The damned dam broke.

     Lately, I was going through writer's block with my project, "Across the Multiverse." It's the science fantasy project I started a few years ago. I've started to revamp the concept. Also, I've started to sit down and calculate technology levels, empire sizes, etc. I do this for posterity and consistency; if I establish in one that humans are faster that this species or that other species, it will stay that way.
     The problem now is that I've been restless in my sleep, and the headaches have come back before I got sick. It's like this stuck dam broke and all this stuff has come through.

     The setting will stay the same, but the way it will be written will be different. In the original layout, the first story seemed so disconnected from the others. So, I will write it as a series of pentologies. Each pentology will be called a saga; like "_______ Saga" or "The Saga of the _______". There will be a unifying theme through each pentology; for instance, the characters in one story will be looking for an artifact, they lose track of it, then the characters in the next story will find out about it and go looking for it. In addition, as a neat little quirk, a character from one story will have a brief, inconspicuous run-in with someone from the previous or next story. This strengthens the unity of each pentology. This also emphasizes the fact that, no matter what a person or people go through, everyone else has adventures, too; including bit players in one's own life.

     This first pentology will revolve around a diplomatic issue with a species called the Qauthi. They're an empire obsessed with garish opulence, and revere their rulers with awe. They're technologically advanced and highly psionic. But their weakness is that they hate magic.
     Now, to some, psychic ability and magic are the same. To me, they're not. Magic is a supernatural force manipulated by formulae, words, and gestures. Some mages are inborn (like Harry Potter or the sorcerers from D&D/Pathfinder). Other mages study (like Gandalf or anyone in a pointy hat with a wand and spellbooks). Use of this supernatural force is distasteful and considered unethical by the Qauthi.
     Psionics/psychic abilities are solely the power of sentient thought influencing the world around a person. No words, formulae, spellbooks, etc. Just thought. There are several wide range of types of thought-power, like telekinesis (Carrie), clairsentience (ESP), telepathy, etc. These powers are wielded well by the Qauthi, and fully integrated into their society.

     The way I figure out who's more magical, or who's more psionic, or who's more technologically advanced is to list the different species and their aspects. Then I try to come up with a balanced system of rating them on a scale of 1-10.
     Humans, for example, have mostly 5s in everything, as they are - like in every fantasy and science fiction setting - the average Joe everymen of the world or galaxy. But humans are proficient with magic and spiritual forces, are partially psionic, and have among the fastest ships in the known galaxy.