An operant is someone who has survived exposure to the Signal and has developed psionic powers as a result. Operant individuals are categorized in each of their faculties according to the following scale:

• Latent:
  • No significant usable power whatsoever.
  • This includes those with the -potential- to be operant, but no practical ability.

• Operant
  • Able to manifest phenomena up to one sigma above average.

• Masterclass
  • Capable of significantly powerful or unique manifestations of the faculty.
  • Above one sigma deviation from average power.

• Grandmasterclass
  • The absolute elite of operant humanity; the upper 1% of psi-users.
  • Possession of one or more grandmasterclass faculties entitles you to a tenured research position with the Cuchulain Foundation.

• Paramount
  • An unofficial designation for individuals completely outside the standard hierarchy.
  • Generally this means people who have completely distinct manifestations of Signal infection, either through chance or via artificial induction.
  • No known natural paramount operant exists. All recorded examples have come from brinker habitats in the outer rim.
  • Since possession of a modified copy of the Signal is heavily outlawed, merely existing as a paramount operant is technically illegal.