A subtradition of the Sons of Ether and the NWO
The parapsychologists are a large group of mages that subscribes to the existence of psychic potential in all people. They believe magic is but various uses of the power of the human mind. They also think that psychic power is quantifiable, and can be examined scientifically. Unfortunately, their membership is split between the Sons of Ether and the New World Order, leaving them in a precarious position.
History: Parapsychologists (or psychics) trace their history back to ancient philosophers, but the first real appearance of the group was in the late 1700's, before the Sons of Ether split from the Technocracy. Most point to Anton Mesmer as the founder, or at least inspiration for their tradition. The parapsychologists were an attempt to quantify mysticism, and reduce it to scientific levels of reproducibility. Always a marginal group, psychic ideas were forever on a provisional basic, still in the "experimental" stages.
When the Sons of Ether split off from the Technocracy, the psychics lingered. The ether was not an idea dear to them, and they still held out the hope that their theories would be added to the paradigm. Still, the Sons were closer in philosophy to the parapsychologists than any other group in the Technocracy, and many fruitful experiments had been carried out with their cooperation. Some of the psychics wanted freedom from the restrictive practices of the Technocracy, while others feared the retaliation of the increasingly autocratic Technocrats.
The psychics could not choose, and, more out of indecisiveness than anything else, both remained in the Technocracy, and continued their contacts with the Sons of Ether. Within the Technocracy, they were heavily courted by the NWO, who wanted these powerful Mind Mages under their control. With the NWO backing, their continued association with the Sons was tolerated, since, at the time, the Sons were thought to be too frivolous to be a serious threat to the Technocracy.
Through the end of the 19th century, and the first half of the 20th, this situation continued. The Technocracy allowed minor introductions of the psychic paradigm amongst the populace. The general feeling was that, if nothing else, it would undermine Sleeper belief in traditional magick. Political infighting prevented psionics from being added fully to the paradigm, and the psychics were limited to localized experiments.
Their association with the Sons of Ether was become more problematic, however. Despite all expectations, the Sons did not die out for lack of organization, and were, in fact, becoming a serious threat. Etherite ideas were somehow slipping into the scientific community, often disrupting the Technocrats carefully calibrated time tables. Other troublesome groups within the Technocracy, such as the Virtual Adepts, used the favored parapsychologist interaction with the Sons as an excuse to maintain such contacts of their own.
The issue came to a head when the Virtual Adepts violently seceded from the Technocrats in the 1940's, causing a great deal of damage in this process. Technocratic retribution was swift and merciless, and parapsychologists feared a more general purge. The NWO laid down the law: no more contact with the Sons of Ether. To placate the powerful psychics, mental powers were at last added to the Technocratic time table. Major universities began to added parapsychology departments, and more resources were shifted into psychic experimentation, especially amongst NWO controlled intelligence agencies.
Unfortunately, the parapsychologists were more tangled up with the Sons than the Technocracy realized. Never very politically astute, the psychics never saw a problem with joint research, and had made a regular practice of working with the flexible Etherites for their more radical studies. Some of their less orthodox members thought of themselves more as Etherites than as Technomancers, including some of the groups younger and more promising minds.
After the crack down, the parapsychologists tried to toe the line, but were unwilling to completely give up on the Sons. This would ultimately be their downfall. No one quite knows where he came from, but in the 1970's a young Israeli psychic named Uri Geller suddenly hit the scene, first in Europe, then in America. He was probably a psychic associate of the Sons of Ether. His displays of power won him immense popularity with the public, and he soon became a household name. He toured the country, appearing on television, giving demonstrations.
The parapsychologists saw Geller as a clarion call, to finally give psionics full acceptance in the Sleeper community. The rest of the Technocracy, however, was outraged at his pop-psychology and lack of restraint. If psionics were to be introduced into the paradigm, it would have to be in a limited, controlled way, and Geller was anything but that. The Technocrats finally set several of their magic-debunkers on Geller to discredit him. When this had little effect, they began a massive smear campaign to ruin his reputation. When he fell from the public eye, they captured Geller himself, and reprogrammed him.
The Technocracy went further, striking psionics from the time table, and closing most of the parapsychology departments and research centers in the universities. They discredited psionics and parapsychology researchers. The "damage" was extensive, however, and the Technocrats were unable to fully eliminate the idea of psychic power from the public. The psychics themselves were put on probationary status, and carefully monitored. The Syndicate and Iteration X advocated a purge but the NWO (which now included some highly placed parapsychologists) found the Mind Mages too useful, and protected them from destruction.
Some of parapsychologists slipped quietly away, using Mind magick to erase the memory of their existence. They joined their brethren amongst the Sons of Ether, helping establish a vast network of palm-readers, psychic consultants, and (more recently) phone-lines. This helps both to hide these parapsychologists from the Pogrom, and keep the idea of psionics fresh in the minds of the Sleepers.
The parapsychologists that stayed in the Technocracy are in a very precarious position. The NWO supports them, but most other Technocrats think of them as potential traitors. They are constantly watched, and live in fear that the actions of their brethren amongst the Traditions will trigger a purge. They hang on, though, lured by the possibility that the NWO will reverse its decision and reintroduce psionics into the paradigm. This, more than anything, is what they desire.
Philosophy: The human mind has vast potentials unknown to modern man. Such minor powers as the placebo effect in medicine are only the tiniest hint of what is possible. Vigorous scientific investigations of these possibilities is the only reasonable course. When this potential is fully understood, and can be tapped at will, a peace will descend on the world that has never been seen before.
Organization: The parapsychologists outside the Technocracy use the loose contacts of the Sons of Ether, including the magazine Paradigma. Within the Technocracy, the psychics are subject to the rigid scientific hierarchies of the Conventions, hampered by the suspicion they bear.
Meetings: Parapsychologists follow the meeting structure of the organization they are in, either the Sons of Ether, or the Technocracy.
Initiation: Parapsychologists are constantly testing individuals for psychic potential. Most have none, a few have limited power, and a rare set of individuals are capable of magick. These individuals are put through further batteries of "tests", using equipment and psionics to awaken their Avatar. After awakening, the Initiate is given training in their power, and taught the procedures of experimental science.
Chantry: The parapsychologists had their most important Chantry in Russia, where psychic powers have a wide acceptance, but the recent chaos in that country had made contact problematic. Another important Chantry is the Rhine Institute in Durham, NC (once associated with Duke University), now known as the Foundation for Research on the Nature of Man.
Acolytes: Psychic telephone operators, new agers, college students
Spheres: Their long association with the NWO means the psychics have adopted the sphere of Mind as their primary concentration. They are often talented with Forces (for telekinesis), Time (for precognition) and Correspondence (for clairvoyance and astral sight). They tend to shy away from Entropy and Spirit. Their use of the sphere of Forces is exceptional. For parapsychologists, kinetic energy is a minor force, accessible at Forces 2 and 3. Electro-magnetic energy is a major force, only available at Forces 4 and 5.
Foci: Unlike most Technomancers, the psychics despise Foci. As a matter of fact, their primary sphere, Mind, requires no Foci at all. Most parapsychologist will have no more spheres than their Arete, so they will not need to use Foci. Those that have more spheres than this are forced to use various pieces of equipment like Psychic Enhancer Helmets and Psionic Wave Detectors. Paradoxically, many of their Rotes do involve equipment, such as Kirlian photography for detecting and examining auras.
Concepts: psychic advisor to the stars, parapsychology researcher, CIA or KGB psionic spy
Quote: "Hmm, I'm receiving a lot of negative emotions from this room. The presence of so much counteracting energy makes it very difficult to work my powers properly." "I sense hostility, captain."
Sons of Ether: These people understand the need to explore beyond the limits of accepted science. They are our closest brothers. Some of them can be pretty loopy, however.
(Good fellows, their research is solid and their ideas well founded. They do tend to be a bit too grounded in standard science for my taste, at least outside the realm of psionics.)
Virtual Adepts: Heinous traitors. These fools have no idea how much suffering and death their antics have caused.
(Some of them are Sons, others Technocrats. Trust one, kill the other. They're tough to tell apart sometimes, though. When in doubt, shoot the ones in lab coats).
Other Traditions: Anachronisms. They refuse to move with the times.
(More than any other group in the Sons, these mages are dangerously close to the Technocracy. There are even rumors that some of them are still members.)
The New World Order: Our only friend in the Technocracy. They will eventual allow us to move forward into the mainstream.
(Useful pawns. The carrot of scientific acceptance keeps them in line. Be careful though, some of them are quite powerful.)
Other Technomancers: Why do they distrust us so?
(It is only a matter of time before they go the way of the Virtual Adepts. We should destroy them now, before it's too late.)