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Class: Psionics for the Headblind Herd, The Community Center, Tuesday Evening

"Today," Emma said, once everyone who was coming had trailed in, "We will be discussing the place from whence many psionic abilites draw power; the astral plane."

"Academically speaking, the astral plane, also called the astral world or the psychic plane, is a plane of existence postulated by classical - particularly neo-Platonic - medieval and esoteric philosophies and mystery-oriented religions. It is the world of the planetary spheres, crossed by the soul in its astral body on the way to being born and after death, and generally said to be populated by angels, spirits or other immaterial beings. In the late 19th and early 20th century the term was popularised by Theosophy and neo-Rosicrucianism. The Barzakh, olam mithal or intermediate world in Islam and the "World of Yetzirah" in Lurianic Qabala are related concepts."

"In my world, the the astral plane is a metaphorical level of existence with ties to the physical world which only psychic entities, or those with magical abilities, can visit. Some say it is an alternate universe in an equivalent space to our own, where all matter is composed of ectoplasm. On the astral plane, the life energies and consciousnesses of other beings are discernible to adepts. Powerful psychics and sorcerers can manipulate the astral plane to their wishes, while those not yet well-versed in the workings of the place can find themselves trapped for eternity." Cheerful, Emma. Not.

"The trick to remember with the astral plane is that your mind defines your reality. It manifests itself differently to everyone, and every single one of you has a connection to it by having a consciousness. Should you ever find yourself there, remember that; your mind defines your reality. If you believe something is true, it will be true, and like Dorothy, you can wish your way home if your will is great enough."

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As your inner-self!

Kaidan Alenko

Clint Barton

Jonothon Starsmore

Savannah Levine

Cassie Blake

Take notes, pass notes, try to hide from the teacher!

Kaidan hadn't turned up for this class last time, though he'd been interested. He wasn't sure what to expect - psionics was a very outdated term for what biotics turned out to be, slathered in a layer of science-fiction and a fundamental misunderstanding about the nature of the kind of powers people like the asari could hold.

So far, it didn't really sound like something that would be useful to him. Being Kaidan, he hung back, watching.

Oh, Emma was still talking to the rest of the class, continuing any lectures & answering questions, but Kaidan might get the distinct sensation of being poked in the shoulder. Repeatedly.

<<So you're my erstwhile and reclusive housemate,>> Emma mused, giving no outward appearance of her multitasking. <<I feel like I ought to make a joke about Ronan's habit of bringing home strays, but I've spent the last week investigating a damned contrary, disappearing vampire, and my wit is leaning more towards verbal vivisection than friendly banter with the lack of sleep.>>

The sensation of being poked when there wasn't anyone there... wasn't new.

The voice in his head was, and mild surprise registered on Kaidan's face as he straightened up where he sat.

<<I caught you by surprise!>> Emma, don't sound so delighted, it's rude. <<I would have thought Ronan would have warned you about me, as the boys are constantly wishing I would learn tact, or at least pretend to care about it.>>

Kaidan thought about speaking up, but-- the woman was still talking.

And he did have some tact.

He had no idea whether this was a one-sided connection-- or how it worked, though his thoughts flitted briefly, unpleasantly, towards the Thorian-- but his mind strayed past the thought 'he didn't' as if that might somehow communicate something back to her.

Maybe he should speak up.

Clint didn't know why he was back here. Maybe it was because last week had been interesting. Maybe it was because Emma wasn't entirely scary (which was a thought he tried to leave outside of the room). Maybe it was because Emma was pretty hot (which was definitely a thought he tried to leave outside of the room). Whatever the reason, he was here again, in the back of the room, trying to listen without judging.

And since he was trying, legitimately, to leave it outside the room, Emma wasn't going to call him on any of it. Yet.

Besides, she'd totally checked out his ass when left class last week. She was dating-ish, not blind.

Jono only really had a passing familiarity with the astral plane, himself. He'd wandered trapped there through the mind of a more skilled telepath before, saw it from her perspective as a twisted mass of fleshy tunnels and nightmare pitfalls, but he'd never really made any attempt to reach beyond, to dig his way into his own corner of it.

He'd always imagined it would be fire, like the rest of him, and he'd been afraid that he wouldn't be able to shake that notion enough to survive the attempt. And the only time he'd ever really been there on his own, it had been for moments, after he'd destroyed his own body in a desperate bid to save a world. Years later, all he remembered of it was that it had felt right, somehow, when little else ever did.

Hanging near the back of the room, Jono listened to Emma's lecture, quietly dwelling on those things and wondering what he'd do differently if he could go back to what he used to be.

Cassie hadn't made it to class last week, but she was here now -- and even closer to the middle of the room than she would usually be.

How do you imagine the astral plane? Do you believe such a thing a exists in your world?

"I don't know if that's what it's called in my world," Cassie surprised herself by speaking up. "But several members of my Circle back home can communicate in our minds, but I always see individual images that represent them in my mind."

"For those that are interested," Emma offered, "I am more than happy to show you what the astral plane looks like from my end."

She gestured for anyone interested to come up to her desk. "Clasp hands," Emma ordered. "And the people on the end take my hands and shut your eyes."

She waited for people to comply and then reached out with her mind to gather up her students and then gave them a little telepathic nudge to pop them in to her mind and her aspect of the astral plane.

When everyone opened their eyes, they'd find themselves standing in a starfield. Above, behind, and under them, as if they were standing on a clear glass floor."

"Welcome to how I see the world."

[go wild! interact, ask questions!]

This sounded like a terrible idea, but that didn't stop Clint from getting up and going over to Emma. If he tensed up as their minds met, he really couldn't help it, and it might have taken him a few seconds longer than necessary to open his eyes, but as he took in the sight, his shoulders slumped and he relaxed. "Whoa. Okay, this is pretty cool."

"Just don't look down if you dislike heights," Emma quipped merrily, somehow seeming even more 'free,' as it were, than in real life. "Each star you see is a human, mutant, magic, etcetera, consciousness. Now let's see..."

Her eyes went distant for a moment, and then the stars moved, as if they were sailing through them, until the configuration changed entirely and one star came to Emma's hand. "My housemate, Ronan," she said, letting it spin above her palm. "This is how I see people. No race, no gender, just stars, that shine each according to the minds they represent." She blew on Ronan's star, and it went dancing merrily away. "Of course, it's usually a bit more noisy in here, but I put the sound on 'mute', as it were, to keep from overwhelming people."

"Heights really aren't a problem," Clint said, taking a better look around once he understood what he was looking at. "How long did it take you to get used to all this, and the noise? If you don't mind me asking."

"Migraines started first, then hearing voices. I eventually figured out I wasn't crazy, I was hearing actual people, but this?" Emma moved her fingers slightly and a low level hum, like a radio dial continuous changing in the back of the room, started up. "Learning how to come here, how to see this and get a handle on my powers, took a bit longer. Now I wouldn't trade it for anything."

"This is what I hear, every day, all day, though generally a bit louder."

"I feel like I should say I'm sorry that you have to deal with this," Clint admitted, wincing a little as he tried to imagine that sound being louder. "But if you wouldn't trade it for being normal... I guess I can understand that, now that you have control over it and everything." Sure, it was still weird, but at least she seemed to be using all this power for something good.

"This is amazing," Savannah said in a hushed tone as she looked around.

If Bobby is here!

Before or after class!

Sorry this took so long to get up - I had an hour long research call and then the phone WOULD NOT STOP RINGING AHDDIE SMASHHHHHHH!!!!

*ahem*

Carry on.

I'm just looking at the people who have signed in so far, and I'm cackling.

Someday, Emma will have students who come into the room, instead of all hanging out at the back wall. :D

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Class: Psionics for the Headblind Herd, The Community Center, Tuesday Evening

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Talk to the TA

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