Science Side Factions and Terminology

Science Side Terminology:

Esper is a term used to refer to a person who emits AIM. Although, it is generally used to refer to people who have gone through Academy City's Power Curriculum Program. It is also used to refer to people who are powers, especially those who have gone through to the curriculum without gaining powers such as Level 0s and Skill-Outs. The term is also used to refer to magicians and Reishi by those who are unaware of magic or Spirit Arts and can only rationally explain their powers by equating them as Espers. Espers can only possess one type of Esper power. In contrast however, Esper powers need no such preparation and elaborate rituals to create some sort of phenomenon or effect in reality.

Their distortion of reality to create powers is based on quantum theories. This distortion is an isolated phenomenon, pertaining only to the observations of the world by an esper based upon their Personal Reality. This is in startk contrast with holism, where a large distortion of the laws of the world as a whole is used to create powers.

An Involuntary Movement (AIM) is a term used to refer to the phenomenon in which an Esper involuntarily produces an invisible energy field that all espers involuntarily produce. In itself AIM is relatively harmless as it cannot be detected by regular humans; however, AIM is toxic to magicians and is also shown to have anti-magic capabilities in sufficient amounts. AIM is subconsciously emitted by espers and as such cannot be detected without proper equipment; however, certain Espers and specialised equipment can detect and even track the AIM of an Esper. According to some theories, a sufficiently powerful Esper can apparently detect the magnitude of power another Esper has using AIM alone.

It is also shown that there are several different manifestations of one's AIM (elevated body temperature for pyrokinesis, magnetic fields/voltage for electromastery, pressure for telekinesis, etc), and one's AIM can resonate with others of the same type. It is very important in the Academy City curriculum and is taught to students as early as a student's first year of middle school.

Personal Realities are the source of an Espers abilities. All human beings have a Personal Reality within their minds; specifically their consciousness. It is possible to develop it individually, and will lead to that person attaining supernatural powers, therefore making them an Esper. The more powerful or more growth a Personal Reality gets, the stronger the powers of the Esper are.

Personal Reality is also related to Quantum theory in that it is impossible to know something until you actually measure it, ala Schrödinger's cat (Wherein one cannot know the state of the cat until you open the box.) Espers have attained a state of mind where they are able to project their Personal Reality on to the universe's reality, therefore giving them powers (i.e. they are able to manipulate what is unseen in the box.)

The growth of a Personal Reality is correlated with the brain's processing ability, and can become more powerful if there is a stronger 'processor'. If that processing ability is degraded the power can either lose its strength or become unusable.

An Esper's Level is Academy City's categorization for esper abilities which determines how much a student has advanced in the Power Curriculum Program. Levels are determined through the System Scan.
Most students are categorized as Level 0, that is to say normal people that have weak powers to the point of nonexistence but may have the potential to develop powers. About 60% of Academy City's espers are Level 0s. However, not all Level 0s have no powers at all; there are special cases that a Level 0 has an ability that can't be directly measured.

Level Categories:

Level 0: Exceptions aside, cannot be considered completely powerless but lack demonstrable abilities. Might possess some degree of power, but unable to truly control it.

Level 1: Powers of the degree to bend a spoon, many students belong here.

Level 2: Like Level 1, powers to a degree that is not very useful in everyday life.

Level 3: The degree when powers are considered convenient in everyday life, ability-wise this is the Level when one starts to be treated as part of the elite.

Level 4: Powers of an extent that their wielder acquires tactical value of a military force.

Level 5: Powers of an extent that their wielder can fight alone against a military force on equal terms.

Level 6: Powers of an extent that they're considered immeasurable. However, nobody has been able to achieve it yet, with many institutes in the city trying to find ways to attain it.



Science Side Factions:

Judgement is a term used to refer to Academy City's student-based disciplinary committee. They are composed of students of varying grade levels and power, and along with Anti-Skill, they are tasked to maintain peace-and-order within the school system. Judgement members can be recognized by the armbands they wear over their right sleeves, which are green with white stripes and which have a shield symbol.

Anti-Skill is the term used to refer to Academy City's police and security forces. Unlike Judgment, members of Anti-Skill are ordinary adults who work in the city. One is essentially a volunteer when they join Anti-Skill, and as such is not paid to do Anti-Skill work; however, the city compensates for Anti-Skill members' help in the experiment by giving them various gifts and privileges.

Multi Active Rescue (MAR) is an emergency response organization based in Academy City. Their primary duty is to prevent or control the involvement of civilians in dangerous situations, or if possible to prevent dangerous events from occuring, rescue victims and to control the escalation of causalties in high-risk situations. They are also deployed to cleanup an area too dangerous or too diffucult for other groups to do.

Skill-Out refers to the largest armed Level 0's group in Academy City, which have numbers up to thousands. Their goal is to fight for the rights of those without abilities. The favoured tactic is to swamp the esper with numbers when fighting since they can not normally win one on one.

Lesser Science Factions:

Hound Dog is an elite black operations unit that takes orders from Aleister Crowley himself. Unlike the Anti-Skill, Hound Dogs have shown that they can covertly perform operations that are considered against regular military conduct and even laws. Members of Hound Dog are well trained in properly handling various types of weapons, such as sub-machine guns and missile launchers. Because of their covert nature, they act quickly during operations, swiftly removing any traces of their work and existence after an operation.

The Academy City Board of Directors consists of 12 people and hold absolute authority in Academy City, with only the General Superintendent Aleister above them. The Directors have made agreements between each other to prevent any one of their number having too much power that allows them to disrupt Academy City's power balance.

ITEM is one of the underground groups in the Science Side whose primary function was to monitor the upper echelons of the Academy City (including the board of directors) and prevent them from gaining too much power and getting out of hand. They are also used in eliminating elements of unrest within Academy City.

GROUP is a large underground organization formed to take care of internal affairs of Academy City's 'dark side' and more often than not perform illegal acts for Academy City. As a clandestine organization, GROUP members are not aware of their handler's identity and receive orders from a person who only contacts them via telephone. They are supported by a large network of operatives and departments to aid their agents. They are known to use blackmail as a recruitment method.