LORE TIME!!
ESP experiments secretly took place in public schools and gifted and talented programs IRL. No I’m not making this up, it’s all documented & there’s multiple videos on YouTube that cover it.
Anyways, in Galaxy FICSA, students of all ages (pre-k through college) were secretly tested for Soul magic abilities by the CIA &/or Magify— a megacorp that would go on to sell magic products— especially in Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) programs through the 1980’s-2000’s. It didn’t happen to everyone, but as many students were tested as possible. Students with learning disabilities or mental health diagnosis scored higher & were intentionally sought out. After all, the government has documentation of students enrolled in public schools. Maybe the backrooms/liminal spaces were where some GATE experiments were held?
Unsuccessful students forgot most if not all of what happened in the program until adulthood (caused by memory-wiping drugs), while students who developed Soul magic— known as enchanters— were recruited into the army or further experimented by Magify. This ties into Galaxy FICSA’s equivalents of Project Stargate & MK Ultra (which were probably successful).
The goal of public schools was to instill obedience & nationalism into students at a young age, then use magic experiments to convert them into magical super-weapons for the military OR use their Soul magic as a renewable resource for Magify’s products. This all serves as a backstory for some villain OCs I haven’t shown off yet, being prior Magify experiments who escaped containment.
