Psion (Saga of the Skolian Empire)

Rhon psions, also known as Ruby psions are a fictional group of extremely powerful psions in the Saga of the Skolian Empire by Catherine Asaro.

Psion is a term describing people with empathic and in some cases telepathic abilities. Psions can detect emotions, and even individual thoughts, depending on the strength of the psion and the proximity of those around them. They are also susceptible to the emotional suffering of people who are near them, and can suffer emotional scars from other psions who project their pain naturally. To survive the ongoing emotional attacks, psions are trained to put up barriers around their minds, both to protect themselves from unwelcomed feelings and thoughts and to prevent projecting onto others.

There are several hundred genes that result in psionic abilities. The more such genes a psion possesses, the stronger psionic abilities he/she manifests. However, many of these genes are closely linked to recessives that may lead to severe abnormalities and deformities in any children produced. As a result, the stronger the psion parent, the more likely it is that a child will be either deformed or most often never born, the fetus dying in the early stages of pregnancy. This is why psions are very rare. Their genes are recessive, and survive genetically by producing strong pheromones that draw psions together.

Telepathy and empathy in Asaro's novels are mediated by two microscopic brain structures, the Kyle Afferent Body (KAB) and Kyle Efferent Body (KEB). The KEB works by modulating the wave functions of some of the particles within it in a way that models, on a much smaller scale and with a low degree of precision, the electrochemical patterns (i.e. thoughts and emotions) of the brain surrounding it. The KAB detects such signals from the KEBs of other nearby psions via quantum entanglement, establishing matching patterns. "Parastructures" surrounding the KEB and KAB feed information about a sender's brain activity into the KEB, and interpret the quantum patterns in the KAB back into emotions and thoughts in the receiver.

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