The Variable Project
The year 2100 – scientists discover a latent ability within certain humans that will later be termed "Psychokinesis". People with psychokinesis demonstrate an ability to control objects with naught but their minds, speak telepathically, and even fly. The next decade would be spent studying this new phenomena, with several countries' main governments bringing in whoever showed an aptitude for the mankind's next evolutionary trait. Loved ones were told it was necessary to keep the rest of humanity safe. The majority of their subjects, though, would be from orphanages. Young children fresh on the cusp of developing their powers, ripe for manipulating and training. They already knew what they'd do with these superhumans — superpowered weapons that, with proper training, would prove able to overwhelm even a platoon's worth of soldiers.
Psyche
The use of these powers would not be without their drawbacks though. For one, use of psychokinesis eats away at one's lifespan, deteriorating their brain. Unabated use in a short period of time is also likely to mean one's end. Those who are unfortunate to survive pushing themselves beyond their limits become corrupted – a slave to an unexplainable desire to lash out in uninhibited violence. To counteract these effects, the world governments developed a drug that would come to be known as "Psyche". While pill forms do exist, the more common method of injection was via a chip planted in the back of a person's neck that regularly administers the drug. Dependency on the drug soon followed, and not taking it more often than not leads to death within a mere week.
Variables
In 2115, a substance that proves highly reactive to psychokinetic influence is discovered, and the various governments begin research immediately, looking into ways they can weaponize this too. It wouldn't be until two years later that they prove successful with the first prototypes. To differentiate between these new weapons and the beings that would use them, those capable of using Psychokinesis would be termed "Constants" and those weapons with which they would use to fight would be termed "Variables". The Variable Efficiency and Compatibility Test (VECT) is developed to determine which variable types will be suitable for which constants, with compatibility being most reliant upon and individuals unique brain wavelength signatures. It's common for most constants to only be compatible with one type, but some have proven to be compatible with two or even three different types of variables. "Synching" — the act of touching a variable and exerting one's psychokinetic signature onto it — with a variable one was not compatible with would result in corruption of the individual. Such cases were swiftly put down. General variables developed to be compatible with any constant were developed, but are inferior to custom made variables tailored for individual constants. In their base, unaltered forms, variables take the shape of a reflective black orb.
Over the next decade, several types of variables would be created: physical, mental, and spatial.
International Variable Organization
In 2123, the world countries founded a top secret organization that would come to be known as the International Variable Organization (IVO) which was a place for policies, laws, and regulations regarding constant and variable use in warfare. With each country not wanting to waste what precious resources they had, constants were rarely used, being treated much more like nuclear weaponry is today. IVO was also responsible for the banning of spatial type variables shortly after development, due to their sheer destructive power. It was from this organization that a name for their mass research experiment was born: The Variable Project.
Premise
For this roleplay, our characters will be constants-in-training under the US government. The story will focus on our escape from the underground training facility and our attempts to uncover evidence with which we can expose the experimentation and militant use of those capable of using psychokinesis, with all the battles, heartbreak, tragedy, and triumphs that come along with it.
