Psionics involve the use of the mind to alter or command reality, typically through some understanding of a deeper truth about the universe or command over a fundamental law of reality.
It’s pretty cool, but I have trouble thinking of media where it takes a prominent role. The few examples that come to mind are:
Star Wars - The Force Mass Effect - Biotics/Element Zero technology Stellaris - Spiritualist Ethos Warhammer 40k - Psykers/Orks
What are some other examples of psionics in Sci-Fi?
Check out Babylon 5, telepaths are a major part of the story for so many reasons.
Lots of psychics in Star Trek. Vulcans, Betazoids, and Ocampa for instance.
I feel like there are some in The Culture series but its been a minute since I read them and I only got a few books in.Dune has a lot of kinda-psychics. Paul and pretty much all the Atreides after him would count i think.
There are some in the Foundation series I believe
Starship Troopers had Neal Patrick Harris read a bug’s mind
Just about anything that’s not especially “hard” sci-fi tends to have psychics of one sort or another. I dont remember any psychics in The Expanse or BattleTech but my knowledge of both is rather limited edit BattleTech no, The Expanse yes from a cursory search
Also how was OP’s 40k xeno example orks and not Eldar ;D orks are way cooler and more fun i agree tho
I feel like there are some in The Culture series
The ship Grey Area uses technology to read flesh minds while investigating war crimes. The other Minds consider that an abuse of power and call it the ‘Meatfucker’ behind its back. I don’t recall any other (pseudo-) psychic phemonema.
Thanks! Yeah the more i think about it the more i doubt reading about psychics, which i imagine had to be deliberate seeing as humans had developed absolutely insane levels of control over their bodies (sex changes, producing drugs, etc just by deciding to)
Not sure why you’re asking for the most popular…
But Stranger in a Strange Land eventually gets around to that.
It’s about a human raised by Martians, and he learned a Martian telepathic language that can alter reality. But when returned to Earth, he has no idea how humans act, and is basically an infant.
But it’s one of those books that changes a lot,bthe begining isn’t what you’re looking for, but just stick with it.
WandaVision: She creates a new reality around herself.
Fringe: One of the main plot points are psychics controlling reality.
Push: A movie about a psychic people that can push thoughts into other people’s heads.
Legion: Mind bendy reality show where the main character can control reality.
Judge Anderson in Dredd had the ability to read thoughts and create illusions of the mind.
Psi-Division
Might not be relatively popular, but the psionics of the novel/anime Shin Sekai Yori are central to the plot and are portrayed in a pretty interesting fashion.
Foundation is another (more traditional sci-fi) work which also focuses on psychic people as a central plot point. The book series and TV series are very different, but I’d say each explores the idea well.
For video games, Control is another one I haven’t seen mentioned yet. It’s based on the SCP collaborative fiction project. Exposure to objects of power awaken the protagonist’s (and other characters’) latent psychic abilities.
Akira is an all time classic
The sci-fi book series “Perry Rhodan” features a lot of humans and other beings with all kind psionic powers.
Telepathy, telekinesis, invisibility, teleportation, fire, ice, atomic restructuring, the list is really really long.
Dune has lucid “prophets” (the guild navigators, Paul and Leto II, for example), and Paul can even see/feel his way around the world through his prophetic visions when he loses his sight in Messiah. “The voice” is described almost as an advanced technique that is purely physical and psychological and not magical so idk if it fits.
The Voice maybe not but being able to see the future like Paul and Leto II do definitely fits
Surprised no one has mentioned Stranger Things.
Firestarter
i just finished a 3 book series by Adrian Tchaikovsky called The Final Atchitecture. it features several characters with this ability. i highly recommend it!
You need to put \ at the end of the line
to force a new lineHow about something like the movie Dark City ?
IMHO the funniest one was Ghostbusters: they think about an arbitrary monster and it appears in the next second, but super sized.
Other nice movies: X-Men, Lucy, Sphere, Solaris, Matrix
