This may have been a book I read in the 80's to early 90's but I believe this most likely may have been a short story in one of the scifi magazines from the 90's, A group of humans who had been genetically modified to have psychic abilities (I think just telepathy) were banished from earth, because their ability to telepathically communicate was seen as threatening and had created a colony on some new planet, there were some native life form that that they only saw occasionally at the edges of their colony, and everything seems to be going well.
There is some investigation of an increase in accidental deaths including someone who fell to their death from an enclosed bridge somehow, they discover that the bridge has a hole in it that they can not see, that everything is in disrepair and the natives are openly walking around the main street of their capital, and a few young children who did not inherit the genetic modification for telepathy are the only ones who can see reality instead of what the group expects to see. That telepathic connection creates a shared reality that they can not break free of. The story ends with them battling the natives and winning with the help of their child "generals" who are not "crippled" by their telepathic shared reality. (although that is just one line at the end, not expanded upon).
I woke up the other morning thinking it was prophetic, but instead of telepathy we have electronic means of creating a shared reality, now I want to reread this short story to see if it holds up to my memory and if it intended to make that point.
There is some investigation of an increase in accidental deaths including someone who fell to their death from an enclosed bridge somehow, they discover that the bridge has a hole in it that they can not see, that everything is in disrepair and the natives are openly walking around the main street of their capital, and a few young children who did not inherit the genetic modification for telepathy are the only ones who can see reality instead of what the group expects to see. That telepathic connection creates a shared reality that they can not break free of. The story ends with them battling the natives and winning with the help of their child "generals" who are not "crippled" by their telepathic shared reality. (although that is just one line at the end, not expanded upon).
I woke up the other morning thinking it was prophetic, but instead of telepathy we have electronic means of creating a shared reality, now I want to reread this short story to see if it holds up to my memory and if it intended to make that point.