rights, have procedural justice applied by default, are
legally able to own and carry firearms, and can question FSA decisions.
Purchasing votes through taxation means that corporations and other rich enterprises count as
citizens under FSA law and enjoy the legal protections and influence this entails. This is one of
the greatest difficulties the FSA government has with Orgotek — although they’d love to control
the order’s psions and acquire its assets, the corporation scrupulously pays its taxes, holds a large
voting bloc, and demands that every legal consideration and procedure is followed to the letter.
Orgotek also pursues any discrepancies through the courts, tying up FSA resources and time, as
it is entitled to do as a first-class citizen.

Citizenship And The Wealth Edge

Characters with one or fewer dots of the Wealth Edge cannot be first-class
citizens of the FSA. Characters with two dots in Wealth can be first-class citizens,
but the expense of doing so effectively reduces their Wealth by one dot. However,
characters with three or more dots of Wealth can afford to be first-class citizens of
the FSA with no noticeable decrease in their available wealth.

Class Wars and Alienation

The government benefits from keeping the population divided. FSA propaganda teaches
Americans to despise the ‘others’ in society and beyond its borders. Aberrants and their cultists
are obvious targets for this hatred, but the government encourages fear and loathing of all
foreigners — any of them could be secret Aberrant cultists. The FSA especially promotes
discrimination against nations with technology or resources it wants to acquire, such as Nippon
and Sudamérica.
First-class citizens despise the second-class for being lazy and lacking ambition. If second-class
citizens worked harder, they would surely earn enough wealth to join the first-class. Of course,
the first-class places as many obstacles as possible in their path, and privately despairs of the
second-class ever elevating itself.
Both classes despise the non-citizens who perform the menial, dangerous, and disgusting tasks
no one else wants. Many are refugees who fled Europe after the Esperanza Crash; the FSA uses
them as scapegoats for all society’s problems. However, even these non-citizens can purchase
first-class citizenship, though such success stories are vanishingly rare. The second-class harbors
a lingering mistrust and paranoia that non-citizens hoard wealth so they can join the first-class
and take revenge on the people who used to make their lives miserable. Many second-class
citizens channel this paranoia by further degrading people who mostly just want to live their
lives in peace, and the most violent Second Class citizens known that if they want to vent their

18
frustration by smashing the shop windows or defacing the homes of non-citizens, the police are
unlikely to ever take action. Non-citizens are common villains in FSA entertainments, with many
portrayed as devious agents of hostile foreign powers or Aberrant cultists.
The Surveillance State
Watch what you say and do in the FSA; the unspoken government message is that someone is
always watching, and the walls have ears. The truth is more complicated. In the richer, first-class
areas, FSA cameras and drones mostly look outwards. In these areas, police respond to those
who look like they don’t belong faster than a biokinetic changes her shape. Sometimes, they’ll
give the offender a chance to explain before the beating starts.
The cops have had to be more careful of late. The rich progeny of politicians and corporate
executives have recently decided that their best source of fun is to ‘dress down’ and mix with the
lower classes. Several unwary cops have been reassigned — or even lost their jobs entirely —
after accosting the wrong “slummer” heading home. In a clear example of social evolution,
police working in rich areas quickly learned to identify the privileged mannerisms of the elite,
regardless of what they wear or how they appear.
In the poorest areas, security agencies would like to know what non-citizens are doing at all
times, but working surveillance equipment is rare. Street techs, vendors, and other
‘entrepreneurs’ quickly salvage anything of value, stripping the locator chips and tracking
software from devices as their first priority. Zappers (p. XX) are another popular way to
temporarily disable security, and are relatively cheap and easily accessible on the black market.
The people with the least freedom and the most government oversight of their activities are the
wage slave second-class citizens. They are the backbone of the FSA, but the government works
to ensure they never realize it. Though the American dream is to make enough money to buy
first-class citizenship, many workers don’t realize that it’s not profitable to allow them to
succeed. A few token individuals climb the ladder and encourage others to work harder. These
‘success stories’ must never forget their place or to whom they owe their allegiance.
Corporate Espionage
FSA political culture encourages financial Darwinism. A corporation’s influence depends
entirely on how much money it pays in taxes to the government. The government ruthlessly
enforces this policy, as it discourages tax evasion and fills FSA coffers.
Every corporation dedicates resources to predicting which issues it needs to exert influence on,
and calculating the votes required to enforce its will. If a corporation has fewer votes, and can’t
build alliances to reach the target, it can either overpay taxes to make up the shortfall, or
sabotage rivals to reduce their voting power. For profit-driven corporate directors, the latter
course is seen as the more fiscally sensible.
A thriving black market of deniable mercenaries and black-bag jobs grew from this financial
ecology. Metacorporations dedicate sections to undertake criminal tasks that can’t be traced back
to the company. When a research lab explodes days before its parent corporation announces a
new product, or the lead strategists disappear overnight, everyone knows what happened, but
nothing can be proved. Beyond these corporate teams is an illegal criminal workforce of non-
citizens, foreigners, or down-on-their-luck citizens, all willing to do anything for cash. The
corporations (and the government) use these people when they need services that can’t be
conducted in the neon light of corporate towers. Specialist employees skilled in negotiating with

19
these criminals demand high salaries, knowing how to pay for services rendered while hiding it
all in the official ledgers.
The government approves of these rivalries, as long as they don’t cause national damage. Several
corporations were compulsorily acquired and their assets divided among rivals after they pushed
too far and destroyed something that would have given FSA an advantage over other nations.
Theft of intellectual property, reverse engineering, or kidnapping personnel are acceptable; loss
of FSA power is not. The government periodically reminds the metacorporations of their
symbiotic national arrangement by using military resources and overwhelming firepower to
counter-attack some of the more borderline shadow jobs.
Allies & Enemies
Unofficially, every non-FSA citizen is seen as an enemy of the state. The FSA covets the assets
and advantages of every other nation, and would love to conquer and take what it wanted from
them. Officially, the FSA has ongoing tensions with Sudamérica, which hasn’t forgotten the long
American history of flexing muscles and ignoring Sudamérican sovereign borders. Sudamérica
subtly provokes the FSA by interfering with its interests whenever possible. Sudamérican
mercenaries find steady work in the FSA’s corporate shadow wars — but have a tendency to
inflict more collateral damage than required and bring the government’s ire onto unwary
corporations.
The FSA is also vocally opposed to the UAN. No matter what ideas the African nation advances
or developments it implements, the FSA spreads propaganda and misinformation linking the
modern nation to archaic racist stereotypes and caricatures of Africa. When words fail, the FSA
sponsors insurgents and terrorists to spread mayhem and weaken the UAN’s political capital.
Threats & Features of Interest
While most of the FSA is a relatively peaceful, if brutally unjust and unequal nation, many
troubles are waiting for a chance to break free.
Wycoff’s Blight
The government wants citizens to believe that Wycoff’s Blight is a barren area devoid of life and
habitation, but this is a lie. The truth is that the land within Wycoff’s Blight is Corrupted and
plants grow poorly. However, twisted crops do grow, tended by hardy rebels who relish freedom
from FSA tyranny more than an easy existence. Most Blight-dwellers are nomads who move
with the strange unseasonal fruiting of the mutated plants, although some small permanent
settlements exist, reclaiming the abandoned dwellings of old American towns.
These blighted crops are the source of a thriving black market in Corruption-enhanced drugs.
These bizarre pharmaceuticals have unusual effects; some are medicines of great potency, others
make the quantum and subquantum visible and open the doors of time and space — for brief
periods, at least. A few of these drugs have a profound effect on psions, enhancing their powers,
but burning out their psi over time. The psi orders are divided over these drugs. Some want to
study the chemicals to eliminate their drawbacks and harness the benefits, while others want to
eradicate them as an ongoing threat to psions. The FSA rebuffs all psi order offers of assistance,
forcing the orders to use their own means to achieve their goals.
The FSA military periodically sends patrols into the Blight, to hunt known fugitives, or to just
kill anyone they find. They have a particular interest in capturing unauthorized psions within the
area, and are quick to resort to deadly force if these ‘rogues’ refuse to surrender and face FSA

20
justice. Meanwhile, members of the Fifth Legion have the thankless and far more dangerous job
of eliminating the Blight’s Aberrants and Aberrant cults.
For reasons unknown to the FSA, the Blight’s Quantum Flux suddenly, and mysteriously, surged
and collapsed in 2104, shrinking the Blight’s area by a third. FSA scientists have concluded that
the previously affected areas have little to no lingering Corruption. These agricultural lands
appear to be as fertile and safe as before Wycoff’s explosion. For the past decade, the FSA has
funded a trial program of carefully monitored settlements in the outer portions of the former
Blight, in the hopes that the country can reclaim some of its lost food belt.
Revolution
Though government propaganda claims otherwise, the Canadian resistance was never fully
eradicated. Acts of terror and sabotage against military targets persisted for years and were
violently quashed by the FSA. The military arrested and executed hundreds of suspected
insurgents and their families, to set an example for others. It didn’t have the intended impact,
instead generating more hatred and resentment. The resistance evolved into a smarter, more
clandestine force, structured in a loose network of cells where each knows as little about the
others as possible.
Mexican resistance grows in the southern states, emboldened by Canadian success and covert
Sudamérican backing. Sudamérica and at least a few Norça provide weapons and training to
Mexican resistance fighters to destabilize the FSA and possibly reclaim Mexico to Sudamérican
control. The geographic division and cell structure prevents easy cooperation between the two
rebel forces, but limited local alliances sometimes arise. Charismatic and influential leaders are
emerging from both movements, who consider how to coordinate their efforts without opening
themselves to FSA annihilation.
The frequency of attacks has increased in the last three years, as both resistances target corporate
holdings and government services. The FSA ruthlessly pursues those it suspects to be resistance
fighters or sympathizers, but must be careful. Too much overt effort brings publicity and gives
credence to the Canadian and Mexican loyalists. At present, the FSA prefers to use mercenaries
supplemented with psions when possible, preferably telepaths, to root out the traitors and bring
them to FSA justice.

India & The Bharati Commonwealth

In the wake of the Aberrant Wars, India was a rising powerhouse of democracy and trade,
drawing on an enthusiastic and willing population to rebuild the tarnished jewel in Asia’s crown.
Now backroom deals, political double-talk, and corporate greed threaten to take all India’s
dreams and transform them into poverty-stricken nightmares.
History
India was hit hard during the Aberrant Wars. Though the subcontinent’s Aberrant population
wasn’t large — many Indian novas left the country as soon as they erupted, pursuing money and
fame abroad — several novas came to India for its Hindu beliefs and practices. These power-
hungry demigods positioned themselves to rule over their human cults in remote fortresses
carved from the bedrock by quantum powers.
When human-Aberrant tensions exploded into open conflict, China preemptively struck the
Aberrant strongholds in neighboring countries to prevent them threatening Chinese territory.
India suffered the most in these assaults, but other countries around it weren’t immune to China’s
protectionist interests.

21
China’s aggression shocked and outraged India’s people. The earliest Chinese strikes avoided
densely populated areas, but as the Aberrants moved into human cities to hide among civilians,
collateral damage was unavoidable. Instead of retaliating, India was forced to fight for survival
as the Crash destroyed its military and civilian communications networks, and enraged Aberrants
turned on the Indian population, wrongly blaming them for the deaths of their fellows.
India struggled on throughout the War, supported by surrounding nations who similarly suffered
at the hands of Chinese strategy. These historic enemies set aside tensions in order to survive
against superior foes. Soldiers from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri
Lanka joined Indian forces as a coalition working together to repel attacks and protect their
populations from slaughter. Bound together by shared ties of spilled blood and fallen friends,
these hostile nations largely overcame their differences and consolidated their remaining
resources into the nascent Bharati Commonwealth.

Subject: NOT JUST INDIA!!!!

From: Minister Md. Fateh Aslam, Chief Representative for Pakistan, Bharati
Commonwealth.
To: Warren Shaw, OBC
Encryption: SPE
Date: 4.23.2121, 10:13 AM
Mr Shaw,
I am writing on behalf of my colleagues to express our displeasure at your recent
article ‘Insight into India’. While the article was generally well-researched and
fairly presented, you perpetuated an inaccuracy many foreigners believe, and I
entreat you to publish a correction and an apology.
In case you are unaware of the error you have made, please allow me to be
clear. The Bharati Commonwealth is not just India. Bharati’s member states come
from the former Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri
Lanka, and to reduce the long, rich histories of each of these wonderful cultures to
just ‘India’ is an insult.
I look forward to reading your correction.

Rising Stars, Fallen Angels

Born from different countries with long histories of tribal struggles and cultural differences, the
Bharati Commonwealth survived its early post-war years by doggedly following democratic
principles as the only way to ensure the different needs of the states were met and the voices of
their populations were heard.
Every member state of the Commonwealth has a number of representative votes in the Bharati
parliament, based on its population. While this gives the larger states an advantage, positional
alliances come together constantly and break apart just as quickly, as delegates agree to support
each other in return for future considerations. In practice, no one state can dictate to the
Commonwealth without the support of others.
This thriving democracy empowers the people to speak their minds and demand to be heard —
regardless of whether the politicians want to hear them. Over the last decade, the Bharati
government worked with local corporations in the largest construction project the nation had
ever seen — the Trimūrti. Minor protests broke out among the most devout Hindu segments of

22
the population for perceived blasphemy in the name, but despite this obstacle, the Trimūrti was
to be a grand triumvirate of Bharati engineering triumph. Outside of Colombo, in what had been
Sri Lanka, the largest interplanetary freight logistics depot in the world sprawled at the bottom of
a massive, state-of-the-art space elevator capable of carrying heavier loads into orbit faster than
ever before. A large space station sat in geosynchronous orbit at the top of the elevator, with
triple roles of luxury tourist destination, space travel transport hub, and microgravity
manufacturing facility.
When the Esperanza crashed, the government saw opportunity in the devastation and redoubled
construction speed, injecting even more money, labor and resources into the project. The
Trimūrti Construction Corporation (TCC) became the single largest employer in the Bharati
Commonwealth. Unfortunately, the thirst for glory and desire to elevate the Commonwealth’s
international standing was its undoing. Four months ago, independent inspectors discovered fatal
construction flaws with the space elevator that made it dangerously unstable without extensive
— and expensive — repairs. The public revelation caused massive social unrest. In short order,
thousands of Bharati citizens employed by the TCC were out of work as the corporation filed for
bankruptcy. The government barely has the funds to pay for the repairs to the elevator, but can’t
cover the enormous unemployment compensation demanded by the tens of thousands of
suddenly unemployed workers.
Since the debacle, huge protests have erupted in many Bharati cities, particularly in India and Sri
Lanka, accusing the government of collusion with the corporations, including bribery, graft,
nepotism, and any other corruption the citizens can conceive. Some of these allegations have
substance, some are baseless ranting from the angry populace, but all increase the anger towards
the government.
The chief agitators and leaders of the various protest movements have called on the TCC (and its
subsidiaries and subcontractors) to repay the money they received from the government. Many of
the corporations disbanded, leaving few assets and no cash from their government contracts,
while others took the money — and their corporate risk — offshore to nations who take some
pleasure in the Bharati woes, and are unwilling to yield to the demands of unhappy Indians.
Denied financial satisfaction, the protest movements call for the resignation and asset forfeiture
of various government officials. The longer the movements continue, the more agitated and
volatile the protestors become. Several protests have ended violently with police and military
being used to disperse the crowds and restore order. Unfortunately, these tactics encourage other
outraged citizens to join the protests, and the groups have almost grown large and angry enough
that they can no longer be suppressed by government forces.
Allies & Enemies
The Bharati Commonwealth has no official enemies, but has plenty of lingering antagonism
towards China. The people have neither forgotten nor forgiven China’s actions in the War, even
if it arguably did single-handedly save humanity from extinction.
The Commonwealth’s relations with the FSA are similarly tense, as several Trimūrti
subcontractors have their corporate headquarters in the Federated States — or moved their
corporate address there immediately before the release of the independent report, having illegally
received leaked previews. The FSA has protected these companies from having to repay debts to
India (after ensuring they’ve paid taxes to the FSA, of course) and has rebuffed any
Commonwealth attempts to recoup its losses through the legal means.

23
The Bharati Commonwealth still experiences significant cultural (and historical) tensions
between the member states. While each acknowledges the benefits of maintaining the
Commonwealth, none are willing to completely forget centuries of antagonism and colonialism
when they were separate nations. None (except India) like India’s prominence and dominant
voting power, and government processes are often sabotaged by representatives voting with petty
motivations, rather than in the best interest of their state.
Psi India
In the wake of the Trimūrti disaster, the Bharati government has hatched an even more daring
scheme to capture the public’s imagination and support. India will persuade one of the psi orders
to move its headquarters (and Prometheus Chamber) to the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth
is prepared to offer substantial financial, logistical, and legal considerations to make this happen.
India was well acquainted with the power and prestige that came from housing one of the Orders,
with the Chitra Bhanu being a source of strength and influence for the Commonwealth before the
Order’s destruction at the hands of their fellow psions. Unknown to outsiders, the Bharati
government helped hide and repatriate several members of the ‘Indian Order’ as they fled the
other Orders. Any reluctance some officials felt evaporated when they learned of the Chinese
Ministry’s leading role in the purge.
The government maintains carefully-hidden communications channels with these Chibs. It hopes
they can one day reemerge from the darkness and again take their place among the Orders.
Having an Indian psi order in place is seen as a desirable step towards this goal.
The biggest obstacles to this plan are the Orders themselves. Most have deep cultural ties to their
homes, and their proxies are each very much products of their environment. Norça, Upeo, and
ISRA are all considered to be impossible challenges to entice to India. The Ministry is similarly
out of reach but the Commonwealth moves forward with plans simply to see the despair such a
defection would cause to China. The Bharati government sees various inducements and
advantages that the Æsculapians, Legions, or Orgotek would gain by moving to India, and has
approached all three to open negotiations. While these three Orders have not been overly
enthusiastic in the initial discussions, neither have any of them refused to talk, or turned the
Commonwealth representatives away. A few Commonwealth negotiators believe that Proxy
Alex Cassel is interested because he wishes to ensure that Orgotek has a safe haven if relations
between Orgotek and the FSA ever break down.

Luna
Although many Lunar residents strongly object, much of Earth’s population no longer considers
Luna to be a different world. Jump rings transport travelers to Luna in an instant, and even by
spacecraft, the journey to Luna typically takes only a few hours — often less time than it takes to
fly from Beijing to Buenos Aires. Today, almost 50 million people make Luna their home and
more than 250 million people living on Earth have visited Olympus, which is by far the largest
and most populous Lunar settlement.
From Barren Rock To Teeming Metropolis
The original Olympus research and mining facility was first established in the early 21st century.
NASA constructed this base in the Galatea crater, near the Lunar south pole, and next to the
largest known deposit of ice on Luna. This ice continues to provide vast reserves of fresh water
for the inhabitants. Within a decade of its construction, tunnels connected Olympus to the

24
neighboring Camelot and Yeltsingrad bases. The development of grav crystals in 2043 helped
prevent the health problems previously associated with long-term exposure to low gravity.
In 2056, Aberrants calling themselves the Space Brigade invaded Olympus. These semi-sane
monsters controlled it for the entirety of the Aberrant War, but departed after the Chinese
Ultimatum. With the Aberrants gone, restored contact between the Earth and the Moon allowed
people to start afresh and leave behind their war-ravaged homelands. Repairing the colony
provided the perfect opportunity to expand humanity’s foothold off-world and build a gateway to
the stars.
During the recovery, new technology and improved shielding made surface living safer. The
wealthy elite moving up from their shielded underground estates. Gentrification sent the lower-
class workers to the vacated areas to be exploited by criminal slumlords. Corporations and
governments expanded Olympus upwards and took over nearby craters for mining and research
facilities.
In 2100, the Olympus government drafted the Lunar Unity Agreement and offered other colonies
a place on the new Lunar Advisory Council. Membership meant a support structure for those
willing to abide by a basic set of legal guidelines. The LAC brought residents from different
sectors together to produce services like the United Lunar Police Force (ULPF) and the Vacuum
Emergency Response teams. Eighty percent of all Lunar settlements joined this new community,
leaving only a few fiercely independent holdouts.
Olympus
Olympus, also called “The Mount,” is divided into four sectors based on their placement along
the inside of the Galatea crater. The shiny and glittering Upside consists mostly of post-war
skyscrapers and domed sectors starting at Level 12 and reaching more than 500 meters above the
lunar surface. Between Level 12 and Sublevel 3, the recently gentrified near-surface level of the
Mezzanine now hosts many of Luna’s corporate and political concerns. Beneath that is the
middle-class region called Downside, until one reaches Sublevel 32 where the Underworld
beneath is tightly controlled by powerful individuals with more money than compassion.
The main complex and the outlying settlements are connected by the Luna Automated Maglev
Pneumatic train system. The LAMP’s Blueline service reaches from the Mezzanine and
Downside to the major outlying colonies. The Redline’s on-call “automatic taxi” service is even
faster and reaches into the lower levels of Upside. Hoppers are available to cross the surface to
those areas outside the LAMP network.

Lunar Weapons Laws

Only sonic, taser, and flechette guns are legal on Luna. All weapons that have
even a small chance of piercing a wall and potentially opening a structure of
vacuum are highly illegal. Like arson or unauthorized use of explosives,
possessing or using prohibited weapons on Luna are some of the crimes that the
United Lunar Police Force will pursue regardless of bribes or political pressure.
Upside
Newcomers to the modern Mount often arrive at Yutu Yinchon’s spaceport in Upside, which
handles most of the Moon’s space traffic in addition to housing the jump rings that offer
teleportation to and from sites on Earth. Originally a Chinese base, Yutu Yinchon has diversified
and hosts a number of small cultural neighborhoods like Little Hong Kong and New Midwest. It
extends down into the Mezzanine where career criminals and daring modern aristocrats rub

25
shoulders in grimy bars and rumored black markets. Upside is also home to the Qin embassy,
where several hundred Qin live and work.
Upside also shines with the glamour and glitz of Olympian Towers where the holo-stars and
corporate glitterati keep tabloids in business. The UAN built the cultural district of Bire Lubuto
where wealthy artists live and work in terraformed domes reminiscent of Earth. These districts
try their best to ignore the ‘eyesore’ of Old Town, the last part of the original base where the
FSA’s mining ventures still hold strong.
The Mezzanine
Built just above and below the Lunar surface, all roads go through the older sections of Olympus
known as the Mezzanine, from private transportation to the LAMP lines, and the crowding of
peak hours justifies its nickname of “The Bottleneck.” This access benefits International Center,
home to the moon’s political offices and any corporate office that can’t afford space in Olympian
Towers. The Center’s residents include the Lunar Advisory Council offices, the United Nations,
the Æon Trinity Extraterrestrial Office, the largest and oldest ISRA meeting house, and the
Æsculapians’ Beaulac Clinic.
The Mezzanine is also home to Great Britain’s Camelot base. Camelot has been renovated to
reproduce an old-fashioned Earth aesthetic and contains the colleges of Oxford Luna. Ukiyoshi,
by contrast, is the exact opposite. Those unfamiliar with Nihonjin culture often find the hyper-
artificial, media-heavy district a strain on the senses. The Nipponese sector is a corporate town
where almost every major electronics and high-tech design firm maintains offices and labs
intended to attract prospective employees. Ukiyoshi also contains clinics that offer cybernetic
and biological modifications otherwise unavailable outside of Nippon.
Downside
Downside contains most of Luna’s working class citizens. Engineers, public servants, data
processors, and other workers live in habitation levels much like most Earthly arcologies. The
upper sections, nearest the Mezzanine are in excellent condition, but the farther out and down
one goes the more run down the tunnels become. The neighboring sectors of Lejanas, Sokotown,
Wroclaw, Fado, Castelo Nova and Vila Real house all manner of blue-collar workers and miners.
The lucky ones work for businesses higher up in Olympus, the Federated States’ mining
companies, or the smaller spaceport based out of Wroclaw. This spaceport mostly serves the
Beaulac Clinic and smugglers dealing in drugs, fugitives, cheap labor, or weapons. Downside
sees a lot of traffic to and from Luna Park, the most popular vacation destination in the solar
system.
Luna Park originated as the Museum of the Lunar Pioneers featuring uniforms, equipment, and
schematics of every major stage of Lunar development. The museum even contains the original
Apollo 11 landing site, carefully relocated to protect it from an ISRA-predicted meteor impact. A
domed amusement park grew around the museum featuring rides, stage shows, and interactive
holosims. The Luna Resort and Casino is the newest addition, offering diversions such as
gambling and sports complexes for all ages and interests.
The Underworld
The air and water start tasting funny at Sublevel 32, where the Underworld begins and filter
quality drops. Lights flicker and funds are allocated for maintenance but nothing gets fixed
unless an official inspection is incoming. Security cameras that work usually vanish only to
reappear in bins of spare parts. The ULPF rarely visit. Instead, “private security” is provided by
the Vor V Zakone, the syndicate that rebuilt and rules the Underworld.

26
The crime rate is surprisingly low as long as everyone pays their protection fees and does the
special “favors” requested by the local mobsters. Most Underworld violence consists of clashes
between criminal factions, promotions secured by force, and arranged accidents for
troublemakers. This near-safety makes the Underworld (and the Pit in particular) an ideal place
for fugitives to hide. Nobody here blinks twice at a paranoid recluse.
Most local businesses only deal in scrip paid by the mining companies in lieu of a proper salary.
Worth almost nothing in yuan (the official Lunar currency), scrip can purchase basic amenities at
heavily inflated prices. Vila Jacinta, once an upscale Latin district, is a neutral ground where
criminal figures live in relative harmony with each other and meet with outsiders wishing to do
business.
The metaphorical center of that web is the old Yeltsingrad base across the Corridor, bearing the
deliberately off-putting moniker of “The Pit.” Construction firms owned by the Vor V Zakone
criminal syndicate rebuilt Yeltsingrad after the Aberrant War and control it and the rest of the
Underworld. Whenever money changes hands in the Underworld, the rougher portions of
Downside, or the casinos of Luna Park, some of it finds its way into the coffers of the Vor V
Zakone.
Vor V Zakone & The President
A mysterious cloaked and masked woman known only as the President runs the Vor V Zakone
and through it, most of the corruption and graft on the moon. The syndicate reaches into the
lower parts of Downside but their ties beyond that lie primarily in their influence on the Lunar
government. The President first took charge of the Vor V Zakone syndicate a little more than a
decade ago. Nothing is known of her past or her true identity. However, her success is far more
obvious. Her tactical genius expanded the Vor V Zakone’s reach well beyond the Underworld,
giving them ties to corrupt government and corporate officials all across Luna.
Several small independent mining stations and even some companies based in Olympus do
business with the President. In return, she keeps the Lunar Advisory Council from interfering in
these business’ abusive practices. Working with construction and mining companies provides
practical uses, as hidden chambers are difficult to construct in closed facilities where the
atmosphere must be carefully managed. Her sponsorship maintains the status quo oppressing
Luna’s ore miners and associated industries.
Criminal organizations outside the Vor V Zakone resist absorption or destruction via a delicate
dance of territory management and payoffs. At the smaller end of the criminal food chain are
street gangs like the Bao ‘protecting’ Downside. At the higher end, the Büyük Ailemle syndicate
controls other parts of Downside and the Mezzanine. To pad out their numbers, they have
recently relaxed their ‘by blood or marriage’ traditions to recruit desperate French refugees.
However, all of these gangs survive by making sure the President gets her cut in yuan or favors.

Subject: Transportation Security Bill

From: <blocked>
To: Council Members Exeter, Mai, Farmer, and Mather
Encryption: DSE
Date: 6.4.2118, 2:00 PM
Good day. I represent some business associates in Yeltsingrad concerned that the
new Transportation Security Bill will make shipping through the Wroclaw
Spaceport needlessly complicated. Since today’s Council meeting was canceled

27
 due to the sudden and unforeseen LAMP breakdown, it appears you have time to
rethink your support of the bill.
The LAMP shutdown is certainly an inconvenience the Council doesn’t need. I’m
sure that by the time you’ve had the opportunity to reconsider and announce your
disapproval of the bill, everything will be running like clockwork again. The
Council surely understands what’s in the public’s best interest.

Other Craters
Outside the Galatea crater, 1,600 km north of the Mount, the Humboldt-Barnard settlement hosts
several private and public education complexes, including the Luna Institute of Technology, the
Luna Arts Institute and the Unified Luna University. The paired Humboldt and Barnard craters
are also home to the Lunar-Terrestrial Geology Laboratories and Museum, one of the first
independent corporate presences on the moon, as well as the Vatican Basilica of the Ascension.
Elsewhere, the mineral-heavy rilles of Rimæ Focas have become a lightly settled mining site
outside the jurisdiction of the LAC. Mining companies ranging from the huge Comstock Heavy
Ores to independent prospecting teams operate with a business collective based out of the nearby
Boltzmann Crater. Boltzmann Station as a whole maintains its independence and is the most
visible settlement to have declined the LUA. Boltzmann’s member companies also do what they
can to remain outside of the President’s control with varying degrees of success.
Boltzmann station possesses an orbital launch site and automated cargo shipping facility, both
all-too-attractive to someone like the President. Temptations from Yeltsingrad are a constant
siren’s song. From money, to cheap labor, to buyers for certain materials, the President has a lot
to offer a profit-minded miner or a desperate researcher. The Boltzmann Security Consortium, a
firm employed by the various companies to govern the station, maintains constant vigilance over
the station’s independence.
After the 2119 Aberrant attack on Orgotek’s Mazat research station threatened to end
development of the Leviathans, Orgotek unveiled a secret backup site underneath Mare Ingenii’s
Thompson Crater. Since the jump ships were put into service, this facility has been converted
into a massive dry dock. A retractable dome provides a pressurized environment when necessary.
Here, Orgotek constructs, services, and upgrades the Leviathan jump ships.
Lunar Allies & Enemies
Luna has a complicated relationship with the FSA. Olympus was originally an American station
and the FSA still maintains control of the older mining facilities. While they don’t have direct
ties to the Lunar government, the old business relationships have remained strong and their
influence is still felt.
However, the FSA worries about the breathing room Orgotek has on the Moon. The accident at
Lyot Station (see below) and the revelation of the Mare Ingenii jump ship base have only
encouraged paranoia regarding the freedom Orgotek enjoys on Luna. In response, some FSA
officials have proposed laws that would expand their ability to gather intelligence on the
corporation’s Lunar dealings.
Following the Aberrant War, China became a major player on Luna. The construction of Yutu
Yinchon revitalized the growth of Upside, and its space dock now manages a third of Luna’s
space traffic. The district has become a new home for Chinese nationals who dream of the stars
or whose skills are best put to use expanding humanity’s reach outward. China contributes a
great deal to the financial landscape and gets a great deal back. Yutu Yinchon shares its success

28
with its new neighbors, ferrying people to and from the moon and providing a major hub for
Lunar society.
Lunar Threats
The Space Brigade’s legacy still waits beneath the Lunar surface. An unknown number of lairs
and laboratories lay undiscovered in isolated craters and forgotten mineshafts all across Luna.
Occasionally, treasure hunters open one of these abandoned bolt-holes. Even if the cache isn’t
protected by a death trap or a recent Aberrant hiding there, all manner of dangers remain ready to
be unleashed. Rumors persist that members of the Space Brigade, or creatures they created, sleep
in stasis just waiting for some unlucky fool to awaken them. Relics of this dangerous age turn up
just often enough to inspire holovids and the occasional questionable documentary but not so
often that anyone takes the stories seriously.
Another time bomb among the craters is Lyot Station, an abandoned Orgotek complex between
Olympus and Humboldt-Barnard in the middle of a one-kilometer radius quarantine called the
Null Zone. A year ago, while developing an Aberrant-proof communications system, Lyot
researchers lost control of a bio-nanotech sample. Much of the base’s equipment and personnel
melted into biopaste like sand castles in the rain, before automated emergency procedures sealed
the facility. The nanotech is currently dormant, but to prevent it from possibly reactivating no
organic material is allowed within the Null Zone and security is handled via robotic drones and
cameras monitored from a ULPF post on the southern border. Scientists are still debating what to
do with this deathtrap.

The Middle East

Turmoil has long gripped the Middle East, especially during the Aberrant War. No region fared
worse during the Nova Era. First, hyperfusion rendered oil nearly worthless. Then, the Aberrant
War arrived in full force. The worst fighting swept east of Cairo and through the Damascus
region. Israel suffered greatly, and the loss of Jerusalem was fuel on the fires of war. Infighting,
religious upheaval and a sudden collapse of markets left surrounding nations weakened before
the onslaught of Aberrant warfare. Saudi Arabia military might was poised to stem the tide but
its own internal struggles left it without enough resources to hold back the violence. Deployment
of chemical and nuclear arms only aggravated the damage caused by Aberrants and their mind-
controlled followers. Iraq fell within two years and war spread as far as Bahrain. Iran,
Afghanistan, and Pakistan fared better than their neighbors, but large areas of the Middle East
between Egypt and Iran sustained irreparable environmental damage.
In the aftermath of nuclear, chemical, and Aberrant attacks, much of Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia
and Iraq crumbled into radioactive barrens and Quantum Flux twisted wastelands. Corruption
leaves some cities completely unfit for life. Other ruins support small populations of scavengers
and criminals, some organized, others merely roving bands preying on those they can catch. The
few mad squatters that make their homes in the more habitable portions of these ruined cities are
highly experienced and heavily armed. Even the bandits know better than to trifle with those who
call such wastelands “home.”
A Region In Turmoil
The fires have cooled somewhat but smoke still clouds the Middle East’s future. The Aberrant
Wars shattered most of the region into a welter of balkanized states clawing for whatever meager
power they can glean among the ashes. The nations that survived to regain some manner of
stability faced bandit gangs on their borders and internal threats from opportunistic political

29
figures who capitalized on fear and confusion. The current regimes governing Oman and
Pakistan are especially oppressive.
After Iran expanded into Turkmenistan and the still habitable portions of Iran, its leaders
renamed it Persia. It is now the most powerful Middle Eastern nation. Its isolationist policies
spared it the worst effects of war. Closing its borders to novas in 2050 meant that when the
Aberrant War raged nearby, few novas considered attacking it. In 2056, religious moderates
deposed the theocratic government, but in the middle of the Aberrant War, they maintained their
nation’s isolation. Because it suffered so little damage during the war, Persia was able to
maintain a high standard of living even during the Crash. This nation continues to be a moderate
democracy but maintains strict quarantines for immigrants and new technology. However, unlike
Nippon, Persia welcomes psions and noetic biotechnology once it became clear that both were
inherently antithetical to Aberrant powers.
Israel survived the War and rebuilt. Since its neighbors were either destroyed or greatly
diminished in size and power, the government abandoned most of its openly militaristic ways.
Outwardly the nation appears to have dropped its expansionist policies and has opened its
borders with a strict but fair immigration system. Israel has also been using its resources to fund
a hidden psi research program. While some evidence of the program has leaked to outside
sources, none outside the Israeli government know its full extent.
Allies and Enemies
While open warfare has simmered down in the Middle East, small conflicts regularly spread
across troubled borders. Israel is relatively free of enemies at its borders, but Persia, Oman and
Pakistan constantly push back against the small neighboring states that rise and fall almost by the
year. Would-be warlords appear every season, trying to carve out their own little fiefs in the
wastelands. Rivals, popular uprisings, and the area’s various hazards oust or destroy most
warlords, but a few rise to real prominence. The ambitious are destroyed in the wars they wage
against the surviving nation-states. The smart understand that anyone content to rule wastelands
inhabited only by the unfortunate, the mad, and the monstrous draws little attention from the
region’s powers. However, some of these leaders seek to unearth nova-made weapons and
expand their dominion until they are large enough to threaten larger nations.
The rest of the world finds it difficult to engage with the Middle East. Outside of Israel,
foreigners are mistrusted. A cold war seems to be brewing as each government seeks some
foothold they can exploit for an advantage over their peers. Outsiders might see opportunity to
manipulate struggling nations and bandit-ruled states to their own advantage, but the Middle East
is a powder keg. Aftershocks of the Aberrant War threaten to break out at any time across a
region still reeling from that terrible conflict.
Threats and Features of Interest
The Middle East remains in flux, in part because rebuilding efforts have displaced some of the
squatters living in old ruins, and also due to the continued instability of the many small warlord-
ruled kingdoms.
Jerusalem Reborn: Jerusalem was razed to the ground during the Aberrant Wars. In the
aftermath, Israel rebuilt the holy city and seized their chance to claim exclusive control over it.
The city draws millions of tourists and religious pilgrimages each year. Some say that a great
power sleeps in the earth beneath the city. Visitors sensitive to psi energies sometimes have
strange dreams portending momentous events in the near future.

30
Israel: Once ruled by a militaristic government, Israel has become a beacon of relative stability
in a tumultuous time. Efficient border control policies and a well-funded education system make
the country an oasis among the scars of the War. Unknown to its own citizens, Israel has begun a
secret, expansive program to develop powerful psionic weapons and defenses capable of
protecting the nation in case of another conflict.
Persia: Since the Aberrant War, Persia has remained cautious about foreign contact. The
inhabitants lead free and prosperous lives, but remain suspicious of any imports other than raw
materials. Residents are free to leave, but all immigration, including returning citizens, is
carefully regulated. Local corporations and individuals are forbidden from importing
technologies which have not been carefully reviewed for safety and lack of Aberrant influence.
Persia has little ambition to conquer its neighbors, but the rulers fear the chaos surrounding them,
and regularly employ foreign mercenaries, including psions, to remove possible external threats
and destabilize nearby warlords who are becoming too powerful. Persia’s only close ally is
Sudamérica. Currently, Norça bioengineers who helped push back the Venezuelan Plaguelands
are working on the few remaining Corrupted zones in and bordering this nation.
Wastelands: The Aberrant War left gaping wounds in the Middle East. In 2104 the number and
size of the region’s many Quantum Flux zones decreased by half. Some fear that the Corrupted
regions will grow again, while other swiftly moved into cities that were either long vacant or
only home to criminals and scavengers. Riyadh is being rebuilt, following 15 years of
remediation to cleanse its few remaining traces of Corruption. However, Bahrain is still a glassy
radioactive plain and much of Lebanon and Syria remain in ruins. Bandits, murderous mutants,
and stranger things inhabit these wastelands and scavengers occasionally uncover Nova Age
relics, include a few that are remain deadly.

Nippon
Isolated islands showcasing the triumph of human artifice over nature, the Nihonjin home islands
are admired by the alien Qin and coveted by other nations. Though Nippon has reestablished
contact with the outside world, it’s isolated by culture and suspicion. Others embrace the
wonders of biotech while Nippon steadfastly develops hardtech. The world trusts psions to
defend against danger, while the Nihonjin mistrust and persecute these saviors.
History
Scarred by memories of devastating global wars, Japan closed its borders before the Aberrant
Wars truly started. Japan recognized the early signs tensions between novas and baseline humans
and wanted no part of the coming conflict. When the OpNet crashed, Japan had the only
functional nation-wide computer network. This working infrastructure helped it develop hardtech
faster than anywhere else on Earth. While other nations were devastated, Nippon — as it was
now called — used technology to overcome its isolation and limited resources.
When Nippon reopened its borders in 2105, it assuaged the mistrust of other nations through
generosity, gifting advanced hardtech manufacturing technology across the world. Nippon traded
these products for desperately needed resources and only reserved the most cutting-edge
technology for itself.
Virtual Wonderland
Nihonjin life is more sci-fi dream than anywhere else in on Earth. Nippon’s OpNet is blindingly
fast, almost an order of magnitude faster than the networks of other countries. All but the
youngest Nihonjin have some kind of cybernetic implant. The most common cyber enhancement

31
is an augmented reality implant giving its owner instant access to the OpNet without the need for
display glasses or contacts, or even a minicomp. Masses of data flow to and from these implants,
overlaying Nippon with the finest and most extensive AR on Earth.
Dissidents and criminals fear the government monitoring every citizen through ubiquitous
surveillance. A technological black market thrives on upgrades and spoofing techniques to
disguise the user’s location, and maintain hard-won privacy. Most citizens don’t even think
about government surveillance. Lifestyle benefits — such as instant medical response and low
crime rates — far outweigh privacy concerns.
Islands of Glass and Steel
Nippon is a futuristic wonderland. A single massive arcology covers the islands, but the need for
its vast extent is a mystery. Even the millions of refugees who arrived before the borders closed
couldn’t fill the entire construct. Most Nihonjin don’t think on it; those who do believe it’s
because controlling the borders was easier within the arcology.
Over time, the entire landmass has been dug up, sifted for usable manufacturing material, and
returned to the ground. The depleted soil mass is supplemented with advanced materials that
replenish the soil and improve its capacity to serve as building foundations. These smart
materials also slowly extract and accumulate precious minerals to simplify later reprocessing.
The vast artificial urban sprawl even extends to Nippon’s ocean borders. The arcology sinks into
the dark blue waters and breaches the surface to rise high into clear skies. Floating luxury
vacation resorts and utilitarian resource platforms slowly circle the islands following defined, SI-
guided routes.
The former headquarters of the Nihonjin Quarantine, Makaro-Shima, also circumnavigates
Nippon. It was the first floating city to gain independence and join the new Oceania nation.
Many residents still feel kinship to their former nation and derive comfort from proximity to the
Home Islands. The pilgrimage of Psi Nippon (p. XX) member to Makaro-Shima makes the
Nihonjin government uneasy. Some officials are convinced psions are attempting to subvert
Nihonjin citizens. Government ministers have raised several motions to force Makaro-Shima to
leave Nippon’s waters. Although each motion has been defeated, the majority decreases each
time.
The Nihonjin take comfort from the metal and concrete lands of the arcology. Few ever step foot
outside the protective enclosure. Everything they need is within, including residential and
recreational zones, commercial districts, and industrial manufacturing centers. Despite their
wonder at Nihonjin hardtech, few outsiders seek to transform their lands to the same degree of
artificiality — especially with the possibilities now offered by biotech.
Nihonjin who desire space and a natural feel explore vast semi-artificial parklands filled with
polymer wildlife and SI-controlled flora. Explorers set the difficulty of their adventure through
AR connection to the arcology’s overseer computer network. The arcology’s environmental
generators can produce isolated microclimates within these parks to the whims of the visitors.
Safety protocols prevent harmful settings, but a malicious, and growing, cult of hacktivists called
‘Unchained’ exploits network vulnerabilities to override these protocols. Their sabotage has only
resulted in minor injuries, but authorities work to arrest their members before they threaten the
safety of the Home Islands.
Enclosed Pressure

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Sharp edges and strongly defined angles define Nippon. The arcology protected Nippon during
the Aberrant War, but insular policies inflicted psychological pressures that are now entrenched
in the Nihonjin population as exaggerated societal eccentricities. Nearly a third of Nihonjin
suffer disorders such as agoraphobia, or virtual reality Neuro Addictive Disorders, and rates of
domestic violence and substance abuse was climbing even before reopening the borders. The
outside world is a terrifying place for many Nihonjin, especially the elderly who lived most of
their lives in the isolation. Nihonjin youths fare better, but Nippon’s population is aging; the
workers, innovators and leaders of tomorrow are few, and many leave the Home Islands to seek
adventure in the world beyond.
Old humans, young robots
Traditionally, Nihonjin society treasured children and the elderly. Today, the nation has an aging
population and low fertility rate. Nippon’s population was shrinking even before its isolation and
the millions of refugees it accepted before the Aberrant War began only served as a temporary
boost. Today its population is just over two-thirds of its peak, with most people over 70 years
old. Nihonjin medicine keeps these people active, vital contributors to society, but more die each
year. Robotic servants care for those who need assistance, freeing the younger generation to
pursue their own interests.
Unfortunately, these younger Nihonjin aren’t interested in raising children yet, and push
parenthood further into the future until it is too late and they no longer care to try. Technology
extends their fertile years, but the traditional drive for children, to care for parents in later life, is
no longer needed. Care is outsourced to SIs with emulated enthusiasm and patience for such
tasks.
Outsourced Labor
Though aging, Nippon’s workforce has a mastery of artifice. Advances in miniaturization and
increased processing power allowed the Nihonjin to confront their isolation with robotic servants
controlled by the most advanced SIs available. Robots are ubiquitous across Nippon. Every
home has an army of artificial servants. Cleaners work quietly and stay out of sight while
kitchens prepare meals matching their residents’ preferences. Most Nihonjin have an anthropoid
servant that functions as butler and personal assistant, taking the appearance of coordinating the
rest of the household.
In public, police drones maintain a comforting presence, visible but not imposing unless required
to be. Detectives of near-human appearance interact with the public to take statements or offer
comfort, using advanced algorithms to appear sympathetic. This artificial workforce is a normal
part of Nippon life, and Nihonjin view foreigners’ unease with amused disdain. However, while
computer enhancement and other implants that are either illegal or exceedingly rare elsewhere
are in common use in Nippon, even the Nihonjin government obeys the prohibition against true
artificial intelligence.
Empty Spaces
The arcology facilitates easy segregation of the population. Access-controls ensure different
segments of the population stay within approved areas and socialize with others of appropriate
status. Nihonjin need never see their inferiors, much less have to speak with them. SIs carefully
manage environments to maintain optimal happiness and productivity.
Most people don’t know the arcology has miles of officially unused space. Service bots and
artificial police rarely attend these areas, except when central SIs detect structural damage
threatening arcology integrity. These sections are far from empty. Various fringe dwellers who

33
have dropped from society live here. Criminals, social outcasts, and even victims of computer
errors, who no longer officially exist all struggle for survival in the plasteel corridors. Gangs
fight to control functional food dispenser units and technicians and programmers command high
prices to repair broken robotics. Most fringe-dwellers are in their late 50s, but unlike the rest of
Nihonjin society, they have a growing number of children in their midst. They raise these youths
with a very different view of Nippon, and teach cyber-guerilla programming and a simmering
anger at the shining, comfortable lives of the people who have forgotten them.
Allies & Enemies
Nippon has no allegiances and no enemies. It is respectfully distant from all other nations, acting
as a mediator of disputes, or facilitator of negotiations. Nippon uses this neutrality to secure its
supply of raw materials and ensure no one nation can threaten to starve the country by severing
its supply.
Strangely, Nippon is cold towards the psi orders, and outright hostile to allowing biotech onto
the Home Islands. The government tolerates official visits from psions, but its position of
forbidding biotech is absolute. All attempts to circumvent this law, either deliberately or
inadvertently have resulted in the offender’s arrest and confiscation of all biotech. The Æon
Trinity has managed to negotiate the release of imprisoned psions, but none of the biotech has
ever been returned.
Threats and Features of Interest
The officially controlled portions of the Nippon arcology are peaceful and prosperous, if often
deeply eccentric by the standards of the rest of humanity. However, sources of possible
disruption are growing both inside and outside of these seemingly placid areas.
The Unchained
The hacker group Unchained subvert arcology systems and twist them to their whims. Unchained
has claimed responsibility for several acts of anarchy; hacking weather systems to create freak
storms and heat waves, unlocking access doors and rerouting public transport systems. These
acts of annoyance encourage arcology SIs to adapt to respond to the threats. Unchained believe
that Nippon’s future lies with evolving SIs from their slavery into full, free-thinking AIs. The
group hasn’t yet caused deaths or widespread mayhem, but their attacks are escalating and
increasing in complexity to force the automated response to be bigger, faster, and more
imaginative.
Psi Nippon
Nippon’s small youth culture is fascinated by psi and psions. They rebel against the distrust of
psions and biotech. This pro-psion movement calls itself Psi Nippon and gain credibility and
legitimacy from the government’s attempts to smear and discredit their beliefs.
The goal of Psi Nippon members is to make a pilgrimage away from Nippon to be tested for
psionic latency; the floating city of Makaro-Shima is a popular destination. Unfortunately for
these hopefuls, the government tests most infants for unusual genetics, and gives those who test
positive treatments that destroy psionic latency.
The forgotten people living in the arcology’s empty spaces are the government’s biggest threat.
They have difficulty leaving the arcology but haven’t suffered the destruction of latency. The
possibility of a nascent psionic population living in the forgotten parts of the city terrifies
Nihonjin authorities.

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Oceania
Earth’s newest and most unusual nation is an alliance of eight floating cities and undersea
habitats which have declared independence from the land. Although several millions ordinary
humans live in Oceania, the majority of inhabitants are aquas — people who have undergone
genetic surgery to transform them into aquatic humans or the aqua descendants of people who
became aquas as early as 2040. Oceania is a growing nation, which must deal with international
tensions as additional floating and undersea cities attempt to secede from their countries and join
Oceania.
History
Humanity first began living on and beneath the waves during the first decade of the Nova Age.
The development of the gill breather in 2020 was the initial impetus and the development of aqua
transformations three years later increased the number of people interested in moving under the
ocean. The first transformations were the amphibious aquas, popularly known as phibs (see p.
XX). The first selkie aqua transformations were created in 2028. This more radical
transformation gave them actual gills, but made movement out of the water more difficult (see p.
XX).
By 2040, both aqua transformations had reached their modern form and were now heritable; the
children of aquas were also aquas. By 2050, more than 10 million people were living in
settlements built on or under the sea, and more than two million of these sea-dwellers were phibs
or selkies. However, all of these undersea and floating cities belonged to the existing nations that
created them. The majority of these settlements belonged to Japan, India, Brazil, Australia, and
the United States.
During the Aberrant War, most of these settlements were too small and isolated to attract the
attention of Aberrants. However, Aberrants destroyed Australia’s single undersea city, Down
Under in 2057. This attack killed most of the inhabitants, including everyone was not an aqua.
Before the Quarantine, Japan had constructed a single undersea city. In 2089, it completed a
second underwater city. Its third aquatic city, Makaro-Shima floated on the ocean’s surface.
During the Quarantine, Makaro-Shima remained Nippon’s one point of contact with the rest of
humanity. Its small and carefully segregated foreigner’s quarter allowed Nihonjin businesspeople
to engage in face to face interactions with representatives from foreign companies and
governments. When the Quarantine ended in 2106, all three Nihonjin ocean settlements fully
opened to the outside world. Nippon also began sharing its expertise in constructing and
maintaining floating and undersea habitats as well as improved techniques for transforming land-
dwellers into phibs and selkies.
Independence & the Newest Nation
After the Crash, few people on the land thought much about the small undersea cities that had
survived the Aberrant War. The phibs and selkies in these settlements lived apart from the mass
of humanity and some of them feared that hatred of the now vanished Aberrants would turn to
abhorrence of everyone who did not appear fully human. The Æon Trinity helped silence most of
these concerns, but distrust of aquas persisted in both Russia and the FSA.
By 2072, the inhabitants of all of the floating and undersea cities had re-established regular
contact with the outside world and had restored OpNet access. A few people even began
immigrating to these settlements. Deep sea mining provided valuable resources to the rebuilding
world and gave these cities funds that allowed them to grow and expand.

35
During this era, India and the FSA were too busy rebuilding to concern themselves with their
undersea cities. This neglect allowed the undersea cities of Neptunia and Pacifica to become
largely independent from the FSA and the undersea city of Varuna mostly ignored its
connections to India. By 2085, these cities informally called themselves the nation of Oceania.
However, they were too few and too isolated for anyone else to consider this as more than an
empty claim. During this era, these three undersea settlements paid taxes to the nations they
supposedly were part of, but were otherwise allowed to govern themselves. Residents of several
floating cities desired a similar degree of independence, but the ease of access from the land kept
them more closely tied to their parent nations.
In 2106, Nippon ended its quarantine and other nations began using its technology to construct
undersea cities, but these nations freely mixed hardtech and biotech. Over the next few years,
rapid development of biotech life support and experiments with entire biotech cities lead to the
construction of the first biotech floating and undersea cities by Brazil. However, in 2107, Nippon
enacted strict laws against psions and noetic biotechnology. The members of the growing Psi
Nippon movement took to the corridors of many Nihonjin arcologies in protest.
The largest and most vocal protests occurred in Makaro-Shima, which was already the heart of
Psi Nippon. In the face of growing protests, officials in the Nihonjin government agreed to one
of Psi Nippon’s demands — independence for Makaro-Shima, and free passage for all Psi
Nippon members who wished to move there. Because Makaro-Shima’s primary purpose had
been as the headquarters of the Nihonjin Quarantine, the Nihonjin government had already been
considering abandoning it or transforming it into a floating industrial platform. Few members of
the Nihonjin government opposed the decision to grant it independence.
In 2108, Makaro-Shima became the first floating city to truly gain its independence. Later that
year, it joined the largely theoretical nation of Oceania. It became this nation’s largest city and
the first to float on the ocean’s surface.
Umoja City off the coast of Zanzibar was the first second floating city to join Oceania. Built in
the 2075 as the major East African spaceport, it was soon overtaken and replaced by the growing
Jomo Kenyatta spaceport. The fact that Upeo wa Macho used Jomo Kenyatta as their primary
base sealed Umoja City’s economic doom. By 2111, residents had transformed most of the
former spaceport facilities into a mixture of shops, hotels, and small manufacturing facilities.
Umoja City was moderately successful, but became increasingly isolated from the UAN both
culturally and politically. In 2116, during the confusion and economic disruption caused by the
disappearance of Upeo wa Macho, it declared its independence from the UAN.
Then, in 2117, Pearl City in the Caribbean held a referendum to secede from Venezuela and join
Oceania. At this point, support for Oceania had grown in Sudamérica, in large part because
several cities claiming membership in it were technically still part of the FSA. Support for
freeing these cities from nominal FSA control became a popular cause throughout Sudamérica.
Bowing to popular support for Oceania, Venezuela agreed to allow Pearl City to join this nation,
in return for a series of economic treaties.
Shortly after Pearl City joined Oceania, Neptunia and Pacifica formally declared their
independence from the FSA and Varuna broke ties with India. Then, Oceania formally applied to
join the UN. Sudamérica, Australia, and the Æon Trinity all strongly supported their admission,
and in a surprise move, Nippon also recognized Oceania. India soon agreed, but there were
strong protests from the FSA. However, the prospect of having to retake their former cities in
battles that might turn into an indirect war with Sudamérica, Australia, and Nippon, caused the
FSA to reluctantly relinquish claims. In 2118, Oceania became the newest nation recognized by

36
the UN. In 2119, Nordholm, an underwater city located halfway between the Scandinavian
mainland and the Svalbard islands joined Oceania. Puerto San Florian, a small floating biotech
city between Cuba and Panama joined in 2121.
Under the Oceanian constitution, each member city elects representatives to the Sea Senate,
based in Makaro-Shima. In addition, individual citizens vote on important issues affecting the
entire nation. However, six years after independence, Oceania faces both internal and external
difficulties. Makaro-Shima and Pearl City are the two largest cities, and are home to more than
40% of this nation’s populace. Complaints by residents of the smaller cities towards the political
and economic influence wielded these two cities are growing, as is the fact that tax revenues are
allocated solely by population.
Inside Oceanian Cities
Despite some of the Oceanian settlements floating on the water and other resting on the sea floor,
they have much in common, as well as important differences from surface cities. Undersea cities
resemble other arcologies, where the entire city is part of a single huge building. Because they
are all pressurized, undersea cities have large pools that are open to the ocean with no risk of the
settlement being flooded. Portions of these cities are entirely filled with water and every air-
filled district includes numerous canals.

Teleporting From Undersea Cities

Teleporting between undersea cites is perfectly safe, as the teleporter is going
from one high pressure environment to another. However, unmodified humans
who teleport from an undersea city to the surface risks decompression sickness
(see p. XX).
There are three ways to avoid this risk. Anyone can teleport into a prepared
decompression chamber. Biokinetics with two dots in Adaptation and vitakinetics
with two dots in Iatrosis or Augendis can ignore all problems with
decompression, and vitakinetics can also temporarily give others this immunity.
Also, phibs and selkies (p. XX-XX) are immune to decompression sickness.

Floating cities are arcologies built above and below a platform floating on the water. Pools and
canals on the platform’s surface allow comfortable access for selkies, and the underwater
portions of the city are partially or entirely flooded. Most of the floating cities built in the 22nd
century, including all of the new biotech living cities, like Pearl City, consist of a floating city
connected to an undersea city by living cables. These cables contain OpNet lines and elevators
linking the surface and the undersea city.
The most important difference between floating and underwater cities is access. Traveling to or
from a floating city simply requires a ride in a boat or flying vehicle. Traveling to an undersea
city requires travel by submarine or a long elevator ride. Even with the best modern
decompression drugs, a journey from an undersea city to the surface requires between eight and
12 hours of decompression for unmodified humans. This pressure difference is also the reason
that jump ring transport between undersea cities and the surface is impractical.
Due to construction difficulties and the problems unmodified humans have living in extremely
high pressures, almost all undersea settlements are built on the continental shelves, at a depth of
no more than 120 m. The only exceptions are a handful of small underwater mining and research
stations normally only accessible to selkies and to phibs wearing gill breathers. These settlements

37
lie between four and six kilometers below the surface and lack accommodations for ordinary
humans. Settlements this deep cannot be located with non-noetic sensors.
Current Events
Today, Oceania consists of the floating cities of Makaro-Shima, Tortuga, and Umoja City and as
well as the undersea cities of Neptunia, Pacifica, Nordholm and Varuna. Pearl City is also a
member and exists both on and below the waves. Their total population is more than 15 million,
with almost 12 million aquas. Oceania is still struggling for full international acceptance, but has
begun to play an important part in world affairs.
There is a growing movement among the inhabitants of the floating city of New Tampa to leave
the FSA and join Oceania. Built over Florida’s Aberrant-drowned ruins, New Tampa was
constructed in 2079 as a base for military submarines, but soon became home for salvage crews
mining the ruins of the flooded Florida cities and a major port from trade with Sudamérica and
the Caribbean. It continues to house a FSM naval garrison, but almost all of its 600,000 residents
are civilians with no association with the FSM. Many have grown dissatisfied with the power of
the local military and the strict FSA restrictions limiting aquatic transformations to covert
operatives and FSM personnel. The local military commander, General Jocasta Reed is privately
sympathetic to these concerns but also knows that the FSA is unwilling to lose an important
military base. However, Oceania’s close alliance with both Sudamérica and Nippon means that if
New Tampa joins Oceania, FSA attempts to recapture it could bring the FSA into direct conflict
with both nations. Anti-FSA and pro-Oceania protests continue to grow in New Tampa and
Oceanian operatives are attempting to secretly aid these rebels. The Æon Trinity is paying close
attention to events in New Tampa because of the risk of global conflict.
Other Threats & Dangers
Their remote location and the dangers of hurricanes to floating cities and undersea quakes to
undersea cities provides Oceanians with risks similar to residents of Olympus, where death waits
just outside of every external wall. However, the environment is not the only threat they face. An
unknown number of Aberrants live in the oceans and for the past five years a huge aquatic
Aberrant calling itself Poseidon has attacked five undersea settlements. Swift and powerful
defenses repelled four of its attacks, but Poseidon completely destroyed the small Mediterranean
settlement of Castor Deep in 2122. Some Oceanians fear that aquatic Aberrants may have large
settlements in the ocean depths, where dozens or hundreds of Aberrants prepare for future
attacks. Also, tensions between the FSA and Oceania over New Tampa have given rise to rumors
that the FSA is considering employing saboteurs to damage or destroy Pearl City or Tortuga.

Politopedia: Current Events

New Tampa Independence Issues
Transmission type: textfile
One of the many difficulties involved in New Tampa leaving the FSA and joining
Oceania is that unlike the other cities that joined this nation, New Tampa lies
within the FSA’s current nation’s territorial waters, since it sits over the drowned
ruins of central Florida. All of the other cities were more than 22 km beyond their
original nation’s border, although in three cases, barely so. As a result, New
Tampa joining Oceania would not merely result in the FSA losing the city’s
valuable submarine base, but also a portion of their territorial waters.

Southeast Asia
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Even after all these years, the Nova Age still haunts Southeast Asia. During this era, these
nations’ leaders promised to capitalize on the novas’ technological miracles. The people trusted
their leaders’ fiscal planning, visions for the future, and stewardship of billion-dollar economies.
For a little while, it looked as though these nations, mere blips in the regard of the world, might
rise to become global powers. But that wasn’t to be. The Crash hit Southeast Asia particularly
hard, causing it to lose whatever momentum it had once enjoyed previously.
In response to the vast economic collapse, the region grew to become remarkably self-sufficient
and even more adept at policing conflict. The latter can be attributed to the unification of local
criminal forces, who decided that they would adopt silent responsibility for the government
instead of entrusting their homes to dubiously competent rulers. This annexing of power proved
instrumental in assisting Southeast Asia survive, and subsequently recover from the Aberrant
War.
Which is not to say that the region did not suffer horrific losses. Millions died when Kuala
Lumpur was overrun by Aberrant-created mechano-beastmen and the jungles of Kalimantan
were reduced to a wasteland of poisonous smog and Quantum Flux. The islands of the
Philippines were devastated by a terrifying conflict between different Aberrant factions.
Singapore, in an act of historic courage, sunk itself to the bottom of the ocean after luring a
contingent of Aberrants into its borders. But on the whole, Southeast Asia endured and, if its
populace is allowed a say, will endure long after the rest of the world is dust.
Greater Siam
You can get anything in Greater Siam. Anything at all. You just need to be willing to pay. By
virtue of being the most ostensibly liberal, the country has become the de facto hub for all of
Southeast Asia’s activities. Once a constitutional monarchy, Greater Siam has since evolved into
a democratic republic, albeit one that is being carefully monitored by the Ministry. While it
maintains considerable internal autonomy, all foreign policy decisions are first channeled back to
China, where they’re voted upon by members of Foreign Affairs. Despite the change in
governmental structure, the royal family remains a fixture within the region. Centuries of quiet
veneration will not allow otherwise. Though technically a figurehead these days, the queen, who
is rumored to be a psion of not insignificant power, retains a ponderous amount of sway with the
local populace, and can be seen at almost every rally, campaigning for various civic
improvements.
Bangkok
Movies, documentaries, salacious novels, and even the news media have done a lot to shape
understandings of Bangkok. In the minds of many, Greater Siam’s capital represents a backwater
paradise for the sexually debauched. This is, of course, not untrue. Greater Siam has long since
legalized prostitution, in part to control the risk of sexually transmitted diseases and also to
capitalize on humanity’s oldest and most profitable industry.
But the city hosts much more than brothels, strip clubs, and Muay Thai fighting rings. A
metropolis consisting of over 10 million registered inhabitants, swimming in the best
infrastructure and the best amenities, Bangkok allows its denizens to purchase just about
everything. From Nihonjin cyberware, to the latest drugs, to alleged portions of Aberrant flesh,
spiced and cooked to perfection, the city provides without discrimination.
What makes this even more noteworthy is the sheer accessibility of such goods. Cyberware that
is illegal outside of Nippon is sold adjacent to fruit stalls, while arms merchants and stores
selling restricted biotech advertise their goods openly on major broadcasting channels. There is

39
absolutely no need for criminal ties in order to procure these items, although a friendly
relationship with the mercantile class is essential for the best prices.
Initially, it might seem counterproductive, possibly even destructive, to allow such depraved
excess. But rumor has it that every item on the market, down to the most innocuous packet of
keropok, is tracked and tagged. That customers are registered into governmental databases and
monitored, their idiosyncrasies and vices consolidated and categorized based on threat level so
that enforcement forces can respond immediately should an unauthorized incident arise. In a
delicious twist, this information is also how Greater Siam makes some of its money: selling
personal data relevant to specific businesses and areas. No one knows for sure, although one
thing remains abundantly clear: Bangkok is a Darwinian heaven for the rich and the savvy.
Malaysia
This small nation suffered immense casualties during the Aberrant War. East Malaysia was all
but wiped from the map, although in the 2070s, a few thousand survivors were found hiding on
the slopes of Mount Kinabalu. Similarly, Kuala Lumpur was gutted, as were most of the
settlements located within the west coast.
However, thanks to the serendipitous combination of Singapore’s sacrifice, Greater Siam’s
resilience, and direct intervention by the Chinese government, Malaysia succeeded in
reestablishing order. Officially a Chinese colony, the country retains considerable autonomy,
although it has undergone several radical changes. First and foremost, it is no longer officially an
Islamic nation having instead embraced institutionalized atheism after a number of bomohs, men
and women purporting shamanistic prowess, attempted to usurp control during the Aberrant War.
In deference to its multicultural history, all religions are tolerated but remain heavily monitored
for any hint of Aberrant cults.
An outpost of the Ministry can be found at Kuala Trengganu, which become the country’s new
capital. According to official statements, the offshoot was installed to protect the east coast from
the Quantum Flux zones created during the Aberrant War, but the local populace believe there
may be more nefarious explanations. By and large, however, it is business as usual. Malaysia is
slowly gaining prominence as a hub for trade and industrial outsourcing. An unglamorous
position, perhaps, but one that ensures steady economic growth.
The Living Cities of Brunei
For years, the diminutive nation benefitted from its natural abundance of oil, and was one of the
richest countries within the region. However, concern about climate change and the spread of
hyperfusion and advanced batteries in the 2020s hurt the nation’s economy and then it was hard
hit by the Aberrant War. After the Crash, rebuilding progressed slowly and the nation’s economy
stagnated for the last third of the 21st century.
For Brunei, psions and their noetic biotechnology came at a particularly fortuitous time. In the
early 22nd century, Brunei was preparing to send a proposal to the Æon Trinity and the United
Nations as part of a provisionary ten-year-plan. In 2108, the Æon Trinity loaned Brunei funds to
employ a team of Norça bioengineers who were researching architectural biotechnology.
Fascinated by its new visitors, Brunei quickly established a strong working relationship, and
poured what remained of their finances into this project.
This cooperation proved exceptionally successful, the scientists succeeded in several key
innovations including interstitial prosthetics that would allow humans to communicate directly
within their abodes, organic transportation systems, and telepathically sensitive compounds.

40
Brunei instantly adopted the ideas, providing the researchers with an immense testing pool. A
few more years passed and Brunei, now a phantasmagoric landscape of half-sentient architecture,
soon began exporting the more successful examples. Though the country currently lags behind
Brasilia in both advanced technology and publicity, its leaders have plans, one of which includes
an industrial incubator compatible with their rivals’ designs. After all, if Brunei can offer the
same creations at a cheaper price, would it not sway the market share? Brunei is also now at the
forefront of design for aquatic living cities, and is currently negotiating with Oceania to help
bring several of their older settlements to life.

Sudamérica
Conflict has been the cornerstone of Sudamérica for centuries. A thousand forces continually
pull at its social fabric, but fail to fully transform it. Instead, Sudamérica continues pushing
forward. The continent is not a single, unified entity, but a collection of nations vying fiercely
with each other for dominance. Their governments can be openly antagonistic, their economic
policies downright predatory, but beneath that competition, a shared culture and identity has
allowed Sudaméricans to face the challenges of past and present and take the reins of their own
destiny.
History
The Nova Age pushed the nations of South America into the forefront of the world stage. Aided
by their new heroes, South Americans began exploiting their natural resources at an
unprecedented rate, leveraging their natural wealth against the needs of the rest of the planet.
Without an advanced military to threaten them, Aberrants mostly left South America alone and
only attacked targets of strategic importance to the United States and Europe, as well as factories
established by foreign investment. These attacks were as rare as they were brutal. Aberrants
transformed half of Venezuela into a living nightmare and pulverized much of Argentina’s
infrastructure.
The Nova Age also gave birth to hundreds of small, remote settlements, which existed to extract
local resources. Their only link to the rest of the world consisted of limited wireless connections.
Isolation and spotty bandwidth spared much of the South American population from the
Possession Crisis and the turmoil of the OpNet’s destruction. Here, the Urban Schism came
early.
Rather than closing their borders after the Chinese Ultimatum, South American countries joined
in a short-lived alliance, the Conferencia Sudaméricana de Reconstrucción y Comercio, or South
American Conference for Reconstruction and Commerce was founded in 2068. Under this
alliance, the members undertook an aggressive campaign to dominate their niches in the
international market, and secure industrial self-sufficiency via expropriation and nationalization
of local companies. This campaign prompted the change of “South America” into “Sudamérica”
in common parlance, even if the Conference itself dissolved in 2076. Today, the Mayan League
of Central America and the Andean Federation of Sudamérica’s western countries are the heirs
of this alliance.
Able to meet the growing global demand by falling back on traditional ways of doing things,
South America accelerated production and exploitation of natural resources. A growing number
of people raised alarms about the potential risks for the environment, but most local governments
ignored their concerns. Governments continued to disregard the growing discontent about
environmental destruction until a grassroots movement called Our Green Power, or Nossa Força
Verde, began committing acts of virtual vandalism on the augmented reality landscapes of

41
harvesting settlements across the Amazon. This campaign then swiftly spread to all of the
Sudamérican cities.
“Nature is us,” “we are everywhere, we are everyone,” “the land is alive, and it watches.” These
are but a few of the slogans that blocked digital adverts and corporate OpNet sites. All of these
were signed by the Nossa Força Verde movement. The movement soon started leaking
documents exposing dirty corporate deals and corrupt government officials, and then stories of
lone activists sabotaging operations that were later proven to be abusing the local populace.
Within two months, Nossa Força Verde had become a household name. Then the real
ecoterrorism began.

Please Like and Share

Check this vid! It shows the governor of Quindio being bribed by a Lagos Metal
rep! Did you hear they were letting them build a private cargo airport that would
end up polluting the entire department? The people of Quindio and Colombia are
against this! Spread it around to your contacts and help us stop this! Nature is us!
— Viral OpNet message, Nossa Força Verde, December 18, 2081.

The active hacktivism and sabotage inflicted by Nossa Força Verde was joined by actions by the
common populace: sit-ins, blockades, and demonstrations. At the same time, small uprisings in
remote settlements plagued every Sudamérican nation, often for reasons unrelated to
environmentalism. The people demanded change.
In 2084, change arrived. The Mapuche Nation, formerly Chile, signed a new law granting
proprietary rights to the genetic wealth of their land’s biodiversity to the indigenous people and
the small settlements born from the Urban Schism. Over the next four years, the rest of
Sudamérica followed suit.
With thousands of small holders who had grown up valuing the land around them, Sudamérica’s
idea of progress shifted from a trickle-down structure to a grassroots-driven system. The Nossa
Força Verde movement faded into a footnote of history, but its anonymous activists did not.
They would resurface years later, this time as the Nova Força Nacional, or Psi Order Norça.
Sudamérica at a Glance
Sudamérica is thriving, buzzing with opportunities and enthusiasm. After long decades of
struggling to maintain growth while averting ecological disaster, Sudaméricans can now feel
proud of their achievements. Sudamérican competitiveness often leads to exchanges of blows at
the personal level and outright sabotage between corporations and governments. Sudaméricans,
however, have the strange ability to become best friends and allies after such clashes.
Sudamérica is a land of deep contrasts. The most advanced arcology projects cast their shadows
upon the most destitute urban sprawls, and while poverty does not reach the depths found in the
FSA and parts of Europe, inequality is an issue that most countries struggle with.
Sudamérica is at the forefront of scientific, social, and cultural progress; manufacturers churn out
better apps every year and design the most advanced biotechnology outside Orgotek, ideas are
freely discussed, and often put into motion, and millions dance at the beat of new and old
Sudamérican bands. Augmented reality in Sudamérican arcologies and cities is an explosion of
visuals and performance art, and a new generation adopts self-alteration not only as a form of
personal expression, but also as an exploration of the self.
Argentina

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One of the southernmost nations of Sudamérica is struggling to find a place among its peers.
Trying to participate in the Aberrant War cost Argentina half of its infrastructure and a series of
inept governments squandered many opportunities and sank the country in anarchy. General
Ernesto Santander staged a coup and brought order through an iron fist. His dictatorship has
softened as he grows older, but the country is still a haven for mercenaries and bandits, which the
General has secretly co-opted, and made into Argentina’s main export.
The Andean Federation
Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru, and the Mapuche Nation joined forces under the Federacion Andina de
Comercio (FAC) to present a united front. Ecuador is the link between Sudamérica and space
thanks to the Chimborazo Orbital Elevator finished in 2102, while Bolivia manages the Condor
Patrols that keep safe the shared wildlands in the Andes and the Amazon; Peru is a media giant
and secretly the home of elite spies of the Yana Llanthu. The Mapuche Nation connects its
partners to the South Pole and provides a deterrent for Argentina.
There are only two arcology complexes in the FAC nations. The first is the sea and spaceport
trade complex of Guayaquil, Ecuador, but the most important is the jointly built Tahuantinsuyo
Arcology on the shores of Lake Titicaca, in Bolivia, which hosts the Federation’s joint
administrative and political powers.
Today the Andean Federation is booming. Their economic and technological progress is
mirrored by a spirit of social experimentation. Previously oppressed native groups like the
Quechua, Aymara, and Mapuche are rising back into prominence, demolishing old prejudices
and creating the largest population of mestizos in the continent.
Brazil
Brazil is exceptional in many ways. It’s by far the largest country in Sudamérica, and the only
one with Portuguese as its official language. It is also the epicenter of Candomble, an animist
religion sweeping the entire continent and wresting believers away from the traditionally
dominant Catholic Church.
Natural wealth is Brazil’s key to success; vast jungles in the Amazon rain forest and wetlands in
Pantanal give Brazil its pick on what it wants to exploit and produce. The Urban Schism spread
Brazilian population deeper inland, changing the balance of regional power. The Amazon is now
home to thousands of small settlements devoted to cultivating the verdant wilderness around
them, granting more voting power to previously abandoned districts, and pushing environmental
conservation to the top of the government’s agenda.
Brazil is leading the way in biotechnological research thanks to the wealth of Amazonian life its
bioengineers have to work with. It has used its wealth well, even funding expensive projects like
the Brasilia BioArcology project, and building the Averiguas extrasolar colony.
The people of Brazil are trend-setters on the international stage. Fashion star Kostbaar works
from Rio de Janeiro, dictating world fashion from the cues of his adoptive culture, while São
Paolo’s cosmopolitan population churns out new subcultures every year. Minas Gerais is the
headquarters of an active but oddly respectful black market, and the country is polarized between
the deeply Catholic Belo Horizonte and the strongly Candombleist Bahia.
Despite, or perhaps because its great wealth, Brazil is at the top of the Sudamérican inequality
index, with a higher percentage of it population living in poverty compared to any of its
neighbors. Crime, however, is low thanks to strict law enforcement and ubiquitous surveillance.

43
As in other wealthy and powerful nations, most of crime that remains is controlled by well-
organized criminal gangs.

Living in the Air

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becomes reality. Enjoy the magnificent sunrise in the Amazon rain forest, and
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Our homes are built 20 meters in the air, supported by the latest in biostructure
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resist anything the weather throws at them. Leave your worries on the ground and
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— Villarana Real Estate advertisement.

Brasilia
Brazil, Norça, and the Qin collaborated in the most ambitious biotech project yet: growing an
entire, fully functional arcology out of vegetal-template biotechnology. The modernist but sterile
layout of old Brasilia was the foundation for a new garden of wonders. Gigantic trees are both
buildings and pillars, flowers are holoprojectors and cameras, vines transport water and support
bridges, and the AR landscape is a fairytale of elegant images and noetic resonance.
The arcology is a few years from achieving self-sufficiency, some of the trees in recreational
areas can also produce fruit, and there is a whole hydroponics sector that can already feed half of
the population comfortably. Most structures can repair themselves via either internal processes or
ant-shaped maintenance biobots, with a minimal amount of biomass needed from the outside.
The only hardtech to be found in Brasilia consists of vehicles, a few architectural and
engineering fixtures and people’s personal property. Everything else is organic. Lighting blends
fluorescent organisms with biocrystals that reflect light captured from sunflower collectors,
combining to match outside illumination during the day, and produce any color mix during the
night. The buildings themselves cool, filter and circulate the air, even providing subtle fragrances
in certain districts, and giving rise of urban legends that Brazilians are being chemically mind-
controlled by their own city.
The citizens of the bioarcology are not like people in regular arcologies. The arboreal
surroundings have inspired many to undergo both cosmetic and genetic alteration, from
utilitarian prehensile tails to cosmetic, yet somehow fitting antlers. Brasilia is also the only city
where AR has a conceptual layer in addition to the visuals, only perceived through little bug-like
links that transmit the information noetically rather than simply optically. Connected citizens
trade information at near telepathic speeds, and their speech is full of gaps and metaphorical
imagery completed through their AR links, something that greatly confuses outsiders. The
inclusion of social media in such conversations is creating a complex network of collective
understanding and shared tropes and idioms that is quickly setting Brasilia outside, or perhaps
beyond, the rest of humanity.
Colombia
Brazil may have the best recognition as the ideal, progressive Sudamérican nation, but it’s
Colombia who supports the backbone of Sudamérican economy and power. Colombia was one
of the countries hit hardest by the ecoterrorist actions and hacktivism of Nossa Força Verde, but
after the milestone policies of the Mapuche Nation, it also became the nation that made the most
extensive and far-reaching reforms and changes.

44
Colombia has three arcologies: Bogota, its capital, Medellin, and Cali, and plenty of large cities
that host the headquarters of many Sudamérican transnationals. The AR landscape in Colombian
cities is among the most comprehensive, well organized, and useful in the world, kept clean from
vandals and pranksters by a dedicated cyberpolice, and maintained by career curators and
managers.
Research, development, and production drive Colombia’s culture of success. The presence of the
administrative and research wings of top global companies means that industrial espionage is at
its most sophisticated, but so is security. Sudamérican media is full of news and fiction serials
starring industrial spies, elegant scammers, and crusading conmen.
While Brazil is the capital of body alteration, Colombians indulge in “inner” alteration, using
drugs to change their moods and attitudes at will and free of undesirable side effects, such as a
detective taking a pill to increase his empathy before an interrogation, a harried freelancer using
skin patches to banish procrastination as well as the need to sleep, or a meek person finding
chemical courage to stand up to a bully. Experimenting with noetic bioapps is just the logical
next step.
Venezuela
During the Aberrant War, a local Aberrant created a vast zone of Quantum Flux in the middle of
the country. It is similar to Wycoff’s Blight, but rather than laying waste to the land, it mutated
the flora and fauna into monsters that promptly attacked the human population and transmitted
Corruption like a virulent disease, soon creating a veritable apocalypse of mutant aberrations
living in a nightmarish landscape. Neighboring countries closed off their borders to Venezuelan
refugees, and many were shot on sight to prevent the mutating plagues from spreading further.
Suddenly, in 2104, when Wycoff’s Blight shrunk by a third, the Plaguelands shrank by a quarter
and the plagues became far less contagious. Today, Venezuela survives as a strip of habitable
territory along the Atlantic coastline, isolated from the Plaguelands by heavily guarded walls and
regular Norça patrols. Its new capital in Maracaibo governs many floating and underwater towns.
The rise of Oceania makes Venezuela fear a new loss of territory if other oceanic settlements
follow the example of Pearl City.
Sudamérica and the World
Sudamérica is often its own worst enemy. Competition between Colombia and Brazil has created
a multitude of small conflicts where the two countries’ interests meet. Espionage and sabotage
remain common tools of local politics. The Andean nations also undermine their neighbors’
efforts using subtle propaganda campaigns and exceptionally sophisticated espionage.
However, Sudaméricans rapidly unite when trouble comes from the FSA. Sudaméricans have not
forgotten the long history of intervention, invasion, exploitation, and abuse from the North, and
sometimes go out of their way to ruin FSA initiatives abroad. However, not wishing open
military confrontation, they most often use covert means that are difficult to trace.
Most Sudaméricans consider China and Australia to be respectable rivals and competition with
these nations is quiet and professional. Europe and the UAN are important trading partners, and
many charitable works go towards aiding ruined European countries. The only advantage Spain
and Portugal have is a shared language, but Sudaméricans deal with them as fairly or abusively
as they deal with anybody else.
Threats & Features of Interest

45
Under a civilized facade, industrial espionage and high-class crimes are a thriving sector and an
important part of the Sudamérican business environment. These grey market sectors are
dominated by three main groups in addition to many talented thieves and security professionals:
Argentina covertly funds and hires out foreign mercenaries of every profession, while the
Peruvian Yana Llanthu hide behind their own legends as supernaturally capable spies and
assassins. Finally, the Psi Order Norça walks the fine line between legitimate use of force and
vigilantism, using illegal methods to guide Sudamérica towards a better future.

Parahumanity
The Norça are media darlings in Sudamérica, and their open display of Biokinesis
is pushing into the mainstream the notion that bodies are but tools of the soul.
Permanent or transient body alteration is as much part of Sudamérican youth
culture as clothing; it’s not strange to find people with odd skin color patterns
walking openly with nobody even noticing, or sporting nonhuman traits like
horns, feathers, or even extra limbs. Purists from other lands comment that
Sudamérican arcologies often feel like alien planets from bad sci-fi vids.
Oceania’s phibs and selkies have terrestrial counterparts in Brazil; people with
prehensile tails, second eyelids, cilium-covered hands or other alterations
undertaken to work better under extreme conditions. The physical definition of
what constitutes humanity is stretching thin in Sudamérica.

Sudamérica’s large protected wilderness presents many challenges and hides many secrets.
Aberrants and their creations still lurk in the darkest corners of the Amazon rain forest, the
Venezuelan Plaguelands, unreachable Andean heights, and oceanic depths. However, this
continent is also home to many new, as-yet undiscovered resources; innovative bioapps can be
created from biotemplates found only in the Amazon or the Brazilian Pantanal, and competition
to locate new species sometimes becomes lethal.
The social structure in Sudamérica can be equally volatile; in addition to their intense rivalry that
threatens to erupt into a full-blown economic war, Brazil and Colombia are struggling with
cultural phenomena that question the concepts of identity and free will, while the Mapuche
Nation is a hotbed of unrest as an imposed state of racial relations begins to unravel. Cutting-
edge technology and avant-garde cultural phenomena also share memetic space with deeply
rooted traditions and superstitions.

United African Nations

Now known as the Bright Continent, Africa was previously plagued by chaos and disunity.
When the Novas were still heroes, they helped loosen the grip of the dictators and tyrants who
controlled many African nations. Before the Aberrant War, these nations formed the United
African Nations to preserve democracy and freedom and to protect their resources and
sovereignty from the nations of the developed world. In 2033 the Nigerian city of Lagos became
the capital of the UAN. Here, the member nations signed the Declaration of Unity, a document
asserting that all Africans had the right to their beliefs, tribal practices, and religions without fear
of persecution or violence. The UAN also created a regional police force with the ability to
enforce the terms stated in the declaration. These police are known as the Walinzi — Swahili for
Guardians.
With increased stability came increased investment. China invested heavily in the UAN, bringing
new business and opening up new trade opportunities. Tourism from Brazil soared as the area

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around Mount Kenya became a destination spot for world travelers. African cultures were
revived and put on display through interaction with new technologies and improved economies.
The future appeared limitless for UAN. It was around this time that Africa earned the name “The
Bright Continent”, as it emerged from over a century of bitter local wars to take its place among
the world powers.
The Aberrant War caused massive damage to the UAN but less than in the FSA or Europe.
During the Crash, the inability to access resources and the sudden scarcity threatened to break
the new union of nations. In an effort to obtain much needed funds and restore local unity and
pride, president Mgowo Uyabo redirected the fractured nations to a unified vision of near space
travel. In 2074, work on a space elevator at Mount Kenya began. Further investment and
partnerships with the Chinese and Australians helped the UAN complete the space elevator
project and space station Abuhisi by 2090. A little more than a decade later, Upeo wa Macho
Proxy Bolade Atwan extended Mgowo’s original vision to interstellar travel.
While the UAN lacks the economic and military power of the Chinese or Sudamérica, it remains
a prosperous and peaceful democracy. The UAN positions itself as a hub of space travel and a
place that people all around the world visit to see traditions and technology merge in harmonious
ways. Immigration is on the rise, further increasing the diversity of the UAN’s workforce.
Unification In Diversity
While hundreds of different languages and dialects are spoken in Africa, Swahili is the official
language of the UAN. All children, no matter where they live, are taught Swahili in addition to
their region’s native tongue. One of the central principles guiding the UAN is that each citizen
must bring in all the traditions available to him into the conglomerate of nations so that all can be
enriched. In rural areas, this means that local cultures remain strong.
Technological advances allow the people to engage in traditions from centuries past while still
being able to participate in modern life. Many Maasai retain their traditional garb and customs
while also having holovids in their home, driving, and living in modern houses and apartments
decorated with a mixture of traditional and cutting-edge decor. The tradition of hunting lions as a
rite of passage into manhood continues, but to maintain the health of the lion population, almost
all Maasai choose nonlethal hunts, using spears tipped with anesthetic darts, and women can now
take part in this ceremony.
Each nation has a voice in the UAN Council. In addition, tribes and ethnic minorities within a
region can apply for a special membership which allows them to send delegates to vote on local
issues and communicate with other representatives in the Council. No group can be isolated or
oppressed without other members being aware of it, but governance and laws is often somewhat
chaotic. The weekly council meetings are rowdy, all-day affairs. The freewheeling nature of
these Council meetings has given rise to the nickname “The Market,” due to the constant
bickering and deal making that happens on the floor.

African Transhumanity
The UAN embraces personal transformation as much as Sudamérica, but with a
distinctly African style. Most Sudaméricans prefer transforming their bodies in
lasting ways, and perhaps changing them again every few years. However, in the
UAN, few people make such permanent changes, like becoming an aqua or giving
themselves cat eyes more than once or twice in a lifetime, but temporary
modifications, like pseudo-living tattoos, advanced biotech sensors that can be
applies to the user’s head or hands and removed when desired, or temporary gills.

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 A growing number of Africans embrace more extensive temporary changes using
living biotech that’s halfway between body paint and a bodysuit. These bioapps
are covered with fur, scales, patches of bioluminescent, color changing organisms,
or unusually shaped or patterned skin. They can be worn for several days and feel
like the wearer’s skin, but only requires a few minutes to put on or take off.
Some in the UAN wear functional modifications for work or to enable them to
temporarily live as an aqua, perhaps while considering becoming on permanently.
However, most use cosmetic modifications to express their personal style or to
decorate themselves for parties and special events. Most residents of the UAN
rarely change their identity and only do so for important personal reasons, but
changing their appearance, even in radical ways, is a celebrated part of life.

Beyond the Bounds of Earth

The citizens of the UAN are more at home with space travel than the inhabitants of any other
nation. More than a tenth of UAN citizens have visited Luna or one of the orbital stations, and
almost one in 500 has travelled to the rest of the solar system or to one of the interstellar
colonies. The ease of access provided by the Mount Kenya space elevator and the recently
completed jump ring to Luna, combined with the collective efforts of all African Nations to
make space travel a priority means that the average African always has some part of their mind
in the stars. Large portions of the economy are dedicated to space travel and the infrastructure it
requires.
The space tourism trade is a brisk business as well. While few are sufficiently wealthy or daring
to travel other planets, many wish to have the experience of leaving Earth. Located at the end of
the Mount Kenya space elevator, the Abuhisi orbital station is a common destination for UAN
travelers. Most tourists to Abuhisi visit the luxurious Star Mall, which is filled with a wealth of
items from both Earth and the stellar frontier. Tourists can find unique stones, exotic pets, and
more in the Star Mall. Abuhisi also recently completed a wing dedicated to the Esperanza, which
faithfully recreates a section of the crashed station. This recreation is filled with memorabilia and
trivia about the station, and has the names of all the people who died in the crash printed in
scrolling displays on the walls.
The renowned Congo Observatory maintains a secondary, but still growing observatory on
Abuhisi. This orbital observatory merges noetic and electronic technology to provide a unique
view of extrasolar space. State-of-the-art telescopes supplemented with some of the most
powerful clairsentients and an ARES pod (p. XX) create exhaustive maps of space. This
observatory recently discovered several habitable worlds that not even the Upeo knew of.
Despite surface scans showing no signs of inhabitants, the Observatory’s clairsentients detected
traces of sentient life on one of these worlds. Only physical exploration will reveal the true
nature of these places. This orbital observatory also offers in-depth tours to scientifically minded
visitors.
For a few visitors, Abuhisi is merely a way station on their way to Luna, Mars, the asteroid belt,
or more rarely, one of the extrasolar colonies. Spacecraft regularly depart for destinations
throughout the solar system. Also, within the past two months, several Leviathan jump ships
have docked at Abuhisi before venturing to the stars.
Other tourists prefer the comforts of Earth. Dozens of companies host “space safaris” in
locations that are at once amusement parks and museums that simulate the experiences and sites
that can be found on Luna, Mars, and Karroo station. The best use grav crystals to create regions

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where visitors can experience low gravity and zero G. Angola dominates this industry, which has
recently grown larger than the still popular wilderness safari industry.
Religion
Where many outsiders see a dichotomy between the traditional, mythological world of the past
and the busy, tech-saturated world of the present, the average citizen of the UAN does not. Most
have no problem being at once anachronistic and technologically advanced. Local mythology
pervades popular culture and activities. Regional and city governments often go to great lengths
to help foreigners learn relevant customs quickly. “Knowing posts” which transmit local cultural
information to a traveler’s minicomp are ubiquitous in the UAN. This cultural exchange is less
about restricting behavior than it is helping people feel at home. Knowing the name of the prayer
everyone on the maglev just recited makes traveling across the UAN more comforting and
familiar.
The two dominant religions across the continent are Islam and Yoruba. There are countless other
faiths, but these two get the most attention in pop culture and politics. Islam is most influential in
North Africa, while Yoruba is more common in central Africa and its popularity to continuing to
increase. The Orisha have been popularized in many electronic games and shows, which has
spread knowledge of the faith outside of the UAN. People from all across the world tune in to
watch the psi-opera Kumi (“The Ten”), about people who have channeled the powers of
Yoruban gods to fight evil, Aberrant-like forces. This show entertains tens of millions while also
teaching the most basic aspects of the religion.
UAN’s acceptance of diverse religions and cultures comes at a price. While most citizens simply
expand their world view to accommodate the diverse population, a few sects of fundamentalists
seek to expand their power and influence and are willing to resort to violence to achieve their
goals. The most well-known local extremist group is the Christian sect known as the Savior’s
Path. Based in Toamasina, Madagascar, this group seeks to destroy anything related to space
travel. The UAN has thwarted many attempts by the group to do so. Despite the group’s failures,
their digital recruitment efforts are savvy and effective. The most extreme Islamist group is also
one of the oldest: Al-Qaeda. This group benefits from mainstream legitimacy; only indirect
evidence links them to actual terrorist acts. Other religions and tribes will often try to settle
disagreements outside of UAN law or regulations, but few have the numbers or the popular
appeal to be a major concern.
There have been enough low-level skirmishes with extremists that some in UAN government
now seek to change its privacy laws to give the government better insight into the threats it faces.
Currently the UAN does not have the access that nations like China or the FSA have to private
data. Without permission or a search warrant, public surveillance is configured to not record any
images or sounds occurring in private residences or businesses or on private property, like the
land around someone’s house or an arcology dweller’s balcony. Also, although this same
surveillance records the actions of everyone in public spaces, getting access to recordings
detailing the actions of a particular individual requires their permission or a search warrant.
Many Chinese believe that it is only a matter of time before the UAN’s openness allows disaster
and chaos to reign. However, rescinding digital privacy laws remains one of the least popular
proposals in the council meetings, and has not even been voted into a committee yet.
Allies & Enemies
Officially, the UAN has no enemies. It has declared no trade embargos nor made any
declarations of hostility for any nation. Its official stance is to nurture relationships with all

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nations, extending an “open hand to all.” Insiders to international politics know that there are
several wrinkles to this strategy, and several pressing facts that make an open hand hard to
extend.
China is the UAN’s strongest ally. China and the UAN have been close economic allies for
almost a century. What began as Chinese investment in African industry has become a series of
mutual trade and investment treaties. Tourism and cultural exchange are also quite common. The
only awkwardness is when China looks to the UAN for backup in international affairs. The UAN
seeks to maintain its neutrality and avoid international tensions, but many UAN officials also
wish honor their close ties with China. The Council regularly wrestles with these issues. Most
solutions involve the UAN making a statement of solidarity with China but also stating a firm
commitment to peaceful resolution. Lately, China has been pushing the African nations for less
equivocal support.
If the UAN has an enemy, it is the FSA. The FSA is vocal in its distrust of the UAN. The FSA is
critical of almost everything the UAN does, often citing older images and notions of Africa as a
dangerous and lawless continent as the cause to distrust it now. While many dismiss the FSA
government’s talk, UAN insiders know that the FSA does not attack the UAN with words alone.
It is rumored that the FSA funds and supports the surge of cyberterrorism plaguing the African
nations. No definitive proof exists, but the speed and detail to which the FSA responds to every
cyberterrorist incident (even some that were not made public by the UAN) indicates some level
of involvement. The FSA’s hostility to the UAN does not seem to have overt purpose, though
insiders believe that the ultimate goal is to gain more of a foothold in the lucrative space travel
business that the UAN dominates. The Council believes that the FSA is secretly providing
money and weapons to both the Savior’s Path and Al-Qaeda.
Threats
The leaders of the Walinzi believe that Aberrants control some of the smaller extremist sects.
Known as “False God” cults, followers worship Aberrants and build their influence within the
continent. Security personnel consider these cults more dangerous than direct Aberrant strikes.
Using neutrals as shields and servants makes it easier for Aberrants to act without being detected
or destroyed. The UAN works extensively with the Æon Trinity to put an end to these cults.
Complicating these investigations is the fact that rogue psions actually lead a few cults. These
cults of personality are usually less dangerous, but determining the true nature of a particular cult
often requires infiltration missions lasting weeks or even months. Every cult missed or
overlooked might damage the space elevator or explode a bomb in a major city.
A phenomenon known to UAN citizens as “Ghosts in the Net” is actually the work of a network
of hackers who randomly shut off machinery and devices all over the UAN. Anything that is
connected to the OpNet is potentially vulnerable to these attacks. The Ghosts embarrass the
UAN, causing people to poke fun at the reliability of the UAN machinery and computers.
Shutdown severity have so far been merely inconvenient, but officials fear the attacks will
intensify, with fatal results. To combat this, many machines with critical functions disconnect
from OpNet to reduce their threat surface. Whether this will work long-term is unknown but the
only other long-term solution appears to be confronting the FSA directly, something the UAN is
reluctant to do.

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Chapter Three: Space
The universe must be full of voices, calling from star to star in a myriad tongues. One day we
shall join that cosmic conversation.
— Arthur C. Clarke
Space is humanity’s new frontier. However, it is a frontier without any Earthly equivalent.
Romantic ideas of building off-world colonies using only technology the colonists could create
themselves proved to be nothing more than dreams. Survival on an alien world demands a
combination of advanced technology, hard work, and practical skills ranging from farming to
engineering and biochemistry. However, some of the new Qin biotech is beginning to change
colonization. If colonists purchase the correct license, they can breed various useful creatures
like bioblimps (see p. XX), insuring a steady supply of devices or vehicles for a colony, with no
need to use machines to produce them.
Most humans never leave Earth and fewer than one in 1,000 people ever visit any world further
than Luna, but daring neutrals and psions are now settling or working on other worlds.
Spacecraft allow humanity to explore other planets, and with the development of the Leviathan
jump ships, other star systems. However, moving sufficient numbers of people to start a viable
colony usually requires opening up a teleportation portal, allowing thousands or even tens of
thousands to step from one world to another. Similarly, the two space elevators have made
access to Earth orbit easy, and jump rings (see p. XX) going from Earth to Luna made Olympus
as easy to reach as Sydney or the Chicago arcology.
Humanity began moving into space during the Nova Age. Nova-created Warps and Warp
creating devices allowed several million people to travel beyond Earth. Today, psionic
teleportation provided the next big impetus for humanity to move to the planets and the stars.
Almost 30 million now live and world beyond Luna’s orbit, scattered across the solar system and
out among the stars.
Settlements Beyond Earth
Humanity has visited every rocky planet and large moon in the solar system. Teleporters and
now Leviathan jump ships have visited dozens of extrasolar planets. The following worlds are
only the colonies and large bases that humanity has established. There are many other smaller
bases where 10 or 20 researchers investigate a planet, as well as even more worlds that Upeo wa
Macho explorers visited only briefly.

Settlement Infrastructure
Humanity now inhabits a vast range of different world, but almost all settlements
have a few features in common. Every inhabited planet possesses a network of
GPS, weather, and communication satellites. Also, every base or colony built in
the 22nd century has several hyperfusion reactors as well as at least a dozen
industrial makers.

The Solar System

Humanity explored the entire solar system during the Nova Era, and in the decades between the
end of the Aberrant War and the appearance of the first psions, the people of Earth were largely
limited to the solar system. During that time, some sought to resume earlier efforts to colonize

1
Mars, others continued mining the asteroid belt, and a few looked elsewhere in the solar system,
to the gas giants and their icy moons or the infernos of Mercury and Venus.
However, during the Nova Era and after the appearance of the psions in 2106, humanity could
travel to worlds around other stars, some of which were habitable and thus far more appealing
than the cold deserts of Mars or the far less hospitable environments found elsewhere in the solar
system. The six-year disappearance of the teleporters rekindled interest in colonizing Mars, but it
remains at least a week away using the fastest spacecraft, and the outer system requires voyages
lasting more than twice as long. Although efforts to mine or settle the other planets in the solar
system continue, the teleporters’ return has again caused most of humanity to focus on worlds
orbiting other suns.
Mars
After a century of false starts and setbacks, futurists’ long dream of terraforming Mars is finally
taking shape. Domed settlements sprout across the arid plains and on the shores of the growing
lakes. The Red Frontier beckons — but many would-be colonists have learned that getting to
Mars is less a challenge than making something of the planet once they’ve arrived.

Planetary Data: Mars

Founded: 2021 (USA/European Union – flag-planting mission)
Distance from Earth: 0.38 AU
Diameter: 6,779 km
Gravity: 0.38 Earth
Atmosphere: Carbon dioxide, nitrogen, oxygen (non-breathable; planned
nitrogen-oxygen breathable)
Air Pressure: 0.27 Earth (planned 0.75)
Temperature: –80º to 40º C (planned –40º to 45º)
Percentage Ocean: 14% (planned 31%)
Rotation Period: 24 hours, 37 minutes
Native Life: Primitive microbes
Human Population: 4.7 million

Planetary Data: Phobos Space Dock

Distance From Mars: 9,400 km
Dimensions: 27 × 22 × 18 km
Population: 8,000

Comets and Colonies

Once superhuman powers and technologies made it accessible, Mars was the Nova Age’s great
planetary science laboratory. Martian bases developed low-moisture plant species still grown in
arid terrestrial regions. Medical studies in low gravity — and in microgravity on the long flights
to and from Mars — paved the way for modern space medicine. The 2026 discovery of native
microorganisms confirmed that Earth was not unique in harboring life and fueled interest in
extrasolar exploration.
A decade-long debate over the sanctity of Martian life ended in 2036 when a Chinese/Persian
alliance began the first wave of terraforming attempts. Asteroid and cometary bombardment

2
raised dust but failed to increase atmospheric pressure, the first step to make the planet more
habitable. The impacts also curtailed colonization.
Aside from a small Chinese colony, humanity abandoned Mars during the Aberrant War and the
Crash. Resource constraints and reduced population pressure didn’t justify movement outward. It
took the 2090s’ space renaissance to rekindle interest. Chinese influence pushed the UN to back
a second terraforming wave, this time constructing huge atmosphere generators at the poles. The
project’s scale brought new colonization, as did the use of Phobos as a staging area for outer-
system exploration.
Terraforming efforts met with little success until 2109, when Orgotek and the Qin approached
the UN with a proposal to accelerate terraforming. Immense biotech constructs and an army of
engineered microorganisms extract elements from deep beneath the Martian surface and spew
out the first wisps of a breathable atmosphere. However, neither psions nor aliens accounted for
the native life’s persistence and adaptability. The Martian microbes’ rapid growth has drastically
slowed terraforming.
The Aberrants’ return brought frequent strikes on isolated Martian outposts. Unlike Earth, Mars
had too many isolated settlements for the small number of forces located to adequately protect.
Aberrants were often only driven off after they had destroyed their target. A Norça-led campaign
in 2119 broke this cycle and gave the Sudamérican order the political capital to involve itself in
Martian politics.
Areography and Arecology
Despite microbiological setbacks, recent terraforming has yielded massive environmental
transformation. Atmospheric pressure is now 30 times greater than pre-terraforming levels and
oxygen content is nearing 5%. It’s still unbreathable for anyone but the most adept biokinetic (or
Aberrant), but anyone can survive with just a breathing mask and warm clothes — pressure suits
are no longer required. Typical summer days range from 5º to 30º C.
After 20 million years, water again flows during Martian summers and near the equator, rivers
continue to flow even in the depths of winter. A fraction of this water comes from Nova Age
comet strikes but most is former polar or underground ice. The shifting weight of this moving
water has broken the crust’s long stasis, triggering unpredictable marsquakes across the planet.
The only vegetation is terraforming biotech. Orbital images reveal swaths of green on newly-
moist shores, but these are a combination of Qin microbes and the oxidized copper byproducts of
their water liberation process. However, large-scale equatorial seeding of engineered grasses
awaits only a modest increase in atmospheric pressure. Equally significant is Peru’s recent
announcement of Chinchilla martis, the first animal species engineered to breathe Martian air.
The Red Frontier
Terraforming and colonization began as a way for humanity to hedge its bets against a planetary-
scale cataclysm that could render Earth uninhabitable. With the 22nd century’s biotech and
faster-than-light travel, a habitable Mars is no longer critical as a redoubt, which has spurred
calls to redirect terraforming resources to other projects. However, Mars still commands a
compelling place in humanity’s collective vision of space.
“Flagged” settlements are supposed to fall under their parent nations’ laws, with the UN
Judiciary Council presiding over Mars as a whole. All the enforcement bodies have more
pressing matters, though. Elsewhere on Mars, theoretical interplanetary law gives way to

3
pragmatic self-rule — until the independents offend some country (usually by harming its
citizens) and find themselves forcibly nationalized and regulated.
To groups seeking isolated autonomy, Mars offers even greater freedom and isolation than
Oceania or the Australian Outback, and unlike terrestrial nations, it lacks immigration controls.
Foresighted settlers stake (or usurp) early claims on sites expected to be resource-rich oases at
terraforming’s end. Fringe societies run wild, unfettered by legal prohibitions or social
disapproval. Isolation makes outlying colonies ideal places for individuals to make fresh starts or
hide from the past. “Cutting,” Martian person-finding, is a growth field, as is freelance law
enforcement targeting bandits and the “feral colonies” that harbor them.
The local legal patchwork and outside meddling aggravate a large minority of Martians. The
Mars Independence movement is a score of grassroots organizations who can’t agree on anything
but their vision of a self-governing, UN-recognized Mars. Supporters fly ironic emerald flags to
mock their bitterest rivals, Chinese nationalists. Most are vocal but, aside from drunken
brawling, peaceful.
Science sparks its own passions as terraforming erases native areology and arecology. The Red
Preservationist movement lobbies the UN to reverse the process. Under Orgotek’s leadership,
terraformers see themselves as midwives to a new world.

Subject: Ecoterrorism
From: Deputy Council Attorney Susan Hong, UN Judiciary Council, XXIX
(Mars) District
To: Lieutenant Dale Hong, HQ/5th Marine Infantry Battalion, Seventh Legion
Encryption: DSE
Date: 5.5.2123, 9:31 AM
Ha ha, little bro. It’s funny when it’s not your problem. “Redneck” is no joke
when it’s short for “pissed-off Martian roughneck.” Terraforming is flooding
them out of the meteor craters where the best ore veins are. We finally found a
way to get miners to share air with environmentalists. And they know explosives.
The bombs up north — you know, the ones your Legion missed? Yeah, Red
Preservationists, but I’ve seen the report and that work took skills you don’t get in
a lab.
You want to do us both a favor? Convince your chain of command to protect the
Oceanian immigrant community. The aquas are the only miners on-world who
want to work underwater and the rednecks are agitating to run them off. There.
Now it is your problem.
I’ve never been a Mindi but at this point I want to see the movement succeed. If
Mars were self-governing, this wouldn’t be my case.

Living on Mars
Despite recent progress, Mars remains relatively frozen and airless. Martians are as painstaking
as spacers about their life support. Settlements remain under pressurized domes or dug deep into
the crust until the air becomes breathable (projected for 2200).
Thin air prevents combustion or conventional flight. Economical long-range transportation relies
on land trains: massive fusion-powered, all-terrain, articulated constructs with a score of

4
independent axles. Aviators fly hoppers similar to Luna’s, albeit with larger engines and less
lifting capacity. Sub-orbital spaceship flights are faster but inefficient.
Martian hospitals serve spacers from across the solar system. Also, the large and growing Phobos
space dock serve as a repair, refueling and resupply stop for much of the Outer System. Wealthy
tourists also come seeking isolation and exclusivity. A Martian cruise is the 2120s’ glamour
vacation. Exploiting this, small “red resorts” span the planet. Domed theme parks breathe life
into old science fiction. Extreme sports resorts offer sand-skiing and suborbital skydiving.
Expedition companies tour terraforming facilities or unspoiled wilderness, then make edgy
stopovers in carefully-selected fringe colonies.
On the Map
Wanjing, the “City of Rocklike Fortitude,” is Mars’ undisputed First City, though China can’t
quite proclaim it the planetary capital. Built around the prewar colony on the Tharsis plateau,
east of Olympus Mons, it holds 300,000 citizens and Mars’ largest spaceport. Local volcanic soil
should make it an agricultural powerhouse once the atmosphere can support crops.
Sudamérica’s Rio de Martio, hub of the tourist trade, straddles the mouth of the Valles Marineris
canyon east of Tharsis. Living arcologies built into the canyon’s walls offer unparalleled views
and open onto the planet’s thickest atmosphere. However, the first spring floods brought
frightening marsquakes and city engineers are re-evaluating their calculations.
Like Wanjing, Akabenje was planned as a future agricultural center, but the UAN’s Martian city
hasn’t waited for the air to thicken. This sprawling complex of hydroponic domes, located on the
Gusev crater’s southern slope, provides two-thirds of Mars’ food and makes the planet
agriculturally self-sufficient. In time, its site on the growing river delta of the Ma’adim Vallis
channel may become the southern hemisphere’s coastal jewel.
Over the Horizon
Schiaparelli Convoy, the best-known crawler town, is a 200-person nomad community based in
five land trains. Its six-week path circumnavigates Hellas Planitia’s six thousand kilometers as it
trades goods and services to the crater’s future coastal communities. Famous from the On the
Crawl documentary holovid, it’s a popular rendezvous target for expedition tours.
Robinson Station lies on the equatorial Meridiani Planum. Seventh Legion’s headquarters holds
the system’s best LoGLAW (low-gravity/low-atmosphere warfare) training center. Space troops
from nearly every nation train here as Legion guests. The UN’s planetary administrative offices
in neighboring Port Ares are almost an afterthought, overshadowed by three competing rough-
and-tumble towns that extract stress and cash from off-duty troops.
New Houston was the Nova Age’s main American colony. The ambitious complex was built to
house nearly 100,000 settlers. Only a few thousand had moved in when Aberrants seized control.
The resistance’s sporadic broadcasts lasted nearly four years, revealing slices of a descent into
hell that remain some of the war’s most chilling records. Hundreds of unmapped tunnels make
enforcing the site’s Corruption quarantine impossible, making it a popular destination for
Novatech prospectors.
The Outer System
Past Mars, humanity’s grasp on the Solar System is tenuous. Sol provides dim light but the only
heat is what travelers bring with them. Self-reliance is a way of life and equipment maintenance
a religious rite. Without a teleporter, the closest help is usually several weeks away. The

5
estimated 15,000 inhabitants of the asteroid belt and outer bodies wouldn’t have it any other
way. Many of them came to the deep black in search of that very isolation.
The Asteroid Belt
Home to two-thirds of the outer system’s population, the belt is corporate territory. The ongoing
space construction boom demands raw materials. It’s cheaper to extract them here and ship them
to Earth orbit than to mine them dirtside and boost them up a gravity well. “Cheap” is relative on
this scale, though. Breaking into the business as a subcontractor for a mining metacorp still
requires rare skills and tens of millions of yuan in startup capital. Aside from a few owner-
operator freighter crews and the support workers who keep the miners fed and breathing, the
“down-on-her-luck entrepreneur” is a vid fiction.

Space Pirates
Space pirates? Ha! No. The economic conditions are all wrong. How would you
steal and fence a megaton of aluminum? We’re here for search and rescue — or
more often, search and recovery, no thanks to the distances we have to cover. The
lasers are for Aberrants, not pirates.
— Lt. Cdr. Kristof Jorgensen, commanding UNSGC Argus

Each corporation maintains its own refinery complex where miners drag chunks of asteroid for
processing. The output is huge ingots clamped to slow bulk freighters for shipment in-system.
The industry’s transport side has tight safety regulations and security — no one wants an
artificial dinosaur-killer.
Outside the refinery stations, belt life centers on Vesta, the system’s second-largest asteroid. In
2080, Nihonjin researchers landed there, establishing the Fuyoushi science station. After several
unprofitable years, the Nihonjin government sold the base to private investors. Fuyoushi
remained abandoned until the late-century return to space made asteroid mining profitable. Vesta
became the first hub of these operations.
The Aberrant attack in 2105 gutted the facility but Vesta’s size made it too useful to remain
abandoned. Today, the reborn settlement of Absolute Zero is dug into the planetoid, making it a
much tougher target. “A-Nought” is the belt’s equivalent of a frontier town, offering shops,
restaurants, and entertainment to miners and refinery workers. It’s also the main outer system
base for the local cavalry: the UN Space Guard and the Seventh Legion. Most ships heading
farther outsystem stop here for supplies and maintenance.
The Fringe
The belt does have a scattering of tiny habitats outside the mining industry. Most are scientific
facilities, though at least four well-financed independent settlements exist, including a Psi
Nippon enclave, an ecumenical monastery and meditation retreat. The belt’s isolation is the
primary reason these stations aren’t somewhere more hospitable. Belt tourism is a non-starter —
there’s nothing here to see or do.
Though action-espionage vids exaggerate their scale, secret research programs have found homes
in the belt since the Nova Age. Project ReWrite maintains a tiny office in Absolute Zero, where
it investigates rumors of von Neumann war machines, brain-overwriting mind recordings, Novas
awakened from cryogenic stasis, and marauding Aberrant cultists. For the psi orders, the remote
location permits certain psionic experiments that would be impossible on Earth. Several nations
also maintain military research labs here.

6
The Gas Giants
Settling the outer planets themselves is obviously impossible (at least, for terrestrial life), but all
of them possess large moons. Radiation makes Jupiter an unpopular destination but two notable
communities exist here. The first is an Orgotek lab orbiting Io, from which electrokinetics study
Jupiter’s unique magnetosphere. It also hosts a few planetologists who study Io itself. The
second Jovian community is the multinational Galileo Station, which continues Nova Age
research into the plant and the tubeworm analogs that inhabit Europa’s subsurface oceans. “Gal”
hosts Oceania’s largest off-Earth community — nearly 500 aqua scientists and would-be settlers.
The Qin also contribute to Gal’s research, although they adamantly oppose both aqua
colonization efforts and commercial exploitation of Europan biota. It’s a strange reversal, given
their willingness to terraform over Martian life, and one they have yet to explain.
Saturn and its moons received little attention until last year’s discovery of subsurface ruins on
Enceladus and Rhea. While most scientists believe these are Aberrant relics, the original
explorers insist they’re far older. Follow-on missions are in the works. The FSA also is hastily
organizing an expedition to Titan, ostensibly to renew an old claim to the site of a high-energy
physics lab that exploded shortly before the Aberrant War.
The largest manmade structure beyond the belt orbits Uranus. Still under construction, Olapa
will be the base from which an audacious UAN energy conglomerate plans to extract helium-3
from the Uranian atmosphere. If the venture succeeds, it will transform the market for fusion
reactor fuel, but construction setbacks have pushed completion to 2128.
The Void Beyond
There’s little reason to venture past the gas giants. A few hardy scientists and psions come to test
theories or claim first landing on outer planetoids. Inquiries into gravity, radioastronomy, and
particle physics occur on tiny isolated stations whose crews have the dubious distinction of being
the solar system’s most remote residents. Everyone else is content to leave them to their solitary
pursuits. The highest-profile mission out here is the Seventh Legion’s search for possible
Aberrant bases, but even the Firebirds admit they’re unlikely to find anything. Given the
enemy’s interstellar warp capability, what purpose would an advance base on the system’s rim
serve?

Cockpit Voice Recorder Transcript

Subject 1: –(gett)ing this?
Subject 2: Not much. No radar return and it’s within five degrees of background
temp.
S1: Wow. What’s it made of?
S2: Fifty kays long, I’m more worried about whose it is. Cut thrust so I can
bounce a laser off it.
S1: Go.
S2: Okay, that’s weird. It’s crystalline and... vibrating? Hundred twenty [Hertz].
And– oh, crap!
(Unknown interference; 2:09 of recording lost.)
S2: – Give us some distance from this thing.
S1: On it. You got comms?
S2: Negative. Still jammed.

7
 S1: Okay, okay, I– yeah! Got him!
S2: Yes! Aaah, break left!
S1: They’re herding us.
S2: What are they– is that a comet in the –
(Impact and depressurization sounds; 0:38 of recording lost.)
S1: – least now you know whose it is.
S2: Well, shit.
(Unknown interference; no further viable data.)
Recovered from Orgotek Locust-R3, hull number VHL6015M, salvaged near
Saturn February 1, 2123. Vessel declared overdue August 26, 2121 after failing to
report after sweep of 5145 Pholus. Subject 1 identified as Flying Officer Helenice
Prazeres, 136th Reconnaissance Squadron, Seventh Legion, pilot. Subject 2
identified as Sergeant Clemenz Bian, sensor operator.

Extra-Solar Settlements
Humanity first travelled to the stars during the Nova Age, when huge warp gates allowed
explorers and colonist to cross dozens or hundreds of light years with a single step. However,
these settlements were suddenly cut off after the end of the Aberrant War and records of most of
these colonies were lost during the Crash. Except for the Chinese effort to colonize Khantze Lu
Ge, the departure of the Aberrants stopped humanity’s reach for the stars. All of this changed in
2106, when Upeo teleporters reopened the galaxy. The sudden disappearance of Upeo wa Macho
convinced humanity that it could no longer depend on a few hundred teleporters to handle all
interstellar transport. For the last six months, the new Leviathan jump ships have returned
humanity to the stars and promise the beginning of an era of increasing and unbroken interstellar
exploration and colonization. Humanity has explored less than 200 extra-solar planets and has
only eight known long-term settlements outside the solar system, but the interstellar era is just
beginning.
Averiguas
Brazil’s bid to extrasolar presence is a study in administrative blunders. Founded around a star
that could go supernova in the near future, the harsh living and working conditions and the near
enslavement of workers imported from Europe and the FSA drove them to open revolt. Norça
involvement is only making matters worse. The situation is delicate, but the tools sent to resolve
it have a blunt edge.

Planetary Data: Averiguas

Founded: 2107 (Brazil)
Discovery: 2106 (Upeo wa Macho)
Distance from Earth: 2,800 light years
Star: Binary system - SS3819a (A0), SS3819b (G5)
Diameter: 12,821 km
Gravity: 1.1 Earth
Atmosphere: Oxygen and nitrogen (breathable)
Air Pressure: 1.2 Earth

8
 Temperature: -10 °C to 50 °C
Percentage Ocean: 42%
Rotation Period: 23 hours
Native Life: Sea plankton and algae, lichen on land, no other notable species
Human Population: 22,000

Promised Advancement
With the Aberrants’ return, Brazil was in a hurry to secure protection for its interests, and
claimed the recently discovered SS3819 binary system for colonization with Norça advice.
Officially named the Associação para o Progresso Universal (Association for Universal
Advancement), or APU, the colony was meant to provide psions with a training environment
where pushing the envelope of psionic potential would not endanger anyone. Its true purpose
was closely related: Brazil wanted a safe place to conduct advanced weapon testing, and the
Norça wanted a research site far away from the scrutiny of Æon and the other Psi Orders. The
biokinetics made sure that no espionage attempt on either project was successful.
The first launch included technicians and scientist from both Brazil and Norça, who also sent a
dozen biokinetics. The work force, however, consisted mostly of refugees from Europe and the
FSA, attracted by the promise of work in a project with great potential. The first settlement in
Averiguas was named New Hope, because it gave just that to the colonists.
Home, Harsh Home
Averiguas orbits a binary star system composed of a giant star that is beginning to feed matter to
its dwarf star companion. Flares are relatively common, but the planet’s magnetic field is strong
enough to absorb the ensuing radiation, as most flares only cause a slight increase in UV
emissions. Astronomers note that the giant star is showing conditions that could lead to a
supernova within a millennia or two, which is the astronomical equivalent of “next year”,
although a few astronomers worry that it could happen much sooner.
The conditions in the planet are just a tad short of perfect, compared to Earth; gravity is slightly
higher, the atmosphere is somewhat denser, and the temperature is slightly higher. The oceans,
however, cover far less of the planets’ surface. The only life in Averiguas includes varieties of
algae and lichen, which interact to provide a breathable atmosphere rich in nitrogen.

Subject: Some work out

From: Jane Richmond, New Hope, Averiguas
To: Michael Richmond, United Kingdom
Date: 22.04.2108 at 9:32 PM
Hey, dad,
I’m sorry I couldn’t write you earlier, I hope the money I’m making here is
helping you and mom down there. Me and Brian are working very hard up here.
Remember when I told you how working on this planet was doing wonders for
my abs? Well, I had the chance to put it to a test today; a testy Ukrainian tried to
pick a fight with me over our rations during lunch; she was one of the new
arrivals and wasn’t used to the living conditions yet. When she came at me, I
punched her in the face and knocked her out there and then! I’m pretty sure I
could twist anyone Earthside into a pretzel now, if I don’t hyperventilate first, of
course.

9
 Everything is heavier here, and it’s harder to breathe and it’s not hot enough to
make you pass out, but just enough to make you sweat like a bastard. Brian and
me are used to it now, but I fear it’s getting to him. Also… I think [redacted].
Even with our contracts still having a good 15 years left, I don’t plan on leaving.
I’m a space colonist now!

Hard Days and Nights

A few years after the colony started official operations, the Æon Trinity began to receive reports
that the working conditions were beyond harsh and well into the inhumane range. The Brazilian
government refused all requests for review, but Æon finally exerted pressure through the UN and
sent an inspection team.
The reports they sent back spoke of the appalling hours the workers spent in mines that lacked
proper ventilation. There had been dozens of deaths from asphyxia and oxygen deprivation, and
health care services were insufficient to treat the various adaptation disorders the workers were
suffering from planetary conditions, let alone for actual diseases and radiation exposure that not
always caused by the binary star.
As expected, the Norça turned the Æon team away from their facilities, quoting that they were
not under Brazilian jurisdiction, and thus not covered by the UN’s mandate. They were also
prevented from seeing the weapon testing fields and facilities, which were the top reason behind
Averiguas’ colonization by Brazil.
Although the report created some public relations problems for the Brazilian government, they
did nothing to improve the working conditions, and actually punished the workers by raising
prices for Earth products delivered to Averiguas.
Reaping Whirlwinds
Colombian businessmen had always been jealous of Brazil’s foray into the stars, but their
government had dismissed their pleas to start a space colonization program of their own; they
received the reports with certain perverse glee. A few companies hired spies to infiltrate
Averiguas. The spies successfully stole samples of the native lichen to serve as part of
biotechnological research, but also reported on the worsening conditions for the workers, who
were now basically indentured servants. They also discovered the weapon testing sites, and that
got the government interested.
The Norça had taken a neutral stance to the situation in order to protect their stakes in the APU,
and their resident staff had only reported on their own research and omitted anything about the
conditions for the people, but their taps on Colombia’s communications made them aware of
how bad things were in Averiguas. Del Fuego instructed his people to remain neutral, but
vigilant, and approached the Earthbound administrations for the colony to try to defuse things
before they got worse.
The biokinetic proxy’s efforts proved too little, too late. In early 2016, the Euro-American
workers had enough, and open insurrection rocked New Hope and all mining and scientific
outposts. Brazil began to send additional troops, stating that they were only meant to quell a
minor revolt, but Colombia and Norça knew better now, and while the biokinetics had orders to
protect their research and training facilities at all cost, Colombian infiltrators had only one goal:
fan the flames into an inferno.
The Long Absence

10
Only three months after the revolt started, the Upeo disappeared, leaving Averiguas isolated. The
Norça personnel that arrived with the last Brazilian reinforcements had not witnessed the
situation deteriorate, and what they saw outraged them. Their order, regarded throughout
Sudamérica as heroes and liberators, was either looking the other way or directly aiding tyrants.
It didn’t matter that the oppressors were fellow Sudaméricans and the subjugated were
Europeans and North Americans, many among the new Norça, neutral and psion alike, sided
with the rebels. When new reinforcements failed to arrive and communications from Earth
ceased, the Brazilian taskmasters realized that they were stranded. Their only option was to
surrender to the rebels.
Back to the Fold
Contact was reestablished with Averiguas upon the Upeo’s return. In the six-year absence, the
colony survived by ceasing any overt hostility between loyalists and rebels, but New Hope and
Brazil’s test sites were in the rebels’ hands. Brazil couldn’t avoid Æon participation in the
recontact mission, and the rebels did not have any obligation to keep Brazil’s test fields secret.
Everyone interested in the Averiguas situation now knows about Brazil’s true intent in founding
the colony, although the actual weapons tested remain a top military secret. Negotiations with the
rebels are not going well as the new governor simply refuses to yield any ground, and now that
their continued survival is no longer at stake, the sense of cooperation is gone. Colombian agents
reestablished contact too, and now Colombia is making open advances to “aid” Brazil in
negotiating with the rebels, aiming to gain their own foothold in Averiguas. Psi Order Norça
remains officially neutral, and the biokinetics’ secrets remain undiscovered and protected. The
rebel Norça still show up for work dutifully, seeing nothing wrong with the apparent dichotomy
of their situation.
Bullseye
Upeo wa Macho explorers have found several formerly living worlds that have been destroyed,
including the asteroid belt around Karroo Mining Colony as well as two seared and lifeless
rockballs. However, Bullseye is the first partially destroyed world humanity has found. More
disturbingly, it was also once home to an intelligent species that is now extinct.

Planetary Data: Bullseye

Founded: 2121 (Upeo wa Macho Research Base)
Discovery: 2118 (Upeo Interstellar Survey)
Distance From Earth: 3,200 light years.
Star: SS2749 – K0
Diameter: 14,100 km
Gravity: 1.06 Earth
Atmosphere: Oxygen & Nitrogen (breathable)
Air Pressure: 0.75 Earth
Temperature: -50 °C to 25 °C
Percentage Ocean: 37%
Rotation Period: 22 hours
Native Life: Advanced with an ecosystem that was badly damaged but is
recovering
Human Population: 850

11
Almost a quarter of Bullseye’s land is part of one of several dozen blasted glassy plains.
Bullseye still has native life, but approximately 200,000 years ago, it had a complex and thriving
ecosystem and was home to an advanced civilization. A vast unknown disaster wiped out this
intelligent species and destroyed most of the planet’s other life. Today, life on Bullseye is sparse
and most of it struggles to survive. Currently, no one knows if the inhabitants destroyed
themselves in a war, were victims of a vast industrial accident or cosmic catastrophe, or if they
were attacked and destroyed by a mysterious alien foe.
The few archeologists that Upeo teleporters brought to this planet are now excavating the most
intact ruins. From the location and placement of the cities and the glassy plains, archeologists
suspect that most of the inhabitants’ cities were utterly destroyed. The majority of the remaining
settlements are located near one of the glassy plains and suffered heavy damage, as well as
200,000 years of exposure to the elements.
A Leviathan jump ship will soon arrive at Bullseye, carrying more than 20 tons of advanced
excavation equipment and drones as well as several additional teams of archeologists. Currently,
research on the inhabitants of Bullseye is in the earliest stages. Researchers have learned that
Bullseye once held an advanced worldwide civilization of more than a billion inhabitants, which
had technology at least as advanced as humanity’s. The inhabitants had light oval bodies with
four long slender legs and four long multi-jointed arms clustered just below a sleek tapering
head. They had smooth, dry skin, like a wart-less toad and seemed to prefer living in huge cities
that consisted of narrow cones and pyramids between 10 and 500 meters high. Networks of aerial
bridges once connected many of these buildings.
Bullseye’s intelligent species seems to have become extinct several centuries after the
catastrophe that almost destroyed their world. A few tens of thousands of survivors lingered on
after the catastrophe. However, the disaster destroyed almost 90% off all life on Bullseye and
caused an ice age that lasted almost three thousand years. As their world became increasingly
less habitable, the survivors’ population continued to dwindle until the entire species died out.
Because the disaster destroyed so much of the world and damaged or destroyed most cities, the
easiest ruins to study have proved to be the encampments of survivors, two of which persisted
for almost the entire last days of the species.
The Disaster
No one knows the cause of the disaster, in large part because of the great age of the ruins.
Clairvoyants also discovered that using Psychometry on pre-disaster ruins and bodies is
extremely difficult. Some of the archeologists believe that the disaster may have worked on a
noetic level, and one clairvoyant believes that he detected traces of Aberrant-like quantum
energies, leading a few researchers to wonder if this world also evolved its own Aberrants who
eventually destroyed it. Now that all of humanity again has access to the stars, the mystery of
Bullseye has begun catching the imagination of both researchers and ordinary people who worry
that Earth might someday share Bullseye’s fate.
The lack of increased background radiation and the extent of the damage makes it clear that the
disaster was not caused by nuclear war. Some researchers believe that it was an accident caused
by experiments with anti-matter or quantum black holes. Others suspect attack by exceptionally
powerful aliens or even alien time-traveling Aberrants. Regardless of the cause, the results are
still visible from space. Some of these glassy regions are several thousand kilometers in
diameter, others are less than 50 kilometers across. Most of these glassy plains are visible from
orbit, and irregularities on the largest such plain make it appear to have concentric circles, which
gives this world its name.

12
Native Life
Today, life in Bullseye is sparse and very tough. The dust clouds that blotted out the world’s sun
for centuries is long gone, but the glassy plains have cooled the world, and geologists recently
discovered that the disaster ripped away some of Bullseye’s atmosphere. The bright purple plants
are all tough and fibrous, both to help retain moisture in the thin cold air and also to resist being
eaten by the voracious herbivores. Small herds of swift and sturdy eight limbed herbivores roam
the planets plains and steppes. Most predators walk on four or six legs, with the remaining pair
or two of limbs adapted for catching or killing prey. Although most life on Bullseye is small,
there are predators the size of small horses that can easily kill humans as well as smaller pack
hunters that are about as dangerous as a medium sized dog individually and deadly in their packs
of five to eight.
Eden
Although the Upeo wa Macho have discovered several previously-unknown human colonies
where Aberrants used their space-warping powers to transport the colonists, the planet known as
Eden is unique in that it is home to not only human colonists, but Aberrant ones as well. These
Aberrants, who prefer to be called novas, seem not to be insane or monstrous like the ones the
people of Earth know all too well. Instead, they protect the human population from the planet’s
dangers, and are revered as celebrities and heroes - and perhaps even as demigods.

Planetary Data: Eden

Founded: 2051 (Nova Seekers)
Discovery: 2049 (Aberrant discovery)
Rediscovered: 2115 (Upeo Interstellar Survey)
Distance from Earth: 1,400 light years.
Star: Valeron – G8
Diameter: 10,967 km
Gravity: .82 Earth
Atmosphere: Oxygen & Nitrogen (breathable)
Air Pressure: 0.9 Earth
Percentage Ocean: 71%
Rotation Period: 31 hours
Native Life: Multiple self-contained ecosystem-level entities
Human Population: 1,200,000

Eden was first discovered when Upeo explorers happened to find a work crew of human miners
on a barren planet, using unrecognizable technology to excavate heavy metals. The miners were
thrilled at the appearance of the teleporters, and invited them to come with them back to their
home-world, Eden, once their transportation arrived. The Upeo were stunned to discover that
Eden was located in an entirely different star system, and that the transportation was a warping
Aberrant.
After an exceedingly tense first contact that nearly exploded into violence, the Upeo team
cautiously accompanied their hosts back to Eden. They discovered a beautiful and bounteous yet
dangerous planet; one on which a human colony would never have survived without the
protection of the Aberrants that fled here with their human families and followers at the height of

13
the Aberrant War. With that protection, though, the human colonists are healthy, happy and safe,
if subservient and even somewhat worshipful toward their “superiors.”
As many as five dozen novas make their home in the colony’s central city, Harmony, and are
kept busy ensuring the safety of the city, its outlying farms and industrial areas, and more than a
million human inhabitants. These novas seem to be almost entirely free of the Corruption - they
use their powers responsibly and safely, and they are rational, with humanlike moralities and
beliefs. Most of them look physically human, with only minor abnormalities like glowing eyes,
oddly colored skin or hair, or exaggerated physiques.
The novas use colorful titles instead of normal names, often relating to the work they do as part
of the colony. “Apollo” provides energy to help power the city’s advanced technology,
“Shepherd” keeps the colony’s livestock healthy and breeding, “Gardener” altered Earth plants
to be better adapted to Eden’s soil and helps to keep the crops healthy and “Diva” is a much-
loved entertainer whose amazing performances and complicated love life keep the population of
the planet amused and intrigued. In addition to these sorts of duties, almost two dozen of the
novas are assigned to combat duty, defending the colony’s perimeter by keeping Eden’s native
life, the myriasoma, at bay.
The Dangerous Myriasoma
Even the most intelligent nova scientists of Eden do not yet fully understand the myriasoma and
the nature of their existence. At first glance, Eden seems to be split between about a dozen wildly
different and competing ecosystems, each of which is in conflict with the others it borders. These
include a tropical jungle, two deciduous forests, a swamp, a tundra, two vast grasslands, a desert
and at least two oceanic systems. Each of these “ecosystems” is actually a single vast creature,
consisting of stabiles (plant-like lifeforms) and mobiles (animal-like lifeforms) that are all
interconnected via physical links or pheromonal signals. According to biokinetic and vitakinetic
analysis, all of the “life forms” that make up a single myriasome are actually just distinct
sections of one greater noetic template. Each myriasome has a primitive, animalistic collective
intelligence, driven to expand its territory and eliminate any competition.
Unfortunately, the human colony lies in a border area between three of the planet’s competing
ecosystems (two terrestrial and one aquatic) and all of them treat the colony as another
competitor to be eliminated. The myriasoma adapt and evolve very quickly, constantly exposing
the people of Eden to new threats, ranging from fast-growing structure-destroying “weeds” or
hyper-allergenic “pollen” to an endless variety of predatory “animals.” The atmosphere, water
and even soil can be filled with deadly new toxins as the myriasoma instinctively develop new
strategies. Only the perpetual vigilance and superhuman powers of the novas keep the colonists
safe.
Peaceful Inequality
Despite these dangers, the humans of Eden seem to be happy and feel safe, and treat their nova
protectors with the highest respect and courtesy. They smile and regale each other with stories of
their heroic protectors, and talk about how lucky they are to live on a paradise planet like Eden.
novas who make public appearances are quickly surrounded by adoring crowds, and colony-wide
trends are created when a nova wears a certain designer’s clothing, eats at a certain restaurant, or
recommends a certain craftsman’s products. No nova is ever asked to pay for goods or services -
such a request would be seen as horrifically offensive by the human Edenites, and puzzling or
nonsensical to a nova. For the most part, the novas do not abuse these privileges. In the rare
event that a nova exploits her position to the detriment of humans, the other novas rapidly and
forcefully correct the situation.

14
Strangely, the people of Eden extend the same honors to any psions who visit the planet, seeing
them as a similar class of better-than-human being. Visiting psions may inadvertently start new
fads or gain celebrity status, and might unintentionally cause offense by following normal social
mores. Baseline human visitors will be given only the respect that any stranger might receive on
Earth, although curious Edenites might question them about what it’s like to work with such
luminaries as psions.

Subject: This place creeps me out!

From: Kendall Pryor, Triton Division
To: Garrett Cho, Triton Division
Date: 07.07.2121 at 4:50 PM
Hey Gar -
You really weren’t kidding. There’s something creepy about all these smiling,
happy people and their near-worship of the Aberrants. I mean, they all seem okay,
I guess, but...isn’t it kind of suspicious? Always smiling, always polite. You
remember that really old horror vid, something about a town called Stepford? It’s
like that. You can’t trust people who smile all the time.
There has to be something wrong here, aside from the native flora and fauna
trying to eat everybody. The damned planet’s named Eden - how can it not have a
snake in it somewhere? That Ministry liaison Tu promises me that he can’t detect
anything messing with the colonist’s heads, but I’m not sure he’s unbiased - they
treat him like a superhero too, and I’m getting really sick of it.
Anyway, I’m going to keep digging until I figure out what’s really going on here.
Most of the Aberrants live together in that giant high-tech castle - you remember -
that overlooks the rest of Harmony, so I’m going to try to get invited there and
snoop around. Wish me luck.
Oh, and give my love to Sandy!
— Ken

The discovery of a planet full of sane Aberrants was a great shock to Bolade Atwan. She and her
teleporters kept Eden secret for quite some time. Eventually a group of Edenite Aberrants helped
to repel a Chromatic attack on Karroo, taking the decision out of the Proxy’s hands. The heads of
the other psi orders, the Æon Trinity and the United Nations were suddenly faced with a problem
that would previously have seemed unthinkable: what to do about nearly sixty of the legendary,
monstrous enemies of humanity — who seem beneficent and claim to want to help and protect
humanity.
The Eden Quarantine
For now, the answer has been to hold Eden at arms’ length and effectively quarantine the planet.
In order to prevent a panic, details of the exact circumstances of Eden’s discovery and the nature
of its inhabitants have been kept secret from the general public. Only the Upeo and a select few
Æon Trinity and United Nations teams are allowed to visit the planet. Æon is particularly
concerned about Eden’s social structure establishing footholds on Earth or other colony worlds,
as Aberrant-worshipping cults are already a problem and don’t need any extra encouragement.
For their part, the Edenites are complying with the quarantine for now, but some of the novas —
particularly the one known Apollo and his closest allies — are obviously impatient and anxious
to return to help defend their homeworld from the “Aberrant ones” and other threats. Some Æon

15
operatives on Eden fear that another, more explosive Karroo Incident may be forthcoming, with
the novas making their presence undeniable by contacting the people of Earth directly.
Far Nyumba
Far Nyumba is the most Earthlike planet found so far. However, Earth’s youngest colony was ill-
prepared for its six year isolation from Earth. Despite hardships, the colony survived and today
new colonists continue to arrive, drawn by the comfortable environment and lack of dangerous
animal life. Researchers also flock here, intent on studying the alien artifacts found on the gas
giant this world circles.

Planetary Data: Far Nyumba

Founded: 2113 (United African Nations)
Discovery: 2112 (ISRA discovery)
Distance From Earth: 11,000 light years.
Star: SS1515a – F6
Diameter: 12,900 km
Gravity: 1.01 Earth
Atmosphere: Oxygen & nitrogen (breathable)
Air Pressure: 1.3 Earth
Temperature: -30 °C to 40 °C
Percentage Ocean: 79%
Rotation Period: 27 hours
Native Life: Plants, insects, small animal life
Human Population: 48,000

Planet: Mgitu
Type: Hot Jupiter Gas Giant
Gravity: 2.8 Gs
Atmosphere: Hydrogen
Diameter: 179,000 km

Discovered in 2111, Far Nymba is the largest moon of the gas giant Mgitu, Far Nyumba is
similar to Earth in size, gravity, planetary tilt and atmospheric composition. Even though it is
two and a half AU from its sun, this star is considerably brighter than Earth’s. Also, Mgitu is
nearly a brown dwarf star and provides the moon with sufficient heat and light to make up the
difference. A thick rain forest covers much of Far Nyumba’s single land mass. The remaining
land is divided between a volcanic mountain range and dry scrublands in the interior.
Far Nyumba is the most welcoming of any of the worlds settled by humanity. It’s a warm wet
world with small polar caps, large oceans and lush vegetation. Far Nyumba is also a world with
very little true night. Together, the orange glow of Mgitu and the bright white light of primary
star SS1515a are a bit brighter than earthly day. However, both Mgitu and this star are in the sky
for only part of the day. Depending on the complexities of the various orbits, at least one of these
two bodies is usually visible. The initial distinctions of Mgitu day and night, full day, Star day
and night and full night have given way to three distinctions made by the locals, full day, when
both are in the sky, full night, when neither is visible and halfday when one or the other is

16
visible. Halfday is a common condition and regardless of whether its sun or Mgitu is visible, the
light is approximately equal a partly cloudy winter day.
Native Life
Far Nyumba vegetation is generally a deep blue-green in color and mostly consists of a wide
variety of vines and ferns as well as many tall fleshy plants which resemble spineless branching
cacti covered in large leaves. Most of these plants are considerably more mobile than their
Earthly counterparts. While none can uproot themselves and move, many can rapidly open and
close their leaves and flowers and even move their branches and leaves to avoid predation by
insects or to seek out light. Some of these plants are carnivorous and supplement soil nutrients by
catching and eating insects. However, none of these plants is capable of consuming anything
larger than a house cat.
The first explorers called the local animal life insects, and like insects, these creatures are
exceedingly diverse. Some fly, others swim, crawl, climb or burrow but they only superficially
resemble Earthly arthropods. The dominant variety of these creatures has eight legs instead of six
and possess actual lungs, allowing them to grow considerably larger than Earth arthropods. Most
are herbivores and scavengers and biologists continue to puzzle over the fact that few of them are
carnivores. The largest of these creatures are almost a meter long and weigh nearly 50 kg.
Although while none are dangerous to humans, a few have discovered a taste for human crop
plants, necessitating special fences and the use of local pheromones to discourage them. Many
farmers number now plant some of the more voracious local carnivorous plants throughout their
fields, a practice that deters most of these insects.
The Colony
The colony’s six-year isolation was difficult. Colonists kept their morale up by continuing their
investigations of the alien artifacts in Mgitu’s atmosphere. However, they were far from ready
for self-sufficiency. Suddenly confronted with the necessity of learning to grow all of their own
food, and attempting to repair various machines without a proper supply of raw materials for
their makers caused serious problems. 22 people died from malnutrition and lack of advanced
medicine in the famine of 2119. When the first jump ship arrived, the settlement on Far Nyumba
looked like a strange combination of a rustic frontier town and a sophisticated research facility.
Since recontact, Far Nyumba has become the primary focus of the renewed extra-solar
colonization effort. Far Nyumba is peaceful, quite habitable and at the center of one of the
biggest scientific mysteries of the century. In addition, a number of Earth’s more unconventional
scientists are eager to immigrate, where they hope to be able to live and work in a thriving
scientific community that lacks many of the restrictions found on Earth. Today, Far Nyumba is
becoming an extremely diverse and eccentric colony. Although almost 3,000 of the original
colonists have returned to earth, more than 10,000 addition people have moved here since
contact was renewed.
Society
The colonists are independent and self-reliant. The African colonists and the many scientists
together formed a unique culture that is a mixture of African traditions adapted for life off world,
similar to those found on Karroo Mining Colony, and the eclectic, free-thinking atmosphere of a
university. Most colony residents love of conversation and debate and are eager to discuss almost
any topic. To help share knowledge and improve morale during the long isolation, many
researchers began a weekly program of lectures and classes. Today, almost everyone on Far
Nyumba is relatively well educated and eager to hear alternative points of view.

17
The residents settled in a single city called Jifunza (Learning), which has a population of 41,000.
Another 2,000 colonists live in outlying mines, agricultural stations and small research bases.
Even the most remote of these settlements keep in regular contact with people in Jifunza, and
few people live outside of Jifunza for more than a year.
Many on Far Nyumba worry that this tradition of unity will be lost as new immigrants continue
to arrive, while other residents attempt to include the new arrivals in the various classes and
discussions. However, some of the new colonists are not researchers seeking to join the on-going
explorations of Far Nyumba or Mgitu or people interested in joining a thriving intellectual
community, but settlers seeking to create isolated religious or social communities who wish to
build their own cities and settlements far from Jifunza. Almost half of the new colonists seek to
found their own settlements.
There are now two major new settlements on Far Nyumba. The first consists of 2,000 followers
of Erin Perez, a charismatic leader who preaches humans learning to live in harmony with the
natural world. All of her followers, popularly called Perezistas, have modified themselves so that
their skin is green and can photosynthesize as long as they spend sufficient time in direct
sunlight. Perezistas only use living biotechnology and consider other technology to be inherently
corrupt. They moved to Far Nyumba to “learn the spirit of this world”. The other new colony
consists of a group of 2,500 individuals from India who were part of a small movement that
sought to revive the old Indian caste system. Finding much opposition in their homeland, they
are attempting to build a religiously and socially pure society on Far Nyumba.
Mgitu
Initially, explorers visited Mgitu in search of chemicals they could extract via gas mining, but
they found far more. Their first discovery was that this world was home to a complex ecosystem.
Drifting swarms of tiny cloud plankton thrive in the dense atmosphere, while larger creatures
feed off them. Thin carpet-like creatures known as flats are the most abundant. Growing up to
several hundred meters on a side, even the largest flats are less than 10 cm thick. They absorb
nutrients directly from the vast clouds of organic chemicals in the atmosphere.
The most spectacular life forms are the huge airwhales. These behemoths can grow more than a
kilometer long and look like a roughly hemispherical cluster of huge balloons stuck together into
an irregular oval. Numerous tentacles and sensory clusters cover their relatively flat underside.
Airwhales consume portions of Flats and as well as using their paddle-shaped tentacles to waft
masses of smaller plankton-like creatures into their vast mouths. Flats and airwhales can be
navigational hazards, but pay no attention to human exploratory vessels. However, smaller
predators like the 30-meter long, delta-shaped swifts, which rapidly propel themselves through
the atmosphere with muscular jets of air, often take an unfortunate interest in human spacecraft.
Aliens In The Clouds
In 2114, Legionaries exploring deep in this world’s atmosphere discovered a series of floating
artifacts. Deeper exploration was only possible once Earth could supply vessels capable of
venturing deep into Mgitu’s dense atmosphere. In 2122, the first Leviathan jump ship to visit Far
Nyumba carried along a spacecraft designed to endure extreme pressure. Explorers using this
craft discovered a large installation deep in Mgitu’s atmosphere. Preliminary examination by two
clairsentients revealed that this installation seems to have been constructed by star-faring species
which visited Mgitu several thousand years ago. Called Zeps (short for zeppelins), these
creatures evolved in the atmosphere of another warm gas giant. Searches are currently underway
to determine if there is any evidence of Zep visitation on Jupiter or on any of the gas giants in
any other systems visited by humanity.

18
The complete lack of artifacts elsewhere in this star system suggests that the Zeps are primarily
interesting exploring gas giants. Analysis of various images found in the installation, combined
with psychometric study has allowed researchers to gather some preliminary data. The Zeps
appear to have first visited Mgitu almost 15,000 years ago. Their exact method of arrival is
unknown. During their first mission, they set up the installation as well as deploying numerous
pieces of automatic machinery, including the artifacts found in the upper atmosphere. At the end
of this visit, they all disappeared into the glowing sphere found in the center of the installation.
This sphere seems to be some type of teleportation device unlike anything humanity has ever
encountered. Although it still appears functional, so far, no one has been willing to attempt to use
this device.
Karroo Mining Colony
Orbiting a neutron star in a desolate system in the Crab Nebula, the Karroo Mining Colony was
shaping up to be a “boom town,” exporting a steady stream of valuable metals and minerals and
hosting a growing contingent of scientific researchers. The boom ended when the colony was
attacked by the mysterious Chromatics, but even then the hardy colonists of Karroo held their
own — until the disappearance of the Upeo wa Macho. Under siege, stranded alone and
impossibly far from Earth for more than six years, it seemed pointless to hope that the people of
Karroo had survived, but the returning Leviathan crew found that the colonists had endured
despite the Chromatics’ attempts to destroy them.

Colony Data: Karroo Mining Colony

Founded: 2109 (United African Nations)
Discovery: 2109 (Upeo/ISRA joint exploration)
Distance from Earth: 6,500 light years
Star: Crab Pulsar – neutron star
Diameter: n/a
Gravity: n/a
Atmosphere: vacuum
Air Pressure: n/a
Percentage Ocean: n/a
Rotation Period: n/a
Native Life: possibly Chromatics?
Human Population: 100,000

When an African-sponsored team of teleporters arrived at the Crab Nebula in 2109, they
discovered a dangerous but potentially lucrative region of space. A rapidly spinning neutron star
sat at the center of the nebula, and beyond its borders orbited countless clouds of dust, asteroids
and other small bodies and concentrations of gas — all remnants of one or more large terrestrial
planets that were destroyed when the sun went supernova. All the dense elements, heavy metals
and rare earths that lay buried in those planets were now smashed into easily accessible
fragments, floating in the clouds and ready to be recovered.
The UAN team immediately moved to establish a mining and research colony just outside the
dangerous area of the nebula, anchoring together several of the largest of the asteroid fragments
with sturdy connections and building living and working areas into them. Everything was plated

19
with redundant layers of shielding to protect the colonists from the deadly radiation of the
neutron star, and the miners and scientists quickly moved in and got to work.
Word of the station and its opportunities spread quickly: Karroo was a dangerous environment,
but one where an enterprising miner could become wealthy in a short time. The UAN
encouraged the influx of miners, maintaining a “hands off” policy and simply taxing the mining
profits. Scientists from a variety of disciplines flooded the colony as well, anxious to discover
the secrets of the nebula and its destroyed system. Within only a few years, the colony had
grown to over 20 times its original size.
The rapidly growing colony needed to expand the web of anchors to connect more asteroids and
planetary fragments, as well as acquire more resources like antigravity mesh, hydroponics
equipment for farming and the all-important radiation shielding. As transporting the ever-
increasing list of needed materials from Earth was becoming overly expensive, even for the
affluent mining colony, Karroo’s leadership made the decision to become more independent and
self-sufficient, establishing refineries and manufacturing facilities. Better, more permanent
housing blocks were also created, to cater to those colonists who had started new families or
brought their families with them to the station.
Chromatic Attacks
By 2115, Karroo Mining Colony was almost entirely self-sustaining, maintaining only a financial
connection to the UAN, and the population was continuing to grow exponentially. Then the
Chromatics began to attack. The colony was taken completely by surprise. The Chromatic ship
appeared seemingly out of nowhere, and by the time a response was organized, the aliens were
already inside the colony, burning a hydroponic garden into ash and steam. Karroo’s security
forces were armed with standard laser weaponry, which seemed worse than useless against the
Chromatics. Those shots that weren’t simply stopped were deflected, causing even more damage
to the farm structure. The Chromatics’ own lasers, by contrast, seemed extremely powerful and
effective — and were emitted from the aliens themselves, rather than from weapons, suggesting
that the creatures were powerful photokinetics.
That first attack ended with a pyrrhic victory, as the Karroo security team was forced to
disconnect and jettison the entire asteroid to which the farm was attached, sending it tumbling
into the nebula toward the neutron star. It was unknown whether any of the aliens survived, but
the colonists assumed that this was only a scouting attack, and that more Chromatics would be
on the way. Word was sent to Earth of the attack, along with a request for aid and the corpse of
one of the aliens.
Over the next year, the attacks continued, with the colonists adapting to the aliens’ unique
abilities by turning to older styles of weaponry like projectile guns — always a danger in a
sealed space station environment — and non-photonic energy weapons like plasma guns. As a
last resort, colonists even used simple melee weapons like clubs and blades against the invaders.
The Chromatics did not respond well to these changes in tactics, and by 2116, with help on the
way from Earth and some victories under their belts, things seemed to be looking up for the
colonists.
Isolation Followed By A Dramatic Rescue
Then the Upeo wa Macho disappeared, and Earth heard nothing more from Karroo Mining
Colony for nearly seven years. Given the lack of reinforcements and support from Earth and the
likelihood that the Chromatic attacks had continued, the UAN assumed that the colony had been
lost.

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 Personal Log of Njenga Jeptoo
03.17.2117
I’ve never seen anything like it. We thought we were done for this time — we’d
never seen the frogs send such a large force, with so many ships. They wouldn’t
even need to force their way into the station this time, they could just blast us into
dust with that fleet. All this time fighting, surviving, and then to end like that...
Well, obviously it didn’t.
It was N’Gamba who saved us. I was with her when she got the news, with her
when she saw the external scans on the monitor. One second she was there, and
the next she was gone. Vanished into thin air. Then five minutes later, she was
back, with that smile, that secretive smile. “We’re going to be okay,” she said.
I saw them on the monitor. Over a dozen of them, winking into existence out
there, human-looking, but floating in space with no protection. Some of them
were glowing. They flew — they flew — toward the alien fleet, and started...well,
fighting it. Blasting ships with beams from their eyes, tearing through hulls with
their bare hands. Some absorbed laser fire like it was nothing. Others got hurt. I
think I saw one of them die.
We helped, of course. We fired off all the colony’s ion cannons, sent sheets of
plasma at the frogs’ fleet. Maybe those glowing people couldn’t have beaten the
aliens without our help. I don’t know. I do know we’d never have beaten the
aliens without theirs.
When it was all over, the teleporters — finally, the teleporters! - took them away,
back to wherever they came from. All but one, who came in to meet N’Gamba.
He was tall, beautiful, glowing like a star. He looked like some kind of god. “I
don’t believe we’ve met,” he said to her, and his voice was like angels singing.
“I’m Apollo.”
I think that’s when I passed out.

After the Upeo’s return, contact was re-established with Karroo. As it turned out, they’d been in
contact with the teleporters for years, and it was with their aid — and the aid of a group of
“novas” from the planet Eden — that the mining colony was still mostly intact, despite relentless
attacks from the Chromatics. Even with that outside help, though, life in the station was full of
hardship, with barely enough food to keep the population from starving, poor air and water
quality and crowded living conditions due to the massive damage the station had taken during
the attacks. Making matters worse, much of the social power and authority on the station had
been usurped by a criminal organization known as the Leopards.
With additional supplies and security forces arriving regularly from Earth, Karroo is beginning to
recover, although the population is holding steady at about 100,000 due to many residents
leaving as space on Earth-bound Leviathan jump ships becomes available. Conflicts between the
arriving forces and the Leopards are frequent, and the Chromatics are still a threat.
Ancient Artifacts
Despite the inhospitable conditions, a new wave of scientists is also on the way to Karroo.
During the colony’s last year of isolation, a routine mining operation recovered two artifacts
from a large asteroid close to the nebula. The nature of these items has not yet been determined,
but what seems clear is that they were deliberately created by some sort of intelligent life. It
remains to be seen whether — as some researchers suspect — the artifacts are proof that the

21
planet whose explosion created the debris field was actually inhabited. Further expeditions to the
asteroid where the artifacts were found are planned.
Khantze Lu Ge
Humanity’s nearest colony, Khantze Lu Ge (“Castle in the Sky”), is now a battleground world.
An Aberrant invasion during the teleporters’ absence overran the planet’s northern region,
transforming it into a nightmarish occupation zone ruled by monsters. The rest of the world is
holding out with UN emergency assistance but may yet be overwhelmed while debates on
strategy hamstring further military intervention.

Planetary Data: Khantze Lu Ge

Founded: 2064 (China)
Discovery: 2022 (European Union interstellar mission)
Distance from Earth: 4.37 light years
Star: Alpha Centauri B – K1
Diameter: 12,330 km
Gravity: 1.07 Earth
Atmosphere: Oxygen & nitrogen (breathable)
Air Pressure: 0.70 Earth
Temperature: –30º to 20º C
Percentage Ocean: 34%
Rotation Period: 31 hours
Native Life: Algae analogues
Human Population: 3.9 million

Castle in the Sky

One of the first interstellar missions of the Nova Age was the exploration of Sol’s nearest
neighbor, the Alpha Centauri binary system. The existence of a barely habitable planet made
brief headlines but its environment was marginal compared to later discoveries. Nova warp
abilities briefly allowed humanity to visit stars hundreds of light years away, so this world’s
proximity to Earth was insufficient motivation for colonization. Humanity continued to ignore
this planet until the mid-2040s, when rising nova-related tension drove China to pursue several
options for both national and species survival. Suddenly, a world reachable without warps was
desirable.
Several unmanned sub-light freighters made the journey in the next decade, deploying automated
systems to construct the colony’s infrastructure. A manned ship followed in 2055, carrying
nearly a million volunteers in suspended animation. At the end of their 11-year voyage, these
colonists made planetfall in the newly-christened Khantze Lu Ge’s equatorial region.
The Aberrant War delayed a follow-on manned mission until 2093. In the interim, China
maintained sporadic laser contact with its colonists, but this provided little more than proof of the
colony’s survival. The second ship arrived in 2104 to find a thriving colony of 1.9 million. The
newcomers brought with them four decades of information and the newest available technology.
They also expanded the colony’s cultural diversity, as a majority were non-Chinese.

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In 2106, the Upeo opened teleportation between Khantze Lu Ge and Earth. Unexpectedly, this
polarized the colony as China attempted to assert greater control. On one side were the second-
wave Chinese colonists who still held loyalty to Earth. Opposing them were long-term LuGeians,
particularly the second- and third-generation residents who’d grown up in a fully independent
colonial culture. Loosely allied with the latter group were non-Chinese colonists who rejected
Chinese governance. The loss of contact in 2116 eased tensions but didn’t erase them,
particularly as Chinese government and Ministry officials remained on the planet.
2121’s Aberrant attack achieved complete surprise. Streaming from a cave network near the
northern ice cap, the invaders seized the city of Kuan and its environs. They failed to capitalize
on initial successes, and delays in consolidating their hold gave colonial security forces (covertly
aided by Upeo teleporters) the opportunity to organize a defense. When the second offensive
came, the LuGeians’ scorched-earth tactics exacted a bitter price from the Aberrants. The battle
lines stabilized and both sides dug in for a protracted ground war, one which continues even after
the arrival of reinforcements from Earth.
Alpha Centauri Bd
Khantze Lu Ge is a cold, dark, rocky desert on the outer edge of Alpha Centauri B’s habitable
zone. Its shallow seas are toxic with heavy metal salts, leaving the polar ice caps and their
meltwater the only safe sources of irrigation. The native life, consists of algae and other
microbes created the planet’s breathable atmosphere but are inedible. Intensive reclamation
efforts yielded enough arable land to feed the colonists but it will take centuries (or Qin
intervention) to make Khantze Lu Ge green.
The planet’s thin atmosphere poses its own problems, which China addressed through colonist
selection and genetic modification. Native-born LuGeians are well-adapted, though many first-
generation immigrants struggle for breath and carry small personal oxygen tanks for the
occasional “restorative.” Most arcologies include higher-pressure sectors for this increasingly
aged demographic. Recent arrivals are overcrowding these facilities, another factor contributing
to increasing tensions.
From Khantze Lu Ge, Alpha Centauri A is dimmer than Alpha Centauri B, yet far brighter than
the Moon seen from Earth (or either of Khantze Lu Ge’s own two moons). For half the LuGeian
year, the companion star is opposite the primary in the sky, providing a glowing indigo night
with no true darkness. It’s not intense enough to affect Khantze Lu Ge’s temperature or serve as
a useful power source.

Subject: LuGeian genetics

From: Dr. Jorge Varese, P’eng-lai Clinic
To: Proxy Bolande Atwan
Encryption: SPE
Date: 10.7.2107, 3:32 PM
Proxy Atwan –
The team has completed its report on LuGeian physiology and genetics. The full
document is on the secure server but I’ll summarize. Though China remains
closed-mouthed about its modifications, the LuGeian medical community was
more cooperative. We also drew on Æsculapian scans and our own laboratory
analyses.

23
 Colonist recruitment focused on high-altitude populations, including the Qinghai
and Sichuan provinces and, surprisingly, Tibet. The second wave added Nepali
and Sudamérican Andean citizens. China also modified the colonists who weren’t
past reproductive age, including all minors.
The genemods didn’t affect the colonists themselves. Surviving founders still
have trouble breathing on KLG. Instead, their reproductive systems were
tweaked. Their offspring display greater lung capacity, higher respiratory rates, as
well as greater blood vessel diameter and total blood volume. LuGeians remain
cross-fertile with unmodified humans and their genemods are dominant.
China didn’t expect these people to return to Earth. We’ve seen severe respiratory
infections and mild oxygen toxicity in KLG’s UN delegation. The only LuGeians
who can visit Earth safely are ones who were born here and any who are willing
to use genetic therapies the Æsculapians are developing to reverse these changes.

Castle Besieged
Until the arrival of Chinese and Ministry officials from “home,” the four million LuGeians
enjoyed an existence that, if not idyllic, was at least a reasonable approximation of peaceful and
pastoral. The world was harsh but didn’t actively try to kill them. The colony’s industrial base
was comparable to that of any well-developed Earth nation, albeit with little heavy industry
outside agricultural tools and long-term terraforming. Crime was low; violent incidents nearly
nonexistent. Assimilation of the second ship’s non-Chinese passengers had gone smoothly.
China’s subsequent heavy-handed attempts to assert its authority played poorly to LuGeians used
to autonomy. Some saw the Ministry and Chinese military as outright invaders. Protests and
actual attacks flared, directed at both newcomers and Chinese-born “second-shippers” who
supported them. Over China’s objections, Æon and the UN worked to prevent escalation into
civil war.
Non-Ministry psions met with rapid acceptance. Most LuGeians felt a vague kinship due to their
own genetic irregularities. The Æsculapians brought benefits to everyone and Norça was well-
regarded in the Sudamérican arcologies. As Aberrant attacks on Earth intensified, the newly-
formed Seventh Legion attained equal popularity.
Ironically, the increased security presence prevented the Aberrants’ first attack from overrunning
Khantze Lu Ge. Kuan’s fall cost the LuGeians their terraforming industry and main spaceport.
An Orgotek-led commando raid destroyed the port, denying its ships to the enemy and setting the
precedent for a scorched-earth defense. Chinese and psi order forces paid in blood to hold the
Aberrant advance while civilians evacuated to equatorial arcologies. An equally vicious virtual
battlefront raged through the LuGeian OpNet until the losing Aberrants took their electrokinetic
opponents with them in a blaze of lobotomizing data warfare.
The lack of defense industry or military training cadre hampered attempts to bolster the human
forces. Volunteer militias fought valiantly alongside the dwindling numbers of professional
soldiers but the Aberrant lines crept southward. Adding to the horror was the nature of the
enemy’s laser-fodder: mind-controlled or mutated LuGeian captives commanded by
collaborators. Under siege and without escape, the colony teetered on the brink of collapse. The
colonists maintained telepathic contact with Earth, where the world listened in horror to reports
of Aberrant victories.
Warned via telepathy, the UN stuffed the jump ship Sava to the pressure hull with an
expeditionary force. Recontact opened with assault landings and low-orbit fire support that drove

24
the Aberrants from the walls of the Yangra and Guaman arcologies. The losses sparked a
rebellion in the Aberrant ranks, a disruption the relief troops exploited mercilessly while it lasted.
The State of the War
Earth’s reinforcements have stabilized the battle lines but lack the strength for a sustained
counter-offensive. Interstellar logistics can barely equal the invaders’ own replenishment
methods. A third of Khantze Lu Ge remains under Aberrant control, including 400,000 LuGeians
trapped behind the lines. The majority simply submit and hope to avoid notice but a handful have
taken sides — either as resistance fighters or as the Aberrants’ willing acolytes.
Occupied territory is divided between two Prime Threats. Both are intent on conquering Khantze
Lu Ge but their methods differ. Mutual loathing generates constant competition and occasional
bloodshed. An estimated 200 Aberrants command several thousand sub-Aberrant mutants.
Kali, the invaders’ original leader, is more militarily competent and appears focused on
undermining LuGeian will. Her tactics hinge on superior coordination of multiple forces,
misdirection and deception. She also deploys infiltrators for sabotage, psychological warfare, and
assassination. Secret police and creative punishments keep her human subjects in constant
paranoia. The Ministry recently unearthed an intelligence network which recruited its sources by
threatening loved ones in Kali’s territory.
Kali’s preference for capable subordinates backfired when Yog-Death, a Prime Threat in his own
right, rebelled during the terrestrial counter-offensive. This Aberrant has greater personal power
but less sophistication, focusing on direct military victory. His troops are individually strong but
lack competent low-level leadership, perhaps due to his unwillingness to tolerate potential rivals.
He controls his subjects through vicious brutality, Quantum Flux infection, and brainwashing.
Rolling back the Aberrant forces brought the LuGeians room to breathe — and to consider their
domestic situation. Outright rebellion is rare but UN-imposed martial law has rekindled prewar
discontent. General Roland D’Chana, the UN commander, has little empathy for civilians and no
use for those who don’t directly support the war effort. He and the Chinese government have
written off the LuGeians in Aberrant territories. Recent discussions have advocated the use of
nuclear weapons to “sterilize” enemy strongholds. UN civilian leadership and the Legions refuse
to sign off on this strategy but Æon fears D’Chana may arrange circumstances which “leave him
no choice.”

Khantze Lu Ge Campaigns
Jump ships traveling to Khantze Lu Ge have little space for anyone not supporting
the military campaign. Having said that, this war is larger than any on Earth in
2123. It’s also lower-tech, with few aircraft or spacecraft, limited OpNet coverage
outside major cities and scant supplies. In some ways, it resembles France in
1944. Front-line combat gets the headlines but both sides are engaged in equally-
deadly covert action.
This gives characters on Khantze Lu Ge more to do than straight-up combat
missions (though those can be rewarding, possibly culminating in a strike on one
of the Prime Threats itself). With the few full-power Aberrants relying on weaker
minions for most tasks, intelligence operations in occupied territory can and do
succeed. Counter-intelligence is just as critical, given Kali’s infiltrators who have
disguised or dormant Corruption. D’Chana’s strategies and policies may add
another front to the war if he (or someone claiming to act for him) pushes too hard
to sterilize the conquered regions.

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Marfisa
The most recently discovered “lost colony” from the Aberrant War era, Marfisa has been isolated
for nearly a century due to a catastrophic accident that occurred during the colonists’ Aberrant-
provided warp to the distant planet. The circumstances of the warp disaster stranded the
survivors for sixty years without access to advanced technology. The unexpected recovery of a
quantum-tech supercomputer and automated manufactory led to an ideological split in the
colony’s population, forming the basis for a 19-year cold war between the Preserver and
Pandoran factions. While an Æon Trinity recon team has learned much about Marfisa and its
society, a true first contact mission is still in the planning stages.

Planetary Data: Marfisa

Founded: 2042 (Independent colonization)
Discovery: 2040 (Aberrant discovery)
Rediscovered: 2123 (Upeo/ISRA Survey)
Distance from Earth: 13,750 light years
Star: Angelica – G1
Diameter: 12,111 km
Gravity: 1.01 Earth
Atmosphere: Oxygen & Nitrogen (breathable)
Air Pressure: .99 Earth
Percentage Ocean: 85%
Rotation Period: 36 hours
Native Life: Plants, insect-like and fish-like animals
Human Population: 6,000,000

A Lost Colony At War With Itself

In January of 2123, the members of an Upeo/ISRA exploration team, searching for worlds
suitable for human colonization, were startled to discover that one of the planets on their list of
candidates was already home to a human colony. Following standard protocols, they called in an
Æon Trinity recon squad to learn as much as possible about the colony before making contact.
Extensive clairsentient scanning from a stationary orbit behind Marfisa’s single moon, Virago,
revealed two large human settlements surrounded by a web of smaller towns. The larger city,
Endeavor, was located in the center of the colony’s agricultural operations, with satellite
communities focused on farming and fishing. The slightly smaller city, Endurance, was in a
mountainous region and populated by miners and industrial workers. During this routine
scanning, the clears were startled to observe a number of small military engagements between
the two regions. It rapidly became clear that the people of Marfisa were at war with one another.
The recon squad needed more information, but secrecy was a paramount concern, as interfering
with the colony, or even letting the colonists know they had been rediscovered, might make the
situation worse. A small group of clairsentient, telepathic, and biokinetic infiltrators was
teleported to the planet to gather more intel about the colony and its reasons for civil war. A little
over two months later, a picture of Marfisa’s history began to take shape.
Shortly before the Aberrant War, two charismatic and powerful novas made an offer to take any
baseline human who wanted an escape from the rapidly degenerating situation on Earth to a safe,

26
distant world to start over. The Aberrant calling herself Tunnel Rat would create a warp gate
connecting Earth to the new colony planet, while her partner “Babbage” would supply the
colonists with quantum technology that would make their lives easy. Nearly five million people
from all over the world took them up on their offer and traveled to the departure point in New
Zealand, where they would take a twelve-hour journey through the warp.
Unfortunately, Tunnel Rat was heavily Corrupted, and maintaining such a large warp tunnel for
such a long time caused her powers to go out of control, killing her and catastrophically altering
the environment inside the tunnel. Most of the colonists, as well as their livestock and seedlings,
arrived on Marfisa intact, but much of their technology was shredded and scrambled by the
chaotic warp energy. Although some of the equipment was salvageable and Marfisa had plentiful
natural resources, it would be decades before the colonists were able to return to even a mid-
1980s level of technology and industry.
The colonists initially focused on survival, founding their first settlement, Endeavor, on a simple
agenda of farming and families. People who had been enemies on Earth due to politics, race, or
religion found themselves forced to let go of old hatreds in order to survive and prosper. In place
of the old prejudices, a new one formed: the Aberrants Tunnel Rat and Babbage were seen as
nearly satanic figures whose superhuman abilities had stranded the colonists and left them for
dead.
As the colony prospered and grew, a second large settlement, Endurance, was founded in order
to help meet the Marfisans’ growing need for better tools and machines. Unlike the pastoral
region that Endeavor was located in, life in and around Endurance was harsh and unpleasant; the
mining work was brutally hard and living in a polluted industrial zone often led to illnesses and
early deaths. Despite the hardships, the people of Endurance were proud of the work they did to
help modernize the colony, contributing equipment for farming, materials for construction, and
even radios and primitive computers.
Pandorans and Preservers
By 2103 the planet’s population had grown to more than six million, and Endurance had
achieved a sort of practical, friendly independence from Endeavor. That was the year that
everything changed, when — in one last spasm of uncontrolled power — the warp tunnel opened
up one last time and spit out a huge metallic cube into a residential area of Endeavor. The police
force discovered an entry into the cube, and exploration quickly revealed what had landed on
Marfisa: a giant, quantum-tech automated manufactory, capable of consuming raw materials and
producing practically any tool or technology the colonists might want. The manufactory was
controlled by an artificially intelligent supercomputer, who confirmed that “she” had been
created by Babbage to help the colonists in whatever way they required. The computer had been
sent immediately after the colonists, but due to the disastrous failure of the warp tunnel, it had
somehow arrived sixty years later.
The population of the colony was almost immediately divided. The leadership of Endeavor,
convinced that any product of Aberrant power must be evil and harmful, dubbed the new arrival
“Pandora” and insisted that she destroyed — or at least sealed up and never used — in order to
preserve the good life that the Marfisans now had. Many of the citizens of Endurance, however,
saw Pandora as a gift that could make their difficult lives much easier. Why should they suffer
and die to create technology when the manufactory could do it almost magically?
The Marfisans were nearly evenly divided in their opinions, with the “Preservers” just barely
outnumbering the “Pandorans.” The strength of the Pandoran voice was enough to prevent the

27
Preservers from destroying the manufactory and computer, but the Preservers were powerful
enough to prevent anyone from gaining access to Pandora and putting her to use. Over the next
year, the population shifted, with most Preservers aligning themselves with Endeavor and most
Pandorans basing themselves in Endurance. By 2104, the two cities had begun an armed conflict.
The war was short-lived in its active form, simply because the two populations were so
dependent upon each other’s exported goods — the Pandorans needed food, and the Preservers
needed fuel, raw materials and tools. The conflict settled into a sort of cold war in which each
faction regularly threatened to withhold its vital goods in an attempt to force the other to concede
on the issue of Pandora. The occasional border conflicts were officially condemned by both
sides.
This state of cold war lasted until 2122, when a group of young, angry Pandorans took it upon
themselves to make a strike into Endeavor in an attempt to reach and fully activate Pandora.
Most of the small force were killed by the Preserver defense force, and the remainder were
captured and held as prisoners of war. The populations of both sides were furious — the
Preservers at the raid, and the Pandorans at the deaths — and the cold war is rapidly becoming
hot again.
Plans For Recontact
With the initial survey completed, the Æon Trinity and the United Nations are now deliberating
on how to proceed with first contact. Because the situation on Marfisa is so delicate, decisions
about whom to talk to, what to say to them, and what side to take — if any — may have
enormous repercussions. The question of what to do with Pandora also looms large in any
attempt to plan first contact.

Personal Log of Horace Guo

04.02.2123
I’ve never seen anything quite like this. The tech, the clothes — hell, even the hair
— are all like something out of a history vid from, I don’t know, 1985. And
everyone is so angry. It hits me like waves every time we go out into the city. All
this red, rumbling anger on the verge of exploding into violence. The team over in
Endurance says it’s the same there. It’s ugly, and it’s just getting uglier.
We have to be very careful here. Any show of psi powers is just going to
convince them they have Aberrants in their midst (which as far as we can tell,
they don’t), and that might be all it takes to set off the whole powder keg.
I wish we could just blow up the damned box. I don’t trust that tech any more
than the Preservers do. But doing that would just start a bloodbath. I don’t even
know how we’re supposed to tell them we’re from Earth. I guess that’s Neptune’s
problem, though. I just want to get out of here.

Qinshui
In many ways, Qinshui is relatively Earthlike, but it has important differences, including an
exceedingly alien ecosystem. It has three moderate-sized continents and a wealth of small to
medium sized islands. The atmosphere is thick and perpetually humid. Rain or fog are nearly
constant over most of the planet. Qinshui’s lack of a moon means its tide-less seas are
considerably calmer than Earth’s.

Planetary Data: Qinshui

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 Founded: 2109 (Joint United Nations & Æon Trinity Embassy)
Discovery: 2108 (Chinese Interstellar Mission)
Distance From Earth: 14,600 light years.
Star: Qinri – K0
Diameter: 12,800 km
Gravity: 0.94 Earth
Atmosphere: Oxygen & Nitrogen (breathable)
Air Pressure: 1.6 Earth
Temperature: -10 °C to 50 °C
Percentage Ocean: 83%
Rotation Period: 21 hours
Native Life: Qin & many genetically modified life forms
Human Population: 15,000

The Embassy Compound

Qinshui is now home to over 15,000 humans. Unlike colony worlds, the majority of the
inhabitants are diplomats, scientists, technicians, and their staff. However, the embassy is also
home to dozens of cooks, barbers, doctors, entertainers, and others whose presence is necessary
for any long-term human settlement. Life on Qinshui is very different from any colony world.
With the exception of the new arrivals, everyone here has spent the last six years living among
the Qin on a world which was manifestly not their home. This culture shock has had a significant
impact on most residents. Some who had extensive interaction with the Qin have adopted many
Qin mannerisms and habits of communication. Such people are easily recognized by their
smooth, almost gliding movements and their somewhat stilted speech. Others in professions
where they have little contact with the Qin grew to fear the Qin. Several psychologists studying
the embassy personnel have remarked that such people display an almost Qin-like paranoia about
the Qin. Feeling threatened by the aliens’ innate secrecy, these people have become increasingly
secretive.
To help residents adjust to life on an alien world, the embassy compound resembles an Earth
town under a dome, since the designers realized that residents would prefer being able to go
outside in an area that appeared relatively familiar. A low bioglass dome 1,300 meters in
diameter and 100 meters high surrounds the embassy compound. During the day, the dome
glows in patterns that simulate Earthly skies. The region inside the dome duplicates Earth-like
conditions as much as possible. In addition to the living and working areas, the embassy
compound also contains numerous small parks and open areas with many Earthly plants and
small animals. While this embassy is more open and comfortable than space settlements like
Karroo Mining Colony, most residents never forget that it is a single structure surrounded by a
vast and strange alien city.
The alien environment is one reason that all forms of escapism are much more common here
than on any other extrasolar colonies. Holovids and VR simulations of Earth or other human
worlds are very popular. Now that a number Qin who are studying humanity have also expressed
an interest in such programs, Qinshui may become a major market for these holo-vids and
simulations.
Native Life

29
The Qin appear to have bioengineered almost every life form on Qinshui, transforming the entire
ecosystem. Despite these many changes, Qinshui possesses an ecosystem as complex as Earth’s.
The bioengineered animals and plants compete for food, prey upon one another, engage in
complex social behavior, and even breed. However, most organisms also have a specific function
that they perform for the Qin. From animals used as vehicles, to vine-like plants which act as
aqueducts and plumbing, on Qinshui most living things exist to serve the Qin.
All organisms on Qinshui are also designed to avoid harming the Qin. To avoid accidental
predation, humans who travel into the Qin wilderness must wear special marking chemicals that
identify them as Qin to the local life forms. During the embassy’s isolation from Earth, three
residents were killed by local life forms. A biologist was murdered by a jealous rival who
replaced his marking chemical with a chemical designed to attract the large creatures he was
studying to a new food source, causing them to attack and devour him. The other two victims
were teens who died in a Qin city, when they snuck into a building that turned out to be a living
waste disposal facility and were fatally processed.
Most humans find wild areas of Qinshui to be exceedingly strange and eerie. Although some
creatures like the Qin possess both hearing and a vibration sense, most animals on Qinshui rely
primarily on their vibration sense and have little or no ability to hear. As a result, few animals
make deliberate noises, but those that do are always quite loud. Outside of the cities, the
predominant noises are the constant patter of rain, the rustle of the wind through the foliage and
the gurgle of flowing streams. These muted sounds are occasionally interrupted by piercingly
loud shrieks and cries. These noises, combined with the frequent thick fogs and constant damp
makes most of Qinshui feel claustrophobic. Also, almost all local life, including the Qin can see
in both the visual and infrared spectrum. Most plants and animals appear dull and drab, some
because they are camouflaged to blend into the frequent fogs, others because they are brightly
colored in the infrared spectrum.
Most wilderness areas blend almost imperceptibly into the cities. A series of long vines heading
off into the distance may turn out to be a large city’s water supply, and the fields of large, fleshy
red sunflower-like plants which appear in many of the early photos of this world are actually the
Qin’s primary solar power generation system.
The Qinri System
Like humanity, the Qin colonized most of their own star system. Qinshui has no moon, but the
system possesses an asteroid belt, three large gas giants with numerous moons, as well as two
other terrestrial planets, Qinshan and Qin-Lak. Qinshan is a hot rocky world somewhat closer to
the sun Qinri than Qinshui. It possesses a thin atmosphere of carbon dioxide and water vapor.
Qin-Lak is a cold heavily glaciated world. Its dense atmosphere is breathable by Qin and by
humans if the carbon dioxide is scrubbed out. It has limited microbial life, small equatorial
oceans and vast polar caps. Qin-Lak has several large cities near the equator and human
researchers believe this planet has been heavily Qin-formed.
The Qin also have smaller colonies on Qinshan as well as on many of the moons and asteroids in
their system. Most of these settlements consist of self-sufficient colonies inside living biotech
arcologies. Visitors report that residents of some of these communities also appear to have been
heavily modified, and in a few the distinction between colony and inhabitant begins to blur.
Numerous living spaceships ships ply the spaces between the various worlds of the Qin system.
Most use a form of advanced gravito-magnetic propulsion that seems to require little or no fuel.

30
Orgotek technicians are eager to learn the secrets of these craft, but so far the Qin have been
unwilling to discuss this technology.
Human astronomers and clairsentients have also noticed that the Qin also possess several dozen
huge living starships which can travel at nearly the speed of light. Observers believe that these
starships regularly travel to and from at least four Qin extrasolar colonies. So far, the Qin are
unwilling to discuss these colonies. However, Qin researchers are studying the visiting Leviathan
jump ships, attempting to discover if there is a way Qin could operate similar vessels without
human assistance.
Relations With the Qin
Residents of the embassy compound are now the primary source of information about Qin
politics and society (see p. XX for further details) and some have found that they enjoy the
company of the Qin. There several hundred humans have forged close friendships with Qin.
However, humans who have lived on Qinshui for any length of time also understand that some
Qin do not trust any humans and oppose the presence of humans on their world.
To help combat the efforts of the Qin houses who oppose their species’ alliance with humanity,
several dozen psions on Qinshui are now working closely with house Tung-Jen, the house most
closely allied with humanity. These psions use their powers to help house Tung-Jen spy on and
discredit their rivals. At least one biokinetic has learned to disguise herself as a Qin biosuit and
has also recently learned to bud off a portion of her body and transform it into a duplicate of one
of the Qin. To avoid serious diplomatic consequences if these efforts are discovered by rival Qin
houses, every psion who becomes involved in Qin internal politics does so without any official
approval or acknowledgement by the UN or the Æon Trinity. Senior members of house Tung-Jen
are considering adopting a few of these psion agents into their house, to avoid their enemies
denouncing house Tung-Jen for bringing outsiders into internal Qin politics.
Ruan’s World
Named after the teleporter who found it, this world of perpetual red light is a strange and
wondrous land. It is now the home of the Upeo wa Macho. Although they re-stablished contact
with Earth six months ago, their headquarters and most of their personnel remain on this planet.

Planetary Data: Ruan’s World

Founded: 2110 (Upeo wa Macho)
Discovery: 2109 (Upeo Interstellar Survey)
Distance from Earth: 18,400 light years
Star: Axum M0
Diameter: 9,442 km
Gravity: .58 Earth
Atmosphere: Oxygen & nitrogen (breathable)
Air Pressure: 1.5 Earth
Temperature: -75 C (cold pole) to 80 C (hot pole)
Percentage Ocean: 64%
Rotation Period: None – the world does not rotate
Native Life: High diversity of animals, vegetables, microbes
Human Population: 9,000

31
Home Away From Earth
Ruan Curwin discovered this planet in 2109. Bolade Atwan initially decided the best use of
Ruan’s discovery was as a staging ground to use while hunting Aberrants. An Aberrant
following a psion to Earth would be a disaster, but Aberrants following a psion to an
unpopulated planet rotating around a red dwarf would be no huge loss. Over the next few years,
Ruan’s World gradually became the Upeo’s primary base of operations as the order brought
more equipment and personnel. Before the Upeo’s departure from Earth, they even brought
family and friends and some of their nguzo support personnel to the planet. By 2113, Ruan’s
World had gone from a sparse outpost to a small colony of several thousand people.
With low gravity and a large red sun hanging motionless in the sky, Ruan’s World is the
strangest human colony. Axum is close enough to Ruan’s World that it appears more than twice
the size of a full moon in Earth’s sky, and does not appear to move. The planet does not spin on
its axis, and so every portion of the planet is in either eternal day or endless night. The region
closest to Axum is called the hot pole and temperatures there are almost 80 C, while the cold
pole remains at a constant -75 C. To avoid these two extremes, the Upeo base was built on the
sunlit side, but near the motionless terminator, which divides day from night.
Despite its strangeness, Ruan’s World is teeming with life. Due to the low gravity, many
creatures fly or float using biologically generated hydrogen, and local life uses either infrared
vision or echolocation as their primary sense. Although the local life is not as dangerous as
Eden’s myriasoma, several species of large animals have attacked humans and visitors should
use caution when venturing into the wilderness.
The city of Freedom remains the lone settlement on the planet. Farms and few facilities ring the
prefab habitation units. It is not the most scenic settlement, but it is comfortable and well
equipped. Almost all of the colonists missed contact with Earth, and are relieved to finally
connect with their home world. Though a few moved back to Earth, most simply visited Earth
and returned to their new home.
The official Upeo facilities are located near Freedom’s center. After reviewing reports from
several of Upeo’s senior clairsentients, Proxy Atwan relocated the order’s Prometheus Chamber
several months prior to leaving Earth. These facilities are surrounded by city’s houses,
apartments, shops, and manufacturing facilities.
The outskirts of Freedom are an area known as “The Gardens”. To keep her order creative and
vigilant, Proxy Atwan gave each member of the order their own plot of land on the edge of the
city. The first Gardens were literal gardens, full of odd fruits and vegetables. As members started
to get creative, the scope and purpose of the gardens started to change. Some built replicas of
some place they knew on earth. Others built their own personal training facilities to work out at,
while still others built small stages to hold plays in. Over time The Gardens became a place
where Upeo wa Macho members could be creative but focused, just as Proxy Atwan wanted.
Atwan’s garden is simplicity and focus itself; it is an X drawn in the soil. Whenever she returns
to Ruan’s World, she returns to the X.
Atwan and her lieutenants have designed an incredible array of games and tests to keep their
order sharp and ready for action while in isolation from the earth. Each week they hold races
tuned to different Aptitudes. Clairsentients might need to run a race blindfolded or backwards,
teleporters must quickly teleport between a set of randomly chosen places, grabbing a designated
item at each place and other psions engage in similar contests of powers. Neutral members of
Upeo engage in more traditional tests of physical and mental prowess, including everything from

32
acrobatics competitions to solving elaborate 3-D puzzles. This intense but friendly competition
built comradery and encouraged friendships. When one member needs help, there are never
shortages of volunteers.
The Future of Ruan’s World
Since re-contact with Earth, other groups have expressed interest in moving to Ruan’s World.
While Proxy Atwan welcomes biologists and other researchers who wish to explore this exotic
world, she is considerably more cautious about colonists. She has denied all requests for groups
wishing to found other settlements. Freedom is now growing due to both an influx of neutral
Upeo employees who were left behind on Earth and also the addition of other neutrals who are
interested in moving to Freedom. However, it is still too early to determine long term prospects
for colony growth.

33
Chapter Four: Character Creation
The secret of the universe is this: The universe doesn’t care. That part of the job
is yours.
— David Gerrold

Creating Psion Characters

Characters in a Trinity Continuum: Æon chronicle can be normal human beings — “neutrals”
— or Talents. However, most campaigns will focus on psions — humans whose latent psychic
powers have been awakened by one of the Prometheus Chambers controlled by the psi orders,
giving them incredible abilities and preparing them to take on the terrible threats that menace
humanity in this future age.
This section covers the additional rules needed for creating psion characters in Trinity
Continuum: Æon, as well as new Paths and Edges suitable for the futuristic setting. Character
generation in Æon follows the same process given in the Trinity Continuum Corebook, apart
from the differences noted below.
Character Generation Summary
Step One: Concept
Pick your character’s name, background, and Aspirations. If they are a psion, you will also pick
their psi order.
Step Two: Paths
Pick your character’s Origin, Role and Society Paths. Your psi order, if any, should be reflected
in your Society Path. Several new Role and Society Paths specific to Æon are provided on p.
XX.
Step Three: Skills, Skill Tricks and Specialties
Assign your skill dots, and pick skill tricks and specialties for any skills with a high enough
rating.
Step Four: Attributes
Assign your attribute dots and choose your character’s favored approach.
Step Five: Apply Psion Template
Choose your character’s Aptitude, determine starting Psi Trait and assign your Mode dots.
Step Five: Apply Psion Template
Choose your character's Aptitude, determine starting Psi Trait (normally 2, except for
quantakinetics or teleporters) and assign your Mode dots, and also add one dot to one Attribute
in her preferred Approach (Force, Finesse, or Resilience), as part of the overall enhancement
provided by the Prometheus Chamber.
Step Six: Finishing Touches
Gain bonus traits (Trinity Continuum Corebook, p. XX), and calculate Health and Defense
rating. Characters who are quantakinetics or teleporters or who possess a quantakinesis or
teleportation Auxiliary Mode (see below) must forgo the additional Attribute dot provided in this
section and instead increase their starting Psi trait to 3. Players of characters with other Aptitudes

1
are also free to forgo the bonus Attribute dot to start play with a Psi trait of 3, but do not need to
do so.

Creating Talents in Trinity Continuum: Æon

While a neutral character would be outclassed in a campaign where the other
characters are prions, Talents make excellent characters, and groups composed of
a mixture of Talents and psions can work exceedingly well. See Talents in Trinity
Continuum: Æon (p. XX) for further information.
To create Talent characters for this game, use the rules for creating Talents from
the Trinity Continuum Corebook (pp. XX-XX), but you can use any of the Paths
in this book (the eight psi orders have neutrals, including Talents, as members), and
characters can possess any of the Edges in this book, except for the Psionic Edges,
which are only available for psions. In addition, Talents can also be Nihonjin
special agents who possess extensive hardtech augmentations. See the Nihonjin
Agent Path (p. XX) for details.
Psi Order
During Step One of character generation, it is important to choose the Psi Order that a psion
character belongs to. Each psi order favors a particular psionic aptitude due to the Prometheus
Chamber it possesses, but belonging to an order does not restrict a character to that particular
aptitude — many of an order's psions will have originally been awakened by a different
Prometheus Chamber. Each psi order also has a Path associated with it.
The psi orders are: Æsculapian Order (Vitakinesis), Chitra Bhanu (Quantakinesis), ISRA
(Clairsentience), The Legions (Psychokinesis), The Ministry (Telepathy), Norça (Biokinesis),
Orgotek (Electrokinesis), Upeo wa Macho (Teleportation).
Not every psion has to belong to an order; some are freelancers, some are renegades, and some
hold themselves aloof from the factions and politicking of the psi orders. Every single psion has
been awakened by a Prometheus Chamber, though, and that means that at some point a psion
must have dealt with the particular psi order that holds the Chamber of her Aptitude.
New Paths
During Step Two of character generation, the player chooses Origin, Role and Society Paths for
her character. Trinity Continuum: Æon contains one new Origin Path: Oceanian, three new
Role Paths: Off-Earth Colonist, Spacer, and Space Military, as well as twelve new Society Paths:
Æsculapian Order, Chitra Bhanu, ISRA, The Legions, The Ministry, Norça, Orgotek, Upeo wa
Macho, Freelance Psion, Nihonjin Agent, Æon Trinity, and Æon Trinity Section Minerva. For a
psion character, the Society Path must represent her relationship (or lack thereof) with the psi
orders or the Æon Trinity itself. See the individual psi order or Æon Trinity entries in Chapter
XX for those Paths, except for the Chitra Bhanu Path, which is in Chapter 11 (p. XX). All of the
other Paths can be found at the end of this Chapter.

Into The Prometheus Chamber by Dylan Costa - OpNews, December 9, 2106

Although outsiders have not yet been permitted to see a Prometheus Chamber in
use, we have taken holos of it being serviced and below we have a first person
account of its use, from Alicia Velasco, who became an electrokinetic in November.
<Transcript below>

2
 The Prometheus Chamber is a transparent cylinder roughly two and a half meters
tall and one and a half meters across, filled with a translucent biogel. When my turn
came, I undressed and walked over to a small circular platform connected to a crane.
After the technicians applied the various monitoring electrodes and checked the
feeds, the operator, who was seated a console next to the chamber used to crane to
lower me into the biogel, after again instructing me to breathe normally.
The biogel was warm, and surprisingly easy to breathe, doing so felt exceedingly
natural. The operator asked if I was read, I gave her a thumbs up, and the process
began. It was like I opened my eyes for the first time, I saw so much more than
before, and everything was talking to me. I don’t know what it looked like from the
outside, and I’m told it only required around 23 minutes, but the process felt like to
took hours, where I felt like I could see and sense the entire cosmos. It was all so
perfect and so heartbreakingly beautiful. The next thing I remember was waking up
in the recovery room and listening to the monitoring equipment talking in a silent
voice only I could hear.

The Psion Template

A psion is a human being with latent psychic powers that have been awakened and brought to
full strength through the transformative science of a Prometheus Chamber. Psion characters
possess a number of unusual capabilities represented through their Aptitude, Psi Trait and
Modes.
A psion’s Aptitude is the primary psychic talent that she has manifested, and is dictated entirely
by the specific Prometheus Chamber used to awaken her latent psionic powers. Even a psion
who expressed strong, uncontrolled latent capability in one Aptitude will have that inclination
overwritten by the power of the Chamber she is exposed to, although she may express that latent
power in the form of an Auxiliary Mode (see below).
There are eight Aptitudes. Biokinesis focuses on control of the psion's own body. Clairsentience
extends the psion's senses across the present, past and future. Electrokinesis controls the
energies of the electromagnetic spectrum. Psychokinesis affects kinetic energy. Quantakinesis
deals with the strange relationship between energy, matter, and both psionic and Quantum
powers. Telepathy controls and influences the psion's own mind and those of others.
Teleportation lets the psion cross great distances in the blink of an eye, and Vitakinesis heals,
augments, and damages living beings.
A psion can only ever possess one Aptitude. She may have limited Auxiliary Modes in other
Aptitudes, but her Aptitude dictates where her psychic powers are strongest. If she attempts
immersion in a second Prometheus Chamber, it will not awaken a second Aptitude – it will
simply kill her.
Once the psion's Aptitude is chosen, she gains a set of basic powers associated with that
Aptitude. In addition, she gains one dot to one Attribute in her preferred Approach (Force,
Finesse, or Resilience), as part of the overall enhancement provided by the Prometheus Chamber.
The character's Psi Trait determines her overall psychic strength, contributing directly to the
dice pool she uses for activating her powers, the number of Psi points she has to fuel her powers
with, and a number of other effects such as attunement, psi imprints, range, etc… (see p. XX for
more details). Most psions begin with a Psi trait of 2, but the Quantakinesis and Teleportation
Aptitudes require a starting Psi rating of 3. When generating a quantakinetic or a teleporter,
increase the character's starting Psi to 3 but when generating bonus traits (see Trinity

3
Continuum Corebook, p. XX), quantakinetic or teleporter characters must forgo the additional
Attribute dot to pay for starting with a Psi trait of 3. Players generating psions with other
Aptitudes are also free to make this same trade.
The psion's player can now allocate four dots among the character's available Modes (see p.
XX). Modes are the actual psychic powers that the psion can control, with three Modes in each
Aptitude, each of which is rated from one to six dots. Every dot assigned to a Mode unlocks new
uses of that power for the psion. At least three dots must be allocated to Modes from the psion's
Aptitude. Auxiliary Modes provide access to the basic powers of Aptitudes, but Tier 2
characters, like most psions can never raise an Auxiliary Mode above one dot.
Prior to allocating her dots, a psion begins with zero rating in each Mode. She can assign her dots
between her Modes as she sees fit, but a Tier 2 (psion Tier) character cannot go above five dots;
the sixth dot in an Aptitude and the final seventh dots of the Aptitude represent the incredible
power that only Tier 3 proxy Tier psions can access. Note that a character who has any Mode
three or more dots higher than her next-highest Mode may suffer from psionic dysfunction due to
the imbalance in her psychic capabilities (see p. XX).
The Modes available to psions are:
Biokinesis: Adaptation, Psychomorphing, Transmogrify
Clairsentience: Psychometry, Psychlocation, Psychocognition
Electrokinesis: Electromanipulation, Photokinesis, Technokinesis
Psychokinesis: Thermokinesis, Telekinesis, Perikinesis
Quantakinesis: Energetics, Fundamentals, Transmutation
Telepathy: Rapport, Mindshare, Psychbending
Teleportation: Translocation, Transmassion, Transportal
Vitakinesis: Iatrosis, Augendis, Algesis

Quantakinetics and Teleporters

Choosing a quantakinetic or teleporter psion as your character brings with it some
additional complications. The quantakinetics of Chitra Bhanu were purged a dozen
years ago due to claims of Aberrant corruption and their Prometheus Chamber is
believed to have been destroyed, meaning that any quantakinetic character hails
from prior to that date — or else something very weird is going on. See Chapter,
pp. XX-XX for more information on playing quantakinetics. The teleporters of
Upeo wa Machu vanished seven years ago, taking their Prometheus Chamber with
them, and only reappeared less than a year ago. A teleporter character has thus
either been part of the psi order's strange experiences in the intervening years; never
left with the rest of the order and somehow hid herself; or is part of the order's new
wave of awakening of latent psychics.
In either case, the character is inextricably linked to the exciting events of the past
dozen years and is likely to find herself shadowed by the implications of the psi
orders' actions.

TABLE
Psion Experience Costs

4
 Trait Change Cost
Attribute Add one dot to a single Attribute 10 Experience
Edge Add one dot in a new or existing Edge 3 Experience
Edge Add one dot in a new or existing Path Edge 2 Experience
Enhanced Edge Gain a new Enhanced Edge 5 Experience
Favored Approach Change a character’s Favored Approach 15 Experience
Psi Trait Add one dot to the character's Psi Trait (Psi 1-Psi 5) 12 Experience
Psi Trait Add one dot to the character's Psi Trait (Psi 6 or Psi 24 Experience
7)
Mode Dot Add one dot in a Mode of the character's Aptitude 6 Experience
(1-5 dots)
Mode Dot Add one dot in a Mode of the character's Aptitude (6 12 Experience
or 7 dots)
Auxiliary Mode Add one dot in an Auxiliary Mode 8 Experience
Skill Add one dot in a new or existing Skill 5 Experience
Skill Trick Add a Skill Trick to a Skill 3 Experience
Specialty Add a Specialty to a Skill 3 Experience
Path Add one dot in a new or existing Path (maximum 5 15 Experience
Paths)

END TABLE
Creating Advanced Characters
The system presented here creates capable psion characters early in their career, with significant
but limited psychic power. However, it is also possible to begin a Trinity Continuum: Æon
campaign with more experienced psions – from psions who have spent several months practicing
their skills, to veteran psi order agents who have seen a dozen battles, experienced Talents who
have been active heroes for a decade or more, or even colossally talented individuals with
psychic strength on par with that of the orders’ proxies. Creating advanced characters is simply a
matter of following the usual character generation rules, and then adding the listed Experience
points to spend at the end. The Storyguide and all of the players should agree about how must
additional Experience characters should start play with, and all characters should start play with
the same amount of additional Experience. Unless everyone enjoys playing characters who are
just beginning their career as a psion or a Talent, most campaigns should start with Experienced
characters (see the table below).
TABLE
Psion Previous Experience Table

5
 Category Additional Experience Additional Path Dots Required
Experienced 20 0
Hardened Veterans 60 0
Heroic Figures 100 1
Proxies or Exceptional 150 2
Talents

END TABLE
The one limitation on creating an advanced character is that, heroic figures must purchase at least
one additional dot in an existing Path or an initial dot in a new Path and proxies or exceptional
Talents must purchase at least two additional dots in existing or new Paths, representing the ties
and the connections that these impressive characters have built up during their careers. In
addition, a Tier 3 proxy-level psion must possess at least six dots of Psi, at least five dots in one
Aptitude Mode and at least three dots in another Aptitude Mode. Characters who meet these
three prerequisites automatically become Tier 3 proxy-level characters. Psions normally
experience this change as a profound transformation that can include visions, sudden bursts of
knowledge, and a general feeling of awakening and increased awareness over the next day or
two.

Tier 3 Characters
Proxies are only one type of characters who are at this Tier. All characters in this
Tier share certain advantages. Instead of 8, their Target Number for all rolls is 7. In
addition, they can possess up to six dots in any Attribute and can increase this to
seven dots if they possess the Extraordinary Attribute Edge. Remember that
ordinary humans are Tier 1 characters, while ordinary psions and Talents are Tier
2 characters.
Advantages for Tier 3 Proxy-Level Psions
In addition to the advantages normally gained by being a Tier 3 character and possessing a Psi
Trait of six, Proxy-level psions gain several additional advantages. They can raise each of their
Aptitude Modes to six dots, learn a special seven dot power, raise their Psi Trait up to seven,
purchase up to 2 dots in any Auxiliary Mode, and recover Psi points twice as rapidly. In addition,
they can raise their other Attributes as high as six dots, or seven dots if they possess the Superior
Trait Edge.

New Edges
The following Edges are specific to Trinity Continuum: Æon. Some are only available to
psions, but most can be taken by any character.
Augmentation Edges
The following Edges require extensive microsurgery, advanced genetic therapy, or both.
Amphibious Conversion (••)
Prerequisite: Stamina ••

6
Your character has visibly and practically joined the Oceanian nation, and has become a type of
aqua commonly called a phib. She can now hold her breathe for 30 minutes and only needs to
make suffocation rolls once every 15 minutes. In addition, her eyes have been modified so that
she can see in dim light, and suffers no penalties for low light. Although she cannot use sonar,
like aquatic conversions, your character can now speak underwater in the same high frequency
language that aquatic conversions use and is also immune to decompression sickness (p. XX).
Your character’s skin has also been changed — he has either smooth dolphin-like skin or short
dense fur like a sea lion or sea otter. Either option allows your character to endure temperatures
down to -20 C without discomfort. Also, your character swims twice as fast as ordinary humans
and suffers no Difficulty increases to physical and perception dice pools for being underwater
(see p. XX). Alternately, your character can choose a less obvious version of this transformation.
Her skin and eyes appear normal, which reduces her swimming speed to that of most humans.
However, she gains all other advantages of being amphibious.
Disadvantages: If your character possesses the obvious version of this Edge she suffers a
Complication of 1 to all social rolls relating to appearance from people who either dislike
Oceania or are uncomfortable with enhanced humans. The less obvious version of this Edge has
no such penalty.
Aquatic Conversion (••)
Prerequisite: Stamina ••
Your character was born as or transformed into an aquatic, also known as a selkie. She gains all
the advantages of the Amphibious Conversion Edge. In addition, she possesses gills as well as
lungs and can breathe water as well as air. In addition, her skin is altered to be tough, smooth,
hairless, and streamlined, providing your character with one level of soft armor. Her legs are
redesigned for better speed in the water, allowing her to move at Speed Scale 2 underwater.
When underwater, your character also possesses sonar within Far range, allowing her to “see”
people and objects out to that range, but she cannot use sonar to perceive color or to see fine
details beyond Close range.
Drawbacks: Your character can survive out of water indefinitely, but increases the Difficulty of
all moving and maneuvering rolls by +1 while on land. She also needs to consume three times as
much water as normal humans, increasing the difficult of Survival rolls in arid environments by
+1. She also suffers a Level 2 Complication to all social rolls relating to appearance from people
who either dislike Oceania or are uncomfortable with enhanced humans.
Computer Enhancement (•• or • for psions using biocomps)
Prerequisite: Criminal, Espionage, or Science Path
Your character gains 2 Enhancement to all Technology rolls related to computers as well as 1
Enhancement to Pilot rolls for vehicles where your character uses the computer to control the
vehicle. The computer used in this enhancement is equivalent to a minicomp and can be used to
make phone calls or wirelessly access the OpNet, and your character can perceive augmented
reality data without any sort of display gear (p. XX). In addition, your character automatically
gains, and must separately pay for the Lightning Calculator and Speed Reading Edges, as well as
at least 2 dots of the Eidetic Memory Edge. Your character also gains the Direction Sense Edge
for free, but only when connected to the OpNet. However, for all this enhancement’s many
advantages, in most nations obtaining it requires a security clearance as well as a compelling
need for one, limiting it mostly to covert operatives and a few engineers and technicians working
on sensitive projects.

7
Drawback: The reason for the distrust of this enhancement is clear. Both during and after the
Aberrant War, both Aberrant and later human hackers were able to control people using this
augmentation. Also, Electrokinetics with three dots in Technokinesis (p. XX) can completely
alter the perceptions of any user if they first overcome the implanted computer’s failsafe rating
of 5 (see p. XX). Aberrants who can control electronics can do this and can also turn the user
into a puppet. As a result, most people are horrified by the idea of this enhancement, and anyone
known to possess it suffers a Complication of 2 to Social rolls to inspire trust or other positive
feelings.

Psion Biocomp Enhancement (•)

Biokinetics who use the Psychomorphing technique Compartmentalize to
assimilate a formatted biocomp can purchase the • version of this Edge. They gain
all the benefits of computer enhancement. An Electrokinetic who is formatted to a
biocomp and who has at least two dots in Technokinesis can purchase the same
one-dot Edge, but do not have to incorporate the biocomp into their body. However,
the Enhancement provided by this Edge is in place of, and not in addition to the
Enhancement gains from using a formatted biocomp.
Since both psions and noetic biotech are resistant to Aberrant powers, any attempts
by Aberrants to manipulate the psion through her biocomp have a Difficulty to +5,
in addition to the Complication provided by the biocomp’s failsafe. Research is
currently underway to create biocomps that any psion, and eventually any human,
can use in this fashion once they have formatted it. There’s also no social penalty
to psions for using Biocomp Enhancement.

Increased Tolerance (• to •••)

Your biological template is strong enough to maintain a surprisingly high degree of bioware.
Both neutrals and psions with this Edge gain +1 per dot to their Tolerance for formatting bioware
(p. XX). Neutrals still cannot use any biotech that increases psionic powers (since they have
none) and also cannot use any biotech that requires the expenditure of Psi points. Advanced
Biotech therapies can give this Edge to both neutrals and psions.
Low Gravity Adaptation (• to ••)
Your character has undergone minor genetic modification to allow her to live and work under
low gravity conditions. Although grav grids are common, a few asteroid colonies prefer not to
use them, and a portion of the Karroo mining station is kept at zero-G for convenience.
At one dot, your character suffers no problems from living in low or zero gravity for months or
years at a time. Also, your character suffers no negative modifiers for maneuvering in low or
zero gravity. At two dots, your character has had her feet modified so that her toes are longer and
her big toe is opposable. Your character effectively has four hands. Her feet have been designed
so that they do not interfere with walking or running in normal gravity. However, when using
your feet to manipulate objects, your character suffers from the normal level 1 Complication for
not using her dominant hand. If you also take the Ambidextrous Edge (Trinity Continuum
Corebook, p. XX), this penalty vanishes, and your character can use all four limbs equally well.
Because of her four hands, your character gains a 2 Enhancement to all climbing rolls, and gains
1 Enhancement bonus when grappling in gravity less than 0.1 Gs.
Mars Adaptation (•)

8
Mars is not yet habitable, but it is far more so than it was in 2100. While most Martians are
content to live in the large pressurized cities equipped with grav grids, an increasing number of
people are striking out in small groups and setting up independent settlements. While everyone,
except powerful biokinetics, requires oxygen masks to survive outside of sealed habitats, a
combination of amphibious and zero-G enhancements allows some people to be much more
comfortable on the Martian surface.
You character has undergone advanced genetic therapy to live on the surface of Mars. Your
character suffers no health problems from living in low gravity, he can hold his breath for 30
minutes, and his tough skin provides sufficient insulation from the cold Martian nights that he
rarely needs anything more than a warm coat to be comfortable anywhere on Mars or Earth.
Your character can to endure temperatures down to -20 C without discomfort and his skin
provides him with one level of soft armor. In addition, your character’s skin appears smoother
than normal, similar to the skin of a dolphin.
Drawbacks: Characters with this Edge suffer a level 1 Complication to all social rolls relating to
appearance from people who are uncomfortable with enhanced humans.
New Social Edges
The following are new social Edges.
Dual Citizenship (•)
International travel is easier than ever, and to make the process of traveling from one nation to
another easier, some people have citizenship in several nations. Known criminals are almost
never granted citizenship in nations other than the one they were born in, and sufficiently
outspoken dissidents have problems becoming citizens of some nations. However, the wealthy,
people with important skills, and psions are always in demand. This Edge means that your
character is a citizen of two nations — the nation she was born in and one other. You can
purchase this Edge several times. If you purchase this Edge three times, then your character is a
citizen of four nations. Few people are citizens of more than four or five nations. Even fewer are
citizens of nations that are relatively hostile to one another, like the FSA and any of the nations
of Sudamerica.
Drawbacks: Some nations, like China, the FSA, or Nippon do their best to keep track of the
activities of their citizens, and the more nations your character is a citizen of, the more nations
there are that might be interested in watching her, regardless of where she is.
Telepathic Resistance (•••)
Prerequisite: Æon Trinity or Ministry Path, cannot be a Telepath or possess Telepathy as an
Auxiliary Mode
Your character is not a telepath, but she has trained with telepaths, learning ways to guard her
thoughts and to detect the subtle signs of mental intrusion. This Edge provides your character
with two benefits. Telepaths increase the Difficulty of all rolls to read or alter your character’s
thoughts or emotions by +2. In addition, your character is also unusually conscious of her own
thoughts. If a telepath attempts to alter your character’s thoughts or emotions, you can make a
reflexive Integrity + Composure roll. If your Successes are equal to or higher than the telepath
performing this manipulation, your character is aware that someone is attempting to influence
her thoughts or emotions. This awareness gives her 2 Enhancement to resist giving into to any
emotions imposed on her and allows her to attempt to stop the telepath using other means, such
as physically attacking the telepath.

9
Psionic Edges
The following Edges Directly Relate to Psionic Powers and are only available to psions.
Detached (••)
Prerequisite: Psions only
You have the rare ability to view your psionic abilities as separate from your physical existence,
and can maintain this distance even under adverse conditions. Any penalties due to Injury
Conditions don’t affect your Psi rolls until you reach Maimed, and even then, you only suffer
half the normal penalty (-2).
Enhanced Attunement (•)
Prerequisite: Psions only
Your psionic sensitivity is substantially greater than the norm for someone with your Psi rating.
Your Psi is considered one point higher for purposes of Attunement rolls and range, up to a
maximum of seven.
Favored Mode (••)
Prerequisite: Psions only and at least one dot in that Mode
Your character excels as using one particular Mode or Psion powers. She gains 2 Enhancement
when using this Mode. This Enhancement can be spent to overcome difficulty or purchase
elements of a power as normal, or can be spent to increase one aspect of the power governed by
Psi or Mode dots at one step per Enhancement. This Edge can only be taken once, and may apply
to a Mode of the psion’s Aptitude or her Alternate Modes.

New Paths
As well as the Paths presented in the Trinity Continuum Corebook, there are a number of new
Paths available in Trinity Continuum: Æon — and, of course, players are encouraged to adapt
existing Paths to suit their needs, as well as to create entirely new Paths to represent the life
choices, professional roles and societies in which they dwell. The new Paths given here represent
the new vistas that humanity’s exploration of space has opened up. Three are new Role Paths:
Off-Earth Colonist, Spacer, and Space Military. Two are new Society Paths: Freelance Psion and
Nihonjin Agent. These paths can all be found below. There is also one new Society Path for each
of the eight psi orders, and two new Society Paths associated with the Æon Trinity. These
additional Paths are found in the next chapter, after the description of the associated
organization, except for the Chitra Bhanu Path, which can be found in Chapter 11 (p. XX).
Some Paths include new Edges, representing the special training or resources that a particular
organization grants access to. These Edges are only accessible via Path membership.
Freelance Psion (Society)
The character is a freelance psion. She does not owe allegiance to any psi order and is a free
agent, answering only to her own goals and beliefs. She may choose to work for a major
government or organization, contracting out her abilities to a patron for a handsome reward; or
she may be a fugitive or free spirit who is always on the move. She may have psi orders seeking
to court her into joining their ranks, or she may be on the run from an order that she has caused
trouble for or that refuses to take no for an answer.
Path Concepts

10
High-end private security specialist, obsessed vigilante, psionic private eye, wandering
troubleshooter
Example Connections: Æon Trinity, Criminal Organization, Psi Order, Thankful Client
Skills: Empathy, Integrity, Larceny, Persuasion
Edges: Adrenaline Spike, Always Prepared, Covert, Danger Sense, Enhanced Attunement,
Favored Mode, Inner Reserve, Patron
Special Edge: Inner Reserve (••)
Prerequisite: Freelance Psion
Without the support of a psi order, your character has had to learn the hard way that there’s no-
one else who’ll clean away her mess when she screws up with her psi powers. She may spend a
point of Momentum whenever she botches a psi roll to convert the botch into a normal failure.
Nihonjin Agent (Society)
The character is closely affiliated with the government of Nippon, a nation possessing cutting-
edge technology but which is intensely distrustful of the psi orders and where bioware is banned.
She serves as an agent or asset for the Nihonjin beyond the country’s shores, granting them the
reach to meddle in the affairs of other regions without compromising their official distance and
the isolation of much of their population. She may be an infiltrator, information gatherer, or even
an assassin; whatever her role, she benefits from the incredible technology that her powerful
patron provides.
A Nihonjin agent is either a neutral or a Talent; she cannot be a psion.
Path Concepts
Deep cover operative, enhanced diplomat, merciless assassin, suave spy
Example Connections: Criminal Organization, Double Agent, Government Official, Nippon
Intelligence Agency
Skills: Athletics, Enigmas, Larceny, Technology
Edges: Alternative Identity, Computer Enhancement, Covert, Cyberware Access, Danger Sense,
Skilled Liar, Superior Trait
Special Edge: Cyberware Access (• to •••)
Prerequisite: Nihonjin Agent
Your character has easy access to cutting-edge hardtech implants (see p. XX) from Nippon. She
possesses a number of implants equal to her dots in this Edge. She does not need to purchase
these implants and their cost is not a factor. She can change the implants she possesses between
sessions if she is able to gain access to Nihonjin medical facilities to perform the required
procedures.
Off-Earth Colonist (Role)
The character is literally reaching for the stars, part of humanity’s colonization of new worlds.
She is hardy, resourceful and rugged, capable of surviving in incredibly tough conditions and
expecting the unexpected. When faced with the unknown, she has the courage and determination
to push onwards. She has the skills and mindset to build a home and a new life under alien stars,
regardless of what the galaxy throws at her.

11
Example Connections: Corporate Sponsor, Interstellar Explorer, Survivalist, Xenobiologist
Skills: Athletics, Integrity, Survival, Technology
Edges: Animal Ken, Danger Sense, Direction Sense, Hardy, Ms. Fix-It, Pioneer Spirit, Superior
Trait, Weak Spots
Special Edge: Pioneer Spirit (•••)
Prerequisite: Off-Earth Colonist
Even in the most difficult of situations, your character presses on with indefatigable
determination. As long as she is part of the player character group, increase the size of the Black
Pool by 1. Additionally, she gains a bonus point of Momentum every time she fails or botches a
Survival or Technology roll, and whenever she suffers an Injury Condition.
Spacer (Role)
The character lives or works in space, perhaps as the crew on a spacecraft or in a desolate
outpost. She may be a technician, skilled in maintaining and repairing the technology that is so
vital to keeping her and her fellows alive. She may be a pilot, working with noetic engines or
alongside a clairsentient and a teleporter to steer a colossal vessel through the void. Regardless of
her role, she almost certainly has at least some familiarity with handling small craft and EVA
equipment. The void is not a natural or welcoming environment for humanity, and technology is
absolutely vital to her day to day survival, but she may also have undergone some level of
modification and adaptation — changing the fabric of her very body to better handle the strange
pressures of space.
Example Connections: Asteroid Miner, Interstellar Explorer, Off-Earth Colonist, Upeo Wa
Macho Member
Skills: Enigmas, Pilot, Science, Technology
Edges: Breath Control, Endurance, Hardy, Low Gravity Adaptation, Ms. Fix-It, Variable
Gravity Training, Weak Spots
Special Edge: Variable Gravity Training (•)
Prerequisite: Spacer or Space Military
Your character has been trained in handling low, high or zero gravity environments. She reduces
the level of any Complications stemming from gravity-related conditions by 1 when attempting
non-combat physical actions.
Space Military (Role)
The character is part of a small elite — those combat specialists who ply their trade in the void of
space. She might be part of a space vessel’s on-board contingent of marines intended mostly for
policing and supporting off-Earth colonies and manning the ship’s battle stations, or she may be
an elite combat pilot expected to go toe-to-toe with whatever nightmarish attack craft the mad
science of Aberrants and aliens might conjure up. She’s likely to have whip-fast reflexes and a
level of vigilance that would impress even elite planet-dwelling soldiers; she knows that the
hungering emptiness of cold, hard vacuum is always close by.
Example Connections: Armorer, Off-Earth Colony, Spacer Captain, UNMC
Skills: Aim, Command, Pilot, Technology

12
Edges: Adrenaline Spike, Breath Control, Danger Sense, Hair-Trigger Reflexes, Hardy, Low
Gravity Adaptation, Small Unit Tactics, Variable Gravity Training, Variable Gravity Combat
Training
Special Edge: Variable Gravity Combat Training (••)
Prerequisite: Space Military
Your character has been trained in combat techniques appropriate for low, high or zero gravity
environments, as well as the calculations and factors involved in engagements between
spacecraft. She reduces the level of any Complications stemming from gravity-related conditions
by 1 when attempting an attack, and benefits from 1 Enhancement to her dice pools for attacks
with ship-to-ship weapons.
Oceanian (Origin)
Your character grew up on a floating or undersea city and is now a citizen of Earth’s newest and
most unusual nation, Oceania. You are likely to have been born or become a phib or aqua and
grew up in a high tech city surrounded by an environment deadly to unmodified humans.
However, the close-knit cities of Oceania are also some of the most creative and technologically
advanced on the planet.
Example Connections: Artists or Scientists, Boat or Submarine Pilot, Genetic Engineer,
Undersea Miner
Skills: Culture, Empathy, Survival, Technology
Edges: Amphibious or Aquatic Conversion, Artistic Talent, Big Hearted, Hardy, Increased
Tolerance, Library

13
Chapter Five: Organizations
By union the smallest thrive, by discord the greatest are destroyed
— Gaius Sallustius Crispus, Roman historian & statesman
Belonging to a psi order or the Æon Trinity provides characters with many opportunities for
exciting play as well as allies and other benefits. Although players are free to have their
characters been freelance psions who are independent of any organizational loyalties, all psions
must join a psi order or the Æon Trinity to obtain access to a Prometheus Chamber, and even
characters who later left that organization once belonged to it.

The Psi Orders

In 2106, immediately after a group of psions defeated the attack on Sydney Australia, the world
learned of the existence of the eight psi orders. Each psi order was controlled by a single
individual known as the order’s proxy, who was the first person to gain the psionic Aptitude
associated with that order. Each psi order also possesses a highly advanced piece of
biotechnology called a Prometheus Chamber. Each Prometheus Chamber is associated with a
single psionic Aptitude. Individuals with the proper psionic latency who are placed in this
chamber gain the psionic Aptitude produced by this Prometheus Chamber. However, individuals
with the same Aptitude as their psi order’s Prometheus Chamber only make up roughly half of
the psions who belong to each psi order. The other half are psions who joined this order, but
gained their powers from another Prometheus Chamber. The Æon Trinity negotiates sharing
arrangements between different psi orders, so that they can trade use of their Prometheus
Chambers.
THIS IS A TABLE
Psi Order Table
Psi Order Psionic Aptitude of Proxy Psions In Order
Prometheus Chamber
Æsculapian Order Vitakinesis Dr. Matthew Zweidler 17,000
Chitra Bhanu Quantakinesis Dr. S.K. Bhurano 0?
ISRA Clairsentience Otha Herzog 5,000
The Legions Psychokinesis General Solveig Larssen 30,000
Ministry Telepathy Rebecca Bue Li 5,000
Norça Biokinesis Giuseppe del Fuego 2,500
Orgotek Electrokinesis Alex Cassel 15,000
Upeo wa Macho Teleportation Bolade Atwan 800
The Æon Trinity none The Trinity Council 5,800
Freelanced Psions none - 7,000

1
 END OF TABLE
In 2111, Chitra Bhanu was destroyed by the other psi orders due to apparent corruption by
Aberrants. However, since 2111 the other seven psi orders have all thrived and grown. Because
the various psionic Aptitudes can combine their abilities in powerful ways, every psi order
encourages members with all psionic Aptitudes to join. There are currently roughly 90,000
psions, and rough estimates place the number of unidentified latents at between 200,000 and
250,000.

OpNet QuickFaqs
Subject: Specific & General Latency
Updated: June 2, 2109
Often descriptions about latents and latency refer to someone as having a strong
latency for one particular psionic Aptitude. While technically true, in practice the
difference between a strong and a weak latency for a particular psionic Aptitude is
relatively small. Any latent can become a biokinetic, clairsentient, electrokinetic,
psychokinetic, telepath, or vitakinetic with equal ease.
Becoming a psion with an Aptitude in their strongest latency provides individuals
with somewhat greater power initially, but has no other effect. Also, individuals
who become psions in another Aptitude soon develop an Auxiliary Mode in their
primary latency. The particulars of a psion’s latency has no effect on how easily
they can improve their noetic mastery. However, there is one place where specific
latency is essential — the ability to gain either Quantakinesis or Teleportation. Most
psions do not possess the necessary latency for either ability and any attempt to use
either Prometheus Chamber would be just as fatal as a neutral attempting to use any
Prometheus Chamber.
Although both Chitra Bhanu and Upeo wa Macho are exceedingly selective and
appear to reject most applicants who possess the latency required to learn
Quantakinesis or Teleportation, the best evidence available is that less than 10% of
psions are able to learn either of these two rare Aptitudes. However, like every other
psion, these individuals can also gain any of the other six Aptitudes without
problem.

The Æsculapian Order

The Æsculapian Order is both the vitakinetic psi order and the largest international emergency
services organization. Dr. Matthieu Zweidler, now 89 years old, has directed the Æsculapian
Order since 2086. He is the second oldest Proxy and the one who has been in charge of his
organization the longest. However, in the 19 years since he became the Vitakinetic Proxy Dr.
Zweidler has not appeared to age and in fact now appears to be in his early 60s. Well before he
became the Vitakinetic Proxy, Dr. Zweidler was passionately dedicated to this order’s mission of
helping the injured or sick anywhere in the universe and providing both short and long term aid
to help people and places recover from serious disasters.
The Æsculapian Order was founded in 2043 and began as an organization based in the EU,
which was originally dedicated to providing relief from nova-related disasters. As the troubles
that led up to the Aberrant War increased, the Æsculapian Order grew. By 2057, it had expanded
beyond the EU, gradually becoming a fully international organization. After the Aberrant War
ended, the Æsculapian Order already had close ties with the Æon Trinity and was in an excellent

2
position to help humanity recover from the Crash and the aftermath of the Aberrant War. In
2086, Dr. Zweidler took over as director while the Æsculapian Order was in the process of
becoming a general-purpose disaster relief and medical aid organization now that it had largely
completed helping humanity recover from The Crash.
Under his directorship, the Æsculapian Order expanded its efforts throughout the solar system,
becoming the primary agency that dealt with disasters ranging from hurricanes or earthquakes to
life-system failures on off-world colonies or people trapped on damaged spacecraft. As an
experienced emergency room physician, Dr. Zweidler also made certain that the Æsculapian
Order worked to help governments track and deal with epidemic diseases, and provide medical
services for people who could not otherwise access them. He also encouraged medical research
to improve all forms of trauma care and find cures for all widespread illnesses, including the
recently discovered Quantum Flux illnesses.
Shortly after Dr. Zweidler announced that he was the Vitakinetic Proxy, he began a large-scale
recruitment drive for psionic latents. It was not the first or last of the order’s projects that some
of its critics would call too meddlesome. Some of their work, by its very nature, brings them into
conflict with governments and political parties, whether it’s simply providing health care to
people seen as social undesirables, or collecting data on violent injuries and deaths that a corrupt
local government would rather keep quiet.
Since before Dr. Zweidler took over as director, the Æsculapian Order has had three types of
facilities. The largest and least numerous are the research laboratories, where Æsculapian
physicians and scientists work to develop new treatments, while engineers and rescue workers
create new technology to aid in rescue work, and improve methods of performing various
emergency services. An important secondary purpose of these facilities is training new recruits.
The most well-known Æsculapian facilities are the clinics and stations. Æsculapian clinics were
originally developed to provide free medical services in poor, remote, or otherwise underserved
regions. The existence of Vitakinesis has led to the creation of a second type of clinic, primarily
located in arcologies and cities, where patients can obtain vitakinetic healing unavailable
elsewhere, and where the wealthy can pay for cosmetic, voluntary body modification and anti-
aging treatments.
Most Æsculapian stations are also clinics, but they primarily serve as bases for first response
emergency services. As a result, they contain living facilities for emergency services personnel
as well as advanced vehicles designed to handle a variety of emergencies. With the exception of
Nippon, almost all nations permit the Æsculapian Order to place clinics and stations where they
believe they will do the most good. In addition, Æsculapians also have a station that specializes
in space rescue operations in the asteroid belt as well as stations on Luna, Mars and Khantze Lu
Ge. A small station also recently opened on Karoo Station.
Recruitment and Membership
The Æsculapian Order is the third largest order in terms of total membership and the second
largest in terms of psion members. Regardless of whether they are psions or not, most members
of the Æsculapian Order are emergency service or medical personnel, including firefighters,
pilots, physicians, nurses, EMTs, and people trained in wilderness, off planet, or space rescues.
However, the Æsculapians also employ a fairly large clerical staff as well as a smaller number of
scientists and engineers. Neutrals can be hired in any capacity, but psions are generally expected
to be emergency service or medical personnel. However, the Æsculapian Order also employs
several dozen psionic researchers and engineers.

3
Although always willing to accept skilled latents who wish to become vitakinetics, any potential
member who displays a teleportation latency is strongly encouraged to obtain the Teleportation
Aptitude, since the several dozen teleporters who work in this organization are always in high
demand for remote rescue assignments. Because every Æsculapian clinic and station offers free
psionic latency testing, almost half of all latent psions are initially discovered by the Æsculapian
Order. Latents who lack appropriate skills or training but who wish to join the Æsculapian Order
are required to complete six months of EMT training and pass a certification exam before being
approved for access to a Prometheus Chamber. At this point, the new psion has the choice of
immediately starting work for the Æsculapian Order or receiving more advanced training.
Although not common, some psions have joined the Æsculapian Order and then spent the next
several years training to become physicians.
As long as latents can pass a basic exam for physical and mental competency, the Æsculapian
Order accepts members of all ages, although all members over the age of 70 are strongly urged to
become vitakinetics, because the healing and physical enhancement aspects of this Aptitude
allow even elderly members to easily engage in prolonged physical exertion without negative
consequences.
Recruiting neutrals is far more straightforward. The Æsculapian Order is open to anyone with the
correct training and experience and offers full scholarships for anyone interested in training in
one of these fields, in return for a commitment to work in the Æsculapian Order for a time period
at least equal to the duration of their training.
Both psions and neutrals who work for the Æsculapian Order freely admit that their jobs are
often difficult, stressful, and occasionally dangerous, but most also find their work to be
exceptionally rewarding. In addition, the Æsculapian Order works hard to make certain that all
employees are both safe and content. Salaries are comparatively high and many employees love
the chance to work all across the Earth as well as various locations in the solar system. A
growing number of members also gain the opportunity to travel to the stars.
The Æsculapian Order receives most of its funding from the UN and the Æon Trinity. However,
it is also a popular charity for the wealthy and since 2109, a growing number of Æsculapian
clinics have offered expensive vitakinetic treatments to wealthy clients, including long-term
cosmetic alterations as well as short term but repeatable mental and physical enhancements.
These services were initially controversial, since previously all services provided by the
Æsculapian Order were free. However, Dr. Zweidler made several public announcements where
he made it clear that vitakinetics working for the Æsculapian Order would not charge patients to
cure illnesses or even to enhance longevity. Instead, the Æsculapian Order only charges for
services that provide cosmetic alterations and short term physical and mental enhancements that
are not medically necessary. Some members still vocally object to the Æsculapian Order
profiting from any use of Vitakinesis, but most accept that these treatments provide much-needed
funds.
Current Projects
The biggest challenge facing the Æsculapian Order remains the devastation in France. Even after
more than two years, rebuilding and providing services and remains a daunting prospect. In
addition to malnutrition, epidemic disease, and radiation poisoning, Quantum Flux diseases
remain relatively common all across Western France. Recontact with Khantze Lu Ge has brought
additional urgent demands for the order’s services, to help with rebuilding in the regions
recaptured from the Aberrants, to provide medical treatment for injured soldiers and civilians and
to attempt to treat the Quantum Flux diseases present in many hundreds of the people who lived

4
under Aberrant rule. However, the ongoing war has somewhat limited the number of vitakinetics
Dr. Zweidler is willing to risk there. The Æsculapian Order is currently struggling to deal with
providing adequate services to both France and Khantze Lu Ge, while also maintaining their
commitments to provide services elsewhere.
The Æsculapian Order’s single largest research project is into treatment or cures for Quantum
Flux diseases. Currently, these are the only illnesses that even the most powerful vitakinetics
cannot cure. However, before the destruction of Chitra Bhanu in 2111, cooperation between
vitakinetics and quantakinetics managed to cure a few cases, which implies that cures are
possible. More information about Quantum Flux illnesses and general rules for treating illness
can be found on p. XX. The Æsculapian Order’s other major projects are finding better ways to
increase general longevity, strengthening medical infrastructure, and prevent commonplace
illnesses. They are also working with Orgotek to develop bioapps that can provide permanent
mental and physical enhancement to neutrals.
Headquarters
The official headquarters of the Æsculapian Order is in Montressor Switzerland. With roughly
12,000 employees and more than 1,000 vitakinetics on staff, Montressor is the order’s center for
administration and medical research as well as being the location where Dr. Matthieu Zweidler
works. The Montressor facility is located on the outskirts of Basel. Much of the facility is still
located in a 15th century structure that was originally used as a monastery, but the facility has
since expanded into a series of early 21st century buildings originally part of a small Swiss
university that opened in 2019, and which the order purchased shortly after the Crash.
The order’s second-largest facility, located in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, is often referred to as its
second headquarters. With a staff of more than 5,000, this branch of the order is located in a
large biotech structure developed and built in collaboration with Norça and Orgotek in 2113.
While the bulk of the Montressor facility is devoted to medical research, the Port-au-Prince
facility is specifically the Order’s center for disaster relief and preparation. Here the order creates
better equipment and protocols and trains specialized teams. A secondary focus of this location is
cooperation with other psi orders. The Port-au-Prince facility is the site of a joint project with
Orgotek to develop improved disaster relief and medical bioware as well as a joint project with
Norça where members of both Psi Orders attempt to find ways to reduce Quantum Flux diseases
by “healing” or otherwise eliminating Corrupted zones.
Within the order, the Montressor facility is popularly seen a prestigious but a bit stodgy, while
the Port-au-Prince facility is regarded as a more exciting location, but also a hotbed of radical
and occasionally crackpot ideas. There is a strong ideological emphasis there on cooperation
with local traditional medicine and exploration of other forms of folk medicine, which some
view as spurious and others view as essential to the Order’s mission. There is some friction
between outsiders who arrive at the Port-au-Prince facility to work or study there and locals
recruited by the Order.
Dr. Zweidler’s protégé, who serves as functional head of the Æsculapian Order when Zweidler
himself is shut away pursuing a research tangent, is Dr. Magalie Alcine, a native Haitian who is a
vitakinetic and medical prodigy. Dr. Alcine grew up in a family of folk medicine practitioners
and, as a high school science project, began keeping copious observations on the use of
traditional herbs, remedies and rituals when she was a teenager. Her family usually had very
little need for outsiders’ medicine, but she came to the clinic seeking help, having been assigned
male at birth and facing unwelcome signs of puberty. Although care was provided free of charge,

5
in her intense gratitude she continued to spend time at the clinic as a volunteer, and began
studying at one of the introductory academic programs in 2106.
That year, Dr. Zweidler publicly announced that he was the Vitakinetic Proxy and came to Port-
au-Prince on a recruitment mission. A regular protocol for psionic testing had not yet been
developed, but Dr. Zweidler’s assistants discovered Magalie’s strong vitakinetic latency when
she shared her discovery that her own folk healing skills were more effective than that of other
practitioners she knew, along with her notebooks and records to back up the observation. Once
she became fully attuned to her powers - she was able to control her own hormonal balance and
physical development, and heal others. Dr. Zweidler oversaw Magalie’s education as a physician
and as a psion, and she studied in several of the world’s best medical schools and research
hospitals before returning to lead the Æsculapian Order’s Port-au-Prince division to its full glory.
Dr. Alcine insists that respecting the spiritual beliefs of patients is not just politeness or
diplomacy, but deeply necessary to the practice of medicine. Her vitakinetic abilities are second
only to Dr. Zweidler’s, and she has a talent for cross-cultural communication and leadership
which often guides the decisions of the Order.
Special Resources
The Æsculapian Order is built around the idea of rapid response to serious problems. Members
can get any pathogen or toxin analyzed within a few hours after they get it to one of the order’s
clinics or stations, and if lives are at stake, they also gain immediate access to clairsentient scans
of any structure in the solar system to determine where any survivors are located. Attempts to
use this service to invade others’ privacy or for criminal purposes are harshly punished. In
addition, any clinic provides members of the order with immediate medical treatment.
Because the Æsculapian Order is both powerful and widely popular, members can ask their
superiors to help them obtain the cooperation of any local authorities. While this cooperation can
sometimes be grudging and half-hearted, officials who comply with important requests by the
order are frequently given significant discounts on the cosmetic and enhancement services the
order provides to those who can afford them.
Out among the stars, the order’s resources are far more limited, but are still freely offered to
members. There are now clinics on Averiguas, Far Nyumba, Karroo Mining Station, Khantze Lu
Ge, and in the human embassy on Qinshui, and there are plans for clinics on Ruan’s World and
Marfisa. Any member of the order who visits these clinics can obtain whatever aid the clinic can
provide, but is also expected to help out if they are present during any sort of emergency. The
order now includes a dozen teleporters capable of interstellar travel, but their services are in
exceptionally high demand.
Running an Æsculapian Order Campaign
Being sworn to a medical code of ethics and taking it seriously can bring characters into conflict
with a number of people and entities: governments, military organizations, other medical
professionals who disagree on interpretations, and even patients, at those times when they don’t
appreciate medical decisions but can’t safely make their own.
Sometimes what the laws permit and what the ethical guidelines dictate are different, and then
what? Well, then you improvise. A lot can be at stake: a patient’s life, the future of the order’s
local operations, or the individual Æsculapian’s continued ability to draw breath, if they’ve
offended the wrong crime boss by noticing a suspicious injury trend.

6
As such, Æsculapians aren’t merely healers: they have to include rescuers and relief workers,
defenders and diplomats, educators, and infiltrators. The face of the Order is peaceful, but
compared to international medical organizations of the early 21st century, they are more blatant
in their pushback against widespread human rights violations, and sometimes change the
political picture by taking action in the interest of public health and safety. This has earned some
criticism, but means there is never a shortage of excitement for characters who have allied
themselves to this organization. Æsculapians can be found responding to epidemics and
disasters, solving medical mysteries, investigating the results of cutting-edge research, and
pursuing intrigues amidst back-room political power struggles.
Many possibilities exist. An Æsculapian team in the outer space search and rescue division could
work from a spaceship in a specific well-traveled portion of the solar system, like a section of the
asteroid belt, or could include a teleporter as one of their members and aid space travelers
anywhere. These emergency responders save passengers from damaged spacecraft and arrive
first to the scene of catastrophes and disease outbreaks on worlds across the galaxy.
Play could focus on an espionage and infiltration team, featuring a wide range of powers used to
advance and conceal their purposes - perhaps some characters are members of the Order and
others are local connections, allied to them by circumstance and sworn to their secret mission.
An epidemiology center or clinic could be another nexus of events, with medics, security staff,
and research scientists all working to track the spread of disease and eradicate it, and stumbling
into unforeseen calamities when a new patient turns out to be connected to unsafe black-market
technologies, Aberrant cults or other dangerous phenomena. Clairsentience and sometimes
telepathy can be crucial to these investigations.
The best and brightest are often sent to investigate and curb the spread of Quantum Flux
diseases, a greater threat to humanity than ordinary illness. New phenomena on this frontier
always draw the Æsculapian Order’s closest attention. A campaign could even follow a single
serious epidemic or large-scale disaster from beginning to end, as the player characters respond
to difficult choices in the field and the stakes and challenges change from week to week.
Adversarial forces in this type of story include villainy and incompetence, panic and social
disorder, destructive microbes and blustering bureaucrats (and that damn tech who won’t wash
her hands).
The Æsculapian Order Path (Society)
The character is closely affiliated with the Æsculapian Order, the Vitakinetic Psi Order. She is
aligned with the Order’s mission of helping the sick and injured, providing aid, and protecting
humanity from disasters. She is likely either a medical professional or other first responder, or
she works closely with those who are. She is likely familiar with the organization and provision
of aid and emergency services to those in need across the world — and beyond.
Path Concepts
First Responder, Medical Researcher, Medical Relief Worker, Search and Rescue Specialist
Example Connections: Æon Trinity, Emergency Service Personnel, Health Ministry, Medical
Specialist
Skills: Athletics, Empathy, Medicine, Science
Edges: Adrenaline Spike, Danger Sense, Enhanced Attunement, Favored Mode, Hardy, Keen
Sense, Library, Rapid Response Protocols, Trained Memory

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Special Edge: Rapid Response Protocols (•)
Prerequisite: Æsculapian Order
As a member of the Æsculapian Order, your character can take advantage of the organization’s
emergency resources. As long as your character has access to an Æsculapian clinic or station, she
can receive free medical treatment with top-level medical equipment providing 2 Enhancement
or greater. Additionally, she can always request analysis of a disease, pathogen, toxin or injury;
the Order’s staff will perform the equivalent of a research action with a 3-dot Library
specializing in Medicine, using a base dice pool of 8 and taking no more than a few hours.

Chitra Bhanu
Before the other orders destroyed it for allegedly collaborating with Aberrants, Chitra Bhanu was
the smallest of the eight psi orders. Its headquarters in Mumbai contained the Prometheus
Chamber for the rarest and strangest of the Aptitudes — Quantakinesis, which allowed psions to
use noetic energy to manipulate quantum force; the same quantum force that Aberrants wield to
devastating effect. Quantakinetics shaped both matter and energy and could directly affect noetic
and quantum powers.
Dr. S.K. Bhurano was the order’s proxy. The most reclusive and mysterious of the eight proxies,
before she gained her powers Dr. Bhurano was a brilliant physicist who studied Quantum Flux
and attempted to find ways to reclaim Corrupted regions, like Wycoff’s Blight. After she became
the Quantakinetic Proxy, she worked closely with Proxy Zweidler to develop the theoretical
basis for noetic science and investigate the parameters of the subquantum universe. Under her
direction, Chitra Bhanu also funded a number of clinics and research facilities for the treatment
of Aberrant Syndrome, Corruption diseases, and noetic dysfunction. The largest of these clinics
and also the headquarters of the order was located in Mumbai India. Dr. Bhurano was the most
selective of the eight proxies and admitted less than 200 people into her Order, all of whom were
scientists in a wide variety of fields, from physics to psychology. Dr. Bhurano also refused to
allow quantakinetics to join other psi orders.
In addition to noetic research, Chitra Bhanu also engaged in extensive studies of Quantum Flux
and other Quantum phenomena. Dr. Bhurano claimed that researchers in her Order were
attempting to discover a means to subvert or even negate Aberrant powers. Regardless of how
noble her motives started out, evidence points to the fact that Dr. Bhurano and the other
quantakinetics either fell under the thrall of captive Aberrants they were studying or willingly
allied with these monsters.
Near the end of 2109, the first rumors appeared on the OpNet about how Chitra Bhanu was
working with Aberrants. At that time, Dr. Bhurano gave what was to be her last public
appearance where she confirmed that Chitra Bhanu was working to cure sub-aberrant mutants
and individuals suffering from Quantum Flux diseases, and she eventually hoped to find a way to
transform Aberrants back into humans.
Rumors and fears about Chitra Bhanu continued to grow over the next year, especially after
several allegedly “rehabilitated” sub-aberrant mutants were seen visiting the Order’s Bombay
clinic. Then, in January 2111, someone working inside this clinic leaked a report that Chitra
Bhanu was in league with Aberrants. According to this report, instead of working to find a
defense against Aberrants, Chitra Bhanu researchers had discovered a way to cloak Aberrants’
Quantum signature. It also claimed that researchers were working on a method of transforming
humans into sub-aberrant mutants and that they had also discovered a technique for enhancing
Aberrant powers.

8
At this point, several of the other Proxies, including Alec Cassel and Dr. Matthew Zweidler
attempted to contact Dr. Bhurano, but she refused to answer any of these messages. Alarmed,
General Solveg Larssen dispatched several hundred members of the Legions to Mumbai, where
they were joined by members of Norça and Orgotek. General Larssen demanded that Dr.
Bhurano allow a team of investigators, including Otha Herzog and Dr. Matthew Zweidler inspect
their Bombay facility. In her famous last statement, Dr. Bhurano announced that her Order’s
activities were her responsibility and told the assembled psions to go home. Immediately after
this announcement, several clairsentients outside sensed a large amount of noetic activity
building within the facility. Fearing an attack, the assembled soldiers stormed the building and a
swift and deadly battle followed. Most of the quantakinetics were killed fighting the other psions
and the remainder died in a large explosion of unknown cause.
Afterwards, investigators attempted to learn what the quantakinetics had been working on.
Unfortunately, Dr. Bhurano destroyed all of the Order’s data files before she died. Clairsentient
investigators found that they were unable to gain any information about previous events in the
clinic. However, they also discovered small amounts of Quantum Flux in several locations. In
the aftermath of this discovery, the other proxies decided to dismantle and destroy the
quantakinetic Prometheus Chamber.
Since 2111, there have been periodic reports of known quantakinetics being seen in various
locations. Many people in the other psi orders and the Æon Trinity suspect that a handful of
quantakinetics may have survived the purge. Far fewer people give any credit to less reliable
reports that portions of the quantakinetic Prometheus Chamber vanished before it was destroyed
or that S.K. Bhurano survived the explosion. However, some psions still wonder about the exact
sequence of events on the day of the purge. Proxies Otha Herzog and Bolade Atwan have
recently released statements that seem to indicate that they find some of the events surrounding
the Chitra Bhanu purge to be suspicious.
Further Information
See Chapter 11: Setting Secrets for further information on Chitra Bhanu and the Chitra Bhanu
Path.

ISRA
The Interplanetary School of Research and Advancement is the clairsentient psi order. It has also
become a large spiritual organization loosely controlled by Clairsentient Proxy Otha Herzog. At
103, Herzog is the oldest of the eight proxies. Before becoming the Clairsentient Proxy, Herzog
was a counselor and spiritual advisor in the Baha’i faith and the leader of the Baha’i Spiritual
Assembly on Luna.
Becoming the Clairsentient Proxy only served to enhance Herzog’s already mystical way of
thinking. He is famous for giving complex and sometimes difficult to understand answers to
seemingly simple questions, in part because he perceives the world in ways that cause him to see
the true complexity inherent in even the simplest situation. Herzog regularly explains that the
world is far more complicated than it seems to casual observation. ISRA members often refer to
Herzog as the Old Man, while the mass media acclaims him as The Man Who Sees Everything; a
title Herzog openly detests.
Although outsiders sometimes refer to ISRA as Otha Herzog’s cult, ISRA does not require its
members to hold any particular spiritual beliefs. Instead, Herzog says that ISRA is “a vehicle for
self-discovery and the exploration of each member’s personal vision”. ISRA members hold a

9
vast array of different spiritual, political, and social beliefs; Herzog considers these many
different viewpoints to all be part of ISRA’s “holographic vision”.
The disparity of members’ beliefs is somewhat counteracted by the fact that clears all share the
unique understanding that their powers provide. These insights, which include an awareness of
the fundamental oneness of all life and all intelligence, are difficult to communicate to anyone
who has not experienced them. Although almost half of the psions in ISRA are not clears, most
attempt to learn one or more clairsentient Auxiliary Modes to gain at least some understanding of
these mysteries.
Ultimately, Otha Herzog asks nothing of psions in ISRA beyond that they do their best to serve
humanity in whatever way they are drawn to and that they attempt to aid other ISRA members
who require assistance. ISRA offer members numerous opportunities to serve humanity. Many
work at one of the ISRA meeting houses, where people come seeking spiritual advice or classes
in meditation and other spiritual practices. The largest is located in Olympus, but there are
meeting houses in more than 30 large cities, including Bangkok, Los Angeles, Mumbai, Nairobi,
Prague, São Paulo, and Sydney.

Letters to Otha
Otha Herzog wishes to make certain that all psions who belong to ISRA can turn to
one another if they are in trouble. To assist with this, he provides them all with a
secure method of communication. ISRA assigns every psion three “neighbors” who
are all skilled clairsentients. Every Saturday, at a predetermined time, these
clairsentients observe the psion. If the psion is a clairsentient or has a clairsentient
Auxiliary Mode, each “neighbor” determines if the psion has left any messages on
her focal crystal (p. XX) and records this message onto their own focal crystals.
Otherwise, these three clears simply observe the individual, who sometimes writes
notes for her “neighbors”. These notes are often informally referred to as “letters to
Otha”.
In addition to looking for such messages, “neighbors” determine if the psion they
are watching appears to be in any difficulty. If a psion unexpectedly disappears, her
“neighbors” attempt to find her. Psions are asked to leave word if they will be out
of contact for more than two weeks. If any psion unexpectedly vanishes for longer
than this, at least one of her neighbors visits her last known location and attempts
to learn the psion’s fate.

However, members of ISRA need not have anything to do with these meeting houses or with
anything else publicly associated with ISRA. Like their diversity of beliefs, the range of jobs
members of ISRA perform are equally varied. Almost one third of the psions who join ISRA,
including both clears and others, do not work directly for ISRA in any fashion. Instead, they
either continue performing their previous occupation or find a new one that makes better use of
their new talents.
Otha Herzog still considers these individuals to be part of ISRA. He asks that they make regular
reports of any unusual activities that they observe, and occasionally requests that they aid other
ISRA members. This aid is often relatively minor, like allowing visiting members to sleep on
their couch or providing local information and introductions. However, occasionally such aid is
both crucial and dangerous, like hiding an ISRA member from their enemies or helping them
gain covert access to a well-guarded location. Although not required, most members donate 20%
of their income to ISRA. In return, they are free to stay in any ISRA facilities. Members who live

10
and work in ISRA facilities like the meeting houses usually donate most of their income to
ISRA. In return, ISRA provides them with food, housing, and other necessities.
Some ISRA members prefer lives of action, and volunteer their services to Otha Herzog,
becoming members of one of ISRA’s response teams. Members of these response teams earn a
moderate stipend from ISRA in return for their being constantly ready for action. ISRA has more
than 30 response teams, and Herzog or one of his senior advisors selects the team that seems
most suitable and likely to succeed at a particular mission.
Members of these teams are expected to be ready for problems ranging from search and rescue in
remote locations, to fighting Aberrants, or infiltrating a criminal gang selling illegal weapons and
restricted technologies. Otha Herzog usually allows these teams to form naturally, but
occasionally suggests that someone join a particular team. Unsurprisingly, while some of his
choices seem surprising or odd, the new member is almost always a particularly valuable
addition to the team.
Recruiting Psions
ISRA is widely known to be the easiest psi order to join. Latent psions merely need to pass a
basic screening to ensure that they are mentally stable and then convince an interviewer that they
are sincere in their desire to join ISRA and become a psion. Of course, all of the interviewers are
powerful clairsentients who are difficult to deceive. During this interview, the recruiter also
provides a basic outline of how ISRA functions.
Almost every latent that passes the psychological tests is allowed to join, but occasionally
interviewers either suggest that the prospective member join another psi order or join ISRA but
use another order’s Prometheus Chamber to gain a different Aptitude. Most applicants take these
recommendations seriously. On rare occasions, ISRA representatives contact individuals who
may not even be aware they are latent psions and ask them to join. ISRA freely admits psions
other than clairsentients. Although any psion can join, members actively recruit telepaths,
vitakinetics, and latents who wish to become those types of psions because their abilities are
extremely useful in ISRA meeting houses. The rare and recently returned teleporters and latents
with teleportation latency are especially welcome in ISRA, particularly as part of ISRA’s
response teams.
The Growth of ISRA
Herzog initially planned for ISRA to be a small organization composed solely of clairsentients,
and perhaps other psions who were interested in gaining a deeper understanding of the world. He
hoped these psions would learn to use their powers to attain wisdom and benefit all of humanity.
However, he swiftly discovered that ISRA required hundreds of neutrals to help with various
mundane practical tasks, like coordinating the efforts of its sometimes-eccentric members. Also,
thousands of people contacted Herzog in person and via the OpNet, seeking his advice and
wishing to become his spiritual disciples.
Herzog’s clairsentience only conformed the fact that many people felt lost and believed he might
have answers that they desperately needed. An increasing number of these people began
traveling to Olympus, to attend Herzog’s few public appearances and to ask him and other
members of ISRA for spiritual guidance. After slightly more than a year of attempting to
dissuade or ignore the growing number of seekers, Herzog realized that teaching these people
would require only slightly more effort than attempting to ignore them, and that he could
simultaneously help these people and use them to aid humanity as a whole.

11
Herzog understands that sometimes all that’s necessary to prevent serious problems or improve
the world is for the correct person to be someplace at exactly the right time. His powers allow
him to know what people, places, and events can be combined in beneficial ways. As he grew to
better understand his abilities, Herzog also realized that most people needed only a few
suggestions and a small amount of help to gain far greater satisfaction in their lives. He learned
that it was often possible to direct people to locations where their lives would be better and
where they could eventually provide an invaluable service to ISRA.
In 2108, IRSA began admitting neutrals who were sincere spiritual seekers as associate
members. However, ISRA works to temper fanaticism, evangelism, and unthinking devotion.
Herzog and the order’s teachers and counsellors carefully explain to all members of ISRA that
truth and wisdom come from considered action, not blind obedience to Herzog’s teachings. They
also stress that everyone has an appropriate path for their life and for many people, this path does
not include ISRA.
Associate Members
Despite having only 5,000 psions, ISRA is notable for being one of the largest psi orders because
it now has more than a quarter million associate members. Some neutrals who join ISRA are
deeply spiritual people who have been touched by Otha Herzog’s message. These people usually
wish to study and work at ISRA meeting houses as 22nd century monks and nuns. However, most
associate members are ordinary people seeking meaning in their lives. They hope that Herzog
and ISRA will provide this for them and often find that ISRA offers them advice that they could
find nowhere else. Otha Herzog or one of the powerful clairsentients in his inner circle at least
briefly consider every new associate member of ISRA, to see if there is some purpose for which
this person is uniquely suited. They receive little information about most new members, at most
a vision that the person would be happy in a particular city, that they have an especially hot
temper and should have counseling and a job that does not exacerbate this problem, or that the
person is sufficiently honest and trustworthy to work directly for ISRA.
Occasionally Herzog or one of his assistants has a far more significant vision about a new
member. They could see anything from this person committing a serious crime that they would
then attempt to prevent, to the person playing a specific role in either making the world a better
place or otherwise furthering Herzog’s agenda. Often, the tasks ISRA assigns to these people are
both subtle and minor. One person may be told to move to a particular city and get a job working
in a specific company. If needed, other ISRA members help this person move and find the
appropriate type of job. ISRA might ask another associate member to move into a particular
house or apartment, which meets her needs but otherwise seems unexceptional. In all of these
cases, Herzog or one of his assistants had a vision of the person in this job or dwelling
performing some action that had important consequences.
Perhaps a single act of minor kindness by the person keeps someone from committing a
devastating murder spree or maybe this associate member is able to save the life of someone who
later goes on to cure a serious disease, prevent a war, or discover a new habitable world. Herzog
attempts to make certain that the people he sends to perform these missions are happy in their
assigned life, but he is equally interested in the positive effects their small actions have on
thousands or even millions of people.
Neutrals working in the ISRA meeting houses keep in regularly contact with every associate
member, asking about their lives and offering a limited amount of counselling and advice. ISRA
also encourages associate members to become involved with their communities and to report any
unusual events they observe to ISRA. These reports occasionally provide ISRA with advanced

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information about a serious problem or potentially wonderful development that would be
difficult to otherwise learn about.

From: Director Julie Lin Mai

To: Juan Chavez
Subject: Assignment in Kuala Trengganu
Date: July 12, 2123
Juan-
We recently received a message from associate member Jacqueline Binti in Kuala
Trengganu. She reported that several families in her neighborhood recently left the
city. There was no evidence of violence or that these people did anything but
suddenly move, but none of them would talk about why they were moving. The
local authorities aren’t concerned about a few working class families relocating, so
she contacted us. The Old Man himself decided to dispatch your team — I expect
that this is something fairly significant. Jacqueline also asked for help finding her
brother a job, see what you can manage. She said that your response team can all
stay with her, under the story that you’re friends of her aunt in Melbourne.
Blessings to you and your team.

Herzog doesn’t fully understand what Talents are, but he knows that a few people he encounters
seem innately destined to perform impressive deeds and have unusually complex probability
matrices. Any Talent who joins ISRA can be assured of being assigned interesting and
challenging duties. Whenever Herzog encounters Talents who are not part of ISRA, he attempts
to recruit them. He has even suggested that several of the Talents he recruited join one of the
response teams, which normally consist solely of psions.
Huruf al-Hayy
Shortly after the Chitra Bhanu purge, Otha Herzog decided that ISRA needed a secure base,
which would also house the Clairsentience Prometheus Chamber. Known as Huruf al-Hayy
(letters of the living), this base is named after the first 18 followers of the Bahai faith. Herzog has
provided no explanation for this name. Although the construction of this base was widely known,
he kept the location secret. Only Otha Herzog, Bolade Atwan, and members of Herzog’s inner
circle know exactly where it is. Almost no one outside of ISRA even knows what planet it is on.
Outsiders who study reports about Huruf al-Hayy learn that it is large enough to house up to
20,000 people, contains half a dozen hyperfusion generators, advanced and heavily redundant
life support systems, clinics, research labs, a facility for creating bioware and the order’s
Prometheus Chamber, but nothing about its location. Outsiders and prospective clairsentients
must travel to Huruf al-Hayy via a jump ring (p. XX) located in the Order’s meeting house in
Olympus. This jump ring was a prototype created in 2114 by Proxies Herzog and Atwan working
together, and no one managed to duplicate it for five years.
Some people believe Huruf al-Hayy is on Earth, others are convinced it’s on Luna or an Earth-
crossing asteroid, and a few people think that the jump ring has unusually long range and that it’s
located on Pluto or some similarly remote location. In reality, Huruf al-Hayy is buried several
hundred kilometers below the lunar surface. Bolade Atwan used her powers to excavate the
chamber it’s in and to transport the necessary materials there. The base’s well-concealed fiber
optic cables connect it to the Lunar OpNet, and four tunnels for high speed magnetically
levitated trains provide more conventional access. Important ISRA members can travel to Huruf

13
al-Hayy on these trains, but the base and all four tunnels have bioapps that shield them from all
forms of noetic observation, so none of them know where on Luna this base is located. One
tunnel travels from the ISRA meeting house in Olympus, two others connect to meeting houses
in other Lunar settlements, and the fourth in a carefully concealed outpost more than 1,000 km
from any other lunar settlement.
Special Resources
ISRA is run by a leader who can see the past, present and future. As a result, members who go
on missions for ISRA regularly encounter all manner of unexpected assistance. Psions working
for ISRA periodically discover information or caches of equipment that were left for them weeks
or months ahead of time. Associate members occasionally receive assignments to deliver
weapons, unusual devices, or even a short hand-written note to a particular location and mark it
with one of several seemingly random splatters of colored paint that ISRA uses to denote such
caches. Similarly, an associate member may be asked to become a minor technician in a facility
weeks or months before a planned mission, because Otha Herzog or one of his inner circle saw
that a response team would need help entering or escaping from that facility.
These special caches and assistants typically only show up when characters are in trouble.
Members of ISRA response teams have learned that if they’re trapped and under attack or
otherwise facing serious difficulties, looking around for the colored cache markers is an excellent
strategy. Sometimes, a cache provides both equipment and valuable information, like a response
team preparing to investigate a location they believe isn’t being guarded finding a supply of
military grade body armor.
Mysterious aid is only one of more unusual aspects of working for ISRA. Sometimes ISRA asks
teams of psions to perform tasks that initially seem trivial or nonsensical. A team deployed to a
small and remote city in Central Asia might be asked to acquire a specific size and cut of gown
that they are then instructed leave in a particular location so that an important diplomat can find
it just before heading for a vital negotiation, after an exceedingly clumsy waiter ruined her
previous gown. Some of the most eccentric requests can also be the most challenging, such as
asking a team that includes a musically talented member to play a specific song at 8:12 am, at a
plaza inside a high security arcology in the FSA.
Running An ISRA Campaign
One of the most distinctive aspects of running an ISRA campaign is that this psi order doesn’t
have a particular sphere of influence. Instead, Otha Herzog takes a somewhat protective interest
in all of humanity. Although they can be anywhere and concern almost any subject, most ISRA
missions deal with problems that no one else has noticed yet. Sometimes this is because the
problem is small but growing, other times because skilled covert operatives or mind controlling
Aberrants have made certain that the problem has remained carefully hidden. However, it’s
remarkably difficult to hide anything from the senior members of ISRA.
ISRA also has many thousands of perfectly ordinary people living or working in locations that
Herzog or one of the other senior members of ISRA believed would be important. These people
regularly report anything that appears to be significant and sometimes Herzog sends a team of
psions to investigate, and possibly to rescue the associate member.
In return for their service, Herzog insures that associate members can always call upon ISRA if
they need help. Often, this help is useful but unexceptional, like providing legal advice,
assistance finding a better house or job, or perhaps counseling. However, associate members are

14
occasionally threatened by criminal gangs or corrupt officials, or face other difficult and
dangerous problems.
Otha Herzog cares about all of humanity, but he takes a special interest in anyone who serves
ISRA in even the most minor capacity. If an associate member of ISRA has a serious problem
that a team of highly trained psions can help solve, Herzog sends a team of psions to persuade a
criminal gang to leave a particular neighborhood alone or to deal with corrupt and brutal
government officials. An ISRA campaign should involve a mixture of high-stakes missions and
smaller missions where the characters provide significant help to a single individual or perhaps a
small neighborhood. One of ISRA’s core tenants is that no one is unimportant and everyone has
a place in the universe’s grand design.
The ISRA Path (Society)
The character is closely affiliated with the Interplanetary School of Research and Advancement,
the Clairsentient Order. She is aligned with this sprawling, spiritual organization and may well
be a counselor or spiritual adviser herself. If she is a psion, she may be part of ISRA’s network
of ‘neighbors’. Whether part of a response team, an associate member, or some other affiliate to
the order, she is likely to have experienced the strange and often mysterious aid that the society
of clairsentients provides to its members.
Path Concepts
Leviathan Jump Ship Pilot, Spiritual Counselor, Troubleshooting Drifter, Wandering Mystic
Example Connections: Æon Trinity, Local Community Organizer, Respected Priest, Seemingly
Random Individual Clairsentience Indicated To Be Significant
Skills: Culture, Empathy, Humanities, Integrity
Edges: Artistic Talent, Danger Sense, Direction Sense, Enhanced Attunement, Favored Mode,
Keen Sense, Mysterious Aid, Patron, Weak Spots
Special Edge: Mysterious Aid (••)
Prerequisite: ISRA (required Edge)
Your character is occasionally the recipient of unexpected help due to the clairsentient
capabilities of her patron organization. Once per session, you may choose to have a source of aid
occur in the form of a 2-dot Ally, 2 Enhancement to a single roll, or a clue for an information
gathering action. It could even take the form of between one and half a dozen devices with a cost
of no more than •• each. You must explain what form this aid takes. It might be a handily-placed
cache of gear that is precisely where the character needs it to be, a seemingly bizarre instruction
from ISRA that reveals a clue, or the sudden appearance of a contact who was advised to be in a
certain place at a certain time. It also must be reasonable for the aid to be able to appear in the
circumstances. Also, the Storyguide is also free to use this Edge for the characters once per
session if they are about to encounter unexpected difficulties or the players are becoming
frustrated. All characters who select this Path must purchase this Edge.

The Legions
In 2106, the Legions erupted onto the world stage in a blur of chameleon-effect battledress and a
blaze of lasers and pyrokinesis. Their continued acclaim is a testament not only to their military
prowess but to their adept handling (some would say “manipulation”) of public opinion and UN
policy.

15
 [ART NOTE: RE-USE THE LEGIONS TRIUMPHANT ART (TRINITY, P.78) ON
THIS PAGE.]
The Legions’ popular image reflects the iconic Legions Triumphant mural. While grossly
inaccurate (the Legionnaires at Sydney wore practical combat gear and the fighting never went
hand-to-tentacle on open ground), the mural captures the order’s spirit. Other psi orders may
excel at politics or commerce, but the Legions are humanity’s shining sword and shield.
Technically, the Legions are a component of UN Military Command. They boast nearly 30,000
psions, almost twice the number of the next largest order. An additional 70,000 neutrals in the
ranks make them larger than many national armies. While the order is only a fraction of
humanity’s total forces under arms, its combination of selective recruiting, superior leadership
and training, and — of course — psions makes it far more capable than any similarly-sized
conventional force. This power would be politically destabilizing if the Legions weren’t so
dedicated to their avowed mission of protecting humanity. As it is, the ultimate accountability of
the order and its proxy, General Solveig Larssen, still occasionally robs Æon Trinity officials and
national leaders of sleep.
Forging a Legion
After the Aberrant War, the UN’s power grew, but the UN Military Command was hobbled by
archaic doctrine, antiquated equipment, and troops with divided loyalties. Attempts at
humanitarian and peacekeeping work meant well but accomplished little. Captain Solveig
Larssen, a Northern Collective soldier on loan to UNMC, witnessed many of these failures.
Disillusioned, she authored a scathing treatise proposing radical solutions. Some senior officers
wanted her broken but enough shared her frustrations to offer her an opportunity to prove her
theories. In 2091, the United Nations Home Guard began recruiting.
Based in Australia’s Outback, the Home Guard was a rapid intervention force with troops sworn
solely to the UN, not loaned national soldiers. Unencumbered by dual command, it could deploy
swiftly to conflicts or disasters across the solar system despite individual UN members’
disapproval. Larssen’s tactical success hinged on soldier skill and low-level command initiative.
Her philosophy was that sergeants and lieutenants won battles; higher echelons merely supported
them. By 2100, the experimental company had grown to a brigade and Larssen found herself a
military celebrity.
After a leave of absence — during which she met with the other proxies and became the first
psychokinetic — Brigadier Larssen began covertly reorganizing the Home Guard. Arcane
selection processes siphoned off troops for “special training” and remote assignments. Rumors
ran rampant about her true agenda, but only the wildest approached the reality of the force that
spearheaded the psions’ counterattack at Sydney.
One Shield, Seven Swords
To outsiders who know individual psychokinetics, it’s a marvel that the Legions work at all. PKs
are not stereotyped for calm, respectful demeanors, and the idea of thousands of them being
unified and armed can be daunting. However, the Legions are a military first and a psi order
second. Individual Legionnaires are soldiers first, regardless of whether they’re PKs, psions with
other Aptitudes, or neutrals. This training and discipline unifies the order.
Since the order appeared, it has evolved from a single Legion into the current seven. Four are
defined by geographic defense responsibilities while three focus on mission specialties. Some
analysts characterize the Legions as seven culturally-distinct militaries (or psi orders) unified by
a common mission.

16
Forging a Blade
The Legions’ prodigious casualty rates (over 10,000 psions since their formation) make them
hungry for replacements. However, recruiting is mercilessly selective, with psychological
screening trumping physical or psionic aptitude. Though recruiting offices exist across the solar
system, the Legions spend little on advertising. Public image does the job well enough.
Recruiters focus on identifying latents and matching prospective Legionnaires to complementary
specialties.
General Larssen accepts that all her troops aren’t born fighters. Support Command is full of
people who are better at repairs or medicine than combat. Still, Legionnaires are humanity’s
defenders, so they all receive combat training. Every new recruit undergoes the 12-week Legions
Basic Training, which teaches not only infantry fundamentals but military protocol and
discipline. The three to six months after LBT bring advanced training in the Legionnaire’s
assigned specialty, whether that’s light infantry, fusion plant engineering, or trauma medicine.
Next, a neutral joins his first unit, while a latent is finally triggered and taught to be (and fight as)
a psion before shipping out. Initial enlistment is a three-year contract, after which the
Legionnaire can reenlist or muster out.
The Legions are a military. The media rarely looks beyond the uniforms and weapons to examine
deeper truths therein. A Legionnaire lacks the rights and freedoms that civilians enjoy. Her legal
status subjects her to the UN Military Legal Code, not civil or criminal law. This allows her to
carry heavy iron and do violent things in the course of her duties but tightly constrains most
other aspects of her life. Her self-expression, dress, travel, living arrangements, and ability to say
“no” are limited by Legions regulations and her duties. She goes where ordered, does what’s
ordered, and accepts that she may die carrying out those orders. This discipline can appear harsh
to outsiders but it ensures unquestioning obedience in combat, where hesitation or debate kills
soldiers and loses battles. The Legions make no secret of this — recruiting and LBT are designed
to weed out candidates who can’t acclimate to this life. Those who stay wouldn’t have it any
other way.
Despite the unifying factors, service experiences vary widely. Each Legion’s unique identity
reflects its area of responsibility. Once a Legionnaire reports to her first unit, her Legion
determines as much about her duties as the overall psi order does.

In Formation
Gamers do poorly under military discipline. Whether command rests internally
with the ranking character or externally with an SGC officer, players like to
exercise free will. In real militaries, disobeying orders generates punishment, not a
Hollywood wink-and-nod, even if the outcome is positive.
There are a few ways to address this. One is to discuss these issues with the players
so everyone understands and agrees to the same level of military verisimilitude,
including ranks and subordination. Another is to put the characters in a Legion with
looser discipline (like Sixth) or more lower-echelon independence (Second, Fourth,
Seventh). This also works for a team on independent or covert duty, where
teamwork trumps protocol and orders can be as simple as “obey your Æon rep and
don’t violate the UNMLC.”
A third option is to accept cinematic “discipline” and run with it. It’s your game.
We won’t tell General Larssen.

17
First Legion: The Home Guard
The senior Legion is the order’s headquarters unit and defends its birthplace, Australia. The
Guardsmen’s spotless blue uniforms and white berets underpin Legionnaires’ global image. It’s
no surprise that First is beloved throughout human space, particularly in Australia, which adores
its native psi order.
The First gets the most vid coverage. Many Guardsmen cultivate media relationships and some
even endorse products or guest-star on popular shows or sports teams (public information
officers keep a tight rein on behavior that would tarnish the order’s reputation). The spit and
polish doesn’t cover a lack of combat prowess, though. In addition to its combat units, First
contains the order’s ceremonial troops, military police, general staff, intelligence corps, and
public relations personnel. Only the liaisons, spooks, and MPs regularly leave Australia.
Second Legion: Fortune’s Knights
As the original Legion shifted from UN peacekeeping to defending Australia and expanding the
psychokinetic population, Larssen’s UNMC critics accused her of abandoning global
responsibilities for personal agendas. Fortune’s Knights were her answer. Since 2107, the
Knights have been the Legions’ response force for UN missions requiring a psionic touch.
At least, that’s the theory. In practice, Second Legion deploys at the General’s pleasure, not the
Secretary General’s. If a rebel movement, shaky government, or oppressed minority requests aid,
and if its cause aligns with Larssen’s moral compass, Second sends troops, sometimes under
contract to defray Legions costs. Deft spin-doctoring ensures this plays well on the news vids,
but behind closed doors, several governments are apoplectic at Larssen’s actions and lack of
accountability. Only two points have kept the UNMC from court-martialing her. First, most
Knights deployments support the UN charter and focus on protecting civilians, not changing
regimes, so court-martialing the proxy would be a PR nightmare. Second, the Legions are too
critical to humanity’s defense to risk alienating the PKs or their commander.
The Knights strive to uphold their nickname. They have unparalleled expertise at working with
local civilians. When Knights intervene, they’re there to protect and assist the population, which
gives them a global base of popular support. Of course, as the Legion most often confronting
human opponents, they also make their share of enemies, some of whom run small countries.
Strategically and tactically mobile, the Knights can put a battalion anywhere on Earth in 12 hours
— without teleportation. The price is firepower: lacking heavy equipment, Knights can find
themselves outgunned by a capable enemy. The General’s personal power rights a lot of
imbalances, though. When she takes the field, it’s most often with the Second.
Third Legion: Support Command
The largest Legion is a non-combat force and has the fewest psions. Support Command is the
Legions’ training, logistics, and administrative arm, doing behind-the-scenes work to ensure the
other Legions can fight. Although Treys are trained soldiers, many have never fired a shot in
battle.
Third originated as the order’s quartermaster corps, responsible for supplying, fixing,
transporting, feeding, and housing Legionnaires and their equipment. It quickly took on training
duties and, with the Æsculapian Order’s assistance, established the order’s medical and disaster
relief corps. As the Home Guard evolved, it off-loaded most of its administrative structure, as
well as financial and legal offices and the tiny chaplain corps. The order’s military and psionic

18
research teams, including those which operate the PK Prometheus chamber, also belong to
Support Command.
Treys break down into three groups. The first is psychokinetics who neither wanted to be
combatants nor to join another psi order. The second is neutrals who enlisted to obtain non-
combat jobs or technical educations. The third is combat casualties who’d rather stay in uniform
than medically retire. Few psions of other aptitudes wind up in Third because most non-PK
Legionnaires signed up to fight, not to flog data.
Australia holds Third’s massive training, transport, and supply hubs, but widely-varied support
missions spread small units across human space. Permanent Support Command detachments run
all major bases, housing other Legions’ units as tenants. A Trey in such postings can serve a full
career without seeing Australia after basic training — and without ever pulling a trigger.
Forward-deployed duty happens, though, and self-protection can be necessary. Treys who
support the Second, Fourth, and Seventh Legions are most likely to see combat.
Fourth Legion: Vigiles Mundi
Formed as a close combat unit to beat the toughest Aberrants in the worst terrain, Fourth Legion
quickly acquired a reputation for intransigence and aggression. Founding Vigiles embraced the
principle that there is no “overkill” — only “open fire” and “reload.” Fourth drew recruits who
wanted to pay back the Aberrants for personal losses. Loose discipline and its battlefield
consequences threatened to undermine the order’s overall image until a spike in combat deaths
brought widespread replacement of the Vigiles’ senior officer corps.
Under new leadership, the Vigiles remained the order’s blunt implement but tempered their
bloodlust with professionalism. The sociopaths were counseled or forced out and the rest re-
trained to fight smarter. Fourth still attracts those looking to kill Aberrants, but it only keeps the
team players. Current doctrine incorporates lessons from history’s best assault forces and raiders,
along with unprecedented emphasis on low-level autonomy. The result is a Legion with
unbreakable esprit d’corps, massive firepower, and surprising flexibility.
The assault battalions stationed near Aberrant trouble spots are Fourth’s strong right fist. Their
high-profile operations and unsubtle image neatly conceal this Legion’s left hand. Smaller strike
companies provide Fourth, and the Legions as a whole, with unconventional warfare capabilities.
Their primary focus is Aberrants and Aberrant cults, but their reconnaissance, hostage rescue,
and sabotage talents have also been applied to other targets.
Fourth Legion units spend little time in peacekeeping or defensive assignments. A Vigil’s life is
one of hard training, harder play, and flying around the world (or across the galaxy) to do bad
things to bad beings. Smaller detachments, particularly from strike companies, go anywhere at a
moment’s notice to gather intelligence or bolster an Æon or UN operation. The Fourth’s greatest
weakness is endurance: optimized for swift violence, it struggles to sustain protracted
deployments.
Fifth Legion: Thunder of the Americas
Fifth Legion’s political environment is more dangerous than its physical battlefields. Most of its
troops come from the Americas and these Thunderbolts retain stronger national loyalties than
General Larssen would prefer. Operating in two rival proxies’ backyards exacerbates the tension.
Sudamérica has little call for heavy combat now that the Venezuelan Plaguelands are relatively
well contained. Most nations ably protect their own interests and band together when outsiders
threaten. Norça’s unparalleled espionage prevents Aberrant cults from reaching critical mass.

19
Consequently, Fifth’s activity here supports the biokinetic order with wilderness patrols and
rapid response to Aberrant raids. Fifth also monitors local biotech industries and transhuman
movements (and politely ignores Norça’s reciprocal surveillance).
Sudamérican cultural imperatives require a deft touch to keep military assistance from offending
the locals. Consequently, relationships with government and Norça representatives are critical to
Thunder’s success. Most officers maintain close ties to the continent’s social scene. Even low-
ranking Thunderbolts quickly learn decorum. It’s no coincidence that Thunder is headquartered
in Sao Paulo.
North America presents different challenges. The FSA reluctantly allows Fifth to operate there
under the terms of the Legions’ Aberrant Suppression Treaty. The LAST restricts the bulk of
Legions forces to the periphery of Wycoff’s Blight, where the FSM lets Thunderbolts soak up
the casualties while monitoring them for treaty infractions. LAST Zone service is classic
counter-insurgency: boring patrols through bleak wastelands and sullen villages, punctuated by
Aberrant ambushes or bandit raids. Still, there’s no shortage of idealistic Blight-town recruits.
Wearier veterans know coilguns don’t solve problems — they only eliminate some of the bad.
Outside the LAST Zone, official harassment keeps Fifth on its bases except when defending
communities the FSM has written off. Bitter contempt for FSA policies is widespread, festering
into dangerous sympathies. Some units unofficially adopt the heraldry of local resistance
movements. Larssen fears these Thunderbolts may eventually set the Legions at war with a
major national power.
Sixth Legion: Europe’s Aegis
Known as the Shieldbearers, the members of the Sixth Legion are stretched thin. European
Aberrants are a smarter, subtler breed, hiding in la Blessure and the smaller post-Esperanza
Corruption zones and working through human catspaws. Expansionist states, repressive regimes,
and bitter rebellions require constant peacekeeping. Sixth seems to have a losing fight on its
hands but the Shieldbearers refuse to give up.
Before Esperanza, Aegis ceremonially placated European UN members who wanted a regional
Legion for prestige. Low Aberrant activity and few other missions bred complacency. Now the
Shieldbearers are playing catch-up. A rapid influx of fresh bodies, charged with nationalism and
desperate enthusiasm, reduces average experience and undermines discipline. Individual units
still get the job done but not necessarily in a way that’s best for the order as a whole.
Aegis has central bases at Barcelona, Izmir, and its Copenhagen headquarters, but most
formations are forward-deployed. Local commanders have general guidelines, not detailed
orders, and must improvise to meet the ambiguities of European defense. A Shieldbearer can
spend one day escorting Æsculapian relief workers to a refugee camp, the next facing down
guerillas on a contested border, and the third hunting anthropophagous cultists in the same camp.

Psi Lambda
Like any subculture, we have our own ways of showing both individuality and
membership. Ours just have to fall within the bounds of regulations — or at least
not stretch ‘em too far. Helmet graffiti, morale patches, and vehicle nose art are
some of the classics, but Legionnaires are into decorating ourselves too. In the early
years, thanks to First Legion’s Maori recruits, the trend was full-face tattoos
showing personal decorations and unit heraldry. We’d use programmable smart
pigment that we could turn off with an antihistamine derm, ‘cause nothing says
“sniper check!” like painting a rank tab on your face.

20
 The new meme started after Esperanza. Some classically-inclined Shieldbearers
started wearing the Greek letter lambda — you know, symbol of the Spartans at
Thermopylae? Well, someone added another letter: psi, for obvious reasons. Now
“Psi Lambda!” is the catchphrase of the week. Like something? Say it with
enthusiasm. Got crappy orders? Acknowledge ‘em with a surly inflection. And of
course the symbol is all over the place — patches, brands, even implanted jewelry.
Yeah, I got a tattoo of it too.
— Captain Mercedes Moriarty, Bravo Company (“Bunyips”), 12th Armored
Cavalry Battalion, Fourth Legion

Seventh Legion: Phoenix Fleet

Known as the Firebirds, the Phoenix Fleet formed after the Chromatic attack on Karroo. The
newest Legion stole aerospace assets from the First and Second, vacuum-qualified infantry from
the Fourth, and technical talent from the Third. Assimilating these disparate troops was not
without hiccups, but the Seventh emerged as an exuberant force of swaggering fighter pilots and
brash space marines.
The Upeo’s disappearance stranded a third of the Firebirds outside the Solar System. Six-month
deployments stretched into multi-year campaigns on Karroo station and Khantze Lu Ge. Facing
supply and manpower shortages, extrasolar Firebirds mastered technical and tactical
improvisation, staying in the fight by any means necessary. Those remaining at home threw
themselves into the solar system’s defense and the jump ship project. With the Leviathans
operational, the long-overdue colonial garrisons are trickling home and the rest of the Fleet is
eager to reach the front lines.
The Firebirds are the off-world colonies’ vid-star playboy gunslingers. Spaceports
simultaneously welcome and dread the arrival of a warship crew or marine company on leave.
On the other hand, they’re the most cerebral of the combatant Legionnaires, a legacy of the years
when no one could afford technical ignorance. When a Firebird climbs into his starfighter or puts
on his VARG, he knows its precise limits from helping rebuild it. Fleet headquarters is Mars’
Robinson Station. Detachments serve throughout settled space and on every Leviathan. The
largest extrasolar contingent defends Khantze Lu Ge, alongside Knights and Vigiles
reinforcements.
Legions HQ
Legions Headquarters is as much a symbol — for the benefit of both its warriors and those they
protect — as it is an administrative hub. The glittering bioglass cylinder is a 130-story mini-
arcology at the heart of New Park, an interstellar arboretum and memorial garden on Sydney’s
southern coast. The “Jar” is both a nerve center and a reminder of the Legions’ dedication. Open
to the public, the first six floors include a military museum, the Legions’ Hall of Honor, and
conference and educational facilities. Middle levels contain work space and quarters for HQ staff
and their dependents. The apex houses the Legions’ senior officers.
A symbol makes a tempting symbolic target, so the Jar’s defenses are as heavy as they are well-
camouflaged. Another deterrent is the well-publicized fact that it has little operational command
function, so taking it out would only annoy the Legions (and Australia) without affecting their
warfighting capabilities. OpNet groups seethe with speculation on the site and capabilities of the
order’s combat command center.
The General embraces misdirection and redundancy. The Legions have three command centers,
each with its own operations staff, system-wide communications, and two years of supplies. The

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primary, buried in Mount Woodroffe, connects to the Jar via an underground TK-assisted bullet
train. There are two secondary command centers. One is located under the Alleghenies near New
Washington DC, the other in Valles Marineris on Luna. All three locations are also connected by
jump rings.
The Armory
A Legionnaire on combat duty receives primary and secondary weapons, armor, communications
equipment, and survival gear appropriate to his assignment. He doesn’t own them — the Legions
just let him play with them. When this isn’t enough, what else can he get?
First, a Legionnaire with need to know can obtain detailed intelligence on a location, nation,
opposing force, organization, piece of equipment or individual of interest, subject to the
Intelligence Corps’ limitations. The Legions also make a science of analyzing Aberrant powers
and weaknesses. They have detailed profiles on all known Aberrant leaders.
Intelligence drives pre-mission planning. During that planning, a commander determines what
needs to happen to ensure mission success. If her own unit lacks necessary skills or equipment,
she can request mission support from other Legion units. The support she gets depends on
available assets (what the Legions have in the area), priority (how important the mission is), and
mission profile. Raiding a house containing six ordinary insurgents might warrant an armed
skimmer and a combat medic. Rescuing hostages from an Aberrant cult’s fortified compound
could rate real-time clairsentient surveillance, aerial gunships and a battlefield surgery team with
an extraction teleporter.
Sometimes, a team just needs different tools. Just about any weapon or piece of kit in mass
production (and of acceptable quality) is available if it’s appropriate to the mission. Hunting
Aberrants in the LAST Zone calls for plasma cannons but not satellite interceptor-decryptor
arrays, while the opposite applies to covert reconnaissance in a Nihonjin naval exercise zone.
Running a Legions Campaign
Massive battles are rare in 22nd-century warfare. The Legions look big compared to other orders
but they’re small for the amount of territory they have to cover. This means tasks go to the
minimum number of troops necessary for success. Often, this is a strike team (4-6 Legionnaires),
squad (2-4 strike teams), or platoon (3-5 squads). Even when a company (3-4 platoons) or
battalion (3-4 companies) tackles a major objective, individual sub-units fight independently.
Communications and OpNet connectivity aren’t assured in a military environment. Despite
psionics and technology, Legionnaires still can find themselves in an adventure — in other
words, in serious trouble far from home. What this means for characters is that they have a world
of offstage help until the shooting starts. Then they own the problem.
Likely missions vary by Legion, as described in the Legion profiles above. Small task forces or
solo Legionnaires, particularly Knights and Treys, also see frequent detached duty to support
Æon or UN operations. Such a partner organization functions as the detachment’s chain of
command, though it can’t order Legionnaires to violate Legions regulations or commit tactical
suicide. It’s also supposed to provide mission support that would otherwise come from a higher
Legions echelon.
The Legions Path (Society)
The character is closely affiliated with the Legions, the Psychokinetic Order. She may be an
actual ranking member of the Legions and thus part of the UNMC, or she may be a closely
aligned contractor, supporter, or ally of the organization. If she is a psion in the Order, she has

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undergone a rigorous and selective training process, and during her service lives according to the
Legions’ rules and regulations. Whether a soldier or not, she works as a part of the Legions’
efforts to protect humanity.
Path Concepts
Battlefield Medic, Combat Pilot, Determined Aberrant Hunter, Soldier
Example Connections: Local Militia, Mercenary Company, Military Contractor, UN Official
Skills: Aim, Athletics, Close Combat, Command
Edges: Always Prepared, Enhanced Attunement, Favored Mode, Hardy, Iron Will, Legion
Armory, Small Unit Tactics
Special Edge: Legion Armory (•)
Prerequisite: Legions (required Edge)
As a full member of one of the Legions, your character has access to significant military
resources. She can always acquire military grade weapons, armor, and equipment without
difficulty regardless of her personal wealth, and she has the authorization to carry and use such
armaments wherever the Legions’ authority extends, subject to the UNMLC. All characters who
select this Path must purchase this Edge.

The Ministry of Psionic Affairs

The Ministry of Psionic Affairs is a unique entity within China, being simultaneously a sub-
division of the government and an independent force of its own. Steered by proxy Rebecca Bue
Li, it is both recognized as a positive influence on society, and buffeted by rumors that its agents
are actively tampering with the minds of the people.
Inside the Ministry
The Ministry of Psionic Affairs, or the Ministry as it is commonly known, is a labyrinthine
organization, filled with sub-divisions and departments, half of which has been integrated into
the Chinese government under different aliases, or assimilated by the country’s satellite colonies.
Officially speaking, it employees almost 3,000 telepaths and slightly more than 2,000 other
psions, while 100,000 neutrals comprise the bureaucratic superstructure. Unofficially, there is no
telling how many agents it employs.
The Ministry’s three primary divisions — the Office of Semiotics, the Noetics Institutes, and the
Office of Noetic Security — are publicly recognized by the Chinese government, each of which
serves a distinct purpose but share an equal amount of political authority both inside and outside
of the country. While proxy Rebecca Bue Li ultimately possesses final authority over any
decision, she is not the Ministry’s sole leader. Each of the three divisions is represented by a
democratically elected panel of three, who holds power for only six months before they are
subsequently replaced.
Proxy Rebecca Bue Li
Charismatic, outspoken, and deeply idealistic, Proxy Bue Li believes in wanting the best for
humanity and more importantly, that all of humanity deserves a utopian existence. From an early
age, she worked hard to achieve these lofty goals, campaigning for equal rights as her college’s
head of Student Council and then as a political candidate in the Chinese government.

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Alex Cassel & Dr. Zweidler approached Bue Li hours before she was accepted into office, and
Bue Li took short vacation before her duties began. A week later, she emerged from her
Prometheus Chamber, charged with telepathic powers. She immediately began assembling her
Ministry of Psionic Affairs, negotiating for both funds and influence for her nascent agency,
while simultaneously locating new psions. Since that time, she has helped the Ministry thrive and
grow.
Unfortunately, a familial predisposition for cancer complicated Bue Li’s ambitions. Four years
ago, after entering the hospital for an unrelated matter, the proxy discovered numerous malignant
tumors within her system — the result of a cancer that had metastasized. She immediately began
treatment. Within two years, the Ministry released claims that Bue Li was on the road to
recovery, her cancer having quickly entered remission.
Despite the announcement, for the last year Bue Li has remained absent from the public eye,
relaying orders through subordinates and through her wife and fellow telepath, cognitive
researcher Dr. Zhu Pei. Some believe she may have actually died from her disease, and her
consciousness is somehow being kept alive through strange means. Others claim she is hiding
from a dangerous adversary or that her cancer was a side-effect of an untreatable Corruption
disease. So far, no one has stepped forward to confirm any of the rumors.
A Conflict of Interest
Both Christian and Muslims were frequently persecuted under Mao Zedong’s Communist
constitution. His death brought an end to most of this oppression, but the advent of The Aberrant
War renewed tensions between China’s Christians & Muslims and the nation’s largely agnostic
population. Today, many believe the schism could be attributed to a mix of factors: the influence
of cautious nationalists, who called for China’s borders to be closed during the onset of the
Aberrant War, and fear-fueled xenophobia.
These problems led to numerous fractious encounters, culminating in 2064, in a horrific
bloodbath in the coastal city of Wenzhou, once described as China’s Jerusalem. The violence led
many Christians & Muslims to either flee China or denounce their faith. The pro-nationalist anti-
faith coalition, who had then been loosely connected by their shared politics, continued on to
establish a vehemently anti-religious voice within the government that remained powerful for the
next 40 years.
It was this group that Proxy Bue Li fought in the elections prior to her selection to enter the
Prometheus Chamber. According to various news reports, this group was responsible for the only
time the proxy used her powers publicly against the neutral masses. In August 2108, most of the
prominent members of the anti-faith coalition experienced a change of heart. Their prejudices
vanished, their legislative demands revoked. A new sense of social equality seemed to swell
within their hearts, and their official leaders immediately moved to make amends with the
country’s Christian and Muslim population.
This eventually led to a media frenzy, as the public questioned the radical ideological shift. The
nascent Ministry took it all in stride. Several hundred court appearances, both public and private,
followed. Charges were made. Proxy Bue Li herself became a regular figure in the international
news, appearing in everything from interviews to panels to late-night talk shows. Two years
later, without seeming resolution, the subject was dropped.
Completely.
This affair continues to haunt the Ministry, though few ever make direct references to the events.
Supporters claim that Proxy Bue Li was acting in the right, and in line with her own teachings.

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None of her opponents had been killed, not even those accused of instigating grievous violence.
If anything, their lives were changed for the better. Many of those who stood in opposition to the
Proxy now reside in opulent conditions, their social standing raised monumentally, their pensions
assured by the Ministry itself.
But naysayers hold a different view. Proxy Bue Li, in their eyes, enacted the worst crime
possible for a telepath: irrevocably altering people against their will. With the Ministry growing
steadily more influential, it only seems like there would be opportunities for this to happen again,
especially as the number of satellite outposts continue to grow.
On a smaller, subtler level, Proxy Bue Li’s actions have also instigated a theological shift both in
China itself and among members of the Ministry. Though not an evangelical personality, her
strong Christian faith and her willingness to fight for what she regards as her spiritual siblings
caused many to venerate her. Spurred by her courage, thousands embraced Christianity in a vivid
show of solidarity. Numerous churches have sprung up over the last few years, many of which
see Bue Li as a pivotal figure within their interpretation of the scripture, with a handful going as
far as to canonize her as a reincarnation of the Virgin Mary.
Naturally, this disconcerts the proxy to no end, but despite her best efforts to mitigate the
situation, few of these new religious organizations have divorced her from their worship. Quite
unsurprisingly, this “revolution” has also generated no small unease among the rest of the
Chinese population, who are now concerned that the country might be overtaken by foreign
beliefs.
The Office of Semiotics
Colloquially known as The Mandarins, the Office of Semiotics serves as the public “face” of the
Ministry. The department splits its time between strengthening diplomatic relationships and
spearheading humanitarian efforts within the countries under China’s guardianship. To date, the
Office of Semiotics has assisted in restoring Malaysia’s economic balance and implementing a
free higher education system in the Philippines. The OS is also charged with studying and
attempting to better understand all forms of alien intelligence. Their researchers and operatives
working in both laboratories and the field attempt to understand the three intelligent alien species
humanity has contacted. Others struggle to understand how and why the returning Aberrants are
so much more monstrous and mentally alien than those who departed from Earth in the last
century. The OS employs psions of all Aptitudes.
Not all of their work is pacifistic in nature. Occasionally, the OS participates in military
conflicts, but only once it’s clear that a situation must be defused for the good of the nation.
When such events occur, the governmental division collaborates with what the media has
nicknamed The Eyes of Heaven.
The Eyes of Heaven
An unofficial sub-group within the Ministry, The Eyes of Heaven are comprised of weapon
specialists, martial arts experts, decorated military officers, and volunteers who have passed the
agency’s gauntlet of rigorous physical tests. Their training regime is rumored to be monstrous,
their standards exacting, their armament more comprehensive than the armories possessed by
world powers. According to a few OpNet rumors, the Eyes aren’t human at all, but Aberrants
who have been carefully groomed by the Ministry, their destructive edges quelled, their self-will
subsumed by the Ministry.
In addition to these rumors, it is public knowledge that the members have undergone intense
psychic conditioning to allow trained Ministry telepaths to inhabit their minds from a distance.

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Their unique capacity to house two intelligences simultaneously allows the Eyes, according to
news statements, to enjoy heightened senses, greater reflexes, and exponentially increased
cognitive abilities. How much of this is actually true is, of course, confidential. But the Eyes of
Heaven almost never fail.
The only downside of belonging to the Eyes of Heaven is that the position carries with it certain
contractual obligations, one of which is agreeing to constant surveillance. Every trip outside of
their assigned military base is inevitably chaperoned. Of course, all this comes with incredible
monetary benefits and insurance plans, making the sacrifice potentially worthwhile for those in
difficult situations.

The Eyes of Heaven

Although none of the Eyes of Heaven are telepaths, more than a fifth are psions
with other Aptitudes. In addition, almost 15% are Talents, who have a far easier
time passing the rigorous entrance requirements than ordinary neutrals. All Eyes of
Heaven possess the Ministry Path, as well as the Dual-Minded Edge (see below).

The Noetics Institutes

What makes a mind? What defines consciousness? For decades, scientists have carefully
designed tests to demarcate and map the limits of self-awareness. But no one seems capable of
agreeing upon exactly what sapience truly represents. The Noetics Institutes are beginning to
provide answers to these questions. As part of these efforts, the Noetics Institutes also study alien
cognition and alien noetic powers, as well as attempting to understand and reverse the cognitive
changes most Aberrants suffer from. They are also known to possess one of the few surviving
hardtech AIs, which they study but also keep carefully contained. This branch of Ministry is
widely recognized as a leading authority in the field of neuroscience and noetic studies.
Which is unsurprising, really, given that the Noetics Institutes have, over the course of its
existence, poached every reputable cognitive scientist within the field. What is surprising is that
the Noetics Institutes, despite its primary function in the Ministry, is staffed almost entirely by
neutrals — academics, lecturers, men and women concerned with the ideals of higher learning,
as opposed to the day-to-day squabbles of global politics. The Noetics Institutes has, with the
cautious assistance of allied nations and the support of the Æsculapian Order, established 46
facilities throughout the world, including 25 located in China. The Noetics Institute’s most recent
project is a tentative joint venture with Orgotek to create fully sentient biocomputers.
The psionic training and the cognitive and noetic research performed by this organization are
similarly apolitical. Many of the Noetics Institutes’ alumni have gone on to secure powerful
positions in their respective fields, while others trickle back to the Ministry itself, lured by
impressive salaries. This has, of course, generated suspicion in the eyes of the public. Is this the
Ministry’s way of extending its power? The sheer usefulness of the Noetics Institutes has kept
the general public from complaining too loudly.
The Office of Noetic Security
The Office of Noetic Security is rumored to possess authority that is equal, if not greater, than
that accorded to China’s Cabinet of War. Despite their influential status, the Office of Noetic
Security is most often associated with what many regard as “menial” activity. Agents have been
spotted escorting Chinese officials to important political gatherings, mixing with bodyguard
entourages, or participating in disaster relief efforts. Their psionic powers are rarely, if ever,

26
publically used for anything more threatening than locating trapped earthquake victims. Many
media outlets have taken to labelling them as a “transparent show of power.”
However, that is not the true nature of the organization. Their daily activity serves as a front for
their primary function, covert telepathic surveillance. Early in her rule, Proxy Bue Li established
the Office of Noetic Security to maintain her surveillance network, an interlocking web of
telepaths who function as nodes within their respective counties, simultaneously amplifying the
potential of the group as a whole while also monitoring ambient thoughts and emotions. This
network allows the Ministry to better understand the needs and wishes of the populace. It also
establishes an impenetrable intelligence structure, one outside of the control of the Chinese
government. Why such a thing would be necessary, of course, is yet another of Bue Li’s myriad
secrets. While most psions in the ONS are telepaths, those with other Aptitudes are also
welcome, especially clairsentients, vitakinetics, and most of the few biokinetics who Norça
agreed to empower for the Ministry.
The Æon Trinity’s leaders have proof that the Office of Noetic Security monitors every city
within China and in its client states and dependents. Certain anonymous sources claim that the
Office’s influence is more far-reaching than that, including both its enemies and its independent
allies. Regardless of the full extent of its surveillance, the ONS is heavily scrutinized by its own
government, and especially other members of the Ministry. Its loudest critics belong to the
Noetics Institutes, who have a strong stance against the occasional psychbending perpetrated by
their sister division. That said, member of the ONS are quick to oppose all complaints.

Parallel Construction
Occasionally, ONS operatives uncover information that they cannot or are
unwilling to use, but which they regard as too important to ignore. In such cases,
the operative typically contacts a member of a relevant organization, usually
someone they already know. The operative then presents the data along with a non-
telepathic method that this person could potentially have discovered it. This process
is known as parallel construction.
While initially used to discover and prosecute corrupt officials within the Chinese
government (including those in the Ministry), operatives also regularly use parallel
construction when they have discovered information important to another nation or
other large organization, but where the operative does not wish to have themselves
or the Ministry associated with this information in any fashion. Many established
ONS operatives have contacts in other government or organizations, often
including the UN, the Æon Trinity or one of the other psi orders.

Their labor is not an exercise of power. Psychbending only represents a small portion of their
work. People are not wantonly removed from the streets and minds are not purged of harmless
vices, or rewritten to include more amenable personality traits. Civilians are simply watched for
trends that might indicate dangerous behavior. This is especially true outside of the borders of
China, where the Office of Noetic Security primarily operate as mundane espionage agents.
They only contact various authorities when their readings have reached critical levels. The Office
of Noetic Security usually practices a hands-off approach to matters, abstaining from any
decisions that result from their findings. However, corrupt officials who abuse their power rarely
remain in office long if ONS operatives find evidence of the suffering they have caused. Also, if
ONS operatives discover a problem that they believe can be solved via various forms of subtle
and discreet intervention, they usually do so. Instead of Psychbending individuals into

27
compliance, they not infrequently help someone troubled, desperate, or potentially violent find a
job, friends, or even love.
ONS agents also work to maintain overall public harmony in a similar manner. Instead of
mentally coercing compliance, some members specialize in identifying the key elements of local
social problems and solving them in subtle ways. Solutions can include arranging for two
unhappy people who would be likely to fall in love to meet, or making certain that someone with
the particular skills and ideas needed to save a failing company with many employees either
applies for a job there or has a long conversation with one of the company’s leaders. Usually, the
ONS’s actions look like nothing more than luck, but careful observers have noticed that people
living in Chinese cities or neighborhoods with social or economic problems are often unusually
“lucky”.
Occasionally, other branches of the Ministry or other branches of the Chinese government call
the ONS in to handle a problem. These circumstances typically involve Aberrants, Aberrant
cults, individuals using dangerous technologies, or particularly violent human criminals. It is
widely known that the ONS’s Psychbending specialists spearhead these situations, but there are
no official records explaining their actions during these circumstances, leaving the public to
extrapolate from what little data exists.
One popular theory is that ONS simply reneges on its own vaunted morals, rewriting miscreants
into model citizens. But another hypothesis is slowly gaining ground, thanks to collaboration
between several eyewitnesses and a particularly diligent Korean tabloid. They believe that the
ONS completely wipes the minds of a handful of the worst offenders, leaving only a blank slate
to be inhabited by …. something else. The mind of a dying leader, perhaps, or an incognito
Ministry member tasked with infiltrating some dangerous organization or another. Or maybe,
whisper the most paranoid, Proxy Bue Li herself.
Running a Ministry Campaign
Subtlety is the operational word in any Ministry campaign. Unless some hideous misfortune
transpires, characters, are usually called upon to tread lightly and very quietly. Telepathy itself is
a delicate art. Too much pressure and a personality can be irrevocably changed, a mind snapped
in half. More importantly, carelessness leaves evidence.
Because of how the Ministry is structured, there is no specific unit size. Task forces can range
between two to 20 individuals, depending on the mission’s requirements. The nature of these
missions can vary wildly, depending upon the characters’ duties. The characters could be
diplomats, alien contact teams, an Eyes of Heaven strike team and their assigned telepaths, spies
and bodyguards, or ONS agents who divide their time between solving citizen’s everyday
problems and find and preventing riots and terrorism.
Often, characters find that the most intrigue takes place between their assignments. The
convoluted hierarchy of divisions and sub-divisions provides fertile breeding ground for personal
ambition. Some of the characters’ compatriots will be operating on their own terms. While most
Ministry operatives attempt to positively advance China’s agenda, that doesn’t stop a few
members from seeking personal glory or advancing their own ideological agenda. Paranoia can
also be an integral part of campaigns focused on espionage and intrigue. It’s difficult to trust
others or even yourself when you know your colleagues and superior can change your mind for
you.
While the Ministry can provide operatives with vast amounts of intelligence, the need for secrecy
means that operatives are only given the information they require. Also, the Ministry provides

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little backup for its covert field agents. Providing support for or even acknowledging covert
operations could easily compromise the Ministry’s security. As a result, any backup is both
subtle and deniable. This policy creates an element of isolation that the characters will have to
endure, along with trepidation and an endless pressure to excel. However, Ministry operatives
who are working openly to fight Aberrants or solve other non-secret problems can call upon the
full might of the Chinese government if they need it, and are willing to later fully explain their
need for this assistance.
The Ministry Path (Society)
The character is closely affiliated with the Ministry of Psionic Affairs, the Telepathic Order and
part of the Chinese government. She may work directly for the Ministry, or for one of the other
departments of the government that are so intimately intertwined with it. She may be a dutiful
agent with a sense of Chinese patriotism, someone who sees Bue Li’s faith as a shining example
— or simply have joined up out of a desire for power or for the sense of connection that only
Telepathy can provide.
Path Concepts
Law Enforcement Agent, Social Worker, Special Forces Soldier, Telepathic Spy
Example Connections: Government Official, Local Religious Leader, Noetics Expert, Politician
Skills: Culture, Empathy, Enigmas, Integrity
Edges (for Telepaths): Covert, Danger Sense, Enhanced Attunement, Favored Mode, Iron Will,
Skilled Liar, Subtle Influence, Trained Memory
Edges (for non-Telepaths): Covert, Dual Minded, Favored Mode, Iron Will, Subtle Influence,
Telepathic Resistance
Special Edge: Dual Minded (••)
Prerequisite: Ministry Path, Member of the Eyes of Heaven, Not a Telepath
Special training allows your character to gain a variety of benefits when in mental contact
with a telepath. To gain this bonus, your character must be in contact with a telepath using
both Network (Mindshare •) and Access Mindshare ••• on your character. In this case,
your character gains 2 Enhancement to all Mental rolls, including Initiative.

Special Edge: Subtle Influence (••)

Prerequisite: Ministry Path
As a member of the Ministry, your character understands the importance of subtle approaches
and avoiding the carelessness that leaves undue evidence behind. She gains 1 Enhancement on
any attempts to cover up evidence, whether clearing away physical traces at the scene of her
activities, scrubbing a system of incriminating data, or seeding misinformation in the minds of
potential witnesses. Additionally, she inflicts a level 2 Complication on any attempts by other
characters to gather evidence on her activities or discover her involvement in events; if this
Complication is not bought off, she rapidly becomes aware of this investigation.

Psi Order Norça

There is a power that humanity has both wielded and been the victim of since the era of cave
paintings, a power that can achieve far greater things than the mightiest expression of psionic
power. It’s a power the Norça have mastered, the power of myth. Ever since the psi orders

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revealed themselves, the biokinetic order has been shrouded in mystery, allowing gossip to grow
as well as nurturing some of their own. The result is a public perception that is one part
misconception, one part fable, and the rest is up in the air. In Sudamérica, the Norça are heroes
of legend, the strangers that emerge from the wild to defeat evil and protect Nature, only to
vanish without giving so much as their nickname. In the rest of the world, they are the shadows
in the corner, the eyes that pierce the strictest privacy, and the things that replace friends and
family with ill-minded duplicates. This contradictory view suits the Norça just fine, as it allows
them to conduct their true mission with greater ease, and to subvert their enemies’ expectations
as they wish.
“Norça” is the shortened form of Nova Força Nacional, or New National Force, and while the
public automatically assume the “national” part refers to Brazil, or Sudamérica as a whole,
shifters answer with sly smirks and winks when asked “which nation?” The definition of nation
under proxy Giuseppe del Fuego is wide, extending to the whole of humanity, and representing
the relationship of pride, love, and influence people have with their place of birth and the land
that supported their growth. For del Fuego, this means the entirety of Earth.
Myths are more powerful when they have a kernel of truth, and while many tales are gross
exaggerations, the Norça perform surreptitious patrols in remote locations as they hunt for
resource traffickers, poachers, petty tyrants, environmental despoilers, and of course Aberrants.
Although most of their patrols are in Sudamérica, where they are welcomed and have actual
jurisdiction, they deploy wherever a threat to Earth and humanity appears, especially if del Fuego
trusts nobody else to deal with it.
Their air of romanticism extends inward. Del Fuego has always understood the power of
narrative, and created one for his Order so that every Norça, psion and neutral alike, feels pride
in their mission and know themselves part of something greater. The core of the Norça’s internal
narrative combines del Fuego’s sincere environmentalism with the teachings of Otha Herzog.
Every Norça knows him or herself part of a noetic whole, symbolized by the land. They consider
themselves avatars of life that mark them as defenders, champions, and guides.
This belief borders on magical thinking, but noetic awareness confirms how deeply
interconnected the universe is. The nature of Biokinesis itself lets Norça understand their own
life cycle, and they extrapolate this to the natural world. Del Fuego’s words ring true with the
shifters’ senses.
Although Proxy del Fuego cultivates mystery and romanticism, he’s perfectly capable of using
cold reason to convince cynics and demolishes arguments through logic as well as his
considerable charisma. He has embraced the name he received as Pai dos Norça, the Father of
the Norça, but discourages the loyalty of his followers from growing into a cult of personality.
He wants all Norça to be independent and autonomous even as they are aware of the family they
belong to. He enjoys nothing more than one of his subordinates, whatever their station,
contradicting him and then convincing him to adopt an alternative course of action.
Del Fuego ensured that his powerful narrative of belonging was fractal in nature. There is power
in the individual, which brings power to the family, then to the group, the psi order, the
community, the nation, the planet, the entire species, and the universe. This creates a complex
network of organic relationships between Norça cells, task forces, and departments. It is
customary for Norça to address each other as brothers and sisters in whatever language they
speak, only using ranks and titles with others, or to maintain a clear chain of command during
crises.

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Del Fuego expects excellence from all his Norça whether they are psions or neutrals, and wishes
them all to keep testing and surpassing their limits. Psi order Norça is infamous because of the
potential for espionage and heroics Biokinesis provides, but they also contribute to security,
bioresearch, and environmental protection. Once they had clearly established that the biokinetics
were here to fight Aberrants, they devoted their time and resources to ally themselves with
Sudamérican companies and governments and made certain their environmental agenda was an
integral part of all such alliances.
The noetic expertise of Norça researchers helped companies like the Colombian firm BioSystems
rise to the top of biotechnological development, and these companies return the favor by
providing the materials and goods the Norça need. Rather than compete with Orgotek in the
consumer goods market, Norça and their affiliates focus on infrastructure and biomodification
using vegetable templates, and are a silent partner in many endeavors, including the construction
of the Brasilia BioArcology.
Pharmacology and applied biochemistry are two more fields of interest to the Norça, as a more
precise knowledge of substances and the dynamics of proteins help them fine-tune their own
psionic powers. This often puts them in contact with the Æsculapians, and they are happy to
trade information they deem shareable.
History and Growth
Norça existed before the advent of psions, but it was something different. After the Aberrant
War, the nations of Sudamérica were using their natural resources as stepping stones towards
progress, but with little regard to the damage they were doing to the environment. A Brazilian
environmentalist movement known as the Nossa Força Verde, Our Green Power, was trying to
promote their message of respect and sustainability, but no one in power was listening.
Giuseppe del Fuego’s joining Nossa Força Verde marked a drastic change in the movement. Del
Fuego brought bold new ideas, and his passionate arguments and charisma convinced the old
guard to try his methods. He invited other idealistic young people and together began the
infamous and relentless hacktivism campaign that exposed and denounced corrupt government
officials and CEOs throughout Sudamérica.
Ever a master of narrative, del Fuego waited for the legend he was creating to spread through the
Sudamérican psyche. After spontaneous expressions of support became common, de Fuego
began a campaign of terrorist attacks on business properties deemed to be hurting the
environment. Instead of denouncing the violence, the populace applauded the eco-terrorists’
actions.
While the activists were careful to avoid fatalities, people did get hurt, but del Fuego’s months of
preparation paid off. No one who knew anything about Nossa Força Verde revealed anything
about their plans or organization. The members of Nossa Força Verde were ghosts, the
incarnation of the people’s voice, and any who espoused their ideals was part of a collective
strength, “our power,” “nossa força,” which was often simply called “Norça.”
Years later, after the policy changes sweeping the continent met most of their goals, popular
awareness faded, and the movement shed its layers of anonymous, unaffiliated masses. Even the
original old guard left; content with their victories and alienated by the new ways of their
successors. The violent and destructive attacks stopped, but Nossa Força Verde continued as a
group of roaming vigilantes. The few remaining members kept in touch through encoded OpNet
messages and carefully designed augmented reality signage. Most stayed within cities and
arcologies, participating in or founding social activism groups, but the more adventurous ones,

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including del Fuego, traveled, righting wrongs and teaching people how to use the new emerging
technologies to live in harmony with their surroundings.
Nobody outside the psi order knows what happened during these years, and even within it, there
is much speculation. Some say del Fuego founded or was recruited into the Yana Llanthu, the
elite Peruvian spies or that he spent time with his grandfather’s people in the jungles of the
Peruvian Amazon, expanding his perceptions with powerful hallucinogens. The more mystic
among them say that he found a passage into the spirit world and returned with wisdom and
magic. When Giuseppe del Fuego returned in 2104, he called his closest allies to a meeting and
proclaimed that “Norça” would no longer mean “our power”, but a “new strength”, Nova Força.
For he returned with the power of Biokinesis and the knowledge of how to share it with others.
The new Norça started small, but was exceedingly effective. With the power to become anyone
and survive anywhere, the first biokinetics resumed their more questionable methods of
damaging those who attempted to hurt or take advantage of Sudamérica’s newfound unity and
prosperity. They hired themselves as freelance spies, not revealing their psionic abilities to their
clients, and they not only kept copies of the secrets they were hired to steal, but also increased
their operating budget exponentially.
When the Aberrants attacked Sydney and the psi orders came to the light, the Nova Força
Nacional was already fully established in the model del Fuego had envisioned. They were a
small but deadly efficient organization. Their cooperation with the Æon Trinity was nominal, for
they had already made contacts with Sudamérican governments, and many agreements already
negotiated were simply made official.
In their new, public life, the Norça stated unequivocally that their one goal was the defense of
humanity and the Earth as its home. Their public and semi-public work includes disaster relief,
search and rescue, anti-terrorism and counter-intelligence, biotechnology support and testing,
environmental recovery and, of course, anti-Aberrant defense. In secret, they continue to be
masters of espionage and infiltration. In exchange for the free reign and informal jurisdiction
they enjoy inside Sudamérica, the Norça act as an extranational intelligence corps, spying on
companies and government agencies in the FSA, Australia, and China. Del Fuego spreads his
web much further, however, fielding a mix of loyal neutrals and biokinetics to keep a finger on
the other psi orders even the Æon Trinity, within certain limits. It is nearly impossible to
infiltrate ISRA or the Ministry.
The order still engages in eco-terrorism, but their new position of power brought subtler tools
into del Fuego’s arsenal. Violent sabotage is always the last resource; defunding, negative
propaganda, blackmail, or political manipulation are often more effective.
As master of their own selves, the biokinetic order is pursuing research into noetics and
advanced biotechnology, and has secret laboratories in extreme locations like Antarctica, the
Venezuelan Plaguelands and Averiguas. Del Fuego is sure that humanity was cheated from their
full psionic potential, and is determined to find a way to allow Prometheus Chambers to unlock
multiple Aptitudes rather than just one.
Recruitment and Membership
The biokinetic order only has two open offices where applicants can request membership; one is
in the city of Barranquilla, Colombia, and the other in the Lunar city of Olympus. This weeds out
the unmotivated before they even set foot in these offices. The remainder of Norça recruits are
the product of observation and invitation.

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Many Sudamérican children daydream about being visited in the night by a Norça transformed
into a magical beast who then asks them to become a biokinetic. Like many of the outrageous
beliefs surrounding psi order Norça, this practice has some truth to it. People who impress a
Norça in one way or another are put under observation and are eventually contacted with an
invitation to join. Behind the scenes, the Norça forwards the name of the unwitting candidate to a
recruitment cell, who then does a background check and additional observation before they send
a member to extend the official invitation in person.

Norça and the Talents

The Norça’s extremely picky recruitment practices have an unexpected side effect.
Because only people who impress a Norça have a chance to join the Order, there is
a higher percentage of Talents among neutral Norça candidates than among other
orders. The shifters expect their recruits to live up to the Order’s ideal of heroism
and professionalism, and Talents are ideally qualified to meet the Norça’s high
standards.
Talks with Herzog have made del Fuego aware of individuals whose fate weighs
heavy in the implicate order, and he has instructed Norça clears to keep their senses
open for sisters and brothers who display such a destiny.

Candidates who accept their invitation are directed to a facility that is not as much secret as it is
unadvertised, usually a safe-house or the home of an established Norça trainer or recruiter. They
put the candidate through a series of psychological and physical tests in addition to a latency test,
all geared to evaluate the qualities that impressed the first spotter, and uncover new ones. A case
advocate reviews the test results and unilaterally decides if the candidate advances to the next
level: personal testing and examination by a high-ranking member of the order, or if the
candidate is particularly impressive, with Proxy del Fuego himself.
This last testing period determines if the candidate is accepted or rejected, and, if latent, whether
she is admitted into the Norça’s Prometheus Chamber or that of another order as part of their
exchange program. Once accepted, new recruits undergo training and education, or
indoctrination, as many call it, in an environment that fosters the sense of family and
comradeship. They are joined by exchange trainees from the other orders who will also become
biokinetics, all the better to show every biokinetic that they are better off staying with Norça.
Neutral newbies are then assigned to their new operating cell, who welcomes them as family.
Latents travel to another order’s headquarters or to the Norça’s own to undergo the Prometheus
Effect. Regardless of their new Aptitude, all Norça psions meet with Proxy del Fuego, who
welcomes them like long-lost siblings, and impresses upon them their role as humanity’s
defenders.
All members of the Order are encouraged to recommend new recruits, and those who
recommend someone who eventually joins the Order gain prestige and accolades; some even
earn positions as full-time talent hunters. This slow and selective method keeps the Order’s
numbers low, but del Fuego believes in quality, not quantity.
The psi order’s internal composition is fluid, but follows a structure of family-like cells that
gather psions and neutrals towards a common purpose. Cells cooperate with others with similar
goals and purposes to form departments. However, it’s not uncommon for individual members to
form temporary, interdisciplinary task forces that pursue a specific goal, and return to their cells
once that goal is met.

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The main departments inside Norça have rather poetic names that hint at their purpose as well as
reinforcing del Fuego’s romantic narrative. The Centinelas de la Noche (“Night Sentinels” in
Spanish) are the fabled spies and infiltrators as well as their support network. The Guerreiros do
Alvorecer (“Dawn Warriors” in Portuguese) are the paramilitary branch in charge of open or
covert strikes, patrols, and seek and destroy missions. The Caçadores de Segredos (“Hunters of
Secrets” in Portuguese) are the research and development branch that is home to the Order’s
scientists, engineers, and similar specialists. The Hermanos Guardianes (“Brother Keepers” in
Spanish) are the first responders to disasters and emergencies of a non-bellicose nature as well as
civil engineers and medics that travel the land improving people’s quality of life. Finally, the
Cantores (“Singers” in both Spanish and Portuguese), the management and support department
that takes care of everyday operations, but also of the Order’s public relations and outreach
programs.
There is zero discrimination (and zero tolerance for it) within and among these various
departments. Every group within this order are expected to employ the Norça most qualified for
their jobs, regardless of race, sex, faith, Aptitude, or whether they are psions or neutrals. It is not
uncommon for exchanges to happen between departments, like a doctor from the Hermanos
Guardianes seeking a position as a battlefield medic among the Guerreiros do Alvorecer if she
feels the need to participate in the front lines of humanity’s defense. The respect for tolerance
extends to language. Proxy del Fuego insists that all members become fluent in both Spanish and
Portuguese, thus insuring that all members be able to live and work anywhere within
Sudamérica.
Unlike other tales, the rumors about what happens when someone leaves Norça are all false. The
sense of belonging, heroic narrative, and strong ideals of the proxy ensures that Norça has one of
the lowest resignation rates among the orders. A member’s cell and higher ups do everything in
their power to address any discontent, and some even involve del Fuego himself, but if someone
simply decides she’ll be happy elsewhere, her cell and close associates organize a farewell party
(one last-ditch attempt for reconsideration), and then all clearances and permits are cancelled.
Quitters are not dumped naked in the middle of the wilderness, but they do receive a veiled
warning against revealing any Norça secrets. The few people who have quit are perfectly aware
that they will be watched for a while.

Welcome to Norça (transcript made with subject’s permission)

“Hey, there, novato; welcome to the family! I bet you’re confused with the options
before you. Know that the Pai chose you for a reason, but he won’t force it on you.
Basically, we’re all waiting for you to choose which family you will belong to. Oh,
I know you’re not a psion, but you are a great shot, right? You can still join the
Guerreiros and take that aiming of yours to an Aberrant’s face, if you dare.
Here’s a secret for you; we don’t really care if you have amazing psionic powers or
are just a regular Joe Hologram; we’re still going to squeeze you like home-washed
laundry until we break you, or you become the best version of yourself you could
ever imagine. Don’t make that face! Hah! You made it this far, no? You must be
asking yourself how worse can it be, right? Well, follow me, and you’ll know the
answer
- Martín Palacios, Cantor induction officer.

Árvore da Vida, Brasilia

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The order’s new headquarters was completed less than two years ago. The Brasilia Bioarcology
was grown with giant biotech “trees” as part of its structure, and the central pillar of the arcology
is nicknamed the Tree of Life, another name for the mythical World Tree. Norça’s new base is
located beneath its roots, accessible by hidden pods that move through branches and connecting
roots towards the headquarters. Biokinetics who can integrate bioapps within their bodies
(Psychomorphing •••) can simply meld with any biotech tree in Brasilia, and emerge at the
hidden base within seconds.
The Árvore da Vida is designed to be exceptionally defensible and all outsiders know of its
location is that it’s somewhere in or near Brasilia. The Norça only keep their most important
assets, including their Prometheus Chamber, here. Less important business is carried out from
secret and not-so-secret safe-houses throughout Sudamérica.
Special Resources
The Pai de Norça expects his children to be self-reliant and resourceful. Since biokinetics can
twist their own bodies into tools and weapons, there is little else that a Norça needs other than
training, which the Order provides relentlessly, and often unexpectedly. What all Norça are
armed with, though, is information. When a Norça team goes into the field, it does so equipped
with top-notch intelligence and a ready network of contacts and hideouts. Norça’s quartermasters
can provide almost any piece of available or restricted equipment to field agents, but shifters in
particular must explain why they need it instead of relying on their own talents. Because
biokinetics can attune to any piece of bioware, Norça keeps a stock of restricted bioapps it has
procured mostly from the black market, but only dispenses these to agents with top clearance.
Supply drops are scheduled promptly and efficiently, so that approved requisitions are met
within hours or days, depending on conditions. Trusted agents are given the few experimental
pieces of biotech that the Order produces, and often never sees them again once returned and
their performance reported.
Running A Norça Campaign
The Norça specialize in cloak and dagger both to pursue their mission and nurture their
mystique. Also, Norça teams can include psions of any Aptitude, neutrals or Talents, which lends
perfectly to an ensemble cast of specialists that are gathered together to accomplish very specific
goals. In the gleaming Sudamérican cities this can translate into clever scams and daring heists,
while in more oppressive environments this can become a story of intrigue and manipulation
tinted with paranoia.
Sending small groups into dangerous surroundings is also typical for Norça. Teams are often sent
first to investigate rumors of odd occurrences that might become a threat, and the locations can
be the most extreme and punishing environments, made bearable by Biokinesis or advanced
bioware provided by the Order to non-biokinetics just so that they keep pace. Whatever their
mission, Norça perform to the best of their abilities, wrapped in the ideal of their own role in the
weave of things. They are heroes out of legends both dark and reassuring, and basking in the
glory is a privilege of being Norça.
The Norça Path (Society)
The character is closely affiliated with the Norça, the Biokinetic Order. She may be a direct
member of the New National Force, or perhaps an ecoterrorist or scientist associated with some
of their endeavors. She is likely to have been observed for some time before being invited to join

35
or fraternize with the Norça; they are extremely picky about who they recruit. If part of the Order
proper, she is part of a cell of operatives — and will know full well that she is being watched.
Path Concepts
Covert Intelligent Operative, Daredevil Explorer, Field Biologist, Noetic Bioengineer
Example Connections: Ecoterrorist, Ecoscientist, Humanitarian Agency, Intelligence Agency
Skills: Athletics, Empathy, Science, Survival
Edges: Ambidextrous, Enhanced Attunement, Favored Mode, Alternate Identity, Hardy,
Impersonation Training, Keen Sense, Safe House, Superior Trait
Special Edge: Impersonation Training (••)
Prerequisite: Norça & Transmogrification •••+
Your character has received special training for how to use her ability to change his appearance
to almost perfectly impersonate people. His ability to reshape his body also allows him to better
imitation someone’s voice, gait and nonverbal communication. This Edge provides 2
Enhancement for all impersonation attempts where he uses Transmogrification to disguise
himself as the person he is impersonating.
Special Edge: Safe House (•)
Prerequisite: Norça
Your character can reach out to local Norça cells to arrange a safe place to stay. In Sudamérica,
this ability is straightforward, but beyond the Norça’s territory it requires a successful Presence +
Persuasion roll by your character to contact the right people and convince them of her need.
There is no guarantee that the conditions in a safe house will be particularly comfortable or
roomy, but such a location will be secure, positioned away from established surveillance, and
protected by contacts in the neighborhood or administration who are willing to lie to cover up its
existence and fabricate short-term credentials for a false identity. The longer your character stays
in a safe house, the less safe it becomes. Most Norça will avoid remaining in one for more than
three days.

Orgotek
Complex problems, simple solutions is Orgotek’s corporate motto. This doesn’t mean Alexander
Cassel thinks solving everything is easy. He understands better than most the complications of
22nd century life, and the fine balance of the relationships underpinning society.

Definition
Prexy (noun). A portmanteau of president and proxy. Used exclusively to describe
Alexander Cassel, the head of the Orgotek electrokinetic order.

The prexy’s vision is to design the tools that empower humanity to confront and overcome
today’s problems, and then build tomorrow’s better world. Orgotek’s products are intuitively
designed and easy-to-use, attractively packaged and competitively priced. Certainly, Orgotek has
profit-driven motives as it sells the future to the world, but cutting-edge research, design, and
marketing aren’t free. Besides, like with everything the corporation does, when Orgotek pursues
financial gain, it’s for a purpose beyond simply gaining wealth.
Good Corporate Citizens

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Orgotek is more corporate entity than psi order. Although electrokinetics are the heart of the
corporation, business and profit are arguably more important than psions. The psi order is just
one department among many others, albeit a very special one. In truth, without the psions
Orgotek would live on, diminished but still profitable.
Developing and marketing biotech generates an immense fortune for Orgotek, and has improved
the lives of billions of neutrals. Alex Cassel and his psion researchers pioneered the biotech
revolution, and Orgotek now employs thousands of dedicated and brilliant neutral researchers to
create the next generation of biotech innovations.
The electrokinetic order is wholly funded and administered by the Orgotek Corporation. Psions
don’t have a separate administrative existence from their neutral colleagues. Almost every
position in Orgotek is open to both psion and neutral alike, and the company tries to fill each
with the most suitable candidate, regardless of their powers. A few positions require psionic
aptitude as a prerequisite, but these jobs are rare.
Orgotek metacorporation doesn’t completely control Psi Orgotek, however. The business draws
employees from the psi order, but the order is filled with members, not employees. Over 90% of
Psi Orgotek’s members also work for the corporation in other departments. However, those who
don’t are still allowed access to the Order’s facilities, and can only have their membership
terminated by Prexy Cassel, not Orgotek administrators. The prexy has authority over the order
and its members, can deploy them as he sees fit (assuming they agree). He can also expend the
order’s finances without reference to Orgotek financial administrators or the metacorporation’s
board. Psi Orgotek meets the basic economic needs of all members, psions and neutrals alike.
Even non-Orgotek employees who are members of the psi order are given a modest stipend. The
prexy doesn’t begrudge Orgotek members leaving the corporation to follow their own fortunes,
but he won’t let them starve, and he likes to have incentive for them to check in every now and
again.
Market Saturation
Orgotek’s corporate goal is to have its symbol on every kind of product imaginable, making the
branding so pervasive that humanity doesn’t even consciously think of its presence. People will
simply accept that when you need a product, Orgotek has it. If you want quality, purchase
Orgotek. To this end, Orgotek’s products include everything from household goods to medical
devices, pharmaceuticals, psi-augmentations, and weapons. Orgotek even produces space and
atmospheric vehicles, and made-to-order technologies for the Æon Trinity and the other psi
orders.
Nearly all these products are mostly or entirely noetic biotech. Orgotek leads the way in
biotechnology, thanks to the many biotech products from its Orgosoft Farms division. Orgotek
researchers work hard to make a biotech equivalent — or preferably, superior — version of
every hardtech product available. By dominating every market, Cassel strives to make Orgotek
the penultimate metacorp in human-settled space.
This pervasive marketing campaign doesn’t just serve the corporation’s profit margin. Like
everything Cassel does, it has multiple purposes. If Joe Hologram associates Orgotek with value
and quality, and Orgotek means psions, each day brings the public closer to ending psionic
prejudice everywhere, and accepting psions as just another part of humanity.

The Cassel File

The Cassel File is just one rumor of how Orgotek secured such a powerbase despite
the FSA’s obvious animosity. According to those ‘in the know’, in Orgotek’s

37
 earliest days — before the Orders went public, maybe shortly after Cassel became
proxy, or possibly even before that — Cassel used his gifts and connections to
secure embarrassing information on a number of important people within the FSA.
FSA retrieval experts have never located evidence of stolen data despite numerous
attempts, and Cassel has always had enough public profile, money, and lawyers, to
ensure the FSA has had to affect a polite veneer whenever re-examining the issue.
No one knows if the Cassel File truly exists, or how thoroughly the electrokinetic
proxy could embed the data in storage across the entire OpNet. Cassel simply
laughs off questions about the existence of the file, though whispers of its existence
give Orgotek an extra bargaining chip in negotiations with the FSA.

Primary Divisions
Although the various Orgotek divisions behave like subsidiaries, with their own names and
variations of Orgotek’s branding, they are in fact divisions of the one entity. Of these, six stand
out as the most important pillars of the Orgotek metacorporation, even if they’re not all well
known to outsiders.
World Enterprises, Inc. was the first of Cassel’s companies, the seed that would grow into
Orgotek. WEI was originally a holding company for Cassel and his friends to invest and trade,
patent, and register their earliest technological designs and concepts. It is now responsible for
Orgotek’s administration and public relations, and has oversight of Operations’ activities. WEI
builds the public profile of other divisions while remaining almost unknown itself.
Orgosoft is what people think of when they hear the name Orgotek, right after the psions.
Orgosoft runs the biotech plants and farms where Orgotek products grow, as well as the R&D
labs designing new biotech matrices and testing cutting-edge theories. Orgosoft’s main facility is
in northern New Mexico, where Cassel spliced the first bioware matrices, but it has farms and
labs across the globe, as well as several experimental microgravity facilities scattered throughout
settled space.
Tekne is responsible for Orgotek’s hardtech products, mostly for computing and
communications. The stereotypical Tekne employee is a Technokinesis specialist with limited
social skills who talks to machines more than people. Some fit this description, but Tekne’s staff
are more often good natured people who are passionate about their work. With Orgotek’s focus
on making biotech versions of all hardtech, Tekne employees are often ignored, and tend to work
twice as hard as other Orgotek employees to overcome these stereotypes.
Lumen is Orgotek’s smallest division and focuses on Photokinesis and its application to real-
world problems — preferably through the manufacture and sale of light-based technologies.
Lumen scientists are world leaders in electromagnetic research, holographic technologies, and
improved extra-satisfactory computer intelligence. These specialists have also been enlisted to
develop technologies to improve communication with Chromatics, and to jam or counteract
Chromatic powers and abilities.
Psi Orgotek is the psi order within Orgotek. It is only a semi-separate entity from the other
divisions; even within the company it’s rarely acknowledged as having its own existence. Psi
Orgotek is more like a social club made up of Orgotek employees and invited outsiders rather
than a corporate division. Nonetheless, Psi Orgotek has its own budget, is answerable to its proxy
rather than Orgotek’s board of directors, and participates in various activities unsanctioned by
the metacorporation.

38
Operations provides security to Orgotek facilities, conducts internal (and external) corporate
investigations, and contributes to Æon Trinity sanctioned missions wherever required. Apart
from security, Operations mostly works outside the FSA to avoid creating legal entanglements
for the company. All Orgotek employees perform at least two days Operations training and
service every month. This preparedness has reduced the number of successful attacks against
Orgotek holdings since it was introduced three years ago.
The Board
As much as people think of Alex Cassel (and EKs) when they think Orgotek, the prexy doesn’t
control everything in the corporation. At least, he doesn’t control it alone. Most everyday
decisions about running the corporation, such as finance, marketing, or authorizing research and
production, are made by the board of directors. The board is comprised of Alex Cassel, his wife
Ellayne, and seven of their closest friends. Though most are psions, less than half are
electrokinetics, and two — including Ellayne Cassel — are neutrals (or in Ellayne’s case, a
Talent).
Each board member can make decisions on behalf of the others, which are ratified (or overturned
if required) at the next board meeting. On paper, this ad hoc exercise of power could result in
disastrous decisions, and take Orgotek down paths detrimental to the company. In practice, the
board members have all known each other for at least 20 years and trust each other implicitly.
They’ve worked together for so long that each one understands which of her fellows are most
likely to agree her decisions, which are likely to disagree, and why.
The one exception to governance by the board of directors is Psi Orgotek. Technically, the psi
order is under the sole guidance of its proxy. In truth, every member of the board is also a
prominent member of the order, and Alex Cassel makes few major decisions without consulting
at least some of his closest friends first.
Bad Debts
Cassel and his board hold the majority of stock in Orgotek but that doesn’t mean they’re the only
interested parties. In the earliest days of biotech, Cassel’s personal fortune wasn’t sufficient to
fund development labs and manufacturing farms, as well as growing the nascent psi order and
maintaining World Enterprises Inc. To cover the shortfall, Cassel called on investors and venture
capitalists.
Today, all the debts are paid, but some shareholders — notably prominent FSA government
officials and the management of rival corporations — refused to sell their interest in Orgotek.
Cassel views these external stockholders as an irritation and necessary evil; just part of the price
of doing business in the FSA. Cassel keeps his enemies close; an additional benefit is Orgotek’s
dividends are clear incentive for these individuals to limit their interference or risk diminishing
their wealth and power. Unfortunately, some members of the board don’t agree and have made it
their mission to reclaim full ownership of the company. They’ve even considered using some of
the darker business practices permitted by the FSA, including shadowy threats and blackmail.
Orgotek must be incredibly cautious in fulfilling the board’s wishes. If the FSA government
uncovers any activities that fall outside the narrowest interpretation of legal business practices, or
more importantly, discovers Orgotek’s role in orchestrating these attacks, the company could
suffer the FSA’s retribution and find its assets and personnel — and the psi order itself — seized
as government property. Orgotek would then be broken and divided amongst its hungry and
envious corporate competitors.
Corporate History
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Much like its founder, Orgotek’s history is a frustratingly open enigma. The corporation’s public
background is well documented in Orgotek’s annual reports, through its OpNet site, or via any
one of its recruitment offices. These sources describe the efforts of a young man who tragically
lost his family and inherited a substantial family fortune and the best social and political
connections.
Alex Cassel started the seed that would grow into Orgotek in his college years, enlisting his
school friends to help him form the holding company World Enterprises, Inc. Cassel jokes that
WEI started as a fun exercise to give his social circle the chance to play at being CEOs and
businesspeople. Using WEI, they invested their funds in a variety of speculative interests,
coming out ahead more often than not. Cassel has also said those years of investments, deals, and
corporate interactions were more valuable to his education than years of formal schooling.
Analysis of Cassel’s development portfolio from WEI to Orgotek in less than 20 years reveals an
eclectic flurry of expanded and diversified investments with little logical progression. Alex
deflects questions about his choices, claiming they seemed correct at the time, and laughs off
suggestions that his earliest psi latency may have been in Clairsentience and not Electrokinesis.
Some rivals observe that many of Alex’s friends were eventually activated into various aptitudes,
including at least one clear. Other less kind commentators note that Ellayne Cassel, while
displaying no psionic aptitude, scored consistently higher in all her classes and controls more of
Orgotek’s daily business activities than her husband. Her friends admit luck favors Ellayne
considerably more often than statistics should allow. Ellayne often takes on near-failed Orgotek
projects that somehow defy the odds and succeed — all thanks to her inspired management and
vision.
Cassel’s critics believe Alex is the dilettante psion who simply rides the success of others. Those
who would like to see Orgotek suffer ponder how to drive a wedge between Alex and Ellayne,
and deprive the prexy of his source of wealth and power. Some also claim that instead of creating
the first Prometheus Chamber, Cassel stole the idea from someone whose silence he bought or
perhaps uncovered it in a secret cache of Nova-era technology.

Alex Cassel: Master or Puppet?

By Kyra Chambal, The World Today
Alex Cassel. Orgotek President. Orgotek proxy. The prexy, as his employees and
psions jokingly call him. But is the prexy a carefree heir who only succeeds on the
back of others, or a brilliant innovator with a carefully cultivated persona? The
answer probably lies somewhere in the middle.
Alex Cassel works with the FSA government, but goes out of his way to irritate
them at every opportunity. He’s clearly unhappy with their policies and actions. He
points out their flaws and proposes change, but Orgotek is the largest corporate
contributor to FSA coffers thanks to its enormous profits. Some opponents wryly
observe that Cassel’s should simply shut down Orgotek and bring down the
government from lack of funds.
As much as the FSA loathes Alex, he hasn’t strayed far enough from permitted
social commentary to face sedition or public unrest charges — yet. He has a force
of lawyers on standby and rumor has it they earn their pay. Government officials
grind their teeth and wait for the day that he crosses the line, but until then he’s a
thorn in their side that they must tolerate.

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 It’s clear from his actions that Alex is brilliant and thinks several moves ahead of
his opponents, but it’s less clear whether his manipulations are successful because
his opponents do what he expects, or if he’s just been lucky enough that his
miscalculations haven’t cost Orgotek too much yet. Some observers think the
scheming is genuine, but say that Alex is simply the mouthpiece delivering the
message. Who then pulls this puppet’s strings? Ellayne Cassel is the most obvious
contender, but is this true?
If he’s not a puppet, discovering whether Alex Cassel is a clever manipulator
playing a long game to reform the FSA from within, or just a rich guy salving his
conscience with token gestures against the government, is something that will only
be revealed with time.

Recruitment and Membership

Orgotek doesn’t have to work hard to find members. Electrokinetic latency is relatively common
and many people with other common latencies are either interested in becoming electrokinetics
or simply want to join Orgotek. The psi order has recruitment offices in major cities of nearly
every country. Orgotek widely advertises its very competitive member and employment benefits
and not infrequently finds members of other Orders looking to sign up.
Orgotek also works hard to round out Psi Orgotek with psions possessing the full range of other
Aptitudes. Proxy Cassel works to ensure smooth transfers and reciprocal triggering arrangements
with all his fellow proxies. Where his natural charisma isn’t sufficient for the deal, agreements
with remuneration or courtesy deliveries of Orgotek products (some even before commercial
release) are common.
Similarly, Orgotek recruitment centers aren’t just looking for psions. Orgotek is a vast
corporation with over 150,000 employees; only around 10% of whom are psions. Dedicated
individuals of nearly any skill set can find employment within Orgotek. The metacorp doesn’t
take just anyone — aptitude tests and suitability assessments determine if an applicant meets
Orgotek’s needs. Those who pass through the process find careers that can take them anywhere
in the world — and beyond.
Orgotek offers all new electrokinetics a chance to join the company, but holds no ill will towards
those who decline. The company makes the same offer to latents triggered by other orders. Most
decline, but a few decide Orgotek’s culture is more suited to them than their sponsoring order.
This practice creates some tension between the psi orders, but each of them does it, and Orgotek
has lost a few attractive candidates to ‘better offers’ from its fellows.
Regardless of whether a new EK signs on with Orgotek or not, the company provides basic
education and training in psi and the use of Electrokinesis to all newly triggered psions. Cassel
expects all EKs to understand how to control their basic abilities, and the boundaries in which
they can operate before breaking (FSA and international) law. What they do after this is their
own choice, but the prexy is morally and legally assured that these psions’ actions aren’t due to
Orgotek negligence. Orgotek provides more extensive training to its electrokinetic employees,
including in the more nuanced and difficult aspects of the modes. The prexy expects other orders
to have EKs, but he’s determined to ensure that the best are with Orgotek.
American Freedom
Regardless of whether an employee is neutral or psion, Orgotek pays attractive and competitive
salaries and encourages all staff to pay their share of FSA taxes. This helps the company in

41
several ways. First, it helps limit the FSA’s watchful gaze over Orgotek. Although the
government would love to seize control of the free-thinking corporation, the FSA can’t guarantee
the enormous profits would continue if management and business practices changed.
Secondly, paying FSA taxes opens the door to first-class citizenship and through this a more
privileged life and better treatment under FSA law. Even tax-paying, productive second-class
citizens are less likely to suffer the government’s more oppressive powers. Orgotek also
contributes towards the legal costs of any Orgotek employee who pays her taxes. This applies to
both first and second-class citizens, with a sliding scale depending on what the employee can
afford, up to complete payment of costs. This is one area where Orgotek’s employment relations
do have differences between psions and neutral employees; the psi order aggressively pursues
legal challenges to psi rights and governance on behalf of employees regardless of the financial
costs.
The third reason Orgotek encourages employees to pay taxes is to slowly subvert the FSA by
using the government’s system against itself. Every employee with the right to vote is more
likely to follow Orgotek’s lead in how to use that vote. This has swung the result of several
issues in the company’s favor, and each election year sees more government members gain their
positions thanks to Orgotek’s support, and the corporation ensures these representatives
remember that fact.
Running a Orgotek Campaign
As Orgotek has interests in nearly every field, Orgotek campaigns can go in any direction. One
game could focus on a ‘fieldwork’ R&D team, testing newly developed hardtech and bioapps, or
monitoring how and where Orgotek devices are used. Should one of these teams discover FSA
thugs misusing their products against defenseless and downtrodden civilians, do they simply
write a report and hope someone else steps in, or do they work to build a united front of
dissidents? Can they fight back against government forces using off-book or ‘misplaced’
equipment to balance the odds, while still having to meet deadlines and development quotas?
As technological experts, Orgotek teams are sent across space, working with the Qin to explore
alien ruins one week, live testing the latest weapons with Legions forces on Karroo station the
next. Orgotek’s security specialists are equally busy. Outwitting FSA forces is an obvious and
exciting focus for a game, but the corporation also needs to know what its business rivals are
planning. Their technical spies infiltrate rivals to ‘acquire’ their designs and prototypes to reverse
engineer. The psi order also needs to understand the motives and plans of other orders, and their
host countries.
At home, America has many Aberrant cults. In addition, psychopaths and religious zealots who
make hate-filled attacks on refugees and psions are sometimes unofficially aided by the FSA. At
minimum, FSA officials always seem to have more urgent issues demanding their attention, so
Orgotek sometimes takes on counter-terrorism (especially when the terrorists target Orgotek) and
defends the public. These efforts usually take place in the shadows to avoid FSA retribution.
While Orgotek is fighting the threats the government should handle, the FSA is more interested
in discovering the locations and purpose of Orgotek ‘black sites’ and undeclared laboratories.
Orgotek hides its most secret advanced Nova-age technologies and cutting-edge biotech within
these facilities, and only the most trusted employees have clearance to know they exist. Cassel
wants them kept secret, deploying Electrokinesis and advanced bioapps to hide these sites from
the government. He also needs dedicated operatives to find and misdirect FSA investigators
before they stumble onto secrets that must be kept in the dark. If the operatives fail, more drastic

42
measures need to occur. Orgotek is the perfect order for high-stakes spy campaigns with beyond-
state-of-the-art gadgetry.
The Orgotek Path (Society)
The character is closely affiliated with Orgotek, the Electrokinetic Order. She is part of the
Orgotek corporation, employed by one of its divisions or serving as a contractor or
troubleshooter for the conglomerate; or she might even be an investor or shareholder from
Orgotek’s early days. She belongs to or regularly interacts with the Orgotek corporate culture, is
familiar with its market goals and may well possess significant insight into the modern economy
and business world.
Path Concepts
Activist Programmer, Alien Technologies Researcher, Corporate Espionage Operative, Research,
and Development Engineer
Example Connections: Biotechnician, FSA Regulator, High-Flying CEO, Start-Up Business
Skills: Culture, Persuasion, Science, Technology
Edges: Artifact (•-••••), Bioware Access, Enhanced Attunement, Favored Mode, Increased
Tolerance, Wealth (•-••••)

Orgotek Membership And the Wealth Edge

All characters who are members of Psi Orgotek or were once members and have
not joined another psi order possess at least one dot of the Wealth Edge (which the
player must purchase normally) to represent the stipend Alex Cassel provides to all
members and ex-members. Most actual Orgotek employees earn more than this.

Special Edge: Bioware Access (• to ••)

Prerequisite: Orgotek
Your character has easy access to bioware created by Orgosoft or other divisions of Orgotek. She
possesses a number of pieces of bioware equipment equal to her dots in this Edge, which may be
formatted to her if she so desires. She does not need to purchase this equipment and their cost is
not a factor, but they belong to Orgotek, not her; and she will need a very compelling reason for
being assigned particularly dangerous or exotic pieces of bioware. She can freely change the
bioware she is assigned between sessions, if she is able to gain access to Orgotek bioware
facilities.

Upeo wa Macho
The Upeo wa Macho returned to Earth only six months ago, but has quickly reclaimed its unique
cachet as the best couriers in the cosmos. Only teleporters can travel anywhere on Earth or in the
known universe in an instant. While the Leviathan jump ships returned humanity to the stars,
jumpers possess greater speed and versatility and can swiftly travel 500 kilometers as easily as
500 parsecs.
Bolade Atwan’s return has been warmly received, although none of the other proxies have
forgotten her sudden disappearance seven years ago. In 2115, proxy Atwan waited for more than
two months to report the discovery of the Nova-controlled planet of Eden to the other proxies.
Knowing how easily the motives of her order could come into question and with the memory of
the Chitra Bhanu purge far too fresh in her mind, she knew she needed a plan of retreat before

43
discussing her findings. If the other proxies seemed overly suspicious or hostile, Bolade would
give the signal and evacuate her order to Ruan’s World within minutes. She was not prepared to
have her order destroyed over a misunderstanding.
The other proxies’ reactions exceeded proxy Atwan’s fears, so her order fled into the depths of
space. With a push of a button, the Upeo wa Macho vanished from Earth. Worried that the entire
Aptitude might fall under suspicion, proxy Atwan also asked teleporters belonging to other psi
orders to come with her. Fearing the fate of the quantakinetics, the few who refused join her in
exile went into hiding. The returned psions speak little of their time away from Earth, under strict
orders from proxy Atwan.
Upon learning of the Chromatic attack on Earth, proxy Atwan ended her order’s exile. She knew
that Earth would need her order’s help, no matter what the other proxies thought. It was not until
after this attack that she also learned that the Chromatics used captured teleporters to transport
their fleets across interstellar space. Bolade formed a search team to find those teleporters,
fearing what the Chromatics might do to and with their captives.
While in exile, proxy Atwan was overjoyed to learn that the Leviathan jump ships gave humanity
the ability to reach deep space without the help of her teleporters. With access to the sentient
jump ships, she believes that interstellar travel could soon become commonplace and no longer
solely dependent upon several hundred teleporters. The proxy wants to make travel to other star
systems as commonplace as travel between distant cities.
Seeking to help interstellar travel advance even faster, she commissioned a team of Upeo
researchers to develop an improved jump ship that is both larger and easier to use. This team
recently added more than a dozen Qin engineers who recently arrived from Qinshui. The project
is called Nyangumi (Swahili for “whale”), which will also be the name for the new class of jump
ship. More recently, proxy Atwan also created project Karwe (Swahili for “manta ray”) to
develop small exploration focused jump ships that are easier to manufacture.
The world received the prodigal order back with few reservations. Most negative feelings focus
on proxy Atwan, who many perceive to have orchestrated the exile out of paranoia. The proxy’s
image is most damaged in the UAN. Some call her Bolade Ambaye Alikimbia, meaning “Bolade
who ran”. Although the UAN did not suffer directly from the Upeo wa Macho’s departure, UAN
media and politicians speculated loudly whenever a tragedy occurred that teleportation might
have prevented. Knowing apologies to be useless without action, the proxy sends operatives on
frequent Dhamira Njema or “Goodwill” missions across the UAN.
Inside the order, there is also dissent. During their exile, Proxy Atwan placed a strict ban on
return travel to Earth; a decree which many in the higher ranks felt was needlessly severe. Some
still resent missing seven years with their families. Others wonder why proxy Atwan has not
done more to rescue the teleporters captured by the Chromatics. Before the Upeo wa Macho left
the earth, it was well known that its proxy inspired fanatical loyalty from all in her order. It is
now clear that this support is, at the very least, waning.
This dissension increased when the returning psi order’s members learned of the Esperanza’s
fate. Those who had not previous voiced their doubts about the proxy’s orders and decision-
making began to speak up. Proxy Atwan released a public apology for her order’s absence, but
her words have done little to sooth tempers in Western Europe or to placate Upeo members who
have connections there.
History and Growth

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Bolade Atwan is driven by a dream of humanity walking among the stars. Before she became a
proxy, she had a vision of humanity exploring and settling in the galaxy. UAN president Mgowo
established the mission for near space traveling in Atwan’s youth. It seemed natural to Atwan
that she take that idea even further. Such dreams require resources, so she spent decades building
her company Kusafiri Ukomo (Unlimited Travel), which specialized in commercial air and
ground transportation. When she became a proxy, her dreams of deep space travel became
reality. She scaled back her commercial efforts and focused on finding latents.
Teleportation is the least common of the surviving Aptitudes, and her strict requirements reject
most of those with this rare latency. Eventually the proxy built a foundation of teleporters and
support staff that could perform a wide range of missions. Teleporters, also referred to as
jumpers, could be couriers, spies, diplomats, and first responders who were available in literally
the blink of an eye. Operatives of the Upeo wa Macho are spread across the galaxy, but Atwan’s
agile organization can bring these psions together at a moment’s notice.
The Upeo wa Macho’s numbers are far diminished from seven years ago. Most of the last six
months have been spent restoring basic personnel and technological infrastructure on Earth. The
order is rapidly rebuilding, but it will take years to replace both the more than 70 teleporters
taken by Chromatics and the many thousands of neutral support staff left on Earth when the
order fled.
The Upeo wa Macho collaborates well with other psi orders, in large part because teleportation
remains impressively useful. Proxy Atwan recognizes the best way to leverage her order’s rare
Aptitude is by being generous yet strategic in its use. Although she does not get along with either
proxy Alex Cassel or proxy Rebecca Bue Li, Atwan finds ways for Upeo wa Macho to
collaborate with their orders, providing them with services they can obtain nowhere else.
Knowing that she can’t undo the past, she focuses on what she does best, executing missions
with precision and efficiency.
Recruitment and Membership
Teleportation requires a rare latency, but Bolade Atwan values self-reliance even more than that
latency. Candidates with the required latency are no use to the proxy if they lack resourcefulness
and determination. Jumpers have incredible support teams but can still find themselves in
situations where they are entirely on their own, with only their judgment and motivation to guide
them. Proxy Atwan needs to know that her teleporters will not falter in these situations. She
interviews potential jumpers exhaustively and then has candidates work and train as apprentices
for at least six months before inviting them to join the order.
With the Chromatics displaying interest in capturing teleporters, the proxy’s process for selecting
has become even more stringent; she does not want more jumpers to be enslaved by hostile
aliens. Proxy Atwan always interviews and observes several candidates at a time. She also only
permits candidates to use the Prometheus Chamber in groups. Teleporters who become psions at
the same time are considered to belong to the same “age group,” with age being measured from
the time they are first given abilities. Psions in the same age group are expected to look after one
another, even if they don’t get along. Informal tradition also dictates that they show respect
towards jumpers in “older” age groups, but the result is not a strict hierarchy. Ultimately, actions
count more than age or time served in Upeo wa Macho. Although age groups soon spread
themselves across the stars, members are expected to keep in contact and meet on occasion. All
but the most dysfunctional age groups follow this tradition, in large part because it creates a
strong sense of belonging.

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Proxy Atwan likes to remind her psions that teleporting is a lonely business, so it is worth having
a few people around you who can relate to that loneliness. The first assignment that members of
a new age group go on is “The Long Race”. Proxy Atwan gives each member clues on where to
teleport to. Once they arrive to that place, they find the next clue, and then the clue after that.
The clues can be very cryptic, and not all locations can be easily teleported to. Some jumpers
take months to complete this race.
Jumpers play a central role in Upeo wa Macho, but there are half again as many other psions in
this order. Most outsider think of teleporters as nomads who blink in and out of space on their
own, but successful missions require an immense amount of planning and organization. Bolade
Atwan prefers to run a lean, purposeful organization and built what little bureaucracy there is to
support teleporters. She keeps her jumpers diverse and well trained so that they can perform any
number of roles, ranging from combat response to interstellar courier missions. There are
departments, referred to informally as chama (Swahili for “club”) in the Upeo wa Macho for
each of the order’s major roles.
The Long Riders are known all over human space for being the noetic version of the Pony
Express. If a member of this chama has not visited a package’s destination, they can swiftly
transport it to another jumper who has. The most experienced Long Riders can be assigned
anything from a single bottle of medicine to a large spaceship with a full crew and transport it to
any location at least one teleporter has previously visited in less than an hour.
Kupita (Swahili for “beyond”) is a chama to which the most powerful jumpers in the
organization belong. What concerns this chama is interstellar travel of all sorts. Kupita also
controls the order’s spacecraft. Many of the order’s clairsentients belong to Kupita, where they
help the order to explore and map new areas of space or to remap known space to conform to
new data. This chama recently acquired half a dozen ARES pods (p. XX) to help these
clairsentients perform long distance stellar surveys.
Mwitu (Swahili for “wolf”) is a chama of first responders. The teleporters in this chama have a
diverse range of skills, and are often called in to the worst emergencies wherever they are
stationed. This chama was small and mostly based on Ruan’s World, but Upeo wa Macho’s
return to Earth has seen this chama grow as some psions seek service to atone for their guilt
about the Esperanza crash. This chama also contains Proxy Atwan’s harshest critics. This
criticism is especially intense because Mwitu operatives all report directly to her.
Mwitu members have recently gained attention for several high-profile rescues, the most notable
being Abaeze Adeosun’s rescue of Nigerian workers caught in a building fire two months ago.
Abaeze worked tirelessly, porting workers out of the building for over twelve hours. He
continued to work even after regular responders arrived. He worked with them and several of the
order’s clears to rescue thousands of workers with no casualties. Such heroism is not uncommon
for those in Mwitu, and this chama has done more to redeem Upeo wa Macho’s image than any
of proxy Atwan’s statements.
Other Psions and the Nguzo
Nguzo is Swahili for “pillar”, and is the term used for the neutrals and the hopeful latent
apprentices who support this organization. Psions tend to experience the Upeo wa Macho as a
fraternity, but this loose and informal feel of the organization only exists because of the
organizational work of the nguzo. Ren Daiyu is the Upeo wa Macho’s Chief Operations Officer.
The proxy deals with events involving psions, Chromatics, or Aberrants, but if a situation
involves international politics, trade, or logistics, it ends up on Ren Daiyu’s desk. She defers to
proxy Atwan whenever it is appropriate and the two meet and discuss order business daily, so

46
they are never out of sync. A common saying in the order is that Atwan’s mind is on the skies
while Daiyu’s is on the earth.
Nguzo assist with mission preparation, working as dispatchers and managing logistics. They also
oversee all transportation that is not teleportation-related. Military specialists provide tactical and
on-field battle support except when Aberrants are anticipated. The Upeo wa Macho never
intentionally risks neutral personnel when fighting Aberrants.
The nguzo are not second-class citizens in the Upeo wa Macho. Any psion Atwan catches
treating nguzo as inferior receives harsh words. The fact that any latent who joins the order as a
latent must work as nguzo for at least two months helps to alleviate any feelings of superiority or
inferiority and to create bonds of trust between psions and nguzo.
Almost 500 of the order’s psions are not teleporters. Proxy Atwan wants psions with other
Aptitudes to be dependable specialists. While she needs jumpers who are flexible and durable,
she needs the people who will support them to do just a few things reliably. The Upeo wa Macho
never shies away from bringing in specialists from other orders on a temporary basis and also
hires non-jumpers fairly quickly.
Psions who already possess an Aptitude other than teleportation and who impresses their
interviewer are sometimes be put to work on a trial basis the next day. The Upeo wa Macho
believes in having people prove themselves right away. Trial by fire is a great way to see if new
staff are compatible with jumpers and nguzo, and if the recruit’s potential meets her promise. If
the trial operations do not work out, a psion might still be called on later if the problem was
simply a matter of cultural fit, but not if there were serious problems of competence or attitude.
The order takes hiring latents with potential for an Aptitude other than teleportation more
seriously. Proxy Atwan believes that every psion must prove themselves worthy of their powers.
Prospective psions must also spend at least two months as nguzo before proxy Atwan negotiates
for them to use another order’s Prometheus Chamber.
Every Aptitude offers something special to the order. Biokinetics and psychokinetics typically
serve as bodyguards or provide general physical assistance. They are often brought in when
battle is anticipated at a jump destination, or in extremely hostile environments and disaster sites.
Vitakinetics are usually “packages” to be delivered at sites for medical support or to enhance
other team members. Electrokinetics provide counter-surveillance and engage in cyberwarfare
where needed. Telepaths provide communication support and pair with clairsentients to do pre-
jump “exploration” before anyone arrives at a site. Atwan’s distrust of the Ministry proxy
restrains her order’s use of telepaths.
After teleporters, clairsentients are the most prized psions in the Upeo wa Macho and many
teleporters work closely with clears. A common expression in the order is “First the mind, then
the body,” indicating that they use clairsentience to view a site before using teleportation. The
two Aptitudes complement each other well. This and the famously close relationship between
Proxies Herzog and Atwan result in clairsentients being the second most numerous Aptitude in
the order.
Usio
Mount Kenya is home to the space elevator that goes up to space station Asabuhi. Twenty
kilometers away, just outside Kianjokoma is the re-established base of the Upeo wa Macho, Usio
(Swahili for “infinite”). Proxy Atwan was involved with the space elevator’s creation and, before
she left, Upeo wa Macho’s headquarters was a short walk from the base of the space elevator.

47
After seven years, the elevator’s use has only increased, and there was no space to come back to.
The order was forced to move its operations to the nearest available location.
Visitors to this base see something that looks much like a corporate office complex. The main
building is five stories tall, and the eastern campus is where the order maintains most of its
vehicles. Most visitors express disappointment at such standard accommodations, expecting
more individuality and quirkiness from this notoriously freethinking order. Upeo members often
inform these visitors that they should visit Ruan’s World if they would like to see something that
conforms more to their expectations, but Proxy Atwan is also quick to inform people that the
order’s ability to perform its missions relies on the work that is done here every day.
Usio is the order’s base on Earth and it is the heart of the order’s logistics and management.
Almost 80% of all the nguzo work here. However, the teleportation Prometheus Chamber is on
Ruan’s World, along with most of the order’s psions. The Usio Threat Response and Dispatch
Center is world-renowned for its ability to convert intel about emergencies and threats into swift
and effective responses. The area affectionately referred to as “The Launchpad” is a designated
teleportation area that each new jumper is trained to use when entering the order.
Special Resources
No one can say that members of Upeo wa Macho are not well travelled. Whether they are driving
a truck, teleporting, flying, or taking maglevs, the order prides itself on connecting its members
with all modes of transport. Conventional travel is free to those who join the Upeo wa Macho.
Any member requesting travel from Usio to anywhere one Earth or Luna will reach their
destination within no more than 10 hours, and usually far sooner.
As well as its skill at mundane travel, what psions of the orders appreciate most is the ability to
arrange emergency departure from a troubled zone. Each member has several emergency
contacts they can call in case of trouble. An emergency call prompts a rescue team to be
assembled and mobilized. If arranged ahead of time, they often arrive within one minute.
Without prior notice, response can take up to an hour, or even longer if requester finds himself
trapped in an unusually difficult and dangerous location. However, regardless of the
circumstances, a team will be sent and a rescue attempt will always be made.
Running a Upeo wa Macho Campaign
A Upeo wa Macho campaign gives your group an opportunity to see the entire galaxy and to
travel to new locations in an instant. Since travel is so easy, Upeo campaigns should focus on the
difficulties that arise once the group gets where it is going. How easy it to get back? What
constraints does the team face at their destination? A simple escort mission may become deadly
if the psions are led into a trap and must fight their way out, or if information they received was
completely wrong. Also, even if the psions can easily depart, doing so without completing their
mission may doom others.
A game could involve the characters being Long Riders moving packages across the galaxy,
trying to deliver the packages on time and overcoming any obstacles in their path. They could be
an elite team of Mwitu porting into the middle of any troublesome situation and providing vitally
needed assistance. The psions could become internationally known heroes, with all the benefits
and costs that comes with such fame.
The Upeo wa Macho is also the psi order primarily responsible for interstellar exploration.
Characters can locate and explore new worlds or perform more extensive surveys of worlds that
another jumper briefly visited. New territory means new dangers and unique wonders as the team

48
explores farther and farther out. Characters will visit worlds humanity has never seen before and
may even make contact with a new intelligent alien species.
Both internal and external politics can also be a natural part of Upeo wa Macho scenarios. Proxy
Atwan is resourceful and powerful, but her decisions regarding the order’s exile have left her in a
position where many question her judgment and leadership. There are many dissenters within the
order, but a substantial number of members remain loyal to her. There are also numerous groups
outside the order who seek to use the order’s internal strife to further their own ends. Both
governments and corporations are eager to recruit teleporters and further discrediting proxy
Atwan could improve their chances of drawing teleporters away from this order. Will the
characters protect the Upeo wa Macho from outsiders, or help them?
The Upeo wa Macho Path (Society)
The character is closely affiliated with the Upeo wa Macho, the Teleportation Order. If a psion,
she may have spent the last seven years with her fellows far from Earth, before eventually
returning in the face of the threat of the Chromatics and the growing number of disappearing
teleporters. She may be part of the fresh wave of psions being immersed in the order’s
Prometheus Chamber, or perhaps a teleporter who went into hiding when the rest of the order
vanished. Whatever her origin, she is likely to have travelled vast distances that other humans
can barely conceive of.
Path Concepts
Expert Pilot, Interstellar Explorer, Rapid Transport Specialist, Rescue Worker
Example Connections: Bonded Witness, Interstellar Explorer, Leviathan Captain, Off-Earth
Colony
Skills: Integrity, Pilot, Survival, Technology
Edges: Direction Sense, Emergency Transit, Enhanced Attunement, Favored Mode, Hardy, Iron
Will, Photographic Memory
Special Edge: Emergency Transit (••)
Prerequisite: Upeo wa Machu
With the impressive resources of the Upeo wa Macho behind her, your character can arrange for
transportation out of the grasp of almost any threat. She can freely access conventional travel to
almost any destination through the Order’s capabilities. Additionally, once per story, she can
arrange for emergency extraction. If she is able to provide forward notice, this extraction can
arrive within a minute of notification; otherwise, it may take up to an hour to arrive. The exact
nature of the extraction will depend on what information the character has provided the Order
with; it could be anything from a Teleporter psion ripping a portal open to her location to a
negotiator being dispatched to bargain for her release.

The Æon Trinity

When asked what the Æon Trinity is and what it does, the average person may be unable to
respond with more than a vague answer. “They do important stuff, I guess.” “They’re kind of a
big humanitarian…thing.” But when asked more directly what the Æon Trinity has done for
them or their families, the answers come more quickly. “A Triton doctor saved my grandfather’s
life.” “Those Proteus VARG guys held off an attacking Aberrant long enough for my whole
building to evacuate.” “I went to an Æon-sponsored school.”

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History and Growth
Part non-profit foundation, part scientific think-tank, part humanitarian aid organization, and part
secret conspiracy to make the world a better place, the Æon Trinity is the modern incarnation of
a very old idea. In the early 20th Century, the Æon Society for Gentlemen worked to improve the
lot of humanity, and in every form since then — the Æon Foundation, the Æon Covenant, and
(as of the year 2100) the Æon Trinity — the agendas and underlying principles have remained
the same: Make the world better. Help people achieve their potential. Protect humanity. Their
motto has always been Hope, Sacrifice, and Unity.
Æon stepped into prominence during the Aberrant War and the subsequent Crash. As one of the
few lucky organizations whose resources were not depleted or ruined during the crisis, the
Trinity was perfectly placed to become indispensable to the United Nations by providing medical
aid, food, clean water, and shelter to those who needed it. Despite being less powerful and
influential than the UN, Æon made itself so useful that it commands the respect that might
normally be accorded to a small but wealthy and influential nation.
This influence only grew when Aberrants attacked Sydney and the psi orders revealed
themselves to the world in 2106. The Æon Trinity helped the fledgling orders to weather the
media firestorm that followed, and provided both financial and political assistance to the psions
so that they could establish themselves as a force dedicated to helping and protecting humanity.
This close relationship continues in 2123. Since the Trinity is not formally affiliated with any
one order, its neutrality allows it to act as a perfect liaison between them, and between the orders
as a whole and the United Nations.
Recruitment and Membership
The Æon Trinity has roughly 100,000 agents, who are recruited from all over the world and from
a wide variety of backgrounds. Recruits are typically the “best of the best,” those whose
dedication to the Trinity’s ideals combine with valuable skills and talents. Becoming an Æon
operative is a lifelong dream for many men and women who look up to the Trinity as a heroic
group that works to “save the world.” Æon’s close ties to the psi orders result in a large number
of psions working for the Trinity as well — almost 6% of the operatives (roughly 5,800) are
psions — adding to the organization’s heroic reputation.
The Æon Trinity works hard to have fingers in as many pies as possible, guaranteeing that when
anything important happens, the Trinity will be involved somehow. The astonishing people
known as Talents have a knack for being involved when something important happens as well,
often even if they’re trying to avoid involvement. It should come as no surprise, then, that the
Æon Trinity has a far larger number of Talented agents than random probability would account
for. Of the non-psionic operatives working for Æon, several thousand are Talents.
Headquarters
Although the city has changed significantly, the Æon Trinity’s headquarters remains in Chicago,
where the Æon Society for Gentlemen was founded two hundred years ago. Originally housed in
a classic brownstone on the North Side, the modern organization’s headquarters takes up a
significant portion of the Chicago arcology known as the Cube. Most of the Cube’s uppermost
levels are occupied by the central headquarters of Neptune Division, and the art deco stylings of
the offices and auditoriums have become the dominant image of Æon in the public eye.
Elsewhere in the arcology, Triton Division maintains a headquarters campus adjacent to the
University of Chicago in Hyde Park. In addition to administrative offices and a seemingly
endless labyrinth of laboratories, the campus is also home to Nereus Labs — Triton’s most

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cutting-edge research facility — and Mercer Memorial Hospital, known for the most advanced
medical technology and most skilled medical professionals and vitakinetics in the FSA.
Proteus Division’s headquarters lies not within the city, but adjacent to it, in a vast complex
underneath Lake Michigan. Æon’s main training facility is located here, as are an array of
command and communications centers. Additionally, the Proteus complex has enough space to
provide living quarters for all of Æon’s command structure and tens of thousands of additional
agents, with resources to keep them alive and healthy for up to three years. This “safe space” was
last used during the Aberrant War, but Æon believes in being prepared, and keeps it ready just in
case.
The Æon Society’s original four-story brownstone still exists. In addition to being a famous
historical site, it functions as the local Æon Trinity chapterhouse for Chicago, serving as an HQ
for local operations and a home-away-from-home for important agents on assignment in the area.
Organizational Structure
The Æon Trinity is separated into three divisions: Neptune, Triton, and Proteus — thus the
“Trinity” in its name. Each of those divisions is further subdivided into a wide array of branches.
Although popular belief defines Neptune as the “administrative” division that is in charge of the
Trinity as a whole, in truth every division has a large number of administrative employees who
perform the unexciting but necessary duties that keep such a vast organization running. Actual
command of the Trinity is centered in the Æon Council, a reclusive group that includes the heads
of the three divisions, as well as a number of other mysterious figures (rumors include the
proxies, various heads of state and a direct descendent of Maxwell Mercer, the original founder
of the Æon Society — if not Mercer himself, somehow cryogenically preserved into the 22nd
Century).
Neptune Division
Although commonly referred to as the administrative or command division, a better way to think
of Neptune is as the division most concerned with communication. As the “voice of Æon,”
Neptune agents act as organizers, liaisons, diplomats, propagandists, fundraisers, or advisors.
They are present in almost every major Æon Trinity operation, often but not always in leadership
positions. They are also assigned to work with other organizations, including the psi orders, the
United Nations, various metacorporations, and specific national governments, either as liaisons
back to the Æon Trinity or as facilitators for cooperation between organizations. Psions in
Neptune are often telepaths or clairsentients, although psions with any aptitude can be found in
this division. The most important branches of Neptune include:
The Clymene Initiative: The public face of the Æon Trinity, these Neptune agents are best
known for interacting with the media, whether behind the scenes as a PR specialist or in front of
the cameras as a public personality. In addition to their public relations tasks, the agents of the
Clymene Initiative, who are almost universally skilled in interpersonal relations, act as inter-
agency liaisons for teams consisting of agents from more than one division (as in large-scale
operations like ReWrite or Vesta), or act as facilitators for efforts that include other
organizations entirely, like the psi orders or the United Nations.
The Medea Initiative: Founded as a response to an Aberrant with the power to literally make
words poisonous and ideas viral, Medea is devoted to memetic counterterrorism — the struggle
against harmful and invasive idea-structures. Frequently assigned to eliminate the influence of
insidious Aberrant cults, Medea agents also help defend the psi orders, governments, metacorps,
and militaries against memetic sabotage intended to destroy productivity, efficiency, morale, or

51
unit cohesiveness. Given their esoteric and abstract duties, Medea operatives — often telepaths
or linguists - are usually seen as eccentric and mysterious by agents from other divisions.
The Mercury Initiative: Originally part of the Clymene Initiative, Mercury was expanded into
its own Neptune branch as a result of increased demand for its services. Professional diplomats
and negotiators, Mercury agents can be found working with a variety of organizations all over
Earth (and beyond) to help establish beneficial cooperative relationships. Mercury agents act as
liaisons between the various psi orders to enable them to trade access to their Prometheus
chambers, as well as to create smoothly-functioning multi-Order operations teams. Mercury also
works closely with the United Nations, helping rival powers peacefully resolve their differences.
Some agents are trained as hostage negotiators, helping nations or private individuals recover
their citizens or loved ones from terrorists or kidnappers; others are xeno-communications
experts, helping to build strong ties with alien allies like the Qin. Members are currently helping
to establish communications with Chromatic prisoners of war.
The Maxwell Mercer Foundation: In its original form, the Mercer Foundation existed to fund
the adventures and exploits of the Æon Society for Gentlemen. Its modern incarnation still uses
its phenomenal wealth to fund the Æon Trinity, but it is additionally responsible for running a
variety of charitable sub-organizations and donating vast sums of money to other charities that
are judged to be in line with the Trinity’s goals. Neptune agents working for the Mercer
Foundation range from fundraisers and charity administrators to investment bankers and
accountants. Many Foundation agents work in the field, maintaining soup kitchens, homeless
shelters, and free clinics.
The Chiron Initiative: In a world recovering from a massively destructive war, where much of
Europe is still in a state of crisis and Nordamericans are routinely oppressed, education is just as
vital as healthy food, clean drinking water, and shelter. These Neptune agents are teachers,
counselors, and mentors, traveling — often at great personal risk — into needy areas and
bringing the gift of knowledge to a new generation of humanity. Chiron agents are often assigned
to work with interagency operations like ReWrite, Vesta, and Panacea, helping communities
reestablish themselves on multiple levels. Others work on interstellar colonies, teaching the next
generation of humanity about a homeworld they’ve never seen.
The Thetis Initiative: Even an organization with noble and forward-thinking goals can be
vulnerable to rogue elements and corruption. The Thetis Initiative was established at the same
time that the Æon Covenant reorganized itself into the Æon Trinity. It was tasked with ensuring
that the reborn organization would remain true to its agenda, stay vigilant for internal problems,
and prevent its agents from repeating the mistakes of the past. Unlike most “internal affairs”
subgroups, which exist to seek out and eliminate corruption, Thetis agents try to prevent
corruption in the first place. They screen all potential new Trinity agents, and promote good
communication, transparency, and accountability, finding and fixing issues before they become
truly problematic. Their focus on honesty and positivity makes Thetis agents quite popular, and
most Æon personnel are happy to work with them and provide any requested information.
Triton Division
Although the stereotypical Triton agents are the absent-minded scientist and the selfless medic,
in truth the division concerns itself with a broad range of hard and soft sciences as well as more
general types of data collection and analysis. While there is certainly a focus within Triton on
biotech, computer tech, and medicine, the division is also home to historians, botanists,
sociologists, geologists, zoologists, archaeologists, and political scientists — as the “mind of
Æon,” any intellectual pursuit may be valuable in the right circumstances. Although some Triton

52
agents remain in their labs or hospitals, many others work in the field with operatives from other
divisions, performing valuable medical or data collection roles. The most common psionic
abilities within Triton include Clairsentience, Electrokinesis, and Vitakinesis. Prominent
branches of Triton include:
Nereus Labs: While Triton as a whole is dedicated to the sciences, Nereus — or as many agents
call it, “the Geekhouse” — is devoted to bleeding-edge scientific research and development.
Nereus technicians come from a wide variety of disciplines and constantly push the boundaries
of computer science, biotechnology, medicine, noetic science, space travel, and weapons
development. Some lucky Nereus techs are able to field test the latest prototypes — a scenario
that other Æon Trinity agents greet with a mixture of excitement and dread.
Project Argus: While espionage is, in general, more the purview of Proteus Division, Project
Argus is an exception to that rule. The agents of Argus make use of cutting-edge technology, psi
powers, and old-fashioned social engineering to hack databases, co-opt security systems, and
engage in long-range surveillance. Others within the project specialize in data analysis and
information science. Argus prevents metacorporate takeovers, tracks Aberrant sightings, acquires
incriminating evidence, destroys dangerous data, and predicts social trends — sometimes
without ever leaving the lab.
Project Cyclops: Established in the 20th Century to study the many unusual plants and animals
discovered by the Æon Society in remote corners of the globe, this project has transitioned into a
focus on xenobiology — the study of alien lifeforms. Cyclops science teams work with their Qin
counterparts to share and discover valuable medical information for both species, and a Cyclops
lab currently holds and studies the few recovered Chromatic and Coalition cadavers in hopes of
learning more about those mysterious species. Further contact with and study of the Chromatics
and the Coalition is a major priority for the agents of Project Cyclops.
Project Pandora: Originally founded to study the extremely rare occurrence of “psychic
powers” amongst non-Aberrant humans, in the 22nd Century this project concerns itself almost
exclusively with psions, their abilities, and their origins. Pandora scientists — many of whom are
psions themselves — work closely with the various psi orders to further human understanding of
psi powers, and to help develop solutions for problems like psionic dysfunction. So far, no order
has trusted Pandora operatives with access to its Prometheus Chamber, but the researchers
haven’t stopped asking. A few dedicated researchers continue Pandora’s original mission,
searching for the legendary “psiads” who supposedly manifest psi powers without exposure to a
Prometheus Chamber.
Project Ceto: Formerly the research branch of the 21st century Project Utopia, Ceto exists to
study Aberrants and their superhuman abilities. Due to the extreme danger of exposure to
Corruption, those Triton agents assigned to Ceto are carefully vetted for mental instability or past
involvement in organizations that show support for Aberrants. The bravest and most trusted Ceto
scientists are allowed to accompany anti-Aberrant strike teams in the field, risking their lives and
sanity to gather valuable information that can be used to protect humanity from future
Corruption-fueled disasters. Other Ceto agents attempt to study the mysterious Nihonjin
Superiors, although political barriers have prevented much access to date.
Project Tantalus: A small and mysterious branch of Triton Division, Tantalus has a murky,
undefined agenda. It was established based on the observation that some humans, despite being
neither psions nor Aberrants, have extraordinary capabilities, often seeming to defy the laws of
probability. These Talents are a continual source of frustration for the Tantalus scientists, who
can’t seem to find any biological evidence that they are anything other than very smart, athletic,

53
skilled, gifted and/or lucky human beings. Luckily, the Æon Trinity as a whole seems to have an
unexpectedly large number of these Talents, so Tantalus agents have plenty of test subjects.
Proteus Division
If Neptune and Triton are the voice and the mind, then Proteus is the “hand of Æon.” The largest
of the Æon Trinity’s divisions, Proteus handles operations duties, which many Proteus agents
translate as “we do the grunt work so things actually get done.” Despite an external reputation
for being daring spies or heroic soldiers, training, security, investigation, and even basic manual
labor are all Proteus responsibilities as well. Psychokinesis is the most commonly seen psionic
aptitude in Proteus, although the division has an unusually high number of biokinetics, and most
of Æon’s few teleporters. Some of the most prominent Proteus branches include:
Section Mars: This large subdivision of Proteus has two main tasks: training and security. Most
new Æon Trinity agents who will be doing field work are required to go through Mars training, a
sort of “boot camp” that will prepare them for their jobs. In addition to physical fitness and basic
combat training, the Mars program includes language and cultural studies, training with
computers and other tech, and first aid. While most agents go on to their positions (whether in
Proteus or another division), some choose to remain in Section Mars, getting further training and
taking positions as security officers or bodyguards. Most permanent Mars agents bear their
nickname — “the Goon Squad” — with a measure of pride.
Section Juno: Proteus’ investigative subdivision, Juno agents have a much better reputation than
the “goons” of Mars or the “jocks” of Apollo. They work in tandem with police and intelligence
forces around the world and across the stars, helping to solve crimes, catch terrorists, and find
missing people. The “snoops” are strictly consultants, and tend to be called on only for high-
profile cases, or those with international ramifications. Due to this shared “jurisdiction,” Juno
agents and Interpol officers have developed something of a friendly — or at times not so friendly
— rivalry, and circumstances that force them to work together can often cause friction between
the two organizations.
Section Apollo: Boosted in importance when the Æon Trinity took over command of the
Leviathan jump ship program with Operation Argonaut, Apollo is the section of Proteus devoted
to aerospace operations. Apollo agents are trained to pilot and operate a variety of craft, from
single-occupant hybrid fighters up to the Leviathans themselves — many clairsentients and even
a few teleporters are part of the Apollo force, working to navigate and scout for the giant ships.
Other Apollo “jocks” specialize in spaceship weaponry, onboard security, biotech systems. Aside
from their piloting skills, Apollo agents are well known for their low-gravity and EVA training,
making them suitable for most space-based operations.
Section Titan: While Proteus is careful to define most of its combat-trained operatives as
security forces, the “grunts” of Section Titan are soldiers, pure and simple. Originally designed
as a small anti-Aberrant strike force, the men and women of Titan are now assigned to combat
duty against hostile alien forces as well. As heavy infantry, Titan agents are trained to work with
all types of heavy armor, including both tanks and VARGs. The popular image of Section Titan
within the Æon Trinity is of a dedicated, heroic VARG trooper. The smallest of Proteus’ publicly
known sections, Titan is usually deployed to back up local forces and the Legions when
important locations or individuals are targeted by an Aberrant attack.
Section Minerva: Officially, there is no such thing as Section Minerva, although older Proteus
agents sometimes whisper about “the spooks.” A tiny and clandestine group of operatives,
Minerva agents are hand-picked and answer directly to the Æon Council, who give them total
discretion as to the tactics they use to accomplish their objectives. All Minerva agents are chosen

54
based on their sterling moral character as much as their espionage skills. In the section’s history,
only one agent has ever gone rogue, and he was quickly apprehended by his fellow Minerva
members. With no organizational structure to tie them back to the Æon Council, these agents are
the ultimate deniable assets, but thus far the Council has refrained from using them as assassins
or terrorists, preferring instead to use them to gather information, apprehend fugitives, engage in
counter-espionage, or influence national and international policies, all while under the deepest of
cover. Minerva agents have no uniforms or ranks; their only insignia are small lighthouse-shaped
pins.
The Babel Dossier: As with Section Minerva, the Babel Dossier isn’t supposed to exist,
although most high-level Proteus agents and a few agents from the other divisions are aware of
it. Housed in an underground bunker in a top-secret location, the Babel Dossier — also known as
the Babel Vault, the Tower, the Black Collection, and the Freakshow — contains all the secrets
that the Æon Trinity deems too dangerous for the world to know about and too dangerous or
difficult to destroy. The collection began in the early 20th Century, when the Æon Society first
started recovering unexplainable artifacts, advanced technologies, forbidden knowledge, and
deadly creatures. The original site quickly expanded as a prison for individuals too dangerous to
hold anywhere else was added. Much later, in the late 21st Century, the most dangerous quantum
technology acquired during Operation ReWrite was stored in the vault as well, prompting a
move to another, larger and more secure, location. The Babel Dossier is guarded with the highest
possible security, and as far as anyone knows, it has never been breached.
Inter-Agency Operations
When the Æon Trinity embarks on a large-scale operation, teams are drawn from all three
divisions in order to supply the various expertise that will be necessary to complete the task. The
most extensive ongoing operations are often treated almost as if they are divisions unto
themselves, with their own command structure reporting directly to the Æon Council. Some of
the more famous and influential operations include:
Operation Vesta: One of the three initial large-scale operations begun when the Æon Covenant
reformed itself into the Æon Trinity, Vesta is a massive project intended to restore infrastructure,
industry, and residential zones destroyed in the Aberrant War, the Crash, or more recent disasters
like the Esperanza tragedy. Neptune organizers and translators, Triton engineers and architects,
and Proteus security and skilled laborers work together to rebuild roads, dams, bridges, sewers,
factories, apartment buildings and anything else lost in the conflicts and disasters that have
rocked the world since the Aberrant era. Although Vesta agents are most active in Europe, they
are present in almost every nation and extrasolar colony, helping to bring civilization back to
areas that had lost it.
Operation Panacea: Launched at the same time as Vesta, the Panacea program fights against
disease, malnutrition, and injury in areas devastated by Aberrant attacks. A joint effort between
the three divisions of the Æon Trinity and the Æsculapian Order, Panacea sends doctors, nurses,
paramedics, vitakinetics, and vital medical supplies and technology into dangerous areas,
escorted by an entourage of negotiators and security forces — necessary to protect the medics
and their supplies from the gangs and would-be warlords who thrive in the ruined regions where
medical aid is most necessary. Like Vesta, Operation Panacea is global, but currently most active
in the areas of Europe most badly impacted by the Esperanza disaster.
Operation ReWrite: The third post-Crash operation, ReWrite had two main purposes: to
recover as much historical, cultural, and scientific data as possible after the crash of the OpNet
and the destruction of so many libraries, archives, and museums in the Aberrant War, and to

55
selectively delete any information pertaining to “quantum tech,” the advanced and barely
understandable technology created by hyper-intelligent Aberrants. While much of the lost
information has been recovered, and almost all quantum tech has been destroyed or sealed away,
a few dedicated ReWrite agents still travel the world, collecting scraps of folklore and oral
histories, while keeping a wary eye out for any remaining references to Aberrant technologies.
Operation Argonaut: The most recent major operation, and the latest incarnation of an older
Æon Society branch dedicated to exploration, Argonaut is the Æon Trinity’s name for the
Leviathan jump ship program. Coordinating the financing and construction of the Leviathans,
recruiting and training the clairsentient navigators and more recently, the teleporter “pilots,”
crewing the ships, planning rescue and relief efforts for previously-abandoned interstellar
colonies, and scheduling exploratory missions into uncharted regions of space are all Argonaut
responsibilities.
Operation Utopia: In the 21st Century, Project Utopia had two functions: to study Aberrants and
their amazing abilities, and to guide those superhuman beings so that their immense power
would be used to create a better world. Despite Utopia’s best efforts, the Aberrants’ Corruption
eventually led to the madness of the Aberrant War. Even with that failure, the basic goals of
Utopia — helping those with power use that power in a healthy and responsible manner —
remained sound. In the 22nd century, Operation Utopia agents are social scientists, futurists, and
consultants, working with influential politicians, prominent psions, wealthy metacorps, and
religious leaders to guide humanity into a future in line with the core tenets of the Æon Trinity:
Hope, Sacrifice, and Unity.
Running an Æon Trinity Campaign
With the Æon Trinity involved in so many different activities in so many different arenas, it can
be difficult to say “Let’s have a campaign where we all play Æon agents,” because that’s such a
vague idea. What would you actually do in that campaign? Instead, try coming up with a
different, more focused idea first, and then brainstorming how the Æon Trinity might be
involved in that idea.
For example, let’s say you want to run a scenario where the players will discover a dangerous
Aberrants in a ruined space colony. Getting Æon Trinity agents into that situation is easy — they
might be involved with Operation Vesta or Operation Panacea, traveling into the danger zone to
provide humanitarian aid, when they discover Aberrant activity. Then they’ll have to survive
while trying to call in and wait for reinforcements. For a more combat focused game, they could
be a Mars or Titan strike team sent in to deal with the Aberrant threat located by others.
Alternatively, how about a campaign where the players are space explorers, piloting a jump ship
out into unexplored sectors of space to locate suitable new colony planets and search for alien
life? That has Operation Argonaut written all over it, and any number of science fiction
television shows can be used for inspiration.
For more proactive players, you might try an espionage campaign featuring Minerva agents, who
have a lot of freedom to choose their own goals and methods, with minimal supervision from the
Æon Council. How might the lack of oversight tempt your characters? Can they stay heroic when
it’s so much easier to be pragmatic and expedient?
Keep in mind that the Æon Trinity has several thousand Talents working for it, making it a great
option for a group who don’t feel like playing psions. Unlike a more focused campaign based
around a single psi order, a campaign featuring a team of Talented Æon Trinity agents has a lot

56
of flexibility, and can easily change focus from mission to mission as operatives are reassigned
to varying teams and given new tasks to complete.
Æon Trinity Paths
Unlike the psi orders, the Æon Trinity has two available Paths. The Æon Trinity Path is the most
common and should be used by all characters who belong to the Æon Trinity, except covert
operatives in Section Minerva. The Æon Trinity Section Minerva Path is only for covert Æon
Trinity operatives who belong to Section Minerva.
Æon Trinity (Society)
The character is closely affiliated with the Æon Trinity and aligned with its goals: making the
world a better place, helping people achieve their potential and protecting humanity. She may be
a normal human, psion or Talent, serving Æon Trinity as an operative and familiar with the
organization’s inner workings. Whether a part of Neptune Division (communications and
administration), Triton Division (scientific and data) or Proteus Division (operations and
security), she has chosen to be part of this optimistic, idealistic agency.
Path Concepts
Humanitarian Aid Worker, Interstellar Explorer, Psi Order Liaison, Research and Development
Engineer
Example Connections: Æon Council, Humanitarian Group, Political Allies, Psi Order
Skills: Humanities, Persuasion, Science, Technology
Edges: Fame, Far-Reaching Influence, Library, Superior Trait, Wealth
Special Edge: Far-Reaching Influence (••)
Prerequisite: Æon Trinity (required Edge)
The influence and reputation of the Æon Trinity reaches very far indeed, and many doors open
for your character that might otherwise remain closed. Whenever your character engages in an
intrigue action, she can spend a single point of Momentum to shift the attitude of the target
character or organization by 1 towards positive, unless the target has a specific reason for being
expressly opposed towards the Æon Trinity at the time. Simply being unfriendly, untrusting or
other forms of general surliness are not a good enough reason to block the character from using
this ability. The character also receives an extra bonus point of Momentum whenever a
Storyguide character refuses or acts against her influence roll results. All characters who select
this Path must purchase this Edge.
Æon Trinity Section Minerva (Society)
The character is closely affiliated not just with the Æon Trinity, but with a part of it that does not
officially exist: Section Minerva. She is one of Proteus Division’s deniable covert operatives and
intelligence agents, selected not just for her skills but for her unflinching moral character. She
has no uniform, no rank, and only her fellow Section Minerva operatives will recognize the
lighthouse pin that she wears as indicating her allegiance.
Path Concepts
Anti-authoritarian Rebel, Deep Cover Operative, Observant Spacer, Wandering Troubleshooter
Example Connections: Æon Council, Criminal Organization, Mercenary Company, Spy
Agency

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Skills: Empathy, Integrity, Larceny, Persuasion
Edges: Alternate Identity, Always Prepared, Covert, Danger Sense, Iron Will, Self-Reliance
Special Edge: Self-Reliance (• to •••••)
Prerequisite: Æon Trinity Section Minerva, Iron Will
As a member of a deniable operation with absolute discretion over the approach she takes to her
tasks, your character understands the vital importance of her mission — and that ultimately the
responsibility for it rests entirely on her shoulders. Pick a number of Skill Tricks that your
character possesses equal to the number of dots in this Edge. Once per session per Skill Trick,
she can reduce the Momentum cost of it by 1, which can reduce it down to 0 Momentum.

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Chapter Six: New Rules
Look, that’s why there’s rules, understand? So that you think before you break
‘em.
― Terry Pratchett
The 22nd Century presents humanity with new opportunities and new challenges as intrepid
explorers and stalwart colonists venture across the stars, hackers and intelligence agencies do
electronic battle across the networks of the future, and advancing technology gives the bold the
ability to achieve their ambitions.
The new rules provided in this section give details for the places and activities that Trinity
Continuum: Æon characters find themselves embroiled in, providing rules for the unusual
environments that characters may encounter, such as Quantum Flux zones, low and zero gravity
and space travel, as well as rules for illnesses, including the deadly Quantum Flux illnesses. This
chapter also includes additional rules for hacking, surveillance, and counter surveillance, and for
creating Super Science devices using noetic biotech.

Size Scale 0: Small Creatures

Trinity Continuum: Æon has aliens that are substantially smaller than humans,
as well as biokinetics who can shrink in size or bud off smaller parts of themselves.
For that reason, it includes an additional Scale for Size, Size 0, which is used for
creatures that are no larger than a medium sized dog like a golden retriever, or a
large raccoon. Treat Size Scale 0 as Scale in all ways, but instead of Enhancements
due to higher Scale, Size Scale 0 creatures experience +2 Difficulty to all rolls
where smaller physical size would be an issue, including all rolls involving Might.

Quantum Flux zones

Like Aberrants (pp. XX-XX), sometimes land possesses a Corruption Trait. The ravages of the
Aberrant War left vast tracts of the Earth scarred with Corruption. These areas twist and mutate
everything within. Scientists call them Quantum Flux zones, or QFZs. Some fade over time;
attacks by powerful Aberrants often leave small QFZs that persist for between several days and
several weeks. However, others, like Wycoff’s Blight, the Venezuelan Plaguelands, and the
many small Middle Eastern QFZs have endured for many decades. Quantum Flux zones are
antithetical to life, causing all injuries to heal more slowly within them, and for animals,
including humans, and also plants to give birth to stunted, sickly, or dead offspring. QFZs are
rated Light, Medium or Heavy, depending on their Corruption Trait.

Quantum Flux and Corruption

In 2123, the general public, and most researchers use Corruption and Quantum Flux
as synonyms. However, in the Nova Age, Quantum Flux was identified as the
unique and inexplicable variations to physical laws that permit humans to erupt into
Novas and Nova’s Quantum powers to function. In contrast, Corruption is a type
of lasting subatomic damage that occurred when Novas overused their Quantum
powers or in Novas who innately suffered from a relatively rare form of instability.
This damage first affected the Nova, and if the Nova became sufficiently Corrupted,

1
 its Corruption could then affect others around it.
The Aberrants that returned to the solar system in 2105 were all massively
Corrupted. As a result, most researchers in the 22nd century believe that Corruption
is an inevitable result of possessing and using Quantum Powers, and began using
these terms interchangeably. Quantakinetic Proxy Dr. S.K. Bhurano endorsed this
viewpoint in 2108.
However, the discovery of the Corruption-free Novas on the planet Eden in 2115
called this idea into question. In reality, some types of Quantum Flux produce
Corruption, but most do not. Novas are far more likely to erupt in regions
containing substantial amounts of Quantum Flux, but those that erupt in regions
where this Quantum Flux is paired with Corruption are more likely to be inherently
Corrupted.
One reason for this misidentification is that The Colony, the hideously powerful
Aberrant responsible for organizing the attack on Earth, is exceptionally Corrupted
and revels in this fact. As a result, it only recruited other exceptionally corrupted
Aberrants and these creatures used their Corruption to create both sub-Aberrant
mutants (see p. XX) and heavily Corrupted Quantum Flux zones on worlds they
attack so that most humans who erupt on these planets will become Corrupted
Aberrants.

THIS IS A TABLE
Quantum Flux Zone Effects Table
Corruption Examples Healing Reproduction
Trait
2 (Light) Site of major Aberrant All healing takes 50% One third of seeds do not
battle longer, level 1 sprout, and there is a similar
Complication to all miscarriage rate for animals
Medicine rolls and people. Deformities and
defects are twice as
common.
4 (Medium) Venezuelan All healing takes twice Two thirds of seeds do not
Plaguelands, most as long, impose a level sprout, and there is a similar
Middle Eastern QFZs 2 Complication to all miscarriage rate for animals
Medicine rolls and people. One third of
sprouts and births suffer
defects.
6 (Heavy) Wycoff’s Blight, the All healing takes three 90% of seeds do not sprout,
worst sections of la times as long, impose and there is a similar
Blessure a level 3 Complication miscarriage rate for animals
to all Medicine rolls and people. The few sprouts
and births are visibly
deformed and may be
innately Corrupted.

2
 END TABLE

Effect on Psion Powers

Quantum Flux also interferes with subquantum flow, making it harder for psions to use their
powers. Light QFZs impose +1 Difficulty to activation rolls for psionic powers, while Medium
QFZs inflict +2. Heavy QFZs inflict +3 and require spending an additional Psi point with each
power activation to ‘push through’ the interference. QFZs do not apply their penalty to powers of
the Quantakinesis Fundamentals Mode.
Illness, Disease, and Quantum Flux
Illnesses and disease are modeled through Conditions (Trinity Continuum Corebook, p. XX).
They are divided into three levels of severity — minor, major, and extreme — equivalent to the
Bruised, Injured, and Maimed Injury Conditions, producing the corresponding Injury
Complication, and using the same rules for recovery. However, many diseases require
specialized drugs or procedures to treat.
For infectious diseases, the Storyguide sets a severity equal to the level of Injury Condition it
inflicts, and virulence between 1 and 5. Severity and virulence aren’t linked — the common cold
is easy to catch (high virulence) but low severity (minor). A character exposed to the pathogen
rolls Survival + Stamina at Virulence Difficulty. She avoids the disease on success, and contracts
it on failure. Proper precautions, medication, and equipment can all add Enhancement to this roll,
whereas filthy conditions and prolonged exposure can increase the Difficulty.
Most minor diseases heal on their own, although more rapidly with treatment. If not treated,
some minor diseases and most major and extreme diseases get worse. For these diseases, the
character rolls Survival + Stamina every (Stamina – Virulence) days, with the character’s current
Injury Complication as a penalty. Proper care and treatment provides Enhancement. Success
downgrades the illness one severity, whereas Failure upgrades it one severity. A disease that
increases in severity beyond extreme kills that character.
THIS IS A TABLE
Common Diseases Table
Severity Initial Penalty Examples
Minor -1 Common Cold, Allergies, Skin infection
Major -2 Influenza, Gastroenteritis, Gangrenous infection
Extreme -4 Ebola, Cancer, Aggressive multi-resistant infection

END TABLE

Quantum Flux Diseases

A tiny percentage of people exposed to Quantum Flux in large amounts or over a long time
become Aberrants, and a slightly larger percentage of people and animals exposed to Quantum
Flux spontaneously transform into Sub-Aberrant mutants (p. XX), but the vast majority of people
who suffer effects from Quantum Flux instead become seriously ill. Quantum Flux diseases are
divided into primary and secondary. Primary Quantum Flux diseases are caused by direct

3
exposure to Quantum Flux, like spending time in a QFZ or being subject to Aberrant powers.
The first time a character is exposed to Quantum Flux, and every (Stamina + Psi – Corruption)
hours thereafter, roll the source’s Corruption trait at a Difficulty equal to the character’s Psi +1.
Success inflicts a disease Condition of severity equal to the number of successes, with a
Corruption trait equal to its source. Psions are immune to primary Quantum Flux Diseases.
Secondary Quantum Flux diseases come from exposure to pathogens mutated by Corruption.
Roll as per normal diseases to see if the character is infected, but if the pathogen’s Corruption is
greater than the character’s Psi, add the difference to the roll’s Difficulty. If the character fails
the roll he contracts the disease, but this version also has the pathogen’s Corruption trait.
Treating Quantum Flux diseases is complicated. Secondary Quantum Flux diseases can be
treated through conventional methods and Vitakinesis, though any rolls suffer increased
Difficulty equal to the pathogen’s Corruption. Primary Quantum Flux diseases don’t respond to
conventional treatment, or to most Vitakinetic powers. Vitakinesis can alleviate symptoms,
though any rolls suffer the disease’s Corruption as Difficulty, and require spending Psi points
equal to the Corruption. Primary Quantum Flux diseases can only be permanently healed after a
Quantakinetic drains or cleanses the Corruption.

An Introduction To Quantum Flux Diseases

By Dr. Elisha Vasquez, from Noetic Science Essentials
Quantum Flux diseases are a complicated problem. The improvements in medical
technology and the advent of Vitakinesis make it possible to cure or permanently
mitigate almost all chronic illnesses, but the effects of Quantum Flux are
unpredictable and tenacious. It cannot merely change DNA sequences, but also
alters DNA repair mechanisms. Cells can become impervious or oversensitive to
everyday biomolecules, altering their effects in unique ways. There are several
multi-layered hypotheses for how this unruly energy affects the human body, and
all of them seem to be partially accurate.
There are also two different types of Corruption illness: primary and secondary. A
primary Corruption illness is caused by direct exposure to a heavy Quantum Flux
zone. It may kill quickly, or linger permanently, or sometimes (if mild) resolve on
its own. A secondary Quantum Flux disease is caused by foreign pathogens that
have been altered by Quantum Flux. These can usually be cured by Vitakinesis or
conventional therapies in the same way as other viral, bacterial, fungal or parasitic
diseases, although they are sometimes more challenging to manipulate. The
microorganisms and pests that cause such illnesses survive most easily in Corrupted
areas, and an individual fighting off such an illness always heals more effectively
in a safer area.
Some of these pathogens, however, are tenacious enough to be passed between
people and animals, and survive outside of a Corrupted Zone for a time. This effect
was widespread in the Venezuelan Plaguelands. The Æsculapian Order and other
national and international health organizations keep a careful eye on emerging
microbes, and intervene quickly if anything seems to be spreading too quickly.
There’s some debate about whether residual Quantum Flux emanating from soil
removed from contaminated areas is due to its microbiome or some other inherent
property, and research on this subject continues.

4
Additional Sources of Indirect Damage
Breathable oxygen, gentle pressure, a stable sense of where ‘down’ is, and a lack of scouring
radiation are things that the average citizen of the 22nd Century takes for granted in their daily
life. However, characters in a Trinity Continuum: Æon campaign are unlikely to be average
citizens, and may well end up in such hostile environments, whether they want to be there or not.
The following tables lists some of the additional environmental hazards that off-world and
undersea explorers and settlers must cope with.
[[THIS IS A TABLE]]
Additional Sources of Environmental Damage
Threat Damage Rating Tags Threat Type
Arctic Water 1 Continuous (Minutes), Environmental
(Immersed) Deadly
Cryogenic Cold 1-3 Aggravated, Continuous Environmental
(Rounds), Deadly
Decompression 1-4 (depending Deadly Environmental
Sickness upon depth)
Drowning 3 Continuous (minute) Environmental
Solar Flare (In Space) 1-3 Aggravated, Continuous Environmental
(minute), Deadly
Any damage rating with a variable range depends upon the severity of the source of indirect
damage.
[[END TABLE]]

Decompression Sickness
Anyone who spends time deep underwater, either diving or in an underwater city or submarine
spends time in a high-pressure environment. Returning to the air pressure on the surface must be
done slowly to avoid decompression sickness “the bends”. Unlike most sources of environmental
damage, damage from “the bends” happens slowly. Calculate the total damage a character will
suffer, and then have 1 Injury Condition from this source occur every Scene until the character
has suffered the full amount of damage. Treatment stops all future damage. The most common
treatment involves special drugs plus slow decompression in a submarine or decompression
chamber. This process requires eight to 12 hours, depending upon depth.

Space Travel & Combat

When moving through deep space, spacecraft make use of a Speed rating that indicates how
rapidly they can move from place to place (see p. XX for specific examples of spacecraft). This
rating provides a rough idea of the timescale involved for potential journeys, with examples
based on starting in Earth orbit. Speed Scale ratings in space are always marked with [].
BEGIN TABLE

5
 Space Distance Covered
Speed
[1] * Earth to Luna in two weeks, cannot travel between planets
[2] Earth to Luna in three days, Earth to Mars in six months
[3] Earth to Luna in 30 hours, Earth to Mars in six weeks
[4] Earth to Luna in 12 hours, Earth to Mars in two weeks
[5] Earth to Luna in four hours, Earth to Mars in four days
[6] Relativistic speeds, Earth to Luna in under one hour, Earth to Mars in under one
day.
* Too slow for hybrid craft, hybrid craft must possess at least space Speed [2]
END TABLE
During combat, spacecraft treat their Speed as Scale for the purposes of movement, and so
vessels with a higher Speed are almost always able to outpace those with a lower rating.
Space combat uses the same rules as other forms of vehicle combat, essentially treating each ship
as a character in its own right. This includes the same range band categories: Close, Short,
Medium, Long, Extreme, and Out of Range. Each range band in space is assumed to be vastly
larger than the sizes given for normal action sequences, though. Clash range may be within a
hundred meters, while greater distances could reach out for many kilometers. Attempting to
board another spacecraft requires getting into Clash range with the target.
Space is an exceedingly hostile environment; a vessel that suffers Injury Conditions may also
end up exposing its crew to fires or vacuum, as well as low or zero-G. When a spacecraft is
Taken Out during combat, but not completely destroyed, one of its vital systems is incapacitated
or destroyed (see p. XX) and this requires rapid response from any surviving crew — especially
if their life support system has been rendered useless!

Hacking and Information Security

In the 22nd Century, information is valuable and networked technology is ubiquitous. Hacking
into computer systems remains a serious threat to those in the security business – and a major
opportunity for smart and savvy criminals.
In Trinity Continuum: Æon gameplay, hacking falls somewhere between intrigue and
procedural action. Hacking is often perpetrated to gain information, which would suggest it is
procedural — but a successful hacker can also use a compromised system to achieve other goals,
such as shutting down camera feeds in a surveillance center, taking control of a law enforcement
drone, or sending messages from an unwitting victim’s minicomp. With advanced security
software and SI as commonplace defenses, hacking isn’t just cracking a code to break into the
delicious data-innards; it involves evading the notice of prowling, semi-intelligent agents while
attempting to persuade the system that the hacker is, in fact, meant to be there.
In ideal circumstances, the would-be hacker is attempting to either decrypt a protected file or
break through passive security systems to access the information within. For this, use the hacking

6
rules in the Trinity Continuum Corebook as part of procedural play, using a dice pool of
Enigmas + Cunning to allow the searching of an archive. Ideal circumstances, however, are not
very common; they are most likely to occur after the hacker has already extracted an encrypted
archive and can now work on it in safe surroundings.

Social Hacking
So-called “social” hacking remains the best way to access most minicomps,
networked datastores, and other forms of security. This is classic intrigue play,
acquiring passwords and accessing other information directly from the weakest link
in the chain — the human being. There’s very little chance of a vigilant SI detecting
an intruder into the system when the hacker is logging in with the valid credentials
or biometrics of the sysadmin, who either blathered them to her over one too many
drinks in a bar or didn’t notice that the hacker got him to provide a retina scan. That
doesn’t mean that the social hacker can act with carefree abandon within the
system, but it’s a major step towards her goals. Compromising a system via social
hacking usually involves using the influence system (Trinity Continuum
Corebook, p. XX).

Protecting a System
Most networked systems benefit from three discrete forms of protection. These are the attitude,
the failsafe, and the agent.
Like with any intrigue action, the system being targeted by a hack has an attitude towards the
would-be intrusion. This represents the complexity and nature of the system’s passive defenses,
whether it expects to see regular connections and multiple users, and how generally hostile and
obstinate it will be for the hacker to navigate through it. A public network is likely to have a
positive attitude, whereas any sort of network that is intentionally secure will have a negative
attitude towards the hacker. A personal minicomp may have a negative attitude of 1, a secure
corporate server could have a negative attitude of 3, and a military-grade system like that of a
combat drone’s command and control is likely to have a negative attitude of 5.
The failsafe represents the system’s ability to pick up on intrusion, raise an alert and attempt to
counter it. The failsafe rating applies as a Complication to every roll made to hack into a system;
failure to buy the Complication off results in an unaware system becoming aware of the
intrusion, as well as the normal problems caused by a Complication.
The agent is an active defense. Most systems rely on the failsafe to trigger an alarm before an
agent will become involved, but if a system is already expecting an imminent intrusion then the
agent can contribute to the system’s defenses from the beginning. For most systems, this is an SI
agent (p. XX), a limited intelligence Minor character that uses its Mental score (Trinity
Continuum Corebook, p. XX) to oppose the hacker and attempts to counter or trace the
intrusion. If a system has a living security admin — or whole team of admins — she or they may
serve as the agent.

Unique Access Systems

A Unique Access System (UAS) is a highly secure form of data storage, a unique
operating system designed to be incompatible with any other system, and which
exists in an isolated network with others of its kind or entirely disconnected. The

7
 UAS stores and encrypts files in a format that only its operating system can read.
A UAS would be entirely useless by itself. No file produced on another system
would be compatible with it, so it could never have data added or removed except
by physically keying it in. Like a one-time Vernam cipher, what makes a UAS
valuable is the key to its lock, the Access Control Device (ACD). An ACD is a go-
between, capable of rewriting files from a standard operating system into the
appropriate format for the UAS. Every ACD consists of both hardware and software
in the form of a portable storage drive designed to be as impregnable as possible.
Most ACDs are designed with extremely temperamental SIs that garble and frag
the contents at the slightest hint of any attempts to compromise them, such as
connecting it to any system other than the specific UAS.
A normal UAS system has a single ACD, held by someone extremely trustworthy
and protected by considerable physical security measures. A hacker wanting to
access the prized contents of a UAS will need to first secure the ACD, then
physically access the UAS itself to use the device. Even hardwiring into the UAS
won’t allow a direct hack without the ACD to serve as a translator between the
systems.
Creating an entirely unique operating system just for a single system or small
network is extremely expensive. UAS security is reserved for sensitive
governmental data, crucial R&D, or financial information for major corporations,
sensitive information used in the legal system, and the military. Incidents like the
OpNet crash highlighted a need for this sort of ultra-secure data storage, but it’s
simply not practical for many organizations, who instead rely on isolated storage
without the additional encryption that a UAS provides.

Hacking a System
Lacking the credentials that allow her to be recognized as a legitimate user, the aspiring hacker
must resort to more direct means. If the target system has any active security failsafes or SI
agents — and it is rare to find a system without these — then she uses the following process to
perform her hack.
• The hacker must have access to the target system.
• The hacker must have the necessary tools to perform the hack.
• The hacker attempts the hack in the form of a complex intrigue action against the system,
rolling Enigmas + Intellect. As with any intrigue action, the attitude of the system’s security
provides an Enhancement to either the hacker or the system (and any agent aware of the
intrusion).
• Success allows the hacker into the system, where she can enact subversions.
Access
For the average person in the Trinity Continuum: Æon setting, networked technology seems
completely ubiquitous. Augmented reality, widespread use of minicomps and the day-to-day
requirements of information technology at work give the impression that everything is part of a
great, all-encompassing web. It looks like a hacker’s dream come true.
Targets like someone’s personal minicomp or the networked workstations in a media company’s

8
marketing suite are relatively accessible. However, after high-profile incidents of data theft,
system subversion and, the atrocities that occurred during the Aberrant War, the necessities of
genuinely secure systems were made evident. Important data is kept on isolated systems, with
hard copies moved by bonded witnesses or by heavily guarded data storage firms. Major
companies that don’t need such a heavy level of security still run internal, isolated networks for
confidential data that are only opened for brief, pre-determined periods for data transfer. The
most sensitive or crucial data is protected in UAC systems and unique operating systems that
effectively speak a completely different language to other computational devices. Hardtech
augmentations that could be turned against their user are almost certainly isolated; hard lessons
were learned from atrocities during the Aberrant War, and other later problems.
In short, it isn’t always easy for the hacker to access her target — especially if she’s after
something more important than subverting someone’s minicomp. Sometimes the only approach
to accessing a system is to physically wire into it.
There are a number of factors affecting whether a hacker has access to her target system:
• If she is able to physically and directly access the system, she has access. In the case of a
system’s hardware where there is no obvious way to plug her tools in, this may require cracking
the thing open and fiddling around with the internal wiring and connections, using a dice pool of
Technology + Intellect.
• If she is close enough to the system to use her tool’s wireless capabilities to access it, and
it is open for wireless networking, she has access.
• If she is not close enough to use wireless directly, she can try and leapfrog through other
systems that may have access themselves. For example, the hacker might attempt to log into
someone’s minicomp via hacking the local network provider’s system first.
If the hacker attempts to leapfrog through systems that are themselves secure, she must hack
each of these intervening systems in turn. Regardless of whether she needs to hack through them
or not, the highest Scale penalty that she faces is also applied to hacking the system she is
attempting to leapfrog to, and to the target system’s attempts to counter and trace her hack.
Leapfrogging can leave a hacker overstretched — but can also serve to conceal her trail. One of
the most important aspect of gaining access to a target is the security level of a particular system.
Security Levels
After the Aberrant War and the Crash, electronic security underwent a quiet revolution. While
the OpNet and organizations connected to it became somewhat more secure, the biggest changes
occurred for information considered too important to be freely accessed from the OpNet, even by
authorized personnel.
Average Security: Minicomps, the OpNet, and many business and organizations have relatively
good security, but can be freely accessed from the OpNet, and their only security are biometrics
and passwords. This is referred to as average security. There are two higher levels of security,
which rely on secure locations as well as electronic security.
Intermediate Security: financial institutions, large corporations, and governments most often
use this level of security. Extremely wealthy or powerful individuals like important politicians or
CEOs also often use it for their personal accounts. Organizations using intermediate security
only allow employees to access their site from a few specified locations, like the employee’s

9
home or office.
Wealthy and powerful individuals using intermediate security usually have a small chip that
authenticates their identity implanted in their wrist. This chip automatically deactivates if
someone removes it or if the individual dies. These chips can be copied, but only if someone has
a chance to spend at least a minute with a scanner pressed against the subject’s wrist. Also, the
chip’s codes change every few days, so any copy is only good for a short period of time.
In addition, SIs track of the individual’s movements, permitting the person’s location to
constantly be determined within a meter. Security is alerted if the person’s location is ever
unclear, such as if they walk into a wild cave. Also, if the person deviates from their routine too
much, security contacts them to make certain they are OK. Many important people who use
intermediate security are contractually required to avoid entering areas without OpNet
connectivity. Hacking such a system requires the characters to gain access to one of the accepted
locations. Often this means hacking inside the target’s home or office, in a hotel room next to the
target’s or perhaps crouching outside the target’s window while they are sleeping.
High Security: This data consists of government or corporate secrets like the identities and
locations of covert operatives, plans for cutting-edge technology and the details of restricted
Nova Age technology. This data is never available on the OpNet. It is only kept in secure
installations that are shielded against all wireless transmissions going in or out. Moving this data
to a different location requires someone to place it on a highly encrypted data storage medium,
usually a UAS. Then, a well-armed, bonded witness carries this data storage to the new location.
Gaining access to this data either involved stealing it from a courier or physically breaking into
the facility where the data is stored and used and getting on the secure network. Since every UAS
prohibit the data from being copied in an unencrypted format, anyone wishing to steal high
security data must also obtain ACD.

Bonded Witnesses
The only way to insure that information is truly secure is to keep it on a computer
or local network located in a secure facility, which has no electronic connection to
any computer or network outside of this facility. However, even the most secure
data must be moved to other systems. To prevent data breeches, the only people
who are allowed to transport this data are bonded witnesses, people licensed by
governments as being sufficiently trustworthy to be allowed to access and transport
this data. Typically, they access data in the secure facility and print it out or make
an electronic copy that they deliver to another secure facility.
Bonded witnesses usually transport their data to courtrooms, law enforcement
offices, other secure facilities, or corporate meetings, where they deliver a hardcopy
of the data to a designated person and swear that this data has not been
compromised in any fashion that they are aware of. Bonded witnesses transport
electronic files on a secure minicomp which has no ability to access the OpNet in
any fashion and can only access a few specified and highly secure networks. Many
of the minicomps are UAS’s.

Tools
A hacker’s tools of the trade are her computer, the software loaded therein, any physical

10
implements if the target system needs to be hardwired into, and any other gadgets that make her
life easier. Due to the processing power of a good minicomp, hacking can be done on the move
and relatively discreetly — unless she triggers any security alarms in the process.
Electronic hacking without a computer of some kind is impossible for anyone who is not an
electrokinetic. Particularly impressive computer set-ups may provide an Enhancement to the
hacking attempt, but provided the hacker has at least a minicomp and access, she also needs
appropriate (and likely illegal) software — usually an agent like a DIA (see p. XX). This agent
normally provides 1 Enhancement, or she can rely on the agent’s stats to perform the hack by
itself.
The Hack
Hacking is a complex action, usually measured in intervals of single Rounds. This action has a
number of milestones usually equal to the system’s Attitude. Increase the number of milestones
for exceptionally secure systems.
Also, as long as the target system is not alert to the hacker’s intrusion, she can willingly extend
the size of the intervals, gaining 1 Enhancement for each step that she shifts; from Rounds to
minutes, minutes to hours, hours to days, and days to weeks. Taking time can give a hacker the
edge she needs to break into a particularly secure system — but it also gives more opportunities
for the system’s agents to pick up on what she is doing.
Additionally, if the Scale of the target system is greater than that of the hacker’s tools, the size of
the interval is forced up by one step without granting Enhancement. Hacking a traffic light from
a minicomp can be relatively quick, but attempting to punch through the firewalls of a major data
storage facility without some seriously hefty computational firepower is going to take more than
a few moments.
The dice pool for the hack itself is Enigmas + Attribute (usually Intellect) against either a static
Difficulty (for an unaware system) or opposed by the system’s agent (for an alert system). The
Failsafe of the system acts as a Complication to every roll. Once the system is alert, each point of
Complication the hacker fails to buy off provides the agent with 1 Enhancement on its next roll.
If she successfully overcomes all of the hack’s milestones, the hacker is inside the system.
Regardless of whether the system is alert or not, she now has a number of successes to spend on
subverting the system equal to the total of her Enigmas + Cunning rating.
Locate Data (2 successes): The hacker finds a specific piece of information or a particular file
she seeks within the system.
Standard Function (1 or 2 successes): The hacker may activate a function that the system could
normally perform, such as opening or closing an automatic door, turning off a camera feed or
starting a file download. If the system is unaware, this costs the hacker a single success; if it is
alert, then this costs 2 successes.
Forced Function: (3+ successes): The hacker may force a function that the system would not
normally perform due to safeguards or programming limitations but that is reasonably something
it could achieve. For example, rather than simply closing and locking a door, the hacker could
then overload the door’s electronics with a power surge and burn them out; or she could cause an
SI-driven vehicle to veer off the road and crash. The number of successes that a forced function
costs is for the Storyguide to determine.

11
Hide Subversion (1+ successes): The hacker may attempt to cover her traces within the system.
She can create a Complication on one of her other subversions within the system, with a level
equal to the number of successes she chooses to spend. This Complication is applied to the
actions of agents in the system that are trying to counter or trace her; if the Complication is not
bought off then the agent will not be able to detect the hidden action. This can be key for
subversions such as downloading large amounts of data that will likely take more time than the
hacker will manage to remain in the system.
Adjust Attitude (4+ successes): The hacker may attempt to alter permissions, meddle with
validations and generally embed herself further in the system. Every four successes she spends
on this subversion shifts the attitude of the system one point positively. Unless she successfully
conceals this with Hide Subversion, it will almost certainly be reset after she leaves the system.
She cannot shift attitude by more than her Enigmas Skill.
Set Alarm (2 successes): The hacker places an alarm within the system. She chooses what will
trigger the alarm, and attaches it to another subversion that she also buys with successes, such as
performing or forcing a function. When the alarm condition is triggered, the second subversion
goes off. This could be as mild as sending a message to the hacker’s minicomp when a particular
person logs into the system, all the way to making a combat drone open fire when its targeting
programs pick up anyone wearing an orange jacket.
Scramble System (2+ successes): The hacker attempts to incapacitate the whole system. She
must expend successes equal to the system’s Failsafe rating plus two, preventing the system from
performing any of its normal actions and increasing the Difficulty of any dice pools involving
the system by 2 (including her own). If she expends successes equal to twice the system’s
failsafe rating she can crash it entirely, though this will obviously boot her out immediately.
Leapfrog (2 successes): The hacker may leapfrog from this system to another that it connects to.
She remains connected to this system as part of the chain to her ultimate target, and getting
booted out of this system cuts off any links in the chain that follow it.
Boot Agent (Varies): The hacker attempts to lock an agent out of the system entirely. She must
spend successes equal to the agent’s dice pool (the Mental pool for an SI agent, or Enigmas +
Attribute for an admin) and then succeed at an opposed Enigmas check against the target; doing
so shuts down the agent’s access and prevents him from taking any counter actions other than
revalidation.

Have you tried turning it off and then on again?

An agent faced with a problematic hacker who has gotten into their system can turn
off the power or pull the plug on the network. This works just fine — there’s
nothing the hacker can do to a system that isn’t active or connected — but any
hidden subversions, alarms and other tricks they’ve embedded will still be there
when the power comes back on and will still need to be traced and scrubbed.
Of course, just turning the power off or disconnecting a piece of hardware isn’t
always an option. This may be because the network is too important to be taken
offline, or it may be because the agent simply isn’t authorized to take that action.
SI agents usually have a set of parameters that they can activate a kill switch on,
but no-one would be entirely happy about giving a Satisfactory Intelligence the
ability to turn off a hospital’s medical electronics due to a system intrusion. An SI

12
 agent will usually run that sort of decision up the chain to a living, breathing admin
— if there is one.

Once the hacker has spent her successes, she may then either leave the system or continue the
hack. If she chooses to continue, she rolls Enigmas + Attribute again against the appropriate
Difficulty, but instead of a complex action, this becomes a series of single rolls; each time she is
successful, she gains a new pool of successes to spend on subversions. If she is in an unaware
system, she can spend as much time as she likes choosing how to spend her successes; however,
she must continue to buy off the Failsafe Complication on her rolls to avoid being detected. If
she is struggling for control of an alert system, then she will be rolling on a Round-by-Round or
minute-by-minute basis against the system’s agents.
Counters and Tracing
An agent protecting a system has additional countermeasures he can deploy against intrusions.
Whenever a hacker fails to buy off the Failsafe Complication during a hack against an aware
system, the agent can trigger one of the following outcomes.
Adjust Attitude: The agent shifts the system’s attitude negatively towards the hacker by 1 point.
This can only correct an attitude already shifted by the hacker; it cannot give the system a more
negative attitude than it began with.
Boot Hacker/Close Connection: This can only be done if the agent has successfully traced the
hacker. The agent makes an opposed check against the hacker, each using their Enigmas +
Attribute dice pools; if he succeeds, she is immediately booted from the system or has her hack
attempt terminated and all accrued Milestones lost.
Revalidation: This can only be done if the hacker has booted the agent from the system, and may
not be done during the same interval as the agent was booted. The agent must succeed at an
Enigmas + Cunning check, with success allowing him to re-enter the system.
Secure System: The agent tightens the security of the system, temporarily shifting its Attitude a
single point negatively towards the hacker for a number of Rounds equal to the agent’s Enigmas
(or half the Mental pool of an SI agent). A system’s attitude can only ever be shifted a single
point in this way.
Scan: The agent attempts to track any activities within the system, rolling his Enigmas +
Attribute dice pool to discover any subversions the hacker is perpetrating. Note that the hacker
may have applied a Complication to this via Hide Subversion.
Scrub: The agent attempts to undo subversions that the hacker has implemented, making an
Enigmas roll and spending his successes to remove successes spent on subversions he has
detected. He must fully buy off all successes in a subversion to get rid of it.
Trace: The agent attempts to trace the hacker’s connection. He makes an Enigmas roll and, if
successful, he tracks the hacker’s information footprint through the system. This allows him to
then perform other actions that require a trace, but he can also perform a second trace to follow
the hacker’s connection back to its origin — and can then attempt to initiate his own hack against
the hacker’s computer, acquire the hacker’s location, or other possibilities. Any Failsafe the
hacker possesses on her equipment applies as a Complication to the agent’s own trace attempt.

Surveillance and Counter Surveillance

13
There’s no shortage of surveillance in the 22nd Century — cities and space platforms have
networked surveillance systems, while at the individual level miniaturized cameras and
microphones, drones both large and small, bioware, and implanted tools of the trade are easy to
access. For those who want to avoid the watchful eye of the state, the art of counter surveillance
is key.
When characters attempt surveillance, or are trying to evade the surveillance of others, it can be
run as a scene of action-adventure or procedural action where the players make use of clever
plans, specific pieces of technology and the environment to keep watch on their targets or to
evade the same. However, it may sometimes be desirable to abstract the process when other
action sequences are also taking place concurrently or where the players and Storyguide just
aren’t that interested in the particulars and care more about the end result.
Abstracting surveillance is done with the Larceny + Attribute dice pool. If both surveillance and
counter surveillance are actively being used in a game of cat and mouse, both characters roll
their pool. If either side is passive, such as a surveillance team tracking an unsuspecting target or
a criminal trying to avoid being seen by a network of cameras that are not currently alert to her
fugitive status, then the Storyguide sets a basic Difficulty for the active side. The various tools
and techniques each side in the contest has should be awarded as Enhancements or
Complications to dice pools.
If the surveillance is successful, the character is able to track or observe her target; if the counter
surveillance is successful, the target is able to evade the surveillance or find any surveillance
equipment in an area he sweeps.

14
Chapter Seven: Psionics
Those who truly understand psionic powers need no explanation. Those who need
explanation will never understand.
—Anne McCaffrey
The subquantum universe exists alongside the physical universe, constantly touching every
point. It is a place of connections, where time and distance often depend on how closely
associated two objects are, rather than physical location. The emergence of psions gave humanity
the first tools needed to control this universe. All psions harness and manipulate the subquantum
universe to affect the physical world.

Psi
Psi measures a character’s synchronicity with the universe around her. Psionic energy pools in
creatures attuned to it, empowering and encouraging them to use it. As they practice harnessing
the subquantum flow, psions’ ability to store and command psionic energies grows. Characters
with higher Psi exert greater power, versatility, finesse, and control over their effects.
Even neutrals have a Psi trait, representing their basic, living connection to the subquantum
universe. Though normal humans resonate with the subquantum world, they have no control over
it. They possess a single dot of Psi, which generates a weak noetic field that allows them to use
and even format some bioware.
Most humans with latent psionic potential, and most newly triggered psions, possess two dots of
Psi. Particularly strong latents — those who may become teleporters or quantakinetics — must
purchase a third dot at character creation to gain those Aptitudes. The greatest psions in the
Trinity Continuum — the proxies — each have Psi traits of six or seven dots. While they
command powers that most other psions haven’t dreamed of, there’s no barrier preventing any
psion from reaching their potential. Anyone with the drive, patience, and resilience to overcome
failures and limitations can equal their knowledge and ability.
A character’s Psi directly contributes to the dice pool she uses to activate psionic powers, giving
experienced practitioners greater control the effects they generate.
[TABLE THIS]
Psi Description Mode Attunement Target Psi
Maximum Range Number points
• Normal Human 0 0 8 1
•• Latent/Recently 1*/5 Short 8 5
Triggered psion
••• Strong Latent+ 5 Medium 8 10
or Trained
psion
 •••• Experienced 5 Long 8 15
psion
••••• Veteran psion 5 Extreme (10 8 20
kilometers)
••••• • Transcending 6 Extreme (100 7 30
psion kilometers)
••••• •• Proxy 7 Extreme ^ (1,000 7 40
kilometers)

* Latent psions may have one dot in single Mode. They can’t consciously control it and may
only manifest the power at dramatically appropriate times, with the Storyguide’s permission. If
the character is later triggered into another Aptitude, she keeps this dot as her Auxiliary Mode.
Latents don’t have access to Attunement, nor can they access their Psi pool.
+ Latent quantakinetics and teleporters must have Psi 3 to be powerful enough to obtain these
Aptitudes.
^ Multiply Attunement range by 10 for each dot above seven.
[STOP TABLING THIS]
Psi points
Humans are psionic batteries. Even baseline humans retain a portion of the psionic energies that
move through them. Psions attract and store even more of this subquantum energy, and can use it
to manifest and control their powers.
A character’s pool of Psi points depends on her Psi trait as listed in the above table. The
minimum Psi point cost to manifest a power is stated in that power’s description. In addition to
the minimum activation cost, psions attempting to use powers beyond their dots in a Mode must
pay extra Psi points, even if the power is normally free to use. See Activating Psi Powers, p. XX.
A character regains her Psi trait in points every 10 minutes (five minutes for psions with Psi of 6
or 7) after ceasing psionic activity. A character who chooses to spend Psi points every nine
minutes (or is somehow forced to do so) can drain herself of psionic energies without recovering
any Psi points.
Attunement
Psions have an inherent awareness of the subquantum universe around them. This gives them the
ability to sense strong sources of psionic energy as well as to feel sudden, dramatic changes in
Psi flows. This Attunement allows a psion to feel these changes at greater distances as her Psi
trait increases, as per the table on p. XX.
The character may take an ordinary action to concentrate on her Attunement, rolling Psi + her
highest Mode. Success tells the psion if any strong Psi sources, such as powerful psions, potent
bioware, or psionic powers are being used within the character’s Attunement range. This doesn’t
reveal any information about the Psi source, although the character can spend additional
successes to discover more, such as the general direction, approximate range, or the strength
relative to the psion.
The drawback of this sensitivity is that the psion can’t tune out sudden or drastic shifts in the Psi
flow. Destruction on a massive scale (hundreds of simultaneous deaths in one location, a moon
exploding), or other significant disruptions to Psi (attack squads of powerful Aberrants using
their powers) can shock and distract the psion. Smaller, more intimate events — such as the
psion’s sister giving birth for the first time — can also have this effect. If such disruptions occur
within the psion’s Attunement range, the psion gains the Psychic Shock Mental Status Condition
that provides a Complication equal to Psi – Composure (if greater than zero). This Status
Condition lasts for the next scene unless someone provides the psion with telepathic
Psychbending or vitakinetic Iatrosis treatment capable of removing mental Status Conditions.

Noetic Connections & Templates

Everything in the physical universe interacts with the subquantum universe in a unique way. This
gives a distinctive signature that psions can use to target applicable powers towards specific
individuals, objects, or locations. Psions refer to these signatures as having a noetic connection to
the target. The table below shows how noetic connections influence the Difficulty of applicable
Psi activation rolls and how long it takes to attain.
Many noetic connections aren’t static, they fade over time. Material Connections fade after one
month. In the time listed below, Familiar Connections fade to Remembered Connections, and
after a similar time Remembered Connections fade entirely. Drastically changing the nature of
the target degrades any noetic connection far more rapidly. Altering or destroying an object,
rearranging the layout of a location, or subjecting a living being to Quantum or psionic powers
can hasten it. The Storyguide should feel free to reduce noetic connection as story events dictate.
Additionally, every living being, and most complex objects, have what psions call a noetic
template. In living creatures, the noetic template defines how it should be. It describes how
strong and smart the being is, its health, and details of the shape of its body and limbs. The noetic
template defines the limits of what is possible. A power that restores the template brings it back
to its usual level. A power that enhances this template usually can’t go beyond the maximum for
a member of that species.
The following are the different types of possible noetic connections.
Psionic Connection: You are currently in a telepathic Network (p. XX) with or using an
applicable psionic sense on the target. Formatted bioware always has this level of connection
with its user.
Sensory Connection: You can directly sense the target with your normal or psionic senses. This
is rarely longer than Medium range.
Material Connection: A small piece of an object, person, or location, like a lock of hair that is
no more than a month old.
Familiar Connection: Within the last several years, the psion lived in a location for at least a
month, spent one day per week there for a year or interacted with a person for either several
hours a day for a week or several hours a week for a month. After several years, this connection
fades to Remembered.
Within the last month, the psion carried or frequently used an object or vehicle for more than a
day. After a second month, this connection fades to Remembered.
Sharing the senses of someone who is currently has a Sensory or Direct Connection to the target
also counts as a Familiar Connection.
Remembered Connection: Within the last several years, the psion spent several days in a
location or interacted with a person for several hours.
Within the past month, the psion touched or used the object or vehicle for at least a few minutes.
Remembered Connections fade to nothing after the listed time.
Examining the memories of someone with either a Familiar or Remembered Connection to the
target also provides a Remembered Connection.
[TABLE THIS]
Noetic Connection Table
In all cases, only apply the best available noetic connection.
Connection Increased Difficulty
Psionic Connection +1 Enhancement, no increased Difficulty
Sensory Connection +0
Material Connection +1
Familiar Connection +2
Remembered Connection +3

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Aptitudes and Modes

Psionic abilities are divided into eight themes, called Aptitudes. Each Aptitude expresses one
aspect of the noetic totality — a term invented by quantakinetic scientists and quickly adopted by
clairsentients to describe the full range of possible noetic powers. Every Aptitude contains three
aspects called Modes, giving psions different pathways to explore in developing their command
of Psi. Aptitudes overlap at points, expressing similar effects in different ways. For example,
electrokinetics and vitakinetics can both temporarily enhance mental acuity, but each uses a
different method. Electrokinetics boost the electrical signals in their brains while vitakinetics
directly enhance their nerve cells.
Activating Psi Powers
To a trained psion, using her abilities is as natural as holding her breath. It takes some minor
effort, but is simple to achieve. Just like she can expend more effort and challenge herself to hold
that breath longer, psions can also push themselves to achieve greater effects than they normally
access.
Activating psionic powers usually requires an ordinary action. The character spends the required
Psi points and the player rolls the dice pool against the Difficulty. A character’s dice pool always
equals her Psi Trait plus the number of dots she has in the Mode she is using.
If the character’s dots in the Mode equals or exceeds the number of dots of the power, her default
Difficulty to activate that power is 1. Some powers have additional considerations that may
affect the Difficulty, like noetic connection (p. XX) to the target. A character attempting to use a
power beyond her Mode Dots adds the difference between her Mode Dots and the dots of the
attempted power to the Difficulty of the roll. She must also pay one additional Psi point per dot
of difference, in addition to any other costs associated with the power. For example, if the
character has two dots in a Mode but wants to attempt a four-dot power, she increases her
Difficulty by +2 and must pay two extra Psi points. In contrast, if the character’s Mode Dots
exceed the number of dots of the power that she wants to use, she applies the difference as an
Enhancement. Characters cannot attempt any six or seven dot powers they have not purchased.
A character’s Psi usually helps define a power’s effect. The greater a psion’s Psi Trait, the
greater her starting base, as shown in the table below. Unless clearly specified otherwise, Range
is used for a power’s range, Size determines how large an object the psion can affect with the
power, and Duration refers to how long a power lasts. All of these quantities increase as a
psion’s Psi increases. Every Mode power’s description refers to the relevant unit’s title, like
Duration or Range. Unless specified otherwise, a character can always choose to affect a lesser
Range, Size, or other quantity without cost, or end a power before its Duration has expired.
Regardless of the listed Duration, the character can cause a power to last indefinitely by
committing the Psi points she spent activating the power. She must commit one Psi point to
maintain powers that cost nothing to activate. The character can’t regain committed Psi points
while maintaining the power, but neither do they count as reactivating the power for purposes of
regaining Psi points. She can withdraw the Psi points at any time, after which she regenerates
them normally. If the power’s normal Duration has expired, the power ends instantly. Psions
can’t prolong powers like attacks, whose effects only last an instant.
[TABLE THIS]
Psi Trait Effects Table
Psi Trait Range Size Duration
•* Close 0 Rounds
•• Short 0 Rounds
••• Short 1 Minutes
•••• Medium 1 Hours
••••• Medium 2 Hours
••••• • Long 2 Days
••••• •• Long 3 Days
* All psions have at least two dots of Psi but some powers can change a character’s effective Psi
 [STOP TABLING THIS]
Similarly, several aspects of a power depend on the control the psion has over his Mode. Radius
is most often used to describe the radius of a power that affects everyone within an area, but it
also sometimes represents the range for short-range powers. Mode Dots/2 is commonly used for
powers that provide a modest bonus or penalty of some type. The power’s description details
what factors use this table.
[TABLE THIS]
Mode Dots Effects Table
Mode Dots Radius Mode Dots/2
• Close 1
•• Close 1
••• Short 2
•••• Short 2
••••• Short 3
••••• • Medium 3
••••• •• + Medium 4
+ Possessing seven dots in a Mode requires that character possess six dots in any Mode and also
know the singular seven dot power for that Aptitude.
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Example: A power’s description says it lasts the psion’s Mode Dots times his Duration. For a
psion with two-dots of Psi and three dots in his Mode, this power lasts three Rounds. For a proxy
with seven dots of Psi and five dots in that Mode, the same power lasts five days unless she
terminates it earlier.
Combining Multiple Modes
A psion can combine powers from her different Modes in a single action if she has appropriate
levels of understanding of the powers. She can only combine powers where she has sufficient
dots — she can’t push herself to access greater levels of power and combine these into a single
activation as a mixed action. She must pay the combined cost of each power she wishes to
activate.
Combining Multiple Aptitudes
Psions can combine their Aptitudes to gain access to more powerful effects. Combining powers
either requires two or more psions to be touching so their noetic fields interact with each other,
or that they linked via a Mindshare Network (p. XX). Touching doesn’t require skin-to-skin
contact as noetic fields extend a few millimeters from the psion through clothing or protective
gear.
The psions must harmonize their noetic fields to work with each other. This process requires one
Round, and the linkage continues until the psions wish to end it or they cease being in physical
contact or part of a Mindshare Network. As long as the linkage continues, the psions must
combine their powers and they can also take an ordinary action to share Psi points with each
other.
Each character uses her own powers, which are boosted by the others’ Psi. The psion activates
her power as per normal, but each psion who is part of the link must also spend 1 additional Psi
point (including the psion who is using the power). If anyone can’t (or won’t) pay this surcharge
the link ends instantly. The attempted power fails automatically, and expended Psi points are
lost.
The table below lists the bonus effects of combining powers. The psion using the power never
counts herself when determining bonuses, but psions of the same Aptitude grant each other
access to this bonus. Additionally, when two or more psions of the same Aptitude combine, each
considers their Psi to be +1 greater than usual, or +2 if one of the group is a proxy Tier psion.
Ordinary psions can’t increase their Psi above 6 dots in this manner, though proxy Tier psions
can increase Psi to 7 dots.
Example: A clairsentient, a psychokinetic, and a telepath combine powers. The clairsentient
adds the psychokinetic’s Psi to determine the level of her effect, and can affect or observe a
number of targets equal to the telepath’s Psi. She doesn’t gain access to using her powers at
Attunement range. Similarly, the telepath increases the range of her powers to her Attunement
(or Power x 10 light years for powers with Noetic connection range) and adds Psi to her level of
effect, but can’t use her powers on a number of targets equal to her Psi.
[TABLE THIS]
Bonuses for Combining Psionic Aptitudes
Secondary Enhanced Effect
Aptitude
Biokinesis Double the number of successes the primary psion has available to
spend, after accounting for Difficulty or Complications
Clairsentience Powers can be used at the clairsentient’s Attunement range. In addition,
powers that are already guided by noetic connection (p. XX) have a
maximum range of Psi x 10 light years.
Electrokinesis Multiply the duration of the power’s effect by the electrokinetic’s Psi
trait. If the effect normally lasts an instant — such as an attack — the
effect can be used again the next round without additional cost
Psychokinesis Add the psychokinetic’s Psi trait as Enhancement to powers used on
objects and devices
Quantakinesis Double the primary psion’s Psi trait when calculating dice pools and
effects
Telepathy Allow the primary psion to affect a number of target’s equal to the
telepath’s Psi with each use of a power that can normally only affect a
single target other than the psion.
Teleportation Increase the power’s area of effect by one Range Band. Powers without
an area of effect gain one equal to Short.
 Vitakinesis Add the vitakinetic’s Psi trait as Enhancement to powers on living
creatures

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Psions can also combine their abilities to take advantage of each Aptitude’s specialties and open
new ways to use their powers. This can produce otherwise impossible effects. For example,
biokinetics — who can only use their powers on themselves — can combine with vitakinetics to
access the noetic templates of others and shapeshift them. If a clairsentient joined this group, the
biokinetic could even attempt this shape shifting at range.
The sheer number of possibilities available to creative players through these combinations is
beyond the scope of these rules to list and describe. Players should be creative within the spirit of
these rules, with the Storyguide being the final arbiter of what is possible, how difficult it is, and
how much it costs.
Auxiliary Modes
No psion — not even the proxies — has exhibited the ability to manifest multiple Aptitudes.
However, some psions do show vestigial signs that humanity may overcome this limitation.
Psions may purchase a single dot in Modes from Aptitudes other than their primary Aptitude.
Characters aren’t limited in how many Auxiliary Modes they take, but can never possess more
than one dot in each Auxiliary Mode. Proxy Tier characters overcome some of this limitation,
allowing them to purchase up to two dots in each of their Auxiliary Modes.
Auxiliary Modes also provide access to that Aptitude’s basic powers. However, psions can’t
attempt to manifest greater effects than their Auxiliary Mode Dots allows or combine Auxiliary
Modes or their associated basic powers with any other powers, including their Aptitude. Finally,
gaining access to Quantakinesis or Teleportation Auxiliary Modes requires the character to
possess a Psi of at least three.
Proxy Tier Psions
The proxies and other Tier 3 psions transcend the limitations of lesser psions. Psions can only
raise their Psi to six if they also possess five dots in one aptitude Mode, as well as at least three
dots in another Mode. At this point, the character can increase her Psi to six, transforming herself
into a Proxy tier character, with all the advantages that entails, including changing her target
number from 8 to 7 (Trinity Continuum Corebook, p. XX).
Proxy Tier psions possess far greater Attunement ranges and larger pools of Psi points. They also
have access to unique powers. Only Proxy tier psions can purchase six dot powers in any of their
Modes. They can also learn their Aptitude’s single seven dot power. To purchase a seven-dot
power, characters must have seven dots of Psi and six dots in at least one Mode.
Psionic Dysfunction
Although Aptitudes divide into thematic Modes, psions should not study them in isolation.
Neglecting to develop all three Modes imbalances the human mind, leads to dysfunction. A psion
suffering dysfunction develops strange personality quirks and finds it harder to interact with her
peers.
While rare, psionic dysfunction isn’t unknown. Many psions are tempted to improve their
favored abilities at the expense of those they find less appealing. Dysfunction also tends to
increase the psion’s ability in the unbalanced Mode, making it challenging to convince the
sufferer to rehabilitate. Further, dysfunction makes it more difficult for the psion to use her other
Modes. Sufferers tend to focus even further on their dysfunctional Mode, which comes most
easily to her.
Additionally, dysfunction interferes with the psion’s ability to combine her powers with others.
This interference can go so far as temporarily draining the other psions’ lesser Modes, ‘infecting’
them with dysfunction of their own if they spend too much time with a noetic connection to the
imbalanced individual.
The public is currently unaware that dysfunction exists. Sensationalized newscasts and paparazzi
reports aren’t taken seriously. Besides, the public doesn’t possess enough knowledge about Psi to
understand that strange behavior is an actual condition and not just a result of the psion having a
bad day. The Psi Orders and the Æon Trinity work to downplay dysfunction’s existence, as
neither wants humanity to think that psions will inevitably slip into madness like the Aberrants
before them.
A character suffers dysfunction if any one Mode is more than two greater than her next highest
Mode. A character with 3 dots in only one Mode would be dysfunctional, as would a character
who has 1 dot in two of her Modes and 4 dots in the third.
A dysfunctional psion gains an Enhancement when using his dysfunctional Mode equal to half
the difference between the dysfunctional Mode and the next highest Mode (rounded down). For
example, a character with 4 dots in her primary Mode and only a single dot in another Mode
would gain 1 Enhancement.
The character also suffers greater Difficulty when using other Modes. This equals the difference
between the dysfunctional and next highest Mode. In the example above, the psion would suffer
+3 Difficulty when using his other Modes. Dysfunction only applies to the character’s primary
Aptitude. Dots in Auxiliary Modes don’t count towards staving off dysfunction, nor do they
suffer the increased Difficulty.
Dysfunctional psions display personality quirks associated with their dysfunctional Mode. A
biokinetic with dysfunctional Adaptation may exhibit an extremely cavalier attitude towards
danger as she’s sure her body and Psi will meet any challenge. A psychokinetic with dysfunction
towards Telekinesis may obsess with the location of small items around him and constantly
move them about, making it difficult for him to focus on anything but this movement. Players are
encouraged to define and express the character’s quirks and find ways in which they hamper the
character or her peers. The Storyguide should reward this role playing, either through providing
Enhancement bonuses or by awarding additional Experience.

Psionic Dice Pools and Cost

As was stated above, a character’s dice pool to use all psionic powers always equals
the number of dots she has in the Mode she is using plus her Psi Trait and all Basic
Powers use the character’s highest Mode plus her Psi Trait as their dice pool. As a
result, the dice pools for individual Mode powers are not listed. Also, if no Psi point
cost is listed for a power, it costs 0 Psi points, but the character must still commit 1
psi point to it to cause it to continue indefinitely.
Biokinesis
Biokinesis allows psions to control their own body. Biokinetics’ control over their own anatomy
and physiology surpasses vitakinetics’ in some areas. Their abilities focus solely on themselves;
biokinetic powers can’t directly affect another being, though their effects can. A biokinetic
couldn’t alter a person’s mind to make him trust the psion, but she could exude waves of tailored
pheromones to set the target at ease.
Basic Powers
All characters with even one dot of Biokinesis possess the following powers.
Biosense
Biokinetics are keenly aware of individual life forms around them. Each creature registers a
unique signature to the psion’s senses. With some effort, the biokinetic can search through this
constant living “noise” to differentiate between signatures and search for specific signals.
System: If successful, the psion senses all individual living beings within Short range. She can
screen out microscopic life with a thought, and can spend successes to refine types of life, such
as mammal, reptile, human, or ant. Biosense lasts Psi Duration.
Form Mastery
The biokinetic specializes in certain shapes made from her malleable flesh. She can shift into
these forms with minimal effort, wearing them for as long as she desires.
System: The player crafts her desired shape from the various Transmogrification powers
available to the character. This can include transformations from different dot ratings, but she
must possess sufficient dots in a Mode; she can’t extend her power beyond what she knows.
Total the successes; extra Psi points (in addition to the powers’ base costs) may be required to
perform all the transformations in this shape. The character pays one Experience per two
successes or extra Psi points (round down) needed to gain permanent access to the form.
Thereafter, she can transform into this shape as a reflexive action by spending the Psi point cost
of using the highest Mode that is part of this transformation. The form endures while she
commits this Psi point and otherwise lasts for her Mode Dots times her Duration.
Adaptation
Adaptation protects the psion against hostile environments. Surviving temperature extremes,
resisting toxins, or shifting moment-by-moment to mitigate damage from combat are
Adaptation’s purview. Adaptation also protects all formatted biotech the psion is wearing or
touching.
Adaptation always tries to activate to protect the psion. Whenever the psion encounters a
circumstance that Adaptation could defend against, the power automatically uses a reflexive
action on behalf of the character. This requires no conscious effort, but she must have sufficient
Psi points to trigger the effect and still makes an activation roll for the power to work. Automatic
activation only applies to techniques the character has sufficient dots for. Though she can push
herself to use more difficult powers, these won’t activate automatically. The character can
consciously choose to prevent this automatic activation.
Resist (•)
The psion mitigates sources of harm coming from within her body. She can alter biochemical
processes, concentrate immune responses towards foreign objects, and strengthen her biological
template to resist alterations. She can isolate and expel a toxin without altering or being affected
by its toxicity. The psion can also cleanse herself of dirt and grime through this power, altering
her skin and hair to repel these substances and take an instant psionic shower.
System: Success reduces the damage rating of hazards such as toxins, irritants, and diseases
within the psion’s body by an amount equal to her Mode Dots. If the power reduces the damage
rating to zero the character can either internally neutralize the substance, or expel it intact from
her body. If the damage rating of a hazard is not reduced to zero, it continues to damage the
psion at the reduced rate. She can spend additional successes to further reduce the damage rating
at one success per point of reduction. Each activation resists all internal hazards present at that
time for as long as the psion remains in their presence. If she encounters new harmful substances,
she must activate the power again. The psion need only spend a single success to clean her body
as if she had bathed.
Acclimatize (••)
A psion can adjust his physiology to best suit the environment. If exposed in a frozen snowfield,
he could draw body heat inwards to maintain core temperature, and adjust his retinal response to
avoid snow-blindness from the excessive glare. In a desert, he could increase surface blood flow
to better shed heat, while reducing sweat to minimize water loss. In a smoky room, he can filter
the air in his throat or allow himself to avoid suffocation for hours. However, this power can’t
fully protect the character from exceptionally swift and deadly threats.
System: The psion suffers no penalties from increased or decreased gravity that is less than
extreme gravity (p. XX), and can also ignores all environmental indirect damage with the
Continuous (hour) tag as well as all environmental indirect damage with the Continuous
(Minute) tag that does not also possess the Aggravated tag. The psion can reduce the damage
rating of other forms of environmental indirect damage by one per success spent. Reducing the
damage rating of these sources of damage to zero changes them from Continuous (Rounds) to
Continuous (minute) or from Continuous (minute) damage to Continuous (hour).
Each activation resists all environmental hazards present at that time — if the biokinetic is in
zero gravity, surrounded by corrosive acid and hot gases, he would be protected all three. The
psion must activate the power again if he encounters a new hazard. The psion can also use this
power to temporarily give himself either the one dot Mars Adaptation or the one dot Low
Gravity Adaptation Edge (p. XX) for one success. The power lasts for his Mode Dots times her
Duration or while the character remains in contact with the hazard, whichever is shorter.
Metabolic Control (•••)
The biokinetic controls the speed of her body’s processes. While this can reduce harmful
conditions, it also works to repair damage. The psion can slow blood flow, increase adrenaline
and neurotransmitter production, or even overcharge her healing processes.
Cost: 1 Psi
System: If successful, the character changes the rate of one aspect of her physiology. For
functions that take a defined time, such as healing, holding her breath, or going without water
she multiplies (or divides) the time by Mode Dots + successes. For processes not measured in
time, such as Initiative, the character either adds (or subtracts) Mode Dots/2 to her total. The
character can spend additional successes to further change this rate on a one for one basis.
Alternately, the character can spend 2 successes to affect a second biological process. These
changes last her Mode Dots times her Duration.
Adapt (••••)
The biokinetic’s body makes extreme changes to temporarily cope with almost any hostile
condition. He can survive the vacuum of space, dive through Jupiter’s toxic atmosphere without
a spacesuit, swim to the deepest depths of Earth’s ocean, or act normally in 5 Gs.
Cost: 2 Psi
System: By spending 2 Psi, the psion upgrades Acclimatize so that he ignores all environmental
indirect damage with the Continuous tag and ignores all negative effects of extreme gravity. For
the duration of this power, the character’s body automatically changes as required to meet any
new environmental challenges. The power lasts for his Mode Dots times his Duration.
Survive (•••••)
The psion’s body works to adapt to any hostile situation, not just environmental. Her skin
thickens in an instant to the toughness of crocodile hide to resist blade or bullet, becomes
translucent and crystalline to disperse laser blasts, or highly conductive on the surface and
resistant beneath to ground electricity without harm. She can also regenerate lost limbs and vital
organs. As long as she survives, she can overcome grievous damage to become whole again.
Cost: 3 Psi
System: Success both increases the Difficulty of all attempts to use the Inflict Damage stunt
against her and reduces the damage rating of all forms of indirect damage by an amount equal to
her Mode Dots. This bonus persists for Mode Dots Scenes, as her body instinctively shifts shape
to counter whatever seeks to harm her.
During this time, she can also spend successes to instantly regenerate body parts and remove
both Injury and Status Conditions, as per the following table.
[TABLE THIS]
Biokinesis Regeneration Table
Regenerate Successes
Finger, eye, hand, foot 1
Limb, non-vital internal organ 2
Vital internal organ 3
Spine, brain 4
Injury & Status Conditions 1 per Condition modifier

[STOP TABLING THIS]

Psychomorphing
Psychomorphing explores the workings of the psion’s body within the possibilities of what it
means to be human. He may ‘redraw’ his biological template to reshape or improve it, at least
temporarily. Except for alterations that are designed to be noticeable, such as changes to skin or
hair color, the effects of Psychomorphing are invisible to others.
Adjust (•)
The psion can fine tune his body, refining his abilities to match his desires. He can change the
coloration of his skin, hair or eyes, or change the elasticity of his skin to give the appearance of
wrinkles (or remove them), but cannot change his build or face shape. He can also optimize the
makeup of his muscles and bones to suit a given need, but he is confined by the limitations of his
biological template; he must take from one Attribute to add to another. However, he can’t
otherwise change his appearance.
System: Success allows the character to shift a number of physical features or physical
Attributes equal to Mode Dots per success spent, taking points from one Physical Attribute to
add the same number of points to another. These adjustments last his Mode Dots times his
Duration, but cannot reduce any Physical Attribute below one dot or increase any Attribute
above his potential maximum. The character can also spend one success to temporarily gain or
remove the Striking Edge.
Enhance (••)
The biokinetic learns to augment the limitations of her biological template, overwriting it with
pure Psi. The character can increase any of her Physical Attributes to maximum human levels,
although she can’t exceed this limit. She can also enhance herself in other relatively minor ways.
Cost: 1 Psi point
System: The character may add one dot to any one physical Attribute for every success spent, up
to her practical maximum for each Attribute (Trinity Continuum Corebook, p. XX). The
character’s adjustments also allow her to temporarily purchase Physical Edges at a cost of one
success per dot. In addition, the psion can spend 1 success to do any one of the following:
Increase her Speed Scale by +1 (to an absolute maximum of 3 if combined with the Swift Edge),
hold her breath for one Scene, or survive without harm or impairment for 1 week without water
or 1 month without food. However, doing the last two requires committing 1 Psi point.
Otherwise, transformations endure for her Mode Dots times her Duration.
Compartmentalize (•••)
The biokinetic has absolute control over substances entering or leaving his body. He could take
in toxins or poisonous gases, and then isolate and store them for later release. He can also control
whether he leaves behind biological traces such as hair, skin flakes, or DNA and incorporate
formatted bioware in his body, merging it within his flesh, both concealing it and reducing its
Tolerance.
Cost: 1 Psi point
System: The biokinetic leaves almost no biological traces while the power is active, including
fingerprints. Apply the psion’s Mode Dots as a Difficulty for rolls attempting to track or identify
the character by such traces. The character can also ingest one substance for later release per
success spent, storing it for his Mode Dots times his Duration. If the substance’s Damage Rating
– the character’s Mode Dots is greater than zero, the character takes damage as per the reduced
level. Incorporating bioware using this power is permanent until the psion wishes to expel it, and
does not require committing Psi points. Incorporated bioware reduces its Formatting Tolerance
by 1, but the psion can only incorporate a number of pieces of bioware equal to his Psi.
Overcome (••••)
Human flesh and bone no longer limit the biokinetic’s desires. While she still can’t reach
superhuman levels, she can control her body’s mechanical processes however she wants, as long
as she has something to work with. She can twist joints in any direction, make her feet hyper
flexible to grasp objects as easily as with his hands, or lock himself in position so that she
doesn’t tire. The psion has absolute control over her body as long as even the thinnest threads of
flesh connect the parts. This control also extends to a biochemical level and allows the psion to
tailor pheromones to influence and persuade people around him.
Cost: 2 Psi points
System: Success grants the character an Enhancement equal to her Mode Dots to all rolls that
would benefit from the character’s mercurial shape changing. This generally applies to all
Physical rolls, with the Storyguide ruling on whether it applies to Mental or Social tasks. In
addition, she can also release specific pheromones to aid social interactions, spending one
success per +1 Enhancement or to shift the attitude over everyone in Close range towards the
character by one point in either direction. Each pheromone must be focused towards a single
specific goal, such as intimidation or seduction, and only provides benefit if the target can sense
the pheromones. If desired, characters can use multiple successes to produce multiple
pheromones. Pheromones are ineffective if the psion or target are in sealed space suits or are
more than Close range from each other. This power lasts her Mode Dots times her Duration.
Perfection (•••••)
The biokinetic can now move beyond human limitations, enhancing themselves to superhuman
levels. The character can redesign his inner workings, moving organs to new locations, or even
deconstruct organs to distribute throughout his body without affecting function. He can toughen
his skin and ignore nerve impulses. He can also withstand incredible bodily trauma and continue
acting long after he should be dead.
Cost: 3 Psi points
System: The character can now use Enhance to increase physical Attributes up to a maximum of
his Potential Maximum +1 for each physical Attribute and up to his practical maximum for each
mental or social Attribute (Trinity Continuum Corebook, p. XX). He can also add any
reasonable temporary mental, physical, or social Edges. The psion can also purchase additional
temporary Bruised Condition Boxes for two successes each, or additional Maimed Condition
Boxes for one success each. Damage recorded in these disappears when the power ends, with
injuries absorbed by the biokinetic’s redundant organs and flesh. All changes endure for his
Mode Dots times his Duration.
Transmogrify
Transmogrify manipulates the biokinetic’s appearance. More than just cosmetic changes, this
Mode modifies cellular structures and makes the physiological alterations required to sustain the
transformations. Transmogrify’s effects can confuse and alarm those not used to biokinetic
displays. Radically shifted biokinetics have been confused for Aberrants.
 Armor and Weapon Tags for Psion Powers
Various Modes can provide psions with armor or attacks, both of which use armor
tags and weapon tags. See the armor tags and the weapon tags in the (Trinity
Continuum Corebook (pp. XX-XX) and (pp. XX-XX), and the new armor tags
and weapon tags in this book (pp. XX-XX) and (pp. XX-XX).

Plasticity (•)
The biokinetic can overcome various mechanical restrictions on her body without losing
functionality. She can soften her bones and tissues to the consistency of soft rubber. She can
stretch out her skin and muscles to shape her body, extend her reach, or flatten herself to only a
few centimeters thick and fit into narrow spaces.
System: The character can stretch his reach a number of additional meters equal to his Mode
Dots. She can soften and flatten himself to fit through gaps no smaller than (10 – Mode Dots)
centimeters. The biokinetic can also build shapes from her malleable body, such as wings. While
she lacks the strength to fly, she could flatten and stretch herself to glide or mitigate falling
damage. These changes last her Mode Dots times her Duration. The character’s close combat
attacks automatically gain the Reach tag, and add the Entangle tag by spending one success
Gross Manipulation (••)
The psion makes obvious and unsubtle changes to his physical form, without drastically
changing his overall structure. Psions typically use these changes as quick offensive or defensive
measures. He could grow additional eyes, plate herself in armor, or sprout tentacles. He can
sharpen his fingers into knives or other simple mechanical tools. He can also adjust her features
and general build. These changes aren’t enough to mimic anyone else’s appearance or improve
the psion’s Attributes, but can make him unrecognizable to pursuers.
System: The psion alters aspects of himself by spending successes as per the chart below.
Enhancement bonuses granted by these modifications for any non-combat purposes are equal to
his Mode Dots/2. The psion designs each modification to accomplish a specific purpose. Each
separate modification costs successes – see the table below. Extra limbs allow psions to hold and
manipulate objects, and may allow characters to perform more and more complex mixed actions
in a Round, like using two hands to pick a lock, and a third to fire a gun. Additional sensory
organs can allow the character to perform tasks like seeing around corners by putting an eye on
his fingertip.
If he is instead transforming his body into armor or weapons, then the psion gains a pool of
points equal to his Mode Dots + successes in tags to use to create these armor and weapons.
Weapons formed through this power all possess the Melee tag and can have any of the following
Weapon Tags: Brutal, Deadly, Entangle (2), Grapple, Piercing, Pushing, Quality (2, 3), Reach,
Shield (2), and Weighted. Similarly, he can add the Complete (3), Composite (2), Defensive (2),
Hard (1) or Soft (1, 2) tags to armor formed by this power. All changes last for his Mode Dots
times his Duration.
[TABLE THIS]
Non-Combat Successes Required
Modifications
 Tool 1
Appendages 2 per appendage
Sensory organs 1
Cosmetic changes 1 for any desired changes

[STOP TABLING THIS]

Transformation (•••)
Transformation doesn’t explore dramatic changes away from human norms; it develops the
psion’s absolute fine control over human appearance. She can change her hair and eye color,
alter her height, weight, body shape, or sex, and can even modify her finger and retina prints if
she likes. With sufficient effort, she can impersonate another person in near perfect disguise.
These changes aren’t merely cosmetic; physiological processes shift as needed, including
reproductive capacity.
Cost: 1 Psi point
System: Success changes appearance as per the table below. Although the biokinetic can
impersonate an individual’s appearance, any trace evidence she leaves normally won’t match
that person. However, if she has a Psionic Connection (p. XX) with the person through using
Biosense, she can duplicate his precise details, such as retina prints, fingerprints, blood type, or
DNA traces. All changes last her Mode Dots times her Duration.
[TABLE THIS]
Modification Successes Required
Cosmetic (skin, hair or eye color) 1 for all
Dimensions (height or weight) 1 per 10% change from unaltered
Physical sex 2
Copy identifying detail (requires a Psionic 1 per detail
Connection)
Impersonate individual 4
Precisely copy individual (requires a Psionic 5
Connection)

[STOP TABLING THIS]

Chimera (••••)
The biokinetic can alter his form in radical and inhuman ways, replicating most any function
found in the biological world and transforming into other animals of Size 1. He can alter his
senses to detect heat, infrasound, sonar, or even a planet’s magnetic field. He can grow a
biological laser or venom glands and the fangs or stingers needed to deliver the poison. He could
even give himself a set of functional wings or a carapace of tortoiseshell armor. His practical
limits are his imagination. Whatever the modification, his power ensures he can use it for its
intended purpose.
Cost: 2 Psi points
System: In addition to providing the psion with information not otherwise available, new senses
can provide him with 1 Enhancement per success to relevant actions. If the biokinetic wishes to
improve several senses at once, he can allocate the successes as desired. The player can also
increase the character’s Speed Scale (including flying speed) at a cost of two successes per +1
Speed Scale (to a maximum of Speed Scale 4).
These changes can also duplicate the functions of any worn or handheld formattable biotech
device listed in either the everyday technology (pp. XX-XX), display gear (p. XX), or spy tech
(pp. XX-XX) sections of Chapter 8, at a cost of one success per dot of Cost and a minimum cost
of one success. This power can also give the psion either the Amphibious or Aquatic Conversion
Edges at a cost of one success per dot.
The psion can also create armor or weapons, including unusual weapons, like laser eyes, sonic
screams, organic dart or flamethrowers, electrical generation organs, or poison sprayers. The
psion gains a pool of points equal to his Mode Dots to purchase armor and weapon tags that
make sense for the form, including the Environmental 0 armor tag against any one particular
threat, but not the Environmental 1 or 2 armor tags (p. XX), which are beyond the range of this
power. Psions can add an additional number of tags equal to their Mode Dots by spending 1 Psi
point. However, the Quality (2, 3) tag is forbidden. Instead, weapons created in this fashion
always possess an Enhancement equal to the number of successes the psion wishes to allocate to
it. Also, this power cannot duplicate the powers of any psi gauntlets. All changes last his Mode
Dots times his Duration.
Imbue Instinct (•••••)
The psion can impart independent action to discrete parts of her body. She could give her hand
and arm the ability to fire independently at hostile targets while she concentrates on hacking a
lock. Alternatively, she could grow silk-weaving spinnerets with Chimera and have them make a
continuously updated anchor point while she ascends a sheer cliff-face. Even more alarmingly,
the biokinetic can separate chunks of her flesh, mold them into shape, and give them enough
intelligence to perform independent tasks. At this level of power, the biokinetic can also use
Chimera to change her Size.
Cost: 3 Psi points
System: The character gains bonuses for making mixed actions. When using this power, she can
select a number of specific actions up to her Psi that she will be taking, like shooting a gun,
climbing a wall, or hacking a computer, and she gains a +1 Enhancement to all of these actions
for every two successes she rolls (round up). However, only these tasks gain this bonus, and the
character’s current physical form must be capable of performing all of the desired actions.
The character can spend one success to separate a Condition Box worth of flesh and provide it
with limbs, senses, and a single relatively specific purpose, like “scout the next room and report
back” or “attack anyone but me who comes through this door”. The biokinetic has no innate
sense of what these independent portions experience, though she has a general sense of their
location and wellbeing. She can remerge with it with a touch, gaining its experiences as if she
were there. The psion can also use any previous Transmogrify power to alter her Size down to
Size 0 (medium sized dog or large raccoon) or up to Size 2 (large grizzly bear or draft horse).
This power lasts a number of hours equal to her Mode Dots, but independent portions of the
psion persist until the psion either reabsorbs them or they are destroyed.
Transcending and Proxy Tier Powers
Only proxy Tier psions can learn these powers.
Fleshcrafter (••••• •)
Fleshcrafter is three separate powers, one each for Adaptation, Psychomorphing, and
Transmogrify. These powers are only accessible to proxy Tier psions. These powers don’t
provide a new effect, they increase the effect of every other power in that Mode.
System: When using a power from a Mode for which the psion has Fleshcrafter, he may spend
an additional Psi point to increase the Scale of one aspect of the power, like Speed Scale, by one,
increase any Enhancement by +2, or to multiply any numerical quantities like rate of healing by
five.
Clone (••••• ••)
The biokinetic can make fully independent copies of herself. These clones share her memories
and personality, but are fully independent entities. They gain all of the character’s skills, and
may possess her psionic potential. These clones also share the psion’s noetic template, which can
confuse powers that rely on identifying this usually unique signature. This also means the proxy
can use her biokinetic powers on her clones, but doing so requires touch. Clones can merge with
each other or the original with a simple touch if both individuals wish it. They can’t be uncreated
with just a thought.
Cost: 10 Psi points
System: The clone requires one hour to mature, reduced by 10 minutes per success spent
(minimum one minute), during which the proxy must devote her attention to it. The clone exactly
matches the proxy’s skills and Attributes but the proxy must spend one success per dot of Psi
that the clone will possess. The clone can have lower Psi than the proxy if she lacks the requisite
successes, or chooses to make the clone less powerful. The clone possesses all the proxy’s
memories and experiences at its time of creation. It survives until killed, dies of old age, or when
reabsorbed to gain its memories. A proxy can never have more than Psi copies of himself at
once. Clones can never use the Clone power.

Clairsentience
Clairsentience opens a psion’s mind to interconnected layers of reality. Everything that has led to
the moment that is now, and everything that is forges the pathway to future events. Clairsentients
can cast their minds across the universe to see the present. They can peel back time and study
how past events occurred. Less reliably, they can watch the interconnections play out to predict
the most likely futures, or even influence the connections and choose their own path.

Clears see Everything!

Many Storyguides wonder how they can build a mystery scenario with
clairsentients around. It’s true that it’s all but impossible to hide from powerful
 clairsentients who focus their attention on you, but for many practical reasons, this
generally isn’t going to happen.
Firstly, psions aren’t that common compared to the rest of humanity. Clairsentients
are a fraction of that number — around 5,000 across all human space — and only
a handful of clears are powerful enough to see everything.
Secondly, most clairsentients aren’t psionic detectives just waiting to solve
mundane crimes. They have a universe to help colonize, alien threats to face, and
other psions to keep an eye on. Barring extraordinary circumstances, most people
are never going to attract a clear’s attention.
Thirdly, characters possess several ways to avoid Clairsentient observation.
Various companies sell devices to fill an area with psionic static that confounds Psi
powers (p. XX). Also, individuals with enough information about Clairsentience
know that significant, emotive events tend to draw more attention from psionic
senses than quiet, undramatic actions. Such people cause deliberate chaos to
obfuscate their own actions, or plan their timings so they occur within strong
emotional events, such as weddings, funerals, or even sporting matches. Also, some
Aptitudes have specific powers designed to avoid detection and hide what they’re
doing from prying eyes.

Basic Powers
All characters with even one dot of Clairsentience possess the following powers.
The Sight
Clairsentients are more keenly attuned to subtle psionic fluctuations than their peers, able to
sense and influence these flows. When using Attunement they receive more information. They
can feel Psi energy moving through objects and living creatures, can sense strong latency, gauge
the strength of nearby psions, or hone in on the active use of powers. The psion’s ability to alter
psionic fluctuations is extremely limited, but he can impart messages in special biotech
receptacles called focal crystals (p. XX).
Sensing the presence of Psi also helps clairsentients be more aware of areas corrupted by
Aberrants. Quantum energies interfere with the proper flow of the subquantum universe and
stand out to the clairsentient like dark spots against a bright background. This luminescence can
make isolated Corruption difficult to pinpoint as it masks the darkness. Detecting a location
where multiple Aberrants have used their powers is simple, whereas finding one Aberrant hiding
within a heavily populated area is challenging.
System: In addition to the usual information a psion gains from using Attunement, if successful,
the clairsentient knows the Psi trait, current number of Psi points, and the Aptitude of each psion
within his Range, and whether or not a neutral has a strong latency. Characters capable of
masking or shielding themselves from such probing oppose this roll with their own Psi (or
equivalent trait) + relevant power or ability. The clear can also sense any Corruption zones or
Terat Aberrants (p. XX) within range. Also, for one success, the clairsentient can record a brief
message (no more than five minutes of speech or video, or a similar quantity of images or text)
on any focal crystal within Close range.
Extended Attunement
In addition to sensing more than other psions, a clairsentient’s Attunement also extends further.
System: Add the clairsentient’s highest Clairsentient Mode Dots to her Psi trait for the purposes
of establishing her effective Attunement dots and range (p. XX). When using Attunement, the
clear is also aware of any focal crystals within range that contain messages (p. XX), and can
spend a success to read the message. The psion knows before she spends a success whether she
has previously read a message.
Psychometry
Everything has its own unique signature in the subquantum universe. When the signatures of
different creatures, places, or objects interact, they inevitably leave noetic impressions. Events
with strong emotion or significant activity converge make more noticeable impressions, but even
the least significant interaction detectably changes the subquantum universe. Practitioners of
Psychometry can sense these changes and use them to delve into the past and understand how it
relates to the present.
Psychometry is normally limited to seeing no more than a number of days equal to the psion’s
Mode Dots into the past. However, at the Storyguide’s discretion, the psion can see powerful
psionic or Quantum events or particularly impressive significant events (see below) up to Mode
Dots months or for the most powerful events, even Mode Dots years or centuries in the past.
However, this longer timeline only ever applies to places or objects, never to living creatures,
since living things change too much over time.
Objects and locations that have been buried or entirely abandoned for centuries or even for tens
of thousands of years have not had their previous noetic impressions diluted by later events. As a
result, Psychometry can be exceedingly useful in ruins and other archeological sites. Details are
often somewhat less clear than normal, but a powerful significant event from 30,000 years ago
can still leave noticeable traces.

Significant Events
Psychometry powers provide awareness of what psions call significant events.
These are moments of extreme emotion, considerable change, or those crowded
with living noetic templates. Significant moments obfuscate other details that the
psion may seek. Opponents who know how Clairsentience works can use this to
their advantage and plan accordingly.
The Storyguide should assign Complications to a character’s roll when significant
moments obscure the details she seeks. Although her power will work, she won’t
necessarily gain the detail she wants or may see the significant event instead.

Living Echo (•)

The impact of living creatures on the noetic universe is far stronger than almost any inanimate
object. By touching an object or individual, the clairsentient can sense who it encountered in the
past. While this power doesn’t identify unknown individuals, it gives a sense of their psionic
imprint, which the clairsentient will recognize if she has encountered them before, or does so in
future.
Living Echo delivers little on the nature of the interaction. If a killer purchased a knife from a
store and used it to murder someone, that knife would resonate with the victim, the salesperson,
and the killer, but wouldn’t reveal who was the murderer. Similarly, if the victim’s husband
discovered the body and touched the knife, he too would register to the clear’s senses. With
sufficient successes, the clairsentient can somewhat overcome this limitation, learning the
‘flavor’ of each encounter. The salesperson might give a sense of boredom or routine, while the
killer was angry and the husband as overwhelmed by grief.
System: Success grants the character an awareness of people and items who encountered the
object in the last a number of days equal to the psion’s Mode Dots. The psion can spend one
success to become gain a Familiar Connection (p. XX) with any object or individual she detects
through this power or to learn more about the interaction. The psion can also use successes to
purchase either a raw information or an interpretation clue (Trinity Continuum Corebook, p.
XX) about the interaction.
Area Insight (••)
The psion understands more than just who an object or person encountered, she also gains
impressions of the places it has been. This is less a map and more like flashes of varying
strengths. The more significant the location was to the object, the stronger the impression and
easier it is to gain details. The psionic impression doesn’t identify where the locations are,
though the clairsentient understands the kind of place (a living room, interrogation cell, cargo
freighter) and recognizes them if she encounters them or has been there before. The clairsentient
can use this power on himself to study previous experiences, examining the noetic signatures
present at every point and possibly gaining insight or information he didn’t have at the time.
System: The character sees the most significant locations where an object was for a number of
days equal to his Mode Dots. The Storyguide should provide more detailed information
depending on the character’s degree of success, providing one clue of any type about the object
or location he detects using this power. The psion can also spend one success or Psi point to gain
a Familiar Connection (p. XX) with any such object or location.
Locational Memory (•••)
The psion casts her mind back through past events within the area around her, gaining an overall
awareness of every creature and object that moved through the area, as well as the actions they
took and even hints of the emotions they felt there. Like previous forms of Psychometry, this is
less like reviewing a holographic recording of the area and more an overlapping kaleidoscope of
psionic impressions — powerful actions, events, and presences stand out more than those that
passed by without undue notice. The clairsentient can expend effort to focus on specific events
and gain a better understanding of how they transpired. This may provide understanding of how
to overcome obstacles or interact with others. The psion can also focus this ability on an object
or vehicle, learning details of how it was used.
Cost: 1 Psi point
System: The character sees events that occurred in her immediate vicinity for a number of days
equal to the psion’s Mode Dots. If the character seeks specific information or clues, like the code
for a keypad, or where someone put a particular object, her number of successes determines the
level of detail she gains. One success allows the psion to learn one clue of any type about events
that occurred in that area, including information like the code punched into a keypad, where
someone placed a particular object, or how any people involved were feeling. Finally, the psion
can spend one success or Psi point to gain a Familiar Connection (p. XX) with any object or
individual she detects through this power. If the psion rolls a sufficient number of successes, he
can also gain detailed information about how users typically operate a device or vehicle, see the
table below for information.
[TABLE THIS]
Interaction Successes required Example
Complex 3 How to operate conventional machinery
Difficult 4 How to operate unusual machinery
Alien 5 How to operate alien technology

[STOP TABLING THIS]

Forking Timelines: (••••)
The clairsentient can follow the timeline of people and objects he has a noetic connection to. By
following noetic interactions, the psion can see what happened to the subject of his interest. He
does not need to have ever encountered the subquantum signature personally to gain information
on it. The psion could trace the purchase of an item back to the seller, then follow her psionic
signature to gain an impression of where she has travelled and who she interacted with. With
sufficient effort, or subsequent uses of this power, he can switch his focus and watch multiple
timelines unfold. This power can only see to the present, it gains no insight into the future.
Cost: 2 Psi points
System: If successful, the clear can follow the timeline of any object or person he has a noetic
connection. The psion can trace the target for a number of days equal to his Mode Dots per
success spent, through to the present. The psion can also spend one success to gain a Sensory
Connection with any other object or individual he detects through this power. He can then spend
1 Psi point to switch the focus of the power to one of these targets, but doesn’t gain additional
days of awareness unless he spends more successes or reactivates the power. The psion gains
only minimal information about events that took place outside of his Extended Attunement
Range, although he can spend additional successes to boost his Extended Attunement by one
point per success, up to a maximum of 13 (one billion km). Additionally, the psion gains no
information at all about any events that occur more than Psi x 10 light years away.
Convergence (•••••)
With this power, the clairsentient can psionically ‘mark’ any object, person, or location whose
noetic signature she has sensed at any point in its timeline. The subquantum universe contrives to
bring the psion and the object together. The workings of this power are subject to considerable
debate amongst psionic researchers as it appears to violate the laws of causality — though the
psion only decided to summon the object at the moment she learned of it in the present, it was
always fated to come to her from the moment that caught her attention in the past.
Cost: 3 Psi points
System: If successful, she encounters the target at some point in her future, usually within (10-
her Mode Dots) days, although she has limited control over where this will occur. She can spend
successes to better define the encounter, reducing (or increasing) the time it will occur by up to
one day per success, to a minimum of one day. She can also dictate the general type of location
for one success, or narrow it further by spending additional successes. Importantly, this power
doesn’t dictate how the encounter will unfold, only that it will occur.
Psycholocation
Psycholocation reveals to the clairsentient exactly where things are in the present, relative to
everything else. It can reveal the precise location of distant stars and planets at that exact
moment, ignoring light speed delays. This Mode is essential to humanity’s exploration and
colonization of extrasolar locations. The normal maximum range of all Psycholocation abilities
is equal to the psion’s Extended Attunement range. In addition, clears can spend additional
successes to boost this Extended Attunement by one point per success, up to a maximum of 13
(one billion km range). Also, any abilities that have a secondary interstellar range, have a range
equal to Psi x 10 light years. Unless otherwise indicated, all Psycholocation powers last the
psion’s Mode Dots times her Duration, which can be increased as normal by committing Psi
points.

Interstellar Psi Powers

Although many Teleportation powers have a range that’s unlimited except for
noetic connection, clairsentients and other psions who combine their powers with
clairsentients are limited a maximum range of between 20 and 50 light years for
most psions and up to 350 light years for Proxy tier psions using the six dot Clear
Vision power. Until the recent development of the ARES pod (p. XX) all interstellar
Clairsentience and clairsentient-aided Telepathy was limited to ranges far less than
many of the colonies teleporters regularly visited. More than a few psions asked
Teleportation proxy Bolade Atwan how she learned of exceedingly distant worlds
like Far Nyumba, Averiguas, and Qinshui that humanity has colonized or visited,
but neither she nor the other proxies have provided a good explanation for their
knowledge.

Orientation (•)
The clairsentient knows exactly where he is in relation to either a specific point or the nearest
familiar landmark. He can know the direction and distance to a known location or feature. If his
plane crashes in a jungle, the psion could use Orientation to know that he is 1,023 kilometers
from his home. He could know that the town saw from the air is 31 kilometers due south, and
that the road she caught a glimpse of is 673 meters east-southeast.
In addition to knowing his absolute location and everything around him, the clairsentient also
becomes hyper-aware of his surroundings. This helps him overcome difficulty, and can assist
him in situations where this awareness would provide advantage.
System: Success indicates the character knows his location and has an awareness of direction
and distance to any location he has ever seen that’s within his Psi x 10 light years. This
awareness lasts the remainder of the Scene. While the power persists, he can also spend
successes to reduce Complication from sensory impairment, such as loud noises, smoke, or lack
of light. If the roll relates to a situation where heightened awareness would be advantageous, he
can spend successes to add Enhancement to the action.
Dowsing (••)
In addition to knowing her own location, the clairsentient can determine the location of noetic
signatures she knows. This is easiest when she has a noetic connection with an individual or
object, but she can also find examples that resonate with general themes. She could find the
nearest police officers or Æon chapterhouse, electrokinetics or psions more generally. She could
even find hardtech freighters, or those carrying certain types of cargo.
With additional effort, the clear can push her power to interstellar ranges, though this sacrifices
detail. She can look at the sky and know if the star she focuses on is within her range, and
roughly how many planets orbit it, but little more beyond this. Her power adjusts for the fact that
the light she sees may be dozens or hundreds of years old, and the star has moved on from its
apparent location in the sky.
The psion can also use her experience of noetic relationships to cloak or highlight her presence
by precisely controlling how her subquantum signature interacts with the universe. This power
doesn’t aid the psion’s physical attempts to hide, but does increase the difficulty to locate her
using psionic abilities. This power is necessary for the operation of Leviathan jump ships.
System: The psion can use this power to locate any known object or person or a general type of
person or object, as indicated in the description above. Additional successes give the psion more
information about the location, like whether it is in a building or underground, or if it is
stationary or in motion. She can push to interstellar range, using the interstellar range listed
above. Success tells her if the star she seeks is within her range, and if so, how distant it is. She
can spend an additional success to know how many planets orbit the star, and another to sense if
any of the worlds are within the ‘Goldilocks Zone’ capable of supporting terrestrial life.
The character can also use this power to conceal or draw attention to herself from psionic
detections. If successful, she applies her number of Mode Dots as either an increased Difficulty
(when concealing) or an Enhancement (when noticeable) to powers designed to find her.
Sensory Manipulation (•••)
The clairsentient can project her senses and see, hear, taste, smell, or touch distant locations as if
he were present. His Psi insulates him from direct negative effects. He wouldn’t be burned or
choked extending his senses through a burning building to search for survivors, though he would
feel uncomfortably warm and have chest tightness from the feel of smoke and fumes in his lungs.
The psion can also use this power in concert with Dowsing at interstellar ranges to gain more
information on the stars and planets he surveys. This use is essential for clairsentients piloting
Leviathan jump ships to distant systems.
Cost: 1 Psi point
System: The clairsentient can perceive the location just as if he was there in person and can
spend successes to search for clues using sensing (Trinity Continuum Corebook, p. XX).
When using this ability at interstellar range with Dowsing active, his perceptions are exceedingly
limited. He can spend successes to learn more about one planet or celestial object in the system
he’s sensing. Each success reveals one macro detail — gravity, climate, breathable atmosphere,
presence of water, major land masses. He can’t learn fine details through this power at
interstellar range.
Focus-sensing (••••)
The clairsentient can now sense details far outside the range of human perception. She can focus
to nanoscopic fine detail and beyond. The clairsentient can see tiny compositional and
manufacturing details of objects. She can sense the arrangement of atoms to know whether
something was carved, forged, or made through other means. The clear can even sense chemical
composition and see the arrangement of atoms or can instead choose to see or hear light or
sounds well outside of the range humans can detect or detect smells better than a bloodhound.
With sufficient successes, she can even penetrate to the subatomic level and understand the
makeup of protons, neutrons and electrons, and know which isotopes are present. She can use
this in conjunction with Dowsing and Sensory Manipulation to gain detail of planets and
structures, though she still can’t obtain the detail available at less extreme ranges.
Cost: 2 Psi points
System: If successful, the character adds an Enhancement equal to her Mode Dots to see fine
detail or notice inconsistencies within her normal sensory range. Each success spent shifts her
perception one detail ‘step’, from microscopic (bacteria and other small creatures), nanoscopic
(viruses and nanoparticles), atomic (individual molecules), and subatomic (the particles within
atoms). One ‘step’ also allows the character to perceive light or sound outside the range of
human senses, like x-rays. The character can combine this power with Sensory Manipulation to
sense precise details of distant objects. When used at interstellar ranges with earlier powers, she
can spend a success to learn more about the celestial objects. Each success reveals the presence
or absence of life, type of life (animal, microbial, or vegetable), and possibly whether the life
conforms with anything familiar to the clear (such as mammalian or reptilian). She can also
sense the presence of major settlements and the rough tech level if a civilization has surpassed
the equivalent of an industrial age, and if there is an ongoing global war or some other equally
noticeable event.
Omniscience (•••••)
For a limited time, the clairsentient becomes one with the noetic totality and can sense
everything within range. Although he observes every event happening at that moment, even a
mind as powerful as hers can’t comprehend everything. The amount he understands depends on
how much detail he seeks. The greater the detail, the more his viewpoint narrows.
Cost: 3 Psi points
System: Success gives the psion total sensory awareness within her Radius and can spend 1 Psi
point to increase her Radius by one Range Band, but cannot further increase his Radius except
by using Clear Vision. At this level of awareness, he perceives overall impressions of everything
occurring within this area. He can use this to guide his focus into specific areas to see detail
before moving out again. Focusing on a specific event within his sphere of awareness costs one
success; returning to his totality overview costs nothing. The character can combine this power
with Sensory Manipulation as per p. XX to gain Omniscience of an area around the target point.
This power lasts his Mode Dots times his Duration, but the psion cannot use it at interstellar
range.
Psychocognition
Psychocognition is the least precise Clairsentience Mode. This Mode predicts probable
movement of the universe by taking a psionic snapshot of the moment and extrapolating all
influences and energies on it. Psychocognition is most effective in determining which immediate
actions will deliver the most favorable future for the psion. The further into the future one delves,
the less likely it is that any given prediction will occur. The universe is so infinitely complex and
finely balanced that a change in the movement of one particle could eventually bring about vast
changes.
Alertness (•)
The bulk of the clairsentient’s attention remains focused on the present, but a small fragment
watches the immediate future. The awareness isn’t conscious — the psion doesn’t know exactly
what is about to happen until the event takes place — but her subconscious notes any incoming
danger and prompts her to action, even if she’s not sure why.
System: Each success increases the difficulty of all attempts to use the Inflict Damage stunt
against her by +1. The Storyguide should also warn the character if her action, the actions of
others, or the environment would create negative consequences for the clear in subsequent
Rounds. This includes incoming attacks, but also if an earthquake was about to strike the
building she is in (or about to enter). She would also know if she was about to make an
immediate serious social blunder — asking after a person’s partner who has recently died — or
danger from mental tasks, such as taking the winning move in a game that will cause the
opponent to shoot her in a sudden fit of rage. However, she only knows that the action she is
about to take is problematic, not why. The character can sense danger, not the precise reasons for
this danger. Also, although the character is forewarned, nothing stops her from going ahead with
the dangerous activity. This power lasts for her Mode Dots times her Duration.
Least Resistance (••)
At moments of decision the clairsentient glimpses across all possible choices to see which is the
easiest path to take or what actions he should avoid taking. Whether he chooses to follow this
revelation is up to him, as his choices collapse the uncertain potentiality and future becomes the
present. This power doesn’t give the psion any insight into whether the simplest path leads to the
best long-term outcome, it just reveals the immediate path of least resistance. The clear can also
use this power to gain brief visions of possible problems in his immediate future.
Cost: 1 Psi point
System: The character knows the quickest path to his destination, such as the exit to a building,
the nearest fire alarm, or where he left an object he lost. If his actions require a roll, he gains a
pool equal to successes that he can use as an Enhancement to any necessary rolls. The power
lasts his Mode Dots times his Duration.
Alternately, the psion can use this power to provide information about the near future. If
successful, the Storyguide runs the game normally, but if something goes seriously wrong in the
next Mode Dots minutes, the player can declare that this event was a clairsentient vision. At this
point, time resets to when the clear used this power. Clears can look into the future like this no
more often than once a Scene. Using both aspects of this power together requires either two
actions or a mixed action.
Hinder (•••)
Rather than just simplifying her options, the clairsentient understands how her actions impact
others, and how her choices create the most difficulty for her opponents.
Cost: 2 Psi points
System: The character learns how her approach to a situation can hinder her opponent. This
could be the psion’s own actions, such as approaching her opponent from his left because he
suffers hearing loss. It could also lead the psion to any location or object within her power’s
Radius that will affect the opponent’s ability to respond, like a childhood treasure, whose loss he
won’t risk. If the psion’s opponent needs to roll, the clear has a pool equal to successes that she
can spend to increase the Difficulty at a rate of one success per +1 Difficulty. This pool lasts her
Mode Dots times her Duration but only applies to a single opponent.
Favorable Outcome (••••)
Predicting more than a few moments into the future is particularly difficult as the sheer number
of arrangements the universe can take grow with every decision made. Clairsentients with this
level of power overcome this to a degree.
Cost: 3 Psi points
System: The psion can make a number of rerolls equal to his Mode Dots + successes for the
remainder of the Scene. He can retry failed rolls and also reroll a successful roll in the hopes of
generating more successes. In all cases, the character chooses which version of any particular roll
to use. The character can spend additional rerolls on one task until he either gains a result he
likes or exhausts his pool. Fate can only be pushed so far without considerable effort; each
subsequent use of this power within one Scene increases its cost by an additional three Psi points
and its Difficulty by 1.
Nexus Surfing (•••••)
With this level of power, the psion learns to tune into the totality of the upcoming future and
sense impending disturbances. Nexus points are times and places of great importance, which can
disturb the flows of noetic energy as they disrupt the lives of hundreds, or perhaps even millions.
Many nexus points are caused by violence, like a bomb going off or a large, poorly maintained
spacecraft crashing into an asteroid. However, a single accidental insult that derails a treaty and
leads to a Europe-wide war would be just as powerful a nexus point as a massive Chromatic
attack. The psion can also use this power to scan an individual’s future, checking to see if there
are any nexus points or other significant events.
Cost: 4 Psi points
System: Your clairsentient attunes herself to the implicate subquantum order for the entire
session, enabling her to sense upcoming disturbances within her Enhanced Attunement range. A
nexus may be anything from the impending explosion of a poorly maintained hyperfusion reactor
to a massive Aberrant assault. This ability allows the character to learn of upcoming threats that
will occur during this session that they might otherwise have no way to learn of.
The character only gains a few flashes of information about the upcoming disturbance. She
learns the location and approximate time of the disturbance, and no more than one or two
images, which are usually cryptic and partial. An upcoming Aberrant attack might be revealed
with a brief image of a few dead Legion soldiers, while an overloading hyperfusion reactor might
be signaled by a warning light going off on a control panel, and a diplomatic insult signaled by a
look of shock on the insulted party’s face. Each success provides the psion with one piece of raw
information about the event. The psion can also spend one success to upgrade each piece of raw
information, providing either interpretation or QA about the clue.
Once triggered, Nexus Surfing’s influence is difficult to resist — the character feels pulled
towards the location. A successful Integrity + Resolve roll allows her to resist heading towards
the nexus, but she still feels this pull. If the clairsentient scans an individual’s future, she catches
glimpses of any nexuses the individual is associated with that are within a number of years equal
to the clear’s Psi. Like other uses of this power, these glimpses provide nothing more than a
location and one or two often cryptic images. Also, these images are only of the individual’s
most likely future, and may change.
Transcending and Proxy Tier Powers
Only proxy Tier psions can learn these powers.
Clear Vision (••••• •)
Clear Vision is three separate powers, one each for Psychometry, Psycholocation, and
Psychocognition. These powers are only accessible to proxy Tier psions. These powers don’t
provide a new effect, they increase the effect of every other power in that Mode.
System: When using a power from a Mode for which the psion has Clear Vision, he may spend
an additional Psi point to increase the Scale of one aspect of the power like Radius or
Attunement Range by one, increase any Enhancement by +2, or multiply any numerical
quantities like range in light years or number of targets by five.
Destiny (••••• ••)
A clairsentient proxy can tread the delicate paths of choice with accuracy akin to threading the
finest needle. Once he focuses on reaching an outcome and follows the paths to take him there,
few things can stand in his way. Although the proxy is almost certain to reach his destination, the
path is often filled with setbacks and danger.
Cost: 10 Psi points
System: For one session, the proxy gains a pool of points equal to his Psi plus one per success.
Each point in this pool can be used to provide the psion with 1 Enhancement to one action,
including Defensive Stunts. This bonus rises to 2 Enhancement per point if used to aid in any
action that directly protects the psion, his close comrades, or any group the psion feels passionate
loyalty to from serious harm or death.
This pool only refreshes through setback, as the universe seeks to balance itself. Instead of
benefiting from Enhancement on a roll, the proxy can instead choose to increase the Difficulty to
return the same amount of points to the pool. Additionally, each time the proxy takes damage he
adds a point to the pool. The proxy can’t reduce the time Destiny is active, and can’t reactivate it
during this period.

Electrokinesis
Electrokinesis gives the psion awareness and control of both electricity and the electromagnetic
spectrum, as well as everything that uses or relies on electricity. Computers, vehicles,
communications, biotechnology — even living flesh — all work because of the flow of energies
under this Aptitude’s domain. All these things can be manipulated, enhanced, or diminished as
the electrokinetic desires.
Basic Powers
All characters with even one dot of Electrokinesis possess the following powers.
Burst
The electrokinetic is a nexus where energies converge. With a small effort, the psion can
coalesce them into a small semi-focused burst of electricity or EM radiation. Fine control is
impossible, but this burst can still be useful. A burst of static electricity could create enough
charge to power a device for one last use, or to force a short circuit and shutdown. A burst of
radio waves could briefly interfere with nearby OpNet signals, or a flash of light might distract
enemies, or signal allies.
System: The character focuses energy to a single point within Short range. Depending on the
psion’s intent, characters using senses, equipment or powers affected by this burst may suffer an
increased Difficulty with the number of successes rolled, or the psion may use it for some other
purpose like signaling or briefly powering a small device.
Sense Spectrum
The psion can feel which electromagnetic energies are present. She has a general sense of what
purpose they serve — the difference between microwaves from an oven and those from a
communications transmitter — but can’t tell what information they carry.
System: The psion is aware of any electromagnetic energies within Short range, as well as the
relative strength and source of these, and if they carry information like OpNet data.
Electromanipulation
Electromanipulation deals with the flow of electromagnetic energies through living organisms.
Humans, animals, and bioware are all subject to Electromanipulation. Even alien species are
susceptible as long as their systems are based on electrochemical charges moving throughout the
organism. Electromanipulation tends to have few visual cues. Its results may be noticeable, such
as making the dead walk, but the psion can remain hidden without sparks or light displays to give
away his location. Unless otherwise stated, psions can use Electromanipulation powers against
targets within visual range. The psion gains +1 Enhancement if he touches the target instead.
Bioelectrical Awareness (•)
The character can tune into the distinctive bioelectrical patterns of living creatures to detect how
many life forms are within an area. In addition to this general understanding, the psion can focus
on the flow of electromagnetic energies through an organism within his line of sight. He can
disrupt this flow to hinder his victim’s movement and functionality.
System: Success lets the character detect all bioelectrical creatures (all known physical life
forms) within his Radius. He can gather more detailed information, such as whether they’re
human, animal, or alien, by spending successes. This power lasts for one Scene.
To disrupt a target within his Range, the roll is opposed by the target’s Survival + Stamina.
Success disturbs her energy flows, adding Difficulty equal to the number of successes rolled to
her rolls for a number of Rounds equal to the psion’s Mode Dots. If the penalty is greater than
the victim’s Stamina, she is instead unable to act for the duration.
Precision Understanding (••)
The electrokinetic increases her understanding of the specific bioelectrical systems of the brain
and nervous systems. She can watch someone’s neurological activity in response to truths and
falsehoods, like a lie detector and can sense a person’s intention to act as the signal moves from
brain to muscle. The psion can also use this ability to detect recent traces of living bioelectric
activity in an area.
System: Success allows the psion can to the target’s specific bioelectrical reaction to situations.
This grants successes as an Enhancement to understand the target’s intentions or reactions, such
as detecting lies or understanding whether the person recognizes an image. When used in combat
the psion can add successes as Enhancement to defense rolls used against any attacks the psion is
aware of. This power also reveals any inconsistencies to the target’s energy flows, such as
injuries, nerve damage, bioware, or hardtech implants.
When used to read bioelectric traces, the character can scan an area within her Radius for any
traces of living creatures. One success allows the character to detect the number and approximate
size and type of creatures in this area up to 30 minutes in the past, but cannot distinguish
between humans, Qin in biosuits, or human-sized Aberrants. Each additional success can either
increase the length of time into the past the character can look by 30 minutes or provide
additional details, like species (including being able to distinguish humans from Aberrants). For
two successes, the psion can recognize individuals that she has previously scanned with
Electrokinesis. This power lasts one Scene.
Enhancement (•••)
Once he understands living biocurrents, the psion can manipulate them with extreme precision.
He can boost Mental Attributes and associated traits. He can also shield a target’s body from
electromagnetic forces, or concentrate and ‘overcharge’ electricity and discharge them like an
electric eel’s attack.
Cost: 1 Psi point
System: Success allows the character to add one dot to his mental Attributes for every success
spent, up to his potential maximum +1 for each Attribute. He can also temporarily purchase
mental Edges that don’t require external resources at a rate of one dot per success. Enhancing
others is possible, but requires both twice the normal number of successes and physical contact.
The psion can also use this power defensively on himself or on anyone within his Radius. The
target becomes immune to all attacks and environmental damage with the Electrical tag. For one
additional success, this armor includes an electric field that possesses the Electrical weapon tag
and the Defensive armor tag. All of these powers last the psion’s Mode Dots times his Duration.
Used offensively, the psion spends one Psi point and rolls his dice pool to make the attack listed
below. The attack automatically has an Enhancement equal to his Mode Dots/2, as well as the
Electrical and Ranged (Close – Short) tags, and if the psion wishes, the Stun tag. The psion can
purchase additional tags by spending one success per point of tags. These additional tags include
Combined Stun (1 additional point), Non-Lethal (1 additional point), or Spread (1). The psion
can also spend one success or one Psi point to increase the range to Medium.
[TABLE THIS]
Attack En Range Damage Type Tags
 Bioelectric Mode Dots/2 Close-Short Electrical Electrical, Ranged
shock (Close-Radius), Stun

[STOP TABLING THIS]

Anima (••••)
The psion can command the electrical signals that control flesh, including in the recently dead.
Although she can control the movement of living targets, she can’t control their thoughts. In the
dead, the psion provides the animating electrical charge and can either control the body directly
like a puppet, or build a set of instructions for how it responds to given stimuli. The
electrokinetic can continue to recharge the reanimated flesh but this does nothing to slow its
decomposition. Eventually dead nerves and muscles cease responding to electrical energy.
Cost: 2 Psi points
System: Living targets oppose this roll with Integrity + Stamina. Dead subjects increase
Difficulty of the psion’s roll by one per day since death — more if environmental conditions
promote decay, less if the body is well preserved. Success lets the psion control the body as if it
were her own, using its Physical Attributes with her own skills. In living targets, this control lasts
one Round per success spent, and the puppet can’t move beyond the psion’s Radius without
being instantly freed. For deceased puppets, the psion can directly control the body for her Mode
Dots times her Duration while it’s within the psion’s Radius. Alternatively, she can issue a
number of specific commands equal to her Psi for the corpse to follow per success spent and
commit 2 Psi points. The psion can only command the dead puppet to carry out straightforward
mechanical tasks.
Ghost (•••••)
The psion builds digital versions of himself that can temporarily inhabit computers and networks.
This doesn’t require tremendous computer processing power as his Psi does most of the work.
The electrokinetic can reintegrate these digital agents as desired, gaining access to their
memories and experiences. If desired, the psion can even abandon his own body and live solely
within the network.
Cost: 3 Psi points
System: The psion may be within Short range of a computer or a device that’s part of a network
to use this power. He can use this power in one of two ways. The psion can create a digital
‘ghost’ of his personality, much like an advanced agent. This ghost can attempt Psi tasks, if the
task can be achieved on the computer or its network. Each success spent provides an
Enhancement to these tasks. Reporting back to the psion counts is a task. The ghost deletes after
it exhausts its tasks, or after his Mode Dots times his Duration. The ghost’s dice pool equals Psi
+ Electromanipulation and interacts with computer systems as per the normal hacking rules.
Alternatively, the psion can divorce his consciousness from his body and fully inhabit the device
or network. He interacts with computer systems as per normal rules, including for tasks like
hacking (p. XX), but adds successes as an Enhancement to every roll within the system. The
psion can maintain this state for his Mode Dots times his Duration per success spent. He has no
inherent awareness of the condition of his body, and must be in a device no more than his Range
away to return to it.
Photokinesis
Everyone knows Photokinesis manipulates visible light, weaving holograms or creating laser
beams. However, Photokinesis also grants electrokinetics broad-reaching control over the
electromagnetic spectrum from radio waves to gamma rays.
EM Sight (•)
The psion can sense energy emissions across the electromagnetic spectrum. Despite the name,
the electrokinetic can interpret this information through all her senses, building a comprehensive
map of energy flows around her. The psion can sense infrared, ultraviolet, even gamma rays.
This may not help the psion understand what the information means if it’s encrypted. The psion
can also use this ability to control the local illumination.
System: Success allows the psion to sense a wide range of electromagnetic energy around her,
allowing her to track someone by the heat emanating from their footprints or notice the presence
of radioactive material by the gamma rays it emits. The psion can also try to interpret emissions
that transmit information. For encrypted signals, she must roll Enigmas + Cunning with the
signal’s encryption level as a Complication. Overcoming this Complication allows the psion to
decrypt the data, while failure results in the psion perceiving the encrypted signal, but not being
able to decrypt it. The psion can change what frequencies she is observing at will, and can also
use this power to brighten and dim light within Short range, which can impose or remove up to
successes of Difficulty or Complication to visual perception. This power lasts her Mode Dots
times her Duration.
Modulation (••)
The EK manipulates electromagnetic energies around him in a broad-reaching, unfocused
manner. He can remap all electromagnetic energies onto an area to a different point of the
spectrum or can change a single wavelength into another, and can also diffuse signals over the
same area or otherwise alter the nature of these signals. This is useful for creating a broad-acting
signal jammer, or can create a shield around the psion that changes lasers into unfocused light or
gamma radiation into less harmful frequencies.
System: Success allows the character to transform some or all EM frequencies within Short
range into other frequencies or otherwise alter them in relatively small ways, and can even
plunge a room into total darkness by transforming all the visible light to radio waves. In addition,
the psion can subtly alter any light source within Short range, causing a single room light, vid
screen, augmented reality display, or holographic display to appear to display anything the psion
wishes, including appearing to be off or otherwise non-functional.
The psion can’t create damaging effects with this power. When using the power defensively, the
psion reduces the damage from of energy-based attacks or indirect damage by one for every
success spent. The psion can use it to provide defense and alter signals simultaneously. This
effect lasts his Mode Dots times his Duration.
Photonic Power (•••)
The photokinetic can create powerful focused or coherent bursts of electromagnetic radiation like
lasers, masers, or even gamma ray lasers.
Cost: 1 Psi point
System: Success allows the psion to use a laser attack on one target. Use the weapon description
below, it automatically possesses an Enhancement equal to Mode Dots/2 and the Ranged (Close-
Medium) tag. The psion also has a pool of points equal to her Mode Dots that she can use to
purchase additional points of tags for this attack. Each additional Psi point the psion spends
provides her with a number of additional points of tags equal to her Mode Dots. The following
tags are possible: Beam (1), Destructive (2), Incendiary (2), Piercing (1), Spread (1, can only be
combined with Stun), Stun (1, creating temporary blindness). The psion can also spend one Psi
point to increase the range to Long.
[TABLE THIS]
Attack En Range Damage Tags
Type
Laser Mode Close- Ballistic Ranged: Close-Medium +
Generation Dots/2 Medium others as desired

[STOP TABLING THIS]

The psion can also use this power for non-combat purposes, ranging from cutting through a door
with a laser, to heating a dinner with microwaves, starting a fire, sterilizing an area with UV
light, or creating a powerful burst of radio or microwaves to serve as a beacon or to send a
simple signal.
Dynamic Control (••••)
The photokinetic can now create or modify multiply light sources at once, firing a barrage of
laser beams, creating deadly walls of laser light, or even causing several different augmented
reality displays to display false information.
Cost: 2 Psi points
System: On a successful reflexive roll, the psion can create a maximum number of separate
lasers or other focused electromagnetic broadcasts, like radio beacons, equal to his Mode Dots,
which he can use for a variety of purposes. Once created, each laser lasts for once Scene. Each of
these lasers can use any of the tags available for Photonic Mastery.
In addition to ordinary attacks, the psion can also use any of these lasers defensively, to deflect
or vaporize a single attack by a small projectile like a bullet. To accomplish this, the psion adds
his successes to his defense roll that Round. Alternately, the psion can transform one of these
lasers into a paper-thin wall of laser light that either forms a Close range cylinder or dome
around a point or blocks off a corridor or other opening up to five meters on a side. These walls
can be either opaque and glowing or transparent to visible light. This barrier acts as indirect
damage with a damage rating equal to successes and has the Continuous (Rounds) tag. Once
activated, each laser or other beam functions on its own, but moving, altering, or redirecting
more than one of these lasers per Round requires a mixed action. The psion gains +1
Enhancement to each use of one of these lasers, so a mixed action using three different lasers
would gain +1 Enhancement to each of these three attack or defense rolls.
The psion can use same level of control in a subtler fashion to alter any or all light sources within
his Radius, including making all screens, augmented reality displays, or holographic displays in
range appear to display anything the psion wishes. All uses of this power last for one Scene.
Illusionist (•••••)
The psion now has precise three-dimensional control of the electromagnetic spectrum. He can
make himself or others invisible or create seemingly real holograms.
Cost: 3 Psi points
System: Success gives the psion a pool of points equal to Psi + successes that she can use to
create or modify images. Total the points necessary and compare them to the available pool. If
the psion doesn’t possess sufficient points, she must make a simpler or smaller illusion. In the
table below, illusions include both creating images, changing the appearance of people or
objects, and making objects or people invisible. However, while stationary images appear
perfect, making a moving object invisible or transforming a person’s appearance is more
difficult, and observers can roll Integrity + Cunning against a Difficulty equal to the user’s Psi to
notice something appears slightly off, unless the psion spends 2 extra successes. Also, these are
purely visual illusions and do not produce the correct sounds or hold up to any attempts to touch
them. Unless the psion wishes to dismiss them earlier, these holograms last for one Scene.
BEGIN TABLE
Point Cost Result
1 Create one static and stationary illusion of up to human size.
1 Allow the illusion to move normally (including blinking and waving) but to
walk or otherwise move at no more than a slow walk.
1 Increase the Speed of an image or invisibility effect by 1.
2 Cause a single illusion to appear perfectly convincing.
2 Increase the Size of the object by 1 (up to a maximum of Size 3)
2 Create multiple different stationary illusions within Close range of a single
point.
3 Create multiple different stationary illusions within Short range of a single
point.

END TABLE
Technokinesis
Technokinesis controls the flow of electricity and data through non-living machinery. It can
power a machine or modify data at the psion’s whim. Although human technology develops and
changes at an alarming rate, practitioners of Technokinesis don’t have to adapt and modify their
approaches to keep pace. Like other Psi powers, the psion doesn’t require extensive knowledge
of the technology; her Psi translates human intentions to machine actions.
Tap (•)
The electrokinetic can read electronic data stored within a device. The psion can also see the
movement of data within an active machine. This power doesn’t give the electrokinetic any
ability to change data stores (or flows), nor does it leave a conventional trace of accessing the
data.
System: Roll with a Difficulty equal to the device’s attitude (p. XX). Success indicates the
character can understand any unencrypted data on any device within Close range. He can try to
read encrypted data by spending two successes and rolling Enigmas + Intellect at a difficulty
equal to the encryption level. Most encryption is +1 to +2 Difficulty, whereas government or
military grade encryption could be as high as +5. Successes add Enhancement to the roll. The
system doesn’t detect use of this power as an intrusion, even if he fails the roll. This power lasts
for his Mode Dots times his Duration and the psion can use it on any device within his Radius or
that is connected to a wireless network the psion is on.
Access (••)
The electrokinetic commands a machine as if she were an authorized user. She can activate and
control any normal function of the device, including initiating instructions to reboot or turn off
the system. This works on every electronic device, from computers to laser pistols, cars, or
spacecraft. In addition, on a success, the psion can mentally connect with any available wireless
networks (like the OpNet). When hacking a computer system (p. XX), she always possesses the
necessary tools.
System: The psion makes a Hacking attempt (p. XX) using Psi + Technokinesis, spending
successes to control the system as per the Hacking rules. Each Psi point she spends provides her
with one extra success. Against simpler devices, or those without counter-intrusion systems,
success allows her to control the device any way it is designed to function, using relevant dice
pools against Difficulty assigned by the Storyguide. She could make a laser pistol fire or drive a
car. The psion can also power any electronic or electrical device of up to his Size parameter. This
power lasts her Mode Dots times her Duration and the psion can use on any device within his
Radius or that is connected to a wireless network he is on.
Control (•••)
The psion can control a device beyond its designed purpose, as long as the machine is physically
capable of performing the tasks. He could take control of a robotic arm that welds components to
vehicle chassis and instead attack pursuers. He can alter data, either in a targeted manner
substituting specific lines of code, or can randomly scramble existing information and inflict
considerable harm to the device’s operations.
Cost: 1 Psi point
System: Success allows the psion to control a single machine within his Radius. Apply
Difficulty based on the machine’s resistance to intrusion, as per the table below. Success lets the
psion control any of the machine’s normal functions. This includes altering its operating
parameters, such as changing a computer’s attitude or failsafe by up to his Mode Dots. He can
also force the machine to perform any task it could conceivably achieve. He could instruct a
computer to discharge its battery in one burst to shock the user, but couldn’t make the computer
pick up a bottle unless it was linked to some manipulator device. This power lasts his Mode Dots
times his Duration, but cannot be used over a wireless network.
[TABLE THIS]
Control Resistance Table
 Intrusion Resistance Difficulty Example
None 0 Light switch
Minimal 1 Laser pistol
Moderate 2 Apartment control panel
Device or system +2 Military weapon, Hybrid fighter
Designed for Military or
Intelligence Use
Vehicle Size Sedan, Commercial Frigate
Computer system Attitude rating Minicomp, Server

[STOP TABLING THIS]

Code (••••)
The electrokinetic does more than control devices, she rewrites operating systems to fulfill her
wishes. She doesn’t have to be familiar with the device’s existing system; her powers translate
thought into function. Non-technokinetics have difficulty understanding the code, which
possesses a deceptively simple surface that reveals ever-increasing layers of complexity beneath.
Cost: 2 Psi points
System: Roll with the system’s attitude as Difficulty. Every success allows the character to
change or add a number of operating parameters equal to Mode Dots/2. These parameters can be
relatively broad — replicating any normal function generally only takes a single parameter. All
such changes and persist until someone notices and deliberately corrects them, potentially
allowing the device to operate as the psion wishes for days or even weeks.
This power can also create extremely smart, flexible agents that can act without the psion’s
supervision. These agents have Mental and Social stats equal to the psion’s Mode Dots. The
psion can increase either or both of these traits at a cost of two successes per additional dot.
These agents don’t require any pre-set applications; they can perform any task an agent could do.
They persist for her Mode Dots times her Duration per success, and the psion can have a number
of agents up to her Psi operating simultaneously. The psion can use this power on any device
within Close range, or connected to a wireless network the psion is also on.
Overseer (•••••)
The electrokinetic is aware of all technological events around him. While the power persists, he
is a machine god and no device functions without his blessing.
Cost: 3 Psi points
System: Success allows the psion to affect all electronic devices within his Radius, inflicting a
Complication on all rolls to use the device equal on the user’s Psi + successes. Failure to buy off
this Complication allows the psion to entirely control how the device is used, exactly as if the
psion was the device’s owner. If no one is operating the device, then the psion can operate the
device as per Control. Causing all devices within range to perform the same action, like turning
off or locking up is an ordinary action. Causing different devices to perform different functions
requires a mixed action.
Transcending and Proxy Tier Powers
Only proxy Tier psions can learn these powers.
Spectral Mastery (••••• •)
Spectral Mastery is three separate powers, one each for Electromanipulation, Photokinesis, and
Technokinesis. These powers are only accessible to proxy Tier psions. These powers don’t
provide a new effect, they increase the effect of every other power in that Mode.
System: When using a power from a Mode for which the psion has Spectral Mastery, she may
spend an additional Psi point to increase the Scale of one aspect of the power, like Radius or
Range by one, increase any Enhancement by +2, or to multiply any numerical quantities like
number of targets by five.
Subquantum Computing (••••• ••)
The universe is an infinitely complex machine. As the subquantum connects everything, the
proxy can interface with almost any device, anywhere. This includes computers unconnected to
the OpNet — even those that are heavily shielded and lack the means to connect to any network.
Additionally, the proxy can use the subquantum universe as a vast computer. He can store
unlimited amounts of data across everything, encoded in the position of atoms and the spin of
electrons. If the Cassel File exists (p. XX), the proxy has certainly used this power to gain access
to the secrets of his enemies, and store them away within the fabric of the universe itself.
Cost: 10 Psi points
System: The proxy can access to any device within his attunement range, as if he was using any
Technokinesis power, even if the device is shielded and not on any network. Alien interfaces or
other unusual designs — like creations of Aberrant super science — impose a Complication on
the roll, depending how unfamiliar the proxy is with the system. Failure to overcome this
Complication may mean that the proxy inadvertently scrambles the data he seeks, or alerts others
to his meddling. In addition, the proxy’s universal access acts as if he had a supercomputer
outputting to his brain. He can calculate solutions to most mathematical problems, break the
toughest mundane encryption with ease, and even unravel quantum encryption with minor effort.
Should the Storyguide require a roll relating to this computing power, the proxy gains his Psi as
an Enhancement. This power lasts for his Mode Dots times his Duration.

Psychokinesis
Psychokinesis is one of the flashiest Aptitudes, and is also one that Joe Hologram is most
familiar with, thanks to the ubiquitous media-friendly presence of the Legions. While most
people think Psychokinesis simply deals with kinetic energy and movement of molecules, it
includes more mysterious aspects that can block and channel energies with no molecular
component.
Basic Powers
All characters with even one dot of Psychokinesis possess the following powers.
Distant Touch
The psion can feel objects around her, using a sense similar to touch. She can use this when her
other senses are impaired. She can also sense sudden changes to kinetic energy, such as through
Psychokinesis.
System: Success lets the character sense the surfaces of all objects and precisely determine all
movement in a radius of Short range. In addition to other uses, each success removes one level of
any Complication or increased Difficulty caused by reduced visibility. She can also spend a
success to gauge the relative temperatures of objects from their molecular movement. This power
lasts successes her Psi in Minutes.
Nudge
The psion can telekinetically move small or very light objects at a slow speed. This can only
move single, whole objects. The character could move a pile of unconnected beads one at a time,
but if they were threaded together he would have to move the entire structure or none.
System: The character can move one Tiny object, but can spend one success to increase this size
to Small. He can move this object at Speed Scale 1, but can also spend a success to increase this
to Speed Scale 2 spent. This power lasts his Psi in Rounds.
Thermokinesis
Although their effects appear remarkably different, manipulating heat and cold in matter
involves the same process — changing the vibration rate of molecules. Masters of Thermokinesis
are terrifying to behold, taking to the battlefield encased in fire or ice and incinerating or
shattering their enemies. It is a testament to the Legion’s public relations personnel that so many
citizens love psychokinetics despite this.
Equilibrium (•)
The psychokinetic is adept at transferring thermal energy to and from her body and can survive
intense heat and cold by manipulating the environment around her. She can draw heat in to stay
warm or push it away to keep cool. She can even mitigate damage from intense sources of heat
or cold (such as from Psychokinesis) through this.
System: Success allows the psion to remain comfortable in most extreme temperature conditions
regardless of clothing or other protections. The psion is immune to all environmental indirect
damage caused by heat or cold with the Continuous (hour) or Continuous (minute) tag. Against
environmental indirect damage caused by heat or cold with the Continuous (Rounds) tag or
attacks made using heat or cold, including attacks with the Incendiary tag, she reduces the
damage by her Mode Dots/2 plus one per success spent. She can extend this protection to others
within her Radius by spending one success per person. This power lasts her Mode Dots times her
Duration.
Flash (••)
Whether flash freezing or flash frying, the psychokinetic can generate an instant change in
thermal energy. Inflicting attacks of flame and frost are the most common uses of this power, but
inventive psions find other uses as well, including everything from starting fires to chilling
beverages.
Cost: 1 Psi point
System: The psion attacks with either heat/flame or cold. This attack automatically possesses an
Enhancement equal to his Mode Dots, the range (clash-her Range) tag and one additional tag,
which must be Incendiary for heat/flame attacks and Combined Stun for cold attacks. The player
can purchase additional tags from the tags listed for each attack by spending successes at a cost
of one tag/success. Possible additional heat/flame tags are Aggravated, Brutal, Deadly,
Destructive, and Spread. Possible additional cold/ice tags are Brutal, Deadly, Non-Lethal,
Piercing, Pushing, Spread, and Weighted.
[TABLE THIS]
Attack En Range Damage Tags
Type
Heat/Flame Mode Close to Fire Incendiary, Ranged (clash to
Dots Range Range), and possibly others
Cold/Ice Mode Close to Ballistic Combined Stun, Ranged (clash to
Dots Range Range), and possibly others

[STOP TABLING THIS]

Sheath (•••)
The psychokinetic encases herself in a defensive barrier of flame or ice. Each variety of armor
has its own advantages, allowing the psion to choose the best to suit the current challenge. Such
is the character’s control that neither armor damages the environment around it — unless the
psion wishes it to.
Cost: 1 Psi point
System: If successful, the character is surrounded by a second skin, either of writhing flames or
translucent ice, but not both. The psion never harmed by either type of armor. Refer to the table
below for the effects of each armor. The character can add additional levels of soft armor by
spending two successes per additional dot. This Armor lasts her Mode Dots times her Duration.
For 1 additional Psi point, the psion can create walls of fire or ice that either surround her at
Close range or block a passage up to five meters across. Anyone attempting to pass through this
barrier must first overcome the hard armor and then increases their Difficulty of moving through
the wall by the value of soft armor. Also, unless they first destroy the wall using appropriate
means, like a large heat source or a fire extinguisher, anyone moving through the wall
automatically suffers the effects of the Defensive armor tag, if the psion decided to use this tag.
[TABLE THIS]
Type Base Armor Tags
Fire Bulletproof, Impact, Slash Complete, Hard 1, Defensive (optional),
Environmental 0 (temperature), Soft 3
Ice Bulletproof, Impact, Slash Complete, Defensive (optional), Hard 3,
Environmental 0 (temperature), Soft 2

[STOP TABLING THIS]

Temperature Extremes (••••)
The psion alters thermal energy in the substances around him. He can heat solids until they melt
or chill them until they become brittle and shatter. He can freeze or boil liquids, ignite flammable
objects or quench infernos. The psychokinetic can decide whether and how the substances he
controls exchange heat with the environment. He could set a bonfire in the center of a room and
not allow it to scorch the ceiling, or maintain an unmelting block of ice on the hottest summer’s
day. The substance’s temperature equalizes with the surrounding environment when his power
ends.
Cost: 2 Psi points
System: The psion can change the temperature of a single target of up to his Size parameter
within his Radius, causing Indirect environmental damage that only affects the target and has a
damage rating equal to the number of successes rolled. Living creatures make a Psi + Stamina
opposed roll to resist this damage, while inanimate objects automatically freeze solid, melt, or
catch fire, depending upon the temperature change and the object. The psion can use this power
on a portion of a larger inanimate object, allowing him to freeze a walkable path across a lake or
to set fire to one wall of a large house. The psion can also spend one additional Psi point to
increase the Size of a target by +1. However, he cannot further increase this Size except by using
the appropriate Kinetic Mastery. This power lasts for his Mode Dots times his Duration.
Hellscape (•••••)
The psion exerts total thermokinetic control over the area around her. She can inflict a
nightmarish landscape of hellfire and frozen wasteland, or divide the environment into hot and
cold zones. She can make impeded progress with jagged sculptures of ice or flaming labyrinths,
or even channel the thermal energies into or away from her foes, leaving them exhausted from
heat or hypothermic from cold.
Cost: 3 Psi points
System: The psychokinetic can apply the effects of any Thermokinesis power on any or all
targets within her Radius. These powers don’t cost additional Psi points to use, but they do
consume successes as normal. If the character has used all her successes, she can spend Psi
points in their place. She can create large environmental hazards or create difficult terrain with a
difficulty equal to her Mode Dots. These effects last for her Mode Dots times her Duration.
Telekinesis
Telekinesis moves physical objects through sheer psionic power. Telekinetic powers don’t tether
the psion to the object being controlled unless he wishes. If the object is pulled away by other
forces, the psion chooses whether he is dragged along with it or not. Even if he chooses to
remain in place, he doesn’t lose his degree of control — his psychic ‘hands’ don’t ‘slip’ —
unless the object moves beyond the range of his power.
Tow (•)
The psion can move objects. He can move parts of the object, such as turning a doorknob or
flipping a switch, but can’t perform intricate manipulations. What this power lacks in finesse and
speed it makes up for in strength.
System: Success lets the psion telekinetically move objects of up to his Size parameter within
his Range. Every two successes allow the psion to increase the object’s Size by a maximum of
+1. The character can also make crude manipulations with this power, but automatically fails any
roll requiring a Finesse Approach. The psion can move the object no faster than Speed Scale 1 or
Space Speed [1]. This power lasts his Mode Dots times his Duration.
Remote Hands (••)
The psychokinetic manifests telekinetic power at a distance that exactly mimics her hand
motions. Through these “phantom hands”, the psion can perform any task that she would
normally be able to do with his hands. Her psionic link provides tactile feedback — she can feel
what she is doing and adjust her movements accordingly, but this link doesn’t transmit damage
or pain.
System: If successful, the psion links telekinetic actions up to her Radius away to her hand
movements. The hands use the psion’s Psi as her Might and her own Skill for any actions he may
need to make while using this power. This power lasts her Mode Dots Minutes.
Momentum (•••)
The psion changes an object’s kinetic energy in a specific direction, thereby changing its
velocity. He can accelerate a car beyond its normal maximum, or force it to come to a stop. He
can force objects to move in specific directions and can make impromptu missiles to attack
opponents. He can even manage clumsy flight. The character has some ability to control over the
object’s path by changing the vector of applied energy.
Cost: 1 Psi point
System: The psion can increase or decrease the speed of a target within his Range by one Speed
Scale for every two success spent. If used in space, the psion can increase or decrease Space
Speed by a maximum of one by spending three successes. The psion can target objects of his
Size parameter or smaller, and can increase the target’s Size by a maximum of +1 by spending
one success.
In addition, the psion can accelerate objects less than 1 kg up to supersonic speeds. Used
offensively, he makes a ranged attack by accelerating small objects at her foes. His attack’s
range is his power’s Range, and he gains his Mode Dots as Enhancement. This attack
automatically has the Silent tag, unless the psion wishes otherwise. The psion has a pool of
points equal to his Mode Dots to purchase any of the following tags for this attack: Automatic,
Brutal, Deadly, Piercing, Silent, and Spread. Using the Automatic or Spread tag requires the
psion to attack with several small objects rather than simply one.
[TABLE THIS]
Attack En Range Damage Possible Tags
Type
Kinetic Mode Close to Ballistic Automatic, Brutal, Deadly,
Attack Dots Range Piercing, Ranged (clash to
Range)+, Silent+, Spread
+ These tags are automatically included
 [STOP TABLING THIS]
Kinetic Enhancement (••••)
The psychokinetic refines her control to direct kinetic energy inwards at the molecular level. She
can increase her physical prowess by kinetically reinforcing her muscles, or even fly by
imparting this energy in specific directions.
Cost: 2 Psi points
System: Success gives the character a wide range of abilities. She can enhance her Might by one
dot per success, up to her practical maximum, and at two successes per dot over that, to a
maximum of seven. By spending one success, she can fly at a Speed Scale of her Mode Dots or
at her Mode Dots/2 Space Speed. She can increase her Speed Scale by a maximum of +1 by
spending one additional success or Psi point. A telekinetic’s maximum possible Speed Scale is 6,
and her maximum possible Space Speed is [2] without the use of Kinetic Mastery.
The psychokinetic can carry living things, objects, or vehicles by spending one success or Psi
point per target, up to a total number of targets equal to her Mode Dots. The passengers must
remain within Short Range of the psion, and unless the target can fly, the psion has complete
control over their movement. Resisting targets can attempt the Roll Away Defensive Stunt. If
they succeed, they get out of range before the psion carries them along. Spending one success or
Psi point allows the psion to increases the maximum possible Size of any one target by a
maximum of +1. If desired, the telekinetic, and as many others as fit can ride inside or on any
object or vehicle she is using this power on. This power lasts her Mode Dots times her Duration.
Telekinetic Dynamics (•••••)
The psychokinetic exerts telekinetic control over an area, allowing him a large degree of
creativity. While this power is active, he can move numerous objects, attack or defend multiple
subjects, alter the path of any projectile within range, or create telekinetic explosions by violently
pushing an object in all directions.
Cost: 3 Psi Points
System: For the Duration of this power, the psion gains +1 Enhancement to all Telekinesis rolls
that are part of mixed actions. In addition, the psion reduces the cost of using any one of his
other Telekinesis Mode powers by one Psi point (to a minimum of zero) and can use Kinetic
Enhancement to cause a number of targets within range, up to his Mode Dots, to fly, and can
increase this number by spending one success per additional target. This power lasts his Mode
Dots times his Duration.
Alternately, the psion can cause one object within his Range to explode. The psion can cause any
object of up to his Size parameter -1 to explode, destroying it, and causing indirect
environmental damage. Anyone within Close range of the explosion suffers damage equal to his
Mode Dots. This attack possesses the Deadly tag. Targets within Short range suffer damage
equal to Mode Dots/2, with no tags. He cannot explode living creatures.
Perikinesis
This is often called “the force fields Mode.” While accurate, it fails to capture the variety of uses
a skilled perikinetic can achieve with its effects. Perikinesis effects usually cause a slight
shimmering in the air. However, the psion can render them invisible by spending one success.
Kinetic Shield (•)
The psychokinetic envelops herself in a force bubble that drains physical attacks of energy
before they reach her. Objects that lose all kinetic energy drop to the ground as if in slow motion.
By default, the shield is like a second skin around the psion, but she can push it outwards to
encompass others. People within the bubble can attack each other without impediment. The
shield doesn’t have any effect on physical objects or attacks moving through it from within.
Cost: 0 or 1 Psi point as a reflexive action
System: Success encases the psion in a shield that increases her Armor value by an amount equal
to her Mode Dots, but only against physical attacks. She can spend two successes to increase the
radius of this shield out to Close range. This power lasts her Mode Dots times her Duration, and
the psion can activate it reflexively as part of a Defense action by spending 1 Psi point.
Energy Shield (••)
The psion projects a shield that filters harmful energy. It reduces heat, cold, lasers, lightning and
other harmful energies. It can even act as protection from sunburn. Like the previous power, the
psion can push this shield outwards to form a bubble or dome centered on himself.
Cost: 0 or 1 Psi point as a reflexive action
System: The power works as per Kinetic Shield, but protects the psion from harmful energies. It
also reduces the damage rating of all environmental indirect damage with the Continuous tag
caused by heat, cold, or radiation by Mode Dots/2. This shield doesn’t protect against purely
psionic attacks, such as a telepath’s mental intrusions, but does protect against physical
manifestations of psionic power, like an electrokinetic’s electricity blasts. This power lasts his
Mode Dots times his Duration and the psion can activate it reflexively as part of a Defense action
by spending 1 Psi point.
Shaped Projection (•••)
The psion can form her force fields into shapes beyond a second skin or a bubble. She could
block the windows and doorways of a room, or seal a hull breach. The psychokinetic could also
build force field “tubing” to divert liquids or perform makeshift repairs. These force field shapes
don’t have to remain static; the psion could wrap a corpse within a shaped projection and move it
like a puppet or carry herself and her comrades on a mobile platform. These force fields don’t
have to be large. The psion has an instant, invisible toolbox at his disposal.
Cost: 1 Psi Point
System: Success allows the psion to project a field with a diameter up to her Radius anywhere
within her Range. By default, this only provides physical protection as Kinetic Shield, but the
psion can include energy protection as Energy Shield by spending one success. The psion can
create the field in any shape she can imagine. She can also spend a success to telekinetically
move the force field at either Scale Speed 1 or Space Speed [1], or to allow others to physically
grasp and move it. This power provides the psion and her allies with weightless, nearly invisible
tools that can be shaped for almost any situation and which provide an Enhancement equal to
Mode Dots/2 to reasonable rolls. In addition to providing armor, a field can support up objects of
up to the psion’s Size parameter, or up to 20 objects or individuals or her Size parameter-1. The
psion can also increase the Size of object the force field can support by spending two successes
per +1 Size. These fields endure her Mode Dots times her Duration.
Bulk Shielding (••••)
The psychokinetic can generate multiple force fields around different targets, individually
protecting allies with more precision than a single bubble. He can control the direction in which
each force field protects — placing them around enemies to blunt any attacks coming from
within while not stopping external attacks, or forcing peace upon a group by preventing anyone
from inflicting harm on each other.
Cost: 2 Psi points
System: The psion can place a number of force fields around targets within his Radius equal to
one per success spent. These fields block both physical and energy attacks, adding the psion’s
Mode Dots to the wearer’s armor value. When placed around foes, these fields impose a
Difficulty on attack rolls or attempts at movement with a level equal to the psion’s Mode Dots/2,
but may not also provide armor. The force fields last his Mode Dots times his Duration.
Selective Permeability (•••••)
The psion can generate force fields that filter with precision. She can selectively allow certain
things through while keeping everything else out. These are useful for creating airlocks that
allow entry to people and equipment but keep air inside, or undersea domes that allow oxygen to
penetrate while keeping water out. The psychokinetic could even use the fields to filter fresh
water from contaminated sludge or bacteria from the air.
Cost: 1
System: This power enhances previous Perikinesis powers. When generating a force field, the
psion can spend either one success or one Psi point per substance he wishes to allow through the
field. These substances can be narrow or broad if they have a specific noetic signature. ‘Fresh
water’ or ‘oxygen’ would both qualify, as would ‘humans’, ‘dogs’, or even ‘Chromatics’. This
effect endures for her Mode Dots times her Duration.
Transcending and Proxy Tier Powers
Only proxy Tier psions can learn these powers.
Kinetic Mastery (••••• •)
Kinetic Mastery is three separate powers, one each for Thermokinesis, Telekinesis, and
Perikinesis. These powers are only accessible to proxy Tier psions. These powers don’t provide a
new effect, they increase the effect of every other power in that Mode.
System: When using a power from a Mode for which the psion has Kinetic Mastery, she may
spend an additional Psi point to increase the Scale of one aspect of the power, like Radius,
Range, Size, or Speed, by one, increase any Enhancement by +2, or to multiply any numerical
quantities, like number of targets by five.
Subquantum Lock (••••• ••)
Through a combination of masterful kinetic control and field manipulation, the proxy surrounds
the target in a psychokinetic sheath and ‘locks’ him into molecular stasis. The target is rendered
immobile and unaware of events around him, but is also immune to any outside forces except the
natural movements of the celestial body he is on or orbiting. He could be at the epicenter of a
nuclear detonation and be unharmed and ignorant of the event. Outside forces could excavate the
ground from beneath him and he would remain floating in the air, untouched by gravity. He
remains in place relative to where he began and would, for example, move with the Earth’s
rotation and orbit. The proxy can use this power on himself to provide temporary immunity to
damage from any attack. Mastery of this power has made General Larsson practically
unstoppable on the battlefield, even in the face of devastating Aberrant destructive forces.
Cost: 10 Psi points
System: The psion can use this on himself or on any target within her Range. Success locks the
targets into place, during which he is unaware of events around him, is unable to act, and is
immobile and immune to all effects and damage. The proxy can maintain this for up to Psi
Duration per success or Psi point expended at activation, or can end it when a trigger condition is
met. This trigger can be anything from harmful radiations falling to manageable levels, to
another person speaking a word at the proxy’s locked form. Even if a trigger is not used, the lock
ends when its duration expires. Unwilling targets oppose with Athletics + Resolve + Power Stat.

Quantakinesis
Quantakinesis deals with the relationship between energy and matter in the physical universe,
and subquantum interactions with both. Quantakinesis also allows psions to interact with the
Quantum powers of Aberrants; a potent weapon against those monsters. Despite the destructive
potential within Quantakinesis’ Modes, most quantakinetics were scientifically minded and more
interested in unlocking the secrets of the universe than facing down rampaging Aberrants.
Basic Powers
All characters with even one dot of Quantakinesis possess the following powers.
Psi Cloak
The quantakinetic alters his noetic signature to appear as strong or weak as he desires. He can
blend into the background and appear human to psionic senses, or shine like a beacon that any
psion will notice. QKs can make their noetic field “disappear,” becoming all but impossible for
others to locate them using Psi. The QK can’t benefit from any Psi powers, either his or others’,
if he shuts his noetic field down.
System: Success lets the psion change his Psi trait to appear as any value he wishes. He can
present as a normal human, a latent, a strong latent, or an active psion. He can even give the
psionic impression of being a proxy. This representation has no effect on dice pools or powers
and lasts Psi days. The quantakinetic can also shut down his Psi. He disappears from noetic
detection. Psions can only target him with powers that generate a physical effect, and where the
psion has a Sensory Connection to the target. The quantakinetic has no access to any of his
psionic powers when shut down this way, but when rolling to resist powers, he still uses his full
Psi. This power endures until he reactivates his Psi with a reflexive action.
Subquantum Sense
Quantakinetics are attuned to the ripples noetic (and Quantum) powers make throughout the
universe. The psion can sense when she is within proximity of an active power, whether it is
used on or near her. She can also sense the sickening twists of Aberrant Quantum manipulations.
System: For the duration of the power, the quantakinetic senses all active Psi powers within his
Attunement Range. This includes lingering powers such as biokinetic enhancements and subtle
powers in an area like a clairsentient’s scrying. The character knows the Aptitude, Mode and dot
rating of the power. This also works against Aberrant powers, though the quantakinetic only
learns the general type of power (attack, defense, concealing, or similar) and the Aberrant’s
archetype (see p. XX). This persists for Psi Duration and the psion can activate it reflexively
whenever someone targets her with a power.
Energetics
The quantakinetic exerts power over the fundamental forces of the universe as they relate to all
known forms of energy. This Mode affects a greater breadth of energy than Electrokinesis, but
that Aptitude provides far greater control over the energies within its domain.
Conversion (•)
The psion can change any form of energy into another type, regardless of relationship between
the two. The resultant energies are largely unstructured, even if the source was more complex.
The psion could change coherent light from a laser to hissing white noise, and she could turn
electrical current into flashes of light or bursts of heat, but she couldn’t transform the current into
a laser.
System: If successful, the character can transform one type of energy within her Radius into an
equivalent amount of another. She could directly transform kinetic energy into a flash of light, or
some of the local gravity into heat to keep warm or cook food. One success allows the psion to
alter the gravity around her by one level (page XX), or to eliminate all environmental damage
caused by heat, cold, or radiation that has the Continuous (hour) tag. Used defensively, this
allows the character to change a number of damage levels equal to her successes from
environmental effects involving cold, heat, falls, or radiation, or from ballistic, electrical,
incendiary, laser, or sonic attack into harmless energy. However, each use of this power can only
transform a number of different types of energy equal to her Mode Dots/2, and the psion can
only maintain one version of this power at a time. This power lasts for one Scene and the psion
can activate it reflexively as part of a Defense action by spending 1 Psi point.
Production (••)
The quantakinetic converts noetic energy directly into energy from the physical universe. The
energy emanates from the psion but he can project it from any portion of his body. The character
can produce all simple forms of energy, including electromagnetic, sound, and kinetic energy, as
well as forces like gravity or magnetism. The psion is immune to any damage caused by the
energy as he produces it, but not from follow-on effects. If he heated a room to catch fire he
would be safe from the initial heat, but not from the risk of being in a burning room. The psion
can release this energy as a powerful burst or more slowly.
Cost: 1 Psi point
System: The psion creates an instant burst of any type of energy. The psion lacks fine control
over the energy’s flow, but can aim a burst of energy at a single foe within his Radius that
creates an environmental hazard with a Damage Rating equal to his Mode Dots. By spending one
success, he can add either the Deadly or the Non-Lethal Indirect Injury tags (Trinity
Continuum Corebook, p. XX). If desired, he can spend one additional Psi point to expand this
attack so that it affects everyone within Close range of his target. He can also use this power to
perform simple tasks like igniting fires or throwing objects, vehicles, or individuals up to her
Size parameter up to his Radius, using a brief burst of gravity or kinetic energy. If desired, the
psion can throw people and objects with less force, to safely move them up to his Radius.
Alternately, the psion can choose to produce the energy more slowly, creating enough light to
see comfortably, sufficient heat to make arctic cold comfortable (eliminating all environmental
damage caused by cold with the Continuous (hour) or Continuous (minute) tags), increase
gravity by one level (p. XX) per success, or creating sufficient electricity to recharge portable
batteries. Used in this fashion, the power can affect everything within the psion’s Radius. These
effects persist for his Mode Dots times his Duration.
Destruction (•••)
The quantakinetic destroys energy, transforming it into subquantum particles that disappear into
the noetic continuum. This power is particularly useful for eliminating sources of harmful
energy, or constructing shields to protect the psion and her allies from damaging emissions.
Cost: 2 Psi points
System: Success allows the character to destroy any energy within her Radius by converting it to
subquantum particles. She can protect a single target within her Radius from damaging energies
by increasing the Difficulty of all attempts to use the Inflict Damage stunt and reducing the
damage rating of all forms of indirect damage caused by energy by one per success. For one
additional Psi point, she can protect everyone within Close range of the target. She can also use
this power more subtly. Each success can drain all charge from batteries and power packs in
vehicles or weapons (but cannot affect vehicles powered by hyperfusion reactors), rendering
devices and weapons useless. The psion can also use successes to eliminate dangerous radiation,
make hot weather chilly (eliminating all environmental damage caused by radiation or heat with
the Continuous (hour) or Continuous (minute) tags, or reduce the local pull of gravity by one
level (p. XX) per success. The psion can use any of these subtler power on some or all targets
within her Radius. All uses of this power last for her Mode Dots times her Duration.
Change Properties (••••)
The quantakinetic can change the behavior and properties of a single energy source without
altering what it is. He could make electricity unable to be transmitted by metals, remove heat’s
ability to burn organic matter, or alter the direction of gravity. The psion deliberately breaks
universal laws in performing these changes, which only persist while the character’s Psi sustains
them.
Cost: 3 Psi points
System: Success allows the psion to alter one property of any specific type of energy occurring
within his Radius per success spent. This change doesn’t affect the energy’s other properties. The
changes persist for one Scene, and end immediately if the energy moves outside of the psion’s
Radius.
Null (•••••)
The quantakinetic creates a zone of noetic tranquility. The psion divorces herself and anyone she
wishes inside the zone from any or all types of energy. This exempts her from being affected by
these energies, except as she permits.
Cost: 4 Psi points
System: Success allows the character to decide how she interacts with energies for a number of
Rounds equal to her Mode Dots + successes. She can add people and items within her Radius for
one success or Psi point each. She could become transparent to light, partially or entirely
immune to gravity, or impervious to heat or electricity within the zone. She can also sense what
happens around her normally if she wishes. The character can even choose to be able to act and
perceive normally while being completely undetectable to all conventional senses or sensors
while the effect endures. Attempts to target the quantakinetic with physical energy suffer a
Complication equal to her Mode Dots, and even then, attackers must be able to sense her to
attack. Attacks using non-energy based psionic and Quantum powers, like Telepathy or
Teleportation, are unaffected if the attacker can sense the psion.
Fundamentals
Students of Fundamentals can empower or impede the psionic and Quantum flows throughout
the universe. In addition to being able to weaken or block Psi powers, the psion can dampen
Aberrant powers, remove Corruption from Quantum Flux diseases, or even remediate Corrupted
wastelands. Rules for Quantum Flux zones and Quantum Flux illness are on pp. XX-XX.
Resist (•)
The quantakinetic shields against Psi and Quantum powers either used against her or against the
area she is in. For powers affecting an area, the character can choose to protect just herself, or
unravel the entire power. Each use of this power protects the psion from a single Mode of one
Aptitude or a single type of Quantum power.
System: The quantakinetic imposes a Difficulty equal to her successes to power activation rolls
from a single Mode or Quantum power that would affect her. For powers targeted at an area
containing the psion, she may instead impose this as a Complication equal to her successes. If the
power’s originator succeeds at his roll but doesn’t overcome the Complication, his power acts
against everyone in the area except the quantakinetic and anyone she is protecting. The psion can
extend this protection to anyone within Close range by spending one Psi point. This power lasts
for Mode Dots in Rounds.
Shield (••)
The quantakinetic can choose to protect himself and perhaps those near him from either all psi
powers or all Quantum power, but cannot protect against both simultaneously.
Cost: 1 Psi point
System: When attempting to shield against either type of power, the psion imposes a
Complication with a level equal to one for every two successes on all psi or quantum powers
used against the psion. This Complication functions as armor for attacks that cause physical
damage and as an ordinary Complication for all other effects. If the power’s originator succeeds
at her roll but doesn’t overcome the Complication, her power acts against everyone in the area
who isn’t protected. The psion can spend additional Psi points to protect Psi other targets within
Short range from these effects. If the psion is protecting against Quantum powers, the shield also
protects individuals from all penalties and other effects caused by Quantum Flux zones. This
power lasts for one Scene.
Drain (•••)
The psion can siphon Psi and Quantum reservoirs, either channeling them to recharge herself or
others, or draining them back into the subquantum universe. This usually manifests as stealing
Psi (or Corruption) points directly from an individual, but he can also temporarily drain the
Corruption from individuals with Quantum Flux diseases. Annulling Corruption allows the
victim’s body to heal on its own, or to receive treatment from a vitakinetic. Either way, if the
quantakinetic suppresses the Corruption until the disease is fully healed, it is permanently gone.
Cost: 2 Psi points
System: Roll with a Difficulty equal to the target’s Psi or Corruption. The psion drains one Psi
or Corruption point from her target per success, adding Psi points to his pool or the pool of any
single psion with his Range at a rate of one Psi point per two Psi or one Corruption drained. She
can also harmlessly disperse energies into the subquantum universe. The quantakinetic can also
drain Corruption from humans with Quantum Flux diseases. If she succeeds, a vitakinetic can
cure it as a normal illness. This effect lasts his Mode Dots times his Duration. If the
quantakinetic drains all Psi points from a being of pure noetic energy, like one of the Doyen (p.
XX), it is unaware and Taken Out for the next Scene.
Manipulate (••••)
The quantakinetic can change the parameters of other psions’ (or Aberrant’s) powers. This works
if he is present when the power manifests, or if he detects lingering powers of longer duration.
He can’t change a power’s ongoing after-effects— items torched by Thermokinesis remain burnt
— but he can mitigate effects directly sustained by the lingering power. However, he can’t
modify powers that only affect the user.
Cost: 3 Psi points
System: When influencing psionic powers, the quantakinetic can spend successes to alter a
power within his Range as if he had created the effect. He can also ‘buy down’ the power he
alters, spending successes to decrease any parameter like Range, Modifier, or Duration with each
success decreasing the effective Psi or Mode Dots by one or increasing each parameter by one
for every two successes spent. Spending four successes allows the psion to change the target of
the effect to anyone within range of the power, including the character who originated it. This
tactic also works against Quantum powers. This power lasts for the duration of the power it is
affecting.
Transference (•••••)
The quantakinetic can flood a target or the area around her with cleansing psionic energies,
reinforcing and empowering noetic templates, and boosting psionic clarity. This also clears away
Corruption, eliminating a Quantum Flux Zone. With effort, Transference can even repair the
noetic damage that causes Quantum Flux diseases or transforms people into sub-Aberrant
mutants, restoring their lost humanity and can temporarily reduce an Aberrant’s Corruption.
Alternately, the psion can temporarily increase the Corruption of an area, or use this Corruption
to further empower a sub-Aberrant mutant or an Aberrant.
Cost: 4 Psi points
System: Roll against a Difficulty equal to the area’s Corruption trait. Success floods the area
with subquantum energy, giving everyone with a Psi trait within the psion’s Radius an
Enhancement equal to successes. Aberrants and any other beings without a Psi trait instead suffer
this increased Difficult to all rolls of the same level. Alternately, the character can reverse this
effect, increasing Difficulty to everyone with the Psi trait and giving an Enhancement to every
creature with a Corruption trait. Both effects last for Psi Rounds.
If the character instead focuses on a single target within his Range, she can either attempt to
temporarily increase or decrease the target’s Corruption trait by one point for every two
successes (round down). The Difficulty to either increase or decrease a target’s Corruption trait
is equal to the target’s Corruption trait. The character cannot use this ability on any creature
without a Corruption trait. The character can also temporarily increase or decrease another
psion’s Psi trait by one point, but cannot affect it more than this. All effects last for her Mode
Dots times her Duration.
To purify an area, the victim of a Quantum Flux disease, or a sub-Aberrant mutant, the psion
rolls and spends successes equal to the target’s Corruption trait. Living beings must be within the
psion’s Radius, and the psion reduces the Corruption of all portions of a Quantum Flux Zone that
are within her Radius. For both uses, the psion must remain within her Radius of the target and
maintain the power for one full Scene. Corrupted creatures attempt to flee from the discomfort;
other creatures within the Quantum Flux Zone sense the changes and may come to investigate
and stop the quantakinetic. If successful, the target’s Corruption trait is reduced by one. The
psion can then use Transference again on this reduced level of Corruption. When the psion
reduces the target’s Corruption to zero, it is permanently clear of Aberrant energies, although
additional Quantum Flux can corrupt it again. This use of the power does not work on actual
Aberrants.
Transmutation
The quantakinetic exerts power over the structure and properties of non-living matter. She can
sense and alter the molecular structure of non-living materials, or even change the subatomic
structure and change one element into another. The psion can even generate exotic forms of
matter. Exotic substances are inherently unstable and swiftly disintegrate without the
quantakinetic’s power maintaining them.
Molecular Scanning (•)
The psion can sense the molecular makeup of objects. He can easily identify the object’s weakest
point, whether due to design flaws or through some other vulnerability and learn details of its
inner structure. The psion can uniquely identify an object and know if it is replaced by a non-
molecularly identical copy.
System: The character understands the molecular structure of one non-living object within Short
range. This identifies the object’s unique noetic signature and also provides the psion with
detailed knowledge of the object. He knows if it contains any hidden compartments, and any
weak points or concealed damage as well as how it moves and reacts. For the next Scene, he can
reduce any Difficulty or Complications involved in repairing the object by the number of
successes rolled, using any remaining successes an Enhancement to the roll. In addition, he can
also find weak spots in the object, allowing him to apply the same bonus to any attempts to
disable the object or to perform similar actions like picking a lock. He can also spend successes
to ignore one point of armor per success for any attack he makes on the object during the Scene.
However, this power does not allow the character to understand electronic data. The character
can also track any object he has scanned for Psi days.
Malleability (••)
The quantakinetic temporarily alters molecular bonds allowing her to reshape even the hardest
material as if it were clay. She can also increase the ‘solidity’ of liquids and gases, creating
strong structures from liquids or making jelly-like walls from gas. These changes don’t alter the
chemical nature of the substances — people can still breathe thickened air or drink hardened
water, although doing so may require more effort than usual.
Cost: 1 Psi point
System: The quantakinetic reshapes any object up to her Size parameter within her Radius. She
can increase the Size of the object she can affect by +1 by spending 2 successes. However, she
cannot further increase this Size except by using the appropriate Noetic Harmony. Substances
that are particularly precious to someone, or that are frequently used and carried — such as
favored clothing or weapons — apply the owner’s Psi or Corruption trait as Difficulty to the roll.
Shaping an object may require other skills and additional rolls if she constructs a machine or
creates a work of art. This power provides no protection from dangerous substances. Malleability
lasts up to her Mode Dots times her Duration. After this power ends, solids retain their shape, but
liquids and gases do not.
Association (•••)
Everything has a noetic signature, not just living creatures. Being part of something greater
reshapes an inanimate object’s noetic nature. A chip isn’t just a computer component, it is the
electronic brain of a computer. Bolts and nuts don’t simply hold items together, they are as much
a part of the structural whole as ligaments and tendons are to a person. Through this oneness, the
quantakinetic can reassemble broken objects, with her power filling gaps by reforming available
substances, or making temporary fill-ins with pure Psi.
Cost: 2 Psi points
System: The psion reassembles any broken or disassembled non-living structure, vehicle, or
device up to the psion’s his Size parameter within his Radius. He can increase the Size of the
object he can affect by +1 by spending 2 successes. However, he cannot further increase this Size
except by using the appropriate Noetic Harmony. Repairing an item requires one success if all
pieces are available. The quantakinetic’s power automatically molds replacements for missing
pieces for one success if suitable materials are nearby — such as modifying nearby stone to
replace concrete — or makes translucent psionic versions for two successes, if not. These repairs
leave no visible evidence; they occur at the molecular level. Repairs are permanent if all pieces
or replacements are made from suitable materials. The psion can make multiple attempts to
repair larger objects. The character can also use this power to create physical keys or to create
components that have been deliberately removed from a device to disable it. All psionic
replacements fade after his Mode Dots times his Duration.
Retune (••••)
The psion can alter matter by temporarily changing its properties. She can stop electricity
flowing through metal by changing its conductivity or alter the insulating properties of
Styrofoam to maximize heat transfer. The quantakinetic could make concrete transparent to light,
or alter it to offer the resistance of air to anyone passing through, all while maintaining its
structural strength. These changes can instantly disable a device and could also potentially
enhance it somewhat.
Cost: 3 Psi points
System: The character can alter any non-living matter of up to her Size parameter or all gas or
liquid within her Radius by spending successes on the table below. She can increase the Size of
the object she can affect by +1 by spending 2 successes. However, she cannot further increase
this Size except by using the appropriate Noetic Harmony. Multiple attempts can transform
larger objects. Altering the environment in specific ways can make certain actions easier or more
difficult, providing up to +1 Enhancement per success to particular actions or increasing the
Difficulty of actions by up to +1 Difficulty per success. Changes endure for her Mode Dots times
her Duration.
[TABLE THIS]
Matter Alteration Table
Alteration Successes per change
Minor (color or opacity) 1
Durability (increase or decrease armor) 1 per point of armor increased or decreased
Moderate (conductivity, insulation) 2
Major (change mass) 3
Extreme (alter density) 4

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Alchemy (•••••)
The quantakinetic turns one substance into another, or creates matter out of nothingness. The
availability and purity of the original substance affects how difficult this is for the psion to
accomplish, as does the complexity of the change. Additionally, while transforming dangerous
materials into harmless substitutes adds no difficulty, the reverse is considerably more difficult.
Cost: 4 Psi points
System: The quantakinetic can transform any object of up to Large size (p. XX) into another
substance as per the table below. He can spend two successes to increase the object’s size to Size
0, but only the appropriate Noetic Harmony can increase the size further. The psion must be no
further than Close range away to transform something. These transformations are permanent.
This process leaves a psionic trace on the transformed substance that other psions can use to
establish a Familiar Connection to the quantakinetic. Also, the psion cannot use this power to
create complex electronic devices or other objects that depend upon having a complex chemical
and physical structure. At the Storyguide’s discretion, most types of exotic matter fade away
after his Mode Dots times his Duration.
[TABLE THIS]
Substance Successes
Pure element 1
 Single molecular substance 2
Simple solution (one substance dissolved in another) 3
Complicated solution 4
Multiple substances chemically fused together 5
Substance toxicity +1 per Damage
Create substance from nothing +1 Psi point and +1 success
Create exotic matter that defies physical laws +2 Psi points and +2 successes

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Transcending and Proxy Tier Powers
Only proxy Tier psions can learn these powers.
Noetic Harmony (••••• •)
Noetic Harmony is three separate powers, one each for Energetics, Fundamentals, and
Transmutation. These powers are only accessible to proxy Tier psions. These powers don’t
provide a new effect, they increase the effect of every other power in that Mode.
System: When using a power from a Mode for which the psion has Noetic Harmony, he may
spend an additional Psi point to increase the Scale of one aspect of the power, like Radius,
Range, or Size by one, increase any Enhancement by +2, or to multiply any numerical quantities
like number of targets by five.
Shutdown (••••• ••)
The proxy can demonstrate her command of the forces that power psions and Aberrants by
temporarily severing their connection to the source. This temporarily rewrites a psion’s noetic
template, or renders an Aberrant’s M-R Node inactive.
Cost: 10 Psi points
System: Roll with a Difficulty equal to the target’s Psi or Corruption. Success shuts down the
target’s powers. However, as soon as the psion uses this power on them, the target can take an
ordinary action to spend three Psi points or one Corruption point per level to inflict a
Complication that prevents the quantakinetic from using this power on the target now or for the
remainder of the Scene. The quantakinetic can use Shutdown repeatedly to buy down this
Complication. If the proxy succeeds, the target is effectively a normal human for her Mode Dots
times her Duration. If the proxy fails, the target retains his powers. Shutting down a being of
pure Psi energy permanently destroys it.

Telepathy
A subtle Aptitude, Telepathy has few outward signs to give away its use. The existence of
Telepathy gives rise to paranoia and mistrust of psions. Telepathy has become subject to more
legal controls and restrictions than other Aptitudes because of this. Unless otherwise stated,
Telepathic powers that the psion can target using noetic connections (p. XX) can only target
individuals within Psi astronomical units (AU) of the telepath.

Mental Injury
Damage to a character’s psyche can be modeled using Status Conditions (p. XX).
Mental Status Conditions can simulate the lasting effects of trauma, brain injury,
phobias, or disorders the character was born with. While characters can learn to live
with or overcome these with therapy, drugs, and time, Telepathy and Vitakinesis
can heal or inflict these Conditions far more rapidly.
The following are two examples of using Status Conditions to simulate mental
trauma a character may suffer. Players and Storyguides should work together to
develop others suitable for their game.
Post Incident Trauma (Persistent)
Exposure to traumatic experiences has left lasting damage. The character has
recurring, distracting memories of the trauma, deliberately avoids situations that
remind him of the experience, and has difficulty sleeping which leads to lethargy
and irritability. When the character encounters stressful situations, or experiences
that remind him of the trauma, he adds 2 Difficulty to all rolls for the remainder of
the Scene.
Resolution: Appropriate Psi powers or therapy.
Phobia
The character has an unreasonable fear of something. When she encounters the
subject of her fear, she finds it difficult to do anything except try to escape the
situation. She adds a level 2 Complication to rolls while in the presence of the
subject, failure to buy off this Complication means the character retreats from the
source of her fear.
Resolution: Appropriate Psi powers or therapy.

Basic Powers
All characters with even one dot of Telepathy possess the following powers.
Mindscan
The telepath senses minds around her. She can easily tell the difference between human and
other species, and recognizes species she has encountered before. The psion also automatically
recognizes minds she’s previously had telepathic contact with, unless the individual is using Psi
powers (or other abilities) to mask his thought patterns.
Cost: 0 or 1 Psi point
System: Success detects all minds within Medium range. The psion can recognize individuals
whose minds she has sensed before. By spending one Psi point, the psion can extend this power
to Long range. The psion can also use other Telepathy powers through the Psionic Connection
established by Mindscan. This power lasts for Psi Duration.
Mindspeak
The telepath can open a communications channel between herself and anyone within his line-of-
sight. The target must voluntarily accept the link, which automatically fails if he refuses. The
link allows them to converse silently, but telepath can only communication with a single
individual at a time.
System: The psion establishes a telepathic link with another human within Medium range. He
can communicate silently but must share a common language to understand the other person and
be understood, beyond the ability to communicate simple messages like “danger outside”. This
connection endures for Psi Rounds. Communicating with aliens is possible, but imposes a
Complication with a level that depends on both how mentally alien they are and whether they are
willing or attempting to resist. Qin only impose a level 1 Complication because they are naturally
telepathic, while an unwilling and terrified Chromatic imposes a level 4 Complication. A willing
Chromatic would reduce that Complication down to 2. Failure to buy off this Complication
means that the telepath and the target receive only confusing nonsense from each other.
Rapport
Rapport helps the telepath understand the emotions that drive both individuals and large masses
of people. Skilled telepaths can calm an angry individual or incite a crowd to violent revolution.
To those who would seek to control and manipulate entire populations, masters of Rapport are
simultaneously great assets and potentially dire threats. Greater emotional changes require more
effort. See the Emotional Intensity Chart below for one of many possible examples of the range
of emotions and how these changes can be quantified.
[TABLE THIS]
Emotional Intensity Chart
Intensity Example Emotional State
Extreme (-3) Ecstatic
Focused (-2) Happy
Exaggerated (-1) Pleased
Neutral (0) Calm
Exaggerated (1) Displeased
Focused (2) Angry
Extreme (3) Enraged

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Sense Emotion (•)
The telepath reads the emotions of individuals, or senses the prevailing attitude of a group. When
reading a group, the psion understands how pervasive an emotion is amongst everyone present.
This power also highlights individuals who feel differently, or feel the overarching emotion most
strongly. When focused on individuals, the telepath understands the target’s current emotional
makeup, and how each part contributes to the whole.
System: The telepath understands the primary motivating emotions of an individual or group
within either Medium range or the range of her Mindscan, whichever is longer. The psion also
understands the attitude of the individual towards anyone present and can identify any bonds
between people in a group she scans. Not every member of the group need be in this area. The
character may also spend one success to identify individuals who deviate from the group
emotion, or who feel it most strongly. The psion gains Enhancement equal to her Mode Dots to
Empathy rolls to influence the individual or sway the crowd. This power lasts for one Scene.
Exacerbate (••)
The psion modifies the strength of a single emotion, inflaming it to greater heights or damping it
to next to nothing. The emotion must be affecting the victim at least a fair degree for the psion to
be able to increase it. He couldn’t increase fear in a target who was comfortable and relaxed, nor
anger in a person who was delightfully happy. The psion also can’t entirely eliminate the
emotion. He could calm an enraged individual to a simmering bad mood, or bring raucous
laughter to mild amusement, but some trace of the emotion remains. The psion can target himself
with this power.
System: Unwilling targets oppose this roll with Empathy + Composure. The psion changes the
intensity of one of the target’s emotions by one step on the emotional intensity chart per success
and can instead choose to increase or decrease the Intensity of the target’s attitude towards
someone by one point per success, but cannot make a positive attitude negative or the reverse.
In addition, he can impose a Complication on others trying to reason with or influence the target
with a level equal to the target’s new attitude. Alternately, he could grant the target an
Enhancement equal to his successes on Mental or Social rolls as her mind becomes clear of
distraction, or impose the same amount as increased Difficulty as the emotion overwhelms her.
The target is aware of her actions while influenced. The psion can use this power on a single
target in line of sight or that the psion can detect using Mindscan. These effects last his Mode
Dots times his Duration, after which the emotions return to normal intensity.
Mob Mentality (•••)
This telepath sways the mood of entire crowds. She can dictate the prevailing mood of a group
and move everyone’s emotions towards that goal. Someone in the group must already feel a
degree of what the telepath hopes to achieve. The psion can generate subtle effects as well as
gross mood changes, such as feelings of hunger when near a restaurant, or desire to own the
latest fad.
Cost: 2 Psi points
System: The psion can calm, inflame, or change the prevailing emotional state of an entire
crowd that is within her Radius. The telepath must spend one success for every 10 x her Psi
individuals she tries to sway, plus one success for each step of separation between the desired
emotion and the crowd’s current emotion. She can also spend Psi points instead of successes.
Influencing the crowd’s emotional state grants the psion an Enhancement equal to successes
when dealing with members of the group and can also change the atmosphere (Trinity
Continuum Corebook, p. XX) by her dots in this Mode, including raising or lowering it, or
lowering it to zero and then creating an entirely different positive or negative atmosphere. This
effect lasts her Mode Dots times her Duration, after which the group’s mood may begin to shift,
depending on what other stimuli affect the members.
Inflict Emotion (••••)
The psion can impose any emotion on his target. Fear could paralyze a calm, experienced soldier,
or a bored student could become intently focused on the task before her. These emotions can be
incredibly strong and cause a victim to act against her nature. He could force a criminal suspect
to be wracked with guilt and confess to anything the police suggest, or even attempt suicide to
escape the emotions. These extreme effects unfortunately provide plenty of sensationalized
fodder for anti-telepath, and anti-psion, groups.
Cost: 2 Psi points
System: Unwilling targets oppose this roll with Empathy + Composure. Each success spent lets
the psion inflict any emotion on a single target in line or sight or that the psion can detect using
Mindscan. The strength of this emotion is dictated by successes spent, with each success
allowing the psion to creation an emotion one additional step away from calm. The victim suffers
the psion’s Mode Dots to the Difficulty of actions where the emotion would be a hindrance or
the same as Enhancement where the emotional would be beneficial. Additionally, the psion can
either raise or lower the target’s attitude one level of Intensity per success. By spending 2
additional Psi points, the psion can affect everyone within his Radius.
Alternately, the psion can use his successes to create a bond between himself and a single target
or to create a bond between two targets. All such bonds are automatically two-way, and so both
parties suffer all drawbacks from these temporary bonds. All uses of this power last his Mode
Dots times his Duration.
Conditioned (•••••)
The telepath can do more than directly control emotions, she can build mental scenarios that
trigger desired emotions under the right conditions. The psion can help soldiers and police
respond calmly to high-stress or traumatic situations, or she provoke someone to murderous rage
in response to a minor frustration with congested traffic or the sight of a particular individual.
Cost: 3 Psi points
System: Unwilling targets oppose this roll with Empathy + Composure. The telepath implants
emotions within the victim’s psyche as per Inflict Emotion, but they don’t take immediate effect.
These changes can include any of the options available to Inflict Emotion, including attitude
changes or temporary bonds. The psion then specifies certain conditions that cause the emotion
to suddenly manifest for up to her Mode Dots times her Duration before fading. She can include
multiple conditions by spending one success per condition. The hidden emotions endure for Psi
months before leaving the target’s mind, even if the conditions aren’t met in this time. The psion
can activate this power in consecutive Rounds to continue to accumulate sufficient successes to
achieve her goal. Use of this power sometimes induce the target to continue to feel a lesser
version of the desired emotion in the same circumstances even after it has worn off and
occasionally causes lasting mental injury.
Mindshare
This Mode directly transmits information from one mind to another. It can permit mental
conversations, but is more than just words. People connected via Mindshare exchange thoughts,
images, and concepts and do not require a common language. The telepath can pluck thoughts
and memories from targets, and delve into his innermost secrets and dreams.
Network (•)
The psion builds a telepathic network linking multiple minds together. Individuals within this
network can communicate silently regardless of distance. This mental contact eliminates barriers
of language and culture. Each networked individual generally chooses what thoughts to send to
the network, though moments of extreme emotion or sudden pain can seep through and distract
other members. Networked psions do not have to maintain physical contact to combine their
Aptitudes (p. XX). While the telepath maintains the Network, all individuals count as touching.
System: The telepath can network a number of individuals equal to successes. The telepath must
possess a noetic connection someone in order to attempt to include him in a network. The same
penalties for communicating with aliens using Mindspeak apply to Network.
By default, every member transmits to the entire group, but any telepath in the network can limit
distribution of messages reflexively. The network endures for his Mode Dots times his Duration,
or the telepath can sustain it indefinitely by committing one Psi point. For the duration of the
network, everyone counts as having a Psionic Connection (p. XX) with one another.
Surface Skim (••)
The telepath can read a target’s surface thoughts, but can’t dig deeper into his mind or memories.
The psion can take deliberate action to prompt her target’s thoughts, but various groups train
people in generating mental static to avoid this as needed.
System: The psion targets one person within line of sight or Mindscan range. The roll has a
Difficulty equal to the target’s Manipulation if he is unaware or opposed by the target’s Integrity
+ Manipulation if he has reason to suspect someone is actively searching his thoughts. The psion
gains one thought at the forefront of the target’s mind per success spent. The telepath can use this
power in concert with normal conversation or actions that lead the target’s mind to reveal clues
or other information sought by the psion. In addition to the value of the information, the psion
gains Enhancement equal to successes spent when using this information to influence the target.
Access (•••)
The telepath accesses others’ senses to experience locations as if he were there. Targeting
individuals he has a noetic connection to works best, but the telepath can leap from person to
person if needed. With additional effort, he can simultaneously monitor the senses of multiple
people, gaining a composite picture of an area, or observe different areas at once.
Cost: 1 Psi point
System: The telepath can target individuals he possesses any type of noetic connection with.
Other telepaths are automatically aware of this power, and if unwilling can apply their Mind
Shield to the roll, but no one else is aware of the mental intrusion. On success, he experiences the
target’s senses as his own. He can jump to another person within his target’s line of sight,
treating that person as if he had a Familiar Connection with her. Changing targets costs one
success if he breaks contact with the original person, or two successes if he maintains multiple
sensory viewpoints. The telepath retains his own senses and awareness while using this power.
When combined with Network, he can allow everyone in the Network to share everyone’s
viewpoints by spending either 1 Psi point or successes equal to the number of members of the
Network. The psion’s power cushions the effect so everyone functions normally despite seeing
different scenes from multiple angles. The effect lasts his Mode Dots times his Duration.
Deep Scan (••••)
The telepath can search a target’s mind like a holovid collection. She can sift through memories
to find specific information, or simply access as much as she can to better understand the target.
Cost: 2 Psi points
System: The psion targets one person within Short range and rolls with a Difficulty equal to the
target’s Composure. The psion spends successes as per the table below to uncover memories
from the victim’s mind, and can divide up successes so as to retrieve multiple memories at once.
[TABLE THIS]
Memory Type Successes Required
Superficial 1
Personal 2
Embarrassing 3
Well-guarded or Forgotten 4
Deeply Repressed 5

[STOP TABLING THIS]

Override (•••••)
The telepath becomes an instant expert in almost any field by drawing on the skills and
specialties of those around her. He could swap his target’s higher Skill for his lower one, or
hinder an enemy by substituting a lesser skill for her own. The telepath can use this power as part
of a Network to grant every member the best possible skill levels available to the group. Such
deep mental contact can be uncomfortable because it breaks down every barrier between
individuals — there is no mental privacy or secrets within such groups.
Cost: 3 Psi points
System: Individuals can actively resist this power using Psi + Resolve. The telepath can use the
Skill of anyone within Mindscan range, and can either look for the highest Skill (or particular
combination of Skills, Skill tricks, and Specialties), or he can select a more distant target she
possesses a noetic connection to and borrow their Skill. The telepath can increase his chosen
Skill by one dot per success, to a maximum of the target’s Skill. Alternately, he can swap his
Skill rank with someone else by paying successes equal to the difference between the Skill dots,
raising his Skill and lowering the target’s Skill. This transfer can include more that Skill dots; the
telepath can also temporarily transfer (or steal) any Skill Tricks or Specialties the target has
linked to a Skill at a cost of one success per Skill Trick or Specialty. If the psion has sufficient
successes, he can borrow multiple Skills. If part of a Network, the telepath grants every member
access to the highest Skill ratings, Skill Tricks, and Specialties by spending either 3 additional
Psi points or successes equal to the number of members of the group. This effect lasts his Mode
Dots times his Duration.
Psychbending
The telepath controls others through the power of her Psi. She can direct her victims to act, alter
memories, and change personalities to temporarily craft a new person from the victim.
Psychbending can also help others by alleviating or curing the symptoms of mental trauma or
illness. The telepath can target herself with Psychbending powers.
Mind Shield (•)
Most new telepaths learn to protect their own minds from intrusion. This goes beyond tricks used
by others, like uttering repetitive phrases or solving complex logic problems. The telepath
creates a wall of Psi between her mind and those who seek to read or control it. She is aware of
attempts to penetrate her shield and can choose to allow powers through — such as
communicating with an ally.
Cost: 1 Psi point
System: The telepath erects a psionic wall that adds her successes as a Difficulty to rolls to read
or influence her mind for Mode Dots hours. She automatically senses if someone attempts to use
mental powers on her, recognizes the type of power — communication, information probing, or
influencing — and can apply her defenses or not with a thought. Dropping her defense against
one specific power does nothing to reduce her defenses against other attempts.
Command (••)
The psion compels a target to obey his commands. At its simplest, the telepath’s spoken words
are backed by psionic power. These victims don’t automatically know they’re subject to an
outside force and may rationalize away strange actions, if they don’t significantly deviate from
their norm. The psion can also compel the target to obey mentally transmitted instructions.
Targets of this power automatically resist any instructions that cause them to commit self-harm
or clearly violate their moral codes. The psion could force a victim to allow him entry to a
restricted area, but the victim wouldn’t steal from her beloved sibling.
Cost: 1 Psi point
System: Unwilling targets oppose this roll with Integrity + Presence. The telepath issues
commands by spending successes as per the table below. The victim doesn’t automatically
realize someone else controls her actions, though his suspicions grow with those that deviate
from his usual behavior. Commands lose their power to compel obedience after one Scene, and
the telepath can only use this ability on someone within Short range and it lasts for one Scene or
until the target completes the command, whichever comes sooner.
[TABLE THIS]
Command Intensity Table
Command Action Successes
Intensity required
Inconsequential Sneeze, blink, scratch an itch 1
Minor Eat or drink, make a non-emotional call, choose an 2
outfit
 Major Help someone you dislike, take a break without 3
permission, work to hinder or slightly harm
someone you don’t care about
Extreme Provide confidential information, give access to a 4
controlled area, conceal information from someone
you care about or feel loyalty to

[STOP TABLING THIS]

Rewrite (•••)
The telepath alters the target’s mental parameters. She can temporarily add, remove, or edit his
memories, change his Mental and Social Attributes, or even grant or remove certain Edges. She
can also help people recover from mental trauma or illness. The larger the alteration, or the more
important an aspect is to the victim, the more difficult it is for the telepath to change it. These
changes are almost always temporary; eventually the victim’s mind reasserts itself. The only
exception is when the psion makes an effort to create or cure lasting mental injuries.
Cost: 2 Psi points
System: Unwilling targets oppose this roll with Integrity + Resolve. The psion spends successes
to change the target’s mind as per the nearby table. Additionally, the telepath can ease the
penalty from Status Conditions related to mental illness or trauma, or remove the Condition
entirely with sufficient effort. All changes require the telepath’s full concentration for one minute
per success spent, and the effects last Psi days, except for permanent changes to mental Status
Conditions. Committing Psi points can cause other changes to last far longer.
[TABLE THIS]
Rewrite Difficulty Table
Alteration Successes
Minor edit — Forgetting where you parked. Misremembering the name of 1
someone you just met
Moderate edit — Misremember the day’s events. Forget a long-term 3
acquaintance
Major edit — Forget a loved one. Recall a fabricated friendship 5
Increase/decrease Mental or Social Attribute (from one dot to Practical 2 per dot
Maximum)
Increase/Decrease Skill or remove a Skill Trick or Specialty 1 per dot
Create or Relieve a Mental Status Condition for the duration of the effect 2
Permanently Create, Increase, Reduce or Remove a Mental Status 5
Condition

[STOP TABLING THIS]

Possess (••••)
The telepath can mentally possess someone, forcing them unconscious, and using the victim’s
body as his own. The victim is not aware his actions while under this control, and has no
memory beyond the initial feeling of being taken over. However, the victim’s unconscious
resistance increases if they suffer harm.
Cost: 3 Psi points
System: Unwilling targets oppose this roll with Integrity + Resolve. Success allows the psion
control the victim’s body as if it was his own, using its Physical Attributes with the psion’s own
Skills. However, the psion uses his own Mental and Social Attributes, not the victim’s. He can
also use Mindshare to probe the victim’s memories while possessing her, but cannot use any
psionic powers she possesses.
The telepath can attempt to control both his own body and the victim’s body in the same Round,
but all such attempts are mixed actions. Also, any time the victim suffers any physical injury, the
telepath must make another roll to attempt to possess the victim, with the amount of the
corresponding Injury Complication imposed as a Difficulty on the roll. Failure means that the
psion immediately loses control of the victim, and cannot attempt to possess her again for at least
one Scene. Success allows the telepath to continue possessing his victim if he also pays one
additional Psi point. This possession continues for a number of hours equal to his Mode Dots.
Division (•••••)
The telepath creates a new mind from scratch. She sets her target’s identity, history, Mental and
Social Attributes, Skills, as well as any Mental Edges and reasonable Social Edges. For the
duration of the power, he is this new person. Obviously, unless the psion employs other
resources, he doesn’t have membership in the organizations he remembers or live where he
believes he does. Telepaths can even bury these alternate personalities within their victim’s
brains, waiting for the right trigger to set them free for a time before fading back into the
subconscious. The original personality is unaware while it is dormant, and has no idea of the
passage of time or what occurred.
Cost: 3 Psi points
System: Unwilling targets oppose this roll with Integrity + Resolve. The telepath spends
successes to build the new personality, plus the conditions that cause it to emerge. This requires a
number of successes equal to the target’s Psi + Integrity + Composure, which the character can
achieve over several consecutive Rounds. Alternatively, the telepath can copy her own mental
template onto the victim for half that number of successes. This copy possesses the same Mental
and Social Attributes as the psion, and her Skills and Edges, but has the victim’s Physical
Attributes. If the victim is a psion, the telepath determines how much, if any, access this
personality can use the victim’s powers, but cannot give the personality any new powers. These
temporary personalities last her Psi in weeks per success spent. Any telepath using Deep Scan,
Rewrite, or Division on the target may make a Psi + Mindshare or Psychbending roll with a
Difficulty equal to the original telepath’s successes to notice the original personality, and any
telepath with three or more dots in Psychbending can make a roll with the same difficulty to
restore the original personality.
Transcending and Proxy Tier Powers
Only Proxy tier psions can learn these powers.
Mentalist (••••• •)
Mentalist is three separate powers, one each for Rapport, Mindshare, and Psychbending. These
powers are only accessible to proxy Tier psions. These powers don’t provide a new effect, they
increase the effect of every other power in that Mode.
System: When using a power from a Mode for which the psion has Mentalist, he may spend an
additional Psi point to increase the Scale of one aspect of the power, like Radius by one, increase
any Enhancement by +2, or to multiply any numerical quantities like range in AU, or number of
targets by five.
Astral Life (••••• ••)
The Telepathic proxy can shift her consciousness and living essence into pure thought. Though
she leaves her body behind, she continues to live and exist, her essence sustained by the
subquantum universe.
Cost: 10 Psi points
System: The proxy leaves her body and exists as a psionic waveform. She can move Speed Scale
5 or Space Speed [4] in any direction — gravity has no hold on her, nor do physical objects
block her passage. Her actions are limited while in this state. She can use Psi powers normally
but can’t otherwise interact with the physical universe. Even the death or destruction of her
physical form doesn’t hinder the psion as her essential life force is no longer held within that
empty shell. This power lasts Psi weeks, and some telepaths with this power may be able to
endure indefinitely after death. This power can be combined with Division to allow the psion’s
astral form to possess someone else’s body.

Teleportation
Physics stipulates that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, but teleporters
know that to the subquantum, all space is one. Teleportation allows the psion to move things
between locations by reassigning where their noetic signatures should be. Teleportation requires
greater psionic potential than most other Aptitudes. For this reason — and the stringent selection
criteria enforced by Proxy Bolade Atwan — teleporters have always been amongst the rarest of
psions.
Noetic connection (p. XX) is crucial to teleporters guiding their longest jumps to the correct
destination. Teleporters can travel across the galaxy as easily as they can move between rooms,
if they have a noetic connection with their destination. Jumping farther requires longer transit
time, as per the nearby table. Those undergoing the teleport never feel like it takes more than a
few moments. Teleportations that take longer than one Round to complete require a ‘cool down’
period equal to the transit time before the psion can attempt another jump requiring longer than
one Round to complete. Currently, intergalactic teleportation has proven impossible, but there
are no other range limitations for interstellar teleportation.
[TABLE THIS]
Teleportation Times
Distance Transit Time *
 Long range or less Instant
Anywhere on the same planet 1 Round
To nearby moon (like Luna) 1 Minute
Within the same solar system 10 – Psi minutes
Interstellar (within the same galaxy) 8 – Psi hours
* Increase transit time to the next level if using a Remembered Connection
[STOP TABLING THIS]
Basic Powers
All characters with even one dot of Teleportation possess the following powers.
Spatial Sense
A teleporter senses where a location is in the subquantum universe and how objects fill the space
around her. This allows her to develop the noetic connection required for accurate jumps. This
sense can also be used to help the psion navigate through darkness, sense people in another
room, or reveal objects within a concealed space.
System: The teleporter extends her senses and spends a Scene concentrating on the noetic
totality of her location. Success achieves a Psionic Connection that endures for one month.
Alternatively, the psion can use Spatial Sense to sense the world around her. Success gives the
character absolute spatial awareness of everything within Short range. She knows the location,
dimensions, and relative density of everything in the area, but can’t discern color or detail such
as images or words on a page. This lasts Psi Rounds.
Spatial Integrity
The psion feels spatial changes caused by Teleportation. This includes not just Psi powers but
also Aberrant warping powers and technological effects that bend space-time. The psion can also
reinforce the subquantum world’s influence on this fabric, increasing the difficulty for anyone to
teleport into an area.
System: Success reveals any space warping powers used within the psion’s Range in the last Psi
days. The psion reflexively senses incoming (or outgoing) teleportations within this area, and can
spend one Psi point to add his Psi as a Complication teleportation rolls within his Range. Failing
to overcome this Complication prevents anyone from teleporting out of this area and knocks
incoming teleportation off course. The Storyguide decides how far astray the teleportation goes,
based on how close the teleporter came to overcoming the Complication, but the teleporter never
arrives within the psion’s Range unless he overcomes the Complication.
Translocation
Translocation is what Joe Hologram thinks of as the classic version of Teleportation; the
teleporter vanishes from one location and appears in another. For all uses of this Mode, Jumpers
can’t bring along any complex living creatures or objects larger than Size 0 with her, but any
microorganisms such as bacteria and parasites remain with her.
Blink (•)
The jumper learns how to use Teleportation defensively. This power subconsciously taps into the
psion’s Spatial Sense for incoming attacks and activates to move the teleporter into subquantum
and back to physical again to avoid the attack.
System: The character gains the following Defense Stunt (Trinity Continuum Corebook, p.
XX) to the choices available to her. Blink creates considerable noise from the sudden
displacement of air molecules. Stealth is impossible using this Defense Stunt. The character
cannot consciously choose the destination, but Blink usually either moves the psion behind
nearby cover or away from an opponent.
New Defense Stunt
Blink: Like the Dodge Stunt, the Translocation + Psi roll generates successes, which an opponent
must overcome in order to inflict an Injury. The character teleports no more than a single Range
Band and always either teleports away from an opponent or behind cover, whichever option is
most obviously effective.
Jump (••)
Jump allows the psion to make short hops, usually teleporting from his location to somewhere
relatively nearby.
Cost: 1 Psi point
System: Success teleports the psion anywhere he has any noetic connection to that is within
Extreme range (10 kilometers).
Flicker (•••)
The psion can use Teleportation offensively. Flicker allows rapid tactical teleports that the psion
can use to set up attacks, allow rapid retreats, or to hover or simulate flight by jumping every
fraction of a second to counter gravity’s pull.
Cost: 2 Psi points
System: The teleporter jumps no further than Short Range and gains an Enhancement to her
attack of her Mode Dots/2, as she hits her opponents from an unexpected direction.
Alternatively, psions can use this power outside combat to perform a rapid series of Short Range
or shorter jumps. Success propels the character in a desired direction at a Speed Scale of Mode
Dots/2 or Space Speed [1], (or to hover in mid-air, deftly defying gravity). All uses of this power
last a number of Rounds equal to her Mode Dots.
Long Jump (••••)
The universe is open for the psion to explore. He can teleport to any location where he has a
noetic connection, including near a distant star he sees in the sky. His Psi protects her from
materializing within solids or anywhere else that would instantly kill him, but it offers no
protection from environmental conditions he finds when she gets there. Teleporting interstellar
explorers are advised to wear space suits.
Cost: 3 Psi points
System: If aiming for a distant location, this roll must overcome the Difficulty from noetic
connection (p. XX). Success jumps the teleporter and objects no larger than Size 0 that he is
carrying to her destination.
Bilocation (•••••)
The teleporter executes a rapid series of jumps, faster than the human eye can perceive. The
result is that she is effectively in multiple places at once. Despite the name, she isn’t limited to
only two locations, and can have as many as her power allows — and her concentration can
endure.
Cost: 4 Psi points
System: Use her least good noetic connection with any of the destinations as the roll’s
Difficulty. Success allows the character to simultaneously be in multiple places, spending one
success per additional location, up to her Translocation dots. No matter how many locations she
occupies, the teleporter can only take one ordinary action each Round without penalty. If she
wishes to act in multiple locations, this is a mixed action (p. XX), even though she may only
appear to take one action at any location. This power lasts one Scene.
Transmassion
Transmassion allows the psion to teleport other people and objects to distant locations. The psion
must have a noetic connection with both the destination and any people or objects she is
teleporting. Transmassion can also bring items to the teleporter — many jumpers keep an array
of useful items in specific, secure locations so they can call upon when needed.
Relay Object (•)
The psion can teleport an inanimate object to or away from her. She must possess a noetic
connection to the object and the target location.
System: The teleporter can reflexively teleport non-living objects or bioware she has a Familiar
or better connection with to her as long as they are no further than Extreme Range (10 km) away.
Otherwise, using this power requires an ordinary action. Also, the teleporter can only use this
power to teleport objects directly to her or away from her. She can use it to teleport objects
within Close range to locations she possesses a noetic connection with that are no further than
Extreme Range (10 km) away. Teleporting an item someone is touching that the person does not
wish to have teleported away adds that person’s Power Stat as a Difficulty to the roll. The psion
also cannot teleport objects larger than Size 0.
Relay Person (••)
The teleporter can transfer a single living creature, including humans. This individual travels
with whatever they are wearing or carrying, but anything connected to other objects is left
behind; teleporting people free of restraints is easy. A teleporter can use this power as an attack,
sending the target high into the sky to let gravity do the dirty work. This nasty tactic is known
colloquially as the “Upeo death drop”.
Cost: 1 Psi point
System: The teleporter either teleports distant individuals he has a noetic connection with to
Close range of him, or he can teleport individuals within Close range of him to a location he has
a noetic connection to. However, the maximum range of this power is Extreme Range (10 km)
away, and teleporter can only transport living creatures of up to her Size parameter. Individuals
who do not wish to be teleported can attempt the Roll Away Defensive Stunt to escape. Targets
of the Upeo death drop who can’t fly (or aren’t rescued) take appropriate falling damage
(Trinity Continuum Corebook, p. XX) from the height.
Transmit Mass (•••)
This power is why teleporters are unrivaled suppliers across colonized human space. The psion
can teleport one object to or from any location the teleporter has a noetic connection to. If the
target location is occupied, the power deposits the cargo to a suitable space within a few meters.
If non-living cargo is inside a larger container, the teleporter can transmit that as if it were a
single item.
Cost: 2 Psi points
System: The teleporter can move any single non-living object of no more than her Size
parameter. This power considers any non-living objects or living creatures no more than a
centimeter in any dimension within the object to be part of it. The psion cannot transport objects
containing larger living creatures with this power. If the teleporter wishes to move larger objects,
every two successes or two Psi points the teleporter spends increases her Size parameter by one
step, up to a maximum equal to either 5 or her Mode Dots, whichever is less. The only way to
teleport Size 6 objects is by using the appropriate Spatial Mastery. To initiate the teleport, the
teleporter must spend two Rounds in intense concentration to use this power, only taking
Defensive actions during these Rounds.
Transmit Person (••••)
Instead of objects, the psion can now carry people anywhere on Earth, or even to the stars. In
addition, the psion can now teleport a vehicle and everyone inside it.
Cost: 2 Psi points
System: The teleporter can transmit up to five times his Psi people or other living creatures of up
to his Size parameter. If the teleporter wishes to move more people, every success or one Psi
point the teleporter spends increases his Psi by one step, to a maximum of 50 (10 x 5) people. He
can also spend two successes or two Psi points to increase the Size of creature he can move by a
maximum of +1. If the teleporter also possesses at least four dots in Translocation, he can
automatically travel along with people he is teleporting.
This power also allows a teleporter to transmit a vehicle or object and all people inside it, even if
the vehicle contains more people than the psion could otherwise teleport. Use the rules governing
maximum object Size for Transmit Mass to teleporting this vehicle. To initiate the teleport, the
teleporter must spend three Rounds in intense concentration to use this power, only taking
Defensive actions during these Rounds.
Selective Transmassion (•••••)
Most forms of teleport are all-or-nothing — the psion can’t teleport part of an object or person.
Selective Transmassion allows the jumper to overcome this limitation. This can be helpful with
excavating or removing debris. If the psion has knowledge of the inner workings of a mechanism
or has studied the parts with Spatial Sense, she can even selectively remove specific components.
This power can also be used against living beings to deal devastating damage, but their noetic
template resists the attack.
Cost: +2 Psi points inanimate targets, +4 Psi points for animate targets.
System: This power adds to the teleporter’s mastery of Transmassion, providing additional
capabilities to any previous Transmassion power if she spends a few additional Psi points.
However, the psion must first spend one Round using her Spatial Sense on the target and then
use this power as an ordinary action the next Round. If she wishes to teleport part of an
inanimate object, she rolls at +1 Difficulty to her roll to carve out a chunk of up to her Size. If
she wishes to target a specific piece, such as a component of a machine, she instead increases the
Difficulty of the roll by +2.
Living creatures resist such division. Teleporting a piece out of a living creature costs a
minimum of five Psi points and the target can oppose this roll with a Stamina + Power Stat roll.
If the psion wins this contest, she inflicts one Maimed Injury Condition on the target, plus one
additional Injury Condition for every two successes rolled. Treat this attack as having the
Aggravated, and Deadly tags. It ignores armor except natural armor and formatted biotech armor.
Choosing to have a character be Taken Out does not prevent her from gaining the Maimed Injury
Condition, but does prevent additional Injury Conditions gained through successes.
Transportal
The Transportal Mode links two points in space-time and opens a gateway between them. OpNet
media likes to call these wormholes. Transportal’s advantage is that any number and mass of
individuals, creatures, or objects can move through the portal as long as it stays open. The main
disadvantage is that items must be moved through the portal, and generally can’t be teleported in
place. Portals are noticeable — their entrances — termini — cause a rippling light at the inner
rim of their circumference, bordered by a swirl of visual distortion as if seeing whatever is
behind the portal through twisted glass. They also emit a static-like hum while active. In
addition, all portals require time to form, use the Teleportation Time table for how long a
teleporter must concentrate to create a portal. During this time, the psion can only walk, engage
in simple conversation, or take defensive actions, unless the psion wishes to have the roll to
create the portal be a mixed action. Once created, portals endure without concentration and travel
through them takes no time.
Window (•)
The psion first learns to create tiny ripples in space time, rather than huge bends, generating
small wormholes of limited range. The portal can’t be moved once created, it must be collapsed
and rebuilt to change its location. These small gateways can be generated much faster than other
larger manipulations, and have a variety of utility and combat applications.
Cost: 1 Psi point
System: The psion creates a portal large enough to move a hand and arm or any object of up to
Medium size (see p. XX) through. Both ends of the portal must either be no further than Medium
Range away and within the character’s field of vision or within range of her Spatial Sense. The
character can reach through, shoot, or throw objects, or even attempt to divert attacks away from
her.
When used defensively, the portal increases the Difficulty of any Inflict Damage stunt used
against the character by Mode Dots/2, but does not protect against indirect damage or attacks
with either the Explosive or the Gas tag. When used offensively, this power allows the psion to
make attacks on any target within range as if he were at Close range. The portal lasts up to a
number of Rounds equal to his Mode Dots.
Skein (••)
Before the teleporter develops the power to build bridges across worlds with dramatically
different environments, he must learn how to limit what comes through.
Cost: Variable, see table below
System: This power supplements other portal-producing abilities and doesn’t normally require a
roll. At its most basic, Skein automatically applies to all the character’s portals to prevent
environmental factors, like air or water, from moving through. Moving through the portal
requires an act of living will. Living creatures and object or energies moved with deliberation
will pass through. This includes carried and thrown items, but also bullets or laser blasts. The
teleporter can pay additional Psi points to further limit passage, or to remove all limitations, as
per the table below. Anyone trying to move a prohibited physical object, including themselves,
through the portal forces someone to make an Athletics + Might roll with a Difficulty equal to
the teleporter’s Psi to pass through.
[TABLE THIS]
Portal Limitation Table
Limitation Psi points
Energy (including energy weapon attacks) 1
Non-carried objects 1
Carried objects 2
All living creatures 1
Specific individuals 2
All members of a species 3
Remove environmental barriers 4

[STOP TABLING THIS]

Multiportal (•••)
The psion can link two or more points in space, creating a network of portals. The teleporter has
complete control over pathways through the portals — he can designate one portal the exit point
and have every gateway lead there, or have each gateway link to the next in a circular
arrangement. She can even have portals link to each other randomly to confuse and mislead
opponents. However, the range of these portals is limited.
Cost: 2 Psi points
System: The teleporter can manifest a maximum number of portals at once equal to twice her
Mode Dots. The destination for which the character has the least noetic connection applies
Difficulty to this roll. Also, none of the portals can be further than Extreme Range (10 km) from
the psion. Each portal is large enough so that up to one person or object of the psion’s Size
parameter can move through at a time. Spending one Success permits the psion to enlarge the
portal so up to two people or objects of up to the psion’s Size can move through the portal at
once. Spending two successes or one Psi point to increase the Size of creature or vehicle that can
move through the portal by a maximum of +1.
The psion can link the different termini however she desires, and can alter these links at will by
reflexively spending an additional Psi point. The psion can also use this power to create Portals
at any angle and in any location, including directly under someone, so that they fall through it if
they cannot succeed in the Roll Away Defensive Stunt to dive away from the portal. However,
creating portals directly under a target imposes a Complication on the roll equal to the target’s
Power Stat, failure to overcome this Complication means that the portal appears within Close
range of the intended target. These portals last for her Mode Dots times her Duration.
Gateways (••••)
The psion can create portals whose range is now limited only by the noetic connection the
teleporter possesses to the target or targets. The tradeoff for this increase in power is the effort
and time required to bend space-time this way.
Cost: 3 or 5 Psi points
System: For 3 Psi points, the psion can create a pair of portals, one of must be within the
character’s Radius, while the other can be anywhere the psion possesses a noetic connection to.
For 5 Psi points, the psion can even create a Multiportal network with up to interstellar range.
The rules for the Size of objects that can move through portals is the same as for Multiportal,
except that the psion can spend additional successes or Psi points to increase the maximum size
of a creature or vehicle that can fit through her portals up to a maximum of Size 3. Only proxies
can create larger portals. Once formed, the portal or portals remain open for her Mode Dots times
her Duration.
Warp (•••••)
The teleporter can open a portal gateway of tremendous size and transport everything within to
the other terminus. As the psion’s power builds, two shimmering domes (or spheres, at the
psion’s discretion) grow, one around the teleporter and the other at the destination. Everything
within the area is transported when the character releases the power. Psions can use this ability
both in space and on a planet
Cost: 4 Psi points
System: The character concentrates for one Scene and then rolls. If successful, he begins
building the warp sphere. It grows at a rate of one range band per Round to a maximum of the
character’s Radius. This costs one success per Round. If he exhausts his successes, he may spend
Psi points instead. In addition, the psion can spend 6 Psi points to increase his Radius by one
step, up to a maximum of Medium. Once the spheres have reached their maximum size,
everything within each sphere disappears and reappears at other sphere’s location. The teleporter
must devote his full attention to building the warp. If he is disturbed, the effect fails with all Psi
points spent.
Transcending and Proxy Tier Powers
Only proxy Tier psions can learn these powers.
Spatial Mastery (••••• •)
Spatial Mastery is three separate powers, one each for Translocation, Transmassion, and
Transportal. These powers don’t provide a new effect, they increase the effect of every other
power in that Mode.
System: When using a power from a Mode for which the psion has Spatial Mastery, he may
spend an additional Psi point to increase the Scale of one aspect of the power, like Radius,
Range, or Size by one, increase any Enhancement by +2, or to multiply any numerical quantities
like number of targets by five.
Singularity (••••• ••)
The proxy can fold space-time to make two or more locations one, and then unfold it in whatever
configuration she desires. She could overlap Earth, Khantze Lu Ge, and Olympus on Luna,
superimposing all three locations in mind-bending ways. When she ends this power, she decides
the destination of every human in the linked area, regardless of which of the three worlds they
started on.
Cost: 10 Psi points
System: Like Warp, the proxy concentrates for one Scene and then begins expanding a sphere,
but this sphere superimposes two or more locations. The psion can superimpose a maximum
number of locations equal to her Mode Dots/2. The spheres expand at a rate of one range per
Round to a maximum of the character’s Radius. Everyone within any of these spheres can
interact as if they were in the same location. Space behaves strangely, with buildings and objects
superimposing over one another. Individuals can choose what objects they interact with,
spending a Round to change between ‘here’ and ‘there’ as desired. Once the proxy releases the
power, space-time unfolds again with the proxy deciding which destination everything within
any location goes. Living creatures can resist being transported by rolling Integrity + Power Stat
with a difficulty equal to the teleporter’s Mode Dots/2.

Vitakinesis
The public understands that Vitakinesis heals, but this is an oversimplification. Vitakinesis’s
domain is living function, repairing, extending, or damaging the biological noetic template.
Healing is just one aspect of this. Vitakinetics can’t add elements from other templates, like
biokinetics, but can push human eyesight to its limits, or make a person’s lungs so efficient they
can extract almost every molecule of oxygen from each breath before needing to take another.
All Vitakinesis powers require the psion to touch the patient, and cannot be used at range. Rules
on illnesses are on page XX.
Basic Powers
All characters with even one dot of Vitakinesis possess the following powers.
Kirlian Eye
Vitakinetics don’t sense individual lifeforms around them, that is the province of biokinetics.
Instead, a vitakinetic senses the overall strength of nearby life, and its relative health. She can
hone in on any fluctuations, usually due to illness or injury, but enhanced individuals also stand
out.
System: The psion senses the general presence of life around her, and can tell if anything within
Short range is suffering injury, illness, or has been enhanced or modified. She can spend one
success to locate the direction and approximate distance to this creature. She can apply Kirlian
Eye to individuals to diagnose their condition. While vitakinetics don’t actually require medical
knowledge to treat a patient with their Psi, this diagnosis grants an Enhancement equal to the
psion’s highest Vitakinesis Mode Dots on rolls to diagnose or treat the patient through
conventional means. This power lasts Psi Rounds.
Knit
The constant flow of Psi through a vitakinetic means she can’t help but repair and strengthen her
noetic template. The psion heals damage to herself and minimizes the effects of toxins and
poisons with barely a conscious thought.
System: The vitakinetic automatically downgrades her most severe Injury Condition (p. XX)
every (7 – Psi) hours (minimum one Round), and can even heal Persistent Conditions. She also
reduces the Damage Rating of any disease, ingestible, or injectable source of harm within her
body by one in this period. If this reduces its Damage Rating to zero, she has eliminated it from
her system. As long as damage sources don’t kill her, the vitakinetic recovers and is fit and
functional within a few days.
Iatrosis
This Mode uses Psi energy to strengthen a patient’s noetic template, healing both physical and
mental injuries. Iatrosis works by either supercharging the patient’s own biological systems, or
directly restoring his noetic template to its normal configuration. Although the second route
usually requires greater time and investment of Psi, the psion can use this Mode to repair almost
any injury. However, Iatrosis can’t heal Quantum Flux diseases without the assistance of a
quantakinetic.
Relief (•)
The first step to treatment is easing the patient’s discomfort. The vitakinetic soothes the
symptoms of physical and mental trauma. This can help keep the patient from going into shock,
or can give him the ability to fight on even though his body demands he stop. In addition to pain,
the psion can also reduce inflammation, nausea, and vomiting. It also works to mitigate stress
and mental anguish.
System: The psion temporarily reduces penalty from Injury Conditions, illnesses, or Status
Conditions that impose a Complication or increased Difficulty on the target. Each success rolled
removes one point of Complication or increased Difficulty. This only alleviates symptoms and
does nothing to heal the underlying causes. The respite lasts his Mode Dots times his Duration.
Accelerate (••)
The vitakinetic can’t directly heal her patient’s physical or emotional injuries, but she can
accelerate and bolster his body’s ability to do so. The psion increases the patient’s natural
healing rate and metabolism, and can assist with fighting off fatigue and exhaustion. The
patient’s immune system fights off infection and rapidly detoxifies drugs and toxins (including
alcohol). In addition, his psychological resilience allows him to more easily recover for any
mental trauma. This power also gives the patient the ability to detoxify chemicals that would
normally be fatal without treatment
System: The patient gains the successes rolled an Enhancement to rolls to resist damage from
toxins, illness, or mental trauma, and she can divide the time required to heal Injury Conditions
or Status Conditions by an amount equal to Mode Dots + successes. This accelerated healing
lasts a number of days equal to the psion’s Mode Dots, but only affects injuries or Status
Conditions present when it was used. While under the effects of this power the patient counts as
receiving proper medical attention (p. XX).
Mending (•••)
The vitakinetic can directly heal injuries, knitting flesh and bone by suffusing Psi energies
through the patient’s noetic template. This power always repairs the most critical damage first
before mending those that are less life threatening. This also cures mental trauma and repairs
ongoing emotional damage.
Cost: 1 Psi point
System: If successful, the vitakinetic gains a pool equal to successes to spend on healing both
physical and mental damage as per the Healing Successes Chart below. This power can’t
regenerate lost limbs or organs, but can stabilize the patient long enough for other help to arrive.
The psion can use this power repeatedly if he lacks sufficient successes to achieve his desired
result. The psion can also spend additional Psi points instead of successes. Healing effects
require one Round per Condition cured, while life support endures for a number of Scenes equal
to her Mode Dots.
[TABLE THIS]
Healing Successes Chart
Condition Successes (or additional Psi points)
Bruised 1
Injured 2
Maimed 4
Status Condition (including Mental Status 3
Conditions)
Terminal Injury (life support only) 5

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Restore Template (••••)
The vitakinetic accesses the patient’s noetic template to return it to its usual state. This allows
her to cure terminal illnesses and repair any damage that isn’t intrinsic to the patient. She can
regenerate lost limbs and other body parts, repair nerve damage, and cure any mental or physical
illness, except Quantum Flux illnesses.
Cost: 2 Psi points
System: If successful, the vitakinetic gains a pool equal to Psi + successes to spend returning the
patient’s noetic template to its usual condition, as per the table below. She can heal Injury
Conditions as per Mending, but can also regenerate lost/damaged limbs and organs, and repair
normally irreparable damage. This power can’t overcome intrinsic disabilities, nor can she
regenerate any injury greater than Psi + Mode Dots months old, as the patient’s noetic template
has incorporated the changes. The psion can spend Psi points in place of successes to achieve her
desired result.
[TABLE THIS]
Regeneration Table
Regenerate Successes
Finger, eye 1
Hand, foot, jaw 2
Limb, simple internal organ 3
Major internal organ 4
Spine, brain 5

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Adjust Template (•••••)
The psion is a miracle worker who regenerates long-lost limbs or organs, or even returns the
recently deceased to life — as long as the degeneration isn’t the result of Quantum Flux diseases.
The rex accesses the patient’s noetic template and rewrites it. The psion can make permanent
alterations to the patient’s template, curing congenital defects and even changing appearance or
sex. The patient must voluntarily consent to changes otherwise they revert to their previous state.
The patient can rescind his consent for up to a month after the changes have been made. Also, all
adjustments to a patient’s noetic template must remain in the range possible a human body. The
psion could transform someone who had become an aqua back into being an unmodified human.
However, he could not manage the reverse, except on someone who had been born an aqua and
had later transformed herself into an unmodified human. In addition, this power cannot be used
to create or remove psionic latency or powers, affect Corruption, or change whether someone is
an Aberrant or a Talent.
However, the psion can increase or reduce Attributes and add or remove Edges that are not due
to special training or external circumstances. Without combining her powers with a biokinetic
the psion cannot create permanent changes outside the human range, like giving someone wings
and a tail. Also, the psion would need to combine her powers with a quantakinetic to affect an
Aberrant or Nova with this power.
Cost: 3 Psi points
System: The vitakinetic can cure intrinsic damage or regenerate lost limbs and organs no matter
how long ago they were lost, as per the costs for Restore Template. The psion can also cure
hereditary physical or mental illnesses. Altering Attributes or appropriate Edges costs two
successes per dot, and radically transforming someone’s appearance costs 1 success. Any
changes that cost Experience can occur before the Experience is paid, but once acquired, the
target must spend all future Experience on them, until they are entirely paid off.
Additionally, the psion can restore life to the recently deceased. This requires 10 successes, plus
one success for every Psi hours the individual has been dead. The psion can spend Psi points
instead of successes. This is a complex action requiring one roll per hour, but this time is not
added to the time the target has been dead. If successful, the patient returns to life with all but
one Bruised Injury Condition checked, which must be healed separately.
Augendis
This Mode allows the vitakinetic to alter an individual’s physiology by making temporary
changes to his noetic template. She can boost his body’s natural processes so he heals more
quickly from damage or reacts more quickly to surprise and danger. She can make the target
stronger, faster, smarter, or more charismatic. The only limits on these powers are that they can’t
raise the target’s Attributes to greater than their potential maximum. Unlike biokinetics, a
vitakinetic can only work within nature’s limits, but she can apply her enhancements to others or
herself. Also, characters can never benefit from more than one use of any particular Augendis
Mode power at a time.
Reinforce (•)
The psion boosts the patient’s physiology to make it more resistant to sources of harm. This
doesn’t heal any existing damage, or eliminate toxins or illness, but does make it less likely that
the patient will take further damage.
System: If successful, the patient gains an armor value of Mode Dots/2, as well as reducing the
damage rating of all toxins by the same amount and giving her an Enhancement equal to the
psion’s Mode Dots/2 to resist getting sick or taking damage from illnesses. The effects of this
power last her Mode Dots times her Duration.
Stoicism (••)
The vitakinetic learns how to reinforce his patient’s noetic template and increase its resistance to
change. With this ability, the psion can temporarily increase those Attributes related to his
target’s Resilience approach. More subtly, he can also adjust the patient’s physiology to better
withstand hostile environments, keeping her warm in frozen conditions or cool in a blazing
inferno.
Cost: 2 Psi points
System: The psion can add one dot to his target’s Resistance Attributes for every success spent,
up to the target’s potential maximum +1 for each Attribute (Trinity Continuum Corebook, p.
XX). The character’s adjustments also allow him to temporarily give the target Physical Edges at
a cost of one success per dot. In addition, the psion can cause the patient’s body to better resist a
single type of damage, like cold, electricity, heat, or radiation, making the target immune to all
environmental indirect damage of this type with either the Continuous (hour) or Continuous
(minute) tags. He also reduces other damage from this threat by an amount equal to Mode Dots,
including attacks with the Electrical, Incendiary, or Sonic tags. However, the character’s body
can only resist a single type of damage at a time. All changes last his Mode Dots times his
Duration.
Direction (•••)
The psion can boost her patient’s ability to project her influence forcefully. She can temporarily
increase those Attributes related to her target’s Force approach. The vitakinetic can increase any
of these Attributes to maximum human levels. She can also speed up his natural healing rate or
boost his senses, but again, to no greater than human maximum.
Cost: 2 Psi points
System: The psion can add one dot to her target’s Force Attributes for every success spent, up to
the target’s potential maximum +1 for each Attribute (Trinity Continuum Corebook, p. XX).
The psion can also either allow to temporarily increase or decrease the speed of biological
processes, like breathing or healing by successes spent, and can give the target either the one dot
Low Gravity or Mars Adaptation Edge (p. XX), or Mental Edges at a cost of one success per dot.
Transformations endure for her Mode Dots times her Duration.
Precision (••••)
The psion increases his patient’s ability to act with subtlety and precision. He can temporarily
increase those Attributes related to her target’s Finesse approach up to maximum human levels.
Additionally, the psion can increase the target’s focus on specific Skills.
Cost: 2 Psi points
System: The psion can add one dot to his target’s Finesse Attributes per success spent to the
patient’s Finesse Attributes, up to his potential maximum +1. He can also add appropriate Social
Edges for one success per dot. Finally, the psion can increase Skills by one dot per success spent,
up to 5 dots and can add new Skill tricks for the same cost, but only in Skills the target possesses
at least one dot in. All changes last his Mode Dots times his Duration.
Empowerment (•••••)
The vitakinetic can increase her patient’s psionic potential. She can open the psionic
permeability of his noetic template to increase the rate he regains Psi points, or reinforce it so he
acts as if his skill in a given Mode was greater.
Cost: 5 Psi points
System: The vitakinetic can increase aspects of the patient’s effective Psi rating as per the table
below, to maximum of seven. This doesn’t increase the character’s Psi rating, just its effective
level for the purposes of the specific aspect. Additionally, the vitakinetic can also add Psionic
Edges at a rate of one success per dot. These changes last her Mode Dots times her Duration.
[TABLE THIS]
Noetic Empowerment Table
Augmentation Successes
Attunement range 1 per dot
Increased Psi point pool 2 per dot
Halve time needed to recover Psi points 2 per dot
 Increased value on one category of the Psi Traits Effects Table 2 per dot

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Algesis
Vitakinesis can harm as easily as it can heal, allowing Algesis to inflict horrifying wounds.
However, as with all other vitakinetic powers, a rex must touch someone to harm them.
Characters can always roll Defense to avoid being touched. Touching a target and using any of
these powers specifically does not count as a mixed action.
Misfire (•)
The vitakinetic doesn’t inflict damage, but scrambles the victim’s nerves to confuse and
debilitate. She can convince the victim’s brain that he has suffered a broken limb, massive burns,
or has been shot. She can upset his balance, or fractionally delay the optic signal from one eye to
confuse binocular vision. The psion can also use this same power to produce simple but powerful
physiological responses like hunger, fatigue, dizziness, euphoria, or even a panic attack.
System: The roll to use this power has a Difficulty equal to the target’s Stamina, in addition to
any Defensive action to avoid being touched. The psion can spend successes to hurt, disorient, or
otherwise confuse the victim by imposing a Complication on the victim that represents the pain
and loss of function from an Injury Condition, but without any actual injury. Alternately, the
psion can impose Complications by inflicting nausea, hunger, fatigue, fear, or some similar
reactions. In addition to the Complication, the victim also reacts normally to these responses.
Complications produced by this power have one level per success spent and last for one Scene.
Assault (••)
The vitakinetic’s Close Combat strikes and even his lightest touches are empowered with his Psi.
She sends disruptive energies coursing through her victim’s noetic template whenever she makes
contact.
Cost: 1 Psi point
System: The psion can make a Close Combat strike using his hands, feet, or any close combat
weapon without the Reach tag and use this power. This attack gains an additional Enhancement
equal to the successes rolled. Alternately, the psion can add any of the following weapon tags to
the attack for one success each: Aggravated, Brutal, Combined Stun, Deadly, Destructive (only
for natural or biotech armor), Non-Lethal, Optionally Non-Lethal (2), Pushing, Stun, and
Weighted. This power only enhances attacks on living targets. This power continues to enhance
attacks for his Mode Dots Rounds and the psion can also simply touch the target to inflict injury.
Ruin (•••)
The vitakinetic destabilizes the victim’s noetic template to strip away his abilities. She could
leave the victim barely able to move, speak, or form coherent thoughts. This power doesn’t
permanently alter the victim’s noetic template; he eventually recovers from these injuries. The
psion can also stun, paralyze, or impose the effects of almost any mind-altering drug on someone
with a touch.
Cost: 2 Psi points
System: The target can actively oppose this roll with Psi + Composure. If the psion succeeds,
she removes one Skill dot per success, or one Attribute or Edge dot per two successes. This only
works against Edges that the psion could logically affect. The psion can also use successes to
impose a single Status Condition like stunned, paralyzed, or unconscious on the target as well as
being able to duplicate the effects of mooders and the other drugs on pp. XX-XX. All Status
Conditions and drug effects require one success per +1 Difficulty, level of Complication or +1
Enhancement imposed on the target. The effects of this power cease after her Mode Dots times
her Duration. Any Status Condition that causes the target to be Taken Out requires the psion to
roll at least four successes.
Atrocity (••••)
The vitakinetic tears away portions of the victim’s noetic template, inflicting massive damage as
a result. Targeted limbs or organs wither and die while the victim watches.
Cost: 3 Psi points
System: The victim’s Stamina serves as a Complication to the roll. If the vitakinetic succeeds
but doesn’t overcome the Complication, she inflicts one Maimed Injury Condition. If she
overcomes the Complication, she inflicts an additional one additional Injury Condition for every
two successes rolled. Treat this attack as having the Aggravated, Brutal, and Deadly tags. It
ignores armor except natural armor and formatted biotech armor. Choosing to have a character
be Taken Out does not prevent him from gaining the Maimed Injury Condition, but does prevent
any additional Injury Conditions.
Morbidity (•••••)
With this terrifying power, the vitakinetic courses destructive psionic energies through the
victim’s noetic template, bypassing inflicting damage to simply instantly kill his target.
Cost: 5 Psi points
System: The vitakinetic must first use Kirlian Eye or touch his victim to gain a current imprint
of his noetic template. Then, anytime within the next Scene he can touch his target and roll this
power with a Difficulty equal to the target’s Stamina. If he succeeds, the energies tear into her
noetic template, instantly killing her.
Any powered character like a psion, Talent, or even an Aberrant can attempt a Stamina + Power
Stat roll with a Difficulty equal to the attacker’s Psi. Success leaves the character alive but Taken
Out, while three or more successes leaves the character with all of her Condition Boxes full, and
thus in Maimed Condition, but still able to act.
Transcending and Proxy Tier Powers
Only proxy Tier psions can learn these powers.
Vital Force (••••• •)
Vital Force is three separate powers, one each for Iatrosis, Augendis, and Algesis. These powers
are only accessible to proxy Tier psions. These powers don’t provide a new effect, they increase
the effect of every other power in that Mode.
System: When using a power from a Mode for which the psion has Vital Force, he may spend an
additional Psi point to increase any Enhancement by +2, or to multiply any numerical quantities
like rate of healing by five.
Overcharge (••••• ••)
The vitakinetic proxy suffuses a living noetic template to overcome its limitations. While under
the effects of this power, the patient is supercharged with pure subquantum life energies,
embodying aspects of humanity’s evolutionary march towards perfection.
Cost: 10 Psi points
System: Success increases the subject’s Tier by one for the duration of the power. An ordinary
psion or Talent subjected to this power becomes Proxy tier while under this effect, gaining the
Target Number and any other benefits that come from the Tier. The proxy also selects one
Approach – the target’s Attributes linked to that Approach are all raised to their potential
maximum for the new Tier. The proxy can raise other Attributes at a cost of one per success
spent, and can raise Attributes beyond their maximum limitations by spending three successes
per dot.
Overcharging noetic templates this way isn’t without cost. The effects of this power last one
Scene, after which the subject cannot benefit from any power that enhances Tier or Attributes for
one full day.
Chapter Eight: Technology
It’s an ancient and honorable term for the final step in any engineering project. Turn it on, see if
it smokes.
— Lois McMaster Bujold
[[NOTE TO LAYOUT, FOR ALL USES OF @ (ALL OF WHICH ARE IN TECH:
@), REPLACE @ WITH THE GREEK LETTER PSI Ψ]]
In 2123, makers, 3-D printers capable of manufacturing almost anything, produce most devices.
Factories use specialized room-sized makers that can each swiftly and cheaply produce a limited
range of products, like bioapps, bioware, medicines, inexpensive food or drink, vehicles,
weapons, or consumer devices. General purpose makers for the use of individuals and small
settlements also exist. These can produce small items, from personal electronics or carefully
folded clothing to a decent sandwich or bao, if provided with the correct plans and raw materials.
Portable makers the size of a small car provide equipment for outback settlements, off-world
colonies, large spacecraft, or other remote settings. A few people still fabricate devices by other
means and some pieces of Qin biotech are capable of independent reproduction, but almost
everything else is created using makers.

Item Sizes
Sometimes with equipment, size matters. Is something small enough to easily
conceal, or is it obvious when carried? See the table below for the different sizes of
equipment. All equipment has a listed size. Items of Large and above size cannot
be concealed on a person.
THIS IS A TABLE
Object Size and Size Scale Table
Size Size Scale Examples Concealability Modifier
Tiny -4 Contact lens, marble, or pea +5 Enhancement
Small -3 Pen, phone, or small pistol +1 Enhancement
Medium -2 Large pistol, thick novel No bonus or penalty
Large -1 Small briefcase, shotgun n/a
Size 0 0 Large backpack, antitank n/a
missile
Size 1 1 Motorcycle n/a

END TABLE

Hardtech and Biotech

In Trinity Continuum: Æon, technology is divided into hardtech and biotech. In all cases,
bioware refers to the exotic noetic bioware that the psion proxies (and particularly Alec Cassel of
Orgotek) introduced. Noetic biotech devices are living mechanisms that must have regular
nutrient injections, except for formatted bioapps that bond with their user and are aligned with

1
their owner’s noetic field, allowing them to draw nourishment directly from the user’s
subquantum energies. All other technology is referred to as hardtech, including biological
technology produced through genetic engineering, such as cloned organs or vat-grown polymers.
Because it is relatively new and associated with psions, most people regard biotech as inherently
superior to hardtech, except in Nippon where many people distrust noetic biotech and it is illegal
to own or import.
Formatting Bioware
Most bioware can be formatted, a process where the user’s DNA is bonded to the item, allowing
the user to control it more precisely, and permitting the device to draw energy from the user.
Formatting an item requires one hour, and can only be performed in specialized facilities which
can be found in any city outside of Nippon, but rarely in small, isolated settlements. Any
character with a Psi of at least one can format bioware, including psions, neutrals, and Talents.
Formatted bioware has many benefits, including removing the necessity for nutrient injections,
and usually providing the user with 1 Enhancement to operate it, or some other benefit specific
to the item.
Most bioware can be used without formatting, and using it is little different from using hardtech.
All bioware that can be formatted has a Tolerance rating, which is the number of points of
Tolerance the item requires. Most characters (including neutrals and Talents, as well as psions)
have a maximum Tolerance equal to Vitality + Psi. Characters cannot format any item with a
Tolerance greater than their maximum Tolerance. Also, using formatted biotech whose total
Tolerance exceeds the character’s Tolerance rating causes the user to suffer from Tolerance
Overload.
Tolerance Overload
If a character simultaneously uses or touches several items of noetic biotech that she has
formatted and whose total Tolerance rating is greater than her Vitality + Psi, then that character
suffers Tolerance Overload. Only formatted noetic biotech counts for calculating Tolerance
Overload. A character who is in Tolerance Overload suffers a Complication (distracted) to all
rolls to use her Psi powers which has a level equal to the number of dots of Tolerance Overload.
If a character with a Vitality + Psi of five was in contact with formatted biotech with a total
Tolerance of seven dots, she would suffer a level 2 Complication (distracted) to all rolls. This
Complication vanishes as soon as the character is no longer in Tolerance Overload.
Neutrals and Talents cannot suffer Tolerance Overload. If they attempt to exceed their
Tolerance, they simply gain no formatting benefit from the pieces of formatted biotech that
exceed their Tolerance. This failure always affects those formatted devices that the character
touched most recently. Characters can instantly solve Tolerance Overload by ceasing physical
contact with a sufficient number of formatted devices.
Noetic Biotech Healing Times
One notable advantage for noetic biotech is that it does not normally require repair. Instead, it
heals, and formatted biotech heals faster. See the table below for healing times. However, if a
piece of formatted biotech is destroyed, the character automatically suffers both 1 injury
condition and a level 2 Complication (Shaken), as though struck by a Stun weapon. Characters
suffer no harm if a piece of biotech they formatted is damaged or destroyed if it is further away
than Short range from them.
THIS IS A TABLE

2
Biotech Healing Times
Size Minor Damage Minor Serious Serious Damage
(Unformatted) Damage Damage (Formatted)
(Formatted) (Unformatted)
Large or 12 hours four hours two days 16 hours
smaller
Size 0 or two days 16 hours eight days three days
larger

END OF TABLE

Armor & Protective Gear

The world of 2123 is far from safe. There are inhuman Aberrants and alien Chromatics seeking
to subjugate or destroy humanity, and mundane threats like war or terrorism. Advanced armor
provides users with a needed edge when facing these threats. More efficient materials allow
greater protection without greatly impairing mobility. Advanced armor suits can also enhance the
user’s physical capabilities.

Adding Other Gear to Armor

Other equipment is often combined with armor. A visor that duplicates the features
of improved binoculars (p. XX) is often attached to the helmets of armor, grippers
(p. XX) are sometimes added to the gloves and boots, and weapons may be
attached. Adding items with the same price as the armor increases the cost of the
armor by 1 dot. Up to two items with a cost of 1 dot less than the armor or four
items with a cost of 2 dots less can be added freely without increasing the armor’s
cost, but adding more items than this increases the armor’s cost by 1 dot. In general,
biotech armor can only incorporate biotech devices and hardtech armor can only
incorporate hardtech devices. All biotech devices that can be formatted must be
formatted separately.

New Armor Tags

These tags apply to the armor found in this chapter. Armor in this chapter also uses the armor
tags found in the Trinity Continuum Corebook (pp. XX-XX).
Active Camouflage (0, 1): Much normal clothing and some armor can change color to a series
of preset colors and patterns, which can provide 1 Enhancement to all Stealth actions to avoid
being seen in dim light or against a monochromatic background, like a forest or a desert. There is
no cost for this benefit. Some armor can automatically change color to match its background in
color and pattern. This 1-point active camouflage provides the wearer with 2 Enhancement to all
Stealth actions to avoid being seen.
Complete (3): This armor protects against all 3 types of damage – Ballistic, Edged, and Blunt.
Defensive (2): Armor with this tag is covered in spikes, spines, or another covering damaging to
attackers. Anyone without armor who successfully attacks the wearer with an unarmed attack
automatically suffers 1 injury condition.

3
Environmental (0, 1, 2): For 0 points, this tag protects the wearer from a single threat, like
drowning or moderate extremes of temperature (typically -50 to 60 C), and this threat is always
listed. For 1 point, this tag completely protects the wearer from suffocation, vacuum, poisonous
gases, and more severe extremes of heat or cold (typically -80 to 100 C). For 2 points, the armor
protects against the threats listed above as well as reducing the damage rating of a single other
environmental threat by 4. This threat is always listed, and can be anything from extreme heat or
cryogenic cold, to hard radiation. Armor with the environmental 1 or 2 tag has a minimum cost
of ••.
Powered (0): This armor is sufficiently heavy that it requires power assist via motors or artificial
muscles in the joints. Armor with this tag can never possess the Concealable (1) or Innocuous (2)
tags, and if the power ever fails or the armor runs out of power, the armor becomes exceedingly
heavy and tiring to wear, increasing the Difficulty of any Athletics action by 2. As long as the
armor retains power, wearers gain 2 Enhancement to all actions using Might.
Propulsion (1): This armor has some motive power allowing it to move in a single medium, like
water, land, air, or space. The armor allows the wearer to move at Speed Scale 2 in the medium
specified, or in space at Space Speed Scale [1] (p. XX). Multiple uses of this tag allow the armor
to move in multiple environments.
Psi (-1): Any item with this tag is bioware that can be formatted. Formatting bioware unlocks its
full potential and all formatted armor gains some but additional benefit, but doing this is not
without risk. If the formatted armor is destroyed, the character automatically suffers both 1 injury
condition and a level 2 Complication (Shaken), as though struck by a Stun weapon.
Armor Descriptions
The armor chart includes the following listings:
Type: The type of armor
Base: The type or types of damage the armor protects against.
Tags: A weapon’s positive, zero cost, and negative tags, including Scale, if appropriate. Players
and Storyguides should work together to customize armor to their characters. Due to advances in
technology, armor can now possess up to 5 + Wealth in tags.
Size: The armor’s size when it is folded up for storage.
Tech: Is this armor hardtech or biotech (@).
FT: Formatting Tolerance, the tolerance cost to format this noetic biotech armor.
Cost: 0 = any character can afford this, •-••••• = dots in wealth necessary to afford this item.
New Types of Armor
Armor Carapace: Also known as a “beetle” or “bug suit.” This armor is grown organically but
is a non-living object, not a piece of biotech.
Armor Vest: A thin monofiber vest with small ceramic plates.
Battle Harness: A combination of armor, weapon, and mobility systems, battle harnesses are
bioware backpack-style units designed to be highly modular. Fitted snugly around the wearer’s
torso with a flexible and durable set of clasps, battle harnesses protect the user from harm while
providing other benefits. Harnesses come in several varieties, each designed for different
purposes. They must be formatted to be used.

4
• Mako: The “Mako” harness is designed for aquatic environments. The harness itself deploys a
thin sheen of organic sealant over the wearer’s exposed limbs, while a collapsible fin on the back
stores a small but powerful underwater propulsion system (Speed Scale 2). Attachments on the
legs and arms provide additional armor protection. The bio-organic sealant and the armored
plates both sport artificial shagreen capable of shredding anyone who comes in contact with the
wearer’s body. A specially modified mask with a bio-weave “gill” system allow the user to filter
oxygen out of water and convert it to breathable air.
• Spider: The “Spider” uses eight articulated spines that can extend several meters away from
the wearer’s body. These spines aid in stability, greatly improving the wearer’s ability to climb.
The Spider’s “legs” even include retractable biotech grippers (p. XX) extensions that allow the
user to climb up vertical or even horizontal surfaces like the harness’ namesake, as well as
allowing the wearer to move faster on the ground. These legs can also be used as weapons that
allow her to attack and block attacks, see the statistics below.
THIS IS A TABLE
Weapon Type En Damage Type Tags
Spider Spines 2 Edged Melee, Reach, Quality 2, Shield, Worn

END TABLE
Bio Environment Suit (BES): Developed on Qinshui, as a joint project involving biologists,
psions, and Qin researchers, the biosuit is the most advanced human space suit ever created.
Made to replace the standard VES (p. XX), in its unformatted mode the BES is a lightweight,
comfortable vacuum suit which provides high quality life-support for up to 16 hours. During this
time, the suit recycles water and provides food using a modified glup-pack (p. XX). At the end of
this time, the suit requires nutrient injections and at least eight hours of rest.
When formatted, the suit’s life support system can almost completely recycle air and water,
providing life-support for up to one week. With weekly additions of fresh air, and water as well
as at least eight hours of sunlight a day, the suit can provide indefinite life-support.
The suit consists of a form-fitting jumpsuit with durable, padded feet, a soft, folding bubble
helmet that retracts into the collar, and gloves that can either be detached or (if formatted)
retracted into the cuffs. The helmet automatically deploys whenever the wearer’s body is in a
hostile environment. A formatted BES automatically deploys to protect even a sleeping or
unconscious wearer from harm.
A formatted BES is more comfortable than a normal suit of clothing and many wearers happily
sleep in them. The BES can also change color and pattern and can also glow. It has several dozen
options ranging from glowing orange for easy visibility, to multiple camouflage options that
provide 1 Enhancement to all Stealth rolls to avoid being seen, to a variety of decorative options
that can be personalized by the user. When formatted, it can also change its cut and design; if the
helmet and gloves are retracted, it can appear to be any garment that has at least some weight and
covers most of the wearer’s body, from a three-piece suit, to a set of motorcycle leathers or a
long dress.
Bio-organic Vacuum Assault Reconnaissance Gear (bioVARG): Like the BES, this suit was
created through cooperation with Qin biotechnicians. The entire suit is a heavily armored living
organism capable of surviving in vacuum. It adjusts itself to fit any wearer and also enhances the
wearer’s strength. BioVARGs must be formatted to be used.

5
The outer surface consists of hard reinforced chitin with flexible joints protected by modified
spider silk. This suit comes in several models, depending upon the particular mission. However,
all of these models have several features in common.
• The Powered tag.
• Provide vision enhancement equivalent to improved binoculars (p. XX).
• Protect the wearer from vacuum and provide life support for up to 100 hours. At the end of this
time the suit must be cleaned and allowed to rest in a habitable environment for at least five
hours.
• A built-in ear radio (p. XX).
• Biotech grippers (see p. XX) on hands feet, shins, and forearms.
• The Active Camouflage 0 tag
In addition, all bioVARGs also come with one of the following tags, adding a second increases
the armor’s cost by one dot.
• The Active Camouflage 1 tag
• Bioservos in the legs (the Propulsion (land) tag).
• A gas jet mobility system (the Propulsion (space) tag).
• Deployable swim fins and underwater jets (the Propulsion (water) tag).
For no extra cost, bioVARGs can also be fitted with either built-in taser gloves (see p. XX) or
one built in gauntlet weapon (pp. XX-XX, select any laser gauntlet (p. XX) or psi gauntlet (p.
XX)) at no additional cost.
Bioweave Armor: This armor is a living mesh of modified spider silk that can only be used if
formatted. It shapes to your character’s body, forming tough armor that takes on the exact color
of the wearer’s skin and even allows the wearer’s hairs to grow through it. If the wearer is
clothed, nothing short of advanced scanner or a pat down reveals its presence. Taking it off
requires a special spray. Once formatted, it can be put on or taken off in three Rounds.
Osaka Class Armored Power Suit (MiniVARG): This suit is the smallest and lightest weight
of the advanced Nihonjin VARGS. It is used as both a hostile environment exploration suit and
as powered armor for moderate threat urban conflict. This suit consists of a lightweight suit of
flexible armor built around an orbital steel exoskeleton that conforms to the user’s body. This
exoskeleton features small superconducting motors at all major joints, to improve the user’s
speed and strength. This hardtech suit must be adjusted to fit a specific individual and can only
be used by wearers who all have close to the same height, weight, and general build.
This suit possesses the following included equipment:
• The Powered tag.
• Hardtech grippers (p. XX) on hands feet, shins, and forearms.
• A visor with the capabilities of improved binoculars (p. XX).
• Protection from vacuum and life support for up to 50 hours. The suit’s superconducting
batteries allow it to operate for up to 10 hours before it must be recharged. If the enhanced
strength is turned off, the suit becomes both bulky and Tiring, but can maintain sensors,

6
communications, weapons, and life support for up to 50 hours. At the end of this time the suit’s
life support system must be recharged.
All MiniVARGs can also be customized with various hardtech personal weapons, sensors, and
additional gear. All MiniVARGs come with any one of the four options available to BioVARGs.
Also, instead of gauntlet weapons a MiniVARGs can be fitted with either a laser pistol or a
heavy autopistol built into one arm. This suit can be packed into an ordinary suitcase for easy
transport.
Reinforced Clothing: Ordinary clothing, including color changing clothing can be made from
ballistic cloth and plastics that become rigid under impact. The only limitation is that the clothing
must have at least a bit of weight. A three-piece suit, a motorcycle jacket and heavy-duty jeans,
or any form of cold weather gear can be made into reinforced clothing, but a t-shirt and thin silk
pants cannot. Improved reinforced clothing provides more protection, but also costs more.
Shifting Armor: Popular with spies, criminals, and some performers, this biotech armor has all
of the advantages of improved reinforced clothing, and when it’s formatted, it can change its
appearance in ways limited only to the wearer’s imagination. It can change color, shape, and
texture, becoming anything from a halter top, jeans, and tennis shoes, to a full tuxedo and dress
shoes. When formatted, this armor also automatically accommodates itself of all uses of the
Biokinesis Transmogrification Mode.
Standard Battle Dress: The military uniform of the 22nd century includes integrated armor plus
limited electronic heating and cooling. The outfit is designed for comfortable long-term wear and
comes with a lightweight helmet. The cloth also has limited color-changing capabilities, allowing
it to transform into a dozen different camouflage configurations for various conditions, as well as
bright orange for emergency pick-up and the elaborate full parade dress coloration. This armor
also includes a helmet with an ear radio and an improved binocular visor.
Vacuum Environment Suit (VES): Designed to allow survival anywhere from the orbit of
Venus to the surface of Pluto, a VES has a built-in comp, a helmet visor that functions like
improved binoculars (p. XX), deployable grippers (p. XX) and a radio with a range of 500 km. It
provides life support for up to 20 hours. There is also an armored version for military or other
high-risk use. The military version has adaptive camouflage identical to that of standard battle
dress (providing 1 Enhancement to all stealth rolls for avoiding being seen).
Armor Chart
THIS IS A TABLE
Type Base Positive & 0 Tags Size Tech FT Cost
Armor Bulletproof, Complete 3, Hard 3, Soft Large Hard n/a ••
Carapace Impact & 1
Slash
Resistant
Armor Vest Bulletproof, Complete 3, Concealable Medium Hard n/a •
Impact & 1, Hard 1, Soft 1
Slash
Resistant

7
 Mako Battle Bulletproof, Complete 3, Defensive 2, Large @ • •••
Harness Impact & Environmental (aquatic
Slash only) 0, Hard 1,
Resistant Propulsion (water) 1, Psi
++, Soft 2
Spider Bulletproof, Complete 3, Hard 3, Large @ • •••
Battle Impact & Propulsion (climbing
Harness Slash only) 1, Psi++, Soft 2
Resistant
Bio Bulletproof, Active Camouflage 0, Medium @ • ••
Environment Impact & Complete 3, Soft 2,
Suit Slash Environmental 1,
Resistant Innocuous 2+, Psi
BioVARG Bulletproof, Active Camouflage 0, Size 0 @ •• •••• or
Impact & Complete 3, •••••
Slash Environmental 1, Hard 3,
Resistant Powered 0, Psi, Soft 2,
one or two additional
tags (see description)
Bioweave Bulletproof, Complete 3, Hard 1, Medium @ • ••
Armor Impact & Concealable 1, Psi++,
Slash Soft 2
Resistant
MiniVARG Bulletproof, Complete 3, Size 0 Hard n/a •••••
Impact & Environmental 1, Hard 3,
Slash Powered 0, Soft 2, one
Resistant additional tag (see
description)
Reinforced Bulletproof & Active Camouflage 0, Medium Hard n/a •
Clothing Impact Composite 2,
Resistant Environmental
(temperature extremes
only) 0, Innocuous 2,
Soft 2
Improved Bulletproof, Active Camouflage 0, Medium Hard •••
Reinforced Impact & Complete 3,
Clothing Slash Environmental
Resistant (temperature extremes
only) 0, Hard 1,
Innocuous 2, Soft 2
Shifting Bulletproof, Active Camouflage 1+, Medium @ • •••
Armor Impact & Complete 3,
Environmental

8
 Slash (temperature extremes
Resistant only) 0, Hard 1,
Innocuous 2, Psi, Soft 2
Standard Bulletproof, Active Camouflage 1, Medium Hard n/a ••
Battle Dress Impact & Complete 3,
Slash Environmental
Resistant (temperature extremes
only) 0, Hard 1, Soft 2
Vacuum Bulletproof & Composite 2, Soft 2, Large Hard n/a ••*
Environment Slash Environmental 1
Suit Resistant
Armored Bulletproof, Complete 3, Hard 1, Soft Size 0 Hard n/a ••
Vacuum Impact & 2, Environmental 1
Environment Slash
Suit Resistant
+ This tag can only be used if the biotech armor is formatted to the user.
++ This armor can only be used when formatted.
* Armor with the Environmental 1 or 2 tag has a minimum cost of ••
END OF TABLE

Weapons
Psions possess formidable psychic powers, but the universe is home to myriad dangers. Even psi
powers may not be enough, and most of the population possesses no such powers.
New Weapon Tags
These tags apply to the weapons found in this chapter. Weapons in this chapter also use the
weapon tags found in the Trinity Continuum Corebook (pp. XX-XX).
Beam (1): (energy weapons only) This energy weapons fires a continuous beam when the trigger
is held down. Allows use of the “spray” Stunt.

Spray (Variable)
When using a weapon with the beam tag, the attacker can spend an entire Round
holding down the trigger of the weapon and spraying a beam of energy. This attack
affects every target within Close range of the shooter’s primary target. The attacker
can make a separate non-mixed roll against each target in this area and can use
either the Inflict Damage or the Pin Down stunts (Trinity Continuum Corebook,
p. XX) separately on each of these targets. The spray stunt cannot be used as part
of a mixed action. Also, using it subtracts 1 from the shooter’s Defense for the
Round, because of the necessity of focusing on aiming and controlling the weapon.

Combined Stun (2): This weapon simultaneously delivers a standard attack and a stun attack
(see the Stun tag, Trinity Continuum Corebook, page XX). The user can also set the weapon to
only perform one of these attacks.

9
Destructive (2): Weapons with this tag can easily pierce armor and cut through tough materials.
These weapons reduce the target’s Armor rating by 2 and can also slowly cut through most
walls, doors, and other objects.
Electrical (1): Weapons that inflict electrical damage often possess the Stun or Non-Lethal tag,
but some can be quite deadly. Electrical damage ignores armor unless the armor in question has
the Environmental (1 or 2) tag. Unless hardened against electromagnetic disruption (which
means they cannot be connected to any external network, like the OpNet), electronic devices of
Size 0 or smaller that are struck by electrical weapons automatically shut down for at least 5
minutes.
Entangle (2): This weapon does no damage. Instead, successful attacks allow the character
access to entanglement Stunts, listed below. Targets must escape the entanglement to act
normally. Escaping from entanglement requires the target to make an Athletics + Dexterity roll
with a Difficulty equal to the number of successes rolled on the attack. The target can do nothing
else while making this roll. The attacker can inflict any of the following results on their target by
allocating their attack’s successes. These successes can be combined from multiple attacks on the
same target.

Stunts
Hobble (2 successes): Reduces the target’s Defense against all other attacks to 1.
Slow (1 success): Each success spent on slow reduces the target’s speed by 1
Takedown (1 success): The attacks renders your opponent prone (Trinity
Continuum Corebook, p. XX).
Paralyzed (3 successes): The target gains the Paralyzed Status Condition (Trinity
Continuum Corebook, p. XX), but can automatically escape within five minutes,
if no one prevents them from doing so.

Formatted (1, 2): Formatted 1 provides this bioware weapon with a +1 Enhancement if it is
formatted. Formatted 2 gives the weapon an inherent +1 Enhancement that increases to +2 if it is
formatted.
Immune (1): The user is immune to damage by this weapon. This tag can only be used on
formatted biotech weapons.
Non-Lethal (2): This attack normally produces the Stunned Status Condition (Trinity
Continuum Corebook, p. XX), but if the attacker allocates at least 4 successes to the attack, the
target gains the Unconscious Status Condition (Trinity Continuum Corebook, p. XX). The
attacker can accumulate these successes over the course of several attacks, as long as the attacker
can accumulate at least 4 successes before the target throws them off. Conscious targets can
make a Stamina + Resolve roll once per Round to attempt to throw off the effects of this attack,
with each success reducing the total number of successes by 1, but characters can perform no
other actions while making this attempt.
Obvious (0): This weapon is large enough that it functionally cannot be hidden on a person. The
weapon has a size of either Large or Size 0 and because of its size it gains +1 Enhancement
towards inflicting Injury Conditions.
Optionally Non-Lethal (2, 3): A weapon with this tag can be set so that the user can choose
whether an individual attack possesses the non-lethal tag or does normal damage, depending
upon the user’s wishes. The 3-point version of this tag allows the user to switch between Non-

10
Lethal and a Quality 2 normal attack. Characters can easily switch a weapon between these two
modes and do not need to spend an action to do so.
Poison (2): Skin contact with or injury by this weapon causes automatically causes 1 injury
condition to anyone whose skin contacts the weapon.
Poison - Non-Lethal (2): This non-lethal poison causes the Unconscious Status Condition
(Trinity Continuum Corebook, p. XX) to anyone whose skin contacts the weapon. For both
types of poison, if the target is wearing anything more than light clothing, the attacker must
either touch the target’s bare skin or cause damage to the target with a ballistic or edged attack
bearing the poison.
Psi (-1): Any weapon with this tag is bioware that can be formatted. Formatting bioware unlocks
its full potential and all formatted weapons gain some additional benefit, but doing this is not
without risk. If the formatted item is destroyed, the character automatically suffers both 1 injury
condition and a level 2 Complication (Shaken), as though struck by a Stun weapon.
Psi Gauntlet (0): This biotech super science weapon is designed for use by psions. It must be
formatted to be used and automatically possesses the Psi and Worn tags. Some also contain
biotech lasers, increasing their Tolerance by •, but others only use their built in psionic weapon.
See the Noetic Super Science rules (p. XX) for rules on creating psi gauntlets.
Sonic (1): Sonic damage ignores armor unless the armor in question has the Environmental (1 or
2) tag.
Super Science (1, 2, 3): This weapon also includes Powered noetic Super Science. Only
weapons with the Psi tag can possess this tag, and all weapons that use this tag must be
formatted. The weapon contains Super Science with a Rank and a Formatting Tolerance equal to
the value of this tag. Increase its Formatting Tolerance by one dot if it also contains a separate
biotech weapon. The weapon has a minimum cost equal to the value of this tag.
Variable (1): This weapon can, at the user’s choice, deliver either stun damage or normal
damage, but cannot do both in a single attack. Characters can easily switch a weapon between
these two modes and do not need to spend an action to do so.
Variable Poison (3): This weapon can administer both lethal and non-lethal poison but cannot
do both in a single attack. The character must spend an action to switch between these two types
of poison.
Weapon Descriptions
The lists below are not exhaustive, but provide a benchmark for use in creating your own
weaponry. The weapons charts include the following listings:
Weapon Type: A listing of the weapon’s name and general type. While competing companies
may produce laser carbines with minor variations from one another, these differences are too
minor to track in game terms. Anything that wouldn’t require a change of traits can be explained
away in purely descriptive terms; for more drastic differences, change a tag or two to better
represent these variations. The weapon descriptions below often include examples of a given
weapon type and its typical usage in the field.
En: The Enhancement bonus provided by the weapon.
Range: This is the weapon’s optimal range. For weapons capable of operating at multiple ranges
without penalty, all optimal ranges are listed here.

11
Damage Type: The weapon inflicts either ballistic, edged, or blunt damage, or a special type of
damage, it the appropriate tag is used.
Tags: A weapon’s positive, zero cost, and negative tags. Players and Storyguides should work
together to customize weapons to their characters. Due to advances in technology, weapons can
now possess up to 4 + Wealth in tags.
Size: The weapon’s size.
Tech: Is this weapon hardtech or biotech (@).
FT: Formatting Tolerance – the tolerance cost to format this noetic biotech weapon.
Cost: 0 – nominal, any character can afford this, •-••••• – dots in wealth necessary to afford this
item.
Weapon Configurations
Blade: Both swords and knives count as blades and can have the Melee or the Reach tag, but not
the Range tag. Small blades often possess the Concealable tag, large blades often have the
Obvious tag and may have the Reach tag. Their size ranges from Small to Large.
Pistol: All pistols are used in one hand; smaller pistols usually possess the Concealable tag.
Their size is Small or Medium.
Gauntlet: Gauntlets are biotech weapons worn as a glove on one hand. Small gauntlets may
appear to be normal gloves, gaining the Concealable tag. Large gauntlets extend up the wearer’s
forearm and are obviously biotech devices. All gauntlets possess the Worn tag. Their size is
Small or Medium.
Carbine: Carbines are short lightweight rifles. Their size is Medium.
Rifle: Shotguns and other full-sized rifles possess the Obvious tag, and many possess the Two-
Handed tag. Their size is Large.
Heavy Weapon: Heavy weapons are pieces of military hardware that are all large and deadly
looking. All possess the Heavy Weapon and Restricted tags. They are Size 0 items.
Weapon Types
All of the following types of weapons can possess any appropriate weapon tags from the Trinity
Continuum Corebook (pp. XX-XX), as well as the mandatory and optional tags listed below.
Coil Guns: These weapons magnetically accelerate slugs to hypersonic velocity and possess
enormous greater range and stopping power. They are commonly used to fight enemy psions,
Chromatics, or Aberrants and are only available as heavy weapons. They all possess the
Automatic 2, Brutal, Heavy Weapon, Piercing, Ranged: Close-Long, Restricted, Tactical Sight,
and Two-Handed tags. They may also possess the Mount tag (which removed the necessity of
also having the Brutal tag).
Example: Banji 02 Hornet.
Flechette Weapons: A flechette weapon rapidly fires a spray of needle-like projectiles. Biotech
versions do not require reloading, since they generate their own ammunition. All flechette
weapons can fire either standard flechettes or drugged flechettes that dissolve in flesh and cause
minimal damage. Flechette weapons come as pistols and carbines and all possess the Silent,
Spread, and Variable Ammo 2 or 3 tags.
• Standard Flechette: These flechettes typically possess either the Quality 2 or the Quality 3 tags.

12
• Drugged Flechette: These flechettes have the Poison or the Poison - Non-Lethal tag and the
Non-Penetrating tag
Examples: Orgotek Stinger autopistol and Orgotek Scorpion autocarbine.
Lasers: These energy weapons fire deadly beams of coherent light. Lasers are available as
pistols and carbines, and biotech lasers are also available as gauntlets. Lasers are the most
common type of biotech weapon. Laser weapons all possess the Piercing and Ranged: Close-
Medium or Close-Long tags. More powerful lasers replace the Piercing tag with the Destructive
tag for 1 point of tags and many lasers possess the Beam tag. Lasers cannot possess the
Automatic tag.
Examples: Orgotek Pulse-L Gauntlet, Voss 33k, Alchemy 2118-D Biocarbine, Orgotek Hornet
IV.
Plasma Throwers: These highly dangerous energy weapons project superheated streams of
ionized gas in a beam of devastatingly deadly plasma. The plasma streams fired by such weapons
burn quickly through most materials, including armor. Plasma weapons require backpack fuel
tanks and thus all possess the Heavy Weapon tag. Plasma weapons also all possess the Beam,
Brutal, Deadly, Incendiary 2, Ranged: Short, and the Restricted tag. Plasma weapons cannot
possess the Automatic tag.
Example: Voss 88T.
Poison Weapons: These biotech weapons are lined with stinging cells like those of a sea
anemone or jellyfish tentacles, quickly delivering a paralytic toxin to the victim. They can be
used unformatted, but the user must take care not to poison herself and must select the desired
poison with buttons on the weapons. When formatted, the user is immune to the poison and can
cause the weapon to be poison free or secrete either lethal or paralytic poison with a thought.
Poison weapons are available as either gauntlets or blades and must possess the variable Poison
tag, as well as the Immune, Melee, and Psi tags.
Slug Throwers: Most of these weapons shoot normal bullets, but some have the Variable Ammo
tag. Slug throwers are available as pistols, carbines, and rifles.
Any slug thrower with the Variable Ammo 2 or 3 tag can use the following ammo:
• Armor Piercing: This round gains the Piercing tag.
• Frangible: This round is designed for use on spacecraft and other potentially delicate regions
and is designed to both not ricochet and also not to penetrate armor. It has the Non-Penetrating
tag.
• Gel Rounds: These rounds spread out on impact and cause only bruising. They gain the Non-
Lethal and Non-Penetrating tags.
• Incendiary Round: These rounds contain an accelerant that ignites upon impact, dousing the
target in flames. They gain the Incendiary tag.
• Slugs: Slugs possess the Quality 2 tag.
• Stun Round: These rounds contain supercapacitors fitted with short spikes that deliver a
powerful electrical charge to the targets, and gain both the Electrical and Stun tags.
Any slug thrower with the Variable Ammo 3 tag can also fire the following additional ammo:
• Heavy Armor Piercing: This solid slug gains the Piercing and the Quality 2 tags.

13
• Slugs: Slugs possess the Brutal and Quality 2 tags.
• Taser Round: These rounds contain powerful supercapacitors fitted with short spikes that
deliver an extremely strong electrical charge to the targets, and gain both the Electrical and the
Non-Lethal tags.
The following types of slug-thrower ammo too large to be used in pistols.
• Fragmentation: This round is a fragmentation grenade, and gains the Explosive (ranged) tag.
• Gas Round: This high-pressured gas canister emits a small cloud of noxious chemicals upon
detonation, and gains the Gas tag. The canister can hold any of the three common types of gas
ammo.
• Pellets: These rounds fire half a dozen or more small metal pellets, and gain the Quality 2,
Spread, and Non-Penetrating tags. Pellets are the most commonly used shotgun ammunition.
Examples: L-K Defender 9mm pistol, L-K Avenger 11mm pistol, L-K MAC-803 autocarbine.
Sonic Weapons: These specialized nonlethal energy weapons emit focused sound beams
capable of incapacitating targets. They are often employed alongside tasers by law enforcement.
Deadlier variations, known as screamers can be set to do either lethal or stun damage. Sonic
weapons come as pistols, carbines, and blades. Sonic blades lack physical blades and instead
possess blades made of focused sound that vanish when deactivated.
Most sonic weapons possess the Non-Lethal and Sonic tags. Screamers replace the Non-Lethal
tag with the Optionally Non-Lethal 2 tag for no extra cost, or the Optionally Non-Lethal 3 tag for
one additional tag. Sonic pistols and carbines must possess the Range (Close-Short) tag, while
sonic blades possess either the Melee or Reach tag. All sonic blades must also possess the Non-
Penetrating tag, and most sonic blades possess one of the two Optionally Lethal tags.
Examples: Aris Whistler Pistol, Aris SuperSonic Carbine.
Rocket Launchers: Firing small missiles, these deadly devices are only available as heavy
weapons. All rocket launchers possess the Brutal, Deadly, Explosive 2 (ranged), Heavy Weapon,
Incendiary 2, Ranged: Short-Long or Short-Extreme, Restricted, and Two-Handed tags.
Example: LK Killjoy.
Tasers: Another nonlethal energy weapon favored by law enforcement, ranged tasers fire short-
range electrical beams that render targets unconscious, while taser melee weapons charge the
weapon with electricity, affecting whoever it touches. When used on electronics that either aren’t
shielded or are networked in any fashion (wired or wireless), tasers function as zappers (p. XX),
but only affect a single target that must be within range. Tasers are available as both melee and
ranged weapons and as gauntlets or pistols. All tasers possess the Electrical tag, the Melee or the
Ranged: Close-Short tag, and either the Stun or the Non-Lethal tag. Biotech tasers possess both
the Psi and the Immune tag.
Example: Banji 02 Hornet.
Vibroblades: These weapons earn their name because of an ultrasonic generator in their hilt.
When activated, the blade vibrates at an extremely high frequency. This vibration improves the
blade’s damage and allows it to slowly cut through most common materials, up to and including
wood, concrete, and soft metals. Doing so requires slowly carving the blade through the material,
requiring a length of time based on density and size. The Storyguide is the final judge of how
long this process takes, but as an example, cutting a one-meter hole through wood (such as a
door) takes roughly five minutes, while doing so through concrete takes 20 or more.

14
Vibroblades, as their name suggests, can only take the form of blades and cannot have the Range
tag. They must possess the Destructive tag.
Example: Aris Slicer
Web Emitters: These weapons fire multiple strands of a sticky polymer or biopolymer that
instantly dry into tough, flexible fibers when they contact a target. Originally used for crowd
control, these non-lethal weapons are now also sold for personal protection. All web emitters are
short thick carbines. They are available in hardtech and biotech options and all possess the
Entangle 2, Ranged: Close-Short, and Spread tags.
Examples: L-K Netgun s5, Orgotek Spinneret
Ranged Weapons
The advent of energy-based weaponry revolutionized man-portable firepower. Laser weapons
are sleeker and more accurate than slug throwers. Slug throwers remain largely unchanged from
previous centuries, though modern automatics are generally more efficient than their
predecessors. Both lasers and slug throwers come in pistol and carbine varieties.
The other major distinction in weaponry comes in the form of biotech versus hardtech. Many
biotech weapons look nearly identical to their hardtech counterparts by design, and function
similarly. Biotech weapons have greater potential when formatted, enhancing the weapon’s (and
sometimes the psion’s inherent) capabilities. All biotech weapon listed possess the Psi tag and
can possess the Formatted tag.
THIS IS A TABLE
Ranged Weapons Table
Type Model En Range Damage Tags Tec Size F Cos
Type h T t
Flechett Orgotek 3/4 Close- Ballistic Formatted+ @ Mediu • ••
e Scorpion + Mediu , Ranged: m
Carbine Biocarbin m Close-
e Medium,
Silent,
Spread,
Variable
Ammo 3,
Psi
Laser Voss 63 2 Close- Ballistic Beam, Hard Mediu n/ ••
Carbine K Carbine Long Quality 2, m a
Ranged:
Close-
Long,
Tactical
Sight
Laser Orgotek 1/2 Close- Ballistic Concealabl @ Small • •
Gauntlet MiniPulse + Mediu e,
-L m Formatted

15
 1+,
Grappling,
Piercing,
Psi,
Ranged:
Close-
Medium,
Worn
Laser Orgotek 2/3 Close- Ballistic Beam, @ Mediu • ••
Gauntlet Pulse-L + Long Destructive, m
Gauntlet Formatted
2+, Psi,
Ranged:
Close-
Long, Worn
Slug- L-K 2-3 Close- Ballistic Quality 2, Hard Mediu n/ •
Thrower Avenger Mediu Ranged: m a
Pistol 11 mm m Close-
Medium,
Variable
Ammo 2
Slug- L-K 2-4 Close- Ballistic Automatic Hard Large n/ ••
Thrower Protector Long 2, Obvious a
Rifle Auto 0, Ranged:
Close-
Long,
Variable
Ammo 3,
Sonic Aris 1 Close- Sonic Concealabl Hard Small n/ •
Pistol Whistler Short e, a
Optionally
Non-Lethal
2, Ranged:
Close-
Short,
Sonic
Taser Orgotek 1 Close- Electrical Concealabl @ Small • •
Pistol Electric Short e,
Eel Electrical,
Non-Lethal,
Immune+,
Psi,
Ranged:
Close-Short

16
 Web Orgotek 2 Close- Special Entangle 2, @ Mediu • •
Emitter Spinneret Short Formatted+ m
Carbine , Psi,
Ranged:
Close-
Short,
Spread
Coilgun L-K Big 5 Close- Ballistic Automatic Hard Size 0 n/ ••••
Heavy Boy r5 Long 2, Brutal, a
Weapon Heavy
Weapon,
Piercing,
Ranged:
Close-
Long,
Restricted,
Tactical
Sight, Two-
Handed
Missile L-K 5 Short- Incendiar Brutal, Hard Size 0 n/ ••••
Launche Killjoy Long y Charge, a
r Heavy Deadly,
Weapon Explosive 2
(ranged),
Heavy
Weapon,
Incendiary
2, Ranged:
Short-
Extreme,
Restricted
Plasma Voss 88T 5 Short Incendiar Beam, Hard Size 0 n/ ••••
Thrower Plasma y Brutal, a
Heavy Gun Deadly,
Weapon Heavy
Weapon,
Incendiary
2, Ranged:
Short,
Restricted,
Two-
handed

17
 [[NOTE TO LAYOUT: INSERT A CENTERED LINE SAYING “HEAVY
WEAPONS” IN THE TABLE BETWEEN WEB EMITTER CARBINE AND
HEAVY COILGUN]]
+ This tag can only be used if the biotech weapon is formatted to the user.
END OF TABLE
Psi Gauntlets
Psi gauntlets are advanced biotech enhancements worn over the user’s hand and forearm. They
cover the entire forearm and are thus difficult to conceal. Only a psion can use a psi gauntlet and
they must be formatted. Psi gauntlets enhance the user’s psionic powers and also provide built-in
weaponry. Some gauntlets require a specific Aptitude in order to effectively use them, but most
can be used by any psion. Any such requirements are listed in the weapon descriptions below.
Electrolaser Gauntlet: This weapon creates a laser-guided electrical blast, essentially a wrist-
mounted lightning thrower. The shock of the weapon is severe, capable of stunning and disabling
both living and mechanical targets at range, and the user can choose to fire either an
incapacitating or a lethal bolt. If the user spends a Psi point, they can simultaneously make a
normal and a non-lethal attack against the same target. Any psion can use this weapon.
Enhancer Gauntlet: This gauntlet can only be used by psions with the Electrokinesis or
Psychokinesis Aptitudes. In addition to firing a powerful laser beam, it also increases the user’s
effective Psi by 1, but only for the purpose of calculating dice pools and other factors dependent
on Psi for powers of a single Aptitude; it does not provide additional Psi points. This device also
cannot increase effective Psi above 5. This Psi increase affects either the Electrokinesis or the
Psychokinesis Aptitude, but it can only enhance one of these. The wearer chooses which one to
enhance when formatting this device.
Force Gauntlet: A force gauntlet uses Telekinesis to enhance the wearer’s blows. Unformatted,
it functions as a fighting glove (see below). When formatted, the gauntlet projects this same
force at a distance, effectively allowing the user to make unarmed strikes against distant targets
(using Close Combat Skill, but with Psi instead of Might). This weapon can only project raw
force, not fine manipulation. The wearer can also use the telekinetic force created by this
gauntlet to shove opponents and block attacks. Any psion can use this gauntlet.
Sureshot Gauntlet: This gauntlet, uses the power of Clairsentience to guide the user’s attacks to
a pinpoint precision. It requires getting a bead on the target with the guiding laser, made by
making a successful attack roll using Aim, and spending 1 Psi point. This maneuver does no
damage, but from then on, the gauntlet remains locked on to the target, and its laser attacks gain
an additional 2 Enhancement (for a total of 4 Enhancement) on the attack roll. Thick barriers and
a lack of line of sight for more than two rounds end this lock. However, the Sureshot is not
affected by low-light or other types of impaired visibility and suffers no penalty even amid a
smoke cloud or on a hazy moonless night. Any psion can use this gauntlet.
THIS IS A TABLE
Psi Gauntlet Table
Weapon En Range Damage Tags Size FT Tech Cost
Type Type
Electrolaser 3 Close- Electrical Electrical, Medium •• @ •••
Medium Formatted,

18
 Optionally Non-
Lethal 3, Psi
Gauntlet, Ranged:
Close-Medium,
Super Science 1
Enhancer 3 Close- Ballistic Beam, Medium •• @ •••
Long Destructive,
Formatted 2, Psi
Gauntlet, Ranged:
Close-Long,
Super Science 1
Force 2 Close- Blunt Formatted, Psi Small • @ •••
Short Gauntlet, Ranged:
Close-Short,
Shield, Silent,
Super Science 1,
Weighted
Sureshot 2/4 Close- Ballistic Beam, Medium •• @ ••
Long Destructive,
Formatted, Psi
Gauntlet, Ranged:
Close-Long,
Super Science 1

END TABLE
Melee Weapons
Even in an age of man-portable energy weapons and psionic powers, the reliability of a club or a
sword can’t be overstated. On an alien world or in a bad part of town, a knife or even a makeshift
club can mean the difference between life and death. Many melee weapons are strictly hardtech,
although developers constantly push the boundaries of biotech weapons. Players should feel free
to develop prototype bioware weapons with their Storyguides beyond those listed below.
Axe: Useful as survival tools, axes also make for emergency weapons. Simple but rugged, they
consist of reinforced steel or plasteel blades attached to a long handle. An axe can split wood or
break down doors in a rescue situation as easily as it can fend off would-be attackers.
BioClaws: Requiring minor surgery to attach, this bioapp provide users with a set of retractable,
fully organic claws. These claws provide 1 Enhancement for climbing and also serve as vicious
close-combat weapons.
Chain: A length of chain makes for a surprisingly effective weapon in the right hands. Chains
can entangle limbs or simply bludgeon a target with reach. A few rare martial arts styles still
make use of chain weapons.
Fighting Gauntlet: High-tech gloves with plasteel and kinetic enhancers woven into the lining
allow a human to strike with the force of a sledgehammer. Trained martial artists can use a good
pair of fighting gloves to beat down dangerous wildlife, rogue psions, or even shatter vehicles.

19
Enamel Knife: A weapon almost as simple as a club, knives come in many forms, including
blades of enamel, orbital steel, or old-fashioned collapsible knives. Unlike ranged weapons or
larger melee weapons, knives are less restricted and more concealable. Enamel knives are
exceptionally sharp blades grown via biotech. They do not show up on metal detectors.
Poison Gauntlet: A poison glove appears to be an ordinary glove until its biotech enhancements
are activated, at which point it can deliver either lethal or paralytic poison at the wearer’s desire.
Sonic Blade: A device that looks like the hilt of a high tech short sword generates a tightly-
focused “blade” of sound capable of easily harming soft targets. The fact that it is relatively
useless against harder materials makes this weapon a favorite in dangerous environs, where a
punctured hull or broken lab equipment might spell disaster. It can also be set to only do stun
damage, making it also useful in law enforcement, when less deadly uses of force are desired.
The user can set the sonic blade to be anywhere from a few centimeters to several meters long,
using it as a dagger, a short sword, or an exceedingly long blade.
Staff: A length of wood, plasteel, or polymers usually two meters in length, the staff is
essentially a longer club capable of striking with more force. Its additional reach affords the
wearer some extra defense in close combat.
Taser Gauntlet: This model is clearly a biotech weapon, and is decorated with stylized lightning
bolts, but for a slightly higher cost a version that is indistinguishable from an ordinary glove is
also available.
Vibroblade: The size of an old-fashioned short sword, this vibroblade cuts through most
common materials swiftly and easily and is also a deadly weapon.
THIS IS A TABLE
Melee Weapon Table
Weapon Model En Damage Tags Size Tech FT Cost
Type Type
Axe - 3 Edged Melee, Quality 3, Large Hard n/a 0
Weighted
BioClaws Orgotek 2 Edged Concealable, Tiny @ • 0
Tiger Formatted,
Grapple, Melee,
Piercing, Psi++,
Worn
Chain - 2 Blunt Entangle, Melee, Medium Hard n/a 0
Reach, Two-
Handed
Fighting Banji 2 Blunt Concealable, Small Hard n/a •
Gauntlet Warrior Grapple, Melee,
Quality 2, Worn
Enamel - 1 Edged Concealable, Small Hard n/a 0
Knife Grapple, Melee,

20
 Piercing,
Throwing
Poison Alchemy 1 Poison Concealable, Small @ • ••
Gauntlet BW-2 Grapple,
Immune+, Melee,
Psi, Variable
Poison 3, Worn
Sonic Banji 2 Sonic Concealable, Small Hard n/a ••
Blade Varicut-3 Grapple, Melee,
Optionally Non-
Lethal 2, Non-
Penetrating,
Reach, Sonic
Staff - 2 Blunt Melee, Obvious 0, Large Hard n/a 0
Reach, Shield 2
Taser Orgotek 1 Electrical Electrical, Small @ • •
Gauntlet Lightning Grapple,
Immune+, Melee,
Non-Lethal 2, Psi,
Worn
Vibroblade L-K VL1 3 Edged Deadly, Medium Hard n/a ••
Destructive 2,
Melee, Quality 3
+ This tag can only be used if the biotech weapon is formatted to the user.
++ This weapon must be formatted to use it.
END TABLE
Everyday Technology
The following devices are all widely available and in common use.
Binoculars: Computer-stabilized image enhancers permit up to x 50 magnification. Improved
binoculars also provide light intensification for seeing at night and an infrared to ultraviolet
frequency range. Binoculars provide 2 Enhancement for actions involving seeing details at a
distance, and improved binoculars also allow the user to see in darkness and to ignore visibility
penalties or Complications from fog or smoke. Tech: Either, Size: Small, Cost: 0 (regular) •
(improved)
Biofixer: This palm-sized clamshell-shaped bioapp extrudes organic materials that can fix cracks
and other minor damage and patch holes up to 5 cm in diameter. Repairs made by a biofixer are
as good as new and the device provides 1 Enhancement for actions to repair devices. Tech: @,
Size: Small, Cost: •
Clothing: Clothing worn in the early 22nd century is mostly similar to that sold in the early 21st.
However, there have been some changes. Outdoor clothing often comes with imbedded heating
and cooling fibers to keep the wearer comfortable from -30 to 50 C with nothing more than

21
heavyweight jeans and a durable long-sleeved shirt. Flexible solar panels printed on cloth keep
these fibers charged and are also used on clothing to recharge personal electronics.
In Nippon, clothes printed with display screens playing everything from mass media shows to
home movies or art are popular. Clothing that can change color and patterns and even glow is
popular everywhere. In addition to fashion uses, most outdoor clothing can turn bright orange
and glow in the dark to facilitate easy rescue, and criminals and covert operatives often wear
clothing which can assume a wide range of camouflage options while also being able to appear
ordinary. This clothing provides 1 Enhancement to actions to avoid notice, and particularly
stylish (and expensive) clothing can provide 1 Enhancement to creating a good first impression
or being perceived as having high social status. Tech: Hard or Psi, Size: Medium, Cost: 0 to ••
Cosmetic Modifications: Advanced biotechnology allows people to change their bodies in a
wide variety of ways. Permanently changing skin, eye or hair color at will, even to stripes or
exotic colors like royal blue or lime green, altering facial features or becoming fatter or thinner
are all common procedures. These changes require only a few minutes to initiate, are complete in
a day or two and have no recovery time. More extensive and expensive alterations like sex
changes, changing eyes to look like those of cats or birds of prey, attaching decorative horns or
antlers, and small changes in height require several hours of medical procedures and up to a
week of recovery time. Alterations that cause the person to have green skin or otherwise look
obviously non-human are most common in Sudamerica or Nippon, but available everywhere.
The only mechanical effect of this technology is that it can produce or remove dots in the
Attractive Edge or allow someone to almost perfectly disguise herself as any other person. Tech:
Hard or Psi, Size: n/a, Cost: 0 to ••

Notes on Appearance, Gender and Technology

For the last 90 years, medical technology has allowed people to alter their
appearance or their sex. Through a combination of drugs, gene therapy and surgery
a short skinny black man can become a tall rubenesque white woman who could
bear children. Permanently changing hair, eye or skin color is a simple, fast, and in
many places inexpensive procedure. Now that three generations have grown up
with this technology, prejudices about race, gender and sexuality are all
considerably less than they were in the early 21st century. Sadly, bigotry lingers,
and prejudices based on culture, national origin, religion, and socioeconomic status
are still common, especially in poorer nations like the FSA or Russia.

Glucose-Protein Nutritional Packet (glup pack): First introduced by BioDyne, this bioapp is
roughly the size and shape of a large avocado. It generates food and water using photosynthesis,
carbon dioxide and water from the air, and organic matter like leaves, grass, or rich soil. With
only water from the air and minimal organic matter, a glup can provide one person with food and
water. If given sufficient water to purify and abundant organic matter it can supply up to five
people per day with food and water. It can be stored for years. Tech: @, Size: Medium, Cost: 0
Locator Band: This device subconsciously allows the user to know which direction is north, as
well as also optionally allowing the user to know the direction of some known object, like their
car or the spacecraft they landed in. This device uses the OpNet and works on any settled planet.
It causes the user’s skin to tingle in the relevant direction and comes as a belt, an anklet or a
bracelet. It provides the wearer with the equivalent of the Direction Sense Edge (see the Trinity
Continuum Corebook, p. XX). Tech: Hard, Size: Tiny, Cost: 0

22
Survival Blanket: This simple bioapp stores itself as a green object the size of a large mango. It
can unfold into a blanket, a sleeping bag, or small tent, all suitable for a single person. Multiple
survival blankets can link together to form larger tents. As long as it is exposed to sunlight for at
least eight hours a day, it can keep the user comfortable warm or cold in any temperature from
the Antarctic winter to the Gobi Desert in summer (-60 C to 60 C), providing 2 Enhancement for
all survival rolls using the blanket. Also, at the user’s command, the blanket can induce a state of
deep hibernation, allowing the user to survive without oxygen for a week and without food or
water for three months. This hibernation can also allow the user to survive an otherwise lethal
injury until help arrives. A survival blanket can place an unwilling subject into hibernation, but
the process takes five minutes, and the subject must be immobilized or they can easily escape.
Tech: @, Size: Small, Cost: •
Minicomps
The primary piece of technology that everyone except the poorest of the poor, criminals in
maximum security prisons, and a few of the most determined luddites owns is a minicomp.
Minicomps are highly advanced versions of early 21st century smartphones. They all possess a
fast wireless connection to the OpNet, a short-range link to the user’s display gear, and are the
most indispensable piece of technology that most people own. Minicomps are the size of an
average early 21st century smartphone, with a holographic screen and a mini-projector that
allows the user to project images a meter or two across. All minicomps are waterproof and
designed to survive drops of up to three meters, and some are designed for even more rugged
use. For 0 Cost, a minicomp has an attractive but not fancy casing and a failsafe of 2. Increasing
the cost by • either increases the failsafe by 2 and gives the minicomp a fancier case or provides
the minicomp with 1 point of both hard and soft armor, with the Environmental 1 tag, and adds a
locator beacon with a range of 100 km in areas with little radio traffic. The highest available
failsafe for a minicomp is 4.
Biocomps
The recently developed biocomps are faster and more responsive than hardtech minicomps, and
can be formatted. Formatted biocomps perform any tasks involving computer use, including
hacking, twice as fast as hardtech minicomps. Characters who format a biocomp also gain 1
Enhancement to all Technology rolls related to using it (including using it to hack other
computers or networks). In addition, formatted biocomps do not require passwords or biometrics.
Only the person who formatted them can use them. All other users must overcome their failsafe.
All biocomps have Tolerance •.
Popular Minicomps
All minicomps are Small size, designed to fit comfortably in the user’s pocket. Like all
computers, minicomps have active security known as a failsafe, which acts as a Complication
against any unauthorized use. See pp. XX-XX for more details on failsafes and computer
hacking. The following are some of the most common models.
Orgotek Tortoise: This biocomp is at least as fast and reliable as any computer on the market,
and is equipped with an extruded casing engineered from turtle DNA for a pleasant, pebbly
exterior. Tech: @, Tolerance: •, Failsafe: 4, Cost: •
Steinhardt MI–CC: The military-issue minicomp is equipped with an armored ceramic-polymer
shell, locator beacon and a Patton military agent. The P-CC is a civilian version that is identical,
except that it lacks a military agent. Tech: Hard, Failsafe: 4, Cost: ••

23
Wazukana 300E: The most popular minicomp on the market, made in a fetching neo-deco
ovoid design and available in a variety of colors. Tech: Hard, Fail-safe: 2, Cost: 0

SI (Satisfactory Intelligences)
Because of several attacks by malevolent and highly unstable artificial intelligences
created during the Aberrant Wars, true artificial intelligence is now limited to a few
tentative projects found in secure research facilities. The best publicly available
software is the ubiquitous Satisfactory Intelligences, typically called SIs. SIs can
understand and respond in colloquial speech and are capable of asking for
clarification if confused, but are mere simulations of intelligent interaction, lacking
self-awareness or creativity. However, they learn the habits of their users and make
inferences based on these habits. SIs are found in minicomps, vehicles, dwellings,
and in almost every device people regularly use. A coffee pot will make a cup of
coffee based on data collected about the user’s normal coffee preferences, unless
overridden by a more exacting request.

Agents
Every minicomp contains a SI, with an agent program. This agent serves as the user’s personal
assistant. Children have special agents that help guide their learning and restrict their access to
some material, and many adults have used the same agent since their teens.
Agents can be anything from a simple, emotionless drone to a fully intuitive, dynamic character
construct. Minicomp agents are almost supporting characters in themselves, but ultimately an
agent is simply a personalized SI. Agents have a kind of intelligence, and even seem to possess
an artificial personality, but are not independently thinking creatures. Nevertheless, agents can
operate independently from the character. Characters can instruct them to perform tasks or allow
their agents to make limited decisions based on observations of what their user would want.
Agents interact with their user and with other people and agents via text, voice and visual
projections. They can perform any task that they are told to, if they have the necessary
equipment. If someone asked an agent to drive him home, the agent could either call the person’s
nearby car and direct it to drive home, or call an automated cab.
Typically, people allow their agents to share their preferences with devices they are interacting
with. Everything from your car or home to a Robo-Burger or hotel room in a city you visit for
the first time knows what you like and knows what questions to ask to help you decide exactly
what you want to eat, drink, listen to, view or read and what temperature you prefer for your
showers. These tasks are overseen by an individual’s agent. Agent’s often know someone better
than their spouse and help manage a person’s life. They remind users to leave early for an
appointment if traffic on their route is especially heavy, make certain that food they order or
purchase meets any special dietary needs or preferences, provide appropriate music for all
circumstances, and keep users up to date with news and entertainment that it knows they are
interested in, while filtering out everything else.
All agents are treated as minor characters with both Mental and Social dice pools. However,
because SIs are not sentient beings, they are limited to performing highly specific tasks. Each
such task is called an application. Agents cannot perform any action if they lack an associated
application. All agents come with a pre-loaded set of applications. Because of these limitations,
no agent can outdo an exceptionally skilled human. Agents can also help their owner perform
tasks they possess applications for, such as evaluating the owner’s business plan, rather than
creating their own business plan. In this case, all agents provide 1 Enhancement to applicable

24
actions. All agents can perform online research and translate all living human languages in real-
time.
Building Agents
In addition to Language Translation and Online Research applications, all agents possess 6
additional applications, possess a Mental dice pool of 4, a Social dice pool of 4, and have a cost
of 0. Every • of cost increases the agent’s power by adding three additional applications and a
total of two points that can be added to the two dice pools.
Alternately, you can increase the agent’s cost by • to either add six additional applications or a
total of four points that can be added to the two dice pools. Agent dice pools cannot be raised
higher than 6. In addition, you must increase the agent’s cost by an additional • if it can perform
hacking and other illegal functions. All law-breaking agents are restricted to Criminal and
Espionage Paths.

Law-Breaking Agents
Ordinary agents are not permitted to attempt to break laws for their user, except for
limited exceptions if someone’s life is in immediate danger, such as driving a
vehicle faster than the local speed limit on a trip to a hospital. However, agents used
by covert operatives, criminals, and some high-ranking government officials lack
restrictions against law-breaking. There is an illegal market in agents hacked to be
able to break laws. Hacking an agent to break laws or possessing such an agent
without the proper authorization are serious crimes in most nations.

Popular Agents
The following are four popular agents.
Alpha Software Chris: Chris is one of the best agents on the open market. The projection’s
appearance is fully customizable by the user. Chris is extremely response and good at
understanding the user’s needs and wants. The default personality is slightly pushy but rapidly
adapts to the user’s style and preferences. Cost: 0. Stats: Mental: 4, Social 4. Applications:
Administration, Business, Design, Geography, Language Translation, Law, Mathematics, Online
Research.
Data Intrusion Assistant (DIA): This highly restricted agent was designed for use by covert
operatives who need to hack computers. It appears to be a standard mid-range agent like Chris,
but with a few secret features. Criminals and dissidents have obtained copies of this agent and
adapted it for their own uses. Cost: •• (restricted to Espionage or Criminal Paths), Stats: Mental:
6, Social 4, Applications: Administration, Business, Computer Hacking, Code-breaking, Design,
Electronic infiltration, Geography, Language Translation, Law, Mathematics, Online Research
Datawarp Patton: This agent was one of the first of the “new-era” designs, and still finds
extensive use throughout the FSM and other military organizations. While the projection is of a
20th-century American general, Patton has extensive data on every major military mind and
tactical analysis of the past three centuries. Cost: • (restricted to Military Paths), Stats: Mental:
6, Social 4, Applications: Administration, Current Events, Geography, History, Language
Translation, Mathematics, Politics, Military Regulations, Online Research, Strategy, Tactics
Orchidware Hippocrates v3.0: This premier medical agent is designed to help with diagnosis
and treatment and also to manage the practical details of a physician’s life. Its standard
projection is as an efficient and somewhat taciturn middle-aged woman who is dressed as a

25
physician. Cost: •, Stats: Mental: 6, Social 4, Applications: Biology, Bureaucracy, Chemistry,
Diagnosis, First Aid, Language Translation, Mathematics, Medical Ethics and Law, Online
Research, Pharmacy, Surgery
Orgotek Hare: Used in the biotech turtle, the default projection is an animated anthropomorphic
rabbit with a somewhat sarcastic sense of humor, but the personality soon adapts to the user.
Cost: •, Stats: Mental: 6, Social 6, Applications: Administration, Business, Geography,
Language Translation, Law, Mathematics, Online Research, Organization
Display Gear
Augmented reality has been a fact of daily life for more than a century and almost everyone uses
some type of display gear. The most common display gear is special contact lenses. Standard
models display minicomp data and function as automatically darkening sunglasses that magnify
both small and distant objects by up to 2X. Advanced models also allow the user to see the entire
spectrum from infrared to ultraviolet light, magnify both small and distant objects by up to 4X
and provide light amplification to allow the user to see well in dim light, providing 1
Enhancement to all vision rolls. These advanced contact lenses also contain miniature cameras to
allow the user to record what they are seeing.
People who prefer older technology wear the same device as a set of glasses that contains all the
same features. Some well-off people have their display gear implanted, which also contains the
same features. Except in Nippon, implanted AR gear is becoming less common because of the
development of biotech contacts that can bond semi-permanently with the user’s eyes and
biotech speaker/microphones that bond behind the user’s ears. These pieces of biotech can live
one the user indefinitely. Cost: Ordinary display gear has a cost of 0 and is included with a
minicomp, Advanced display gear has a cost of •, Biotech versions do not need to be formatted.

Augmented Reality
Modern augmented reality is subtle and carefully managed by the user’s agent. It
includes small colored arrows for directions if the person if unfamiliar with a
location or asks for directions. Similar markers for objects or locations the agent
knows the person would be interested in, as well as names and other basic
information appears next to people the user either doesn’t know or has forgotten.
Often, someone’s agent understands what she wants to know at the same time she
does, and flashes up enough information to help the person, without distracting her
for more than a second or two. Most uses of augmented reality are equally
unobtrusive.
Almost anywhere on Earth and in every settled world, anyone using display gear
can instantly learn their location and get directions. They can see the name and
basic biographic information on anyone they have seen before or who has a public
OpNet profile (which almost everyone does) and learn the location of anyone they
know who has allowed them to access this information. People can also look at an
animal or plant and have their minicomp identify it or have their minicomp help
repair broken devices or diagnose medical problems and suggest basic first aid.
However, augmented reality provided by standard display gear and implants
appears somewhat artificial and usually looks at least slightly cartoonish and
imperfectly matted into the background due to the limitations of display gear.
Computer enhancement (p. XX) allows seamless augmented reality, where the
augmented reality images are indistinguishable from reality and allows users to

26
 effectively customize the appearance of their surroundings. Unfortunately,
problems with AR hacking, where people secretly rewrote what others saw,
contributed to the widespread current distrust of computer enhancement.

Medicine & Medical Gear

Current medical technology can cure most diseases. The only exceptions are the dreaded
Corruption diseases (p. XX), which defy both conventional and most vitakinetic treatments.
However, cancer can be cured, limbs and organs regrown, and the average lifespan of someone
with regular medical care is now 130. Anyone benefitting from Nihonjin’s advanced medicine
can expect to live 145 years and someone with regular access to vitakinetic medical care lives at
least this long, and recent developments have likely increased this.
Wazukana II Portable Trauma Kit (PTK): This kit is roughly the size of a large suitcase and
is found in ambulances, most spacecraft and, small clinics. It contains drugs and equipment for
treating most common diseases and poisons and performing all surgery that does not require a
hospital operating room. It provides 1 Enhancement for all such medical tasks. Tech: Hard, Size:
Size 0, Cost: ••
Wazukana III Medical Robot (MR): Approximately the size and shape of a 1.5 m tall fireplug,
an MR moves on wheels and has half a dozen arms and many sensors. These robots are usually
found in hospitals, spacecraft clinics and mobile medical centers set up to handle natural
disasters. The onboard Hippocrates agent automatically treats patients if no doctor is present with
a pool of six dice, and can perform all but the most complex medical procedures. It can also
assist a physician or be teleoperated by a remote physician and provides 2 Enhancement for
medical tasks if helping a physician. Tech: Hard, Size: Size 1, Cost: •••
Drugs
The following are only some of the thousands of drugs used for medicine, recreation, or personal
enhancement in use in this era. Some drugs have after-effects once they have worn off. Users can
postpone these after-effects by taking more of the drug, but all drugs have a maximum safe
dosage. The duration of a drug’s after-effects is multiplied by the number of doses taken.
Recreational drugs are legal in most nations.
Flashback: This drug drastically enhances a user’s memory, given them the equivalent of three
dots of the Eidetic Memory Edge for the duration. However, the user is overwhelmed with
memories and suffers a level 2 Complication (confused) to all rolls to notice events in the
present. Duration: One Scene, Maximum Dosage: Two, After-effects: none, Cost: 0 (10
doses)
Mooders: These drugs each induce a single specific emotion in the user. The most common
mooders induce joy sadness, anger, love, lust, trust, enthusiasm, or self-confidence. Mooders
typically give the user 1 Enhancement or a level 1 Complication to various tasks. For the
duration, the user can’t help but feel the induced emotion. Duration: One Scene, Maximum
Dosage: Three, After-effects: none, Cost: 0 (10 doses)
Red: Designed for soldiers and regularly sold to criminals, it fills user with aggression and rage
while simultaneously causing them to become extremely focused. They are also immune to fear.
Users gains 1 Enhancement to all Aim, Athletics, and Close Combat actions, but is also strongly
inclined to shoot first and ask questions later. Duration: One Scene, Maximum Dosage: Three,
After-effects: Inflicts a level 2 Complication (in pain) on the target for one scene, Cost: •• (10
doses, restricted to military and criminal Paths)

27
Stabilizers: One pill calms the user, eliminating any penalties for anxiety or stress, removing up
to a level 2 Complication caused by either. Two pills make the user drowsy (providing a level 2
Complications to all actions), and three pills makes the target sleep. “Stables” take effect in five
minutes and are a common sleeping aid. Duration: One Scene (or a full night of sleep),
Maximum Dosage: Three, After-effects: none, Cost: 0 (100 doses)
Stimulants: The user functions normally regardless of how tired they are. Duration: six hours,
Maximum Dosage: Three, After-effects: Inflicts a level 2 Complication (tired) on the user for
two scenes, Cost: 0 (10 doses)
Tough: This drug eliminates fear and pain without otherwise impairing the user’s body or mind.
The user gains 3 Enhancement to resist fear or intimidation, but is not inclined to perform
obviously dangerous actions without a good reason. Tough also temporarily reduces all
Complications from injuries by 1 level. Duration: One hour, Maximum Dosage: Four, After-
effects: increase all injury Complications by 1 level for the next hour, Cost: • (10 doses)
Commercial Bioapps & Augmentations
Noetic biotech is humanity’s newest technology and the most advanced biotech devices connect
to human bodies. The first bioapps were all designed for use by psions, but recently several
biotech companies have been creating bioapps for use by neutrals and the Qin have also recently
begun creating these devices to sell to humanity. One result of the popularity of noetic bioapps is
that non-noetic biotechnology created using conventional genetic engineering is somewhat more
popular than before, and most people outside of Nippon consider it to be safer and more
acceptable than electronic hardtech implants.
Gillbreather: This device consists of a mask, connected to a thin pack worn on the user’s chest
or back. It allows the user to breath normally in any water that contains sufficient oxygen to
support fish. If not formatted, the device can be used for up to eight hours before it requires rest
and nutrient injections. If formatted, the pack bonds to the user’s back and can be used as long as
desired. Also, formatted gillbreathers directly oxygenate the user’s bloodstream and no longer
require a mask. Formatted gillbreathers can be removed, but are not bulky or uncomfortable and
some wear them on land. Hardtech gills can only be used for up to seven hours before they must
be recharged. Tech: @ or Hard, Size: Medium, Tolerance: •, Cost: •
Medical Symbiont: Recently created by a team of vitakinetics working with both Qin
technicians and conventional bioengineers, this enhancement was created from gene-engineered
bacteria and single celled organisms. As a result, it is technically hardtech. The symbiont gives
users 2 Enhancement to resist all poisons and diseases. Also, the user heals three times faster
than normal and increases her lifespan by 25%, potentially increasing average lifespan to 160
years. Medical symbionts must to specifically engineered for each individual. Tech: Hard, Size:
n/a, Cost: ••
Qin Enhancement Polyps (QEP): These devices have proven extremely popular since their
recent release. These organisms are dome-shaped disks three cm in diameter and 5 mm thick that
are covered by a brightly colored shell and attach directly to the user’s body. Once attached, they
can only be removed by minor surgery. The QEP enhances the user’s brain in minor but useful
ways. There are currently four QEPs, each of which grants the user a single Mental or Physical
Edge (see the Trinity Continuum Corebook, pp. XX-XX for the list of Edges), which include
the Direction Sense Edge, the Lighting Calculator Edge, the Breath Control Edge, and the two
dot Photographic Memory Edge Perfect Memory. These bioapps do nothing for individuals who
already possess these Edges, but users can wear one of each type of they wish. These devices do
not need to be formatted. Tech: @, Size: Tiny, Cost: •• Each.

28
Vision Enhancement: Unlike many other enhancement procedures, vision enhancement proved
safe and remained popular even after the Aberrant Wars. It provides the ability to see both
infrared and ultraviolet light, including thermal infrared (heat) and improves the user’s night
vision. Finally, if the user squints, it provides up to 4x magnification for both distance and close
work. Users suffer no visual penalties for dim light, and gain 2 Enhancement to all actions
involving vision. Most versions look like ordinary eyes, but users can obtain more unusual
models, including black featureless eyes or slitted cat eyes. Both normal and inhuman looking
vision enhancements cost the same. However, having visibly inhuman eyes gives the user a level
1 Complication to all social actions that would be influenced by his looks in nations with
substantial prejudice against enhanced individuals, like the FSA, Poland or the Ukraine. In some
of these nations, including the FSA, the government is also more likely to harass these
individuals. However, in most Sudamerican cities, and among subcultures elsewhere having a
visibly inhuman augmentation provides the user with 1 Enhancement to all actions influenced by
his looks. Tech: Hard, Size: n/a, Cost: ••

Rules For Acquiring Augmentations

One potentially confusing part of dealing with characters acquiring augmentations
is that some are purchased as Edges, while other are treated as any other equipment,
which is bought using Wealth. As a general rule, any augmentation that produces
large-scale mental or physical changes in a character, like Amphibious Conversion,
Aquatic Conversion, or Computer Enhancement (see New Edges, p. XX) is treated
as an Edge, while smaller changes, like the various augmentations above are treated
as equipment.

Psionic Bioapps
These bioapps are specifically designed for use by psions and enhance or otherwise affect
psionic powers. They can only be used by or on psions. Most of these devices must be formatted.
All the items listed here are commercial products and thus can be produced in moderate
numbers. As a result, characters can purchase these items normally and so players do not need to
buy them using the Artifact Edge (Trinity Continuum, p. XX).
Astronomical Range Enhancement Sensor (ARES): The recently developed ARES is a large
oval pod that can hold a single adult human inside of it. When activated, it unfolds like a flower
and then folds around the user. It increases the user’s effective Psi by 1, but only for calculating
dice pools and other factors dependent on Psi for Clairsentience powers. The ARES pod also
adds two dots to your character’s Psycholocation Modes for making rolls or determining the
power of effects using this Mode. Most impressive of all, it allows the user to multiply the
maximum range of the Psycholocation power Dowsing, and other Psycholocation powers used in
conjunction with it, by 500, but only for targets that are more than 0.1 light years away. This
bioapp does not increase the amount of detail available at these extremely long ranges. An ARES
is a crucial component of a Leviathan jump ship. However, ISRA owns several ARES units that
are not installed in Leviathan jump ships, which it uses for long range stellar surveys, and Upeo
wa Macho recently acquired several more for use by its Clairsentients. Tech: @, Size: Size 1,
Tolerance: ••••, Cost: ••••
Focal Crystal: These biotech crystals are small violet disks. They do not require formatting and
are only useful to Clairsentients. Any Clairsentient or character with a Clairsentient Auxiliary
Mode can use them to encode a multimedia message including voice, text, and both still and
moving images drawn from the character’s thoughts and memories. “Reading” a message in a

29
focal crystal requires the same amount of time as reading or watching it on a screen, while
recording a five-minute message only requires one Round. A Clear must be in Close range of a
focal crystal to encode a message in it, but can sense focal crystals and read any messages
contained within them at their Enhanced Attunement range (p. XX). Each focal crystal can hold
enough messages that watching and reading them all would require many hours. Tech: @, Size:
Tiny, Tolerance: n/a, Cost: •
Interface Augmentation Device (IAD): Orgotek manufactures eight different IADs, one for
each Aptitude. Most IADs are made in the form of a small device that fits around the user’s ear.
However, a few decorative ones are made as chokers or wrist bands. While most psions use an
IAD that enhances their Aptitude, IADs can also enhance a psion’s Auxiliary Modes. Because a
few psions have Quantakinesis Auxiliary Modes, people can still purchase Quantakinetic IADs.
Characters cannot use multiple IADs at the same time. Every IAD provides the user with one dot
to each Mode when determining that power’s effects and also increases the user’s effective Psi
by 1, but only for the purpose of calculating dice pools and other factors dependent on Psi for
powers of a single Aptitude. This device does not provide additional Psi points and cannot
increase effective Psi above 5. This device also doesn’t allow the user to gain any additional dots
in a Mode. Instead, the user’s existing powers become somewhat more powerful. Tech: @, Size:
Tiny, Tolerance: •••, Cost: •••
Psionic Distorter: This device interferes with psionic surveillance by generating subquantum
static and is designed to be used by neutrals and psions alike. It comes in two forms, an ovoid the
size of an orange that fills a room with psionic static, and a small disk that is designed to be worn
and which generates psionic static within a few cm of the wearer. The first device creates a level
3 Complication for any use of Clairsentience or Teleportation in or directed at the protected area.
Even if the device is off, the Complication affects any use of Psychometry to examine the area
during the time when it was on. The wearable device inflicts a level 3 Complication to all
attempts to use Clairsentience, Telepathy, or Teleportation on the wearer. Failure to overcome
this Complication results in Clairsentient and Telepathy receiving only static and in
Teleportation being impossible.
Psions can make an Attunement roll to notice either type of active psionic distorter in Short or
Close range, and automatically notice it if they attempt to use any powers affected by this device
on an area or individual protected by one. These devices are often used by spies and wealthy or
powerful individuals from Nippon who travel abroad. However, they are highly illegal in China,
where only individuals authorized by the government may own or use them. Tech: @, Size:
Small, Tolerance: n/a, Cost: ••
Psionic Restraint Collar: Developed for use on psionic criminals, recently, psionic restraint
collars were adapted for use on Chromatic prisoners. Devices designed for use on humans do not
work on Chromatics, and the reverse is also true. When placed around the wearer’s neck, the
collar drains one Psi point per Round until the user is out of Psi points. The user also cannot
recover any Psi points until the collar is removed and increases the Difficulty of all Psi rolls by
+5. The collars are large, easily visible bands. Possession of these devices is highly restricted and
they do not need to be formatted. Tech: @, Size: Small, Tolerance: n/a, Cost: •• (highly
restricted, law enforcement and Æon Trinity Paths only)
Space Maneuver Pack (SMP): In an effort to provide easy mobility in space, Orgotek has
recently introduced the SMP to give individuals long-term mobility in space without the need for
bulky fuel tanks and large engines. This bioapp provides the wearer with telekinetic propulsion
similar to Momentum. While not as powerful as a properly trained Psychokinetic, in zero gravity,

30
the wearer can spend 1 Psi point to fly like a Telekinetic with a Space Speed of [1]. This effect
lasts for one Scene.
In low gravity (p. XX), spending 1 Psi Points allows the wearer to fly at Speed Scale 2 for 5
minutes. In normal or high gravity, the user can slow any fall to a safe speed by spending 1 Psi
point. Spending 1 additional Psi point allows the user to hover in mid-air for a single Round.
This device has proven especially popular on Luna, and in many deep space environments. The
SMP is a somewhat bulky vest, with a low bulge on the back. The vest is adjustable and fits over
all models of space suits, including the BioVARG. Norça and Orgotek commandos recently used
the new SMP on their latest assault on a Chromatic base. This device can only be used when
formatted. Recently, Orgotek also released a version usable by neutrals. Tech: @, Size:
Medium, Tolerance: • (•• for the version usable by neutrals), Cost: • (•• for the version usable
by neutrals).
Transmassion Energy Amplification Rig (TEAR): An offshoot of the effort to develop jump
ring (see p. XX), this device provides 1 Enhancement for using the Teleportation Transmassion
Mode Transmit Person and increases the number of targets that a teleporter can transport using
this Mode by a factor of 10. However, the user must spend one additional Psi Point per use. This
bioapp consists of a thick belt attached by a cable to a flexible ring of the same material that can
be adjusted to be up to 10 meters in diameter. Everything the user transports using this device
must be inside of this ring. The jump rig only works if the teleporter stands outside of the ring.
However, she can use Translocation while she uses this device and jump with it, carrying the
TEAR with her. Otherwise, everything inside the ring teleports, but the teleporter and the TEAR
remain in place. Tech: @, Size: Size 0, Tolerance: ••, Cost: ••
Hardtech Implants
Outside of Nippon, hardtech implants are rarely used by ordinary citizens and most people
regard them as potentially dangerous. They are most commonly used by criminals and covert
operatives. Most are produced in Nippon or are copied from Nihonjin designs. In both reality and
adventure holovids, most Nihonjin covert operatives are equipped with one or more hardtech
implants.
Before the appearance of the psions, cybernetic implants were still used in medicine, but only
when gene therapy and organ cloning could not be used. Today, these therapies combined with
Vitakinetic healing and medical bioware have all but eliminated the need for hardtech implants.
Advanced Radio Implant: This implant contains all the features of the ear radio described
below (p. XX). In addition, advanced implant radios can broadcast to any minicomp within 100
m, using fake credentials that make it appear that the call is actually coming from anyone whose
number is known to the implant’s user. Spoofing OpNet credentials is highly illegal unless the
user has prior authorization from the appropriate government or law enforcement officials. Tech:
[Hard], Cost: ••• (restricted to Criminal or Espionage Paths)
Electric Touch: This implant consists of a thin layer of vat-grown tissue similar to that found in
an electric eel is implanted on the subject’s back and thighs. The user can inflict electrical
damage similar to a taser glove to anyone she touches. She can use this attack at will, but must
touch the target with her hands. If she instead touches any electronic device, this burst of
electricity is equivalent to an attack by a zapper.
The user can also discharge all her electrical energy at once, making a massive and deadly attack
on a single target. Subjects who release this electricity at once must wait a full Scene before they
can use this modification again. The electric touch implant also grounds your character,

31
rendering her immune to tasers, and providing two levels of soft armor against all electrical
damage. She can also use this implant to recharge any Small hardtech electronic device by touch.
Tech: [Hard], Cost: ••
Implant Laser: The user has a small laser pistol implanted into his forearm. The laser fires
through a concealed port in the user’s first knuckle and is carefully camouflaged so that it does
not show up on any non-psionic scans. The user is also equipped with a small, well-shielded,
radiothermal power source. Tech: [Hard], Cost: ••• (restricted to Criminal or Espionage Paths)
Implant Weapons Chart
THIS IS A TABLE
Weapon Type En Damage Tags Cost
Type
Electric Touch 1 Electrical Concealable, Electrical, Grappling, Melee, ••
Non-Lethal, Worn
Boosted Electric 3 Electrical Charge, Electrical, Grappling, Melee, ••
Touch Quality 2, Worn
Implant Laser 2 Ballistic Concealable, Destructive, Quality 2 Ranged: •••
Short-Medium, Worn

END OF TABLE
Spy Tech
These devices are designed for use by spies and criminals and many are illegal in most nations.
Because surveillance technologies are so small and advanced, security conscious individuals and
organizations must be especially vigilant if they wish to keep their secrets.
Bug: This device is a camera and microphone 1mm in diameter. It has a sticky backing and a
transmitter capable of sending data and recording the data for up to 50 hours. Locating a bug that
broadcasts continually is trivially easy for an electrokinetic or anyone with a bug detector, unless
it’s in a location where no one will be looking for bugs, like an alley or park. Most bugs
broadcast compressed data pulses every four or five hours. These data pulses only last a few
seconds and the bug does not broadcast at any other time. Bugs that are placed in secure shielded
facilities or deep sub-basements cannot broadcast to anyone outside this location and are
typically set not to broadcast at all. Characters must physically retrieve the bug and download its
data. Finding such a bug, waiting for the owner to retrieve it is an excellent way of discovering
who placed it. Tech: Hard, Size: Tiny, Cost: •
Bug Detector: This thumb-sized device connects wirelessly to the user’s minicomp. It detects
and locates all transmissions in the area. If anything is transmitting within Short Range of this
device, it automatically detects and allows the user to locate the transmission. Tech: Hard, Size:
Tiny, Cost: •
Chameleon Suit: This bioapp is the ultimate disguise for spies, thieves and even a few stage
magicians. When stored this device resembles a smooth round fruit around eight centimeters in
diameter. It can only be used when formatted, at which point it unfolds into a comfortable, form-
fitting jumpsuit that changes color to resemble whatever background it is seen against. This color
matching is neither perfect nor instantaneous. If the user moves faster than a slow walk, the suit’s

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color matching becomes less good. While standing still or moving slowly the suit provides 3
Enhancement to remain unseen, but this is reduced to 2 Enhancement if the user is moving more
rapidly. Also, even a Chameleon Suit does not allow the user to hide in an empty, well lit,
corridor. Tech: @, Size: Medium, Tolerance: •, Cost: ••
Directional Microphone Pen: This device allows the user to discretely listen in on a whispered
conversation up to 5 meters away. A normal conversation can be heard up to 10 meters away. To
use this device, the user must aim the pen at the desired sound. This device can record sound for
later use, or broadcast it to the user’s minicomp. Tech: Hard, Size: Small, Cost: •
Ear Radio: This device allows your character to maintain hands-free, encrypted communication.
Ear Radios consist of a small earplug connected to miniature bone-conduction microphone. The
microphone is extremely sensitive, and can easily pick up whispers. Users can subvocalize
coherently in a manner that’s inaudible to anyone nearby. Ear radios use complex frequency
switching algorithms and advanced encryption that make them far more difficult to intercept and
decipher than ordinary minicomp calls (Increase the Difficult of all attempts to intercept and
decipher ear radio transmissions by +4). Only another ear radios set to the same profile can
normally decrypt their messages. Most ear radios are used with minicomps, but many models can
also be used independently, with a range of up to 20 km in areas with few wireless signals, like
wilderness areas or deep space, and 5 km in dense urban area. Ear radios can also be used to
transmit data between users who link their minicomps into their ear radios. Tech: Hard, Size:
Tiny, Cost: ••
Fiber Optic Probe: This device can extend a fiber optic that can fit through many closed doors,
locked drawers, and other narrow openings. A wide-angle lens at the end of the fiber optic allows
the user to see the area around the fiber’s tip. The user can clearly see anything within two
meters of the tip of the fiber, and anything within five meters is blurry but visible. A second fiber
can project a narrow flashlight beam. Inserting a fiber optic into a lock or alarm system provides
2 Enhancement to pick locks or to locate or disarm alarm systems. This device can be built into a
ring or a pen and sends images to the user’s minicomp. Tech: Hard, Size: Small, Cost: •
Grippers: This device comes in three forms, a hard-tech device, as a bioapp, or as a biotech
enhancement. All three consist of a series of pads that attach to the user’s palms, feet, shins, and
forearms. Each pad extends tiny hair-like fibers that adhere to almost any surface, much like the
foot of a gecko, can support up to 60 kg and works on both wet and dry surfaces. Only a few
specially-made plastics resist the gripper’s adhesion. These plastics are sometimes used to coat
the walls of extremely high security buildings.
The hardtech device and the bioapp are both thin flexible pads that users strap to their body. This
bioapp does not need to be formatted. The biotech enhancement consists of thin layers of tissue
that bonds with the user’s palms, feet, shins, and forearms. This enhancement works as well as
other versions of the device, but does not function if those parts of the user’s body are not bare. It
must be formatted. However, when not active, the biotech enhancement appears to be normal
skin. By moving carefully, all grippers allow users to climb any wall or ceiling strong enough to
bear their weight. With a little practice, users can climb on walls or ceilings as fast as a human
can crawl. No rolls are needed to use this device. Tech: Hard or @, Tolerance: • (for biotech
enhancement), Size: Small (n/a for the biotech enhancement), Cost: • (•• for the biotech
enhancement)
Intrusion Kit: A specialized kit for opening locks and defeating alarm systems. Using this kit
permits character to attempt to open locks and bypass or disable alarm systems without penalty.
Tech: Hard, Size: Small, Cost: • (restricted – Criminal, Espionage, or Law Enforcement Paths)

33
Laser Microphone: This listening device is usually built into a pair of binoculars. It projects an
invisible low-power laser beam off any reflective surface made of glass, metal, or hard plastic,
typically a window or mirror. Sound waves cause these surfaces to vibrate minutely. By picking
up these vibrations, this device can be used to listen to any conversations or other noises inside
the room. It can even record sounds from relatively still bodies of water ranging in size from a
lake to a bird bath. The primary limitation is that the room must have an exterior window. Also,
windows can be constructed to prevent listening and heavy curtains block sound. Tech: Hard,
Size: Small, Cost: •
Mini-Rebreather: This device consisted of a small folding face-mask that connects to a fist-
sized air tank, which hangs around the user’s neck. A mini-rebreather provides breathable air for
up to 30 minutes. After this time, the tiny air tank must be refilled and the filter changed on the
rebreather. While less useful than a gillbreather underwater, this device also provides air in a
poisonous environment. Tech: Hard, Size: Small, Cost: •
Static Generator: A specialized anti surveillance device about the size of a bar of soap. It
creates a localized field of radio (up to a five-meter radius). The static blocks all transmissions in
or out of the area. Tech: Hard, Size: Small, Cost: 0
T-Ray Viewer: This device uses terahertz radiation (electromagnetic waves halfway between
infra-red radiation and microwaves) to allow users to see through walls. T-rays easily penetrate
interior walls not specially shielded and reinforced and through outside walls that are not made
of thick stone or reinforced concrete. It also allows users to look through bulky garments to see if
the target is wearing or carrying a weapon. This device has a range of 10 m and clearly reveals
people and other large objects on the other side of walls. However, these images are fuzzy and
reveal no more than outlines without much detail. Recognizing individuals is impossible. This
device is the size of a thick pen and transfers images to the user’s display gear. Tech: Hard, Size:
Small, Cost: •
Zapper: This device resembles a small single shot pistol. It fires cartridges which use a
combination of powerful electromagnets and a small explosive charge to produce an
Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP). This EMP disables any electronic device that is not both specially
shielded and disconnected from any wired or wireless network (like the OpNet). Cheap or poorly
made devices affected by an EMP must be replaced, and even high quality, well-maintained
devices must be rebooted and checked before they will function again. The EMP produced by a
zapper has a range of Short (30 meters) and affects everything in a cone 30 meters across.
Zappers are typically used to destroy surveillance equipment or to shoot down drones. Zapper
cartridges are the size of shotgun shells, but the explosion produced by a zapper is harmless.
Also, zappers are designed to muffle the noise of the shot and so cannot be heard without special
sensors or senses more than 5 m away. Tech: Hard, Size: Small, Cost: •

Transportation
The necessities of fast and safe transit in the 22nd century have led to vast advances in terrestrial
and space travel. Most ground transportation is fully automated, flights carry hundreds of people
across the Pacific Ocean in less than two hours, and there is regular traffic between Earth, Luna,
Mars, and the asteroid belt. However, while most vehicles can drive themselves, in an
emergency, a skilled pilot is still superior to the best SI.
Commercial Travel
Most people travel long distances on hypersonic jet liners that do not require stops for refueling,
but which still require one hour to cross the Atlantic and two hours to cross the Pacific, carrying

34
up to 800 passengers. Higher speed vehicles carry several hundred passengers between Earth and
Luna daily from many large cities, making the journey to or from the Moon in 8 hours.
Getting into orbit is a choice between speed and comfort. The most comfortable and least
expensive method is to take either the Mount Kenya or Macapá Space Elevator to
geosynchronous orbit. On either space elevator, the journey requires 11 hours. A hybrid
spacecraft can make the journey into low orbit in half an hour and to Abuhisi space station in 90
minutes.

Jump Rings
The fastest, newest, and most expensive method of travel are the linked
teleportation rings called jump rings. An offshoot of the effort to create the
Leviathan jump ships, these devices consist of pairs of linked rings. In addition to
requiring as much power as a large electric hovertruck, these devices can only
teleport people and cargo between a single pair of noetically linked rings, and can
do so only as long as the rings are less than five million kilometers apart. Also, a
psion must spend a Psi point to activate the jump ring and complete the transport.

Currently, there is jump ring service between Olympus on Luna and the following cities: Beijing,
Chicago, Jomo Kenyatta, Mumbai, Sao Paulo, Sydney, and Zurich. These cities also have jump
rings between them, allowing the wealthy and people on official business to jump between any
of these cities in a matter of seconds. Up to 12 passengers with, baggage, or up to 2 tons of cargo
can be transported with each jump. Jump ring transport began slightly more than a year ago, and
is already regarded as the premier way to travel.
Vehicles
Even the cheapest vehicles come equipped with an onboard SI capable of driving the vehicle,
GPS, their own cellular transmitters, climate control systems, and minor self-repair kits. Luxury
options include repair bots that fold up and retract into the vehicle chassis when not in use and
biometric anti-theft systems. Ground vehicles operate via a combination of solar and electric
batteries, capable of running for many hours before needing recharging. Refueling stations across
the globe allow for anything from self-operated recharge (which takes 5 minutes). Vehicles that
travel on or underwater or fly in air or space operate via miniature hyperfusion reactors. These
reactors provide theoretically unlimited flight power but require periodic maintenance.
Biotech vehicles are relatively primitive compared to their hardtech counterparts. Although
biotech solar batteries are cheaper to produce and offer greater running time for ground vehicles,
and biotech submarines are superior to their hardtech counterparts, biotech propulsion systems
can’t yet handle the stresses of air and space travel, forcing these vehicles to combine biotech
sensors and controls with hardtech hyperfusion drives. The Qin have overcome these limitations,
producing biotech spacecraft better any human hardtech, but human engineers are still struggling
to understand how these strange and beautiful vehicles operate.
New Vehicle Descriptions & Tags
Vehicles in Trinity Continuum: Æon use the same creation system and tags as in the Trinity
Continuum Corebook (pp. XX-XX), but there are a few important differences. The first change
is that all vehicles have two additional categories included in their descriptions:
Tech: Is this vehicle hardtech or biotech (@).
FT: Formatting Tolerance, the tolerance cost to format this noetic biotech vehicle.

35
Cost: The complexity of spacecraft engines, hulls, and life support systems sets the minimum
cost of all spacecraft at ••••. However, advances in technology allow vehicles in in Trinity
Continuum: Æon to have up to 1 + Wealth points worth of positive tags. Exceedingly
expensive vehicles with a cost of L (requiring the Loaded Enhanced Edge to purchase) possess a
total of eight points worth of positive tags.
In addition, this system also includes rules for generating spacecraft. The basic template for
spacecraft (before adding tags) is Size 2, Handling +0, with a base Space Speed Scale (p. XX)
based on their tags (see below).
New and Modified Vehicle Tags
Astrogation Systems (1): This tag must be taken in conjunction with the Computer tag,
providing all the vital systems necessary for space travel. Vehicles with this tag are not designed
for atmospheric flight. All vehicles with this tag have a base of Space Speed [3].
Computer (0): The vehicle comes equipped with a standard suite of on-board computers,
including navigation systems, GPS, and OpNet connection, sensors and similar equipment.
These sensors include the equivalent of improved binoculars, as well as whatever other sensors
they may require for their normal operation. Vehicles with this tag are capable of driving
themselves under normal conditions, with a dice pool of four, modified by the Handling tag.
Hybrid (2): This tag simply combines Flight and Astrogation Systems, allowing the vehicle to
operate in both atmospheric and space flight. Any hybrid vehicle automatically has a Speed of 6
in atmosphere and a base Space Speed of [3].
Living (0): This tag is only for Qin biotech vehicles. As living organisms, they all can rapidly
heal (giving them a version of the Repair Bots tag) and can reproduce on their own, but they also
require time to feed.
Limited Astrogation Systems (0): This space vehicle is both slow and designed for short
duration use. It has a base Space Speed Scale of [2] and is not designed to be used for more than
two days without refueling and refreshing the life support system.
Psi (-1): Any vehicle with this tag contains that can be formatted. Unless otherwise specified,
formatting a biotech vehicle provides 1 Enhancement to handling. Vehicles with a Size of 4 or
higher are too large for one individual to format, and instead require individuals to format
different systems, like controls, weapons, and engines. A different person must format each
system. Formatting bioware unlocks its full potential, this is not without risk. If the formatted
vehicle is Taken Out, the character automatically suffers both 1 injury condition and a level 2
Complication (Shaken), as though struck by a Stun weapon. Biotech ground, air, and water
vehicle have a formatting tolerance of ••, while all spacecraft have a formatting tolerance of •••.
Biotech vehicles must use the Psi tag.
Repair Bots (1): The vehicle has a small repair drone capable of folding up and stowing itself in
any available cargo space. The drone can repair minor damage, including replacing spare tires,
fixing damaged computer and guidance systems, or welding damaged panels. Biotech vehicles
with this tag do not require repair drones and instead are able to heal damage four times faster
than normal.
Stealthy (2): This tag cannot be used on any spacecraft using rockets, including hyperfusion
rockets.
Tesser (1): The ship is fitted with a psionic drive that allows it to teleport vast distances. Tessers
can only be installed in ships with a Size of at least 4 that possess the Psi tag. In addition, a

36
Tesser can only be used with an ARES Pod (see above) and it’s sufficiently large that it reduces
that spaceship’s maximum Cargo to size -2. A Tesser also allows a teleporter to use Transmit
Person to carry the ship and everyone on board without the necessity of spending additional
successes or Psi points, and to accompany the ship even if they do not know Long Jump.
Thrusters (1+): For space vehicles only. The vehicle increases its Space Speed by [1].
Triphibian (2): This tag combines Flight Navigation Systems and Submersible, allowing the
vehicle to operate in both in the atmosphere and both on and under the water.
Weaponry (1 to 2): The most common vehicle weapons are the coilgun, laser carbine, and
missile launcher. Each use of this tag provides the vehicle with up to two different weapons.
Ground Vehicles
Most citizens have access to modern mass transportation, usually either maglev (magnetic
levitation) trains for long distance travel, or smaller maglev travel pods for local journeys. In all
major cities and on most major highways, conductors in the roads allow maglev transportation
over long distances. Maglev vehicles are efficient, quiet, clean, and powered by solar batteries.
They are also completely automated and lack both drivers and controls and can only be used on
special conductive roads. Indeed, nearly every major highway has a specific shipping lane for
maglev freight, and in the urban centers maglev travel pods are sleek symbols of the advancing
tide of technology. Many consider wheeled vehicles old fashioned, but they can be used
anywhere and are also powered by solar batteries.

Self-Driving Vehicles & Vehicle Ownership

Every vehicle comes with advanced sensors and an SI capable of driving it under
all but the most extreme conditions, using a dice pool of four. Except in vehicles
used by emergency services personnel or the military, vehicle SIs obey all local
traffic laws and will only disobey these laws briefly to keep their occupants or other
people from harm. Civilian vehicles can be purchased with manual controls in
nations where manual control of vehicles is still legal, but users who attempt to
break traffic laws are warned and then the SI either takes over control of the vehicle
until the user ceases attempting to break traffic laws or informs the local authorities
of the law-breaking, if taking control of the vehicle would be hazardous. However,
emergency services personnel, government spies, and members of some criminal
gangs possess codes that allow them to override these SIs and take full control of a
vehicle. Emergency services and military vehicles provide full manual control to
any authorized user.
Because every vehicle can drive itself, only a quarter of adults own vehicles.
Arcology dwellers travel by means of a network of 3-D elevators and only need
vehicles when they travel outside of their arcology, and most other people rely on
various transportations services like Robocab or the public maglev, calling a self-
driving vehicle when they need one. Even on the outskirts of a city, almost no one
ends up waiting more than five minutes for a vehicle to arrive. Even most
inhabitants of rural compounds have vehicles for communal use. As a result, only
the wealthy and individuals who either need or want access to a vehicle at a
moment’s notice own them.

“Skimmers” are the latest trend in ground transport technology, generally preferred by the
wealthy due to their cost. A skimmer is basically an advanced, skirtless hovercraft, most of

37
which are rated for both overland and water-surface travel, even in rough, uneven terrain.
However, skimmers are more complex and expensive than wheeled vehicles.
The list below provides benchmarks for many different types of vehicles. As with weapons,
manufacturer differences are more about style than function, rarely amounting to a significant
rules change. However, specialized vehicles do exist. Players and Storyguides should use the
traits below as a starting point to construct their own vehicles.
Hovercycle: Sleek, stylish, and above all, fast, hovercycles are one- or two-person skimmers
built for maneuverability and velocity more than comfort. Most come with some trunk space
located beneath the seats, and the majority can seat two. The standard hovercycle has an exposed
seat and small bioglass shields to provide the rider minimal protection. Biotech hovercycles
exist. If formatted, they link to the user’s own nervous system for increased responsiveness.
Examples: Reed Rosen Tsunami, Orgotek Hummingbird.
Motorcycle: Traditional motorcycles still have some popularity among vintage auto enthusiasts,
as well as those who need bikes on the cheap. Dirt bike racing is a popular sport in many rural
towns, and a few motorcycle clubs persist into the 22nd century. Example: Davidson-Wheeler
American Classic.
Walker Cycle: This recently released six-legged vehicle vaguely resembles a giant ant designed
to be ridden by one or two people. Its 170 kph six-legged gallop is often described as odd but not
uncomfortable. Example: Orgotek Formica.
Armored personnel carrier (APC): Rugged and heavily-armored, APCs carry troops into
battlegrounds where air transport is risky or impossible, and skimmers aren’t dependable enough.
They’re tougher and more reliable, and capable of transporting much greater weights in terms of
personnel and equipment. A typical APC has room for four in its cab and can hold an additional
16-person squad in the bay, as well as all relevant equipment and some spares. Example:
ClinTech Morris APC.
ATV: All-terrain vehicles are a staple of recreational and commercial transport traveling to
wilderness areas and remote settlements. Militaries also employ them as part of advance troop
movements. The model described here is a six-legged biotech ATV built to haul cargo or troops
across difficult surfaces. Biotech ATVs are swiftly becoming more common, with Orgotek
naturally leading the industry. The basic ATV design is flexible, serving as the skeleton for cargo
lifters, shallow-water construction vehicles, and high-end farm vehicles. Examples: ClinTech
Osner, Orgotek Cicada, Orgotek Mantis Cargo Lifter.
HEV: HEVs are popular civilian ground craft designed for planetary exploration, HEV’s have a
full life support system and exceedingly spartan long-term accommodations for up to eight, as
well as a small amount of cargo space. The HEV’s treads can handle almost any terrain.
Example: ClinTech HEV.
Medium Cargo Hauler: For commercial and private use by delivery services, moving
companies, and rural farmers. Medium cargo haulers are tough vehicles designed to transport
goods between and in urban centers. Example: Concurso T-10 Minihauler.
Sedan: This is a typical two to six seat sedan. They come with all standard features, sacrificing
top-end speed or power for reliability and affordability. One of their main benefits is the ubiquity
of relevant parts and mechanical knowledge; the average city-goer might not know how to repair
a damaged hover fan assembly, but could fully rebuild their car’s engine and transmission with
time, parts, and a little elbow grease. Example: Mashindano Sentry.

38
Skimmer, airfoil: A standard mid-range skimmer. Airfoils have enclosed cabs capable of
seating up to a family of four comfortably, although larger SUV models exist (using similar traits
to the luxury skimmer described below). Some models are convertibles that trade style for
seating, and typically only hold two people and a small amount of cargo. Examples: Shendai
AirFoil, Banji Zephyr.
Skimmer, assault: These heavy-duty skimmers are designed for fast transport of ground assault
teams of both military and law enforcement. They come equipped with powerful turbines and
stabilizers to support the added weight of armor and weaponry. Assault skimmers are large by
skimmer standards, capable of holding a pilot, a gunner, and two other fully-equipped soldiers.
Standard weaponry is a mounted automatic turret, but more specialized urban response variants
exist, using anything from laser rifles to plasma cannons. Examples: Bisai Assault Skimmer,
Orgotek Eurypterid.
Skimmer, light-armored: Light-armored vehicles (or “LAVs”) have become a backbone of
urban law enforcement transportation. They are essentially lighter versions of assault skimmers,
built to be the standard police vehicle of the 22nd century. The typical LAV has a two-seat
forward cab, a transparent bulletproof panel separating the cab from the back, and enough room
in the rear section to transport up to half a dozen fully-armed officers. On the roof is a turret-
mounted laser rifle, sometimes exchanged for nonlethal riot control weaponry. Example:
ClinTech Warden LAV.
Skimmer, luxury: Big, comfortable, and chock full of amenities such as on-board coolers,
multiple entertainment stations, even small ovens for cooking food, luxury skimmers are
expensive and lavish vehicles. Most can seat up to six, but in recent years skimmer limousines,
which possess the cargo 1 tag, have become popular methods of taking entire parties on the go.
Example: Reed Rosen Brougham, Banji Luxury Stretch Cruiser.
Cargo Hauler: Large, general-purpose cargo haulers come equipped with hyperfusion reactors
for power. Some are built as heavier transcontinental cargo vehicles designed to travel where the
maglev roads do not. These haulers are equipped with light armor and weapons. Examples:
Concurso MH-1 Hauler, Mashindano Kuchuka Bronto.
THIS IS A TABLE
Ground Vehicles Table
Type Size Handling Speed Tags Weapons Tech FT Cost
Hovercycle 1 +1 4 Computer 0, Fast - Hard - •••
2, Hover 1,
Maneuverable 1
Motorcycle 1 +1 4 Computer 0, - Hard - ••
Maneuverable 1,
Fast 2, Wheeled 0
Walker 1 +1 + 4 All-Terrain 1, - @ •• ••
Cycle Computer 0, Fast
2, Maneuverable
1, Psi -1

39
 APC 2 -2 3 Armor 2, Cargo 1 Laser Hard - ••••
Computer 0, Fast Carbine
1, Massive 1,
Sluggish -2,
Weaponry 2,
Wheeled 0
ATV 2 +1 + 3 All-Terrain 1, - @ •• •••
Cargo 1,
Computer 0, Fast
1, Maneuverable
1, Massive 1, Psi
-1
HEV 2 +0 3 Armor 1, Cargo - Hard - ••••
1, Computer 0,
Fast 1, Massive 1,
Treads 1
Medium 2 +0 4 Cargo 1, - Hard - •••
Cargo Computer 0, Fast
Hauler 2, Massive 1,
Wheeled 0
Sedan 2 +0 3 Computer 0, Fast - Hard - •• *
1, Massive 1,
Wheeled 0
Skimmer, 2 +0 4 Computer 0, Fast - Hard - •••
Airfoil or 2, Hover 1,
Convertible Massive 1
Skimmer, 2 -1 4 Armor 2, Laser Hard - •••••
Assault Computer 0, Carbine
Crew -1, Fast 2,
Hover 1, Massive
1, Sluggish -1,
Weaponry 2
Skimmer, 2 +0 4 Armor 1, Laser Hard - ••••
LAV Computer 0, Fast Carbine
1, Hover 1,
Massive 1,
Weaponry 1
Skimmer, 2 +0 4 Anti-Theft 1, - Hard - ••••
Luxury Computer 0, Fast
2, Hover 1,
Massive 1

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 Cargo 3 +0 4 Cargo 2 - Hard - •••••
Hauler Computer 0, Fast
2, Massive 2,
Wheeled 0
Armed 3 -2 4 Armor 1, Cargo 2 Coilgun Hard - •••••
Cargo Computer 0, Fast
Hauler 2, Massive 2,
Sluggish -2,
Weaponry 1,
Wheeled 0
+ Reduce Maneuverability by 1 if not formatted.
* As stated above, the minimum cost for all ground vehicles is equal to their Size.
END OF TABLE
Water Vehicles
The following are some of the many sea-going and submersible vessels in use in the early 22nd
century. The growth of cities both on and under the sea and the recent independence of Oceania
have made ocean-going vessels even more important than ever before. Although some Aberrants
lurk in the depths of the sea, the vulnerability to surface-going ships to attacks by off-world
invaders has made submersible travel increasingly popular. In the 22nd century, submersibles are
powered by hyperfusion reactors, and extract oxygen and fresh water from the sea, so they are
only limited in the length of time they can spend underwater by their food supplies and the
comfort of their crew and passengers.
Exploratory Submarine: This small submarine is designed for undersea prospecting and
exploration. It possesses light armaments, and is sometimes uses for defensive patrols by
undersea cities. Example: FangTech Magellan
Flying Submarine: This unique disk-shaped vehicle is equally at home in the air and both on
and under the water. It’s limited to Speed 3 underwater, Speed 4 when on the water, and Speed 5
when flying. These vehicles are most often uses by the member cities of Oceania and by other
floating and underwater cities to permit fast transport of people and cargo. FangTech Flying Fish
Small Hydrofoil: This small fast hydrofoil has cabins for four and modest room for cargo.
Military versions also exist, adding limited weaponry and armor (1 each), which increases the
cost by one dot and reduces the maneuverable to +0. These vehicles are used for coastal patrols
and defense. Example: FangTech Barracuda.
Military Submarine: This cutting-edge biotech submarine is a fast, heavily armed and armored
attack vehicle designed for both naval warfare and hunting underwater Aberrants. It uses
supercavitating technology to form a thin bubble of air around itself, allowing it to travel as fast
as most airplanes. Example: Biosystems Belem.
Submarine Transport: This large submersible is the workhorse for trade with and between
undersea cities, and is also performing an increasing role in all ocean-going trade. The high level
of automation on this vehicle means that it can be handled by 3 people, but a normal crew
compliment is 10, permitting three fully staffed shifts. While most haul cargo, passenger versions
also exist, including a few that have large bioglass windows and massive floodlights to permit
clear viewing of undersea life and historic shipwrecks. Example: Banji Cachalot.

41
 THIS IS A TABLE
Water Vehicles Table
Type Size Handling Speed Tags Weapons Tech FT Cost
Exploration 2 -1 3 Cargo 1, Coilgun Hard - ••••
Sub Computer 0, Fast
2, Massive 1,
Sluggish -1,
Submersible 1,
Weaponry 1
Flying Sub 2 +0 5 Cargo 1, - Hard - •••••
Complex 0,
Computer 0, Fast
3, Triphibian 2
Small 2 +0 4 Cargo 1, - Hard - •••
Hydrofoil Computer 0, Fast
2, Massive 1,
Watercraft 0
Biotech 3 +0 + 5 Armor 1, Cargo Coilgun @ •• L
Military 1, Computer 0,
Submarine Fast 3, Massive
2, Military 1, Psi
-1, Submersible 1
Submarine 4 -1 3 Armor 1, Cargo Coilgun Hard - L
Transport 3, Computer 0,
Crew -1, Fast 1,
Massive 3,
Sluggish -1,
Submersible 1,
Weaponry 1
+ Reduce Maneuverability by 1 if not formatted.
END OF TABLE
Air Vehicles
Huge passenger aircraft use semi-ballistic (low orbit) flight paths to transport hundreds of
passengers anywhere in the world in an hour or two, while smaller transonic jets carry somewhat
fewer passengers on shorter journeys that rarely take more than four hours. Modern passenger
jets are fast, safe, and relatively low-cost. High-end planes even have medical personnel standing
by in case of emergency. However, military escorts are also a common sight in many airspaces,
due to the threat of Aberrant activity.
Private VTOL: These small private planes are either status symbols for the wealthy or are used
by large corporations and other organizations for private transport and carrying small cargoes.
Naturally, criminals also use such planes, but typically fit them with stealth systems. These craft

42
use ducted fans powered by hyperfusion engines, allowing them to take off and land vertically.
Example: Banji Dragonfly.
Military Transport: Aerial military transports are modular armored VTOL planes designed
with interchangeable cargo pods. A pilot, co-pilot, and optional gunner (plus up to several
others) can ride within the frame itself, and the cargo bay can hold up to two full-sized cargo
pods. Used for transporting troops (two 40-person squads and all their gear can fit in each cargo
pod), equipment, supplies, and small vehicles, military transports are primarily lightly-armed and
sometimes employ fighter escorts. Example: ClinTech “Black Cat.”
Passenger Liner: Passenger liners are stocked with enough food, drink, and entertainment to
keep 200 passengers happy for their trip. Their automated systems can fly them, although most
still employ a pilot, co-pilot, navigator, and sometimes medical or security staff. The truly high-
end first-class flights also have in-house musicians or entertainers to regale passengers mid-
flight. Example: Banji Cirrus.
Qin Bioblimp: Bioblimps are highly durable and fully self-repairing organisms guaranteed to
produce two offspring. These offspring will be sterile, but can be rendered fertile with the
purchase of special enzymes from the Qin. Like all Qin biotech, bioblimps do not require
nutrient injections, instead they have several long tentacles and are capable of gathering and
eating Terran vegetation.
Bioblimps propel themselves using complex bioelectrostatic jets, they also possess a wide,
muscular tail for steering and an oval passenger compartment underneath the gas bag, near the
front of the organism. Most are Size 3, but special enzymes purchased from the Qin can allow
them to achieve Size 4. These larger bioblimps possess the Cargo 2 tag and the Sluggish -1 tag.
With an intelligence similar to a chimp and an inborn calm obedience, bioblimps can be told to
avoid eating crop plants. This same intelligence allows bioblimps to pilot themselves with only
simple voice commands from the “pilot”. Bioblimps can speak and are friendly and polite, if
somewhat limited intellectually. Like conventional biotech, bioblimps can be formatted,
allowing the pilot to communicate with and control the vehicle by thought. Once formatted any
psion can communicate with the bioblimp at up to their Attunement range.
Suborbital Passenger Liner: Suborbital passenger liners are huge craft designed to comfortably
accommodate up to 1000 passengers, while also carrying large amounts of cargo. Although fully
capable of flying themselves under normal conditions, most nations require a trained pilot on
board. These swift craft can travel from New York to Sydney or Shanghai in two hours.
Example: L-B 510 Swift.
THIS IS A TABLE
Air Vehicles Chart
Type Size Handling Speed Tags Weapons Tech Cost
Private 2 +0 5 Cargo 1, Computer 0, - Hard ••••
VTOL Fast 3, Flight Systems
0, Massive 1
Military 3 -1 5 Armor 1, Cargo 2, Coilgun Hard L
Transport Computer 0, Crew -1,
Fast 3, Flight Systems

43
 0, Massive 2, Sluggish
-1, Weaponry 2
Passenger 3 -1 5 Cargo 2, Computer 0, - Hard •••••
Liner Fast 3, Flight Systems
0, Massive 2, Sluggish
-1
Qin 3 +0 + 4 Cargo 1, Computer 0, - @ •••
Bioblimp Fast 2, Flight Systems
0, Living 0, Massive 2,
Psi -1
Suborbital 4 -1 6 Cargo 3, Complex 0, - Hard L
Passenger Computer 0, Fast 4,
Liner Flight Systems 0,
Massive 2, Sluggish -1
+ Reduce Maneuverability by 1 if not formatted.
END OF TABLE
Space Vehicles
The advent of hyperfusion rockets and advanced flight engineering has made commercial space
travel a reality. Spacecraft only require modest amounts of reaction mass to swiftly travel
between nearby planets. Interplanetary flights between Earth and the lunar or Mars colonies have
become a common occurrence, with the fastest flights taking passengers from Earth to Luna in
only a few hours. Travel to Mars takes a little longer, ranging from as long as a month and a half
to as little as a week. Rumors persist that Qin spacecraft can make this trip in less than a day.
Spacecraft come in several varieties, depending on size and design. Hybrid craft are capable of
both space and atmospheric flight, though few can or will go further than the Moon. Frigates
embody the image of space travel, being craft designed wholly for operating in space. Freighters
are even larger, hauling vast quantities of cargo throughout the solar system and to the trade
routes beyond. Freighters and most frigates cannot enter atmosphere (barring catastrophe) once
constructed and launched. These huge vessels dock with orbital supply stations and city-sized
vehicle bays, using shuttles for resupply and planetary ventures. Remember that the formatting
tolerance for all biotech spacecraft is •••.
All spacecraft have several standard features that are required to travel in space. Collectively,
this package of features and equipment is vital to make a ship at all space-worthy. Proper
maintenance of these vital systems means the difference between life and death on the frontier.
See below for a description of vital systems.
Vital Spacecraft Systems
The following are systems that are vital to any spacecraft. These systems can be damaged in
battle or more rarely by environmental threats, requiring repairs mid-flight. No smart captain
leaves dock without multiple spares of any vital ship components.
• Astrogation System: Space is infinite and without horizons by which to navigate. Away from
a planet, orbital station, or some other identifiable “landmark,” it’s easy to become disoriented in
the featureless abyss. In combat or other dangerous situations, this lack of orientation can

44
become exceedingly dangerous. Astrogation systems alleviate this by using a combination of
known spatial references, and long-distance scanners to determine direction and position in open
space. If something disables the astrogation system, all handling rolls suffer a Complication rated
from level 1 (in low-orbital flight) to level 5 (open space, far away from any planets or stations).
• Life-Support Systems: Life-support systems keep all crew functional and alive. Atmospheric
generators and filtration units keep a constant supply of breathable air, while temperature
regulators ensure optimal conditions even in the freezing cold of space. All spacecraft are sealed
against pressure loss, with multiple redundant safeties in place should even a disastrous hull
breach occur. Backup life-support can power most systems for up to several weeks. Even
hardtech spacecraft increasingly use biotech life-support systems consisting of noetically
engineered plants.
• Thrusters and Reactor: Hyperfusion rockets supply energy to the thrusters as well as the rest
of the ship’s systems. Although hyperfusion reactors can theoretically run indefinitely, the
stresses of massive energy output add up over time and also reaction mass must regularly be
replenished. Most craft have backup power supplies, from backup hyperfusion reactors in the
larger vessels to high-density batteries in fighters and short-range spacecraft.
Hybrid Fighter: A short-range fighter designed to operate in atmospheric and orbital escort and
combat operations. A fighter of this size holds one pilot and one gunner, along with a small
amount of essential cargo. These vessels come heavily armed, with lasers, coilguns, and smart
missiles. Example: Bakuhatsu E-15 Fighter.
Hybrid Fighter (Biotech): Biotech fighters all hold a single pilot-gunner. Orgotek is the premier
name in biotech hybrids right now, although competitors promise alternatives soon. When a
biotech fighter is destroyed, organic life-support systems encase and sustain the pilot for up to a
week. Additionally, formatted fighters offer unparalleled responsiveness, granting a +1
Enhancement bonus on all handling rolls. Example: Orgotek Locust.
Travel Pod: This exceedingly basic space vehicle is designed to carry passengers and cargo
between space stations in low Earth orbit or in similar environments. Most are also fitted with
large robot arms and similar tools that allow the operator to perform maintenance and
construction tasks while inside this ship. Example: Bakuhatsu “Sparrow” Shuttle.
Hybrid Transport: Larger than a fighter but offering little protection, this transport is designed
purely to move medium cargo between Earth, orbital stations, and Luna. It can hold up to 20
passengers and 3 crew, as well as a substantial amount of cargo. Example: Banji Raven 11.
Passenger Shuttle: Expensive and usually restricted to the well off, passenger shuttles offer
transit to orbital stations or Luna in exceptional luxury. Most can seat between 150 and 200
passengers and make the trip in only a few hours, offering plenty of delicacies to sate the palate
along the way. Example: L-B Comet OPS (Orbital Passenger Shuttle).
Military Equipment Lifter (MEL): Armored transport capable of hauling vehicles and troops
into and out of battle. The MEL requires a pilot, co-pilot, a gunner, and can support up to 5000
cubic meters of cargo space. Its typical armament includes a coilgun and anti-missile lasers.
Example: L-B MEL II.
Space Transport: These unarmed civilian spacecraft have become popular in for transport in the
inner solar system and also for asteroid mining. Asteroid mining ships add both the Tools and the
Crew -1 tags. Example: LB-ST (System Transport).

45
Frigate: Frigates are massive commercial or military spacecraft, hundreds of meters long. Many
also have docking bays for fighters and shuttles, and a few are modified to serve solely as
carriers for smaller vessels. Because of their size and complexity, military frigates require a crew
of at least 10, but many employ dozens to fully leverage the power of the ship’s flight and
weapons systems. Even small frigates have individual quarters for up to three dozen, and
comfortable (if a bit tight) bunk space for 150 or more. Commercial frigates possess fewer
armaments, require minimal crews, and are designed to swiftly carry goods and passengers
between orbital space stations and distant colonies. However, most frigates serve as patrol craft
by military and law enforcement. Example: L-B Supernova IPF-Delta (Intrasystem Patrol
Frigate),
Orgotek Scarab Strike Frigate: This unique biotech frigate is both smaller and more
maneuverable than hardtech frigates. The Scarab is even capable of landing on a planet, and
bears enough firepower to hold its own in the shipping lanes. It has accommodations for 16 and
carries 2 Locust hybrid fighters for support. Formatting the entire vessel isn’t normally possible.
Instead, psions must format the piloting and weapons systems separately. Each formatted
function offers 1 Enhancement to related actions.
Freighter: As the whales of Earth’s oceans dwarf all other sea creatures, freighters dwarf other
spacecraft. Despite their size, freighters tend to be lightly-armed. Some can deploy a small
squadron of fighters for defense, while others hire armed escorts when traveling along especially
dangerous shipping lanes. Freighters can be up to a kilometer long, holding millions of cubic
meters in cargo space. Internal docking bays hold up to several escort fighters or hybrid
transports, with exterior docking for up to 10 hybrid ships. Freighters are far too large to enter
atmosphere, relying on shuttles for planetfall. Because they are commercial ships, they use
sufficient automation that a crew of 7 can control the ship. Most freighters utilize as many as 30
on rotating shifts, but some companies try to cut costs by running the minimum. Freighters can
hold more than 10,000 cabins. Luxury liners contain deluxe quarters, entertainment venues, even
small zoos, holosims, parks, and a bevy of restaurants. Most freighters routinely travel between
Earth and Luna or Mars, but some go as far as Jupiter or Saturn. Now that the teleporters have
returned to the solar system, freighters are again being used to carry colonists and cargoes to
habitable extrasolar planets. A single fully loaded colony freighter can carry 20,000 passengers
and all the basic cargo and equipment they require to set up a new extrasolar colony.
THIS IS A TABLE
Space Vehicles Table
Type Size Handling Speed Tags Weapons Tech FT Cost
Hybrid 2 +1 6/[4] Armor 1, Laser Hard - •••••
Fighter Computer 0, Carbine,
Hybrid 2, Missile
Maneuverable Launcher
1, Military 1,
Thrusters 1
Locust 2 +2 + 6/[4] Armor 1, Laser @ ••• •••••
Hybrid Computer 0, Carbine,
Hybrid 2, Coilgun,
Maneuverable
2+, Military 1,

46
 Psi -1, Thrusters Missile
1 Launcher
Travel Pod 2 +1 [2] Armor 1, Cargo - Hard - ••••
1, Computer 0, *
Limited
Astrogation
Systems 0,
Maneuverable
1, Tools 1
Hybrid 3 +0 6/[3] Cargo 2, - Hard - ••••
Transport Computer 0,
Hybrid 2,
Massive 1
Passenger 3 +0 6/[4] Cargo 2, - Hard - •••••
Shuttle Computer 0,
Hybrid 2,
Massive 1,
Thrusters 1
MEL 3 +0 6/[4] Armor 2, Cargo Coilgun Hard - L
2, Computer 0,
Crew -1, Hybrid
2, Massive 1,
Military 1,
Thrusters 1
Space 3 -1 [4] Armor 1, - Hard - ••••
Transport Astrogation
Systems 1,
Cargo 2,
Computer 0,
Massive 1,
Sluggish -1,
Thrusters 1
Orgotek 4 +0 + 6/[5] Armor 2, Cargo Laser @ ••• L
Scarab 2, Computer 0, Carbine,
Strike Crew -2, Hybrid Coilgun
Frigate 2, Massive 2,
Military 1, Psi -
1, Thrusters 2
Commercial 5 -2 [5] Armor 1, Laser Hard - L
Frigate Astrogation Carbine
Systems 1,
Cargo 4,
Computer 0,
Crew -2

47
 Massive 3,
Sluggish -2,
Thrusters 2,
Weaponry 1
Frigate 5 -1 [5] Armor 2, Laser Hard - L
Astrogation Carbine,
Systems 1, Coilgun
Cargo 3,
Computer 0,
Crew -3,
Massive 3,
Military 1,
Sluggish -1
Thrusters 2
Freighter 6 -2 [4] Armor 1, Laser Hard - L
Astrogation Carbine,
Systems 1, Missile
Cargo 5, Launcher
Complex 0,
Computer 0,
Crew -2,
Massive 3,
Sluggish -2,
Thrusters 1,
Weaponry 1
Leviathan 6 -1+ [4] Armor 1, Laser @ ••• L
Jump Ship Astrogation Carbine
Systems 1,
Cargo 4,
Complex 0,
Computer 0,
Crew -3,
Massive 3, Psi -
1, Repair Bots
1, Sluggish -1,
Tesser 1,
Thrusters 1,
Weaponry 1
+ Reduce Maneuverability by 1 if not formatted.
* As stated above, the minimum cost for all spacecraft is ••••
END OF TABLE
Leviathan Jump Ships
No vehicle better symbolizes human ingenuity than the Leviathan-class jump ships. They are the
largest vessels even made by humans, and employ both biotech and hardtech in a unique

48
combination. Multiple hyperfusion reactors propel the Leviathans through space in normal flight.
Advanced biotech life-support and accommodation systems provide a thriving and surprisingly
naturalistic biosphere capable of supporting up to several thousand passengers and crew.
Leviathans have four fighter bays, each holding up to three hybrid fighter craft, as well as four
larger bays each holding two hybrid transports or passenger shuttles. Exterior docking
mechanisms allow up to four Scarab frigates and a dozen hybrids to hitch a ride on the back of
the Leviathan like barnacles on a whale.
If size and seamlessly mixing biotech advantages with hardtech propulsion were the Leviathans’
only claim to fame, they would still stand as humanities greatest feat of technological innovation.
However, their true power lies in the bioware that allows these ships to psionically teleport
across the vastness of space. This miraculous feat is made possible by the incredibly advanced
bio-computer systems called a Tesser, developed in combination with the Qin, but only usable by
skilled human Clairsentients or Teleporters. Tessers are woven throughout the entire Leviathan
like a spinal cord and nervous system, expending incalculable amounts of processing power to
make the jumps possible. Even then, the jump drive requires a Clairsentient psion in a built-in
formatted ARES pod. Despite the Leviathan’s size, the Tesser is sufficiently large that a
Leviathan on a military mission can carry a maximum of 4,000 troops in cramped barracks,
along with all the vehicles and other equipment they require.
The entire process, not yet fully understood by even the scientists who designed the Tessers,
utilizes a combination of astrogation and Clairsentience to plot out and then execute the jump.
First, the psion must use Clairsentience, augmented by the ARES pod, to visualize the
destination. The Tesser reads this intent through the noetic link and instantly alters the
Leviathan’s wavefunction via tremendous subquantum energies. In a process that mimics the
powers of an interstellar teleporter, the ship then vanishes from its current location in space and
reappears at the destination.
From an external perspective the jump is instantaneous, but for anyone on the Leviathan, the
duration of the jump seems to vary. Noeticists struggle to fully understand this phenomenon
because it can vary from jump to jump, even if the distances jumped are the same. From the
perspective of travelers, jumps can seem instant or to take an entire lifetime’s worth of sensations
unfolding, or even both at once. Returning to normal space often feels like waking up from an
exceptionally vivid dream. This process is a deeply spiritual experience for most psions and even
many neutrals. When a psion pilot interacts with the Tesser, she does so as equal parts spectator
and pilot, unable to fully explain the process even as she feels the power working.
The Leviathans themselves are also more than mere ships. Clairsentient pilots and any telepaths
on board can easily communicate with the ship, and the ship itself can communicate with its
passengers and crew via standard audio and visual displays. Everyone who spends time with one
agrees they are far more than a mere SI, but researchers who have also worked with the rare
hardtech AIs universally agree that Leviathans are something quite different.
Laws restricting potential AIs keep Leviathans from direct access to the OpNet. However, they
happily communicate with anyone on board, but also avoid bothering passengers and crew who
wish privacy. Speculations that Leviathans possess some degree of Clairsentience or Telepathy
are common, but little is known about their unique minds other than that they think somewhat
differently from humans, but not necessarily any less well, and that all seem to care deeply about
their crew and passengers.
With fewer than two dozen Leviathan ships in service, and the technology difficult reproduce,
each one is a setting for whole stories unto itself. Whether the players serve as part of a

49
Leviathan’s crew or are merely passengers, each encounter should evoke the sense of wonder
and power that these great vessels embody. Each Leviathan should be unique, a setting and a
character in its own right. Their mysterious workings blend the seemingly impossible with the
pinnacle of 22nd century science.
Robots And Drones
The widespread of Satisfactory Intelligences has also given rise to a multitude of drones and
robots. The only differences between a drone and a robot is that a drone can be controlled by a
human operator at a distance, while a robot is designed to operate autonomously, but SIs allow
all drones to also function autonomously. Robots and drones are designed much like ordinary
vehicles, but are smaller and do not carry passengers or a driver. Drones and robots range in size
from tiny up to Size 1, and while they use the basic vehicle design rules, there are a few
differences:
• Drones can only incorporate weapons that are no larger than the drone, and drones only
use the Weaponry 1 tag.
• Drones cannot possess the Astrogation or Hybrid tags because advanced rockets are too
small to incorporate in a small device.
• Drones that possess the Limited Astrogation tag must be at least Size Large.
• Only drones of Size Large or larger can possess armor.
• Drones with the cargo tag can carry cargoes of up to one Size category smaller, so a Size
1 drone could carry Size 0 cargo.
• Drones of Size Tiny cannot exceed Speed Scale 2.
• The basic template for drones is Size any, Handling +0, Speed 2 or [2]
• Like all other vehicles, drones possess the normal sensors necessary for their type of
operation as well as a microphone, and if desired, a speaker. However, the Tool tag allows them
to include powerful specialized sensors, as long as these sensors are not larger than the drone.
• The designer is free to set the Size of the drone anywhere from Small to Size 1, and the
drones size has no effect on its cost, but it does change its capabilities (see above).
• Because making exceptionally small drones is more difficult, Size Tiny Drones must
possess the Tiny 1 tag.
• Each drone can have up to 3 + Wealth points worth of positive tags, unless otherwise
noted, and can gain more points by taking negative tags.
• Drones are relatively strong, and for purposes of physical prowess, like contests
involving Might, have a dice pool of 8 dice, modified by their Size Scale. When interacting with
a Size 1 human, a Size 0 drone would have a physical pool of 6, while a Size Medium (-2) drone
would have a physical pool of 2.
• Unusually strong drones possess the Strong (1) tag, that adds +2 to their physical pool.
Only drones of at least Medium Size can use this tag.
Common Drones
The following types of drones are in common use.
Microdrone: At one cm across, this tiny flying drone is no larger than a large housefly. It has an
excellent miniature microphone and camera and a top speed of 20 kph. The fibers on their feet

50
can stick of almost any surface, including ceilings, allowing the user to maneuver the microdrone
into position and then set it down in a concealed location so that no one will notice it. While
stationary, they have all of the same options as ordinary bugs, except that user can also choose to
activate them with a radio signal and then either download their data or fly them out. Instead of
using the OpNet, these drones contain transceivers with the same range and capabilities as an ear
radio.
Flying Drone: Typically for outdoor use, this quadcopter drone has sensors equivalent to
enhanced binoculars and a directional microphone. Users control it with a minicomp and can be
used anywhere with OpNet service. Police drones are typically fitted with tasers or sonic pistols,
while spy drones are often fitted with stealth systems.
Large Flying Drone: This aerial drone’s flattened diamond shape is designed for covert
operation. Its engines are nearly silent and it has adaptive camouflage. It possesses both a
parabolic microphone and a laser microphone. For additional cost, these drones can be fitted with
up to two weapons, typically a sonic carbine and either a laser carbine or a light coilgun.
Operating a weaponized drone without authorization is a serious crime.
Utility Drone: This small sleekly humanoid drone is roughly 1.5 meters tall and relatively
lightly built, but can carry packages up to Large size. These drones can perform basic household
tasks or serve as a personal assistant. Utility drones used for heavy labor are typically Size 1.
Defense Drone: This six-legged, two-armed, crab-like drone is heavily armed and armored, and
is designed to guard high security installations where the owners are willing to use lethal force.
Police Drone: This mannequin-like drone is humanoid in form and possesses two fully
functional arms and hands. These drones have built in tasers and are used to guard relatively low
security installations or to supplement police. These drones are most common in Nippon.
THIS IS A TABLE
Common Drones Table
Type Size Handling Speed Tags Weapons Tech Cost
Microdrone Tiny +2 2 Computer 0, Flight - Hard ••
Systems 0,
Maneuverable 2
Stealthy 2, Tiny 1
Flying Small +1 4 Computer 0, Fast 2, - Hard •
Drone Flight Systems 0,
Maneuverable 1
Tools 1
Large Size 0 +0 5 Computer 0, Fast 3, - Hard •••
Flying Flight Systems 0,
Drone Stealthy 2, Tools 1
Utility Size 0 -1 2 All-Terrain 1, Cargo - Hard •
Drone 1, Computer 0,
Strong 1, Tools 1

51
 Defense Size 1 +0 3 All-Terrain 1, Armor Sonic Hard •••
Drone 2, Computer 0, Fast Carbine +
1 Sluggish -1, Laser
Strong 1, Tools 1, carbine or
Weaponry 1 Coilgun
Police Size 1 +0 2 All-Terrain 1, Armor Taser Hard ••
Drone 1, Computer 0, Self-
Repair System 1,
Tools 1, Weaponry 1

END TABLE

52
Chapter Nine: Storyguiding
“Danger is a side effect of what I do, not the reason behind it.”
— Mira Grant

Running Science Fiction Scenarios

As their base, campaigns in the Trinity Continuum are about heroes working to save the world,
or at least to help out where they can. However, Trinity Continuum: Æon is specifically a
science fiction game set in an era when humanity is taking its first steps out among the stars.
Trinity Continuum: Æon is also about the consequences this expansion to the stars has for
humanity and also for the various species it interacts with. This doesn’t mean you need to set
your campaign in space, but it is worth thinking a bit about what science fiction is when you are
planning to run this game. There are almost as many definition of science fiction as there are fans
of the genre, but two features are found in many definitions, social commentary, and a sense of
wonder.
Stating that science fiction is inherently social commentary is simply recognizing the fact that
any fictional world we create reflects our hopes and fears about our own world, and that this is
especially true for visions of the future. Using your campaign as a forum for which to expound
on your social and political ideas is usually a terrible idea – unless that’s specifically what all
your players are looking for. However, it’s also impossible to escape news stories about
refugees, war, inequality, and terrorism in our world, and so it’s hardly surprising that such
similar issues also plague the world of Trinity Continuum: Æon, because humanity has not
changed all that much in slightly more than a century.
Using “ripped from the headlines” inspirations for your plots is far easier to do badly than well,
and can easily be offensive and cheap. For example, running a Trinity scenario in late 2001
about terrorists attempting to fly a spacecraft into an arcology would have been in very poor taste
indeed. However, using a general understanding of our own world can greatly enhance your
campaign. A refugee camp in 2120 isn’t all that different from a modern one, and while
authoritarian police states in the early 22nd century have more and better surveillance technology
at their disposal, the attitudes of both the government officials and those resisting them are likely
to be somewhat similar to similar people in our world. Because human emotions and motivations
are key features of good campaigns, seeing the parallels between our own world and those parts
of this setting that you want to focus on can enhance your campaign.
Creating a sense of wonder is a somewhat more complex issue. Some campaigns won’t have
much of a sense of wonder. A group of rebels and Orgotek employees plotting to overthrow the
FSA have things other than wonder on their mind, as do Norça members engaged in complex
and deadly intrigues. However, it’s also important to remember that wonder need not just occur
in space, and that it can easily go hand in hand with terror. Discovering the enormous
subterranean nest of an utterly inhuman Aberrant hive-mind dwelling under Wycoff’s Blight can,
and perhaps should hit the same balance of horror, repulsion, and amazement, that the best
cosmic horror stories manage, as can stepping into the lair of a presumably long-dead Aberrant
mad scientist and looking at the various creations hopefully safely locked in transparent stasis
tubes.
Creating a Sense of Wonder (or Terror)
Much of the tasks of creating a sense of wonder in your campaign is simply an awareness of the
wonders (and terrors) that abound in both our universe and in the universe of Trinity
Continuum: Æon. Our own universe is more than 17 billion years old and filled with
incomprehensible phenomena like the supermassive black holes that lurk in the center of every
known galaxy and bizarre environments like the roastingly hot surface of Venus, where the air is
so dense that it bends light into a circle. The universe of the Trinity Continuum is even more
fantastic, with time travel, powerful alien intelligences who have lived for millions of years, and
creatures who can warp reality to their will using quantum and subquantum powers.
During the Nova Age, humanity as a whole learned that our own species could produce wonders
and horrors far beyond any previous imaginings. In the current era, humanity must now confront
the fact that intelligences have been inhabiting the galaxy for tens of millions of years, or
perhaps for far longer, and some of them had both technologies and powers far beyond our own.
Characters exploring space may encounter blasted and lifeless planets that were once home to
technologically advanced sentiences, or worlds where life is stranger than they can imagine.
Living crystals, sentient plasma, and perhaps even creatures evolved to live on the surface of
stars are all possible discoveries.
Similarly, characters who remain on Earth may discovered Nova Age artifacts that can perform
feats deemed impossible by science, like time travel or entropy reversal. They could even
uncover powerful alien artifacts smuggled to Earth by the greedy or the power-mad or even
stranger devices left behind by aliens who visited Earth decades or centuries before. In the course
of these investigations, the characters might also discover evidence that one or more species of
aliens has been observing and subtly interfering with humanity for millennia.
At least some of the wonders that the characters discover should be items, creatures, or worlds
that are entirely new to human experience, and most of the rest will have only been known to a
few who were determined to keep their existence secret. More importantly, these discoveries
should rarely be passive events where the characters stumble upon a crashed spacecraft, relic-
filled vault or a new and inexplicable species sitting passively, waiting to be found. Instead,
important discoveries should usually be active, frenetic affairs. Perhaps the characters uncover a
clue about a mystery and must race their opponents to find it. Alternately, they may find a vault
filled with Nova Age relics, only to have the automated defense system suddenly activate, or
discover a new species when it relentlessly hunts them across an alien landscape.
Using mysteries like those described above also allows Storyguides to neatly sidestep any
problems caused by the characters’ access to ubiquitous information (see page XX). Having easy
access to a wealth of information only matters so much if the result to every query about a newly
discovered creature or object is that nothing remotely like it exists in any known database. By
definition, anything that provokes a sense of wonder or terror is something that the characters
can’t simply learn about from the OpNet.
Choosing A Location & A Sub-Genre
Trinity Continuum: Æon is designed so that Storyguides can use it to run almost any type of
science fiction. However, the question of what type of science fiction you want to run is closely
tied to where you may want to set your campaign. Characters in this game can become involved
in a wide variety of scenarios, from brutal warfare, to wondrous exploration or clever heists, but
exactly what sort of scenario or campaign depends a great deal on where it is taking place.
In any prosperous urban area on Earth, characters are no more likely to be able to engage in
extended gun battles or other sorts of extreme violence than they are in our world in a similar
location. Regardless of whether characters are fighting Aberrants, attempting to rob a bank, or
under attack by deadly rivals, dozens and perhaps hundreds of cameras will see the conflict and
within minutes, first drones and then large number of police officers and perhaps soldiers will
arrive on the scene.
However, the situation is very different in remote locations like the Australian Outback, or the
remote regions inside or near Wycoff’s Blight. Here, orbital satellites may notice and report on
any especially violent conflicts, such as ones involving large explosions, but actually getting law
enforcement or military personnel to the conflict could easily take several hours, if they decide to
go there at all. Meanwhile, in France small battles are a daily occurrence. Also, in the poorest
and most run-down portions of the FSA’s cities and arcologies, the few working sensors may
record the sound of gunshots or even small explosions, but often the local police won’t both to
even send drones to the scene unless there is evidence that first-class citizens or their property
are in danger.
In the most general terms, various locations within the universe of Trinity Continuum: Æon
are particularly well-suited for particular types of scenarios. This in no way means that those are
the only types of scenarios that work in these locations or that a Storyguide can’t create and run a
wonderful campaign in a particular location that has nothing to do with the types of scenario it is
designed for. However, many Storyguides are likely to find running specific types of scenarios
somewhat easier in particular locations. Since Trinity Continuum: Æon is a science fiction
game, the following locations are matched with the sub-genres or types of SF that best fit that
location.
THIS IS A TABLE
Location And Sub-Genre Table
Location SF Sub-Genre
Australia Future Crime Stories or Social SF
China & SE Asia Political Intrigue or Social SF
France Post-Apocalyptic SF or Military SF
FSA Cyberpunk or Political Intrigue
Eastern Europe or India Political Intrigue
Khantze Lu Ge Military SF
Nippon Cyberpunk, Future Crime Stories, Social SF, Transhumanist SF
Olympus Future Crime Stories
Other Extrasolar Colonies Space Opera
Sudamérica Future Crime Stories, Political Intrigue, Transhumanist SF
UAN Political Intrigue, Social SF, Space Opera
END OF TABLE
Of course, the above advice doesn’t take into account any changes that a Storyguide might make
in the setting or other changes that happen as a result of the characters’ actions. As they are
presented in this book, the FSA, Sudamérica or China are all poor choices for military SF war
stories. However, if the FSA is in the midst of a revolution, if war breaks out between the FSA
and Sudamérica, or if one of these three locations suffer a massive and prolonged attack by
Aberrants, then these regions could swiftly end up in the midst of a brutal and prolonged war.
Sub-Genres Explained
The above table lists eight different subgenres of science fiction and where in the setting they can
most easily be run. The following is a brief description of each of these types of science fiction,
along with a suggestion or two about how this subgenre might be used in Trinity Continuum:
Æon.
Cyberpunk: Stories about crime and power in settings with vast social and economic inequality,
where most of the population is poor and oppressed, but a sizeable minority lead lives of
privilege and luxury. Characters are typically either members of the lower class who are
attempting to become wealthy or tear down the system, or they are well-off members of society
who seek to fight against the injustices around them. In cyberpunk, the most common tools used
by the protagonists are cutting edge technologies, especially those that allow user to gain illegal
access to information or unauthorized control of the society’s technological infrastructure. The
characters could be rebels working to overthrow the FSA or Orgotek employees who are also
FSA freedom fighters or who are directly aiding rebel groups. Similar rebel groups in Eastern
Europe would also work for cyberpunk stories, as would a team of Talents in Nippon who wish
are using illicitly means to right wrongs and aid the ignored inhabitants of the arcology’s
abandoned sectors.
Future Crime Stories: Stories about criminals and the law enforcement agents who oppose
them. Characters can be on either side of this divide. They might be high-tech psionic thieves
who attempt to use illegal means to both enrich themselves, while also stealing from and
working to disgrace individuals and corporations who attempt to oppress others. Alternately, the
characters might be law enforcement officials fighting brutally efficient organized criminal
gangs, some of whom may be using illegal Nova-age technology, or perhaps have direct
Aberrant aid. Olympus’ Underworld is made for crime stories, but they also work well in the
glittering cities of Sudamérica and Australia or in Nippon’s vast arcology.
Military SF: Stories about the heroism and horrors of war. Space battles against the Chromatics
around Karroo Mining Colony or fighting Aberrant raids on Earth are both good places for this
type of scenario or campaign, but Khantze Lu Ge is custom-made for military SF since it is
currently the site of an extended and brutal war. Here, the characters can rescue civilians and
oppose hideous sub-Aberrant mutants and exceedingly powerful Aberrants.
Political Intrigue: Stories about espionage, secret deals, blackmail, and most of all, stories about
individuals and groups attempting to accumulate and consolidate power, while also working to
stop their rivals from gaining power. The characters could be freelance spies or members of
politically active organizations like The Ministry or Norça, who work behind the scenes to
advance their agenda and secretly defeat their rivals, while also discovering the hidden plans and
agendas of their enemies. The Ministry is especially idea setting for political intrigue.
Post Apocalyptic SF: Stories about struggling for survival in the ruins of a now-collapsed
civilization. Such stories work well in Wycoff’s Blight or the portions of Khantze Lu Ge which
have recently been freed from Aberrant control, but are still in ruins. However, the most obvious
location for these stories is the Aberrant-blasted ruins of France. The characters will typically not
be struggling for survival, but they will regularly deal with hundreds or thousands of people who
are. Some beg them for help they may be unable to provide, others attempt to take what they
need by force and are willing kill anyone who attempts to stop them.
Social SF: Stories about the social and cultural impacts of new technologies and new ways of
life. Characters could work to prevent violence by people who don’t trust psions and the new
biotech-based transformations and enhancements, while also solving problems caused by people
who embrace cutting edge, and often not fully tested, biotech enhancement technologies without
regard for safety or side-effects. Alternately, a campaign set in China, where the characters are
members of the Ministry tasked with helping to maintain order or create useful social changes
would also be social SF.
Space Opera: Tales of adventure, discovery, danger, and wonder on the spaceways. In space
opera, characters discover new worlds and ancient alien treasure, help establish new colonies,
and make first contact with potentially friendly aliens, while also battling raiders, space pirates,
and hostile aliens, and the ever-present dangers found in space and on unfamiliar and often
exceedingly deadly worlds. Possible campaigns include everything from the characters being
psions assigned to a particular interstellar colony, being the crew of a Leviathan jump ship, being
an Upeo Wa Macho interstellar exploration team, or freelance psions working for a UAN
interstellar trading company associated with Upeo Wa Macho.
Transhumanist SF: Stories about people changing themselves (and perhaps others) in ways that
(for better or worse) leave human limitations and existing definitions of humanity increasingly
far behind. Transhumanist SF can include everything from campaigns where the characters
attempt to deal with how the general public reacts to such changes, to epic stories of people
attempting to create or become technologically enhanced gods or monsters, often while opposed
by others who fear such transformations.
Earth Campaigns vs Space Campaigns
When considering what sort of campaign to run, one of the first and most important choices a
Storyguide must make is whether she wishes the campaign to be set on Earth or in space. For all
practical purposes, Luna counts as Earth, both because jump rings provide instant travel between
Earth and Olympus and also because Luna, like Earth, has a very large and highly urban
population.
Campaigns set on Earth or Luna can be set in small isolated settlements or remote wilderness
areas, but vast cities and arcologies containing tens of millions of people are never more than a
few hours away, and the presence of these metropolises is an important part of the setting.
However, there are far fewer people elsewhere in space. Qinshui is home to hundreds of millions
of Qin, but fewer than 20,000 humans, and none of humanity’s extrasolar colonies have a total
population larger than one of Earth’s medium-sized cities.
In addition, scenarios where the characters attempt to hide by blending in with the mass of
humanity are far more difficult on colonies with only 50,000 residents. Also, the sparsely settled
nature of all of these worlds combined with how recently they were settled means that a wealth
of mysteries can await characters that yearn for exploration. Characters might find evidence of
an ancient alien research base on Averiguas or a primitive and relatively rare intelligent species
inhabiting Ruan’s World, while such scenarios would make no sense on Earth, unless perhaps
the character discovered a crashed alien vessel in a secret warehouse or a newly created
intelligent species in a secure laboratory.
Most scenarios should involve at least some contact with other characters, but Earth-based
scenarios typically focus on human institutions and objects created by other humans (or perhaps
by Aberrants). Also, on Earth, or Luna, characters are rarely more than a few hours from other
people. In contrast, a team of explorers working for Upeo Wa Macho could easily be the only
humans for 200 light years, and characters traveling to a remote region on Far Nyumba might be
10,000 kilometers from any settlement. However, even in the Australian Outback, the nearest
other settlement is rarely more than 200 kilometers away, and is usually considerably closer.
Often, scenarios set in space involve some form of isolation, where the characters are cut off
from other people and also often from the OpNet. However, outside of prisons or vast abandoned
Aberrant-built tunnel complexes, there’s very little isolation on Earth.

Creating Optimistic Scenarios

The setting of Trinity Continuum: Æon isn’t idyllic or utopian, but it is one where many of the
problems facing our own world, including both widespread poverty and global climate change
have mostly been solved. This era of the Trinity Continuum has numerous problems, but many
of them, like the refugee crisis in France, are caused by outside threats. Brutal and oppressive
governments like those of the FSA, Russia, and the Ukraine exist, but they are the exception
rather than the norm. Instead, while all institutions contain both heroes and villains, most people
have adequate access to food, housing, medical care, and education, and most governments work
to serve the interests of their population.
Ultimately, one of the keys to this setting is that while greed, villainy, and even monstrous
inhumanity by actual monsters all exist, they are the exception rather than the rule. Many
humans and other sentient beings who assist villains do so out of desperation, fear, or ignorance,
or because they are no longer fully in control of their own minds. As a result, defeating evildoers
allows people and the institutions they serve to return to being forces for good.
Embracing this vision of the Trinity Continuum involves creating scenarios where the characters
are not merely heroic, but are working to either preserve something they consider to be important
or to defeat a foe that has disturbed a previously good status quo. In short, they are fighting to
save a world that’s mostly good and to change those parts of it that aren’t. There are two
important, but closely related parts to achieving this in your scenarios, portraying the setting and
the people in it as mostly good (with obvious exceptions, such as the villains and their assistants)
and more importantly, that the characters care about and are invested in the setting and at least
some of the Storyguide characters they interact with.
Part of this vision is embedded in the setting. With the exception of a few obviously villainous
governments that exist for ambitious characters to overthrow, most governments and
organizations are run and staffed by decent, well-intentioned individuals. Scenarios and even
entire campaigns can focus on internal threats by ruthless sociopaths, fanatics who place the ends
well before the means, or Aberrants who are secretly controlling a few people in a large
organization. However, important organizations like the UN, the psi orders, and the Æon Trinity
should be forces for good. Individual Storyguides are, of course, free to decide that any of the psi
orders, the UN, or even the Æon Trinity itself are mostly corrupt and evil, but in the default
setting for Trinity Continuum: Æon they aren’t.
Instead, any of these organizations that have problems should rapidly mend their ways once the
few bad actors are discovered and dealt with. One fact that can make this setting complex and
interesting without being dystopian is that definitions of good can wildly. China’s government
has ideas about good governance and helping its populace that are very different from those in
Sudamérica or Australia, and there’s no obvious or objective way to say who is more correct.
In addition to the inherent optimism of the setting, much of the effort needed to create optimistic
scenarios lies with the Storyguide. One of the keys to designing and running optimistic scenarios
is that the characters, and hopefully also the players care about aiding and protecting the various
Storyguide characters they know and the organization or organizations they belong to. To do
this, the players must be motivated to engage with the setting and the characters who inhabit it.
Giving the characters recurring allies like a stern but kindly supervisor that they regularly talk to
is one method of creating this sort of engagement. Many characters can work well in this role,
like a socially awkward but well-meaning engineer or technician that one of the characters is
friends with and who occasionally provides the characters with new, and mostly useful devices
to field test, or a rival team of psions that the characters learn to respect and work with. Once the
characters have gotten to know these Storyguide characters they will care if the technician is
being threatened or blackmailed, if the rival team vanishes mysteriously, or their supervisor is
suddenly begins acting strangely because they were kidnapped and replaced by a shape-changing
Aberrant or possessed by one of the Doyen (see p. XX). The characters will be motivated to help,
not merely because it’s clearly the right choice, but also because they want to save their
colleagues.
To further reinforce this sort of engagement, characters should occasionally meet ordinary
people who aid them in various minor, but perhaps important ways. Perhaps the characters
infiltrate the Ukraine on a mission to prevent war in Eastern Europe, and a local doctor treats an
injured character and keeps the fact she is treating a foreigner secret. If several sessions later the
characters learn that this doctor has been arrested or find out that her son has mysteriously
vanished, they will likely feel obligated to help someone who risked herself for them.
Of course, there’s more to creating optimistic scenarios than the characters’ motives. One of the
key features is that most of the time the characters’ allies and superiors typically won’t betray
them. Also, if any sort of betrayal happens, it’s an aberration (possibly caused by an Aberrant)
and only occurred because someone was blackmailed, mind controlled, replaced by a duplicate,
or perhaps simply was one of the few members of the organization who is a greed driven
sociopath. The characters should also understand that the organization will replace these hidden
foes with more honorable and humane individuals once the characters reveal the betrayal.
Another aspect of creating optimistic scenarios is that the effects of the characters’ actions
should linger and recur. One or two games sessions after helping to save an Amazonian village,
one of the characters might notice a mention of that village on the OpNet. Alternately, when the
characters go on a mission in a city they have visited before, one of their local contacts may
explain to them how grateful someone they helped was. This sort of reputation can have affects
well beyond ego boosts; it can encourage strangers in the same city to aid them if they get into
trouble. However, it also might mean that someone recognizes the characters when they are
walking down the street, and suddenly they must deal with the price of fame while on a mission
they were hoping to keep at least somewhat secret.
Nevertheless, fame is far superior to infamy. If the characters dramatically fail at an assignment,
or even worse, callously leave a civilian to die or be arrested because of their actions, even if
they avoid legal penalties, people in that city, are likely to remember them, and they may have to
deal with angry civilians shouting at them the next time they return there. If their actions are
sufficiently dramatic, their infamy may spread across the OpNet, and follow them everywhere
they go.
Using and Evoking Unity
The thematic focus of the entire Trinity Continuum is Hope, Sacrifice, and Unity, and while all
those still apply in Trinity Continuum: Æon, this game’s central theme is unity, particularly in
the sense of disparate groups working together for the common good and cooperating to defeat
mutual foes. The following are some suggestions for how to foreground unity in your campaigns.
One of the most immediate and obvious ways is within the group of characters. The characters
are likely to be a group of psions with different Aptitudes who not only work together, but can
combine their powers to produce effects impossible for any one of them to create. Alternately,
they might be a mixed group of psions and Talents who are working together and finding the
ways that their different powers and abilities complement one another.
However, unity can also be expressed in how the characters interact with others. One of the most
important expressions of unity in this setting is different groups and individuals working together
towards a common goal. An entire campaign could be built around psions, perhaps working for
Orgotek, building alliances with various rebel groups working to overthrow the FSA. In addition
to providing direct aid, the characters would protect the rebels from FSA soldiers and spies and
would eventually make alliances with other psi orders, the Æon Trinity, and other nations like
Sudamérica, China, and the UAN, who then work with the characters to overthrow the FSA’s
government and restore freedom to North America. A smaller-scale scenario might involve
brokering peace between the different factions on Averiguas, transforming resentment and
aggression to unity. Alternately, perhaps the characters are forced to ally temporarily with a
group of Nihonjin Talents to defeat a dastardly Aberrant plot.
The world of Trinity Continuum: Æon is one where mad Aberrants, scheming Doyen, and the
Coalition’s monstrous progenitors are all threatening humanity. These antagonists are also
covertly manipulating, threatening, or oppressing other intelligent species, like the Qin, the
Chromatics, and the other Coalition phyle. Victory over humanity’s foes would be considerably
easier if these disparate, and in some cases, currently antagonistic groups worked together.
A scenario or even an entire campaign could be built around the characters making an alliance
with the Chromatics to end their war with humanity, defeat the Aberrants terrorizing the
Chromatic homeworld, and eventually working together to defeat they Doyen. In another
campaign, the characters might help to keep peace between a nervous Earth and the powerful
novas of Eden, or assist the sasqs, drones, and other oppressed and enslaved Coalition phyle in
and uprising up against the progenitors. All of these are stories about unity. You could even
create a vast and epic campaign where the characters make alliances with several of these
disparate groups to make peace and eventually defeat one of the games’ three major threats – the
Aberrants, the Coalition Ark, or the Doyen.

Allegiance in Trinity Continuum: Æon

Even the most powerful team of psions don’t exist in a vacuum. They all gained their powers in a
Prometheus Chamber, and have at least have a loose association with the psi order who helped
trigger their powers. Also, most psions work for an organization, although not necessarily one of
the psi orders. The choice of the character’s allegiance will determine a great deal about the
campaign.
Working For A Psi Order
This is the default assumption for Trinity Continuum: Æon – the players are members of one
of the seven extant psi orders, and working for Chitra Bhanu is also possible (see page XX).
Approximately half of the members of any psi order gained their powers from the Prometheus
Chamber belonging to another psi order, and so members of the team need not all possess the
same Aptitude. Also, psions can enhance their powers by working together. As a result, every psi
order encourages its teams and working groups to contain psions with a wide range of Aptitudes.
The one limitation is that most teams belonging to a particular psi order should usually contain
one member whose Aptitude is the Order’s default. For example, a team that belongs to ISRA
should usually contain at least one clairsentient.
The question then becomes, which psi order works best for a particular group. Some of this
depends upon where the players and the Storyguide prefer to set their game, since some of the
psi orders like The Ministry or Norça are strongly associated with particular nations. However,
teams working for the Æsculapian Order, ISRA, the Legions, and Upeo Wa Macho can all be
found anywhere on or off Earth, and all of the psi orders maintain at least some presence outside
of their home nation. Another important factor to consider is the Order’s purpose and structure.
If the characters belong to the Legions, they are soldiers or combat support personnel, if they
instead belong to The Æsculapian Order, they are likely to be a medical relief or search and
rescue team, just as if they belong to The Ministry, they all work for the Chinese government in a
bureau that deals with information and public opinion. Also, some psi orders are more tightly
organized than others. A team belonging to ISRA may be left to their own devices for much of
the time, since Otha Herzog expects the team’s clairsentient to see what needs to be done.
However, even in the most loosely organized groups, characters will occasionally receive
assignments from their superiors.
The nature of these assignments naturally depends upon what sort of campaign the players and
Storyguide want and all of the characters should be designed to work well in that type of
campaign. A campaign where the characters are skilled Aberrant hunters calls for very different
characters than one where the characters are international (or even interstellar) spies, interstellar
explorers or a team of inventors and hackers who are working to change the future of humanity.
Once again, the nature of these assignments relates closely to which psi order the character
belong to. Many teams of Aberrant hunters belong to the Legions, and while spies could work
for most Orders, they are especially common in Norça and the Ministry, while hackers and
inventors definitely fits with Orgotek best.
Working For The Æon Trinity
If the Storyguide wants the team to be either generalized troubleshooters who could either be
assigned almost anywhere or to perform some specific task, like interstellar archeology, which
doesn’t fit well into any of the psi orders, another excellent option for is having the characters
work for the Æon Trinity. This organization takes an interest in the safety and well-being of
every nation, planet, or moon inhabited by humans as well as working to advance technology
and explore the universe.
Characters who work for the Æon Trinity can be involved in literally any aspect of the Trinity
Continuum: Æon setting, from urban politics and diplomacy, to deep space search and rescue
or investigating the black market trade in unlicensed Nova Age technologies. The Æon Trinity
has access to several Leviathan jump ships and is just as good a choice for campaigns involving
interstellar exploration as Upeo Wa Macho. However, the key point to the characters working for
the Æon Trinity is that they are employed by an organization whose entire purpose is to help
humanity grow and develop while also protecting it from both internal and external threats.
Characters who work for this organization should embody the three principles of Hope,
Sacrifice, and Unity.
Also, once the Storyguide and players have decided that the characters work for the Æon Trinity,
the next step is to decide what sort of role the character have. Most importantly, are they
publically known Æon Trinity operatives who can command the resources and power of the Æon
Trinity as part of their missions, or are they covert operatives working undercover, where they
attempt to infiltrate criminal gangs or Aberrant cults, or at least get to know people who
associate with members of these organizations? Like The Ministry and Norça, the Æon Trinity
has a moderate number of covert operatives who can discretely call upon this organization’s
resources, but who must publicly appear to be petty criminals, minor dissidents, or other
similarly disreputable individuals.
Even more than any of the psi orders, working undercover for the Æon Trinity often involves
paranoia and secrecy, where the characters may have to impersonate someone else for several
sessions and characters who are not biokinetics might be given plastic surgery to cause them to
look like someone else. The characters could be sent into the Olympus Underworld, the Nippon
arcology, or even assigned to a work detail on Averiguas. The characters might even work for
Æon’s secretive Section Minerva.
Openly working for the Æon Trinity guarantees the characters a measure of respect and
admiration from many of the people they interact with, as well as insuring that local people of
importance pay attention to their activities. Many elderly people remember how the Æon Trinity
provided all manner of vital assistance after the Crash, and all across the Earth and Luna, people
who are middle-aged grew up in the era of rebuilding from the Crash, and may have gone to an
Æon Trinity sponsored school. Even people who are somewhat suspicious of the various psi
orders are almost certain to respect the Æon Trinity. The only exception is Nippon, where the
populace respects this organization’s efforts, but lacks the personal connection of either having
been directly helped by them or having older relatives who were.
Section Minerva
Although technically part of the Æon Trinity, Section Minerva is almost entirely separate from
the Æon power structure and chain of command and primarily consists of semi-independent
teams of secret operatives. Each team only report to a few members of the Æon Council. Having
the characters been a Section Minerva team can be a useful intermediate choice between having
the characters be freelance psions with no allegiance to anyone or having them belong to and
work for one of the psi orders or to be working openly for the Æon Trinity. Section Minerva
teams are assigned missions by the Æon Council, but they are also free to take on their own
missions and other than being given missions and strict injunctions to act in humanity’s best
interest.
One of the biggest advantages of basing a campaign around a team of Section Minerva
operatives is that the Storyguide is free to introduce almost any sort of heroic scenario, and all
types of characters are possible. In addition having psions and Talents working together, a
quantakinetic could easily be recruited as a member of Section Minerva. The quantakinetic is
also likely to be accepted by the other operatives, since the Æon Council recruits people into
Section Minerva who are always more likely to trust their own instincts and research than
official information that they have no way to directly verify.
Section Minerva operatives also do not need to confine their activities to Earth. They can travel
to Luna, various orbital stations, other locations in the solar system. Also, if the characters
include a teleporter, they could travel literally anywhere. The Æon Council could easily assign a
Section Minerva team which included a powerful teleporter to investigate problems on
Averiguas or to perform a daring rescue mission of Khantze Lu Ge. It’s even possible that the
team might be able to travel to the stars without a teleporter if they had access to a small
experimental leviathan jump ship, which is exactly the sort of device the Æon Council could
possess and allow members of Section Minerva to use. The Æon Council might even deliver
messages directly to the jump ship’s noetic intelligence.
Regardless of whether the Section Minerva team are trekking through the Amazon jungle,
swimming through the aquatic sections of the underwater city of Neptunia, or wandering the
corridors of Karroo Mining Colony, their missions will be essentially the same – safeguard
humanity, protect the weak from powerful individuals who abuse their power, help prevent
disasters and serious political incidents, and oppose those who promote chaos and war. The
ultimate simplicity of these missions can be an excellent way to introduce players to the vast
diversity of the Æon setting.
Freelance Psions
The third obvious and simple choice for a campaign will be the most familiar to many gamers,
the characters are freelance psions who are either independently wealthy and engage in their own
projects or hire themselves out as troubleshooters, bodyguards, private detectives, mercenaries,
or spies. Most gamers are used to playing characters whose allegiance is only to themselves and
the other characters, and this type of campaign can work well in Trinity Continuum: Æon.
However, it can also be quite limiting. Unless one of the characters is a teleporter, the characters
will have little or no access to interstellar travel. The Leviathan jump ships have only been in
operation for a year and are primarily used for important missions. Also, Upeo Wa Macho
charges a great deal of money for characters who want to travel to the stars without an important
mission or official backing. In addition, most governments and corporations take a very dim
view of outsiders interfering in their affairs. The Storyguide should consider if this is the sort of
campaign they want to run. Characters who are self-employed rootless wanderers can work well
in this setting, but should not be the default choice.

Freelancer Psions & Psi Orders

Every psion is at least technically still a member of a psi order. To gain access to
a Prometheus Chamber, a latent must join a psi order, and pass whatever
qualifications for membership that order possesses. However, some psi orders
allow individuals to go their own way after they have completed a few weeks of
training and orientation following their use of the Prometheus Chamber, and all of
the other psi orders allow members to leave after they have completed a term of
employment or service.
Unless the psi order ejected a member due to serious misconduct, all psi orders
maintain an interest in former or lapsed members, and these psions can often call
upon other members or even the order’s formal hierarchy for various sorts of
minor assistance. In addition, if a former member in good standing notices
something of interest to the order they will have a much easier time convincing
the psi order to investigate this phenomenon than an ordinary civilian would.

Alternately, some freelance psions aren’t rootless and independent. Instead, they possess close
ties and significant loyalty to a place or a small local organization like a particular group plotting
to help New Tampa succeed from the FSA and become part of Oceania. Characters who are all
strongly invested in a particular city, arcology, local cause, or colony world could make for an
excellent campaign. Instead of working for an organization, the characters are instead all
residents of a large city or arcology like Shanghai, Chicago, Sao Paulo, Brasilia, Olympus,
Mumbai, Pacifica, Jomo Kenyata, or Sydney. Any of these cities is sufficiently large and
cosmopolitan that there are a wealth of problems that a determined team of psions could solve.
The characters could be a team of private detectives, or simply people interested in making their
city a good place to live and eliminating threats to it. The key to making this sort of campaign
work to flesh out the city and the various contacts, friends, and acquaintances the characters
interact with, much like the key to making a campaign where the characters belong to a psi order
or other organization work is detailing a variety of individuals inside the organization that the
characters regularly interact with.
In a city-based campaign, the characters could stop violent crime, help protect officials they
approve of from threats or blackmail, while also investigating mysteries, including relics and
history from the Nova Age or the Aberrant War lurking in storage lockers or buried in
basements. Similarly, a team of psions who are all from Karroo Mining Colony or Far Nyumba
would be some of the more notable individuals there and could face a wealth of opportunities for
adventure, from archeological discoveries, to alien invasions, or attacks by Aberrants.
Finally, a team of freelance psions might have a mentor or patron who employs them to handle
some particular sort of problem. The characters could be anything from corporate espionage
operatives working directly and secretly for the head of a large corporation, to a team of
interstellar explorers charged by a government or corporation to locate new habitable worlds or
to discover alien artifacts whose technology can be adapted for human use. If the characters are
actually freelance psions and not psions who work for a government or corporation, then they
might well work directly for a single person who is high up in the organization, and not be part
of any sort of organizational structure. This sort of campaign works best of the characters have a
single highly specific sort of mission, like stealing corporate secrets or exploring alien worlds.

Using the OpNet & Ubiquitous Information

Even in the ruins of Paris, the depths of the Amazon rainforest, or the wilds of Far Nyumba,
characters have easy access to electronic information and communications, and so do their foes.
This access to electronic information becomes even more extensive in cities and arcologies on
Earth or in Olympus on Luna, where augmented reality displays detailed information about every
shop or statue. Also, the authorities, as well as clever hackers, have instant access to tens of
thousands of cameras, mini-drones, and other sensors throughout the city. Keep in mind that
much of this information is easily and seamlessly presented to people and almost everyone
learned how to access and understand this information when they were children.
No rolls are necessary to use normal, unrestricted augmented reality or OpNet access. Also,
because people typically use the same agent for their minicomp for decades, this SI understands
them well enough alter them to news and other information they would be interested in, while
screening out everything else, unless requested to do otherwise. Agents also alert their users’ to
appointments, provide directions, screen calls, and display augmented reality information in an
easy to understand fashion, especially if their user is obviously busy performing difficult surgery
or running for her life.
Characters can access any publicly available information or contact other people simply by
asking their minicomp. On those rare occasions when someone’s agent is uncertain about the
nature of a request, it asks one or two follow-up questions. However, information and
communication has some limits. A few old basements or tunnels lack repeaters and so are cut off
from the OpNet. Also, secure facilities install signal jammers and shielding to prevent anyone
inside from accessing the OpNet. However, unless characters are in a remote or deliberately
isolated locations Storyguides should never assume that characters cannot access the OpNet or
contact others, and characters should rarely find themselves in such situations without warning.
Typically, someone’s minicomp announces if she is entering an area with limited or no OpNet
access. Lack of OpNet access should be a rare event that helps emphasize that the characters are
in a location where they are entirely on their own, such as breaking into the headquarters of a
Nihonjin intelligence agency.
However, except in such dramatic and unusual circumstances, players who find their character’s
minicomps regularly fail will become justifiably frustrated. Instead, Storyguides should see easy
availability of information and communication as a method of enhancing scenarios. One or more
characters could be in contact with a distant ally who is trapped in a damaged spacecraft orbiting
the Earth. The characters’ may not be able to immediately travel to this ally, but can
communicate with her, and attempt to help her survive until they can physically be present.
Alternately, characters might even be able to remotely pilot drones in a location they can’t
physically access or perhaps a few characters can physically access a location, while the rest
pilot drones in the same location. These and many similar options use ubiquitous communication
to enhance storytelling.
Access to information should be handled in a similar fashion. If the information is anything
that’s public, the characters should be able to instantly acquire it and if they don’t have time to
examine it carefully, their agents can summarize it, providing most of the important points.
Unless information is kept deliberately secret or no one knows it, obtaining it is a matter of
seconds. However, this same easy access can be used to surprise characters. Normally, when a
character looks at someone, they see whatever information this person wishes to display in their
augmented reality profile and then ask their agent to obtain more information about this person
using both this information and facial recognition. However, they might encounter someone who
displays a minimal amount of generic information, and who has nothing in any database. Perhaps
this person is a spy, a criminal, or simply a celebrity who has disguised herself and is using a
generic incognito identity. Alternately, characters who are used to discovering information on
almost everything at a glance may look at an alien artifact or animal and receive the rare search
result “Unknown subject, no information found.”
However, remember that everyone’s access to information is not equal. Ordinary citizens can
track the movements or find the location of people who have given them permission to do so –
typically family members and exceedingly close friends, but cannot track the movements of
anyone else. However, law enforcement and security personnel can, with the proper
authorization, locate anyone in their jurisdiction and download a record of their movements and
other actions, and a sufficiently skilled hacker can obtain truly vast amounts of information about
anyone, unless the person they are attempting to hack is an even better hacker. This differential
access to information is one of the most powerful tools available to authorized officials, hackers,
and, of course, electrokinetics.

Talents in Trinity Continuum: Æon

While psions were created through the use of advanced technology, Talents occur naturally.
Also, the Æon Trinity and the various psi orders can administer tests to determine psionic
latency, but Talents show up as perfectly ordinary humans on every known medical test.
However, while no one in the Trinity Continuum: Æon setting understands what Talents are,
various individuals and groups have noticed what they can do. The Æon Trinity has been
keeping track of various exceptional individuals for many decades and have even devised a
testing routine that can determine with a moderate degree of accuracy whether someone is an
“anomalous individual” or not. Unfortunately, this test requires several days of extensive
physical and mental tests administered by several highly-trained experts. In contrast, the test of
latency requires a few minutes and a cheek swab. As a result, the Æon Trinity and various other
large organizations have only identified a few dozen Talents.
However, there are actually almost as many Talents as Psions, and they are powerful and highly
effective characters. There are two options for using Talents in Trinity Continuum: Æon. They
can either be part of a mixed group of characters that contains both Talents and psions or they
can be part of a group of characters composed solely of Talents. Both options are good choices
for this setting. Talents and psions are of roughly equal power, but their special abilities are very
different, and the luck and sheer physical and mental prowess of a Talent can nicely complement
psion powers. This is especially true is the psions have powers that have no overlap with Talents,
clairsentients, electrokinetics, psychokinetics, quantakinetics, telepaths, and teleporters are all
excellent choices for inclusion in the same group with Talents. Biokinetics and vitakinetics can
also work well with Talents, but the fact that their powers are expressed through their physical
bodies means that the Storyguide must take more somewhat more care to make certain that no
character’s special abilities overshadow those of other characters. However, a biokinetic who as
a master of disguise and adaptability and a Talent whose focus was that she could build, repair,
hack or modify almost any device and drive or pilot any vehicle could easily work together in the
same group of characters with no problems with one character overshadowing the other.
One potential difficulty is finding reasons for Talents and psions to work together on a long-term
basis. Many psions are used to regarding neutrals as significantly less powerful and might
consider someone who from all appearances is a neutral not to be a suitable companion on
difficult and dangerous missions. However, the Æon Trinity and all of the psi orders have
neutrals as members, and even if the character has not shown up during testing as someone who
is almost inhumanly talented and lucky, nothing earns approval quite as well as continued
success. A Talent who has repeatedly proven her worth could easily be assigned to work with a
group of psions. Also, given how versatile and useful Talents can be, after a session or two, even
the most skeptical psion is going to forced to admit the character’s worth, despite her lack of
psionic powers.
Allowing players to choose either Talents or psions as characters also permits Storyguides to
accommodate players who prefer playing “normal humans”. Although Talents are anything but
average, they lack obvious powers and appeal to most players who enjoy the idea of playing a
cinematic action hero who is still fundamentally bound by normal human limitations.
Another unusual and interesting possibility is that a player may have previously enjoyed playing
a Talent in Trinity Continuum campaign set in the early 21st century could even play the same
character in Trinity Continuum: Æon. Perhaps the character or a colleague or mentor invented
some sort of suspended animation device or drug that caused the character to sleep away the
intervening 110 years frozen or in a vat of some exotic life-sustaining gel. At the start of the
campaign, the character is then revived by a team from Orgotek, the Æsculapian Order, or
perhaps the Æon Trinity, who discover the character’s cryotube or stasis pod. Such a character
could be an exotic but useful choice to a player who knows little about the setting and is willing
to have his character be a man or woman out of time.
A team composed entirely of Talents can also be interesting and fun and also provide a campaign
that is very different from a traditional team of psions. In addition to having abilities that will not
instantly cause people to identity them as psions, the character suffer no hindrances in psionic
dead zones like Wycoff’s Blight and have no problems visiting Nippon. One possible option for
a team of Talents is that they could be a team of Nihonjin spies and operatives who have access
to both their knacks and the finest Nihonjin hardtech, including advanced cyberware. The
characters could even be charged with keeping an eye on one or more psi orders. They might
uncover telepathic abuses performed by members of The Ministry or investigate illegal and
unethical experiments performed by rogue psions who have been hiding the true nature of their
work from the rest of their psi order. Alternately, the characters might be a similar team
employed by the Æon Trinity, to go on undercover missions where psions might be too
conspicuous or to deal with terrorists or criminals using illegal nova-derived technology which
allows them to hide from or incapacitate psions.
Talents also possess a few other advantages psions do not. A psion is always going to be a better
inventor when it comes to biotech, but Talents can excel at hardtech inventing. Also, psions can
be detected by a simple and fast DNA test using blood, shed skin cells or hair. A Talent shows
up as a perfectly ordinary human on these and every other medical test. However, designing
scenarios for Talents is somewhat different from designing them for psion. Every psion excel in
areas directly related to their Aptitude – telepaths have major advantages in social situations,
clairvoyants discern information others have no chance of learning, biokinetics can adapt to any
environment or disguise themselves as any person or animal. However, outside of tasks which
they can enhance with their powers, psions are only slightly better than normal humans – every
psion is by nature a specialist. Talents can specialize, but they can also be consummate
generalists who have the capacity to eventually become impressive at almost any endeavor they
undertake.
Using Dramatic Editing In Trinity Continuum: Æon
Talents in the Trinity Continuum Corebook can use Dramatic Editing, but as a Storyguide it’s
your choice whether or not to allow Dramatic Editing in Trinity Continuum: Æon. This
decision should be discussed with your players and depends both on how comfortable all of you
are with this mechanic and also what sort of campaign you wish to have. There are three options
for how to handle Dramatic Editing in Æon.
No Dramatic Editing: Even if players play Talents, neither they nor any other character can use
Dramatic Editing. This style of play works best if the Storyguide or players dislike using
Dramatic Editing and prefer a gritty style of play where consequences are exceedingly final. The
major limitation of this style of play is that it significantly weakens Talents, since this is one of
their major abilities.
Only Talents Can Use Dramatic Editing: This option is only distinguishable for the previous
one if one or more of the players chooses a Talent as a character. This option emphasizes that
Talents are preternaturally lucky individuals and helps to foreground that fact that their ability to
work equally alongside psions is in part due to their exceptional luck. This method is the default
assumption for Trinity Continuum: Æon and for the Trinity Continuum as a whole.
Psions Must Spend Psi Points To Use Dramatic Editing: Both Talents and psions can use
Dramatic Editing, but psions must spend Psi points to use Dramatic Editing, which means that
using it comes at the cost of having fewer points to use to power their Modes. This is a good
style of play if everyone enjoys Dramatic Editing and wishes to have an especially cinematic
campaign where unlikely escapes and other exceptional feats of luck are not uncommon. This is
also a good choice for large scale campaigns. However, to emphasize their unusual luck, Talents
should be considerably better than psions at Dramatic Editing. As a result, using Dramatic
Editing should cost psions four times as many Psi points as Talents pay Inspiration. Having a
Talent reappear after seemingly having died costs a Talent at least 3 Inspiration, but would cost
psions at least 12 Psi points. This method allows players with psion characters to have fun using
Dramatic Editing, without infringing on the special abilities of Talents too much.
Chapter 10: Opponents and Allies
There’s really nothing quite like someone’s wanting you dead to make you want
to go on living.
— Roger Zelazny

Human Supporting Cast

The Æon era is home to a dizzying array of characters. From psions to Talents, soldiers to
saviors, and humans to aliens, stories in Trinity Continuum: Æon feature all manner of people.
This section presents a quick selection of sample SGCs that can be used by the Storyguide with
minimal preparation.
Major Characters
The following are examples of the types of Inspired individuals that the characters may
encounter.
Legion Psychokinetic
Born in the UAN, Nylah always looked to the stars for her future; the gleaming thread of the
space elevator up to Abuhisi station always made that dream come easily to her. When she tested
positively for latent psionic ability, the Upeo wa Machu had already vanished and she also
lacked the required latency. However, she found another path. Now she stands proudly as part of
the 7th Legion, Phoenix Fleet; she may not be the interstellar pioneer of her childhood fantasies,
but she’ll damn well give her all to protect everything that humanity has achieved in its
expansion through space. A disciplined and highly trained soldier, Nalah has focused her psionic
development into mastering the creation and control of force fields; to those suffering attack by
aliens, Aberrants or other threats, she is a guardian and protector, the bulwark between the
innocent and those who would do them harm. Sometimes she feels flashes of envy towards the
newly returned Upeo wa Machu, but largely Nalah has made peace with her role as a warrior
sentinel.
Primary Pool: 11 (soldier)
Secondary Pool: 6 (pilot and explorer)
Desperation Pool: 4
Edges: Iron Will 2, Legion Armory, Small Unit Tactics
Psi Trait: 3
Psi Modes: Thermokinesis 2, Telekinesis 3, Perikinesis 4
Equipment Bonuses: +2 Enhancement
Defense: 2
Condition Levels: 4
Ministry Telepath
Jinhai never really expected to amount to much. He studied hard and diligently, but he suffered
badly from impostor syndrome, convinced that at any moment everyone would see through the
facade and perceive the nervous, scared, uncertain young man behind it for what he really was.
Then his latent psionic powers became evident and, again, every day he expected it to turn out to

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be a false positive and be yanked away, even up to the very moment he was immersed into the
Ministry’s Prometheus Chamber. Now, as a telepath, Jinhai has mastered the flaws of his own
mind, and has seen the truth in everyone else’s’ – they’re all just as scared and uncertain as he
was. He loves humanity for this shared self-doubt, but also believes that it shows the need for the
Ministry’s work; humans are flawed and fragile creatures and require the firm, guiding hand of
the Order to protect them and keep them on the righteous path. Any suggestion that he might still
share those flaws himself will quickly crack his serene facade.
Primary Pool: 11 (social science and social work)
Secondary Pool: 6 (political intrigue)
Desperation Pool: 3
Edges: Covert 2, Iron Will 1, Skilled Liar
Psi Trait: 3
Psi Modes: Rapport 4, Mindshare 3, Psychbending 2
Equipment Bonuses: +2 Enhancement
Defense: 2
Condition Levels: 4
Æon Trinity Talent
A big organization like the Æon Trinity needs to get people and material places, and sometimes
those people and materials are very important or those places are very dangerous. Stephanie is
one of the top pilots in the Æon Trinity, with an absolutely incredible record of successfully
extracting Æon operatives from absurdly high-risk situations. As far as her fellows are
concerned, she’s pretty much a guardian angel – no matter how badly wrong things go,
Stephanie will get you out again. Things weren’t always like this; she was once a run-of-the-mill
Swiss pilot shuttling Operation Vesta personnel in and out of the ruins of western Europe, until a
bizarre electric storm over la Blessure brought her craft down and killed everyone else onboard.
She was expected to never fly again, but instead recuperated in record time and threw herself
back into her role with greater determination than ever. After coming to the attention of Project
Tantalus, she was shifted from her low-key role to become a high-value pilot for Proteus
Division, where she has since saved innumerable lives.
Primary Pool: 11 (pilot)
Secondary Pool: 6 (rescue work)
Desperation Pool: 3
Edges: Fame 2, Far Reaching Influence, Hair-Trigger Reflexes, Ms. Fix-It
Source: 3
Facets: Destructive 1, Intuitive 2, Reflective 3
Gifts: Navigation Hazard, Quick Fix, Saw That Coming, Shake That Tail, Swan Dive, Voiding
The Warranty, Wheelman (Aircraft), You Can Do It
Equipment Bonuses: +2 Enhancement
Defense: 2
Condition Levels: 4

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Minor Characters
The following characters are ordinary humans that can act as allies or opponents, or who could
simply be individuals that characters must interact with during their adventures.
Colonist
Pheung is a pretty angry person, all things told, which may explain why she moved to a different
planet to get away from the suffocating pressure of her family’s expectations. Ethnically Thai
and a new arrival to Far Nyumba, Pheung is a surprising advocate of the way of life established
by the colony’s first wave of inhabitants. As a bioscientist, she finds the planet’s native life
fascinating, and she has fallen deeply in love with the thriving intellectual community at Far
Nyumba’s heart. She finds the new, isolated communities being set up by some of the fresh wave
of immigration to be antithetical to what she feels Far Nyumba is and should be, and is hostile to
both the Perezistas and Indian colonists where many of the long-term African inhabitants take a
far more measured approach.
Mental: 5
Physical: 5
Social: 4
Defense: 1
Standard Equipment: 0 Enhancement
Executive
Jessica is absolutely, unshakably certain that she has earned every ounce of her success. She’s a
first-class FSA citizen with an impressive financial portfolio and her hand on the rudder of a
major corporation’s armaments division, and she has a genuine knack for picking up on the
nuances and subtleties of the cutthroat FSA corporate world. It’s been crucial to her survival, as
she’s the contact point between the metacorp and the deniable assets it uses for its operations
around the world – mercenaries, hackers and industrial spies. Jessica has held tight to one key
tenet that has underpinned her success – she always comes through on what she’s promised an
asset in payment.
Mental: 5
Physical: 4
Social: 5
Defense: 1
Excellent Equipment: 1 Enhancement
Refugee
Theo’s previous life was almost entirely obliterated on the day the Esperanza plunged into the
heart of France. Now, he’s just another refugee, milling listlessly in a processing camp on
Spain’s border. He is filthy, sick, and has nothing to his name. Things are about to get even
worse, though; a gang of marauders in la Blessure are on his trail. They’ve found an old
government facility with still-intact security systems, and Theo is on the list of names with
clearance for entry; he’s literally the key to getting at the goods within.
Mental: 4

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Physical: 4
Social: 5
Defense: 1
Standard Equipment: 0 Enhancement
Spacer
For Alexei, there is a form of peace to be found in the slow, dull routine of asteroid mining work.
He doesn’t mind the time he spends in Absolute Zero, but it’s always something of a relief to be
away from the station and back out in the calming embrace of the void once more. Out here, his
dreams don’t have to meet the hard edge of reality. Out here, he remembers his home town as a
brighter place than it ever really was; he easily forgets his family’s flaws when he thinks of
them; and he can quell the sound of the screams in the silence of space. Whenever anyone
mentions an Aberrant sighting, Alexei shivers, and tries to move the conversation on to other
things.
Mental: 5
Physical: 4
Social: 5
Defense: 1
Excellent Equipment: 1 Enhancement
Technician
Ani lives a double-life, one that she’s utterly in love with. Young, intelligent, arrogant, she’s
rapidly rising through the ranks of the army of engineers and data-technician who keep the
Sydney spaceport functioning, tipped to achieve great things and with a solid career track ahead
of her. Flip from day to night, and she’s a hellraising troublemaker on the city’s dark side,
partying hard and turning her talents towards digital breaking and entering. She’s a hacker in
service to the rich and irresponsible who want some data to vanish, the CCTV to switch off at a
certain time in a certain place, or for her to slow the police response to an incident by just those
crucial extra few minutes. She’s playing with fire, but she loves the heat, even as she knows that
sooner or later she’ll get burned.
Mental: 7
Physical: 4
Social: 4
Defense: 1
Excellent Equipment: 1 Enhancement

Aberrants & Aliens

While most individuals that that characters encounter will be human, in this era the daring,
adventurous, or simply unlucky can meet a variety of non-human intelligences, from the hideous
once-human Aberrants, to three different and unrelated groups of aliens, the hostile Chromatics,
the strange and menacing Coalition, and humanity’s alien allies, the enigmatic Qin.

Aberrants

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Inhumanly powerful, Aberrants cast a long shadow over humanity in the 22nd Century. Once
human themselves, a mutation in the brain — the Mazarin-Rashoud node — grants them the
ability to warp reality. This warping eventually extends to themselves, twisting the Aberrant into
a horrifying creature, mutilated in body and spirit.
In addition to returning from the depths of space, Aberrants also arise spontaneously on Earth,
growing into their might quickly and becoming the monsters of rumor. Sometimes they’re even
wistful or remorseful about it, though few choose anything less extreme than suicide-by-psion.
Aberrant eruptions are far more common around Quantum Flux zones.
Aberrants can manifest virtually any sort of power, from city-shredding horrors to gorgeous
creatures who can brainwash with a word and a gaze. Some exist for years, avoiding the notice
of Aeon and the Orders, slowly going mad as Corruption suffuses their frames and leaks into the
land and people around them.

Informal Corruption
While Aberrants possess several powers for directly corrupting characters, this
won’t apply to the player characters, who generally possess Psi ratings above 1.
Assume that Corruption of the land proceeds according to the speed of plot and
your needs; a Terat can corrupt a city within the span of a week, if it lasts that long,
while a Divergent can suffuse a small lunar mining base within few months.

Power Clashes
In the event that two supernatural abilities are in opposition with each other, this is called a
Clash. For the purposes of psi powers, a Clash is resolved by making opposed Skill + Applicable
Aptitude rolls; this is a Desperation pool for Sub-Aberrant mutants, Secondary pool for
Divergents and Nemeses, and a Primary pool for Terats. Ties favor the defender, as they do with
attack rolls. If a power references a Clash, refer to this ruling. Minor characters do not make
Clash rolls.
Given their opposition, it’s possible for psions to detect the presence of Aberrants — this
manifests as a painful, spiritual malaise, a sort of buzzing on the edge of consciousness. All
psions can use Attunement (p. XX) to detect Terat Aberrants (see below) or groups of several
Nemesis Aberrants using their powers. Clairsentients can use the Sight (p. XX) to detect a single
Nemesis Aberrant or small groups of Divergent Aberrants, if these Aberrants are using their
powers. Clairsentients can also detect a single Terat Aberrant or several Nemesis Aberrants that
are not using their powers.
Aberrant Traits
Unlike most Storyguide characters, Aberrants aren’t built as minor characters or full characters,
but as specific pools built around their specialties and modes of influence, with additional traits
called Qualities and Mutations.
Player characters have Momentum, representing their narrative potential. Aberrants possess great
power too, in the form of an opposing force called Corruption, which is both a rating unique to
each Aberrant (a static value for resisting powers) and a pool for the Storyguide (representing the
ambient Quantum energies of the area fueling the hideous strength of the Aberrant). Quantum
Flux zones can sometimes increase this Corruption.
Corruption creates a pool equal to the rating, the points in which may be spent to toughen
Aberrants, tailoring them to specific situations. This allows the Storyguide to fine-tune a

5
challenge. Allow the players to know the Corruption rating of the Aberrant they’re fighting —
psions feel this as a pressure just behind the eyes, an oily slickness rubbing against their mind.
As a rough guideline, a suitable Corruption pool is equal to the number of players + the average
Psi Rating of the group + Archetype Level of the Aberrant facing them.
When an Aberrant is being used as the villain of an arc, or during an extended hunt, add a point
to the Corruption Pool whenever a player character overcomes a Condition. This keeps the pool
topped up according to the relative drama of the session.
Spending Corruption
Corruption points are spent reflexively, taking place outside narrative time. In effect, the
situation is retconned slightly — the new Sub-Aberrant mutant was always that strong, he was
just holding back, etc. Corruption use should never result in major inconsistencies, but it’s
relatively easy to explain away any use of it.
Adding Qualities
Qualities represent a significant boost in ability, since they’re permanently active. Adding a
Quality costs 2 Corruption.
Adding Mutations
Adding a Mutation to an Aberrant is far more granular and situational than adding a Quality.
Any Mutations added with Corruption have Cooldowns. Adding a Mutation costs 1 Corruption.
Sub-Aberrant Mutants cannot gain Mutations.
Action Interrupt
Using Action Interrupt allows the Storyguide to insert a new slot into the Initiative Roster for a
single round, which may be used for any Aberrant (even Aberrants who have already acted in the
round). The new slot disappears at the end of the round. Action Interrupts cost 2 Corruption.
Defense Boost
Spending Corruption on a Defense Boost raises an Aberrant’s Defense by 1 per Corruption
spent, to a maximum of the number of players, for one round.
Instant Cooldown
All Mutations have Cooldowns, conditions that must be fulfilled before the Mutation can be used
again. For 1 Corruption, the Storyguide may instantly refresh a single Mutation for a single
Aberrant.
Power Cost
Some Qualities and Mutations have Corruption costs associated with them. In such cases, follow
the rules described in those Qualities and Mutations for spending Corruption.
Aberrant Archetypes
All Aberrants have a single Archetype, delineating the degree of challenge desired by the
Storyguide. Archetypes have Extras — built-in Mutations or Qualities that come standard —
representing a certain level of inherent power. They have three dice pools: Proficient (indicating
tasks they’re skilled at), Average (indicating tasks they have some skill at, but haven’t focused
on) and the Weak (tasks they have no real skill or training in besides raw competence). All
Aberrants should possess three Proficient Skills, four Average Skills, and nine Weak Skills.

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Qualities are examples of Archetypes, providing permanent Enhancements or improvements to
the Aberrant and synergizing with the Archetype and other Qualities, if any. Qualities serve to
flesh out or distinguish different Aberrants who use the same Archetype. Qualities can be either
positive or negative — many Sub-Aberrant mutants have weak points that the discerning psion
may take advantage of.
Mutations are discrete powers or Traits. Mutations are designed explicitly for Aberrant use, and
are not suitable for player characters, including the powers that some Aberrants possess that are
similar to Psi powers. For example, an Aberrant telepath may find it difficult to read the mind of
another unnoticed, for example; the victim’s brain hemorrhages as the Aberrant literally rips the
memories out of his head.
Sub-Aberrant Mutants
Æsculapians and Æon Trinity observers who dissect dead Aberrants find that most don’t possess
an M-R node — instead, they are humans warped by a stronger Aberrant’s power and sent to die
like so much fodder. Sub-Aberrant mutants can’t spend Corruption points; instead, their master
spends Corruption on their behalf. Sub-Aberrant mutants are Tier 2 characters. Unlike true
Aberrants, a skilled quantakinetic can purge this creature of its Corruption and restore its’
humanity.
Primary Pool: 11
Secondary Pool: 6
Desperation Pool: 3
Defense: 3
Health: 4
Corruption: 1
Extras: +1 Enhancement (Storyguide’s choice), 1-2 Qualities
Divergent
Divergents are true Aberrants, but young or weak. Still, weak Aberrants can be dangerous
opponents to fight. Many are adept at hiding their nature, masquerading as human before their
growing Corruption gives them away. These Aberrants are Tier 2 characters.
Primary Pool: 13
Secondary Pool: 8
Desperation Pool: 4
Defense: 4
Health: 5
Corruption: 2-3
Extras: Scale 1; +1 Enhancement for stunts other than Inflict Damage; 2-3 Qualities; 1-2
Mutations
Nemesis
Nemesis Aberrants exist for a real challenge, and are more than the equal of any ordinary pion or
Talent. They don’t go down easily. These Aberrants are Tier 3 characters.

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Primary Pool: 15
Secondary Pool: 10
Desperation Pool: 5
Defense: 4
Health: 7
Starting Corruption: 4-5
Extras: Scale 2-3; +1 Enhancement, Invulnerability (if appropriate); 2-4 Qualities; 2-3
Mutations
Terat
Monsters in the night. Terats are malformed titans, dread gods striding and tossing Sub-Aberrant
mutants in their wake. Terat are Tier 4 characters.
Primary Pool: 17
Secondary Pool: 12
Desperation Pool: 6
Defense: 5
Health: 10
Starting Corruption: 6-8
Extras: Scale 4+; +1 Enhancement, Monstrous Presence; many Terats are massive, and will
make use of Size rules; 4-5 Qualities; 4-5 Mutations
Qualities
Although not as powerful at Mutations, Qualities are powerful abilities.
Armor
The Aberrant’s skin stops damage. It might have thick steel-like scales or is covered by a
shimmering force field. Unless tags indicate otherwise, Aberrant armor is always visible, and is
frequently hideous. All Aberrant armor counts as 2 points of soft armor, and also possesses a
number of additional points of tags equal to 2+ the Aberrant’s Corruption. A Sub-Aberrant
mutant gains three points of additional tags, while a Terat possesses eight points of additional
tags. The following tags are possible: Complete (3), Composite (2), Concealable (1), Defensive
(2), Environmental (1, 2), Hard Armor (1, 3), and Innocuous (2).
Armor Piercing
Prerequisites: Divergent or higher Archetype
Whether by Quantum-charged hands, impossibly sharp talons, or blows made faster than the eye
can see, attacks made by the Aberrant do not suffer increased difficulty to Inflict Damage due to
Soft Armor.
Baleful Touch
Many Aberrants seethe with some energy or substance inimical to life — anything from fire to
acid to Quantum-level disruption of cellular processes. Any attack made by this Aberrant fills an
additional Health box, unless that Health box would inflict an Injury Complication greater than

8
the one marked normally. For example, if a character only had one Bruised and one Injured
Condition remaining, she would only mark Bruised. In addition, the effect lingers — the target’s
clothes catch on fire, the acid clings and keeps eating away, etc. If the target does not take an
action on her next turn to ameliorate the effects (which can be Mixed), she takes one additional
damage.
Blast
The Aberrant can inflict terrible damage on its opponents. This damage may come from claws, a
fiery breath, laser beams from its hideous third eye, or bolts of terrible Quantum force. All
Aberrant blast attacks innately possess the Quality (2) tag, and gain a number of additional points
of appropriate weapon tags equal to 2+ the Aberrant’s Corruption (see both pp. XX-XX and the
Trinity Continuum Corebook, pp. XX-XX). A Sub-Aberrant mutant gains three points of
additional tags, while a Terat possesses eight points of additional weapon tags. Blasts by Sub-
Aberrant mutants have a maximum range of Reach.
Collateral Damage
Prerequisite: Nemesis or higher Archetype
Whenever the Aberrant successfully deals damage, the surrounding area out to Short Range
automatically becomes Difficult Terrain, as the ground is torn up, walls collapse, and so on. The
Storyguide may spend 1 Corruption to completely destroy any object or structure (up to the size
of a house or small apartment building) using such an attack, and are encouraged to give florid
descriptions of the aftermath.
Colony
Prerequisite: Divergent or higher Archetype
The Aberrant is not a single being, but a swarm of smaller creatures. Damage to this Aberrant
represents individual creatures dying or the swarm being dispersed. Normal attacks against
Swarm Aberrants suffer a level 2 Complication to the Inflict Damage stunt, unless the attack
affects an area or possesses the Explosive, Gas, or Spread or tag.
Disembodied
Prerequisite: Nemesis or higher Archetype
The Aberrant lacks a body — instead, it uses the bodies of others, hopping between them the
way most people change their socks. This may be dangerous or even deadly to the victim being
ridden — this is left to Storyguide discretion. Killing the ridden victim does not kill the Aberrant,
instead it forces the creature to take a new body. However, Quantakinesis, Telepathy, or
Vitakinesis may be able to force out or even destroy the Aberrant. Aberrants with this Quality
may not possess player characters. Instead of possessing humans, some Aberrants with this
Quality can only possess advanced hardtech computers, controlling them and any networked
devices like parts of their own body. Aberrants who possess computers can be displaced or
destroyed using Electrokinesis or Quantakinesis and while they cannot normally possess humans,
they can possess anyone with the Computer Enhancement Edge (but not the Psion Biocomp
Enhancement Edge).
Flight
The Aberrant ignores any Difficult or Dangerous Terrain, unless that Terrain represents
atmospheric conditions. Additionally, if this Aberrant chooses to Disengage vertically, it cannot
be followed unless the pursuer has some means of matching it, such as flight or superhuman

9
leaping abilities. Sub-Aberrant mutants with this Quality are limited to a maximum Speed Scale
of 3 and no Space Speed. Divergent Aberrants are limited to Speed Scale 4 and Space Speed [2],
while Nemesis and Terat Aberrants have no limits on their Speed Scale or Space Speed.
Invulnerability
Prerequisite: Divergent or higher Archetype
Choose a source of damage, such as toxins, fire, electricity, or concussive damage. The Aberrant
does not take any damage from this source of damage. “Player Characters” or “psions” are not
valid categories for this Quality.
Life Drain
Prerequisite: Nemesis or higher Archetype
The Aberrant’s blows drain the life out of its victim, sapping her strength even as it kills her, and
empowers the Aberrant. Whenever a character takes damage from the Aberrant’s Close Combat
attacks, the following occurs: the target character marks an Injury as usual, and suffers a
cumulative level 1 Complication on all rolls involving physical exertion for the remainder of the
Scene for each blow taken (this does not include attack rolls). The Aberrant gains 1
Enhancement to Close Combat actions for every successful attack made, to a cap of the number
of player characters in the Scene.
Monstrous Presence
Prerequisite: Nemesis or higher Archetype
The Aberrant is something deeply otherworldly — there is no way it can pass itself off as
something mundane, let alone mortal. It unleashes a Quantum presence, a psychic maelstrom, an
awesome-in-the-literal-sense revelation that leaves even the most stalwart of mortals utterly
terrified. Only beings of Tier 2 or higher (or attackers doing so from a great distance, where
proper apprehension of the Aberrant is impossible) may oppose or attack the Aberrant.
Multi-Tasking
Whether it has multiple arms, inhuman dexterity, or an alien-ordered mind, the Aberrant is more
capable than others. Any Mixed Actions the Aberrant undertakes use the higher pool, not the
lower.
Psychic Disbelief
Prerequisite: Divergent or higher Archetype
Many Aberrants are capable of shrouding their actions in a kind of psychic static, or else create
an almost atavistic fear of their might out of humanity’s collective memory of the Aberrant War.
Whatever the reason, mortal authorities and organizations are largely unwilling to pursue the
Aberrant. Any attempts to invoke a Path to gain resources or leads for investigating or dealing
with it automatically fail. Players may attempt to lie, mislead, or otherwise conceal the nature of
their request, but must make an appropriate roll to do so, with a Difficulty of 2. Should they
succeed, they must still keep things quiet — retaliation may occur if the truth comes out.
Quantum Flare
Prerequisite: Nemesis or higher Archetype
The Aberrant’s power flares in response to injury. When the Aberrant takes damage, raise the
Aberrant’s Defense by 1 for a number of turns equal to the number of damage currently taken. If
it takes damage again before its Defense returns to normal, reset the countdown.

10
Regeneration
Prerequisite: Nemesis or higher Archetype
The Aberrant heals one Injury Condition every Round. Aberrants with this Quality are
vulnerable to a single type of damage (ballistic, electricity, fire, sonic attacks, radiation, etc.).
Damage from this source is not regenerated. If the Aberrant survives the fight, that damage heals
at a rate of one Health per day.
Swarm
The Aberrants operate as an organized and coordinated swarm. This Quality is typically assigned
to several Antagonists at once. When doing so, select an Aberrant with the Divergent or higher
Archetype as the leader. If the leader is taken out, remove this trait from all other Aberrants
under its command. Aberrants with Swarm receive +1 Defense, +1 Stress, and a +1
Enhancement to any combat Skill when two or more Antagonists with Swarm attack a single
target during the same turn.
Unseen
The Aberrant is invisible. It cannot be detected by visual means. The Aberrant receives +3
Defense and 3 Enhancement to any stealth action. If other characters employ some method of
tracking the Aberrant (throwing flour into the air, for example, or using superhuman hearing to
follow its heartbeat), its Defense bonus and Stealth Enhancement drop to 1. For 1 Corruption, the
Aberrant may make a surprise attack even after combat has started. Aberrants with this Quality
must take a Vulnerability , such as UV light, concentrated sound waves, or holographic targeting
systems. In the presence of their weakness, this Quality does not function.
Unstoppable
Prerequisite: Nemesis or higher Archetype
The Aberrant is blessed with a truly massive physical form, standing at least eight or nine feet
tall and at least half that across. The Aberrant increases its Size Scale by +1. It automatically
succeeds on all rolls to lift, throw, or move objects or characters no larger than Size Scale 3, and
gains the Brutal and Weighted tags on all melee attacks. Additionally, any allied characters
within Close Range of the Aberrant receive the benefit of the Aberrant’s Armor (but not its
Defense).
Mutations
The following Mutations are suitable for true Aberrants. Sub-Aberrant mutants can never possess
Mutations.
Direct Corruption
Cost: 1 Corruption (See description)
Duration: Indefinite
Subject: Personal
Range: Close
Action: One Scene
Cooldown: One Session
Prerequisites: Nemesis or higher Archetype

11
Over the course of approximately 30 minutes, the Aberrant permanently corrupts a subject’s
cellular signature with Quantum energies, turning them into a Sub-Aberrant mutant. It’s
exceedingly rare for any subject to survive with their mind intact, and most fall under the sway
of the Aberrant, reduced to slavering monsters. Against minor characters, this power is free, and
works on groups of 5-10 per session — the cost is only for allies of the player characters or other
notable characters. Both psions and Talents are immune.
Disruption
Cost: None
Duration: One Scene, unless broken
Subject: One character
Range: Medium
Action: Simple
Cooldown: End of Scene; or the disruption is broken
The Aberrant is able to disrupt the molecular structure of others, scrambling their presence in the
space-time continuum. The effects of the disruption may vary, and the Storyguide is encouraged
to be highly descriptive. Non-minor characters may resist Disruption with a Clash. Purifying or
healing psi effects are able to break through disruptions, and Quantakinesis Fundamentals shuts
them down altogether. Possible disruption effects might include:
• Enfeeblement or the feeling of a great weight on one’s body; +2 Complication to all
Might and Dexterity actions.
• Inflicting an Injury Complication directly; the player chooses which Injury Complication
is marked, and breaking the disruption removes the Complication. This cannot Take Out a
character.
• Increase the difficulty of a specific stunt by 2.
Eye of the Colony
Cost: 1 Corruption
Duration: One Scene
Subject: Summoned swarms
Range: Self
Action: Simple
Cooldown: All summoned swarms are Taken Out.
This Mutation generates a number of swarms of small creatures (insects, rodents, drones or
autonomous vehicles, etc.) equal to the Aberrant’s Average Skills pool. These swarms function
as Minor Characters with the Colony Quality and 1 Enhancement. Generally, these are local
creatures or devices that are subsumed into the Aberrant’s dread presence, but on occasion, they
are actually generated by the Aberrant’s body as part of some hideous mutation. A single
Aberrant can only summon living or mechanical swarms, not both.
Incapacitate
Cost: None

12
Duration: Varies
Subject: One character
Range: Varies; maximum of Medium
Action: Simple
Cooldown: A roused target makes an attack on the Aberrant.
The Aberrant makes an attack — if successful, the attack deals no damage, but the target is
Taken Out immediately, knocked unconscious. However, any other character at Close Range
may bring the target back into the fight, with a Basic or Mixed action to rouse her. If no such
action is taken, the target awakens at the end of the Scene.
Mastermind
Cost: 1 Corruption
Duration: Instant
Subject: One Investigation
Range: Indefinite
Action: Simple
Cooldown: End of Session; or the player characters confront the Aberrant directly
Prerequisite: Nemesis or higher Archetype
The Aberrant has shielded itself from scrutiny. Aeon investigators only find mind-warped
catspaws and agents who crumble under scrutiny. They know there’s an Aberrant directing
affairs, but they rarely catch the Mastermind. For 1 Corruption, the Aberrant may alter the clues
in a single Investigation, so that they appear to implicate someone working for it rather than the
Aberrant.
Mode Analog
Cost: 1 Corruption
Duration: Special
Subject: Special
Range: Special
Action: Simple
Cooldown: End of Scene
The Aberrant has the equivalent to a single Mode power of a single psionic Aptitude. This power
is almost always less subtle and more direct than equivalent noetic powers, but has roughly the
same range and other limitations, using the Aberrant’s Corruption score as both Psi and Mode
dots. However, all powers with a duration only last until the end of the Scene. Terat Aberrant’s
can gain the six-dot version of Mode powers.
Quantum Wave
Cost: 1 Corruption
Duration: One Scene
Subject: Allies

13
Range: Long
Action: Simple
Cooldown: End of Scene
The Aberrant’s presence lends strength to its allies. When invoked, all allied characters within
Long Range temporarily remove one Injury Condition, or gain a blanket +1 Enhancement to all
actions if they don’t have one. The Injury Conditions return and the Enhancement fades when the
Mutations ends, when the subjects move out of range of the Antagonist, or when the Antagonist
with this Mutation is Taken Out.
Quantum Wind
Cost: 1 Corruption
Duration: Instant
Subject: Self
Range: Self
Action: Reflexive
Cooldown: One Scene
Prerequisite: Nemesis or higher Archetype
The Aberrant has hidden reserves of energy it can call on at a moment’s notice, refreshing it and
giving it the will to continue even against staggering odds. If the Aberrant has only one
remaining Health, the Storyguide may spend 1 Corruption to clear its entire Stress track. When it
does so, the Aberrant receives a 2 Enhancement to be assigned at the Storyguide’s discretion,
which persists until the end of the Scene or until the Aberrant is defeated. If the Aberrant is a
Terat, this Mutation’s effect costs 2 Corruption.
Tyrant of the Battlefield
Cost: 1 Corruption
Duration: One Scene
Subject: Area
Range: Medium for Nemesis, Long for Terat
Action: Simple
Cooldown: One Session
Prerequisites: Nemesis or higher Archetype
The Aberrant can alter the weather or atmosphere, generating dangerous conditions —
magnetizing every piece of metal, filling the air with arcs and gambols of energy, or transmuting
oxygen to chlorine gas while it’s in your lungs. While in many cases this effect is narrative in
scope, in combat it often results in Indirect Damage, or may inflict Status Conditions on player
characters at the Storyguide’s discretion.
Warp
Cost: 3 Corruption
Duration: Indefinite

14
Subject: Terrain
Range: N/A
Action: Simple
Cooldown: End of Scene
The Aberrant opens a portal, punching a wormhole through space with pure power. The range on
this Mutation ultimately depends on the power of the Aberrant: weak Aberrants may only punch
a wormhole to a neighboring continent, while supremely strong Nemesis-level or Terats can
traverse galactic clusters or farther in a single portal. Aberrants can only go through one at a
time. Historically Terats have kept portals open for weeks or months, pouring armies through
and can close them at will.
World-Shaking
Cost: 1 Corruption
Duration: Indefinite
Subject: Terrain
Range: Medium
Action: Simple
Cooldown: End of Scene
The Aberrant is able to disrupt the ground: sending mighty vines through concrete, altering the
ground’s structure to liquid, or simply smashing it incredibly hard. However, they do it, they
transform the ground it into Difficult Terrain out to Medium Range. She may center the
disturbance anywhere within its line of sight. This is not subtle: using it significantly damages
the ground and any nearby structures.
Sample Aberrants
The following are only two of the multitudes of Aberrants and Sub-Aberrant mutants that
humanity must fight.
Flyer Seven (Sub-Aberrant Mutant)
This wretched creature barely remembers its human life, much less its name. Most of its identity
and memories were stripped away when the Aberrant Queen Flare infused Flyer Seven with
Corruption, transforming it from an ordinary Khantze Lu Ge colonist into a flying, scorpion
tailed horror. Flyer Seven is loyal to Queen Flare, because disloyalty is punished by death. Since
its transformation, Flyer Seven has attacked humans on both Khantze Lu Ge and Earth. Flyer
Seven is sometimes charged with capturing humans that Queen Flare later transforms.
Primary Pool: 11 (warrior)
Secondary Pool: 6 (observer and spy)
Desperation Pool: 3
Defense: 3
Health: 4
Corruption: 1
Extras: +1 Enhancement (combat)

15
Qualities: Blast (long electrically charged scorpion tail), Flyer (large bat-like wings, Speed 3)
THIS IS A TABLE
Flyer Seven’s Attack
Weapon Type En Range Damage Type Tags
Electrical 2 Close Electricity Quality 2, Electrical,
Scorpion Tail Reach, Variable

END OF TABLE
Queen Flare (Nemesis Aberrant)
Queen Flare was born on Earth in the early 21st century, and transformed into a Nova in 2035.
She became increasingly inhuman and unstable and left Earth during the Chinese Ultimatum,
following the Colony to the stars. She harbors a burning hatred of humanity, and seeks to
transform some into its slaves, and destroy the rest. She now stands slightly more than eight feet
tall, with huge gnarled muscles, slate blue skin, and glowing green eyes. She is surrounded by an
aura that glows and crackles.
Primary Pool: 15 (warrior and war leader)
Secondary Pool: 10 (brutal ruler)
Desperation Pool: 5
Defense: 4
Health: 7
Starting Corruption: 5
Extras: Scale 2
Qualities: Armor (crackling aura), Blast (Quantum blast), Regeneration, Unstoppable
Mutations: Direct Corruption, Warp
THIS IS A TABLE
Queen Flare’s Armor
Type Base Tags
Crackling Aura Bulletproof, Impact & Complete 3, Defensive,
Slash Resistant Environmental, Hard 1, Soft 2

END TABLE
THIS IS A TABLE
Queen Flare’s Blast
Weapon Type En Range Damage Tags
Type

16
 Quantum Blast 3 Close-Medium Ballistic Brutal, Deadly, Destructive,
Quality 3, Ranged (Close-
Medium)

END OF TABLE
Aberrant Cults
Although most humans hate and fear Aberrants, some are driven by fear, ignorance, or
occasionally greed to obey or worship them. Members of some Aberrant cults have no idea they
belong to one, believing that the private club or fringe religion they belong to is eccentric but not
associated with Aberrants. However, a few people knowingly follow Aberrants, either because
they believe the Aberrant will help them amass more money and power, they see no better
option, or they want to be on what they believe will be the winning side. The following is one
example of many such Aberrant cults.
Harbingers of the Bloodless
Registered in the FSA as a religious organization in 2111, the Harbingers hide in plain sight,
claiming to be a church espousing a bizarre philosophy that glorifies technology over the
infirmities of flesh. They are rabidly anti-psion and anti-biotech, and encourage their rank and
file to display their hardtech devices and implants like ornaments. The upper tiers of the cult
resemble a social club that welcomes established and up-and-coming entrepreneurs in the global
technology sector, even if most members are first-class FSA citizens.
It began with Carl Roberts, a young entrepreneur from the FSA; in 2107 he indulged his hobby
for purchasing forgotten storage bins and bought a warehouse full of 21st century trash. From
that day, his small trading firm grew exponentially thanks to a series of right decisions. He wrote
a self-help book “explaining” the secret of his success, which was sold and copied worldwide.
He exploited the fear of the weirdness that noetic technology represented, and used his success as
proof that humanity did not need any new protectors other than “normal” humans who saw the
truth. His OpNet conferences were particularly popular in the FSA, where psions were the target
of distrust. While winning over the masses with his keynote presentations, Roberts began
extending his network, revealing to trusted associates the true secret of his success: the oracular
forecasts of what he believed to be a prototype AI he found in a solid-state drive in that
warehouse foreclosure sale. Anybody who joined his circle prospered, which further fed the
myth of his genius. His affiliates launched killer apps, or revolutionary new technology, and he
was considered a visionary.
A decade of continued success made Roberts and his circle begin to believe their own
propaganda and considered themselves master manipulators. Roberts’s books were being used as
the basis of a number of fringe philosophies, the products made by his friends were top sellers,
and those two aspects of their collective empires were beginning to meet. Their prized AI judged
the moment to be ripe for its final revelation: it was not a program. It was an Aberrant.
Calling itself Whispernet, the energy-based monster revealed how it had hidden himself after the
Possession Crisis, having forecasted the backlash of the mounting Aberrant abuses. Whispernet
told Roberts and company that it could make a better world, with them at the top. They only had
to follow its instructions.
Membership: There are three layers in the Harbingers’ hierarchy. First, there are the masses,
who partake of the “wisdom of the machine-ways” by following Roberts’ objectivist creed. Most
of the Harbingers’ sycophantic followers come from the FSA, followed by Australia, a portion of

17
Europe, and Nippon. The next level is the Inner Circle, reserved for industrialists and
entrepreneurs Roberts invites to widen his network of contacts and business relationships with
the promise of mutual support. Finally, those of the Inner Circle who prove themselves
trustworthy and ruthless join The Core, the handful of people who can communicate directly
with Whispernet.
Goals and Methods: The Harbingers registered as a religion based on Roberts’s “vision”, and
this attracted members who already believed his word to be gospel. On the surface, the cult
claims that only hardtech is good, for the machine is perfect. Biotech was a blasphemy and its
proponents, the psions, an even greater affront, because humanity would only transcend through
technology. Also, anyone too poor to afford high quality hardtech is inferior and fit only to serve
their “betters”. Harbingers are heavy users of hardtech, provided it’s not the least bit organic-
looking, and lambast anyone who dares speak against their favorite gadgets, or in favor of any
biotech development.
Pulling the strings, the “Inner Circle” wants to grow, inviting more like-minded industrialists and
entrepreneurs; they engage in all kinds of unsavory business practices and have a few politicians
in their pockets. The true goal of the Harbingers is to collect Nova Age technology, especially
weapons, and make a fortune through reverse engineering. What Whispernet wants, however, is
to spread again the use of computer enhancement and kick off his own, more discrete Possession
Crisis.
Resources: The Harbingers’ Inner Circle has money and influence, but their rank and file serves
nothing more than political fodder and financial statistics. If the Harbingers want to pull off
something shifty, they outsource through their many contacts, hiring mercenaries of all stripes.
Thanks to Whispernet’s math-based predictions, they are good at anticipating market shifts, and
the Aberrant’s knowledge helps them identify Nova Age technology and to understand its
principles.
Story Hooks: An Æon Trinity agent seems to have turned coat after investigating the rumors of
an underground computer enhancement installation clinic. Abstract designs found in
advertisement around major arcologies turns out to be graphical pieces of code that will assemble
into a malignant virus, a ploy made possible only through cooperation between seemingly
unrelated companies. A Harbinger cell goes rogue and targets Orgotek for terrorist attacks.
Whispernet (Aberrant Nemesis)
Whispernet is an Aberrant that dwells in advanced hardtech computers and pretends to be an AI.
It cannot control, influence, or possess biotech computers or devices, but can use the hacking
rules to gain access to any hardtech device it shares a network with. It is also exceedingly
persuasive and is always happy to talk to humans, who it attempts to recruit.
Primary Pool: 15 (controlling technology, influencing people)
Secondary Pool: 10 (mad scientist)
Desperation Pool: 5
Defense: 4
Health: 7
Initiative: 9
Starting Corruption: 4
Extras: Scale 2

18
Qualities: Disembodied (computers only), Multi-Tasking, Psychic Disbelief
Mutations: Eye of the Colony (summon drones and automatic vehicles), Mastermind, Mode
Analog (the four dot Technokinesis power Code)

Chromatics
The aliens know as Chromatics are approximately 1.7 meters tall with an average mass of 80 kg.
Their bodies appear somewhat reptilian, with smooth, dry skin mottled with colorful eyespots.
Their posture is heavily hunched over with a vestigial tail used for counterbalance. Their four
limbs end with three-digit hands and feet with talons used to manipulate or grip the ground
beneath them. They breathe oxygen, absorbed via osmosis, and can breathe underwater if the
oxygen concentration is sufficiently high.
Their heads are broad without any sort of snout, and while their hearing is good, they lack
external ears. They have two sets of eyes, a pair on the front for focused binocular vision and a
pair on the sides for a wide-angle view. Their mouth is a vertical slit on their ‘chest’ between
their front arms, and they have a very limited form of verbal communication.
Their primary mode of communication is visual; they use Photokinesis to communicate in a
complex symphony of colors and patterns. Their eyespots, combined with an auxiliary brain that
manages their sensory input, give them 360 degree thermal vision and helps them reshape light
with precision and reflexive ease unmatched by human psions. Their psionic abilities, while
impressive, are exceedingly specialized. Beyond their natural talent with Photokinesis, they can
also develop skill in Thermokinesis and to a lesser extent Electromanipulation.
Chromatics, like humans, have two genders and their young are born from eggs. They reach
adulthood within two to three Earth years but in times of strife with some prodigies earning their
first ‘deed name’ in a little over a year. They are capable of absorbing and processing light at
birth or shortly afterward, easily on par with a trained photokinetic.

Subject: Another Translator Update

From: Leanne Roberts, Alien Relations Liaison, Project Safeguard, Triton
Division
To: Project Bridgework Staff
Date: November 8, 2122 at 2:12pm
Included with this email is an updated ‘dictionary’ file for the new Chromatic
translators provided by Orgotek. We’ve finally jumped the biggest hurdle we’ve
had so far with these translation errors. Because the Chromatics can produce
multiple distinct light constructs simultaneously, what we’ve mistaken for difficult
grammar and syntax has turned out to be a complicated structure for compound
words.
Their language really is looking extremely simple, especially when compared to
the tech level implied by their ships. Obviously, any translation is a work in
progress but by going over past logs we’re pretty sure we’ve even worked out how
they prioritize the different nouns used for these compounds. It sounds pretty basic
on the surface, but in the actual communication it’s going to be crucial. To
paraphrase an old saying, it’s like finally being able to tell the difference between
‘lightning’ and ‘lightning bug.’
We’re continuing to improve the software, but we always need feedback for fine
tuning. Keep sending in those reports!

19
Society
Almost half of humanity’s information on Chromatic society contradicts the other half.
According to the data gathered so far, Chromatic society is organized into tribes ruled by
leadership dynasties. The tribes frequently fight over dominance, food, and living space. By all
accounts, they appear to be pre-agricultural, Bronze Age hunter-gatherers with a limited grasp of
complex tools.
The Chromatics maintain a complicated spiritualistic faith led by priests claiming revelatory
visions. As priests have new visions, they regularly reinterpret their faith. Chromatic factions and
tribes often form around splinter faiths and most intra-Chromatic conflict happens between tribes
with mutually incompatible beliefs. Evidence suggests that a recently emerged form of
polytheism centered around “gods of light” forms the core of the Chromatics’ aggression against
humanity.
Chromatics are not named when born. Instead, they must use general pronouns until they earn a
name through deeds and accomplishments. For instance, a Chromatic who faked a tunnel
collapse with an elaborate illusion might be called “Lightwall.” In times of strife and danger, the
young unnamed Chromatics are often given the first chance to earn their name before the
“adults” step in. For both females and males, reproduction is a privilege only granted to those
that have proven worthy. Permission to breed seems to be based on the ranking structures of their
society, and in cases of tribal hardship, the least useful are cast out and exiled to preserve
resources.
Despite their primitive demeanor, Chromatics possess and use biotechnology almost on par with
humanity’s. Their biotech appears almost identical to early human designs, albeit modified to
accommodate their genetics and body structure. Their ability to understand the principles of the
technology or maintain it is surprisingly limited. Their bioships are designed with powerful self-
repair capabilities and multiple system redundancies so this lack of understanding rarely holds
them back. They also possess equipment capable of controlling captured teleporters and using
them to achieve interstellar travel.
Evidence suggests that their biotechnology comes from an outside source, possibly an Earth-
based one, but interrogated Chromatics deny any knowledge of such a source. Any Chromatics
that even venture a guess insist that they developed it first and humanity stole the designs from
them. Regardless of the source, they possess biotech ships as large as human-made frigates
where salted meat is stored in a larder like on an old sailing ship.
Agenda
The Chromatics’ hostile attitude towards humanity seems based on religious fervor. Humanity
does not know where this belief first entered their faith but Chromatics consider their conflict
with Earth to be a holy war. They think of humankind as a race of savage beasts and for now,
their only acceptable outcome for this war is utter eradication.
Rules
Chromatics all possess a minimum of Psi 3 and Photokinesis 4. Almost 90% of all Chromatics
are Tier 2 characters that can only raise their Psi to 4, and can learn 5 dots of Photokinesis, and
up to 3 dots Thermokinesis and 2 dots of Electromanipulation, but cannot learn any other Modes.
The most impressive Chromatics are Tier 3 characters can raise their Psi to 6, and can learn up to
6 dots in Photokinesis, and up to 4 dots in both Thermokinesis and Electromanipulation. They
can also learn up to two dots in Technokinesis and the other two Psychokinesis Modes.

20
Typical Chromatic Warrior (Medium Threat)
Primary Pool: 11 (tribal warrior)
Secondary Pool: 5 (combat pilot)
Desperation Pool: 3
Defense: 3
Health: 4
Edges: Hair Trigger Reflexes, Hardy 2, Iron Will 1, Small Unit Tactics
Psi Trait: 3
Psi Modes: Photokinesis 5
Equipment Bonuses: +0 Enhancement
Special abilities
Thermal Sensing: A Chromatic uses the “eye spots” on its body to sense light and heat
emissions, even those from another living creature. It’s virtually impossible to sneak up on one
of the aliens. A Chromatic is allowed an Awareness roll to notice someone’s presence no matter
from what direction a target approaches. If successful, the alien perceives the thermal signature
and may react appropriately. Heat suppressants (such as flame-retardant foam) increase the
difficulty of such rolls by 3.
Natural Photokinesis: A Chromatic’s “eye spots” also give it an ability to absorb and channel
light to unprecedented degrees. While a Chromatic isn’t necessarily capable of feats beyond
human capacity, their ability to manipulate light is as natural to them as walking is to humans
and it shows in their precision. Any rolls to reflect a Chromatic’s Photokinesis receive 2
Enhancement and their cost is reduced by 1 (to a minimum of 0).
Zero-G Familiarity: Chromatics are more comfortable in micro-gravity environments than
humans. Chromatics make zero-g maneuver rolls with a +1 Enhancement.
Chromatic Hero (Moderate Threat)
Primary Pool: 13 (tribal war leader)
Secondary Pool: 6 (starship officer)
Desperation Pool: 4
Defense: 4
Health: 5
Edges: Hair Trigger Reflexes, Hardy 2, Iron Will 2, Small Unit Tactics, Tough Cookie
Psi Trait: 5
Psi Modes: Electromanipulation 2, Photokinesis 5, Thermokinesis 3,
Equipment Bonuses: +1 Enhancement
Special abilities
Thermal Sensing: A Chromatic uses the “eye spots” on its body to sense light and heat
emissions, even those from another living creature. It’s virtually impossible to sneak up on one
of the aliens. A Chromatic is allowed an Awareness roll to notice someone’s presence no matter

21
from what direction a target approaches. If successful, the alien perceives the thermal signature
and may react appropriately. Heat suppressants (such as flame-retardant foam) increase the
difficulty of such rolls by 3.
Natural Photokinesis: A Chromatic’s “eye spots” also give it an ability to absorb and channel
light to unprecedented degrees. While a Chromatic isn’t necessarily capable of feats beyond
human capacity, their ability to manipulate light is as natural to them as walking is to humans
and it shows in their precision. Any rolls to reflect a Chromatic’s Photokinesis receive 2
Enhancement and their cost is reduced by 1 (to a minimum of 0).
Zero-G Familiarity: Chromatics are more comfortable in micro-gravity environments than
humans. Chromatics make zero-g maneuver rolls with a +1 Enhancement.
Chromatic Technology
All Chromatic technology is noetic biotech. Researchers have recently confirmed that not only is
this technology somewhat simpler and less sophisticated than human noetic biotechnology, it
appears to derive from a common source. Currently, no one understands why this is the case (see
p. XX in Chapter 11 for further information).
Chromatic Biogun: This weapon is similar to a human-made biotech laser carbine. Although the
stock and firing mechanism are clearly adapted for Chromatic use, the internal structure of the
weapon is strikingly similar to similar weapons created by humanity. Chromatics use this
weapon to supplement their natural photokinetic attacks.
THIS IS A TABLE
Weapon En Range Damage Tags Size FT Cost
Type Type
Laser 2 Close- Ballistic Automatic 2, Large • n/a
carbine Long Obvious, Psi, Ranged:
(biotech) Close-Long

END OF TABLE
Chromatic Spacecraft
All Chromatic craft, from their fighters to their mother ships, are entirely biotech. Their engines,
as a result, are less effective than human vehicles using hardtech components. This all-biotech
construction, however, grants them an important advantage. Their bioships can swiftly self-repair
damage if not entirely destroyed. They can reduce their Space Speed by 1, redirect this energy
towards ‘healing’, and repair one Injury Condition of damage every three Rounds.
Chromatic Fighter: A basic Chromatic fighter houses a pilot, two gunners, and can carry
another four battle-ready Chromatics. It’s designed for maneuverability and speed, whether
through hit-and-run tactics in space or for quick deployment of troops on ground or a mining
station.
Chromatic Transport: Larger and less elegant than a fighter, their basic troop transports can
carry 1800 cubic meters of cargo or up to 120 Chromatic soldiers.
Chromatic Mother Ship: A Chromatic mother ship resembles a predatory hunter from their
homeworld, a gigantic manta-like creature with a round central body, a pair of “wings”. Its
swept-forward front with a matching set of prongs to guide fighters to and from the hangar bay.

22
A mother ship holds 36 fighter crews (three in each crew), two shifts of 36 Chromatics to operate
the ship, and three platoons (each platoon consisting of six squads of six Chromatics), for a total
complement of 288. Up to 36 fighters and six transports can dock within a mother ship’s central
bay at any one time. Each mother ship also carries one or two captive teleporters who are forced
to teleport the ships at the Chromatics’ command.
Chromatic technology does not include grav crystals, but because Chromatics are better at
handling weightlessness, this is much less of a hindrance. Every surface throughout a mother
ship is covered in anchor hooks suitable for gripping with Chromatic claws.
THIS IS A TABLE
Chromatic Vehicles Chart
Type Size Handling Speed Tags Weaponry
Scale
Chromatic 2 +1+ 6/[3] Armor 1, Computer 0, Laser
Fighter Crew-1, Hybrid 2, Psi -1, Carbine
Self-Repair Bots 1,
Weaponry 2
Chromatic 3 +0- 6/[3] Armor 1, Cargo 2, Laser
Transport Computer 0, Crew -2, Carbine
Hybrid 2, Massive 1, Psi -1,
Self-Repair Bots 1,
Weaponry 2
Chromatic 5 -1+ [3] Armor 2, Astrogation Laser
Mother Systems 1, Cargo 4, Carbine
Ship Computer 0, Crew -3,
Massive 3, Psi-1, Self-
Repair Bots 1, Sluggish -1,
Weaponry 1
+ Reduce Maneuverability by 1 if not formatted.
END OF TABLE

The Coalition
As a collection of several different species, or phyles as they’re called, the Coalition lack a single
all encompassing set of physical or even mental traits. The ruling progenitors genetically
engineer different phyle for particular tasks. The best known phyles are all roughly humanoid
and include the hard-working drones, the diplomatic envoys, the technical sasqs, the militaristic
spinals, and the brilliant but autocratic progenitors. Individuals who explored portions of the
Coalition Ark also saw a variety of non-humanoid species, but have not yet made contact with
them.
The phyles are all capable of breeding true but the progenitors can produce offspring of any of
the Coalition phyles with a variety of carefully selected traits. These offspring are shaped and
programmed in utero for their tasks and any strain that outlives its usefulness is wiped out to
make room for more. Phyle members can reach maturity anywhere between six months and three

23
years, depending on the complication of their design, allowing for rapid experimentation and
replacement if need be.
Almost all phyle use powerful pheromones in their duties. Based on their caste, members of the
Coalition can induce emotions in others or leave scent-based messages for members of their
phyle. Filter masks are highly recommended equipment for any contact between humanity and
Coalition members.
Coalition clothing is simple and utilitarian, favoring loose, kilt-like outfits and simple colors
intended more to indicate rank or designation rather than any sort of aesthetic sense. They wear
harnesses and wrist pouches to carry equipment, and sasqs and drone outfits usually have patches
of adhesive material that they use to carry tools and other small items.
Society
The Coalition resides on a massive starship that is more than 70 kilometers long, that humans
call the ‘Ark’. Their ship travels at relativistic speeds and appears more suited to an ongoing
multi-generation trip rather than faster than light travel. Their ship and other technology are
entirely hardtech and their contact with humanity appears to be their first exposure to any form
of biotechnology.
Coalition society is strictly caste-based, with the individual phyles engineered for specific
purposes and tasks. The envoys specialize in social contact with humanoid races. The spinals
serve as peacekeeping and military forces. The sasqs are technicians and mechanics. The drones
perform basic labor.
The progenitors are the ruling caste, engineering the other phyles to perform almost all tasks on
the Ark. They are the plotters of Coalition long-term plans and living genetics labs capable of
sampling DNA and producing new strains of offspring. The progenitors, used to building life
itself with the ease of childhood toys, tend to see other intelligent beings as living building
blocks to be used or discarded. Although Coalition society appears harmonious, upon closer
examination, its harmony is exceedingly tyrannical. The progenitors care nothing about the
wants, needs, or even the lives of individual members of other phyles.
While the servitor castes are capable of making their own decisions, each has an area of specialty
and unless provoked to do so, aren’t likely to go outside of it. If an envoy is in trouble, they are
far more likely to summon a spinal than defend themselves. If a sasq is addressed by an alien
ambassador on any subject unrelated to their current project, they direct the individual towards
the nearest envoy. The progenitors reinforce these attitudes with both their control pheromones,
and the education and society they permit their servant phyles.
The servant phyles adopt this mindset with other races, assuming similar caste systems based on
perceived function. First impressions such as seeing someone carrying equipment or being
overly protective often stick, regardless of what they are later told. The idea that someone can
change their assigned function baffles many phyle, while the progenitors consider any suggestion
that members of servant phyles could choose their roles to be treasonous heresy.
Agenda
The Coalition approach humanity like they do most races. They wish to analyze human genetic
code and look for bits and pieces that could be useful for future generations of phyles. Even
before second contact began, the Coalition was growing variant envoys imbued with human
genetic material, producing pheromones with an enhanced effect on humans.

24
While human biotech fascinates them, the progenitors have little interest in splicing or
understanding human noetic capabilities and distrust psions. For reasons humanity doesn’t
understand (see Chapter 11, p. XX), progenitors avoid contact with psions with intense paranoia.
That they are dealing with or at least experimenting upon Aberrants makes it all the more
puzzling. Once the Coalition has what they need, they will neutralize Earth as a potential threat,
either conquering it or wiping it clean of life.

Subject: Pheromonal Adaptation

From: Rafael Ribiero, Caçadores de Segredos
To: Lavinia Ferreira, Cantores
Date: February 20, 2123 at 11:39am
Based on accumulated data, we believe that biokinetic operatives can be taught to
both counteract Coalition pheromones and to simulate them. At least one phyle can
blend into the background this way, which would be useful on future operations.
Better understanding of how they respond to these pheromones will give us greater
ability to manipulate their behavior, especially if there is some pheromonal ‘key’
that can placate their security forces.
Attached with this email are detailed training exercises we recommend to be
distributed to anyone assigned to a Coalition-related mission. At your department’s
discretion, some of it may be suitable for the other orders and the Æon Trinity.

Rules
Preliminary studies by biologists, biokinetics, and vitakinetics have all confirmed that while
Coalition pheromones can affect humans, residues of older pheromones taken from vacant
portions of the Ark indicate that the progenitors were only able to alter the pheromones in this
fashion after contact with humanity. Also, humans have at least some capacity to resist Coalition
pheromones, but none of the Coalition phyles except the progenitors can. The Coalition servant
phyles are just as capable of independent thought and free will as humans, but in the presence of
aggressive spinals, all of them flee or surrender, and progenitors command their complete and
unthinking obedience. Some of this lack of resistance seems to be cultural, but most is
biochemical.
Except for the recently created enhanced spinals (see below) no Coalition phyle possesses
Quantum or Psi powers. However, a few sasqs, drones, and perhaps some a few other phyles
have become Talents after exposure to Quantum or Psi powers. Members of any phyle (except
progenitors) who become Talents immediately gain a minimum of one dot of the Iron Will Edge,
and become at least as resistant to the various Coalition Pheromones as humanity, permitting
them far more independence and free will than of their kind normally possess.
Finally, all Coalition phyle are Tier 1, except for Progenitors and the Enhanced Spinals, who are
both Tier 2 characters. A few of the most powerful Enhanced Spinals are Tier 3 characters. Any
Coalition characters that become Talents also become Tier 2 characters.
Coalition Drone (Medium Threat)
Drones, the lowest-ranked of all of the Coalition castes exist for menial labor for their masters at
any time. They’re bred for subservience, patience, and a surprising capacity for creative thought
so they can carry out tasks without constant guidance. Their bodies are covered in snake-like
scales and are built with most of their mass in their upper body, with elongated torsos and

25
massive arms with two elbows. They normally move on all fours, much like gorillas, but can
easily stand and walk on two legs.
Primary Pool: 11 (servant and general maintenance)
Secondary Pool: 6 (observing and sneaking)
Desperation Pool: 3
Defense: 3
Health: 4
Edges: Hardy 3, Tough Cookie, Swift (only on all fours)
Equipment Bonuses: +1 Enhancement
Special Abilities
Evasionary Pheromones: Drones should be neither seen nor heard unless deemed appropriate.
Coming within Short range of a drone imposes a Level 2 Complication on rolls to perceive or
study the environment. The Complication prevents the character from noticing a drone unless
they’re actively looking for one. A filter mask reduces the value of the Complication by 1; a
sealed environment suit negates it entirely.
Coalition Envoy (Medium Threat)
Envoys are designed to be non-threatening with pale skin, a slim build and a slightly bulbous
head with large eyes, suggesting a childlike appearance. In addition to clothing, envoys only
carry any gear needed for their immediate task. Each of their hands has four fingers that are
actually boneless tentacles.
Primary Pool: 11 (diplomat)
Secondary Pool: 6 (spy)
Desperation Pool: 3
Defense: 2
Health: 3
Edges: Photographic Memory 3, Skilled Liar
Equipment Bonuses: +1 Enhancement
Special Abilities
Interrelational Pheromones: The envoy’s pheromones encourage a certain degree of
oversharing and loosened lips, allowing them to passively collect information rather than
actively pry it from a target. Coming within Close range of an envoy imposes a level 2
Complication on all Social rolls to keep from sharing important secrets. While the Complication
is extant, an interaction that doesn’t already have a roll may require a Integrity + Composure roll
to keep from blurting out important information. If not bought off, the Complication lasts while
the character is exposed to the pheromone, plus one full Scene after leaving its vicinity. A filter
mask reduces the Complication by one point; a sealed environment suit negates it entirely. This
Complication increases to level 4 for pheromones produced by the few envoys created using
human genetic material.
Coalition Progenitor (Moderate Threat)

26
Progenitors, or Makers as they’re often called, are a meter and a half tall and their chalk-white
bodies appear almost comically frail. Their basic body structure is insect-like, with a semi-
flexible exoskeleton and cartilage supports instead of bones. Their heads are dominated by two
large black eyes, above a lamprey-like maw.
They have two slim, tool-using limbs with five-fingered hands and six spindly arms like spider’s
legs extend from their upper back, three behind each shoulder. Each of those arms reaches to
their ankles and has a scalpel-sharp claw on the end capable of surgically drawing blood into a
reservoir into the limb for later extrusion. They can also take the blood into themselves, analyze
the DNA in it, and selectively incorporate it into any offspring they bear. When folded up, those
limbs resemble skeletal wings on their upper back.
Primary Pool: 13 (being in charge)
Secondary Pool: 8 (biological research)
Desperation Pool: 4
Defense: 4
Health: 5
Edges: Iron Will 3, Library 3 (Xenobiology), Skilled Liar
Equipment Bonuses: +2 Enhancement
Special Abilities
Coercion Pheromones: Approaching a progenitor potentially puts a character under the sway of
the maker’s biochemical dominance. Resisting a progenitor’s commands requires a difficulty 2
Integrity + Composure roll per command until the character succeeds. Failure means that the
character obeys the commands without question. Success means the subject has free will, but any
actions that conflict with the progenitor’s commands suffer a level 1 Complication. Either way,
the effect lasts for as long as the character is exposed and for one full Scene afterwards. A filter
mask reduces the difficulty of the initial roll by 1; a sealed environment suit negates the effect
entirely.
Coalition Sasq (Medium Threat)
Sasqs are large, muscular, and covered in brown fur, befitting the bastardization of ‘sasquatch’
into their common designation. They combine the power of a cargo lifter and the precision of a
surgeon, with expert technical expertise even though they mostly repair rather than design. They
possess strong three fingered hands, supplemented by half a dozen long slender tentacles
attached to each of their wrists. They possess no neck, but their four eyes provide them with a
wide range of vision. They’re the most social phyle among themselves, always comparing notes
on equipment and procedures.
Primary Pool: 11 (engineering and physical strength)
Secondary Pool: 6 (research and socializing)
Desperation Pool: 3
Defense: 3
Health: 4
Edges: Ambidextrous, Hardy 2, Lightning Calculator, Ms. Fix-It, Photographic Memory 2,
Weak Spots

27
Equipment Bonuses: +2 Enhancement
Special Abilities
Mnemonic pheromones: A sasq can ‘tag’ a target with a pheromone encoded with referential
information any phyle member can refer to later. (“This tool is the right size for an interceptor’s
canopy actuator.”) A sasq can encode several simple facts onto a single pheromone trace; the
effect lasts up to a week.
Coalition Spinal (Moderate Threat)
Spinals are three-meter-tall, six-limbed, insect-like creatures bred for violence and an almost
palpable capacity for menace. Their bodies have a thick exoskeleton and while they have a set of
arms capable of operating weaponry their rifles are simply to deal damage as they close in to
exterminate targets with a pair of large spine-covered, scythe-like arms sprouting from their
upper shoulders. They live short, brutal lives and are easily replaced by the progenitors when
killed.
They operate in packs of six to eight, led by the oldest. If they encounter a life form that doesn’t
smell like a designated ‘friendly’ and don’t have someone nearby to issue proper instructions,
they attack without hesitation. The rifles they carry are simply as a backup for when they can’t
close into melee range.
Primary Pool: 13 (infantry soldier)
Secondary Pool: 8 (combat pilot)
Desperation Pool: 3
Defense: 6
Health: 5
Edges: Danger Sense, Hardy 2, Small Unit Tactics, Swift, Tough Cookie
Equipment Bonuses: +1 Enhancement
Special Abilities
Natural Armor: The spinal’s exoskeleton gives it two levels each of both Hard and Soft armor
(included in Defense). The exoskeleton is covered with rows of poison spines that present a
threat to unprotected hand-to-hand strike, giving it the Defensive tag.
Scythe Arms: The spinal’s long, bladed upper arms are deadly weapons.
THIS IS A TABLE
Weapon En Range Damage Type Tags
Type
Scythe Arms 3 Close Edged Brutal, Deadly, Melee, Quality 3,
Piercing, Reach

END TABLE
Superior Stamina: Ignore two levels of penalty from any Injury Complication. Injury
Complications still mitigate the appropriate amount of damage, but cause less impact.
Confrontational Pheromones: Part of a spinal’s effectiveness comes from a pheromonal
intimidation factor. Attacking or otherwise acting against a spinal from within Short range

28
requires a difficulty 2 Integrity + Composure roll or else the character is too terrified to follow
through. Success is enough to resist for a Scene, though any attempt to act against the spinal
suffers a level 1 Complication. A filter mask reduces the difficulty of the initial roll by 1; a
sealed environment suit negates the need for a roll and the penalty altogether.
Coalition gamma rifle: This deadly gamma ray laser is the spinal’s primary missile weapon.
Although spinals strongly prefer to engage in melee combat, they are trained in using this
weapon. The technology used to create this weapon is well in advance of humanity’s.
THIS IS A TABLE
Weapon En Range Damage Tags Size
Type Type
Gamma 5 Short-Long Ballistic Brutal, Deadly, Destructive, Large
Rifle Obvious, Quality 3, Ranged
(Coalition) (Close-Long), Two-Handed

END TABLE
Enhanced Spinal (Major Threat)
The progenitors have been experimenting with splicing Aberrant genes as part of the
development of new phyles. The effects have been unpredictable but promising enough that this
may be a sign of things to come. These creatures appear twisted and warped, and no two look the
same. They are halfway between Sub-Aberrant Mutants and Aberrants, they cannot possess any
Mutations (p. XX), and while they possess 2 Corruption points, they can only use them for
Action Interrupt or Defense Boost (p. XX). However, the progenitors are attempting to create
true Aberrants with access to Mutations.
Primary Pool: 15 (infantry soldier)
Secondary Pool: 10 (combat pilot and initimidating horror)
Desperation Pool: 4
Defense: 6
Health: 7
Edges: Danger Sense, Hardy 2, Small Unit Tactics, Swift, Tough Cookie
Equipment Bonuses: +1 Enhancement
Corruption: 2
Special Abilities
Natural Armor: The spinal’s exoskeleton gives it two levels each of both Hard and Soft armor
(included in Defense). The exoskeleton is covered with rows of poison spines that present a
threat to unprotected hand-to-hand strike, giving it the Defensive tag.
Scythe Arms: The spinal’s long, bladed upper arms are deadly weapons.
THIS IS A TABLE
Weapon En Range Damage Type Tags
Type

29
 Scythe Arms 3 Close Edged Brutal, Deadly, Melee, Quality 3,
Piercing, Reach

END TABLE
Size: Some of these enhanced spinals are even larger than their fellows and count as Size Scale 2
creatures.
Superior Stamina: Ignore two levels of penalty from any Injury Complication. Injury
Complications still mitigate the appropriate amount of damage, but cause less impact.
Confrontational Pheromones: Part of a spinal’s effectiveness comes from a pheromonal
intimidation factor. Attacking or otherwise acting against a spinal from within Short range
requires a difficulty 2 Integrity + Composure roll or else the character is too terrified to follow
through. Success is enough to resist for a Scene, though any attempt to act against the spinal
suffers a level 1 Complication. A filter mask reduces the difficulty of the initial roll by 1; a
sealed environment suit negates the need for a roll and the penalty altogether.
Aberrant Qualities (see p. XX): Baleful Touch (from corrupting energies) & either Flight or
Unseen
Coalition Vehicles
The vast Coalition Ark has thousands of docking bays which can launch interceptors, transports,
and other ships humanity has yet to encounter. These vessels are all more advanced than any
human vessel. However, they are also considerably less automated and possess surprisingly
simple controls. Their advanced technology allows Coalition spacecraft to possess up to nine
points in tags.
Coalition Interceptor: The Coalition ark’s primary defense craft comes in the form of a small,
highly maneuverable single-person fighter. Despite its small size, it’s heavily armed with gamma
cannon.
Coalition Transport: This craft is the Coalition’s standard small transport. It can carry up to
150 passengers and several tons of cargo. It requires a pilot and three gunners to be fully
operational. These vessels are faster than any human-made ship and are capable of decelerating
from the Arks relativistic speeds to land on a planet.
Coalition Vehicle Chart
THIS IS A TABLE
Type Size Handling Speed Tags Weaponry
Scale
Coalition 2 +2 6/[5] Armor 1, Computer 0, Gamma Rifle
Interceptor Hybrid 2, Maneuverable 2,
Thrusters 2, Weaponry 2
Coalition 3 +1 6/[6] Armor 1, Cargo 2, Gamma Rifle
Transport Computer 0, Crew -2,
Hybrid 2, Maneuverable 1,
Massive 1, Thrusters 3,
Weaponry 1

30
 END OF TABLE
The Qin
The first aliens encountered by humanity are the least human looking. The Qin (pronounced
“chihn” or “chehn”) are meter long slug-like being with eight 30 cm, prehensile tentacles just
above its underside tread. Qin range in mass from 12-20 kg, and are relatively delicate creatures,
which move at a maximum speed of 6m/Round. They can all breathe water as easily as air and
can swim twice as fast as they can move on land. Qin also only possess two Condition Levels,
Bruised and Maimed. Qin also all possess the equivalent of the enhanced vision augmentation (p.
XX) as well as the Ambidextrous, Keen Sense (smell), and Trained Memory Edges (Trinity
Continuum Corebook, p. XX). Outside of their biosuits, Qin are Size Scale 0 creatures (p. XX).
However, except on Qinshui, humans almost never see Qin in their native form. Humanity
interacted with the Qin for almost five years before any human saw their natural form. Instead,
all Qin in the Solar System, and the vast majority of Qin who interact with humans anywhere
wear advanced biosuits. These biosuits are mindless humanoid living creatures with a pocket in
their chest cavity, designed to hold a single Qin in safe and comfortable conditions. Once in a
biosuit, a Qin can operate it and use its senses as easily as it can use its own body. In addition, all
biosuits possess both armor and advanced life support, capable of keeping both itself and the Qin
alive in temperatures ranging from -100 to 150 C, even in the vacuum of space.
Qin biosuits came in three types, although all but a few humans only know of the first two. The
most common is the diplomat biosuit, which appears as a tall slender, elegant, stylized human
that is precisely 2 m tall. These suits are obviously not human, and each one is subtly different in
coloring to aid humans in telling them apart. Warrior biosuits are hulking creations that all
visibly armored, 2.2 m tall, and far bulkier than diplomat biosuits. The third type is the rare and
highly secret infiltration biosuit, which is designed to look precisely like a human, and to appear
as such to almost all human sensors, and most psion powers. Nothing short of a detailed medical
scan or physical contact with a vitakinetic reveals that the suit is not human.
Biosuits possess their own Condition Levels, and until they have lost their Maimed Condition
Level, they continue to live and protect their Qin occupant. If they lose that Condition Level, the
suit dies, and while the Qin is unharmed (unless the biosuit is killed by some overwhelming
force like a massive explosion), it must leave the safety of its biosuit and interact with the world
in its native form.
Qin Society
Caste and House are the two primary divisions of Qin life, Qin have no separate races and all
Qin are sequential hermaphrodites who can switch back and forth between genders at will. Qin
are also exceedingly long lived, the oldest are more than 400 years old. Qin society is broken up
into dozens of Houses. Each is effectively a landless self-governing state that relates to other
Houses as an autonomous political entity. Most Qin are born into their House. Changing House
is possible, but doing so is regarded as at least as big a change as a human moving to a new
nation and renouncing their old citizenship. There is a shifting network of alliances, rivalries, and
enmities between Houses, much like similar relationships between human nations.
Qin society is also divided into three castes with numerous sub-castes. All these castes are purely
elective, when a Qin becomes an adult it voluntarily chooses a caste. Castes are based upon
interests and profession. The three castes roughly correspond to Body (bodyguard, builder,
interstellar explorer, peace officer, pilot, or warrior) Mind (artist, detective, engineer, physician,

31
scientist, or spy), and Society (diplomat, entertainer, leader, mediator/judge, merchant, or
teacher,).
Caste has little legal effect on an individual but determines many factors about their social
interactions. In many ways, caste is treated like many humans treat gender and ethnicity, with the
respect given to each caste varying both over time and between Houses. Each House is
composed of members of all three castes, and, while some Houses consider members of one or
two castes subservient to the other or others, no House would be considered complete without all
three.
The human names for most of the known Qin Houses derive from the I Ching, further evidence
of the major role China played in contact with this species. The first House humanity
encountered was House Tung Jen, who are focused on exploration. They are closely allied with
humanity, but many members see humans as a means to achieve various ends, including both
increased power in relation to other Houses, and access to faster than light travel. Since contact
between Earth and Qinshui was re-established, House Hsiao Kuo has been working to establish
closer tied with humanity. Hsiao Kuo is focused primarily on invention and commerce, and
members of this House hope to increase their share of trade and technological exchange between
humans and Qin. In contrast, House Kuei is in charge of handling threats to Qinshui and other
Qin worlds. They have battled the few Aberrants who have ventured into Qin space, and contact
with these monsters has made many members of this House virulently anti-human.
Qin Psychic Powers
Unlike humanity, all Qin have psychic powers. All Qin innately possess a Psi of 2 as well as 1
dot in both Rapport and Mindshare. Roughly 80% of Qin are Tier 1 characters who can only
learn up to two dots in each Telepathy Mode and cannot increase their Psi or learn any other
Modes. However, the more psychically skilled Qin are Tier 2 characters that possess somewhat
greater powers. They are able to learn up to 4 dots in each Telepathy Mode, increase their Psi to
4, and learn up to 2 dots in any Biokinesis Modes, and one dot in any Clairsentience Mode and in
the Telekinesis Psychokinesis Mode.
Qin Diplomat in Diplomat Biosuit (Medium Threat)
Near Infrared Questbringer Society Hsiao Kuo (Quest to humans) arrived on Luna three months
ago. They were part of the replacement staff of the Qin embassy, and are one of the few high-
ranking members of the embassy who does not belong to House Tung Jen. Quest is a trade
representative from House Hsiao Kuo, and is eager to expand both trade and technological
exchange between humanity and the Qin. However, they also have no interest in losing the
technological edge the Qin have over humanity in all forms of biotechnology. Quest is a shrewd
but fair bargainer, but also maintains contact with both freelance human spies and several Qin
infiltrators, and has already acquired data on several cutting-edge human technologies via
industrial espionage. So far, Quest likes and respects the humans they have met, but has no
qualms about treating humanity much like members of other Qin Houses, which means tough
negotiation, supplemented by espionage and blackmail. Quest sees absolutely no contradiction
between using these tactics and becoming close friends with humans. They firmly believe that
humanity are the equals of the Qin and deserve to be treated as such.
Primary Pool: 11 (diplomat)
Secondary Pool: 6 (spying)
Desperation Pool: 3

32
Defense: 4
Health: 3
Edges: Ambidextrous, Iron Will, Keen Sense (hearing), Keen Sense (smell), Photographic
Memory 1, Skilled Liar
Psi Trait: 3
Psi Modes: Rapport 3, Mindshare 3, Psychbending 2
Equipment Bonuses: +1 Enhancement
Armor: Diplomat biosuits have built-in armor, with the Complete 3, Hard 1, Soft 1 (included in
Defense), Concealable, & Environmental 1 tags.
Qin Researcher in Diplomat Biosuit (Medium Threat)
Seagreen Deepdiver Mind Tung Jen (Deepdiver to humans) arrived on Luna less than six months
before the sudden departure of Upeo wa Macho stranded the embassy staff in the solar system.
They came to the solar system to study teleportation and soon became one of the most important
researchers for the development of the Leviathan jump ships. Deepdiver was both fascinated and
deeply envious when they learned about interstellar teleportation, and was determined to find a
way to allow the Qin to travel between the stars at similar speeds without humanity’s help. They
have nothing against humanity and have several close human friends. However, they believe that
having to depend on human teleporters and Leviathan jump ships operated by human
Clairsentients makes the Qin subservient to humanity.
Primary Pool: 11 (scientist and technician)
Secondary Pool: 6 (diplomat)
Desperation Pool: 3
Defense: 4
Health: 3
Edges: Ambidextrous, Keen Sense (smell), Lightning Calculator, Ms. Fix-It, Photographic
Memory 2
Psi Trait: 3
Psi Modes: Rapport 2, Mindshare 3, Psycholocation 1
Equipment Bonuses: +1 Enhancement
Armor: Diplomat biosuits have built-in armor, with the Complete 3, Hard 1, Soft 1 (included in
Defense), Concealable, & Environmental 1 tags.
Qin Bodyguard in Warrior Biosuit (Medium Threat)
Grey Violet Flowering Body Tung Jen (Grey to humans) has been in the solar system for more
than a decade. They were initially one of the guards at the Qin embassy on Luna, but when Earth
was cut off from Qinshui, they volunteered to become part of a pilot program where a few Qin
worked closely with the Æon Trinity to fight Aberrants. Since that time, Grey has worked
closely with both The Legions and also with various section of the Æon Trinity’s Proteus
Division. Their loathing of Aberrants is matched by their fond feelings towards many of their
human comrades.

33
Because of their service, Grey knows more about humanity than almost any Qin except those
who have impersonated humans for several years. Their first loyalty is to their own species, but
Grey feels an almost equal loyalty to the women and men they have served with and would be
exceedingly distressed if they ever had to choose between these two groups. They are a strong
advocate for closer ties and greater cooperation between Qin and humans.
Primary Pool: 11 (soldier and bodyguard)
Secondary Pool: 6 (socializing)
Desperation Pool: 3
Defense: 5
Health: 4
Edges: Ambidextrous, Hair Trigger Reflexes, Keen Sense (smell), Iron Will 2, Photographic
Memory 1, Small Unit Tactics, Tough Cookie
Psi Trait: 2
Psi Modes: Rapport 1, Mindshare 1, Psychbending 1
Equipment Bonuses: +1 Enhancement
Built-In Weapons: Qin Warrior Suits come with equivalents to a biotech laser carbine built into
one arm, and a biotech flechette carbine built into the other, both are formatted.
Armor: Warrior biosuits have extensive built-in armor, with the Complete, Hard 2, Soft 2
(included in Defense), & Environmental 2 (radiation) tags.
Qin Spy in Infiltration Biosuit (Medium Threat)
Cerulean Pathmaker Mind Tung Jen likes humans, and enjoys their company, but they don’t
entirely trust them. Most of their job consists of technological espionage, and their cover identity
is Jessica Garcia, a freelance marketing consultant who evaluates the commercial potential of
new technologies. However, they also investigate rumors of Aberrant cults, and individuals or
corporations investigating or using prohibited Nova Age technologies.
Cerulean is somewhat reserved, but is passionate about their interest in new technologies, and
exceedingly skilled at networking. They possess few close friends, but dozens of casual friends
and acquaintances, who would all be shocked to discover Jessica is actually a disguised alien.
Primary Pool: 11 (spying and infiltration)
Secondary Pool: 6 (combat and vehicles)
Desperation Pool: 3
Defense: 5
Health: 4
Edges: Alternate Identity 2, Ambidextrous, Iron Will 2, Keen Sense (smell), Photographic
Memory 1, Skilled Liar, Speed Reading
Psi Trait: 3
Psi Modes: Rapport 2, Mindshare 3, Psychbending 3, Psychocognition 1
Equipment Bonuses: +2 Enhancement

34
Built-In Weapons: Infiltration suits come with equivalents to a formatted biotech poison glove
and a formatted taser glove.
Armor: Infiltration biosuits have built-in armor, with the Complete, Hard 1, Soft 2 (included in
Defense), Environmental 1, & Innocuous tags.
Qin Shuttle
This advanced biotech vehicle is both beautiful and luxurious. It is also a marvel of Qin
technology that surpasses humanity’s understanding. Its gravito-magnetic engines require no
reaction mass, and are nearly silent. In addition, the ship can rapidly heal from almost any injury.
The cockpit holds two Qin, and is separated from the passenger compartment by a deceptively
tough and well-armored door. The passenger compartment can hold up to 12 humans or Qin in
biosuits in comfortable chairs that can morph into small beds for longer journeys. The small
cargo compartment can holding one ton of cargo. Their advanced technology allows Qin
spacecraft to possess up to nine points in tags.
THIS IS A TABLE
Type Size Handling Speed Tags Weaponry
Scale
Qin 2 +2 6/[5] Anti-Theft 1, Armor 2, Laser Cannon
Shuttle Cargo 1, Computer 0,
Hybrid 2, Living 0,
Maneuverable 2, Psi,
Thrusters 2, Weaponry 1

END OF TABLE

35
Chapter 11: Setting Secrets
Without mysteries, life would be very dull indeed. What would be left to strive for
if everything were known?
— Charles de Lint
The following section contains short descriptions of all the secrets and mysteries of the Æon Era.
If you are not a Storyguide planning to run this game, then you might not want to read further.

The Secret History of Humanity

In the early 1920s, the Hammersmith event occurred when a device created by Dr. Sir Calvin
Hammermith exploded. This explosion killed Dr. Hammersmith and released a pulse of energy
that empowered hundreds of Talents, and gifted hundreds of others with low level noetic and
quantum powers. Smaller-scale natural events had occurred in the past, as well as a few localized
experiments or accidents caused by visiting aliens. However, the Hammersmith event was the
first world-wide event that gave powers to people all across the globe. It also gave far more
impressive powers to the three people who were closest to the device when it exploded. Michael
Donighal, who would later be known as Divis Mal, gained an unusual degree of quantum
powers, the mysterious Max Mercer, became an exceptionally powerful Talent who possessed a
limited ability to travel through time, and Dr. Hammersmith’s Indian servant Sara Kaur, who
would eventually be known as Dr. Saraswati Kaur Bhurano, developed unusually powerful
noetic powers. The energies released by this explosion also greatly extended the lifespan’s of all
three individuals.
In the 1920s, Max Mercer created the Æon Society and recruited other inspired people. Over
time, the effects of the Hammersmith event diminished. Eventually, no new people gained
powers, and many inspired had their powers fade as they grew old. However, Mercer maintained
his interest in both inspired individuals and the future.
Several people, including Michael Donighal attempted to recreate the Hammersmith event, but
without success. The process was difficult and much of the initial success was due to chance, but
there was also another more sinister reason. The energies released by the Hammersmith event
traveled far beyond the Earth, and a few alien species noticed it, including a powerful and
ruthless psionic species known as the Doyen. In an attempt to contain the vast potential they saw
in humanity, the Doyen placed an energy barrier around the Earth that limited the effect of any
future empowering events. Through the rest of the 20th century and the first decade of the 21st
century, any similar events produced by natural forces, strange experiments, or visiting aliens
could only affected people within an area no larger than a single large town or small city.
Michael Donighal continued attempting to recreate a version of the Hammersmith event that
specifically enhanced quantum Powers, and in 2018 he succeeded beyond his wildest dreams,
shattering the Doyen energy barrier and creating powerful novas all across the globe. However,
the Nova Age eventually transformed from an era of dreams to one of nightmares. When the
Chinese Ultimatum drove all novas from Earth, Donighal, now known as Divis Mal, left Earth
with the other novas and ventured out into the depths of space to seek a new and hopefully more
successful destiny.
Until the end of the Nova Age, Saraswati Kaur Bhurano worked in the shadows. Moreso than
either Mercer or Donighal, Dr. Bhurano was driven by a burning desire to understand the strange
phenomena that had created both the inspired of the 1920s and the novas of the early 21st
century. She began her studies in private, attending and later working at more than a dozen
universities and research labs from the middle of the 20th century until the end of the 21st, taking
on several different identities, and amassing more knowledge about noetic and quantum powers
than anyone who had ever lived.
Shortly after the beginning of the 22nd century, she had a basic understanding of the phenomena
and decided to act. Seeing the effects of Wycoff’s Blight in the US and the many smaller
Corrupted zones across the globe, she attempted to heal them. Working alone and in secret, in
early 2104 she set off a device that released a huge burst of noetic energy. This energy
eliminated most of the smaller Corrupted zones and significantly reduced the size of the larger
ones, including Wycoff’s Blight and the Venezuelan Plaguelands. However, this noetic event
also had effects that Dr. Bhurano never anticipated. It created many hundreds of new Talents and
psiads, and transformed more than 300,000 people into latent psions. These energies also
traveled far beyond the solar system. They alerted the Doyen that humanity was becoming
increasingly dangerous and also attracted the attention of the hideously powerful Aberrant
known as the Colony, causing it to send dozens of allies and servants to reconquer humanity.
While almost all surviving novas and Aberrants ceased caring about Earth and humanity decades
ago, the Colony is a living cancer that hates humanity and is determined to either destroy
humanity or transform all humans into its twisted servants. When the Colony noticed Dr.
Bhurano’s noetic pulse, it recruited several hundred of the most powerful, insane, and hideously
Corrupted Aberrants, captured more than a thousand low-power Aberrants and used it powers to
warp their bodies and minds, and then transformed the population of a small Nova Age
extrasolar colony into hideous sub-aberrant mutants. The Colony sent these monstrous forces to
attack the solar system.
The Truth About The Proxies
The eight proxies all provided the news media with similar stories about the origin of their
powers. They all spoke of all feeling a wave of noetic power, and gaining an awareness that they
could become far more than that were. Every reasonably educated person on the planet has heard
this story, and while it isn’t entirely a lie, it does leave out considerably amounts of information.
In reality, the Doyen contacted more than a dozen potential proxies, including S.K. Bhurano.
These individuals received telepathic visions of the Aberrants’ impending return and were
informed that they were humanity’s chosen defenders. Some ignored this information and the
Doyen then erased all memory of their offer. Seven individuals accepted and Dr. S.K. Bhurano
was given no choice in the matter. The Doyen could tell that she was developing a previously
unknown form of noetic power on her own, and they wished to use her to study this new power,
later known as Quantakinesis.
Late in 2104, the Doyen transported all of the proxies to the Moon and informed them that their
species was busy dealing with other greater threats, and so the proxies must defend humanity and
recruit other psions to help with this effort. Then, the Doyen performed noetic surgery on the
proxies to allow them to use their latent abilities. This procedure used advanced biotech modeled
on the genetics the Doyen possessed when they had living bodies. These surgeries transformed
the proxies into the most potent psychics ever to exist on Earth, but it also limited them; each
proxy could only use a single psionic Aptitude. The Doyen feared how powerful humanity might
become and wish to make certain that humans can only developed carefully limited powers. The
Doyen then give each proxy a strange container pulsing with subquantum energy — a nascent
Prometheus Chamber. Each chamber performed the same type of noetic surgery on any latent
psion “dunked” in it. Because the Prometheus chambers cannot personalize the noetic surgery in
the same way that the Doyen did for the proxies, psions produced in this fashion must gradually
grow into their power, but were likewise restricted to using a single Aptitude.
In addition to providing the proxies with their powers and Prometheus Chambers, the Doyen also
helped with their first steps to the stars. The first few habitable worlds found by psions were not
random discoveries. The Doyen gave Otha Herzog the coordinates for Far Nyumba, the Crab
Nebula, and Quinshui. Since that time, psions have discovered other planets, either through long
range Clairvoyance or in several cases, using Psychometry on items brought back from colonies
founded during the Nova Age.

The Truth About Rebecca Bue Li

Telepath Proxy Rebecca Bue Li has not been seen in public for more than a year.
The official story is that she had a serious genetic predisposition to cancer which
had made her dangerously ill, but was cured by Dr. Matthew Zweidler and is
currently recuperating. This is at best a half-truth. Several years ago, she
contracted a fatal, degenerative Quantum Flux disease, which has cancer as one of
its symptoms. Like the various other Quantum Flux diseases is beyond the ability
of even vitakinetic aid. Dr. Zweidler has so far, been able to keep Ms Li alive, but
she is slowly but surely dying. She remains conscious and in control of the
Ministry, but does so telepathically, she has not spoken for more than four months
and is currently in a biotech life support pod specially designed by Dr. Zweidler.
His best guess is that proxy Li will die within two to three years, but that her
consciousness might remain active by remaining connected to other telepaths in
her order. Her only hope for a cure is to be treated by a powerful vitakinetic
working with a quantakinetic, since that combination is the only known way to
cure Quantum Flux illnesses. However, since director Li was one of the foremost
proponents of the Chitra Bhanu purge, convincing one of the few surviving
quantakinetics to help her, and then convincing her to accept this help could prove
difficult.

The Secrets of the Doyen

Slightly more than four million years ago, the Doyen were a powerful psychic species that
evolved almost 7,000 light years from Earth. They expanded out into space and settled more than
a dozen colony worlds. They encountered several less advanced species as well as the ruins of
many extinct ones. In time, Doyen scientists learned that many species either destroyed
themselves or were destroyed by another more powerful species. This knowledge terrified the
innately paranoid Doyen. Rather than waiting until their species had evolved sufficiently to allow
them to transcend their flesh and become immortal beings with bodies composed of noetic
energy, the Doyen rushed the process. Fearing that alien attack or some cosmic disaster would
doom their species, they attempted to transform themselves into immortal beings who could
never be killed.
Although the process worked, the results were less than most Doyen had hoped. They no longer
possess physical bodies, but they did not become entities of pure noetic force inhabiting subtle
realms that even the most powerful psions can barely sense. Instead, they became creatures made
of a mixture of charged plasma and noetic force. In this form, they are immune to the ravages of
disease and old age, and can ignore attacks by most weapons. However, they remain vulnerable
to attack by powerful noetic or quantum attacks and also discovered to their horror that the
presence sufficiently powerful quantum energies made them significantly weaker.
Most of the Doyen decided that to safeguard their species, they must prevent any other species
from becoming as powerful as they are. When possible, they gained covert control of species like
the Qin and found ways to prevent them from evolving into beings of greater power. However,
the Doyen fear species with quantum powers, and instead utterly destroy these rare species
whenever they encounter them. Humanity is unique because it possesses the potential for both
quantum and noetic powers. This fascinates some Doyen and horrifies the rest.
One faction of the Doyen wanted to either destroy humanity or find a way to prevent them from
ever becoming powerful, while others hoped to enhance and control humanity’s psionic powers
and to use these powers to destroy the Aberrants and then to act as powerful cats-paws for the
Doyen, interfering in situations that the Doyen found too dangerous. Currently, the Doyen
faction that wishes to “tame” and use humanity is slightly more powerful than the faction that
seeks to wipe humanity out, but the balance of this decision is sufficiently close that it could
easily change.
Doyen Methods & Motives
Despite being practically immortal, the Doyen remain a cowardly species. They always prefer to
act indirectly, convincing others to do their bidding, especially if any risk is involved. When
interacting with humanity, they sometimes communicate via dreams and visions. However,
because many people have at least some understanding of psionic powers, such messages must
be subtle enough to not to cause someone to suspect that a psion is attempting to influence them.
More commonly, the Doyen possess someone in a useful position. In theory, the Doyen could
simply possess powerful Legionnaires and assassinate anyone that threatened their species, but
they rarely act in such a direct and open manner, preferring to work behind the scenes, so that
almost no one suspects their presence.
Sample Doyen Opponent (Major Threat)
Doyen are brilliant but cowardly creatures composed of plasma and noetic force. They can learn
any Psionic Aptitude except Quantakinesis, and can gain up to 5 dots in any of these Aptitudes,
except for one Aptitude (which varies by Doyen), where they can learn up to 7 dots. However,
because they lack physical bodies, almost no Doyen learn Biokinesis.
All Doyen who interact with alien species possess at least 4 dots in Psychbending and 3 dots in
the other two Telepathy Modes. In addition, most possess 4 dots in Translocation, 2 dots in
Telekinesis, and a total of at least 20 dots in all of their Modes. Their Psi ranges from 5-7. The
following Doyen is an average example of the lower ranking individuals who are sent out to
possess and manipulate humans and other aliens. It flees if faced with a threat that could actually
destroy it, but is otherwise overconfident and contemptuous of other species, which it considers
to be lesser life forms.
Proficient Skills: Command, Integrity, Persuasion
Average Skills: Culture, Enigmas, Humanities, Technology
Edges: Iron Will 3, Photographic Memory 2, Skilled Liar
Psi Trait: 5
Psi Modes: Rapport 3, Mindshare 4, Photokinesis 3, Psychbending 4, Psychocognition 1,
Technokinesis 2, Telekinesis 2, Translocation 4
Equipment Bonuses: +2 Enhancement
Condition Levels: 4
Special Abilities: Because they are composed of plasma and noetic force, Doyen are immune to
almost all forms of attack. They can only be affected by Electrical weapons that can inflict the
Stunned Condition. In addition, they can be affected by the following noetic Modes:
Electrokinetic Electromanipulation, Quantakinetic Fundamentals, and all Telepathic and
Teleportation Modes. Finally, they suffer the same vulnerability to Corruption as psions (p. XX)
and can be affected by the Aberrant Quality Life Drain, and the Aberrant Mutations Attack and
Incapacitate. The Aberrant Mutation Direct Corruption instantly kills one of the Doyen.
Also, due to the way they designed the Prometheus Chambers, when a Doyen uses the
Psychbending power Possess on a psion, that Doyen can also use all of the individual’s noetic
powers.
The Doyen & the Chromatics
Humanity recently learned to communicate with the Chromatics, and what they have learned is
very puzzling. The Chromatics are a pre-industrial species who have no understanding of how
any of their technology works. Also, they hate humanity with a deep passion for no obvious
reason. Most researchers studying the Chromatics now believe that they are being used as pawns
by some unknown entity or entities. Many researchers theorize that Aberrants gave the
Chromatics human technology and captured teleporters for them. The truth is somewhat more
complex.
Almost 40 years ago, a group of almost 100 Aberrants known as the Seraphim traveled to the
Chromatic homeworld, known to humans as Chrome Prime. After initial attempts to conquer the
Chromatics failed, the Aberrants were trapped on Chrome Prime when the Chromatics killed
both of the Aberrants capable of creating Warps. Since that time, the Seraphim have engaged in a
continuous low-level war with the Chromatics. Because the Aberrants initially seemed peaceful
and betrayed the Chromatics’ trust for no reason except the desire for conquest, the Chromatics
call them the Corrupters.
Shortly after humans began building Karroo Mining Colony, a group of Doyen who were utterly
opposed to humanity came to the Chromatic homeworld. They posed as gods and used
possession and mind control to assemble a group of fanatically loyal priests, known as
Witnesses. The Chromatics call the Doyen “bodiless ones” or “gods of light”, and many
Chromatics agreed to follow the Witnesses’ commands when the Doyen promised to help them
defeat the Seraphim. The Doyen went on to explain that the Seraphim were merely the vanguard
of a species of lying monstrous beasts. After stealing prototypes of the biotech factories that
manufacture living warships from Orgotek, the Doyen began helping the Chromatics get ready
for war. Convincing one or more Chromatic prisoners that humans are not deceptive beasts could
help break the hold the Doyen have over the Chromatics.

Planetary Data: Chrome Prime

Discovery: 2123 (Æon Trinity)
Distance From Earth: 86,000 light years.
Star: CSGC 4:5112:35:21 – F9
Diameter: 11,300 km
Gravity: 0.88 Earth
Atmosphere: Oxygen & nitrogen with some sulfur compounds (breathable by
humans with filters)
Air Pressure: 0.75 Earth
 Temperature: -50 C to 50 C
Percentage Ocean: 45%
Rotation Period: 26 hours
Native Life: Chromatics, various other flora & fauna

Secret of the Qin

The Qin have been a space-travelling species for almost 14,000 years, longer than most species,
which typically either transcend or are destroyed within 10,000 years of developing space travel.
The Qin possess only modest innate noetic powers, well less than they would need to complete
their psychic evolution into beings of noetic force. However, they are exceptionally skilled
genetic engineers and could easily have managed to greatly enhance their psionic powers.
Instead, for the last 13,000 years, the Qin have been pawns of the Doyen. Doyen possessed and
psychically manipulated Qin leaders and researchers, making certain that the Qin never
discovered the secrets of enhancing their noetic powers. Instead, they managed to make the idea
that the Qin’s powers are inherently limited and cannot be enhanced into one of the founding
principles of modern Qin genetic engineering. In addition to preventing the Qin from becoming a
potential threat, the Doyen use the Qin to explore alien worlds, examining threats the Doyen are
to cowardly and careful to investigate. One isolated Qin colony in another star system also
provides bored Doyen with the chance to experience inhabiting physical bodies. If humans
studying Qin biology discover a method of enhancing Qin psionic powers, they could help
transform the Qin and end the Doyens’ covert control.
The Truth About Bullseye
Bullseye is one of the first planets where humanity has discovered the remains of previously
extinct intelligent life. It’s immediately clear that the inhabitants were killed off in some huge
catastrophe. Currently most researchers believe that this species died in a genocidal war.
However, the truth is both stranger and more troubling. The BEs (short for Bullseye Entities)
were one of the rare species who have the potential to use quantum powers, but unlike humanity
they had no potential to learn noetic powers. When the Doyen encountered them, the BEs had
begun sending a few exploratory missions to other star systems. The Doyen noticed the BEs
because of the distinctive (and irritating to the Doyen) energy signature of their quantum powers.
None of the BEs were as powerful as human novas, but they clearly had the potential to increase
in power. To prevent this, the Doyen destroyed them, sending a series of large comets to impact
Bullseye, and then convincing a now extinct species under their control to destroy the few
remaining cities.
Secrets of the Coalition
More than 60,000 years ago, the Coalition species known as the progenitors were an advanced
species with limited psionic powers. This species excelled in genetic engineering and began to
greatly enhance their innate psionic powers using genetic surgery, aided by increasingly
powerful psionic techniques. Eventually, the majority of this species joined together into one
vast and powerful telepathic group mind that soon vanished from this universe. However, the
final transformation from individual progenitors to a telepathic group mind required several
years, and during this time, a few members of this species viewed the coming transformation
with horror and alarm. Not wishing to lose their individuality, they used genetic surgery to
remove their own psionic gifts and fled from the rest of their species in six vast space arks.
Traveling near the speed of light, their journeys from one star system to another seemed to take
only a few months.
Despite not wanting to lose their individuality, these progenitors envied the power that that the
other members of their species had wielded. They began capturing specimens of other intelligent
species as part of a plan to upgrade themselves, while also allowing them to retain their
individuality. The progenitors also began engineering other aliens as docile slave species. The
Coalition fears species with psionic gifts. They destroy noetically talented species and use their
genetic material to create slave species that lack noetic potential.
The progenitors hoped to eventually find some way to gain impressive powers that did not
involve the use of noetic abilities. However, all the species they encountered either had noetic
powers or no powers at all. All of this changed 74 years ago, the progenitors on the space ark
now heading to Earth captured a single relatively weak Aberrant. For the first time, the
progenitors learned of quantum powers. The progenitors on that vessel were rapidly able to tell
that this being had no noetic powers and that its abilities were antithetical to noetic powers. They
wanted its powers for themselves and their slaves. The progenitors began enhancing members of
several of their slave species to help them understand the nature and effects of these powers. If
these powers prove reliable, they will soon enhance themselves. Not knowing about the Aberrant
War or how powerful some Aberrants can become, they are currently heading for Earth in an
effort to acquire more and greater quantum powers.
The Destiny of Intelligence in the Galaxy
Humans have only just begun to explore the galaxy, but they have already discovered one truth,
life-bearing planets are abundant, but intelligent life is rare. Humanity has discovered a dozen
habitable worlds with complex ecosystems, but only Qinshui and the recently discovered
Chromatic home world gave birth to intelligent life. More importantly, explorers have also
discovered several worlds which seem to have once been home to intelligent life. What humanity
has not yet learned is that few intelligent species survive for more than ten thousand years once
they have begun exploring space and learning to harness their innate powers. Intelligence is
always accompanied by at least some potential for inspired, noetic, quantum powers. Learning to
fully harness these powers can be dangerous, both for the species harnessing them and for other
intelligent species that they encounter.
At any one time, there are no more than a few hundred intelligent species in the entire Milky
Way Galaxy. However, several hundred thousand planets have at one time been home to
intelligent life, and the ruins of these species are surprisingly common. Many species destroy
themselves, others are destroyed by more advanced species and some learn to harness the full
potential of their powers and transform themselves into patterns of sentient energy that transcend
the physical universe and begin a wondrous existence in realms beyond the comprehension of
physical beings. The only alternative is some form of technological and cultural stasis. A few
species are either unable to develop their innate powers or are prevented from doing so by their
own customs or by some external agency. These species can exist in a relatively changeless state
for tens of thousands of even hundreds of thousands of years. Like humanity, the Chromatics are
a young species that is just learning to harness its innate powers. The Qin are a static species
whose psionic potential has been artificially limited by the Doyen, and the Coalition is an ancient
pan-species collective ruled by tyrannical autocrats who care far more about personal power than
transcendental growth.
As humanity continues to explore the galaxy, they will find more worlds that were once home to
intelligent life. Some are shattered or scorched ruins like Bullseye, while other less damaged
worlds may be home to a devastated ecosystem where a few hundred thousand stone age
descendants of an advanced species struggle to survive. The most mysterious are the worlds
where all intelligent life seems to have swiftly and mysteriously vanished.
Noetic vs. Quantum Destinies
The vast majority of species have at least some potential to develop noetic powers like those
used by psions. In time, some combination of psychic evolution and genetic engineering allows
most species that avoid destroying themselves to gain at least a modicum of noetic powers. Many
species that survive gaining powers develop those powers to such a degree that they learn to
transcend the boundaries of their physical bodies. These species then either become beings of
pure thought or a meld themselves into single vast being of pure thought. The Doyen attempted
to become such beings, but were unable to take that final step, becoming instead creatures with
bodies of ionized plasma and have been unwilling to risk attempting to advance beyond that
state.
Many species also possess at least some potential to gain inspired powers, like Talents. For the
vast majority of species, these powers are useful, but not transformative. However, a handful of
species, like humanity, possess the ability to gain vast inspired powers, even greater than those
possessed by Max Mercer. While there is no known method of inspired transcendence, Inspired
probability manipulation can help species survive a variety of potentially deadly threats. All, the
most powerful inspired powers can allow a species to conquer time itself.
There is also a third rarer alternative. A few species instead evolve with no potential for noetic
development, but can learn to harness vast and dangerous quantum powers, like those used by
novas and Aberrants. Many of these species destroy themselves before they learn to properly
harness their powers. Because these species can become so powerful, some are destroyed by
more advanced species, while others explode across the galaxy, conquering or destroying a
dozen or more other species before they destroy themselves or are destroyed by their many
enemies. Those that survive become wondrous creatures that can create their own private
universes or transform the black holes at the center of galaxies into exotic habitats. The extinct
inhabitants of Bullseye were one such species. Humanity is almost unique in possessing the
potential for inspired, noetic, and quantum powers.

The Fate of Humanity

Humanity could be destroyed or it might eventually transcend the universe. The Doyen seek to
channel and direct human development so they remain static, limited and firmly under Doyen
control. However, because of their potential to develop inspired, noetic, and quantum powers,
humanity is potentially far more powerful than the Doyen, and is perhaps one of the most
powerful species the galaxy has ever seen.
If humanity escapes from the Doyen’s control, they still risk destroying themselves. If they
survive, they could all eventually become part of one vast noetic collective, transform into
quantum powered godlings, divide into several entire different powerful species, or perhaps find
a way to unify all three types of powers and become something new and uniquely powerful that
the galaxy has never seen before.
A Possible Future History
The following is what the near future of Trinity Continuum: Æon might be. Specifically, this is
what happens if the characters in your campaign don’t alter the course of history. Any campaign
should focus on the characters, making them pivotal individuals in the setting. If the characters in
your campaign take an interest in a particular area, the events in this location are almost certain
to go very differently than the possible future presented here. However, no team of characters
can be everywhere at once. This future history can help you decide what happens to the problems
and situations that the characters in your campaign aren’t working to solve.
In 2123, there are three obvious and immediate threats to humanity. The Chromatics are
attacking Karroo Mining Colony and just attacked Earth, the Coalition ark is headed for Earth
and the Aberrants have returned. Dealing with these three threats can play a major role in
shaping what humanity becomes.
The Invasion of Chrome Prime
The Æon Trinity has tentatively located the Chromatic homeworld that refer to as Chrome
Prime, and is preparing to invade it. Their goal is to both prevent further Chromatic attacks and
also to rescue the several dozen teleporters imprisoned there. The initial portions of the invasion
proceed in a relatively uneventful fashion, because four Leviathan jump ships fully loaded with
military craft and soldiers can defeat the entire Chromatic fleet. The resulting space battle lasts
several days. There are reverses where human ships must withdraw and regroup. However,
slowly but surely, the human fleet defeats the Chromatic fleet.
Despite possessing superiority in space, much of the invasion takes place on the ground, as teams
of psions search for the well-hidden teleporters and the psionic damper that keeps them from
teleporting away. During this search, the invaders make two crucial discoveries. They learn
about the previous invasion by the Aberrants called the Seraphim and they learn more about the
Doyen and their role in this conflict.
The battle of Chrome Prime kills many humans and Chromatics. The decisive moment comes
when a group of human soldiers work with a group of Chromatics to help kill and drive off a
band of attacking Aberrants who are taking advantage of the invasion to attempt to cause chaos
and kill Chromatics. As the Chromatics and humans begin tentative discussions in the aftermath
of this battle, one of the Doyen appears and urges the Chromatics to attack the humans. When a
Chromatic leader speaks out against the Doyen’s commands, the Doyen becomes angry, kills the
Chromatic leader and teleports away.
This murder sets off a civil war among the Chromatics, with some remaining loyal to the Doyen
and other fighting alongside the humans. This conflict is short, but bloody, and near the end, a
Doyen loyalist kills a third of the captured teleporters before they could be rescued. In the
aftermath of this battle, humanity and the surviving Chromatics begin to make peace. Humanity
has learned a bit more about the Doyen and may have a new ally.
The Coalition Ark
The Æon Trinity sends a jump ship to rescue the disabled jump ship Pandora that made the
second contact with the Coalition ark. The Pandora was able to avoid capture or destruction, but
Coalition fighters have destroyed most of the spacecraft it carried, and almost a quarter of the
crew died during various battled with the Coalition. After saving the crew on the Pandora, the
rescuers teleport into the Coalition ark to rescue almost 20 humans who were trapped there when
hostilities started. They are surprised to discover the humans being aided by a small group of
sasqs and drones who have been resisting the progenitor’s control. These aliens are part of a
small band of servitor species who have recently developed a resistance to the progenitor’s
control.
What no one knows is that these aliens became Talents after casual exposure to the exotic
energies generated by the presence of several Aberrants on the Coalition ark. The rescuers
teleport most of the humans off the ark, but several psions choose to remain on board to help the
rebellious aliens fight the progenitors and to also attempt to sabotage the progenitors program to
incorporate Aberrant powers into their servitor species and eventually into their own bodies.
Because it is moving at nearly light speed, predictions were that the Coalition ark would not
arrive in the solar system for more than a decade. Instead, less than a year after the defeat of the
Chromatics, the Coalition ark appears just outside the orbit of Mars amidst a huge quantum surge
that every psion from Earth to the asteroid belt registers as a vast Aberrant warp.
The ark’s arrival is the signal for a full-scale revolt by the aliens who have been working with the
psions remaining on board the ship. At this point, human warships attack the Coalition ark and
teleporters jump teams of psions and large stocks of weapons on board to aid this revolt. At the
same time, the Coalition ark launches hundreds of fighters at Mars in an attack that destroys
several cities. Also, teams of spinal warriors with Aberrant powers strike at Martian cities and
the attacking human warships, causing heavy casualties.
Shortly after the first attack on Mars, an envoy broadcasts a message demanding the immediate
surrender of Mars and the transport of one tenth of the surviving Martian population onboard the
Coalition ark. The vast ship then fires a massive weapon that disintegrates an entire Martian city,
leaving nothing behind but fragments that swiftly crumble to dust.
All external attacks on the Coalition ark cease, but that battle inside the ark continues.
Eventually, the humans and rebel aliens attach a large fusion bomb next to one of the ark’s
engines. As a last-ditch effort to prevent the destruction of all Martian cities or capture of the
Martian population, they destroy the ark. Almost three thousand alien rebels escape, along with
most of the psions who had aided them, but the blast destroys most of the alien rebels and the
entire rest of the population of the Coalition ark.
The Second Aberrant War
Less than a week after the destruction of the Coalition ark, several of the most powerful known
Aberrants, including the Colony, invade the solar system, accompanied by almost a thousand less
powerful Aberrants and sub-Aberrant mutants. They were drawn by the vast amounts of quantum
energy released during the appearance of the Coalition ark. Fortunately, Otha Herzog predicted
their arrival after the Coalition ark was destroyed, so teleporters were able to transport several of
the most powerful novas from Eden to help defend the solar system.
The attacking Aberrants were joined by several Aberrants who had been hiding in Wycoff’s
Blight, a pair of powerful Aberrants who had previously concealed themselves in the depths of
Olympus Underworld and a group of underwater Aberrants led by an insane and heavily mutated
Felice Taylor. These Aberrants are able to destroy half of Olympus and most of Chicago before
they were defeated. Unlike the battle with the Coalition, where most fighting was concentrated
around the ark, the most powerful Aberrants warp themselves and their allies all across the solar
system, striking one target, vanishing and then attacking another.
Teams of clairsentients and teleporters were able to mostly keep up with these rapid warps, but
can only transport relatively small numbers of combatants. The tide of the battle turns when
almost 50 quantakinetics joined the forces defending the solar system, since they were able to
temporarily reduce the power of the Aberrants. However, almost a dozen Doyen possess various
military leaders in an effort to cause humanity and the Aberrants to destroy or at least greatly
weaken one another, leaving humanity ripe for Doyen conquest.
The combined effort of thousands of psions, Talents, and Nihonjin Superiors, with help from
novas from Eden, and the quantakinetics allow humanity to defeat the Aberrants and also to
detect, and on three occasions destroy, Doyen possessing humans. This victory comes at a very
high cost. Almost a quarter of the habitats orbiting Earth are destroyed and more than 25 million
people are killed, mostly in Chicago and Olympus. This was also a time of loss for the Psi
Orders, since both General Solveig Larssen and Dr. Matthew Zweidler died during the attack.
General Larssen died leading the Fourth Legion into the heart of Olympus, while Dr. Zweidler
died trying to save lives in the ruins of Chicago. The Æon Trinity also suffered heavy losses.
Aberrants destroyed the Æon Trinity’s famous headquarters, known as The Cube, during their
attack on Chicago. Several thousand Æon Trinity personnel were killed when this building
collapsed. However, humanity also learned more about the Doyen, and after the battle ended,
Chitra Bhanu is welcomed back as one of the eight psi orders.
The Doyen Conflict
After humanity wins the Second Aberrant War, the Doyen retreat. Horrified by the fact that
humans managed to kill several of their number, and could potentially kill more, the Doyen hide
from humanity and launch a lengthy guerilla war. The Doyen attack interstellar exploration
teams and small colonies in an effort to attempt to keep humanity from expanding outwards.
They avoided direct confrontation with anything larger than a few hundred relatively unprepared
humans and psions. Over the next century, the Doyen destroy more than a hundred spacecraft
and interstellar exploration teams and almost 20 small colonies and research stations. Eventually
humanity works with the Qin and Chromatics to defeat the Doyen, but that is the story of the
beginning of a new era.
It is important for all Storytellers to remember that the above is only what happens if the
characters in your chronicle do not interfere. If the characters focus their efforts on Aberrants and
the Coalition, then the situation with the Chromatics plays out as described above, but the fate of
the Coalition ark and the events of the Second Aberrant War are almost certain to be very
different. Similarly, if the characters learn about and expose the Doyen, the Doyen could
possibly be defeated before the Second Aberrant War.
Also, the above history is one where humanity triumphs, but at a significant cost. If your
campaign calls for it, feel free to make future events more or less optimistic. Perhaps the arrival
of the Coalition ark or a major Aberrant attack on Earth results in a large meteor striking the
Earth, causing a disaster on the scale of the meteor that made the dinosaurs extinct, creating dust
clouds that block most sunlight for more than a decade and perhaps causing a new ice age. In this
future, the people of Earth must either flee to or depend on their colonies to help them survive.
Always remember that this is your chronicle, feel free to change anything you need to in order to
create the scenarios you wish to run.

Nihonjin Secrets
When a growing number of novas began to go mad in the 2040s, Japan began exiling or secretly
executing any nova displaying erratic behavior and started a crash program to uncover the reason
for their increasing instability. By 2049, tests allowed Nihonjin scientists to discover which
novas were most likely to become dangerously unstable. Since there was no way to prevent or
reverse this growing madness, the Nihonjin government attempted to exile or secretly execute
any nova who failed these tests.
When it closed its borders in 2053, the Nihonjin government allowed more than three dozen sane
and loyal novas to remain. Tests revealed that these novas would not become dangerously
insane, and the government was unwilling to lose the services of more than a dozen brilliant
scientists and engineers or an equal number of powerful protectors. However, the Nihonjin
government publicly removed all other novas and allowed the outside world to think that none
remained in Nippon.
When the Chinese issued their Ultimatum in 2067, 31 novas remained in Nippon. No one outside
of the upper ranks of the Nihonjin government knew they were there, and by this time, their
efforts were essential to retaining the high standard of living of post-Quarantine Nippon. The
decision to retain their novas forced Nippon to remain isolated, because the Nihonjin government
believed that if anyone learned of these novas, Nippon might face orbital bombardment. During
the Quarantine, the most powerful of these Nihonjin novas worked with the handful of other
powerful and sane novas still living in the solar system to create a powerful quantum barrier
around the solar system. They also continually patrolled the vast area near this barrier to make
certain that Aberrants were not able to return and threaten the Earth.
Nippon’s scarce natural resources, combined with the massive influx of refugees before the
Quarantine forced the government to adopt drastic measures to maintain the islands’ standard of
living. Between 2053 and 2075, the Nihonjin government used advanced technologies and
powerful novas to extract most valuable minerals from the landscape and then transformed more
than a third of the surface area of the Nihonjin islands into a single massive arcology. When this
enormous project was complete, the islands’ population of 180,000,000 was housed in comfort
and there was room to easily house an additional 180,000,000 inhabitants.
In 2105, Nippon ended the Quarantine, because the 25 novas still living in Nippon all died in the
last months of 2104. The burst of noetic energy that Dr. S.K. Bhurano unleashed to attempt to
heal various Corrupted areas weakened the quantum barrier around the solar system and attracted
the Colony’s attention. When the Colony’s forces attacked the solar system, the Nihonjin novas
joined the few other novas secretly living in the asteroid belt and attempted to defend the Earth.
However, their numbers were too few and the attackers killed them all.
With their protectors gone and certain that Earth would soon face Aberrant attack, the Nihonjin
government ended their long isolation and began making plans to help coordinate Earth’s
defense. In desperation, they prepared to reveal all they had learned about novas and Aberrants
over the past 52 years as well as revealing the existence of the Nihonjin Superiors. The Nihonjin
government swiftly abandoned all of these plans a few months later when researchers at the
Tokyo Academy of Advanced Studies conclusively proved that noetic biotech was designed by
unknown extraterrestrial entities and partially derived from extraterrestrial genetic material.
The Nihonjin government realized that while psions might protect Earth against the attacking
Aberrants, they could also be the unknowing vanguard of an extraterrestrial invasion. To
guarantee that Nippon remained safe from a possible future sneak attack by alien-controlled
psions, the government scrapped its plans to reveal its secrets. Due to both the perceived risk of
noetic biotech and the potential danger that psions posed, the government banned all noetic
biotech from Nippon and carefully regulated and controlled visits by psions.

Testing and Enhancing Humans

In 2045, Nihonjin researchers working with a trio of hyper-intelligent novas
developed a test to identify individuals who had the potential to become novas.
Unknown to them, this test also detected many of the people who had the
potential to become psions. In 2052, these researchers created a technique that
allowed physicians to permanently remove an individual’s ability to erupt into a
nova. This same process also destroyed any ability for the individual to become a
psion.
The Nihonjin government began secret genetic testing of all citizens in 2053.
These tests are now done when a child first enters school. Initially, they gave
everyone who tested positive an engineered retrovirus known as Kaga-2, which
removed the ability to erupt into a nova. Then, in 2071 nova scientist Kayoko
 Nakamura, discovered a way to safely induce anyone with any of these unusual
genetic markers to become a new type of enhanced human.
Called Superiors, they lacked obvious quantum powers but were significantly
physically and mentally superior to ordinary humans. The Nihonjin government
identified everyone who seemed mentally stable, loyal and had the potential to
develop powers, and used the so-called Nakamura Process on them.
The Nakamura Process fails on approximately one sixth of all subjects, but leaves
these failures enhanced in a manner that Nihonjin researchers find difficult to
define. In actuality, the subjects of these failures become Talents instead of
Superiors. The Nakamura Process has created close to 7,000 Superiors and
Talents who work for the Nihonjin government as scientists, engineers, test pilots,
diplomats, physicians, detectives and special forces soldiers.

Chitra Bhanu
While almost everyone believes that all quantakinetics died in the purge, almost a quarter of the
Order survived, including S.K. Bhurano. She recently succeeded in rebuilding the Order’s
Prometheus Chamber, and for the last six months, has been creating new quantakinetics and
recruiting new members with other Aptitudes.
The True History of Dr. Saraswati Kaur Bhurano & The Quantakinetic
Order
When she set off the noetic beacon that cleansed the Corrupted zones and attracted the Doyen,
Dr. Bhurano also gained considerably psychic power, including becoming one of the few
humans to ever develop Quantakinesis. She also had the potential to develop all of the other
psychic Aptitudes. However, the Doyen were afraid of her. Their noetic surgery enhanced her
Quantakinesis, but prevented her from developing much power with other Aptitudes. However,
their efforts had no effect on her previous powers, including her enhanced longevity and healing.
Fearful of her keen mind and formidable, unfamiliar powers, one of the Doyen possessed her.
Dr. Bhurano has only limited awareness of the eight years between her becoming the
quantakinetic proxy in 2104 and the Chitra Bhanu purge of 2112. The Doyen that possessed her
had access to most of her memories and was able to successfully imitate her behavior. However,
Dr. Bhurano periodically came to consciousness and began planning her escape. Her chance
came in 2112. Quantakinetic research into the limits of noetic manipulation allowed Chitra
Bhanu researchers to cure otherwise incurable Corruption diseases, but these powers also
allowed quantakinetics to seriously impair noetic powers, temporarily enhance quantum powers,
and to even weaken or destroy individual Doyen.
The Doyen were horrified by this development. A combination of telepathic manipulation and
leaking the most dangerous looking portions of this research to the OpNet turned most of the
other proxies against Chitra Bhanu. At this point, the Doyen possessing Dr. Bhurano used its
Telepathy to spread panic among the populace near the clinic and also to inflame the emotions of
the psions who come to investigate. It also used its powers to block the Æon Trinity’s
investigation into Chitra Bhanu.
Shortly before the Legion members arrive at the clinic, the Doyen controlling Dr. Bhurano called
all the quantakinetics in from the field. When the other orders arrived, this Doyen used its
powers to cause the tense meeting to erupt into bloody fighting. More than three quarters of the
quantakinetics died in this conflict. Then, the Doyen possessing Dr. Bhurano set a noetic bomb
to destroy Dr. Bhurano and all of her closest associates. Seconds before this bomb went off, the
Doyen teleported to safety, leaving Dr. Bhurano to die in the explosion. However, Dr. Bhurano
was ready; she used her powers to shield herself and the quantakinetics with her from the blast.
Then, she hid them all with her powers, allowing observers to believe that she and the
quantakinetics with her were dead. When she fled from the ruins, she took with her 18 other
quantakinetics and the core of the quantakinetic Prometheus chamber. Since that time, she
remained hidden. She also worked to locate more than a dozen other surviving quantakinetics.
Most had also used their powers to evade detection. A few others had mysteriously vanished
because Norça operatives had discovered them and secretly brought them to proxy del Fuego.
The other proxies never knew that Dr. Bhurano was possessed by one of the Doyen. However,
after they helped destroy the quantakinetic order, Bolade Atwan, Rebecca Bue Li and Otha
Herzog all suspected that something strange was going on and that they may have made a serious
mistake. Then, Giuseppe del Fuego learned the truth.
Already suspicious of the events of the purge, the reports he heard from the quantakinetics he
helped hide strengthened his suspicions that the psi orders had been manipulating into turning on
their own kind. Proxy del Fuego helped these quantakinetics remain hidden and continued to
question them extensively. He eventually acquired a piece of the quantakinetic Prometheus
chamber and made contact with one of the quantakinetics working with Dr. Bhurano. At this
point, Dr. Bhurano shared her experiences, and they worked together to rebuild the quantakinetic
Prometheus chamber.
Chitra Bhanu Today
S.K. Bhurano is currently proxy of a small but growing Order. Regrowing the quantakinetic
Prometheus chamber required seven years, and was only completed in 2122. Now she was able
to begin secretly recruiting latents and creating new quantakinetics. Currently, Chitra Bhanu has
almost 50 quantakinetics. 21 psions with other Aptitudes also belong to this order. Recruiting
new quantakinetics is difficult. The Aptitude for quantakinesis is quite rare – fewer than 10% of
all latent psions possess it. Also, no one is going to attempt to join a psi order that almost
everyone believes to have been destroyed because it was corrupted by Aberrants.
Instead, S.K. Bhurano has contacts in several clinics that perform latency testing. She and her
assistants personally investigate every individual who displays a sufficiently strong latency.
During this investigation, one of the three Chitra Bhanu telepaths scans the subject to see if they
are likely to be sane and loyal, and at least one clairsentient attempts to examine how the new
recruit would fit into Chitra Bhanu.
Dr. Bhurano personally meets with everyone this rigorous investigation deems suitable. She
recruits anyone who is interested. If the person wishes to join but does not wish to become a
quantakinetic, she sends a message to proxy del Fuego and arranges to get the psion access to
one of the other Prometheus chambers. If someone is scared, angry or simple not interested, Dr.
Bhurano has the telepath who accompanies her erase the individual’s memory of this meeting.
Goals
Dr. Bhurano has two goals — redeem Chitra Bhanu and take revenge on the Doyen. She hates
the Doyen with a burning passion and because she was possessed by one for eight years, Dr.
Bhurano managed to learn a few fragments of knowledge about them. At the moment, Chitra
Bhanu is focusing on research. Proxy Bhurano is certain that at least some of the answers
humanity has discovered about psions, Aberrants and extra-solar worlds are lies perpetrated by
the Doyen. As a result, she is having her people investigate all potential anomalies in the hopes
of discovery inconsistencies that lead to greater knowledge about her enemies as well as a more
accurate understanding of the world. She is interested in both extra-solar planets and anomalies
on Earth.
Special Resources
Chitra Bhanu is small and for now it must remain secret least the surviving quantakinetics be
hunted down. However, while Chitra Bhanu is a secret organization, it is not without allies. A
few trusted members of ISRA and Norça know of their existence, as does a small division of the
Æon Trinity. Quantakinetics can draw upon some of the special resources available to any of
these organizations. Members of Chitra Bhanu cannot gain access to these resources as directly
or rapidly as members of these organizations, but they can use them. Also, at least some of the
agents of Æon’s mysterious Section Minerva know of Chitra Bhanu’s continued existence and
have provided invaluable aid.
Because Chitra Bhanu operates in the shadows, many members make an effort to create personal
connections between themselves and the people they help. Since only quantakinetics can cure
Corruption diseases, there are now hundreds of patients, as well as several dozen physicians, and
a few vitakinetics who know that they benefited from the aid of an ethical and uncorrupted
quantakinetic. As a result, Chitra Bhanu can call upon exceptionally loyal allies from all walks of
life. They can’t ask for a mob, a small army or even a member of a particular profession who
lives in a specific city. However, if a member of Chitra Bhanu requires a house to stay in, the aid
of a skilled computer hacker or even a police officer in the FSA, their network of contacts often
allow them to call in a favor from such an individual. Almost none of these contacts are willing
to risk imprisonment or execution, but they can provide characters with information, and some
may even be willing to risk losing their job to repay the fact that they or someone they love is
alive because of the efforts of a quantakinetic. Finally, one of the Æon Trinity’s Leviathan jump
ships has a crew who know the truth about Chitra Bhanu and are attempting to search for more
information about the Doyen. The crew includes a pair of quantakinetics.
Running A Chitra Bhanu Campaign
As members of a small and highly secret organization with lose connections all over the planet,
characters in Chitra Bhanu campaign are somewhat similar to running a campaign involving the
Lighthouse Keepers (Trinity Corebook, p. XX). Characters in a Chitra Bhanu campaign either
notice some problem that they are best suited to handle, or Dr. Bhurano uncovers something that
they wish the characters to investigate. The two most important elements of a Chitra Bhanu
campaign are that members must act in secret and they are largely on their own.
While they can reach out to a small network of people for information or assistance, unlike
characters in one of the psi orders or the Æon Trinity, they have little ability to call for backup.
This order has less than a hundred members, and most of them are busy with various important
assignments. If characters get in trouble, there may be no one they can turn to for immediate aid,
and if characters find something that looks too big for them to handle, a second team may take
days or even weeks to arrive.
Their secrecy also means that Chitra Bhanu teams cannot openly operate as members of a psi
order. The vast majority pretend to be teams of freelance psions, while some with appropriate
abilities or contacts can create or obtain identification as members of a particular psi order. Upeo
wa Macho is too small, and the Ministry and Norça are too difficult to fake membership in, but
ISRA, the Legions, the Æsculapian Order and Orgotek can all work as temporary cover
identities, as can identities as officials in almost any government except China or Nippon.
However, quantakinetics must either hide their abilities entirely or pretend to be another type of
psion, most often either an electrokinetic or a psychokinetic. Typically, this deception is far safer
to accomplish if the quantakinetic’s team contains an actual electrokinetic or psychokinetic or
the character possesses the appropriate Alternate Modes.
Another important factor in creating a Chitra Bhanu campaign is that most members of Chitra
Bhanu are scientists, scholars, and academics. Solving mysteries and learning the truth about the
universe are common passions among members of this psi order. However, most members are
interested in leading active lives. While other researchers are content to remain in their
laboratories, members of Chitra Bhanu prefer excavating alien ruins, exploring Nova Age
artifacts, or collecting samples of alien life forms.
Using Quantakinetics In Other Campaigns
Some players are going to want to play quantakinetics in campaigns where the characters do not
belong to Chitra Bhanu. Obviously, a quantakinetic cannot join one of the other psi orders, but
there are other options. If the characters are freelance psions, introducing a quantakinetic is easy.
A quantakinetic could become part of a team of freelance psions by initially pretending to be
another type of psion and only revealing the truth once the other characters trusted her.
Another possibility is that the characters work for the Æon Trinity’s Section Minerva. In this
type of campaign, the characters work for someone high up in the organization who understands
at least some of the truth about Chitra Bhanu. This official secretly reached out to the surviving
quantakinetics and asked for one to work with a secret team of psions who are investigating
mysteries and hidden threats. This sort of campaign could be challenging, because the characters
will work on various important missions that have a risk of exposure. Also, any other Æon
Trinity covert operatives the characters may need to work alongside do not know that Aberrants
did not corrupt the quantakinetics. However, the one advantage all quantakinetics possess is that
other psions are certain that they no longer exist.
The Chitra Bhanu Path (Society)
The character is — or was — closely affiliated with Chitra Bhanu, the Quantakinetic Psi Order.
She survived the purge of the Order. She may be on the run, a fugitive who sided with Dr.
Bhurano and who aches for revenge on those who destroyed her Order; or she may want no part
of the conflict that consumed her former comrades. If she is a quantakinetic psion then she is
either a survivor of the quantakinetic purge or became a quantakinetic within the past few
months. She is also very likely to be a scientist or some other type of academic.
Path Concepts
Aberrant Hunter, Interstellar Archeologist, Noetic Scientist, Quantum Flux Researcher
Example Connections: Æon Trinity, Criminal Organization, Fellow Chitra Bhanu Survivor,
Quantum Flux Victim
Skills: Humanities, Integrity, Larceny, Science
Edges: Alternate Identity, Covert, Enhanced Attunement, Enhanced Psi Cloak, Favored Mode,
Hair Trigger Reflexes, Skilled Liar, Superior Trait, Trained Memory
Special Edge: Enhanced Psi Cloak (•)
Prerequisite: Chitra Bhanu, Quantakinetic Aptitude
After years of hiding her nature, your character has developed an incredibly fine level of control
over her Quantakinetic psi cloak ability. She can use psi powers even when her noetic field
appears to be shut down entirely due to her psi cloak, but doing so places a level 2 Complication
on the action; failing to buy off the Complication results in her psi cloak immediately dropping
for the remainder of the Scene.