Created by Captain Michael Turlogh Kane on Aug 16, 2016 @ 4:56pm

PSIONIC SPECIES

There are several Federation species with mental abilities. All of them have adjusted to living in a diverse society where privacy is an important social norm, but that is not to say that the Federation, and Starfleet, does not make use of people born with powers of the mind.

Vulcans are touch telepaths, able to read the minds of other beings they are in physical contact with. They are able to 'mind meld', a kind of consciousness-sharing between individuals that allows them to temporarily see thoughts and memories of others. Repeated melding results in a psychic bond.

Betazoids are naturally empathic, able to sense the emotions of others. They can also communicate with each other telepathically, but tend only to do so in private. Ethical behaviour is important to Betazoids, many of whom make careers in the fields of psychology and mental health.

The Cairn joined the Federation fifty years ago. Their telepathic abilities are so advanced that they have lost the use of their voices to communicate. Cairn project telepathic images to each other to communicate, not words, and had no concept of privacy before making First Contact with the Federation.

The Aenar, a subspecies of Andorians, possess incredible powers of the mind. Although universally blind, the Aenar are able to project themselves into the minds of others, reading their thoughts and emotions at will.

In the last half-century, the Ullians opened their psycho-historical archive on their homeworld. These people use their mind-reading abilities to research the pasts of consenting individuals, forming deeply personal pictures of previous generations.

The Lumerians form psychic bonds with friends and family as a natural part of social interaction. They use this 'pool' of knowledge to draw strength at times when they feel negative emotions, and can dump their fears and worries back into it.

All these species have their own parts to play as members of the wider Federation. Their diversity brings new perspectives and ideas to other member worlds.