Paging Arthur C. Clarke... [Video]

[trustycrowbar]

[Gordon fidgets when he first sits down in front of the camera, fiddling with his glasses.]

So... for those of you who don't know me, my name is Doctor Gordon Freeman. I'm a scientist and a Transport just like all of you, and there's something that I've observed for the longest time that intrigues me.

Magic. Some of us use it here, or at least have powers that are worthy of the term... Now, I'm not looking to start any sort of science-versus-magic debate here. On the contrary; I'd like to ask those of you who use such powers a few questions about them so that we can gain a better idea of what kinds of powers we've got around here.

Where do you draw your power from? How is it focused? Do you use spells, words, gestures, symbols? Or something else? Are there any dangers to you when you use it? Things like this. I realize some of this might be personal, but anything you can volunteer would be useful; hell, it's still better than nothing.

Comments

[video]

[shelkethetransparent]

[Oh hey, nerd talk. And someone willing to discuss magic and science in the same context and maybe not give her funny looks when she mentions 'lifestreams.' Maybe.]

[It probably doesn't help that she looks nine when she appears on the screen, her glowing eyes a bit narrowed as she considers the camera.]

Magic is a part of science. Although people generally tried to avoid the term when they discussed science.

[trustycrowbar]

...?!

[His eyebrows raise, and not really because of her unusual appearance.] I don't like the word myself, but only because it implies unknowability and cheapened mystique that others would rally behind to keep the big bad skeptics at bay. It's... your opinion that the two share some fundamental aspects, then?

[Oh my god. And here he was afraid to voice the theory himself. He knows Tony'd never let him live it down, at least... And here he has it echoed within three minutes of his broadcast.]

[shelkethetransparent]

It isn't my opinion. Shinra did significant research into magic after they began tapping the lifestream, trying to determine why it granted people abilities.

[She's not entirely certain how to explain this, all of her information is second-hand from reading the Shinra networks.]

...Magic was a side effect of exposure to materia. Which you've also probably never heard of.

[trustycrowbar]

You're right. Nor have I heard of this... lifestream thing. I take it Shinra was a research corporation of some sort? [Now THOSE, at least, he's familiar with.}

[shelkethetransparent]

No one has. [She's getting a bit irritated by that.] They started out as an energy corporation, but...eventually they were doing everything.

[trustycrowbar]

[Aaaaand they probably worked outside the law and reasonable ethics, under mountains of paperwork held together with red tape. Unfortunately, he's already seen all that before.]

So what are they? Materia? The lifestream? This sounds like exactly the sort of thing I was asking about.

Man, I hope I am getting my made up final fantasy science right.

[shelkethetransparent]

[Well, outside the law until they took over the world, anyway.]

The lifestream is the energy that drives all life on Gaia. Everything there is made of it. Our science assumes that every planet has one, but so far people I have spoken to have...disagreed.

[Her science wasn't weird, damn it.]

When the lifestream turns into a liquid it's called mako, which is what Shinra powered the world on. When that liquid crystalizes, it's called Materia.

Video

[yamaxanadu]

I would be glad to answer any of your questions.

I draw my power from my surroundings as well as from within. But I also hold a great amount of energy about myself which most can't tap into.

I can focus it a few different ways, I can use spells if I wish, and gestures are handy. Though in general will and desire is all I need to use my power.

There are no dangers to me while using it, though I do have an item that requires a lot of energy to use, so I will become tired if I use it too much.

Do you have any other questions?

[Video]

[foolish_seal]

[Sure, why not?]

I got time. I'll answer a few of those.

My ability is using a Persona, a physical manifestation of the psyche. In order to use it fully, though, I have to be in the right state of mind, which I can get to with an Evoker.

[He holds up an object to the camera. It looks remarkably like a handgun, the only differences being the square bore and the lack of magazine.]

The only real danger of my using is that if it gets hurt, I feel it, as well. There's also certain elemental affinities that can mess with the user if not accounted for.

[trustycrowbar]

So, a persona is like an avatar you summon to fight for you, essentially? That's jungian as hell, but it makes sense. I guess.

How do these personae materialize? As in, where does the matter that make them up come from? And what do you mean "elemental affinities?"

[trustycrowbar]

[Okay, he can accept ambient power draw. Hawking radiation, infrared slavery, and zero-point energy are all things that can pull a hell of a lot of energy technically out of nowhere, but to harness it normally takes more energy than it gives.]

A few more. This power you use... what kind of things can you actually do with it?

[video]

[standup_for_justice]

I'd be happy to help!

Okay, basically magic comes from different things depending on what kind of magic you know. Shamanism comes from the energy of one of the five elements -- earth, air, fire, water or astral. White magic... it's sort of the life force of the area, I guess? Black magic comes from the power of the mazoku, and holy magic comes from the gods. I don't know any holy magic spells, and I don't think they or black magic would work here anyway, since we don't have any mazoku or gods.

Humans don't have enough energy to do things like light fires by themselves, which is why they call on something else. It's... a spell is a set of chaos words that you use to focus and invoke the power, then a few power words that you use to release it. You don't have to say them out loud, but it's usually easier to cast the spell that way. It takes longer, though. Miss Lina -- she's a friend of mine from back home -- is good enough that she can say the chaos words for one spell and think another spell, but that's really, really hard. For simple spells, I can cast them silently, but usually I'll say the power words out loud, at least. Plus I think it sounds cooler that way.

I guess you might use a gesture to direct a combat spell -- like once you have a fireball, you need to aim it. And that doesn't get into things like making talismans and stuff; I don't know all that much about that, to be honest.

As for dangers, well... casting spells over and over is tiring, since, even if it isn't your energy, you have to control it. Like anything -- if you run for too long, you get all sore and have to stop, or you could strain a muscle. If you push yourself too hard using magic, you can get hurt.

[Amelia looks serious here]

And bad things can happen if you can't control the energy you call up. Especially if it's something big.

That and some people forget how strong some spells are.

[And is that a bit of embarrassment?]

[trustycrowbar]

[Oh god, LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT EVIL RESEARCH COMPANIES TAKING OVER THE WORLD.]

Sounds a little like the petroleum industry. Only plastic doesn't normally give you superpowers. Y'know, there's something called the Gaia Hypothesis that models a life-sustaining planet as a single organism as a simplification for its complicated internal homeostasis mechanisms. It's not a popular paradigm to teach, frankly I see it as a fanciful notion more than a model, but I can see this "lifestream" could be a logical component of it. Problem is, I've never come into contact with anything that verified it.

[He stops.]

...Then again, there WAS that weird blue gel on Xen that healed everything it touched. A-and then there were the crystals that seemed to form around it...

voice

[imperfect]

You say it like science doesn't need any of those things.

[Guess who is looking to start a debate. Argument. Same difference.]

voice

[trustycrowbar]

[There's a short pause before he replies.]

I never said that. In fact that's the point. Spellcasting in some worlds seems to have everything in common with the scientific method. Repeatable procedures, expected results... That's the reason for this survey. I think they may be two sides of the same coin, and I want to see just how far the analogy goes.

voice

[imperfect]

Yeah, but not everyone you ask is going to define "magic" the same way as you. It's just a label, and it's a label some people will attach to anything, trust me. Hard to talk about the distinction when you don't have meaningful categories to start with.

audio

[kingside]

I unfortunately can't contribute to this discussion, but I would like to thank you for starting it. It's a fascinating subject.

[yamaxanadu]

I can manifest it into raw energy, use it to form objects, fly, teleport, manipulate an area, control spirits, create barriers, control objects, and a number of other things. There is very little I am not physically capable of doing as a Yama.

[Action]

[strategic_guile]

[Blaine is coming out of his room and Gordon is in the kitchen/living room. Having seen the video, he gets a drink and settles across from the older man.]

Have you found out anything yet? [Takes a sip] Are you gonna make a pokedex of powers?

[trustycrowbar]

A what? [HE DOES NOT KNOW OF YOUR POKEMANS, BLAINE.] Ah... Not exactly. It'd be useful to have a catalogue of what everyone's capable of, but what I'm really looking for is a sense of what they all have in common. I find that, I find the fundamental points of how they all work.

[He flops the tablet onto the coffee table and leans back on the couch.] And I get the feeling that the fundamental points of science aren't far removed from them.

[strategic_guile]

No pokemon, huh? That's kinda sad. [Leans back] Assuming that all universes have the same fundamental rules.

video;

[crymoore]

[ She remembers you, buddy. ]

Where do I even begin? [ A blissful sigh. ] From the first question? From the history of my world? There are just so many opportunities to discuss this at great length that I do find myself a bit overwhelmed.

[shelkethetransparent]

[Another world with a theory that sounded like how her own world actually functions. Fascinating. She shifts a bit in her seat as she considers it.] On my own world the lifestream is unavoidable. There are places where it bubbles to the surface and creates mako fountains. If it were deep enough, conceivably few people would know about it, allowing a hypothesis with little evidence but...

[It still seems unlikely. Do other worlds really not have a lifestream? Hmm.]

What is Xen?

[video]

[toldyouso]

You do not want to get into it.

[Pete only knows that magic is trouble.]

[trustycrowbar]

[Wow. All that, huh?]

Sounds like it'd take a lot of mental discipline. What are "chaos words," exactly?