| From: | mbroadwa@*******.glenayre.com (Mike Broadwater) |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Re: PHIBERSPACE SUPPORT, & TAKE THIS! |
| Date: | Fri, 17 May 1996 14:13:50 -0500 |
>be able to even *find* all the people who are magically active. Thus,
>you will have a segment of people who go undiscovered by the corporations
>and do whatever the hell they feel like. They may not even know it's
>magic that they're doing ("Gosh I really like the way Linda does my hair.
>She's an absolute wizard with scissors").
Very possible. But how often are you going to see someone who goes "Yeah, I
got my thaumaturgical degree at MIT&M and now I do peoples hair."?
> Second, you seem to assume that all that corporate wage-mages do is
>butt-whoopin' on each other and poor shadowrunners. Wrong. I see the
>security mage as *far* more rare than mages who perform other duties
>within the corp.
Possibly, but don't you think every mage is going to be trained to be able
to fight in case the corp is attacked magically? Otherwise, if they've got
any kind of a focus on them, they're just a walking time bomb. Just like
those high class bodyguards aren't only trained to kill people, but to know
how to act in public.
> The corporations are out to turn a profit, pure and
>simple. Why is it so unreasonable that a media giant like MegaMedia
>wouldn't hire mages for special effects in their sims?
Hey, I agreed to that, if, as Paul said, it's really expensive to put the
effects in afterwards. Which, while I'll go by the books, I think is kind
of silly.
>These mages would
>still be corporate, but they are in no way related to combat.
> Better yet, what about the "Commercial Telepath" a la Babylon 5?
>A mage capable of casting Detect Lie at a business meeting could be
>invaluable.
The medical profession is another one that would seem to
>attract quite a few mages. It is entirely possible that there is a
>magical group within certain hospitals that have the Hippocratic Oath as
>one of their strictures. What are *they* going to be able to accomplish
>in combat?
You should read all the posts. This was the first one I said I thought you
would find.
> This says nothing of the kind of R&D that mages could be involved
>in. How better to study tornados in a controlled environment than to sit
>down and have a chat with a Great Form air elemental or sky spirit?
Where's the profit motive? It's cheaper to just build better buildings.
>Or
>merely conduct pure scientific research into the nature and environs of the
>metaplanes themselves for the sake of expanding mankind's knowledge.
Because, like you said yourself, corps are out to make money. Where's the
profit in this?
> Finally, the police have a (small) horde of mages, very few of whom
>will actually see combat. Mages make great investigators and
>detectives. Why would you call in a detective for magical back-up?
Detectives carry guns, don't they? Why wouldn't a investigative mage carry
a mana-bolt?
> As you can see, being corporate does *not* mean you sit around
>all day waiting for the bad guys to come over the fence.
I didn't say it was. Perhaps thats what it seemed like I said becaues I
wasn't able to get my idea across correctly, but, thats not important right
now. I believe that if a corp, that is pretty sure they're going to be hit
by a magical something sometime, is going to keep mages that can fight
around them. Maybe they do other things in the meantime (like be in a board
meeting, doing a detect lie. Hopefully, they're more powerful than the
oppositions mage, otherwise, they could be fragging with your spell, or
casting their own. Anyway)
>Not every mage
>has acces to, or even an interest in combat spells. Corporations will
>also be hesitant to put mages in the "front lines" as it were simply
>because they are a very big investment and combat is by its very nature
>dangerous.
They'll be as hesitant to put them their as they would any investement, but
you see cybered goons that work for the corp, and they aren't cheap either.
Here's what I'm trying to say:
Sure, not all mages are going to be in combat. But what I disagree with is
that your going to go around and see mages trained to do hairdressing. Yes,
depending on the cost, maybe it is cheaper to have a mage special effects
person. Then again, maybe not. Doctors I totally agree with. Same with
other functions. BUT, I think that you will find that all mages are going
to have some kind of combat spell.
The only reason I started talking about this is because of what Paolo said
about mages being "born" and samurai being "created". It was
insinuated
that their is less role playing involved with being a fighter type than with
being a mage, and I think that's wrong. Sure, mages can be everywhere, but
then again, so are normal people. And thats what samurai start out as. (no,
I'm not trying to wax philisophical. That would be silly. "We're all human" :)
Is any of _this_ getting through to _you_?
Mike Broadwater
http://www.olemiss.edu/~neon
"An object at rest cannot be stopped! YEAH, BABY! YEAH!" - The Evil Midnight
Bomber What Bombs at Midnight.
