Homo excelsior. The mutants. Psi-Mages. Ogres (by those who hate them).

The Manaki.

Carl Barrett's "Human Superweapon" project intended to produce a new race of human beings capable of mastering both the psychic and magic arts, and he died of old age shortly after a secret meeting with one of the first adult humans known to be endowed with both sets of paranormal powers: Bernard Sabick.

The term 'Manaki' was forged in the fires of the Psi-Mage war that started brewing some time during World War III. Mages - exclusively women, as only women could harness the power of magic - and Psionicists, exclusively male, as only males could access the raw power of the mind - first came to blows when a Mage revived a project by Rose Vallance (note: she is the grandmother of the scandalous Amber Vallance, six times removed) to make women capable of breeding without male sperm.

The details of the Psi-Mage war will be left for other historians to pursue - except one key issue. Mages called their source of magic power 'Mana', while Psionicsts referred to their power as "Ki". A Psionicist would never refer to his power as "Mana" nor would a Mage refer to her power as "Ki". It was insulting to do so, and for mundanes to mistake the two, often a fatal mistake.

Except for a certain group of people who had mastery of both arts - the Psi-Mages. To them, Mana and Ki were all the same, and Psi and Magic were two halves of a whole - a belief rooted in Carl Bennett's known writings. As such, most Psi-Mages, mutants, homo excelsior, however they're referred to, called their source of power "Manaki", in an obvious statement of unity.

Soon, they even became known as the Manaki.

The Manaki were not without their own level of intolerance and fanaticism, however. They enthusiastically capitalized on Carl Barrett's belief that the simultaneous mastery of magic and psi would lead to opening the door to gaining power from the spirit realm - and free access to one's Chi, or their spirit energy.

Carl Barrett's theories became the Manaki's dogma - mastery of the Chi was their holy grail. As he theorized, Chi-based powers were spiritual in nature and could not be defended against by Psi, Magic or technology. The Manaki, again, enshrined this theory as religious doctrine.

All Psi-Mages were lumped into the Manaki movement whether they were a part of it or not; and many feared the Manaki fanaticists would spark another great war to eliminate those who were not Psi-Mages.

This never happened, of course. Perhaps it never was meant to happen. Maybe the Manaki never intended this.

Or maybe it was the timely rise of the Hyper-Industrialists, Mages, Psionicists and Psi-Mages of the Cypress Lake Combine, that prevented the Manaki from escalating the already cataclysmic Global Civil War into Judgement Day itself?

Even though the Manaki now walk the stars and have unlocked the power of Chi, fortunately, we will never know if they would have annihilated those not of their kind. What we know is they did not try...