Bioelectrical manipulation (often known as Lunar gift) is manipulation of the mind.[citation needed] Most Lunars have the ability to use bioelectricity to control what others think, see and feel. A Lunar may "glamour" a person into thinking that they are their mother, tricking the victim by disguising themselves as someone trustworthy. Bioelectrical manipulation has also been used to force enemies to hurt themselves or their allies, to create false emotions in others and even to improve a Lunar's physical appearance in the eyes of their peers.
Lunar citizens are gifted with varying levels of this ability. Palace guards tend to be less skilled so that members of the court can easily manipulate them. Lunar thaumaturges, on the other hand, are chosen for the strength of their gift and can control crowds of people at once. In addition, Luna's royal family is notoriously talented, and perhaps among the most powerful. The first Lunar king, Cyprus Blackburn, was the first person to develop the Lunar gift.
The only known immunities to bioelectrical manipulation are androids, shells, cyborgs and users of the bioelectricity security system invented by Linh Garan.
Lunar History[]
From Marissa Meyer's website:[]
Centuries prior to World War IV, Luna (then known as the moon) was colonized by a small group of researchers from many different Earthen countries in order to further space research and exploration. There was little fighting over territory due to the “Moon Treaty” drafted by the United Nations in 1979 S.E. After sixty years of existing as a jumbled colony of numerous Earthen countries and cultures, the colony was recognized as its own country — a republic.[1]
The first true Lunar was a man named Cyprus Blackburn. As a child, his DNA was damaged by prolonged exposure to ionizing radiation from cosmic rays. This DNA damage developed into what is known as the Lunar gene. This mutation enabled him to output and control bioelectricity to implant thoughts into other people’s brains. He was able to use this power to convince people to elect him as their leader and eventually turn the Republic of Luna into a monarchy.
Distrust began to spring up between Earth and Luna as Earthens became confused and suspicious of the ease in which Blackburn was able to alter the country’s political structure.
For a few generations, the royal bloodline was the only bloodline that included the Lunar gene, but due to Luna’s minuscule population and the royal family’s notorious promiscuity and abundance of illegitimate children, the gene became increasingly common with each generation and eventually became dominant within society.
Despite the growing mind-control powers of the lower classes, there persisted a common belief that Lunars would lose their gift if a person of true royal bloodline wasn’t on the throne. This superstition was encouraged by the royal family and royal scientists even proved its validity in multiple government-funded studies. Any scientist who suggested otherwise was promptly imprisoned and or executed.
Due to a process called Hormesis, another genetic mutation began to develop within society as well: a mutation that resulted in one’s inability to output or receive electromagnetic stimulation from others. Lunars born with this mutation were called “shells,” a derogative term referring to how they were “empty” of the gift. As shells cannot be brainwashed or controlled with Lunar glamours, they were generally distrusted and a target of abuse and hatred.
In the 108th year of the third era, a shell managed to infiltrate the royal palace and murder the king and queen — leaving their two daughters, Channary and Levana, the only recognized descendants of the royal bloodline. Following her official coronation, Queen Channary enacted the shell infanticide laws stating that "any Lunars born as shells were to be promptly disposed of in order to protect the sanctity of their society".