Psi Corps/telepaths

[markpud]

If telepaths were to somehow evolve on earth in the near-future, do you think we would employ a psi-corps type of service, with all telepaths forced to register and be trained by the corps (or have their abilities forcibly suppressed), or could "normals" and telepaths live in harmony and peace?

I'm sensing some parallels with X-Men and the issues of humans and mutants co-existing, but try to keep it B5-related!

 

[Rowan]

IMHO...

I think things would end up that way if for no other reason that to keep humanitys inate paranoia of things different under control. As a sepcies, we tend to be terrified of things different than us.

Rowan

 

[Lorien1]

I would imagine telepaths would be treated the same way as in B5.They would be treated with suspition,and no doubt some orginisation would want to explote them.Colin.<*>.

 

[markpud]

I'd have to agree. I'd love to imagine a "Star Trek" universe where Earth is a peaceful paradise and humans, aliens, telepaths etc live together in peace, but I think the B5 universe is much closer to what reality may be like.

I wonder how much power the telepaths could get though? There are some very powerful telepaths in the psi-corps, and it isn't clear who's in overall control of the corps. Presumably someone in earth-gov or the military command, but presumably a "normal" human or council of "normals".. They must have some way of controlling the telepaths abilities otherwise surely a telepath could use his or her skills to blackmail/extort their way into a presidency..... Or is that just exactly the kind of paranoia that would lead to a psi-corps style of system to control telepaths?!?!