| abstract | - A common concept among certain super powers is the Body Image Template (BIT). The BIT is a theoretical concept where a mutant intrinsically develops a certain template model (the BIT) that is used to mold and control the mutant's physical body. If the body deviates from the BIT (e.g. injury), it will always attempt to revert back to the BIT (e.g. regeneration). An exemplar has a fixed, strong BIT, which tends to be based on his/her subconscious ideals of a perfect body. A shifter, on the other hand, has a more malleable but weaker BIT; their BIT can be changed, sometimes at will. There is even a case of a shifter (Jello) who could be described as an anti-exemplar; her body lacks a BIT and even after BIT implants (see later), quickly reverts to a BIT-less state. A BIT influences non-physical characteristics as well, including memory and Ki. In fact, it is theorized that certain engrams (memory fragments) of the mutant are largely responsible for — or at the very least, influence — the BIT; if a mutant's memory is altered (even through hypnosis), the BIT may change. The BIT is also related to psychokinesis (PK) — an exemplar's PK directly affects his/her own body. However, a BIT does not apparently influence other psychic powers, e.g. implanting a psychic mutant's BIT onto another mutant doesn't give that other mutant psychic abilities. Also, biodevisors claim that BITs are not biological; however, Knick-Knack's BIT-splicer throws some doubt on that assertion. (However, note that the BIT-splicer doesn't work, at least as of early January 2007). There is much ongoing research on measuring, analyzing, copying, altering, and implanting BITs. Knick-Knack's BIT-splicer "splices" a BIT of a donor into another person. However, it's crude in the sense that it also tries to copy the donor's body's physical/biological/genetic features unrelated to the BIT, which must be crudely filtered out. BITs also seem to have an energy level associated with them. Jade's BIT energy level is exceptionally high (possibly enhanced magically), to the point that not even the whole campus can produce enough power to replace it (Jade also has a much lower BIT "waveform" that's associated with her repressed-shifter spirit). A BIT can apparently be described mathematically (think string theory mathematics), but the mathematics require a higher amount of dimensions than reality provides. Thus, it can be said to be structured extra-dimensionally. Due to this, practically all magical attempts to change a persons BIT fail in some way or the other. Sara explains that a BIT may extend across infinite dimensions non-trivially, and thus would require infinite magical power to alter in a fully controlled manner. An extra-dimensional density changer, such as Phase, can also interact with the BIT's extra-dimensional structure; specifically, when she's at so-called "disruption light" density, when she passes through a mutant with a BIT, she can distort that BIT permanently (see Tisiphone). A mutant with a BIT that has inhuman qualities is sometimes classified as having GSD, but it is not technically GSD; GSD traits are genetic, while the BIT is not (at least not directly).
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