Thaumology & Psyonics, a comparison [OOU]

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Thaumology & Psyonics, a comparison [OOU]

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Personal Introduction:

I used to be leery of magic. I had even less respect for psychic powers, which I considered nothing less than a poor man's "scientific" substitute for magic. But then I came to realise that it's only laziness on the part of the author that makes for the similarity. I've now come to the conclusion that magic and psyonics can be treated as different things in a narrative context, and that I shouldn't let uninspired hacks prevent me from exploring a potentially interesting feature of a fictional universe.

Magic, called thaumology in the Nova Mundi universe (as it is clearly something different from a mundane magician's sleight-of-hand) is basically a system of suspending the known laws of physics, temporarily, introduced into reality by Eldritch Abominations From Beyond, presumably as part of some convoluted scheme older than the Big Bang to conquer our existence and gain what they crave most; solidity, presence, an existence where the laws of entropy don't immediately scatter their bodies and frustrate their agencies. It's not so much that they bear malice or ill-will towards tiny specks of matter like us - indeed, it may be foolish to speculate on their motives beyond a whole lot of Them Out There trying to get In Here. But whatever the rest of Their agenda, it is clear that They don't care much for the consequences whenever one of Them manages to break In Here.

Psyonics is probably the harder one to justify. One idea I've been playing with the notion that intelligence can bend the Threads of reality - this relies on a bit of Nova Mundi cosmology that I'll get round to expositing one of these days, but the basic idea is that all fundamental particles can be modelled as one-dimensional structures (called Threads) winding their way through spacetime. Observation and manipulation of these extended threads allows for the "spooky action-at-a-distance" necessary for psyonic power to function without having psyonicists' brains leaking out of their heads due to principles of kinetic force transfer. If you can pluck the Threads of Reality with your mind, then you can dispense with that nonsense and simply send things flying by subtly tweaking their momentum or whatever. That will have to do until I come up with something better.


Source:

Thaumology has a source external to the user in some manner - the power typically comes from an Eldritch Abomination [must invent a proper name for those things], an invocation of their power, or some entity or object created by one. The practicing thaumologist allows hirself to become a conduit for that power.

Psyonics comes from within - it is the consequence of carefully applied mental discipline and training. External objects and entities can be used to channel and focus psyonic abilities, but cannot bring forth psyonic phenomena unless they have intelligence themselves.


Cost:

Thaumology typically has a heavy cost on both the user and the surrounding environment. As the user is acting as the locus for a considerable magnitude of power, some side-effects are present. The worst of these include monstrous mutations and a complete loss of sanity - it appears that the practice of thaumology is a strain on the mind as well as the body. However, as thaumological techniques are easily learnt by rote, and lend themselves well to improvisation and on-the-fly routines, the training of a thaumologist is less ardous than that of a psyonicist. The cost on the surrounding environment is arguably of greater concern, however - since thaumology can be used to arbitrarily suspend the laws of physics as we understand them, high-intensity thaum use for extended periods of time can cause the walls of reality to wear a little thin, giving more opportunity for horrific monstrosities from beyond the cosmos to break in. Which is probably why you don't see any major starfaring civilisations that use thaumology extensively.


Psyonics has been demonstrated to increase the energy requirements of the being using it, but nothing that eating a little more than usual couldn't cover. The cost of psyonics comes from the patience and dedication required to hone one's psyonic abilities, which for baseline humans can take years just to read the surface thoughts of others or lift a small object. Psyonics can also have a grave social cost if a given civilisation does not handle it with the care it deserves; many a promising species in this universe has collapsed back into the dust because an elite of psyonicists took over and everything stagnated as they held on to their power with a death-grip (stagnation = extinction), or because a conflict between psyonicists and non-psyonicists tore them apart.


Implications:

Thaumological techniques require no intelligence to function, so it's possible that thaumology could be technologically implemented or mediated. Magitek! If you don't mind the heavy bouts of mutation with outbreaks of insanity and a good chance of tentacles everywhere.

On the other hand, some form of reflective intelligence is a requirement for the manifestation of psyonic phenomena, and requires a level of dedication on the part of the practitioner on a level equivalent to a fully-qualified doctor or scientist. For those baseline humans who have never flexed their psyonic muscles before, reaching a useful level of psyonic mastery can take five years or more.

However, despite this psyonics is more "egalitarian" than thaumology. Any person of any intelligence can practice psyonics if they are willing and able to put the effort in, whereas thaumologists have to try to curry favour with extra-universal horrors, bind them to one's will (both extremely risky propositions, bordering on suicidal unless you find a particularly small and weak Eldritch Abomination that's willing to talk in the first place and/or not put up too much of a fight), or failing that find a (rare) artefact or somesuch left lying around by Them (which has its own dangers).


Synthesis?

Taking all the above into consideration, it strikes me that thaumology and psyonics are akin to oil and water - fundamentally incompatible. However, the real world is a messy place, and I would like Nova Mundi to reflect that in some fashion (even if the reflection is in some kind of funhouse mirror). If you know what an emulsion is, then you'll be able to predict where I'm heading; although thaumology and psyonics may be "immiscible", if they are both stirred up together in a sufficient fashion, then they can be apparently mixed, even if only macroscopically. There's no reason, for example, why a hypothetical spacecraft could not have a psyonically-powered FTL drive (with the psyonics being provided by a dedicated self-aware AI or a team of FTL Psyonicists, etc) and say, thaumology-based shielding or sensors.

---

NB. Do tell me what you think of the Out Of Universe [OOU] style. I'm trying to broaden my writing a bit.
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Re: Thaumology & Psyonics, a comparison [OOU]

Post by Magister Militum »

I get a CthulhuTech vibe from how thaumology works; was that your intention with thaumology? It's an interesting system, though psyonics does sound rather convoluted as of right now. The OOU style is fine, though I tend to avoid those styles personally.
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Re: Thaumology & Psyonics, a comparison [OOU]

Post by NoXion »

Magister Militum wrote:I get a CthulhuTech vibe from how thaumology works; was that your intention with thaumology?
I've heard of it, but I'm not otherwise familiar. My intention was to show that even if the precise mechanism is a complete unknown and the outputs highly variable, a scientific approach will still get one more results than a superstitious approach.
It's an interesting system, though psyonics does sound rather convoluted as of right now.
In what way? The supposed mechanism? I was inspired by a layman's understanding of twistor theory, which I first encountered in a book I read during a time when I was trying really hard to try and grok some of the ideas that theoretical physicists play with. I'm almost certainly not even wrong in my understanding and have got the wrong end of the stick completely, but that's why I called them Threads and not twistors.
The OOU style is fine, though I tend to avoid those styles personally.
My general intention with OOU articles is to write down ideas of mine that are not sufficiently formed enough to warrant an in-universe article, so I can grapple with them better and have a point of reference for other articles, OOU or otherwise. When the idea is developed to my satisfaction the plan is to write an in-universe article that's actually worth reading.

Maybe if I start feeling ambitious I'll start writing fluff pieces, vignettes etc. That'll probably deserve it's own thread.
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Re: Thaumology & Psyonics, a comparison [OOU]

Post by Magister Militum »

NoXion wrote:In what way? The supposed mechanism? I was inspired by a layman's understanding of twistor theory, which I first encountered in a book I read during a time when I was trying really hard to try and grok some of the ideas that theoretical physicists play with. I'm almost certainly not even wrong in my understanding and have got the wrong end of the stick completely, but that's why I called them Threads and not twistors.
I guess it's just a matter of lack of context in regards to twistor theory. Once a more complete understanding on threads and threadspace emerges, this should become more clear.
My general intention with OOU articles is to write down ideas of mine that are not sufficiently formed enough to warrant an in-universe article, so I can grapple with them better and have a point of reference for other articles, OOU or otherwise. When the idea is developed to my satisfaction the plan is to write an in-universe article that's actually worth reading.

Maybe if I start feeling ambitious I'll start writing fluff pieces, vignettes etc. That'll probably deserve it's own thread.
Ah, I see. I originally assumed this was a more formal article instead of a rough draft. Personally, I tend to dump brainstorming posts in some sort of idea thread if I want public feedback.
Democratic Socialist | Atheist | Transhumanist | Bright Green Environmentalist | Worldbuilder | IT Professional |


Germania your game is through, now you're gonna answer to... The Freestates! Fuck Yeah! Now lick my balls and suck on my cock! Freestates, Fuck Yeah! Coming in to save the motherfuckin' day! Rock and roll, fuck yeah! Television, fuck yeah! DVDs, fuck yeah! Militums, fuck yeah! - Shroomy
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