SYSTEM

SYSTEM (システム) is the main goal of Academy City's research, "Those who are not deities that reach the sense of the heavens" (神ならぬ身にて天上の意思に辿り着くもの). This term was mentioned by Tsukuyomi Komoe while explaining what esper development is to Index and Himegami Aisa. Stating that the goal is to create something beyond a Level 5, since a normal mortal cannot understand. Then, if someone has power beyond mortals then he/she might be able to understand the will of the heavens.

Index, when she heard of this in the novel (in the Anime she just left it as that), she got a fright. This theory sounds close to the Qabbalah theory of the Magic side, where the heavens are not described on the Tree of Life, Sephiroth, though other areas like humans and angels are clearly stated. Some factions then stated if humans can't understand then all they have to do is obtain a body that's beyond humanity. Their theory is humans are but immature gods that can reach ascension and God's power with enough training, which the 12 Apostles see as blasphemy. This theory is called Gnosticism according to Index.

Aisa thought of Aureolus Izzard's "Ars Magna" - the theory behind that is "to purify the murky, lead-like soul of a human into a pure golden soul of a angel". It also occurred to her that it's strange how Academy City, a force that's completely opposite to religion arrived at the same answer. It could be that whatever path humans take they would arrive at the same answer, or maybe there's something else behind all this.

It turned out that she's correct about the something else, as it was revealed the founder of Academy City was the magician Aleister Crowley later, who based the current science of Academy City on his magical knowledge, only that he (and by extension Academy City) differs from the Magic side in their methods of achieving the goal.

Some other scientists of Academy City would go to extreme lengths for this goal, creating projects like the 'Level 6 Shift' and the SYSTEM projects that toys with human lives in the name of scientific discovery.