Telekinesis - A Few Questions

[erisiamk]

Hi all. I've been planning a book for a while, although I haven't gotten to writing it yet. One big reason for this is that I'm not quite sure how to handle telekinesis, which is almost certainly going to be a huge influence on the setting of the world, plot events, character arcs, etc. So basically I've got a few questions about how you guys have handled it (or would handle it) in your works.

1. Would telekinesis be out of place in an otherwise science-fiction based world? I'm aware that movies like Star Wars and the recent Looper have done this, but movies have more of a luxury to get away with the details than books from what I've found. I just don't want it to seem out of place in a world that otherwise (more-or-less) obeys physical laws. I've come up with a pretty good scientific-sounding justification for telekinesis and its applications, but I'm not sure if just sounding reasonable without deep analysis into the ultimately-false physics is good enough. Will people find the fictional universe to be unbelievable if telekinesis was included in a non-magical setting? Or should I just embrace the fantasy elements and write a different style of book?
2. Would it be possible for telekinesis to evolve as an intrinsic ability like sight or hearing? And if so, would it still allow for alien life to evolve into somewhat humanoid forms without completely dominating basic biology? I'm imagining an evolutionary line for my aliens that basically uses telekinetic techniques for passive benefits at first (improving hydro/aerodynamics in fish/birds, remotely heating/destroying harmful bacteria and similar organisms, etc) before culminating in things like more specific particle and object manipulation once the aliens reach a primate/humanoid stage. Is there a good way to ensure that they wouldn't just become floating balloons that use telekinesis for everything? Or should I just include those as well?
3. If telekinesis allowed its users to remotely sense and manipulate atomic particles, I'm thinking that given enough time and capacity, a telekinesis user would be able to track electron signals being fired through neurons in a brain. So would this effectively allow for telepathy between organisms of the same species once telekinesis evolves far enough, or would individual brain chemistry vary too much for this to be a (somewhat) realistic possibility? To use telekinesis for such a precise purpose, I would intend for it to be used at close range only, and not for long before the user's overwhelmed.

I'm really interested to hear what answers the fiction community has to these problems. Telekinesis is an important concept in the fictional universe I'm planning, and I've always been a bigger fan of science-fiction than fantasy, so I hope that I can include it in a way that doesn't make it too out of place.

 

[BetaWolf]

I think that it depends on what you're willing to define, and what kind of world you're creating. If everything follows currently understood science to the letter except for telekinesis, then it might be harder to pull off. Magnetism could explain some things I suppose. In a public setting, some things could be rigged to look like telekinesis.

As for aliens, you can come up with a set of rules that need to be internally consistent. Star Wars presents telekinesis as being effective no matter the size of the object being moved, but I think that some kind of limit should exist. Think of psychic energy as a limited quantity maybe.

 

[Dream Walker]

I think to go with London Forces over magnetism. London Forces deal with inter atomic particulate forces, being that every thing in the universe is connected at the sub-atomic level.

That would give you a pretty fair reason for manipulating matter at a distance.

By the way, you might have a look-see at the Anne McCaffery line, Lyons, starting with 'Get of the Unicorn'
She cover psi abilities in it fairly thoroughly.

 

[thaddeus6th]

On the evolutionary question: if this fits you could simply make telekinesis very tiring. So, it's far easier to use a few sticks to spit-roast a deer over a campfire than it is to mentally levitate and rotate the carcass.

Or, you could require it to have some serious concentration, so you can't do it straight away. That way, it's simply easier to open a door with hands than think it open.

Incidentally, that could be a very handy power for surgeons to have. Or for two persons to use in a private setting. Ahem.

 

[BetaWolf]

For the purposes of plot, I would agree with thaddeus on both points. Tiring and needing concentration. Maybe overdoing can have some bad consequences, starting with a migraine and getting worse if you push yourself--ending in a nasty brain bleed?

I tried to write a telekinetic character once. He was self-trained but rather potent. He concentrated on the object of his hatred long enough that he snapped the fellow's brain stem. In that world, telepathic powers were very rare and so were often concealed.

Now, what would you use these powers for, once you decide what their limits should be? Do you start a tornado, ever so slowly over the course of two days by sitting perfectly still while twisting air currents together? I wouldn't use it for mundane things, except to impress someone attractive of course. I also wouldn't dwell too long on explanations, no offense for those who delight in such things.

My little unnatural terror manipulates matter in odd ways, but I don't explain too much. I'm not a quantum physicist and I don't like reading long explanations so I don't tend to write them. The kid levitates when he's happy and starts violent storms when he's not. That's enough for me!

 

[erisiamk]

Well, I'm pretty sure that the aliens are going to have a two-caste system based on their telekinetic abilities. 99% of the aliens can only really use telekinesis for small things, like warming the air around them in cold environments, correcting their position slightly in mid-air jumps, and relatively low profile things like that. It would be something intrinsic that they'd learn through maturity. However, the 1% have far more access to telekinetic abilities, and can do things like levitate, superheat materials to melting/boiling point, even manipulating ions in the air around them to create electrical discharges. Some of the climax events involve some pretty big displays, like using a massive electromagnetic pulse to shut down a bunch of ships, and summoning a massive hurricane to protect a city from invaders.

In the novel, I want to place more focus on how the telekinesis affects the society it's involved in rather than the hard science. I'm more interested in its effects on the characters, their dilemmas, and the fictional universe than its causes. The point of view stays with the humans, exploring this strange world and trying to negotiate a peace with the aliens after a somewhat botched first-contact event.

Given the sort of things that I want to use telekinesis for, maybe I should shift the story into a more fantasy orientated direction? There'd be the humans who use more conventional weapons and things, and the "aliens" (possibly just another race at this point) who use the magic ability to sense and manipulate particles. Maybe the aliens evolved to use magic somehow? I really like the sci-fi feel of the universe I have in my head atm, with the humans having a small spaceship, mostly conventional weapons and hi-tech stealth suits, but I imagine the alien culture to be more similar to Greek, but with the addition of being able to magically power certain automata, such as kinetic energy weapons, electricty for big cities, and flight/rapid transit infrastructure.

I'll post my current semi-sciency explanation below, so that people can see where I'm coming from more clearly.

• Spasons are sub-atomic particles that have interdimensional counterparts. A spason's energy is linked to that of its counterparts; as one's energy level increases, the others decrease. Spasons are normally inert and intangible unless stimulated consciously. Other dimensions tend to have a lot of available energy.
• Alien life develops to manipulate spasons and re-distribute their energy to their dimension, allowing them to sense atoms outside of their body, increase their kinetic energy, and other things.
• Physical constraints: Aluminium-oxide must be used as a transit medium; energy from the other dimensions can only be channeled into spasons in an aluminium oxide structure; this stored energy can then be re-directed into other atoms.
• Too much energy channeling will simply melt the aluminium oxide crystal structure out of the molecular arrangement required and prevent further channeling, not to mention severely burning the connecting tissue of the user.
• Conscious effort is required to influence the spasons in particles, more focus is required for more energy-intensive actions. For reference, an alien may be able to re-direct a bullet telekinetically, but only if it had prepared and was focused on moving the required air particles and altering pressure to re-direct (more likely than being able to focus on the fast moving bullet)
• The 1% have the ability to utilise the spason-energy-transfer more efficiently, making more efficient use of the aluminium oxide structure, allowing for higher output levels without the drawbacks experienced by the 99% being as severe.[/hide]

It sounds sciency, but doesn't hold up too well under close scrutiny. Is this sort of thing good enough? The main human characters have no idea how it works, and most of the aliens actually believe it to be magic regardless of whether it is or it isn't.

 

[chrispenycate]

Psi powers (hm, there doesn't seem to be a psi on this keyboard, despite having most of the Greek alphabet) have a long and respected history in SF, even if they do tend to be a way to legitimise magic. As long as laws of physics are maintained (eg action and reaction, you can't pick up a car and fling it aside with your brain (let's not go into the mind/brain dichotomy in this thread, OK?); the force would drive your medulla into your pelvis, and the excess heat would boil you ready for serving up with vegetables.

Probably an organism evolving with this ability would put the brain near the centre of mass, both for cooling and mechanical support, and the head would be sensory organs and teeth.

But if you can only move small objects, say anything you can lift with one hand, the parallel development of manipulative organs would be beneficial. Certainly as a brachiator I wouldn't want to swing from branch to branch under the force of my (easily distracted) mentality. Possibly less focus would be put on delicate manipulation and opposable thumbs, and locomotion would be the primary function (isn't it of our limbs?)

ESP is not an essential corollary to telekinesis. Certainly, some kind of feedback is convenient, otherwise you're just a poltergeist phenomenon, flinging anything that will move around at random. And you need to know how much energy you're dispensing (though I suspect fatigue products would tell you this pretty quickly). So, even if you could manipulate down to a molecular level (and this is not obvious) nothing guarantees you could sense the state of particles at that level, unless there were another specific mechanism for this; if you blow air out of your lungs (molecular manipulation at a very crude level) only a small region of your anatomy will tell you you've been eating garlic (and this evolved independently, and much earlier. Before garlic, in fact; it must have known it was coming).

Then, even if you can detect the activation of neurons, and analyse the pattern, nothing guarantees that anyone else's symbolic structure is close enough to yours that decoding them into thoughts is even conceivable. Without going into the successive improbabilities of cross species and cross phyla communication.

Finally, how does it work? Oh, not the technical details, the overall structure. If it's essentially electromagnetic, it's going to drop of as- well, possibly not as fast as the square of the distance, as it's directional, but pretty fast with distance. No bursting the hydraulic brake fluid pipe from a block away. If it's manipulating the statistical chance of an event happening then basically all changes to be done at a microscopic level with macroscopic results (and you definitely need to evolve those manipulating organs). If it's changes in a universal spiritual field permeating all matter – what prevents you from switching on the nuclear missiles on the other side of the planet, if you can feel the key mechanisms? (Possibly a lack of the concept "lock". Would an organism that could "feel" through solid matter ever develop the idea of a barrier? Or perhaps solid matter would confuse the sense enough that no clear reading was possible {although in this case your telepathy bit is answered; the cranium would prevent precision reading} but then why don't air molecules interfere?

Just a couple of ideas.

I'm afraid I'm a very slow typist, so hadn't seen your latest reply when I posted. It probably renders numerous of my comments irrelevant. I will look over it, and possibly post an update later.

 

[erisiamk]

You're right; telepathy through telekinesis would be extremely unlikely given individual variation within a species, not even mentioning cross-species telepathy. And I also agree in that telekinetic abilities would evolve to aid in typical manipulation through limbs and other body parts, rather than completely supplanting them. Ie the whole fish that can move water around them more effectively parable.

I imagine that the aliens would have a set of two "brains" as it were; one in the head which controls the standard homeostatic, motor control, and perceptive functions, and one in the chest-area that focuses on telekinetic manipulation, with the structural benefits you mentioned. However, with my dubious spason theory, I'm wondering whether it could be said that the reactions to the telekinetic energy simply occur in some of the other dimensions? In which case, reaction forces on external particles wouldn't be relevant in the physical realm. Or is this just absurd?

 

[Ursa major]

I'll post my current semi-sciency explanation below, so that people can see where I'm coming from more clearly.

• Spasons are sub-atomic particles that have interdimensional counterparts. A spason's energy is linked to that of its counterparts; as one's energy level increases, the others decrease. Spasons are normally inert and intangible unless stimulated consciously. Other dimensions tend to have a lot of available energy.
• Alien life develops to manipulate spasons and re-distribute their energy to their dimension, allowing them to sense atoms outside of their body, increase their kinetic energy, and other things.
• Physical constraints: Aluminium-oxide must be used as a transit medium; energy from the other dimensions can only be channeled into spasons in an aluminium oxide structure; this stored energy can then be re-directed into other atoms.
• Too much energy channeling will simply melt the aluminium oxide crystal structure out of the molecular arrangement required and prevent further channeling, not to mention severely burning the connecting tissue of the user.
• Conscious effort is required to influence the spasons in particles, more focus is required for more energy-intensive actions. For reference, an alien may be able to re-direct a bullet telekinetically, but only if it had prepared and was focused on moving the required air particles and altering pressure to re-direct (more likely than being able to focus on the fast moving bullet)
• The 1% have the ability to utilise the spason-energy-transfer more efficiently, making more efficient use of the aluminium oxide structure, allowing for higher output levels without the drawbacks experienced by the 99% being as severe.[/hide]

It sounds sciency, but doesn't hold up too well under close scrutiny. Is this sort of thing good enough? The main human characters have no idea how it works, and most of the aliens actually believe it to be magic regardless of whether it is or it isn't.

Given that there are those who postulate that the reason gravity seems weak in the observed universe is because it "leaks between universes" (to reduce the idea to its simplest), I don't think you should worry too much about your explanation. Indeed, I've read books that describe usable power - enough to power space ships - that is drawn from a parallel universe, so your "entanglement-based" explanation should be fine.


As ever, the key is how it's written, so that:

• the reader finds it plausible;
• the explanation avoids obvious info-dumping.

 

[BetaWolf]

Those ideas seem plausible to me, a non-scientist. From your mention of a botched first contact, I'm not sure if the contact happens in human space or on an alien world: if it is the latter, you may want to consider what kind of world will allow abilities like these to flourish or seen another way make the evolution of telekinesis either critical for the survival of the species or at least neutral: with a caste system I assume that having stronger telekinetic powers might figure into making oneself more attractive as a mate.

I don't know if that helps or not, but I like to think about the social and ecological ramifications of any sort of technology or ability.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

I think what you need to decide is if you want it to be science fiction - in which case, we need the plausible explanation - or science fantasy, in which case we don't.

I have a psychic race in one of my wips, and although I had the (pseudo) scientific reason for the powers, I have yet to mention it because science fantasy suited the world best. And, if I'm honest, was probably more fun to write for this particular series.

But sci fi and sci fantasy are two different markets, and the approach you take will need to vary for the market, so it might be worth either writing the first draft and seeing which direction it's taking or planning it out a little more fully in advance, and deciding what approach best suits your intentions.

Given that you're focusing on the effects on the society and characters, I suspect science fantasy might give you more scope to do that but bear in mind, as a genre, it's not that in vogue with agents at the moment. (But it'll come back, these things always do. )

 

[erisiamk]

Thanks guys, this is really helpful so far. As I said, pretty much none of the main characters know exactly how the principles behind hyperspace and telekinesis work. The humans are just a reconnaissance team for a really "competitive" mining company, and I don't think they'd consciously think about how the hyperspace engine works until it stops working. Likewise, the aliens have evolved with these abilities and it's just a subconscious thing; thinking about how telekinesis works would be like you or me thinking how the Krebs cycle works when you do something.

It would probably seem out-of-place to explain how these principles work in-depth until the complete specifics become plot crucial, if they ever do, as opposed to their broader effects. Vague things would obviously receive mention when necessary, such as identifying that the aliens don't have infinite energy capacity via the spason method, and that they can't turn the humans into chocolate cupcakes or whatever. But these fall under the broader implications rather than the specifics.

I think at the moment it's leaning more on science-fantasy, from what people are saying.

 

[JoanDrake]

My own feeling on the whole SF, vs Fantasy thing is that it comes down to how it's explained. If you give it a lot of technobabble, it's SF, if you don't give it much, it's Fantasy. The bit about Spasons above reminds me of how Lucas "explained" the Force. Fascinating, a very interesting explanation, just be careful it doesn't limit your story.

 

[Bakerman]

With regards to evolution: as I understand it, evolution comes about because some natural mutations give a small competitive advantage. So, the first fish who was able to mind-control the water had an advantage over the other fishes, and therefore went on to breed more successfully, so this mutation was preserved.

So when you consider telekinesis evolving alongside physical apparatus you have to ask: are balloon-shaped beings with telekinesis advantaged over regular-shaped aliens with telekinesis? Of course, the assumption you made is that there is a trade-off: as physical limb strength wanes, telekinetic power increases. Does it have to work that way? What if they could have the best of both - strong psi and strong body? Any mutations allowing that would of course confer a competitive advantage.

So it all depends on how you want the aliens to use this power. If the limbs and psi work with each other, complementing and enhancing each other, then it makes sense for them to retain all those features through evolution. If the psi can basically replace physical limbs, then it probably makes sense for them to wither away over the millennia.

 

[erisiamk]

With regards to evolution: as I understand it, evolution comes about because some natural mutations give a small competitive advantage. So, the first fish who was able to mind-control the water had an advantage over the other fishes, and therefore went on to breed more successfully, so this mutation was preserved.

So when you consider telekinesis evolving alongside physical apparatus you have to ask: are balloon-shaped beings with telekinesis advantaged over regular-shaped aliens with telekinesis? Of course, the assumption you made is that there is a trade-off: as physical limb strength wanes, telekinetic power increases. Does it have to work that way? What if they could have the best of both - strong psi and strong body? Any mutations allowing that would of course confer a competitive advantage.

So it all depends on how you want the aliens to use this power. If the limbs and psi work with each other, complementing and enhancing each other, then it makes sense for them to retain all those features through evolution. If the psi can basically replace physical limbs, then it probably makes sense for them to wither away over the millennia.

Perhaps both possiblities could exist; there could be the humanoids who use TK to make certain actions more effective (eg better environmental control near skin surface, disease/poison removal via heating, enhanced ability to correct mid-air jumps (very useful for monkeys!)) and there could be the divergent blimps that choose to live in the upper atmosphere and use telekinesis to manage/aid a lot of their processes. I doubt the blimps would be intelligent; they'd have no reason to be if they'd mastered subconscious TK enough for it to do everything for them, but they may be good for transport!

 

[chrispenycate]

I'd try and keep the conservation laws as far as possible; yes, you can pull energy out of a plane at a different potential (and probably anywhere the physical laws would allow for radically faster than light transfer, ie 'hyperspace' would be at a sufficiently different potential to allow for this – what, you hadn't intended it to be the same transformation used for the telekinesis?) {You may notice I'm carefully avoiding the word "dimension" – I'm an unfrocked mathematician, and the way lots of SFF writers use the word "dimension" is as uncomfortable as, say, when a spiritualist uses the word "vibration". A dimension is a direction that cannot be described in terms of already specified directions. Thus, if you have a cuboid cardboard box you cannot define its height or duration in terms of its length and width. We can have millions of "parallel universes" with only one added dimension. End of parenthetical diversion}, but if you start high efficiency modulation of this energy, and beings capable of moving mountains by faith alone, it's going to become detectable on a macrocosmic scale quite fast (besides, it spoils the story).

Why aluminium oxide (yes, I know, why not? and the answer to that is; anodising. Every scrap of aluminium has a surface coating of the oxide, and the effects would be bound to show up), So, obviously, only crystalline – and probably slightly impure. Ruby, sapphire, something like that.

Oh, sorry, obviously nobody warned you about me; I'm Chrispy, grab an idea and run with it. Welcome to a slightly strange forum.

 

[erisiamk]

I'd try and keep the conservation laws as far as possible; yes, you can pull energy out of a plane at a different potential (and probably anywhere the physical laws would allow for radically faster than light transfer, ie 'hyperspace' would be at a sufficiently different potential to allow for this – what, you hadn't intended it to be the same transformation used for the telekinesis?)

Aha, that was what I had planned from the get-go; I didn't mention yet because I wasn't sure if it was too silly, but this gives me some confidence.

Why aluminium oxide (yes, I know, why not? and the answer to that is; anodising. Every scrap of aluminium has a surface coating of the oxide, and the effects would be bound to show up), So, obviously, only crystalline – and probably slightly impure. Ruby, sapphire, something like that.

Yes, I was aiming for ruby and sapphires of various colours. I liked the mystical connotations and thought it would be a good element to include. In addition it's very hard, pretty tough, and wouldn't melt too quickly under the energy transfer compared to other gems. Incorporating it into natural forms via evolution seems like it'd be tricky however

but if you start high efficiency modulation of this energy, and beings capable of moving mountains by faith alone, it's going to become detectable on a macrocosmic scale quite fast (besides, it spoils the story).

The vast majority of aliens wouldn't be able to do this; as far as I'm aware, three at most would have had this power in my universe. The energy modulation wouldn't be possible for others before the corundum simply started to melt, as the transfer wouldn't be efficient enough. Too much energy would be stored in the corundum core before being distributed to other particles; the previously mentioned 1% would transfer quickly enough for this to be a non-issue until you get to stuff like lifting buses or similar.

And if it would be easily detectable by equipment, then great; this could easily lead mankind to the alien planet, and would have a few story implications that could probably be woven in quite well.

Thanks for helping me out with this, and apologies if I've mis-interpreted what you've said.