Psionics

Psionics refers to the abilities of "quintessently active" individuals to sense or manipulate the world around them via quintessence. Other names it goes by include "The Gift" and "magic," though the latter is widely regarded as a misnomer.

Frequency
It is unclear why some individuals are psionically active and others are not. It is believed to have a heritable component (heritablity ~0.7), though no gene or genes have been identified.

Approximately one in 40 (2.5%) individuals have some level of psionic activity. Women are about 50% more likely than men to possess psionic aptitude (3% for women vs. 2% for men). Elves (3%) are more likely than humans (2.5%) are more likely than orcs (2.25%) are more likely than dwarves (2%) to be psionic. Only about half of those who exhibit psionic aptitude have significant power; the other half are "latent."

Approximately 90% of psionics first exhibit powers during puberty, while about 10% do not exhibit power until adulthood. A trace few (<0.1%) exhibit power before puberty.

Active
Active psionics must be consciously invoked or "cast."

Quasi-Passive
Quasi-passive psionics are normally dormant and are activated subconsciously.

Passive
Passive psionics need not be activated - they are continuously in effect.

Ritual Magic
Ritual magic refers to psionic abilities that must be invoked over a period of time, often requiring reagents, foci, and/or multiple psionicists working in concert.

Students of Pandora
The Students of Pandora were the Terran psionicists who learned to use their skills under Anade DeFrein in the Terrestrial Defense Task Force. They were the first wave of identified psionicists on Earth.