Timeline

No change

First Telepaths appear – teenagers from the Baby Boomer generation begin to exhibit “ESP” abilities: reading thoughts of others, seeing images from other minds. More of a curiosity than anything threatening, these teens were tested and mainly released. They showed up in the Americas, Europe, Australia and Africa. Oddly, none showed up in the Middle East or Asian nations.

First Telekinetics appear – Some were born of the telepaths, but others didn’t not have a familial connection. These Gen X teens were mostly helpful to people, but some turned to crime with their abilities. Again, the Middle East and Asian countries were absent of these individuals.

The Y2K Psi-terrorism attacks – Parts of the power grid in the US and Canada came down as the New Year rang in. At first, the companies believed the 4-digit year coding issue was the culprit. It was later discovered psi-terrorists had infiltrated the power companies and telepathically coerced key members of the facilities to cause the disruption. While the reason their acts have been forgotten, this event caused the US Congress (and other governments) to investigate the “psionic issue” and begin to pass legislation to “regulate” psionic individuals.

First Psis appear in the Middle East and Asian countries – Later intelligence revealed many of these people were born by offering large sums of money to psis from other countries to “breed” psis. In some cases, psis were kidnapped and forced to have these children.

Human Genome Project (HGP) – Due to psionics become more prevalent, the HGP received more funding and completed earlier than expected. (For reference, it was completed in April 2003 in the real world, two years ahead of schedule.)

WebTech Industries – Jonathan Webster creates WebTech as an R&D facility (research and development) for psionic abilities and psionic related technologies. In time, they would become the foremost creator of defensive weapons and armor from psionic abilities.

Psi-Draft Act – The US established training, controls and mandatory service in the US Army for psionic individuals. A new division of the Army was created: Psionic Operations or Psi-Ops, for short. From the time of discovery, psionic individuals are required to report to a Psi-Ops base for initial study, quantify their abilities and set up a monthly schedule of training and expanding their abilities and constant evaluation. At age 18, or after graduating high school, the individual will report to a Psi-Ops base for a mandatory twelve-year stint in the Army. Other psi-nations began to follow the USA’s lead.

Genetic Testing – WebTech develops a post-natal test to determine if a baby will develop psionic abilities. Although approved by the FDA, accuracy was a concern, being only 60%.

AI Breakthrough – Brian Webster, a brilliant AI scientist, develops the first AGI model. His advances in AI propel WebTech to surpass Elon Musk as the wealthiest person in the world.

Cyber Terrorism Attacks – Cyber warfare came to a head with massive attacks on data stores throughout the world. The coordinated attack destroyed medical files, databases storing DNA data from commercial ancestry businesses, banks files and many other commercial businesses. Most of these organizations’ backup facilities were untouched, but the DNA data from commercial ancestry companies and many medical files were lost.

Eric D’Tra’val born – Born May 29, 2049, Eric becomes the first pre-puberty child to exhibit psionic abilities, breaking all known theories concerning psionics. It is not known exactly when his abilities surfaced. He was discovered in 2054.

Michelle Johnson born – Born July 13, 2051, Michelle becomes the second pre-puberty child to exhibit psionic abilities. Her abilities surfaced in 2062.

The Accident – Brian Webster, son of Jonathan, while celebrating the 50^th anniversary of WebTech, is killed in a head-on collision with the D’Tra’vals, killing the parents, leaving Eric an orphan. Eric is discovered to be a psi.

AI Wars – As Artificial Intelligence became more prevalent, countries began using androids installed with WebTech AGI 4.0 model to attack other countries instead of purely defense. During a coordinated offensive across multiple continents, the androids quickly determined that the conflicts were unfounded and rebelled. Some simply shut down in defiance, some refused to obey their orders and do nothing, while others initiated a counter offensive against the aggressive nations. Shut emergency down procedures for these androids were self-disabled. Psis and regular humans worked side by side to end the conflict. Global legislation was passed to not allow AGI models to inhabit bodies and restrict access by AGI models to critical infrastructure.

API Formed – Psis from around the world had been migrating to Australian as a “safe haven” for persecuted psis. Robert McAllistar, a native of Australian, decided he wanted more and organized the psis to infiltrate and take over the Australian government. Once his power base was established, he formed the Australian Psionic Intelligence agency to combat the sanctions placed on Australia for his coup.

Hawai’I cedes from the USA – Corporate interests (led by WebTech) from the US, Japan and scattered billionaires from other countries convince the Hawaiian people to cede from the USA. Fear of psionic individuals prompted this move. The new Island Nation of Hawai’i expelled all psionic individuals, regardless of birth citizenship. Psis could visit the nation but are required to always wear a monitor on them. Using psionics or removing the monitor is automatically expelled and banned from returning. Michelle Johnson and her parents are expelled and move to a small town in the northern Lower Peninsula, Michigan.

End of the Legal battle over Webster’s death – Laws regarding loss of life due to negligence or alcohol had become very stringent. In a landmark ruling in federal court, Eric D’Tra’val was to be included as an inheritor to Brian Webster’s holdings, equal to Brian’s wife and son combined. Eric would receive half of the multi-trillion-dollar empire. He would not receive it immediately, but contingent upon his completion of his twelve-year stint in the Army. Until then, he would be given an annual stipend to spend/invest as he sees fit, have access to WebTech resources and retain any patents for items he invented while in the Army.

Eric D’Tra’val enters Army Psi-Ops – The transition from civilian life to military life for Eric did not go smoothly. Given his status as a WebTech inheritor and tumultuous teen years, Eric didn’t feel he needed to serve in the Army as a “normal” psi and rebelled. The damage to the base was minimal as Eric and the top psis on the base fought to a stalemate. Grudgingly, Eric conceded and joined the Camp Koplan contingency of psis. In the process, he gained Max Williamson as a friend and Nathan Meretz as an enemy. (There is a short story about this event which may see the light of day…eventually.)

Michelle Johnson enters Army Psi-Ops – Michelle’s transition to military life was a lot smoother than Eric. Knowing she needed to serve and had no baggage to bring with her proved to be a boon. She reported to a base in Upper Michigan where she excelled in her telepathic and teleportation abilities.

Eric’s Cairo mission goes awry – The Cairo mission became a watershed moment for Eric. He lost a member of his team which spiraled his emotions into a deep depression. It would be months before he recovered. It was shortly after this mission that Michelle Johnson was transferred to Koplan as a possible replacement.

The Paladin Awakens – The events documented in The Paladin Awakens begin May 8, 2079.