The Inner World
The Inner World was a community founded in Sonoma, California in 1969. It was officially disbanded in January of 1986. The community consisted of several Telepaths as well as many normal humans. The community’s focus was to live off the land while exploring and experimenting with the mental abilities exhibited by the Telepath Differents.
The founding members were Allan Fischman, Robert Grant, and Rebecca Jackson. All three were Telepaths, though Allan Fischman was significantly more capable than the other two. They met each other in San Francisco in 1968, their abilities drew them together. Soon after the trio met, they moved from San Francisco to a farm in Sonoma, CA, which belonged to Robert Grant’s family. After six months, the three decided to found The Inner World with the goal of recruiting other Telepaths in order to explore their abilities together.
The trio were able recruit several other Telepaths they tracked down in San Francisco. As the community grew, several normal humans were allowed to join and share in the experience. The Inner World reached its peak population of approximately 275 individuals in 1975. Of this number there were fifty-four Telepaths and ten other Different individuals, including Stephen Burton and Martina Diaz.
The community attempted to live off the land, growing crops and raising livestock. When not working towards their survival, individuals would usually enter what they called “The Merge.” A mental state generated by the Telepaths in the community. Users could enter the state simply by thinking about it. In “The Merge”, users were able to share their inner monologue, allowing them to communicate with one and other. Users were also able to share memories and past experiences. Users could also “see” through the eyes of another user as they shared sensory information. These discoveries later formed the underpinning of the nationwide communication and information system think.Net.
In November of 1978, Allan Fischman left the community in order to found Ultracorps. Ultracorps hired several of the Telepaths who were part of The Inner World, decreasing its membership. Robert Grant, and Rebecca Jackson continued to lead the community after Allan left.
As The Plagues devastated the nation, most of remaining Telepaths left the community, either to return to their loved ones, or join Ultracorps and its quickly developing think.Net system. Although the community was located outside of the blast radius of the Russian nuclear missile launched by the rogue General Nicholas Gorvich that destroyed most of San Francisco, The Plagues poisoned the soil and livestock of The Inner World, making it difficult to keep the population fed. The community was abandoned in January of 1984, when the remaining members moved to a refugee camp located outside of Seattle.
The last official act of The Inner World was the community’s participation in The Beat, on January 1, 1986. The Beat was a concert and visual arts performance that was made available, via think.Net, to much of the U.S. population which had recently been relocated to refugee camps in the newly created Metro Areas. Stephen Burton and Martina Diaz delivered what most considered to be the penultimate set of the show, a dazzling mix of audio and visual effects that could only be performed by Differents. The Beat was the first time the three founding members of The Inner World were reunited since Allan Fischman had left. After the performance, Allan Fischman, Robert Grant, and Rebecca Jackson, officially disbanded The Inner World.
