Biotics

Biotics was the ability of some lifeforms to create mass effect fields using nodules of element zero embedded in their body tissues. These powers were both accessed and amplified through implanted bio-amps, allowing a biotic to knock enemies down from a distance, lift them into the air, generate gravitational vortices that tore obstacles apart, or raise protective barriers around themselves. Among the species of the galaxy the asari were uniquely gifted, naturally biotic from birth, while biotics in other species arose only from exposure to dust-form eezo before birth.

How biotics worked#

Biotic ability rested on tiny nodules of element zero distributed through a being's nervous system. When energized by the electrical impulses of the brain, these nodules generated mass effect fields, the same dark-energy phenomenon that powered starship drives and artificial gravity. By raising or lowering the mass of objects around them, a trained biotic could move matter, restrain a target, or deflect incoming force.

To wield these abilities at a usable level, most biotics had to learn a technique called physical mnemonics, in which a deliberate gesture caused neurons to fire in a particular sequence, sending a charge through the eezo nodules and producing the desired effect. Their powers fell into three broad categories: telekinesis, the use of mass-lowering fields to lift or hurl objects; kinetic fields, mass-raising fields that immobilized objects such as projectiles or enemies; and spatial distortion, shifting fields that ripped apart anything caught within them. Because generating dark energy demanded enormous physical effort, biotic soldiers consumed far more calories than ordinary troops and were prone to small static discharges when they touched metal.

Acquiring biotic ability#

For every species but the asari, biotic potential arose only when a developing fetus was exposed to dust-form element zero, which prompted eezo nodules to form along the nervous system. Such exposure was no guarantee of a talent. Most exposed fetuses were unaffected, and many others developed brain tumors or other severe complications. Among humans, only about one in ten exposed infants developed abilities strong and stable enough to merit training.

Once identified, a prospective biotic was usually fitted with a surgically implanted amplifier around the age of puberty, designed to make their talent strong enough to be useful. Mastering the implant meant developing conscious control over one's own nervous system, a long and difficult ordeal often assisted by biofeedback therapy. Further upgrades, called bio-amps, could enhance particular aspects of a biotic's power. The asari alone needed none of this, possessing both natural ability and a degree of voluntary control from birth.

Human biotics and the Alliance#

The first human biotics were born after a series of starship accidents in the 2150s dispersed element zero over populated areas, though their abilities were not recognized at first. Once the Systems Alliance made contact with the Citadel and learned of the effects of in-utero exposure, a company called Conatix Industries was founded to locate exposed individuals and develop human implants, and rumors persisted that some colonies were deliberately exposed to create more biotic children.

In 2160 Conatix established the Biotic Acclimation and Temperance Training program, known as BAaT, on the station Jump Zero to train the first generation of human biotics. Knowing little about the process, the Alliance covertly hired turian mercenaries as instructors; the program was shut down after one such instructor was killed in an altercation with a student, and its records remained classified. Most modern human biotics used the Alliance's safe but moderate L3 implant. Older biotics were sometimes stuck with the earlier L2 model, which could spike to greater power but was notorious for causing insanity, mental disability, and crippling pain, leaving many L2s embittered and alienated from human society. Human biotics often faced prejudice and distrust from the rest of their species, even as the Alliance military welcomed them with generous enlistment incentives and deployed them on the front lines.

Biotics across the species#

Biotic ability varied greatly in rarity and prestige from one species to another. All asari were naturally biotic to some degree, and those who trained, particularly the asari commandos, displayed formidable power without any need for implants. Krogan biotics were few but extremely powerful, the strongest training as battlemasters. Salarian biotics were unusual and highly prized, kept out of front-line combat and used in intelligence services instead. Turian biotics were uncommon, generally no stronger than a human L3, viewed with suspicion by ordinary turian infantry and relegated to special units called Cabals. Quarian biotics were very rare, a scarcity attributed to life aboard the Migrant Fleet, where element zero was too precious to spend and any accident severe enough to release eezo dust would likely kill the crew. Biotics were also recorded among batarians, drell, volus, vorcha, and others, while the abilities of species such as the hanar, elcor, and yahg went unmentioned.

Biotic ability was not confined to sapient beings. The eezo-rich environment of the asari homeworld Thessia gave rise to many biotic creatures beyond the asari themselves, and similar contamination elsewhere produced biotic varren and other animals. In the Andromeda galaxy, by contrast, biotics appeared to be exceedingly rare or entirely absent, unknown to the native species encountered there even in regions where element zero was abundant.