Telepathy
From Hidden Frontier
Telepathy is the communication of messages or thoughts directly from one mind to another.
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Introduction
Generally, the images are received and processed by the brain in a manner similar to ordinary sensory input, so in essence a telepath "speaks" and "hears" perceptually. However, the ordinary vocal and auditory mechanisms are not employed. Telepathy exists across space; it has appeared in various forms among various races.
Overview
Telepathy makes possible some forms of interaction that would otherwise be impossible. The Medusans are an incorporeal race so alien that the sight of them drives humans insane. Interaction with them was very limited, until 2268, when Miranda Jones established a telepathic link with Ambassador Kollos, proving that it could be done.
Extraordinarily powerful telepathic species exist. They are rare, but are extremely formidable, as they can immerse other minds in a realty of their own fabrication, much like a holodeck, but where the telepath makes all the rules. The xenophobic Melkot used their telepathic powers to punish aliens who encroached upon their space without permission (which, prior to 2268, they never extended).
Under rare circumstances, individuals can gain telepathic powers. In 2264, exposure to the galactic barrier altered Gary Mitchell, who developed telepathic powers. In 2266, Captain Kirk and the Enterprise took aboard a passenger, Charles Evans. Subsequent events revealed that Evans had been granted various psionic skills by the enigmatic Thasians, so that he might survive on their world.
Telepathic races such as the Betazoids usually develop a moral code (sometimes making it actual law) that precisely dictates under what circumstances the powers may be used. Telepathy, misused, can be the ultimate invasion of privacy, and for that reason, it is feared by some.
Some telepaths can send and recieve feelings and emotions. Sometimes this is part of a telepathic skill, and sometimes it is their only skill. In the latter case, individuals are referred to as empaths. A notable empath is Deanna Troi, daughter of a Betazoid and a human; she inherited a limited form of her mother's telepathic power.
Types
A touch telepath can communicate directly with the mind of another being, but only if in physical contact. The Vulcan mind meld is a form of touch telepathy. Melding is not strictly telepathic because those in a meld go beyond mere communication of thoughts — they share consciousness in a kind of gestalt. Physical contact is usually necessary. In extreme circumstances however, Vulcans have been able to conduct a mind meld over short distances. For example, Commander Spock of the USS Enterprise did so twice to control guards outside of a detention cell, and once to establish contact with a Horta. Also, Lieutenant Tuvok of the USS Voyager was able to speak telepathically with a race of non-touch telepaths, though he did have to touch one in order to do a full mind meld.
Some telepaths can exchange thoughts only with others of their own species, some can send but not receive, and some can recieve but not send. Betazoids, for example, can normally send and receive the thoughts of other Betazoids, but can only receive thoughts from alien minds. In rare instances, individual Betazoids, like Milo Surgant, exhibit extraordinarily strong telepathic capabilities, including the ability to alter the perceptions of beings in his immediate presence.
In some races, telepathy is present in all healthy individuals (those not born with congenital problems and not the victims of accidents or disease). In other species, such as Humans, telepathy appears only infrequently, usually the result of some mutagenic force. Two such examples were the young lady who spent four years on Vulcan learning how to not read other's minds, and Lt. Jacques Dubois, assistant Counselor aboard the USS New Jersey, who though part Vulcan, had through mastering the art of Astral Projection via Zen Meditation, was able to do the Vulcan mind meld across several light years and had the ability of clairvoyancy as well as telepathy. And certain species, notably the Ferengi, are never telepathic. Often such species cannot be read even by telepaths normally capable of reading alien minds.
Science
Telepathy is possible because the sentient mind itself is independent of the brain. It exist as a "field of energy" in space and the brain functions by simply "tuning in" to this field like a radio tuning into the energy signal from a station, the DNA serving in a similar capacity. The body's bio-energy field acts as the "antenna", a bridge to the "mind field" that stores all aspects of your consciousness. This being the case, each mind has its own separate field. While existing in the same space, each field is effectively separated from other minds, by virtue of having a different frequency - one unique to itself.
The mind fields exist in what we call a "parallel universe". From such a universe all points in this realm are accessible from one location in it and vice-versa. In effect, the mind field can be said to be all-pervasive relative to this universe.
This other universe exists outside of space-time and is therefore not an actual physical construct. People have their own individual characteristics, but are "composed" of the same "substance" as the rest of the parallel universe. In other words, their own "personal" storage space, rather than being "partitioned off" from the rest of the parallel universe, is actually part-and-parcel of the "fabric" of the parallel realm. They are able to access their thoughts, memories and personality strictly by virtue of their physical/energetic resonant signature, which is matched to their own field.
Telepathy is analogous to cordless phones/cell phones and "crossed signals". While everyone's physical/energetic signature is unique, "overlapping" is possible, which allows someone to "tap into" the mind field of someone else, providing that he or she can "get into resonance", or "tune" to that person's bio-energy field signature. Telepathy involves a person developing a "resonance" between themself and another person, so their resonant signatures "overlap" to a certain extent which "re-tunes" their mind frequencies to match, allowing for the "sharing" of thoughts, emotions and memories, and, in some cases, even their personality traits, etc. such as in a Vulcan mind meld.
Incidentally, this also explains the latent capacity for genetic memory in humans: as the DNA is so instrumental in the "tuning" process, people of close genetic relation, thus sharing elements of their DNA, may "tap into" ancestors' memories. Even if an ancestor is dead, their memories still exist in the parallel realm.
See Also
This article incorporates material from Memory Alpha, the free online Star Trek reference.
