D-Levels

the things that make the world go round (or suck, depending on personal opinion)

D-Levels, short for Deviation Levels, are the general way in which strengths and abilities are measured in Baalphoria and the many of the Free Colonies.

History & Implementation

Developed long ago, D-Levels are based on the idea that the most powerful and intelligent people are all possess copies of specific genes, referred to as a non-deviation (non-dev) set. This non-dev set is further broken into categories, such physical and connection, which can be used to gauge how skilled a person is likely to be in specific activities based on whether they have a perfect, deficient or excess category. The exact non-dev set changes over time, as better and more specific combinations of genes are identified, but generally, these changes are relatively minor.

While it is more common for people to talk about what is part of a non-dev set, certain genes and their combinations are also explicitly excluded from a non-dev set, most notably black knots.

D-Levels are measured against the current non-dev set in a person's mid-teens, and are considered semi-public. Schools in particular use D-Levels to assess where a student should be placed for upper level classes, especially for those classes focused on aether usage, where the more disparity can be found between D-Levels. The only exception to this is for non-devs, who often present to the world as sub-30s, their official, semi-public D-Levels usually being listed in the low 10Ds.

Break Points & Social Class

In practice, there are several points at which people experience large differences in skill based on their D-Levels. These points have resulted in social classes arising around them. They are:

  • Sub-30s
    • Those with D-Levels between 30-1
    • Generally considered extremely skilled in nearly everything
    • Socially, most live in the Penns and come from wealthy and successful families
  • Sub-50s
    • Those with D-Levels between 50-31
    • Socially, they are the most isolated of any group, rarely interacting with those outside their class
    • Generally, the goal of sub-50 families is to breed a new-gen sub-30 child, to help them transition into the sub-30 social class
  • Sub-100s
    • Those with D-Levels between 100-51
    • The most populous, along with the ex-100s
    • Where perfect categories start to become more common
  • Ex-100s
    • Those with D-Levels between 300-101
    • The most populous, along with sub-100s
    • Perfect categories are found occasionally, while deficient categories become increasingly common
    • Socially, ex-100 culture is the most varied
  • Ex-300s
    • Those with D-Levels over 300
    • Socially, ex-300s are generally poor

Clarifying Notes:

  • Testing D-Levels before a person's teens is illegal, but is still common
  • As non-devs, those with a deviation of 0, are the result of uncontrollable, in utero genetic spasms, they can belong to any social class
    • While it is greatly frowned upon to out a non-dev, it is not illegal, and many people, including Olivier de la Rue's parents, are known to do so for the prestige and power associated with non-devs
  • People with higher and lower D-Levels are regularly born into different social classes
    • Most people do not notably care about D-Levels, as by the time a child is tested they have already grown up in their family's social class
    • The only exception to this are:
      • sub-50s, who are known for kicking anyone with a D-Level over 50 out of their family, and
      • ex-300s, who often pressure those with D-Levels under 300 to leave in search of better lives
  • The most significant differences in ability are seen at 300D, 50D and 30D
  • In comparison, those in the 130-80D range are often a mesh of average abilities and perfect categories, making it nearly impossible to determine who would be more skilled in most things given only a person's D-Level
    • That said, socially there are large differences between the cultures of the ex-100 and sub-100 social classes
  • Excess categories are rare and considered even more detrimental to a person's ability to live than a deficient category is
    • For example, Pria Braybun has an excess connection category and spends much of her life trying to deafen her connection abilities

Other Terms