Research into psionic activity dates back many, many years. Most widely known during the second world war, as several nations had projects to locate and test psions. Though most of these reports were false, several individuals from each nation did prove to have unexplainable abilities.
After the war and for several decades after these nations continued their research in secret. When the The Federation of Earth
was formed these groups came together to compare and collaborate their work. The eventual result of this was Project Origin.
Project Origin created a algorithm, though only 60% accurate, that could locate humans with psionic potential, coining the term PPE
or Potential Psionic Energy. After locating and putting the subjects through basic testing, many of the “successful” individuals were then taken away, kidnapped, for further testing.
After the Conch incident word spread that the Federation was conducting experiments on people, and as a result of the investigations knowledge of the psionic community spread. Initially met with hostility, like that of the mutants, humans learned to deal with the new powerful brethren. However, Project Origins was shut down.
Years passed and psions were, more or less, welcomed into the community, with some restrictions. The Federation, recognizing psions as powerful and potentially dangerous set up several government funded schools to train newly discovered psions about their abilities and how to use them safely and wisely. These schools caused two unforeseen events. The first being the creation of super heroes and villains into the community. The second was the Independent nations started training their own psions – for war.
To counter this the Federation also started training selected psions and mutants to become super soldiers; selecting the children with the highest PPE
The Federation selected thirty-six children from both the federation and Independents and divided them into six groups of six. Sending them to remote locations to be raised in secret, and under heavy surveillance, and guidance. In these facilities the children were put through accelerated learning, physical training, mental training and at times cybernetic and mutagen augmentation.
The Project continued for 10 years before the Federation had to seriously consider what they were doing. During that time most of the 36 subjects died for various reasons, leaving a total of eleven children remaining. The Federation decided to continue the project under new supervision and to relocate and gather the remaining subjects. During the transport of these subjects, however, the facilities and transports were attacked by Ascension
in an attempt to free the children. Ascension liberated most of the children, leaving the Federation with only four subjects for Pinnacle Projects second phase – Subjects 07, 12, 28 and 36