The Assignment

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The Imperium measures and records the psionic activity and power level of psychic individuals through a rating system called The Assignment[1] or Imperial assignment.[10] Comprised of a twenty-four point scale, The Assignment simplifies the comparison of psykers to aid Imperial authorities in recognizing possible threats.[1] Classifications are made by the Scholastica Psykana.[12b]

Overview

Beings which utilize psychic powers, or psykers, exist within many of the races residing within the galaxy. Human psykers, eldar warlocks and ork weirdboyz all fall into this category.[2] Beings such as daemons of the warp are made of purely psychic energies.[3] There are species, like the tau, which are devoid of psykers or psychic powers.[4] There are even beings which could be called anti-psykers, human blanks[1] and necron pariahs.[5] Due to their use in the armies of Man and their relative abundance in the Imperium's enemies, the Imperium has devised a way to classify all psykers it may come across.[1] The average Homo Sapiens Imperial is judged to have an assignment rating of Rho or Pi. These individuals cannot consciously or subconsciously draw power from the Immaterium and are not able to become possessed without outside psychic influence. As the vast majority of mankind falls into this assignment level, the common imperial citizen poses little psychic security threat.[1]

Nevertheless, uncommon individuals are birthed every day with assignment ratings exceeding Pi. By imperial edict, these men and women are to be discovered and brought to the attention of the Inquisition to protect against harmful psychic events. With the multitude of threats besieging the Imperium, however, it is only truly practical to investigate those suspected of Iota level talent or greater.[1]

In the rarest of all cases, the twenty-four point scale of the assignment does not adequately characterize a being of indescribable ability. Such individuals, for all intents and purposes, pass beyond the scale entirely. These subjects are known as belonging to a “plus” scale or a “reversed” scale, since the standard grading's naming convention is reversed.[1] When uncontained, plus psykers represent an immediate and catastrophic threat to the Imperium. In theory, there is nothing that a trained plus psyker cannot accomplish through force of will, from snapping a Titan in half to summoning a legion of Greater Daemons. A rogue plus psyker represents a great danger, and the Ordo Hereticus of the Inquisition considers them among the greatest threats they can face. Their souls are poetically said to burn akin to supernovae within the Empyrean, a beacon for daemons flocking and vying for the right to possess their unguarded minds.[6b]

Although rarely used, precise terminology for a negative psionic carries a "-Minus" at the end; a psionic of negative class Omega is thus properly called an Omega-Minus psyker.[7]

The grading of an individual can change over time.[11][13] It is not uncommon for a psyker to unlock greater levels of power as they continue to practice, grow, and mature.[11][12a][13] For example, a delta level psyker might become a gamma or even beta over their career as a Sanctioned Psyker.[12a] This warrants subsequent reclassification to more accurately reflect their burgeoning powers.[11][12a]

List of psionic levels

The below lists denotes the points of the Assignment, with their provided description.[1] Numbers in brackets are not associated with the approved terminology, and exists within the table to illustrate a cardinal order of the terms, with 0 denoting the first psionically inert level, negative numbers indicating negative psionic levels, and numbers with plus indicating plus scale levels.

Ordinals Description
Omega (Ω) (-7) Usually referred to as Untouchables (also known as blanks or pariahs). These individuals are so inert in the Warp as to actually exhibit negative psychic influence upon others.[1] Primarily manifested as a small region of “blankness” surrounding the individual, it is impossible for psychic powers or warp creatures to penetrate this space.[8] Imperial science has shown the dead area surrounding the subject interferes with natural electrical-mental functions. This often results in irrational fear and loathing for the individual from baseline humans.[9] For psykers, however, they are physically and mentally painful to be near.[8] This is the grade of Sisters of Silence,[17] Culexus Assassins,[18] Preceptors-Intendant of the Ordo Sinister[19], and Solitairestext-middle[Help].
Psi (Ψ) (-6) Psionically-dense individuals who are oblivious to warp fluctuations and psychic probing. The range of this ability varies, with the highest class being just deemed 'blunt' to some psionic effects, the lowest class being extremely resistant to effects of psychic activity, yet still considered touchable by a measurable extreme degree of psionic power.[1] These grades generally qualify someone to be a crew member of a Black Ship.[20]
Chi (Χ) (-5)
Phi (Φ) (-4)
Upsilon (Υ) (-3)
Tau (Τ) (-2)
Sigma (Σ) (-1)
Rho (Ρ) (0) No manifestation of psychic talent (common human being).[1]
Pi (Π) (1) Second of the two so-called inert psychic levels.[1] Possesses, however, some degree of psionic power. The manifestations are so insignificant that if they happen to be noticed they are quickly denounced as "good luck" or a pretension to a sixth sense.[7]
Omicron (Ο) (2) Unconscious and minor level of psionic brain activity, of which the individuals and their surroundings are often unaware unless put to examination. Although these classes are technically by law under the jurisdiction of the Inquisition, it is logistically unfeasible to examine every suspicion of them in the wider galaxy.[1] An example psyker of this grade is Mortanna Shroud, who is a Lambda.[16]
Xi (Ξ) (3)
Nu (Ν) (4)
Mu (Μ) (5)
Lambda (Λ) (6)
Kappa (Κ) (7)
Iota (Ι) (8) As the individual is able to control abilities with effort, subjects of Iota level and higher are true psykers and upon discovery are usually immediately put under the care of the Inquisition[1] and the League of Black Ships,[6a] unless they have a legal excuse not to be, such as having already been recruited into a Space Marine chapter as an acolytum.[21]
Theta (Θ) (9)
Eta (Η) (10)
Zeta (Ζ) (11) Very high level of mental psychic activity.[1] An example psyker of this grade is Calumny Faal, who is a Zeta. But their powers are growing through practice, prompting the need for reclassification.[11]
Epsilon (Ε) (12)
Delta (Δ) (13) Occurring in approximately one-per-billion human births.[1] Example psykers of this grade include Gregor Eisenhorn and Gideon Ravenor[22], both of whom were high Delta or low Gamma (and not necessarily the same grade as each other). Agun Soric was Beta grade, and Esarhaddon was an Alpha.
Gamma (Γ) (14)
Beta (Β) (15)
Alpha (Α) (16)
Alpha Plus (17+) First of and numerically almost synonymous with "plus" scale, still occurring the rarest in relation to all previous cases. Their state of mind always comes with a perceivable level of dementation or insanity.[1] Examples of this grade include the rogue psykers known as the Apex Twins,[14] as well as the Burning Princess.[15]
Beta Plus (18+) Assumed to be the highest a human brain can withstand and be in possession of a fading semblance of sanity.[1]
Gamma Plus (19+) The highest registered psionic human level to date. It is more widely achievable by some unspecified alien species and daemons, but not even they are known to exceed this rank.[1]
Delta Plus (20+) Never measured classifications, remaining only theoretical.[1]
Epsilon Plus (21+)
Zeta Plus (22+) Considered the highest living tissue can sustain.[1]
Eta Plus
·
·
·
Omega Plus 		(23+)
·
·
·
(40+) 		Levels considered requiring a being's mind to rely on non-corporeal structures for the being to survive.[1]

Sources

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