Baschet-Stratis Syndrome

Baschet-Stratis Syndrome describes a set of signs and symptoms associated with virulent psionic powers. Its genesis lies in the Baschet-Stratis virus, a biological agent developed by the Global Union via Siliconian research during its collapse in the 23rd century.

Infection

The Baschet-Stratis virus is contagious in humans, and primarily spreads between people through close contact and through the powers of infected hosts.
Most infected present as carriers, who have a dormant form of infection that makes them more psionically suggestable. More rarely, those infected will develop the host form of the infection, causing them to suffer from psychological and neurological disorder, and often experience vivid hallucinations and delusions. Hosts also gain psionic powers that can infect, manipulate, and kill others around them, especially carriers of the virus.

Mechanism

The powers associated with Baschet-Stratis hosts are manifested through hijacking the psinodal synapse, a typically vestigial part of the human brain first seen in the human population in the generations following the Siliconian War. While initially rare, the vast supermajority of humans are born with it in the modern era. Those without a psinodal synapse cannot be infected.
There is some evidence to suggest that Bashet-Stratis syndrome degrades neurological function of hosts over time, especially in the psinodal synapse- hosts often plateau in the strength of their psionic abilities and then experience gradual decline, and often suffer from reduced lifespan. However, there is no evidence of substantial negative effect to carriers.
Due to its destructive effect and associated psychological and neurological deficits, many scientists have theorized that the Baschet-Stratis virus utilizes the human psinodal synapse incorrectly or inefficiently.