Syndicate Room
You have stayed here to continue talking with Talia Winters, Babylon 5's licensed commercial telepath. With a psi-rating of P5, Ms Winters can scan other people's thoughts and receive telepathic messages, but cannot coerce others to her will, like stronger telepaths. She longs to develop the gift of telekinesis.
Performing a Deep Scan
You wanted to know more about deep scans. Well, it's not something that I relish, really. One of my duties as the duly licensed commercial telepath on Babylon 5 is to serve as an expert witness in murder cases. The authorities may request my services to perform a deep scan of the guilty party, before the sentence of mind-wipe is carried out.
You see, we don't execute people for murder anymore, but they undergo the death of personality instead. Afterwards, the criminal is given a new identity and is trained to be a useful member of society. It's not pleasant, having to go inside the mind of a psychotic individual, but we have to do this, to ensure there's no unreasonable health risk, before the mind-wipe is carried out.
That's the only circumstance in which I'm entitled to scan someone without their permission. By Earth Alliance Law, we're not even allowed to use telepathic evidence during the trial; but only afterwards, to confirm the guilt of the convicted party. Of course, a person can request a deep scan voluntarily. Sometimes, I am asked to help people, who have suffered some kind of brain trauma, to recover lost memories.
Latent Telepath?
How do I perform a deep scan? Well, typically, I have to focus near the subject's head. If I scan around that area, I can eventually sense a change, like a flicker. Then, to read the thought there, I have to push a little harder, constantly scanning in the area of the head. It's an acquired technique that you learn at school, in the Psi Corps.
You don't think you might have the talent, do you? If so, you should definitely go to the Psi Corps Office on Red 4, where they conduct assessments for telepathic ability.
