The Magic of Magicbuilding: Scientific Sampling

Welcome to the Magic of Magicbuilding, our little spinoff feature that focuses specifically on building a magical system for a fantasy setting.  This week, we're going to walk through how our ideas for magic might work in a sample setting.

Magical Framework, Take One

As of right now, we've built a magical system that we think could work when it comes to functioning alongside the technology of approximately modern day.  Very precise magical symbols, called sigils, are drawn and then activated with a minimal amount of energy and conscious effort from a caster.  Once activated, the sigil operates similarly to a program, drawing power from one of a number of alternate dimensions and then shaping that energy, which accordingly takes on a form.  The specific form we've been calling a "spell" for ease of reference.

We've established that the cost of activating the sigil is normally the most exacting part of casting a spell, with larger sigils taking more effort but not significantly more.  In turn, we've also established that the most difficult part of using sigils is ordinarily the precision involved; larger, sloppier sigils are actually easier to activate than smaller and more intricate sigils, but in turn lead to more dangerous results.  Last but not least, we've established that the process of casting these spells can be made easier with two technological developments- reproduction technology, such as printing presses, and energy-storing technology, which allows the cost to be reduced (but not negated, since conscious effort is a fundamental requirement).

We haven't gotten any more detailed than this, and at present, we don't need to.  We've got an idea of how technology would alter the way magic works; now we want to get an idea for how magic would alter technology.

Insert Technological Disruption Here

One of the most important things to consider when constructing a magic system is what magic will replace.  If the answer is "nothing," then you're forced to ask, "Why not?  Is magic not as useful as technology?"

You'd be surprised to discover how often the answer to the second question is "Yes."

Normally, this happens because creators of magic systems try to balance magical power and technological power.  "There has to be a drawback to magic," they say, "or else people will prefer magic wands to crossbows, every time."  This is a decent enough idea on its own, but balance is notoriously difficult to find.  Unless you're calculating the amount of time and energy it takes to learn how to cast one "stone bullet" spell and comparing that to the amount of time and energy it takes to fire a pistol with the same accuracy, you probably aren't doing it right.  This results in the creators employing easier-to-manage ideas, such as the concept of a magical world coexisting but not interacting with the normal world.  "We don't have to worry about balance," they say, "if magic and technology don't mix." 

To further muddy the waters, many creators, including some of the biggest names in the field, don't bother considering how the two interact at all.  For every well-thought-out mage-punk story out there, there are dozens upon dozens of fantasies where entire civilizations build medieval-style castles that would look at home in the real world, regardless of how prevalent aerial attacks from fire-breathing dragons are.

Thankfully, that isn't us.  We instead take the stance that balance is for wussies.  Magic should, at least occasionally, be better than the technological equivalent.  In point of fact, considering that we want magic and technology to blend and coexist, we're looking for a setup that is more along the lines of "at least half the time, magic is better."  And since we're not worried about balance, we can go further and say that "at least half the time, magic is better... and it's not even close."

From this viewpoint, let's consider how magical sigils that activate with a thought could either improve upon or completely replace various fields of technology.  We'll go alphabetically, and because the list is long, we'll also try to be brief.  No promises!

  Aerospace.  Planes are much easier to fly when you can generate lift with markings on the wings instead of engines.  Other sigils could, perhaps, reduce the effects of wind resistance.  This puts less pressure on planes to be aerodynamic and increases the creativity of their design.

  Agriculture.  While we haven't touched on the possibility of organic creations, at the very least, it would be possible to boost the growth of plants and animals in a few different ways.  The flashiest method would be weather control, but just as valid would be plates with sigils that generate sunlight for a set number of hours per day.

  Books.  Printing both benefits magic and would benefit from it.  A vicious cycle would eventually result in sigils being used to print sigils, since a sigil certainly sounds cheaper than a press.

  Communication.  Press something that looks like a small, complicated picture and then speak to someone from a distance?  That could as easily be a regular phone as a magical one.

  Computers.  Probably the biggest inadvertent benefit of sigils as magic.  Not just because sigils lend themselves well to multi-layered, wafer-thin hardware, but because experience with sigils is going to teach people how to program much sooner than they normally would.

  Construction.  This one really depends on what we decide our limits with magic are.  At present, most of the effects are energy-based, but we have often mentioned that water can be produced by magic.  Without making any major decisions, we can at least say that moving and supporting materials will both benefit from magic, as would any process that involves heat, like hot riveting.

  Energy.  The most obvious and drastic change to technology is going to be the source of energy.  Sigils will be able to operate as individual energy sources at least on par with automobile engines (and by extension, generators), which means that only commercial and industrial productions are going to need power plants.  These power plants will consist of rooms where casters carefully activate sigils to produce the energy, rather than increasingly complicated methods of boiling water.  Refueling stations charge convenience fees to replace the effort of activating sigils yourself, and power will still run into homes for similar reasons, but most mass-scale generated power is supplemental, rather than the primary source of energy.

  Health.  This one might actually be more rudimentary than in a normal, modern world.  If casters can tap into a mystical source of healing, there will be less impetus to develop modern medicine.  It may still occur, especially if increased precision with sigils makes healing easier (such as understanding germ theory and using that knowledge to disinfect wounds).

  Hydrology.  As we mentioned, water can be produced by magic, and an extra sigil would control the temperature of the water.  Just like with energy, water lines become supplemental rather than a necessity of modern living.

  Industry.  As we piece our way through the various types of technology, it's becoming increasingly obvious; regardless of just how much can be done with magic alone, its presence makes activities less resource-intensive.  Given that industry is, by definition, resource-intensive, one of two things will happen: either industry will expand to fill the gap, or industry will be more small-scale but ubiquitous, as everybody and their uncle can afford to build a small factory in their garage.  We're leaning toward the latter, but that's more because the difference will be interesting than our belief in the decency of humanity causing us to avoid wrecking the planet if we aren't going to make more money off of it.

  Infrastructure.  With small-scale industry and a lack of power and water production in large centralized plants, infrastructure in general will be less necessary.  Put simply, we won't need as much "stuff" to keep everything going.

  Magic.  Of course, magic will be a technology unto itself, and a popular one.  Magic won't be able to do everything, but magic will be required for society to function.  We imagine that, in practice, professional mages will be a combination of painters and software engineers, ranging from the important folks who design the sigils, all the way down to the poor schlubs who draw and etch them.

  Military.  We'll touch on this one later, as it's a topic big enough to warrant its own post.

  Mining.  Many, if not all, of the processes used to extract and refine minerals could be replaced by magic.  Even if we presume that they don't craft sigils specifically to draw specific minerals right out of the ground, sigil-generated lasers and explosives could neatly pull ore out, and then carts held aloft by sigils could be pushed to the surface.

  Nanotechnology.  This one is interesting.  There is a lower limit to how small a sigil can be, after all, and it's several orders of magnitude above the quantum technology present in, for example, Blu-Ray discs.  Then again, the amount of information held in a single sigil has not been established, but may be enough to render microscopic sigils feasible.

  Transport.  We've already established magic-driven vehicles, but another possibility is magic-enhanced vehicles.  "High-tech" vehicles are more possible with magic, such as levitating trucks that don't need tires.  Even more intriguing, since magic is all about opening dimensional portals, would teleportation be possible?  Such a thing would completely upend how logistics works, even if it had severe limitations.

Conclusion

As of right now, we aren't yet at the point of committing to set results of magic mixing with technology.  However, it's good to consider what the results of that mixing could be, because it points us in the direction that we need to focus on next.  For example, something that was highlighted in our considerations:  we haven't really examined what magic's limits are.  Is it wholly energy-based?  Can it produce matter?  How sophisticated is that production?

Those, dear reader, will be questions for next week.