Psychic Surgery

You wont feel a thing...

The table was cold against his skin. He waited for what seemed like hours and his back was starting to hurt. His blood pressure would spike and fall, as he pondered his position only to calm himself down. He never believed in alien abduction, but the sterile white room filled with strange devices made him wonder.
Why me, he thought, what did I do? He coudnt move, seemingly petrified, though at times, if he tried as hard as he could, it felt like he was being pushed down. It was like something held him onto the table, an object of great weight sitting on his chest. He'd be forced to stop trying when the headache came.
He heard arguing and footsteps near the door in the far side of the room. A man and a woman. He could only understand a single phrase before the door opened, sliding into the wall like a sci-fi flick.
"Let me try," the woman said, and when she entered the room the weight in his chest lifted. He jumped up, the table sliding to the right as he dodged to the left. There was no way out. He knocked over machinery and what seemed to be a cabinet filled with plastic sheets that contained letters written in braille. He felt a push, he didn't know how or why. The woman was standing on the far side of the room. He flew against the wall and screamed when his body lifted from the ground and slid up against the smooth surface.
The woman said nothing. Her expression masked by an ornate form of headwear that covered her eyes. The black and gold lace weaved in geometric patterns across the firm fabric frame of the mask. The mask wrapped her hair up and cascaded it out the back like a fountain of amber. She wore red robes that hugged her frame in the stagnant air.
"Are you done?" She asked.

Psychic surgery is an ability used heavily by The Magicians of Carthage . At its most basic level, psychic surgery is defined as an operation designed to alter a biological subject in mind, body, or spirit through the use of psionic power. This definition is vague but provides a good idea as to what it is that one can do with this power.


The most common implementations of psychic surgery involve the procedure used in conjunction with Bliss to rewrite the memory of a patient. Another common form is the infamous Oedipist Rite, A ritual where a student of The School Of Carthage uses their psionic surgical tools to remove their own eyes, thus reaching a higher rank of magician. These are not the only ways that psychic surgery can be used. In fact, practitioners of the art say that these are the crudest, or at the very least simplest, implementations of the skill.

Knowable and Unknowable Shapes

The first principle of psychic surgery is that of knowable and unknowable shapes. Due to their enhanced connection to The Candlelight, practitioners have an awareness of the universe's geometry. They feel the nature of shapes on a deep and intimate level, and in turn, know exactly how to alter those shapes into forms that are so enigmatic to the physical universe itself, that to gaze upon these shapes would cause the vision to blur and the head to throb with pain.
It is these principles that allow a magician to alter any aspect of a patient they need to accomplish their goal. They can reach through a patient's body, as if reaching between folds of space. They reach behind the ear of physics and pull out a cancerous tumor, leaving behind no wound as if their hands simply phased through the skin and tissue. They can traverse through another person's dreams, or pick through the mind of an individual and remove traumatic memories or simply repair the damage these traumatic memories have done. Psychic surgery is a breakthrough in psychological treatment as it can completely cure mental illnesses of all kinds.

Burn in Lavender Light

This process is not painless nor is it without its complications. Individuals who actively fight against the intrusion made by the magician can be left in many less-than-favorable states. From brain death to chronic migraines, there are those put under their care that don't leave unscathed. This may seem like a deterrent that would make anyone give pause before agreeing to such an operation, but many in The Web suffer from a delusion. They believe that what they do is a sacrifice as opposed to a choice they make based on preference. Knowledge is power as they say, and remarkably few members of The Web wish to return to a life of ignorance, despite the fact that a magician could easily do so with next to no complications.

On top of this delusion, some people who end up going under the psychic knife become addicted to it. There are entire groups of individuals who reside within the halls of The School Of Carthage. They are not training to become a magician nor have any desire to. They stay there so they can routinely be subjected to the sensations of psychic surgery. The first time they felt the lavender light pierce into their mind, they felt free for the first time In their life. These individuals act as a defensive force for the school of Carthage and also do menial tasks within its walls.

To ensnare the senses

Psychic surgery is in many ways a miracle cure. You can fix any problem in individual has from a deadly disease to a simple lack of excitement in one's life. Task Force: Freud of The Alexandrian University works very closely with The Magicians. They wish to fully understand dreams and how they function and the best way to do this is the use of psychic surgery to induce said slumber, allowing the members of the task force to gain qualities while they dream such as lucid dreaming.

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...With the loss of your eyes, you gain sight. Beyond the wonders and horrors that await you. Give up the shackles and free yourself. Do you see what we see?

— A Magician overseeing The Oedipist Rite

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Harden The Soul

Magicians routinely offer to have others on their table for one reason or another. The operation comes with a promise to harden the soul. The process of hardening the soul comes involves actively tampering with the way the soul of a person works. They patch up holes that would easily be exploited, tighten up the strings that bind us all to one another, and coat the spirit of their patient with psychic energy that acts as a shield to protect them from any who would do them harm. A hardened soul is resistant to all psionic abilities that mean them harm.

He tried to notice how she failed to turn her head toward him. The woman was blind.
"What?" He said, first looking to her, then his impossible levitation.
"Were not here to hurt you. Were here to help you."
"I doubt that."
"Such is your right," She began, not moving an inch. He felt himself fall to the ground and she waved her hand to the table. "Sit, and I will cure you."
"Cure me of what?" He demanded. She stood silent for a moment but finally answered with indifference.
"Lymphoma." The words gave him pause.
"How do you-"
"Your daughter asked us to assist, if that's ok with you, of course." The man softened and slowly shuffled to the table. He laid down once more. The cold steel almost hurt when it touched the skin. The woman towered above him, placing her hands on either side of his neck.
"This might be uncomfortable." She said as a lavender light manifested in her palms. It shot out and seemed to cut into the skin of his neck. No, not cut. It was like the skin simply move to the side to allow entry. The pain was agonizing as she slowly picked at the wound. He could feel the fingers as they invaded. He could feel the tumors pull away. He would have screamed if he were able...

He woke up in his pickup, alone and confused. What was I doing? He asked himself before starting the ignition. He looked at the clock and quickly felt frustrated at himself for falling asleep.
"Damn," he shouted. He was late for his chemo...

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Abilities of Psychic Surgery

To mend...

As stated many times, the most widely used form of psychic surgery involves healing the mind, body, or spirit. Sometimes it's as simple as reaching in and pulling out a tumor, or possibly coming through the memory of a patient and removing it like a manila folder from a filing cabinet. Sometimes a practitioner chooses to be more subtle, influencing dreams and thought the guide a patient on the path to self healing.

by Hysteria Machine

Or to break

A practitioner can use their psychic tools to bring about ruin as well. A scalpel made of thought can be just a sharp as steel. It is incredibly painful to the point of paralyzing fear to have these instruments pierce one's mind with intent to harm. The lavender light serves as a valuable weapon to all magicians. They can remove organs just as easily as tumors and can implant nightmares that are far worse then any traumatic memory.

Macrosugery

What often comes as a surprise to many is that psychic surgery does not necessarily need to be performed on a person. Psychic surgery can often be used to unlock locked doors, expel an entity from environments in the form of exorcism, and even perform surgery on walls to create doors when backed into a corner.