Psionic

Psionic abilities within the Original Series are understood but not often utilized by most human denizens of the Twelve Colonies of Man.

Abilities

Telekinesis

Commander Adama trained in the use of telekinesis at the Colonial Military Institute, bending silverware much to the annoyance of his wife, Ila ^{(TOS: "War of the Gods, Part II")}.

Telepathy

Telepathic communication, otherwise known as mind reading, is also known to the Colonials. Following the exodus from the Colonies, the human survivors happen across Count Iblis, who uses his power to acquire information and reinforce his will upon those who freely give themselves to him.

As part of the Colonial Military Institute training, Adama is briefly able to fend off Iblis' mental probing by filling his head with thoughts ^{(TOS: "War of the Gods, Part II")}.

Tie-in Material Information

• According to Encyclopedia Galactica (a non-canonical piece of merchandise published in 1979):

Adama was born to one of the oldest, most distinguished burtician (sic) families in the Colony of Caprica; his line is said to extend to one of the Houses of the Lords of Kobol themselves, although some scholars dismiss this as mere legend. It is clear, however, that one of Adama's ancestors was a founder of the Academy, and thus from early childhood Adama was under intense pressure to prepare for the competitive examinations in admission to the Academy. His success seemed assured, but on the eve of the test, the young Adama fled to a remote retreat on Gemon. There, under the tutelage of a mystic seer, he devoted several yahren to intense scrutiny of the Books of the Lords of Kobol, hoping to unlock some new, hidden meaning from the cryptic texts. The reasons for his return to Caprica and the Academy are unclear. Could it have been the command of the Books, at last deciphered, or was it the discovery that there was no meaning to be found?

After his return to the Academy, Adama combined his studies of the occult with advances on the frontiers of science. He led a top secret attempt to harness the mental powers of telekinesis (influencing the motion of matter using the direct power of the mind) and telepathy (mind-reading) for military purposes. Although the study produced nothing of immediate usefulness, it did demonstrate a huge untapped potential in the human brain that to this day remains to be fully exploited.

Separate Continuity

Psionics in Humans

Psionics can either be a naturally-developed characteristic or one activated by extreme outside stimuli. In extreme cases, psionics can be used to impress ideas or beliefs in others, and can also affect machinery ^{(Comics: Classic Battlestar Galactica Vol. 2 #10)}.

For naturally-developed psionics, such as Countess Sephoni of Scorpion, is able to command respect in her colony. Sephoni survives the Cylon attack aboard the ambassadorial ship Taurella and, using her power, is able to follow—but never catching up—for the better part of ten yahren ^{(Comics: Battlestar Galactica: Death of Apollo #1 — 2)}.

For those unnaturally developed, such as Galactica's engineer Xam who is struck by void lightning generated by an unnamed storm zone, the resulting strike elevates him to a delta-class telepath: provisioning the ability to project ideas and beliefs into the minds of others, including non-organic life such as the Cylons ^{(Comics: Classic Battlestar Galactica Vol. 2 #7 — 11)}.

Despite demonstrable results, psionics are a hotly debated subject, with some ferociously disbelieving in the power and the efficacy of divination ^{(Comics: Battlestar Galactica: Death of Apollo #1)}.

Disadvantages

A deleterious effect to psionic use, particularly in extreme circumstances, leads to mental damage of the user. In Xam's case, use of his psionic powers to fool the Cylons during the Battle of the Storm Zone results in a persistent coma that lasts for seven yahren (^{(Comics: Classic Battlestar Galactica Vol. 2 #11, Battlestar Galactica: Death of Apollo #1)}.

Also disadvantageous is the Cylons' mastery of psionics: Sephoni is tricked by the Cylons into believing that she has divined the location of the fabled Thirteenth Colony, as the Cylons are able to generate their own robotic form of sympathetic psionic communication ^{(Comics: Battlestar Galactica: Death of Apollo #1)}.

Sympathetic Communication

In 7358, Xam is able to divine Sephoni's presence and communicate her grid reference via a touch-tablet, thus reuniting Taurella and its survivors with the Fleet. Further, despite being disconnected from the outside world by standard means, he is able to communicate Apollo's survival—and, later, his death—via divination ^{(Comics: Battlestar Galactica: Death of Apollo #2, Battlestar Galactica: Death of Apollo #4)}.

Starbuck later solicits Sephoni into reading Xam, confirming that the message regarding Apollo's survival is genuine and not machine generated. She notes that the divinations have a purity to them and are not as stilted as the Cylon psionic machinations ^{(Comics: Battlestar Galactica: Death of Apollo #4)}.

Technology

Sephoni is able to use her psionics to secure access codes and other information from the Cylons' network ^{(Comics: Battlestar Galactica: Death of Apollo #4 — 5)}.

References

 

Subjects: Classic Battlestar Galactica Vol. 2Subjects: Battlestar Galactica: Death of Apollo