Alphas

Homo Alphanis

Alphans are people that have magical abilities. At present, about 50% of the population is considered "Alphan."

Using their powers can tire them out much like exercising, and over-extending themselves can lead to magical strain/injury, much like over-working a muscle.

The first (known) Alphans came into existence during the Industrial Revolution, just as the world's technological capabilities started to grow significantly. By the 1870s, the amount of people with these new magical abilities had grown to 2% of the world's population (a large number, at that time).

Then, in 1964, when the amount of Alphans (as they had come to be called) had reached almost 20% of the global population, scientists finally found the connection: Technology. As the world's use of technology grew, so did the percentage of Alphans. At the forefront of this discovery was a relatively young scientist by the name of Dr. Peter Janowski. Although not an Alphan himself (to his own knowledge), he was fascinated by their existence, and went on to make many more discoveries in the field of Alphan Science.

In 1979, Dr. Janowski started his biggest project yet: opening a school with the sole purpose of educating Alphan students. Up until this point, no such (successful) schools existed, and public and private schools alike were having great difficulty catering to (and in some cases, controlling) their Alphan students. With immense help from various parties interested in seeing the school come to fruition, not the least of which was his own wife, a schoolteacher at the time, Dr. Janowski was able to open his school in 1983.

It was incredibly successful. Before long, similar schools popped up all over the world, all following Janowski's example.