Darkover is a series of novels by famed Science Fiction and Fantasy author Marion Zimmer Bradley. They deal with the Lost Colony world of Cottman IV, called Darkover by the natives. The series itself spans many thousands of years of history. The world of Darkover is a feudal society with all technology being matrix science, or laran, which are Psychic Powers enhanced by crystalline matrices. The abilities are said to be the natural talents of humans, enhanced by the matrices and historical selective breeding programs. There are also numerous non-human intelligent species on Darkover.