When I think of telepathy or psychics, two images pop into my mind:

1. Christopher Walken in The Dead Zone (and his subsequent parody of that role in a funny as hell SNL skit titled “Ed Glosser: Trivial Psychic,” http://snltranscripts.jt.org/92/92dpsychic.phtml in which he could only predict mundane future occurrences, such as footprints on mopped floors)
2. A foggy moor, a gypsy camp, an old crone sitting in one of the tents, gazing into a crystal ball. (Today you call Dionne Warwick for the same experience.)

The concept of telepathy, or “mind reading” is by no means a fresh concept. It’s been done many times before in film and television. If memory serves, I think the last take on it was the flick What Women Want starring a pre-loon Mel Gibson. In it he played a guy that could read women’s minds. (I say it deserves a sequel, in which we can read Mel’s mind. I’m picturing lots of anti-Semitic bunnies on unicycles.)

The point is it’s been a staple of science fiction since the first little green man mind probed some poor schnook farmer within the pages of pulp fiction. I mean, who wouldn’t want that ability? To read people’s minds? Think of all the good--but mostly bad, deliciously evil--deeds you could do. Be one step ahead of your boss…know exactly what that cutie who gave you the sweet eye on the elevator is really thinking…go to Vegas and make millions! The possibilities are endless.

But…once the luster begins to dull, and the novelty of it wears thinner than Louie Anderson’s jockey shorts, you are left with a pretty bleak reality. You would never be surprised, because you see it coming. Relationships with others would ultimately suffer, because the million crass thoughts we think but never say about each other would be smeared in your face with every glance. And God forbid you couldn’t turn the ability off…it’s bad enough to be subjected to the white noise of life everyday, but can you imagine having two conversations filter into your brain at once? Then multiply that times a thousand, maybe a million…and pretty soon you’re wondering if the temple or chin is the best place to nestle the gun barrel.

Such is the hell depicted in Telepathic Wanderers, a four volume manga series that has captivated me from page one. It is the story of Nanase, a beautiful young woman cursed with the ability to read minds. The tide of random thoughts slamming against her brain is relentless, to the point where a simple stroll on the sidewalk can become a gauntlet of perverse and vicious thoughts. This is a sci-fi story that takes its material seriously, refusing to play it safe, but always surprises you. The dark nature of man his laid open before her, and as Nanase struggles to make sense of it all, she seeks a peace in the world she’ll never have.

But telepaths aren’t the only “special” abilities featured in the series. Nanase befriends a young boy named Norio with telepathic abilities like hers…a psychic named Tsuneo…and time traveler named Fujiko…and a telekinetic named Henry. It is through these five that we are taken on a dark journey into the human soul, as Nanase and the others confront sexual predators, would-be murderers, and a group of assassins dedicated to killing any and all “special” people. The manga is unflinching in its narrative, holding a mirror so close to society it steams the glass (for example, Henry, an African-American man, is oblivious to the swarm of unspoken racial epithets directed towards them as he and Nanase enter a hotel together).

The creativity of the story is also reflected in the use of their abilities…whether it’s Nanase thwarting a kidnapper by scooping out his pain and holding in front of him to see, or Henry (in the soon to be released fourth and final book) visualizing a giant vice to crush the skulls of his attackers. This is cerebral stuff that avoids syrupy lamentations, and gives us a flawed heroine that we genuinely care about.

My only problem with the series is that it sometimes paints too much of a bleak image of mankind. I tend to think that there are more decent folk in the world than bad…or perhaps that’s what I’d like to believe. On the flip side, it does speak to my inner cynical child to consider that people are mostly vicious and cruel, with three bad thoughts for every one good. Maybe…maybe not.

All I do know is in the world of Telepathic Wanderers, not only is ignorance bliss…it’s a blessing in disguise.