Metagame Warning!
The knowledge in this page may not be accessible to the average character, as it may not be common knowledge.
Please consider if your character would know this knowledge first before using it in roleplay.
Author Note: See 'public knowledge' section of psionics lore.
¶ Anomalous Flow
Anomalous Flow, commonly truncated as 'Flow' and known to various cultures by terms such as: 'etc', 'etc', and 'etc' is the most fundamental way that anomality and abstractions to reality happen in the universe around us. So named for the way that pockets and voids of anomalous energies 'flow' through space, much like ink when dripped into water, Anomalous Flow is an inherent aspect of space with mass existing inside of a bubble universe with neighboring realities that exist beside it. As mass distends spacetime around itself, it causes a weak form of interaction with these neighboring bubble universes. In interacting, these universes naturally conflict, creating an ebb and flow that manifests itself both through pockets of Hyperspace formation, and the coalescence of Anomalous Flow within the universe itself.
When the natural world experiences aberrations as a result of anomality or 'cuils', Anomalous Flow is the vector for these changes. As such, when gauging the Environmental Cuil Factor- or ECF- of an area, what is truly being carried out is an approximation of the current concentration of Anomalous Flow within that locale. A place with a higher concentration of Anomalous Flow is under a higher ECF, and a place with a lower concentration is likewise under a lower one.
¶ Use in Psionics
Anomalous Flow is the very root of all psionic abilities. When a Psion manipulates reality, they are exerting an active influence on it by commanding the ways that it causes change to reality. However, because of the raw and unruly state that Anomalous Flow exists in, a Psion must first convert it into a usable form of 'fuel' for these powers. This is where Correctional Energy, or Flux comes into play.