Background

[Starlight]

The world in which this plot takes place has a very complex set-up—which shouldn't surprise those of you who know me. So I'm dedicating this thread to explaining the world I've created, and where our story begins.

[Starlight]

Setting: Our story begins in the year 2021, in the fictional city of Arrowhead, California. (Apparently there's a real Arrowhead, CA, but I like the name so it's now a fictional place somewhere else.) The city is in Southern California, approximately 100 miles east of the coast.

Generic Background Info: About eight years ago, scientists and governments around the world began confirming that psychic powers, the object of movies and stories, was in fact a reality. The recognition was due in part to the increasing number of psychic-users being born, with increasingly greater powers. All this means that the psychic-users of the world have finally lost their protective screen of fiction and secrecy. The general populace are frightened by the concept of people with psychic powers, of course. What they don't know is that the American government has been aware of psychics for years previously, and had been secretly researching psychic powers for years. Now that psychics are no longer a story, some of their research is published publicly, but the topic is still largely top-secret.

How Psychic Powers Come About: No one has proven how certain people come to have psychic powers, but the most common theory is genetics, that there is some extra gene or mutation of genes that causes them. (Which doesn't sound at all like X-Men...) Basically, a person has their power from birth, but it usually lies dormant for a while. The power usually awakens as a process of growth, particularly during puberty, though sometimes the awakening occurs earlier or later. Basically, it's different for each person. On rare occasions, the power awakens early due to a traumatic experience. In these cases, the power is highly unstable for a short time.

Levels of Psychic Power: Only about one in every 150 people have a psychic power. Those who do have psychic powers are divided into five levels. Level one is the weakest, and by fare the most common. These make up for approximately 58% of the psychic population. Level two is a little stronger, and it makes up about 28%. Level three is about 10%, and level four is about 3%. Finally, level five, the strongest level, is less than 1% of the psychic population. Psychic levels are measured by a machine. The machine reads how much psychic energy a person emits, determining if they have a psychic power and what level that power is. However, it can't tell you what power a person actually has. The machine can measure energy levels 1-4, and level five is any power greater than what the machine can read.

Psychic-Users in Everyday Life: The test (a reading by the aforementioned machine) is the beginning of everything. Many psychics don't even realize they have powers until they take the test. This test can be administered upon request at nearly any hospital if a child or adult is beginning to show signs of psychic powers. However, since most powers come about in childhood, the government requires every school district to administer the test to each of its students every 3-5 years. Each state kind of cycles through districts, so that only three districts are administering the test at any time. This saves on costs.

If a student or adult is discovered to have a power, the information goes into their government files. Then they must take the test at least once every two years, since their psychic level can change over time. Some grow stronger, some grow weaker, some just don't change, and a few will disappear altogether as the child grows.

Most schools (and some workplaces) won't allow psychic children to attend unless they are wearing limiters. Limiters are machines that neutralize psychic energy. They are usually disguised as jewelry, such as rings, earrings, watches, bracelets, hair accessories, and necklaces. The limiters must be on and visible on school campus. They are also often worn in public places, though this is not a law so much as politeness. Most agree (psychic and ordinary) that it is a decent compromise. However, the limiters can only neutralize the powers of level three psychic-users and under. It only reduces the power of higher level psychics. Thus most level fours are sent to special psychic boarding schools, paid for by the government. However, some less stable level fours and all level fives are sent to special psychic research facilities, where they are under observation in controlled environments. And this is where our story takes place.

[Starlight]

Categories of Psychic Powers
The following is based on real Parapsychology, with embellishments made by me.

Psychokinesis (interchangeably known as Telekinesis)
This is a very small category, since it literally only includes psycho/telekinesis, or the ability to move objects with your mind or willpower. I’ve broadened it to include all your physical-based powers. Examples:
• Telekinesis
• Teleportation
• Force Fields
• Flying

I didn’t come up with a fancy name for the last two, but you get the gist of it. Most of your normal superhero stuff fits in here.

Clairvoyance
Supernatural sight. The ability to see what others can’t, because of distance, time, or, hey, there’s a wall in the way! This was already a very broad category, so I didn’t really need to expand much at all. Examples:
• Clairvoyant (present, distance irrelevant)
• Precognition (future)
• Postcognition (not a real word, but seeing the past)
• Medium (spirit world)
• Auras (the ability to see others’ auras. Don’t know if it has a name. Usually based on color, tells of the person’s personality and/or mood.)

Basically, the ability to see/sense something you shouldn't be able to see. Tarot cards and crystal balls are still a myth.

Telepathy
Consists mostly of mind-reading and mental communication. Basically, the person can read mental waves, and sometimes return them. Examples:
• Mind-Reading (one-way telepathy, being able to read a person’s thoughts)
• Telepathy (direct communication from mind to mind)
• Psychometry (being able to tell the past of an object through touch. Also, can read the minds of people through touch, much more in-depth than a mind-reader)


So you guys can add to or twist these powers however you want. Creativity is encouraged.

[Starlight]

So now that you've got the background, on to our story.

Our plot takes place at a psychic research facility in the fictional city of Arrowhead, California. The facility is specially equipped to handle level fives, so all the level fives found in the United States are sent to live there. The occurrence of level fives is a new phenomenon, even to the relatively new study of psychic power, and only the most recent generations have produced any level fives at all. Thus, the research facility consists mostly of teenagers, and maybe a few younger children. The psychic-users may leave the facility after they turn eighteen, if the scientists have declared their power stable. Many powers of this level aren't stable, though.

Obviously, the level five psychic-using teenagers are the center of this plot. However, you are only allowed to have a maximum of two level five psychic characters in this roleplay. You can also create scientists, who will sometimes have psychic powers level three and under, or other side characters in the plot. You dont' have to if you dont' want to, though, as I will be making a list of NPC characters, or side characters that can be roleplayed by anyone until or unless claimed by a roleplayer.

So, we have a bunch of powerful, teenage psychics cooped up in a research facility. Now you're probably wondering what we're actually going to do with these characters. Before I tell you, I want you to know that I came up with this plot waaaaaay before Alphas came out. That said, the plot is this: the research facility is requested by the FBI, a request backed by the president, to start pulling their own weight by helping to solve psychic-related crimes. I'm in charge of developing these scenarios, but I will also make a thread for everyone to throw out their own ideas if they come up with something. Anyway, as they start getting used to their crime-fighting tasks, they uncover a secret organization of psychics who, displeased by the way psychics are treated and discriminated against, wish to take over the world to "better the lives of fellow psychic-users." I realize this is incredibly X-Men-ish, but I swear I came up with this before I saw any of the movies (which I did for the first time just a few weeks ago). I actually stole it from a manga... *shifty eyes* Anyway, the point is, I think it'll be fun to roleplay, despite the lack of originality.

So that's the plot. Our story will begin with the introduction of a new level five psychic-user to the research facility, so I want to have most of the character profiles created before we begin. Also, I would like to sum up some of the possible ways your character may have come to be at the research facility.

1) Your character used to be under level four, but his or her power grew between tests.
2) Your character has only just taken the test for the first time since their powers awakened.
3) Your character has avoided taking the test until now by moving from school to school (whether on purpose or just by chance)
4) Your character was not discovered by taking the test, but because they lost control of their power or were sighted using their powers. Then they took the test. XD

[Starlight]

Okay, I'm done now! Thank you very, very much for taking the time to actually read all this through. <3

[Starlight]

This roleplay is now accepting character profiles.

[Starlight]

An Inside View of the Facility:

Okay, I’m gonna start in a familiar place—school. They do not attend school, because they’re too strong for limiters. Instead, they get tutors (which will be more NPC characters or characters you all can create). They each work with the tutors privately or in small groups of similar ages. “Classes” are scheduled differently each week, but generally happen between 8:30 am and 3:00 pm Monday through Friday, similar to a regular school. They also have something like a P.E. class, because the scientists are all health nuts when it comes to their subjects. They have to participate in some kind of physical activity for at least thirty minutes each day. Swimming, running, and occasionally a sports game, in which all the kids must participate. However, later on, I’m planning a kind of comic relief roleplay where they finally manage the scientists to let them attend school as a social experiment. From then on, they’ll attend real, public schools, unless they misbehave in school. If they do, they have to work with the tutors for a week or so, depending on how severe the misbehavior was.

Now, the part you’re all probably curious about, the scientists. For starters, they each have a weekly check-up, just like visiting the doctor, to make sure they’re healthy. They also non-radiation brain scan (a futuristic technology, since this is technically the future), that more or less makes sure their heads are working right, since psychic powers originate from and are controlled by the mind. They must also cooperate with the scientists in their experiments. Trying to use their powers in new ways, seeing how much they can do with their powers, just being told to use their power while hooked up to a machine measuring their vitals or brain waves, that sort of thing. This isn’t exactly a daily occurrence, though, more in the range of once a week to once a month.

They’re allowed to do more or less whatever they want with their free time, so long as they stay in the gym or the residential section of the facility. They have a kitchen, where they can help themselves to whatever’s in the fridge or the pantry. It’s staffed by cooks, who make three square meals a day. There’s a living room, complete with a futuristic TV that takes up half a wall (and it’s not a small room) and displays in 3D (no cheesy glasses required). There’s also plenty of videogames, many comfy seats, and several bookshelves. And then, of course, there we have their rooms. Boys on one side of the hall, girls on another. Each gets their own fairly large bedroom and is allowed to decorate however they want. All the bedrooms have a small walk-in closet (Cassie’s idea, when they were remodeling years ago). At the end of the hall are the communal bathrooms (separated by gender, of course), each with two toilet stalls, two shower stalls, and three sinks. They are well-kept by the janitorial staff. None of the rooms have windows, but there’s also a small courtyard in the middle of the facility, with a grassy area for running, a swing set, and a flower garden where they can go at any time. (However, as it’s a courtyard, it’s surrounded by the facility on all four sides).

As an innovative research facility, the scientists get a lot of funding, and they use a good portion of it to keep their subjects cooperative and happy. Each of them gets a $500 monthly allowance, used to buy clothes, shoes, hygienic products (like shampoo), room décor, and whatever else they want or need. These are usually purchased via the internet, though can also be bought on their monthly “field trip” day, where they get to go places like the park or the mall or the beach. Sometimes it’s more than once a month, if Cassie gets a good bit of blackmail.

…Phew! Any other questions?

[Lightfur]

Would it be okay if Enid pitches/pitched a fit and gets/got the scientists to allow her and Gaerwn to share a room? Because she would probably refuse to let him stay by himself in a strange facility. And if the scientists said no, would it be okay if she slept in Gaerwn's room or vice versa? Are sleepovers allowed?

[Nightpaw]

Ok, cool. that makes the image of the place easier to see.

[Starlight]

Good question. I think they'd want Gaerwn to have his own room, for when he gets older, but for now they'd allow him to sleep with his sister if that's what they want. They're strict, but they also want everyone to be comfortable.

[Nightpaw]

I like how it sounds and looks all nice and stuff, but there is some dark understory to this facility, kinda thing. Or not, it is government stuff, after all.

I like the idea of a new person or group of people coming in for a practice rp, and am exited to get started.

[Starlight]

Well, it's a real rp, introducing the characters, but it's also kind of practice before we really get into the plot. But it's real. *realizes she's going in a paradoxical circle* ...

[Nightpaw]

In other words, yes, it is part of the plot, but it is just us practicing and getting used to it, I get it. ^_^

[Starlight]

'Kay, thanks. ^^;

[Starlight]

Oh, and another thing: Visitation. I'm gonna say that they get to go back home to see their parents about one weekend every three or so months, if they're cleared to leave the facility and they have a family to return to.