Vision: A Resource for Writers
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Holly Lisle's VisionMagic-like Psychic AbilitiesBy
Jim Mills and Dawn Greenlee
©2001, Jim Mills and Dawn GreenleeIn
collaboration with my good friend, Dawn Greenlee, I have written several SF and
fantasy novels. The Dragons of
the East series (2 books so far, 5 planned) is pure fantasy set in a
modern-day world. The Light is
SF (Jim's work). Secret Psychics,
our current Work In Progress, is mostly science fiction, but with some fantasy
elements. For
the purposes of this discussion, I am going to concentrate on Secret Psychics
and the efforts that went into the background work -- specifically, how we
devised the "rules" for how psychic abilities function. Like
in many works of speculative fiction, Dawn and I started with a "What
if" question. What if the
world we know harbored a secretive race of humans with psychic abilities?
We are not talking about vague premonitions, or even slightly more
demonstrable talents such as John Edwards talking to the dead or Uri Geller
bending spoons. What we wanted were
people who could really do things that could change human society.
Dawn wanted Elves, but I said that Elves had been overworked, let's stick
with human beings. We discussed
different options, and settled on humans from another world, a parallel Earth,
who fled a war and came here through an inter-dimensional Gate of their own
making. With that base, Dawn and I
began to build the background and history for our story, and the rules by which
our magic-like psychic abilities would work. We
started by deciding what we didn't want: mages chanting spells and making arcane
gestures were out. Psychics do
things by concentration and thinking about the things they want to happen.
They don't cast spells; they wield abilities that can achieve spell-like
results, at least to a degree. We
wanted to keep the story at a fairly low power level.
Superman would be way over the top. In
order to document how all of this would work, I turned to Holly and followed her
teachings. On the site are a series
of "How to" articles. One
is "Fantasy Is Not for Sissies -- Real Rules for Real Worlds" and
another: "Worldbuilding -- Rollicking Rules of Ecosystems." All
of Holly's "How to" articles and a lot of other very good information
can be found at the Forward motion web site: http://www.hollylisle.com/fm.
I recommend reading all of them. In
the process of discussing all of this, we came up with the idea that the human
beings on Urta, the alternate Earth, would have certain distinguishing traits that
set them apart from the human beings of our own Earth.
In addition, there would be several races that would have Special
Abilities of their own, although in varying degrees.
The first thing I did was use Holly's guidelines to define the common and
racial traits (this follows Holly's recommended format, but only part of the
outline is presented here. I've
included part of Holly's instructions as well.).
Please keep in mind that these are worldbuilding notes, not a finished
product, and there is some repetition: A: Special physics.
Faster-than-light travel, time travel, magic, extraordinary beasts,
vampires, ghosts, angels, gods, goddesses and other supernatural beings or
phenomena. 1.
In what way does my universe differ from the mundane norm?
(i.e.: use of magic, use of FTL, presence of ghosts, vampires or other
fantastic creatures, etc.) Magic-like psychic abilities exist in the form of
alternate-race humans who have come to this Earth via a cross-dimensional Gate,
fleeing a Shadow War on their own Earth (which they call Urta.
Most worship Gaea, the Earth/Urta Goddess).
Also, they brought with them certain creatures, such as the Sassarra (a
very large, watery creature) and the Urtharra (a very large, earthen creature). 2.
What is the nature of the difference?
How exactly will these differences manifest? Psychic abilities will manifest as
super-human "powers" used by the newcomers and their descendants,
though we will avoid calling them "powers" and refer to them as
abilities instead. These are
usually, but not always, low-level, not-quite-so-dramatic abilities, such as
Fading (invisibility), Healing and Moving (low-level telekinesis). Also, some more dramatic manifestations exist, though
the newcomers, who call themselves "Others" (always capitalized), try
to keep their secrets, such as the Sassarra and the flamboyant Other known as
FireBird. 3.
What are the rules by which the special physics operate? We used the Champion ™ game mechanics, mostly
limited to low-level powers. However,
no mention of the use of game mechanics will be made outside of this document. Some editors don't like it. 4.
What effects will these rules have on culture and story? Note: Others, capitalized,
will refer to the aliens, and certain abilities such as Fading (invisibility)
and Healing will also be capitalized for use in the story to denote the Special
Abilities. The Others first appeared in New Mexico in 1947.
The hot, dry climate was harmful or excessively hard on many of them,
notably the Water Nymphs, and they sought other areas to the north and west.
They made careful contact with the local inhabitants and, over time,
learned English and the American culture. They
quickly learned the differences between human and Other, and that the humans
could be as bigoted as Others, so they learned to be secretive and to hide those
differences. As they slowly worked
their way into human society, the Others learned to hide their distinctive
physical appearances, such as their different ears and cat-like eyes.
For the eyes they developed contact lenses, though these large,
full-cover lenses tend to be irritating to the eyes.
As Others became seemingly ordinary people, they slowly built wealth and
power. The human beast is a curious and competitive
creature, and the presence of illegal aliens did not go unnoticed forever.
Those who know how it started don't talk about it, but certain Others
began to disappear. At first the disappearance were made to appear as tragic
mishaps – house fires or auto accidents that claimed the lives of Others, the
bodies burned beyond recognition or simply missing.
The Others soon grew suspicious as the numbers of dead and missing
mounted. An Elder Seer discovered
the truth – the humans had organized a secret government "Agency" to
find and apprehend what they considered to be illegal and very dangerous aliens.
The Agency had secret hospitals set up, staffed by carefully screened and
selected personnel, who were constantly "made aware" that the Others
were not human beings, but aliens who had come to Earth to invade and conquer
from within – the Agency constantly reinforces this as fact. The truth is that the Others are refugees from a devastating
war. Their descendants, , for the
most part, just want to be allowed to live in peace, raise families and get
along with their neighbors. They
fight only because the Agency has made it necessary. The Agency scientists have studied the Others that they have
captured, and have projected that if the Others were allowed to live and breed
with human beings, eventually natural selection would favor the Others as a more
viable subspecies, and the Others would become the dominant race(s) on Earth.
This could leave human beings as slaves or second-class citizens, and if
unchecked, that could happen very soon. This
is what they fear. There are also those who see opportunity in this situation
and seek to exploit it. Ever since
Others were first detected in the seventies, they have been secretly testing
Others' abilities and performing experiments that make the Nazis seem like
amateurs. 5.
What are the laws of my special physics? The psychic abilities may be categorized. Benders dominate the minds of others and bend them to their
will. Binders are those who, through their psychic ability, can
gather and manipulate matter or energy. For
example, it's said that some Bind fire to their will, others Bind light or
kinetic energy. Binders are
specialists; they can usually affect only one thing. Controllers telepathically control people. Finders are those who can find people or things. Healers are those who can fix the hurts of others. Movers can make things move with the power of their minds.
This is more general than Binders, who can often only move one thing.
Some Movers can wrap light around themselves, called Fading, effectively
making them invisible (but it's hard to 'keep up' for long). Readers read minds or objects. Seers see things that are not there.
Sometimes it's remote viewing, sometimes they see the past or future. Senders send thoughts to others. Shapers change one thing to another. Shifters change their own bodies into a different form. There are those who are truly extraordinary and they are
called Masters. 6.
What is the nature of the people who will use these laws?
How do they differ from regular people? Others always have cat-like eyes and somewhat
noticeably pointy ears. Their
'half-human' offspring, when they mate and breed with Earth human beings, always
have cat-like eyes and somewhat pointy ears, though the ears tend to be more
rounded in those who are half-human. All
are psychic and share a Mind Link or "the Link" as they call it, which
can be turned on or off. In other respects, the Others don't differ from humans all
that much. They know that they
exist and accept that their abilities are real.
They are secretive, mostly out of long years of training and experience. B: Organized terrain.
Everyone needs a map. If
your entire novel takes place inside a single house inside a single day, you
still need the layout of the house – the placement of windows, which side
faces north, where doors, halls and rooms lie in relation to each other. If working in a town, acquire a town map.
If a fantasy world, detail your development process in three map
segments, moving from west to east. C:
Defined inhabitants. Who
lives in your world? Tripod-legged
aliens and telepathic humans? Dragons?
Cute, furry magic-users? This
is not the area where you define the cultures of human beings – if all you
have in your book are humans with no special powers, go to step D. But if you have (main character) ghosts, vampires, aliens, or
fantastical creatures, you need to develop clear definitions of what these folks
are, and what they are not. Don’t
satisfy yourself with saying “Oh, they’re Tolkien elves,” or “Oh,
they’re typical vampires.” Actually
sit down and create the rules by which your creatures work. These are the minimum things you need to define: 1.
Physical form of the Others: Telepathic humans with cat-like eyes that give them
excellent night sight, but also make them distinctly different, as do the pointy
ears. The ears are easily concealed
by long hair. The eyes need special
contact lenses or sunglasses to pass unnoticed. 2.
Advantages and disadvantages of the form Advantage: excellent night sight. Disadvantage: distinctly different eyes and ears, and an
increased vulnerability to iron and steel. 3.
How the creature propagates, or how the condition is passed
on. By breeding, either with Others or with Earth human
beings. In the latter case, the
Other features are always dominant, though the ears are usually more rounded. It is possible for a couple to LifeMate, sort of
psychic marriage. A very deep
LifeMating, called a Soul Bond, actually bonds the two souls to each other,
which can be both good and bad. The
two so bonded can always communicate with each other, even if separated by great
distances or dimensions, and they can usually locate each other.
They also feel a part of each other's pain, although they don't both
suffer identical injuries. Due to the sometimes-capricious nature of LifeMatings,
morals and customs sometimes differ among the Others, a point that causes our
16-year-old heroes some grief when Earth morals say that they are misbehaving. 4.
How the form works. The form is human in all other respects. The night sight is much like a cat's sight, but combines a
human eye for detail with the cat's eye for movement and low-level light
sensitivity. Others can see well in
very dim light, but not in total darkness. 5.
A history of the form. Evolved on another world, an
alternate Earth, the Others sought to flee a devastating world war that they
call the Shadow War because the Shadow Lord, a very powerful Other, instigated a
war of worldwide conquest. Seers
sought out a world to which their master-Shaper could make a Gate, a world with
biologically compatible human beings. They
fled through the Gate and the greatest Shaper who had ever lived stayed behind
to be sure that the Gate was destroyed and that the Shadow Lord could not follow
them. They know that the Shaper
planned to have her LifeMate kill her to protect those who fled. D.
A uniform method of counting time on Urta (some Elders may refer to it). E.
Defined cultures: rich/poor, literate/illiterate, north/south, east/west,
mountain/valley, etc. The people, as they call themselves, are the only intelligent
life forms on Urta. They are
culturally divided along ability lines, rather than ethnic or geographic lines.
Long ages of psychic power usage, which was a conscious decision made
many, many Turnings (years) ago, have made the people different compared to
Earth people. The DNA of their
offspring does not always follow the DNA of the parents.
Some Elders have argued, and it is an old debate, that by altering their
brains and minds, the people have violated natural evolution. Others have argued that it merely has sent evolution in new
and interesting directions. The
Change, as it was called, was implemented by scientists, and at the will of the
people of one land. It was meant to
allow the people to manipulate matter and energy with their minds, and it did do
that, but there were unforeseen side effects.
The races of the people had been divided much as those on Earth –
Black, Red, White and Yellow – and the racial and family traits held true, for
the most part. But with the
Changing, everything changed. White
people started giving birth to Black, Black to Yellow, Yellow to Red, and all
manner of combinations. Very
confusing in the early Turnings after the Changing, after a few tens of turnings
it became accepted as the norm. In
time, those that had psychic abilities became dominant on Urta, and non-psychic
human beings were of very small numbers. In addition to racial changes, the psychic abilities gained
were not uniform. Abilities
differed between individuals. In
time, these abilities were recognized as falling into several categories.
First, there were the common abilities that almost everyone had: night
sight, telepathy and a sensory awareness of those in close proximity.
The uncommon abilities fell into five categories that correspond to the
five "elements" – earth, air, fire, water and life.
Each grouping had common abilities, though not all individuals were so
blessed by Gaea. The Dao or Earth Spirits' abilities center on the earth.
Some can walk through and breathe earth and stone as if it were air.
A few can animate earth and stone. The Sprites or Air Spirits can often become one with the wind
(Fade, Fly, Desolid). The Salamanders or Fire Spirits usually generate and/or
manipulate fire in some way. The Nymphs or Water Spirits usually breathe water and swim
well. Some have gills and others
breathe the water in and out of their lungs (the exact biology of how this works
is one of the things the Agency strives to learn).
Some have extraordinarily long, webbed fingers and toes. The Fauns or Life Spirits are the rarest, and most unusual of
the Other races, and also the most varied.
They include those who LifeBond to plants or animals, those who can alter
their bodies to become something other than human, etc. Culture A: The People, also known as the Others on Earth. Subculture 1: The Dao or Earth Spirits, usually of dark skin. Subculture 2: The Sprites or Air Spirits, usually of yellow
skin. Subculture 3: The Salamanders or Fire Spirits, usually of
reddish skin. Subculture 4: The Nymphs or Water Spirits, usually of fair
skin. Subculture 4: The Fauns or Life Spirits, who may be of any
skin color. F:
Spoken and written languages. G.
Consistent (or explicable) technology. *
* * * * We have also made similar
documentation for the other animal-like races that appear in the book, such as
the Sassarra (a very large, watery creature) and the Urtharra (a very large,
earthen creature) that I mentioned earlier.
Maps, definitions of how the Others measured time on Urta, and other
similar details have all been documented. Much
of it will not make it into the book(s), but it serves to enrich the story.
I have left them out of this article in the interest of brevity. I hope that sharing this example --
how Dawn and I used Holly's system of world building to establish
"rules" for our book Secret Psychics -- will help you to better
plan your stories and give them greater depth. Good luck – and keep writing! -- Jim Mills (Jim@HollyLisle.com)
and Dawn Greenlee (MoonRyu@aol.com)
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