Telepaths--summuqu, yabhi, threaders-- are neither mutants nor defectives, and possess neither thoughts of evil intent nor terrible superpowers anymore than the average non-telepathic human. As an integral part of Alphazett protocols, they are not only accepted equally but treated the same as any other highly valued member of the Agency. Both natural-born and artificially-enhanced telepaths serve as agents throughout the organization and in all positions of power. This has been policy for thousands of years and has never been contested either vertically or horizontally within any of the organizations, yet still, prejudices remain. Why are we terrified of telepaths?

There is a deep vein of mistrust in many human societies that often portray telepaths as malicious mutants hell-bent on world domination, along with complete subjugation of everyone else. Thought transference, mind-reading, psychokinesis—objectively these are neither good nor bad, yet the fantasy and fiction of virtually all pre-contact earths is rife with stories of evil villains and dangerous psychopaths lacking any moral compass, almost as if telepathy itself was the disease that led inevitably to megalomania and self-destruction. Why are there so few stories of benevolent telepaths? For that we must go back even further in history.

This deep-seated fear can be traced back to a very dark chapter in pre-homo-sapient history—a time when some telepaths were dangerous, and their dark ambition enslaved millions, but also a time when a great many were fighting against the darkness. That they ultimately prevailed against those who would be gods, was a testament to the power of a united force of will, and while we can never know exactly what transpired tens of thousands of years ago, the collapse of Urolan society was of such colossal impact that it set human progress back millennia.