Baron, I. A New Taxonomy of Extrahumanity.

This is an abridged, ‘plainer language’ copy of the groundbreaking paper from 1999, published by Dr. Ignatius Baron in the journal Extrahuman Sciences.

Introduction & Background

Through many decades treating patients at my Clinic for Extrahuman Conditions, I have seen brief glimpses of the Extra Layer, through the abilities which my patients have kindly shared with me. This paper provides a new model for labeling the Extra Layer’s varied and diverse effects on human biology, and a guide to the treatment of each category.

The most popular model to date has been Theodore’s Optical Spectrum (TOS), first elucidated in 1969. This divided extrahuman conditions into eight distinct categories based on the colour of the light or glow emitted when an extrahuman subject uses their power. While not all powers actually show an obvious glow, this theory aligned well with previous pseudo-scientific theories about human aura, and was swallowed quite happily by the scientific community, as extrahuman studies was at the time much younger and less mature than mainstream science.

Also, while the colour of the extrahuman power could often be a helpful hint in determining its nature, there were still individual variations in the colour of light emitted by powers. So, while TOS continues to be used as an indicator of power type, it can be dangerous and even deadly when used uncritically by inexperienced clinicians to determine suitable treatment pathways (see for example Luna, 1995; Wallace and Cardona, 1997). Most extrahuman specialists will now spend longer with the patient to take their individual case into account, before deciding on a treatment plan.

The continued popularity of TOS is attributable to the fact that while specific powers can be limitless, some mechanisms behind powers are shared and consistent between users, and this has often been correlated with the power’s associated colour. For example, most power-users who utilise a channelling instrument such as a knife, wand, or staff have a green aura surrounding their instrument (Peters et al., 1987). Rather than throwing out TOS entirely, it may simply need adjusting to avoid relying on surface, correlative evidence, and instead address the underlying mechanics of each extrahuman condition.

The key is to work alongside extrahumans, not apart from them, as they are the best placed to understand the Extra Layer and how their own abilities work. However, this is contingent on the consent of the extrahuman, and so research in this area has been slow. I am fortunate that this article has been assisted by a clinic user who has agreed to be named O.W., who is able to see into the Extra Layer for extended periods.

O.W. is a 22-year-old, male ex-medical student who is now a regular outpatient at my clinic. While initially admitted to a conventional psychiatric ward with, apparently, acute catatonia, the characteristic grey-green glow in his eyes matched previous accounts of extrahumans who have access to the Extra Layer. Hence, he was transferred to our clinic for treatment. With the consent of O.W.’s parents, I explored several means of contacting him, drawing from the previous examples helpfully provided by Macaulay (1972) and Larsen (1983), where the clinician doses themselves with (legally prescribed) psychedelic drugs in order to temporarily access the Extra Layer and communicate with the extrahuman subject, whose mind is trapped there. While an unorthodox measure, in the field of extrahuman studies it is often necessary to treat the clinician before the patient. I matched the dosing schedule of these previous examples, and was able to make limited and broken contact with O.W. after six attempts.

Even while drugged, my own perception of the Extra Layer was extremely indistinct, in terms of how it differed from our ‘mundane world’. However, it became clear that O.W. could see the Extra Layer more distinctly, describing it as a realm of bright lights and indistinguishable entities which would sometimes speak to him. O.W. told me that he was unsure where he was, and he did not know who he had been before his present existence. I was able to lead him gently out of his stupor by telling him he was in a dream from which he must awaken, which brought him back to his body.

After a few months of rehabilitation and education regarding his condition and how to control it, he was able to return to his medical course, although he ultimately suspended his studies due to stress. He has continued to see me privately for several months.

O.W. was initially resistant to return to the Extra Layer, but agreed, as we determined together that it was necessary to complete his recovery, to show he was capable of entering and exiting it at will. Through this process, O.W. was able to confirm the following:

• Extrahuman conditions are a human survival response. When the body or mind is stretched beyond its limit, the human organism will reach into the Extra Layer and attempt to build a defence from its energy.

• There are eight different types of power offered by the Extra Layer. For the most part, the eight-colour theory offered by TOS holds fast to these types, except that the precise colour of a power is also determinable by individual factors and should not be used as grounds for diagnosis.

• The eight power sources are best understood as a range of potential which is already contained within the human body.

• The eight power sources do not determine the precise power of a given extrahuman. For example, the ability to fly, shoot bullets from your hands or talk to animals are not exclusive to a single power source. Rather, the eight extrahuman conditions determine how they access that power and how it manifests physically in their body. Due to the medical complications that can arise from power usage, getting the condition right is crucially important.

Using O.W.’s insights, I have developed a name for each power source (according to O.W., the actual names are not possible for people to process or pronounce who are not deeply embedded in the Extra Layer), as well as a summary of what we currently know about each. I have fleshed out each description with my decades of case knowledge and active work in the field, and have spent some months exploring the categories while treating patients to confirm the plausibility of this ‘eight power source’ theory.

Marrow

O.W.’s own condition originates from the power source Marrow. Most of our knowledge about the Extra Layer comes from Marrow users who are able to access additional layers of perception.

Marrow-based conditions are notable for their entirely mental presentation. When in use, the body becomes entirely immobile, while powers occur entirely through a form of mental or ‘spiritual’ projection. For example, one extrahuman with the hallmarks of a Marrow-based condition was able to cause explosions thousands of miles away just by travelling mentally to the desired location (Wong et al., 1993). The projection of a Marrow user can travel just about anywhere in the world, and sometimes even to other times or dimensions. The only indicator of the power is a slight glow in the eyes, usually grey-green in colour, which brightens as the ability is honed.

It has been known for extrahumans with this condition to starve to death, as they have been unable to return to their unattended bodies. They do not appear to remember anything their body sensed while they were gone, so it is easy for the novice Marrow user to neglect their needs. Marrow-based abilities require a combined intervention: constant supervision of the body, and training in controlled usage if contact can be made with the user’s brain.

Cruor

Cruor-based conditions are identifiable by the distortions of the user’s body beyond physical limit, when extrahuman abilities are accessed. Many Cruor users are capable of extreme, elastic-like flexibility, and they may also have detachable but still controllable limbs.

Cruor extrahumans report that their powers are at first extremely painful for them to utilise, but that this pain alleviates over time as the body becomes more distorted, acclimatising to its new form. It can take a long time for the body to return to its original form, which can only occur when the power is not used. This process of reversal is actually even more painful for the user, compared with regularly discharging the power, which keeps the body flexible and fluid.

The World Institute for the Study of Extrahumans has banned the study of extrahumans ceasing the usage of their powers, as it is considered inhumanely painful and unnecessary. However, on the basis of this system, this legislation could perhaps be adjusted to only ban this type of study with confirmed Cruor users, as the other seven power sources do not have this side effect as a result of cessation.

Ganglia

Ganglia-based conditions are difficult to detect. The majority of detected cases of Ganglia involve sensory or mental-based powers, such as superhuman senses or the ability to control the thoughts of others. However, they can often be indicated by a subtle golden glow around the extrahuman, and can be explicitly confirmed when the power of the extrahuman is permanent and impossible to disable.

Because of the subtlety of signs of Ganglia usage, some Ganglia users have been institutionalised without anyone knowing their powers are real. Ganglia users are sometimes even prescribed antipsychotics, but these have not provided any clinical benefit to extrahumans in clinical trials unless they already had a confirmed mental health condition which includes psychotic symptoms. Training in extrahuman conditions should be required for psychiatric staff on non-specialist clinics, to prevent this type of misunderstanding.

Treatment for Ganglia users tends to be psychological, based in techniques for distress tolerance and meditation/mindfulness to help them cope with the immense amount of sensory input caused by their unstoppable power. (If the Ganglia user has been erroneously committed, institutions which favour talking interventions over medication may inadvertently treat the Ganglia user, but will be unsuccessful if they focus on dispelling the so-called ‘delusion’ or claiming it is not real.)

Relocation can also be helpful for the Ganglia user to enable them to live a more peaceful life. Some have reported that remote environments can be more peaceful if their powers relate to other humans, while some Ganglia-using urban dwellers have been able to move to another city in a foreign country, so long as they don’t become fluent in that country’s native language.

Cyan

The power source of Cyan provides extremely potent abilities (typically far beyond the other power sources) which are available only for short periods of time. This usage must be regulated by the user, so that their power is only used in very short bursts. Otherwise, the user may find themselves without access to their power for months or even years at a time, and may also experience physical fatigue during their recovery. The primary challenge in management is educating the user on how to avoid exhausting themselves as a result of their power usage. Cyan users can frequently find themselves in a vicious cycle in which they are anxious about being unable to use their power again, and so use it as much as possible upon its return. This only prolongs the time until the next resurfacing of their power, and means they never get a chance to use it to its full potential.

Mort

Mort-based conditions have the subtlest of all the power sources, as the powers involved are passively activated and based on small, incremental changes. It is often difficult to tell whether Mort powers are as such, or if they are the result of mundane human behavioural changes (such as working out at the gym). Mort comes into play when the ability or proficiency is accelerated or exaggerated far beyond that of an average human’s. Possibly the most famous example of Mort usage is Paragon, a.k.a. Kent Maddison, the leader of the superhero team Perfect Cadence. He has described discovering his power after a traumatic injury, while undergoing physiotherapy. He discovered that even small amounts of exercise resulted in rapid healing and a disproportionate increase in muscle mass, allowing him to complete his course of physical therapy in record time (interview with Fontana, 1990).

Mort powers may involve a specific trigger from the extrahuman’s behaviour — in Paragon’s case, a minimal amount of resistance training — or they may simply work in the background, unprompted. But they have diminishing returns over time, and so have an effective ‘upper limit’ in terms of how powerful their users can get. They are arguably the simplest to treat, as they do not pose many complications that originate specifically from the power source.

Lucidum

Lucidum-based conditions always involve the complete transformation of the extrahuman’s physiology to accommodate their power. Powers from Lucidum are exercised through direct tactile contact with the extrahuman’s body. Not all Lucidum-based conditions require maintenance, but dependent on the specific power, some may require special care. For example, Lucidum users with blood-based powers may require regular blood transfusions, while those with plant-based powers may require continual access to UV light and water, but find they no longer require food.

Shapeshifting powers are also quite common with Lucidum; in these cases the Lucidum user will take both another entity’s form along with their weaknesses and strengths. Shifting abilities are ‘permanent’ in the sense that the body’s memory of its original form is lost when the shift occurs. This carries the risk that the user is unable to return exactly to their original form. Lucidum shapeshifters should be encouraged to keep a continual memory or photographic reference for their original form, in order to avoid them being unable to return to that form.

Other than this, the primary risk for treating Lucidum-based conditions is misunderstanding the requirements of the power. Treatment becomes simpler after this understanding has been achieved.

Choler

Choler-based conditions are typically easier to identify than others, but they are among the most difficult to control. They are incredibly powerful, but are the only powers which are entirely contingent on the user’s emotional state, and so are extremely risky to utilise without proper emotional regulation. This is because if the user feels they cannot control their powers, their powers will become even harder to control.

Several interventions can help mitigate Choler-based conditions. Choler users are generally best in groups with strong camaraderie, as they can help to collectively regulate the emotions of the Choler extrahuman. Some may find themselves in a symbiotic relationship with other extrahumans with emotion or mind control-based powers. However, this is not recommended as the sole treatment, since this guarantees that the Choler user cannot live independently. Better treatments may involve extensive therapy around emotional literacy and regulation, particularly if delivered by other Choler users, to help affirm that they too can control their powers with enough practice and therapy.

Gauss

Gauss as a power source is shared between the extrahuman’s body and one or more external conduits. Conduits can include accessories, weapons, and even animals and other people. The more that a Gauss user channels their power through a specific object, the more that they will become reliant on that object to use their power. If an object is lost or destroyed, they will have to wait to recover their power and channel it into a new object. Gauss powers cannot be used to their full potential without a conduit — it is often good practice to have channelled power into several possible conduits, even if this does mean a minor reduction in full power (the most energy-taxing action is initially forming the relationship with the target object). It has been noted that some objects work better than others, dependent on the power and temperament of the Gauss user. It may be advisable to select an item with sentimental value, over one with none.

Discussions & Conclusions

While this paper provides considerable insight into the types of power that extrahumans can draw from, it is still unclear as to why different humans access different power sources. It is also unclear why it appears to be impossible for a single human to draw from multiple power sources.

My paper demonstrates that the extrahuman condition is largely defined by the great stress placed on the body by drawing from these power sources. It would be helpful for the extrahuman to be able to choose or dampen their access to their power, but no technologies are advanced enough to do this for them, as our understanding of the Extra Layer remains quite limited. Since our prisons and psychiatric hospitals are overrun with residents who are there in relation to extrahuman incidents, it seems particularly key to address this sooner rather than later. Targeting a specific power source may be the best solution for these types of interventions.