ANMA

Acquired Natural Magical Ability, or ANMA for short, refers to adult development of an advanced magical ability. These rare abilities, which include (but are not limited to) the Sight, natural flight, aura detection, empathy, natural healing, and the ability to detect magic through the physical senses, tend to run in families and generally manifest in late childhood or early adolescence. ANMA is a rare side effect of XD-179, an experimental drug intended originally to enhance The Talent in individuals with marginal or low ability.
About 0.1% of Talented individuals taking the drug fall very ill with flu-like symptoms: high fevers, chills, severe fatigue, muscle aches, weakness, and even occasionally loss of senses (such as sight, hearing, or taste) and even delirium. During this illness, the individuals also experienced an inability to use The Talent. A few died, especially in the earlier trials when proper dosages had not been conclusively determined. When individuals recovered, however, these individuals had all acquired an advanced magical ability.

Causes

ANMA is only present in those who are administered an adult dosage (calculated by weight) of XD-179 and who probably have a particular gene or gene sequence. The effect is not sex specific. ANMA is only experienced by 0.1% of users.

Symptoms

ANMA begins with a 7-10 day illness with the following symptoms.

high fevers

chills

severe fatigue

muscle aches

weakness

(rare) loss of senses (such as sight, hearing, or taste)

delirium

temporary loss of The Talent

(in rare cases) death

After recovering from this illness, individuals will experience a rare, natural magical ability, such as

• the Sight
• Empathy
• Aura Sight
• Ability to sense magic physically (typically by touch, rarely by sight, smell, or hearing)
• Natural flight
• Object reading
• Deathsense
• Natural healing

Treatment

No one has searched for a treatment or cure. Most individuals are content to live with ANMA.

Prognosis

ANMA does not permanently affect the health of individuals. Although death results from the initial sickness in a few cases, those that recover rarely suffer any permanent complications. Individuals tend to recover from the initial sickness in 7-10 days, and recover full health in 2-4 weeks. Fatigue and weakness can persist up to 6 weeks.

History

XD-179 was created by the Department of Integrated Services during the Cold War to enhance The Talent in individuals who had marginal or low ability. XD-179 had only sporadic success: only some individuals experience an increase in their Talent. No common factor has been found in the individuals whose Talent was increased. Because of the inconsistent results and high cost of creating the drug, trials of XD-179 were halted. In the mid-1990s, however, chemists in the Department of Integrated Services, headed by Emily Talbot and Victor Einhorn, experimented with giving XD-179 to volunteers who exhibited The Talent at normal or high levels. Again, results were sporadic. Some individuals experienced no enhancement to their abilities or Talent; others increased their power to some degree. A rare few (0.1%) developed an ANMA. No link has been found among those who developed an ANMA. Dr. Talbot and Dr. Einhorn suspect a genetic component, as some individuals reported close relations with natural magical abilities. The particular genes have not been identified. Trials have again been halted until the genetic or other components have been conclusively identified.

Cultural Reception

As most ANMA are abilities occurring naturally in the Talented populated, ANMA is generally accepted. Some abilities, such as the Sight and the ability to sense the dead, are met with suspicion, dread, and even hostility, even in those who have those abilities naturally.

Type

Chemical Compound

Origin

Engineered

Rarity

Extremely Rare