| From: | Erik Jameson <erikj@****.COM> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Re: Prometheus Unbound (long) |
| Date: | Tue, 19 May 1998 14:05:08 -0400 |
>It may not be possible to perform the magic, but there is nothing to say that
>the theory can not be worked up. And, if there is some form of magic for
>which the mana is not high enough to perform like a normal spell, then make
>the spell a ritual, as they are inherently more powerful than the normal
spell
>being flung on a whim.
A theory is, often, far-removed from the practical application though. A
whole horde of things are "theoretically possible," but we don't do them
because of various issues of practicality, ranging from cost to energy
consumption to size to end-usability.
And ritual magic isn't inherently more powerful than "common" magic, it
merely allows more mana to be channeled because there are more conduits for
magic (i.e. more casters) and the mana builds much slower. But in the end,
a Force 6 Acid Bomb is still a Force 6 Acid Bomb regardless if it is cast
via ritual or "common" magic.
>Necessity is the mother of all inventions. All of the scientist and
people in
>the world can do their best, but if something is truly needed by one
>individual, then they will try and do something about it. And in the
world of
>SR, there are a lot of things people can accomplish if they push
themselves to
>do it.
I'll grant you most of this. But the scientists have a few things that the
"normal" shadowrunners don't have, such as ample time and most importantly,
resources. And by resources, I mostly mean access to very broad and
indepth magic databases that aren't public. They also are public citizens,
which means it is far easier for them to engage in a dialogue with other
magical researchers and attend conferences and the like. The vast majority
of shadowrunners simply don't have access to this vast pool of magical
knowledge. The vast majority of shadowrunning magicians are "users" and
not "programmers" to borrow the computer phrasing.
>And as for shadowrunners, they have to stay on the cutting edge, otherwise
the
>demand for themselves will slowly vanish (along the lines of dead-end tech).
>And anything a runner can do to stay one small or large step ahead of
everyone
>else means they are one of the nova hot runners, and will get the cred for
the
>big runs, and will be the ones people will turn to to get things done.
Again, I'll grant you most of this. But do you think that Sammy the Sam
needs to know anything more about his Ares MP-Laser other than how to use
it? Typically, that's all he needs to now (how many runners do you see
with Firearms B/R? they are few and far between). A lot of shadowrunning
magicians would be like this also, implementing new magical solutions
without necessarily understanding even the root question. There's a reason
why Magical Theory lags behind Sorcery and Conjuring, because theory isn't
a whole lot of help in the middle of a firefight.
>Hey, chummer, Hand-held lasers will be available within the military in 20 to
>30 years. They already have an option for special forces people which places
>a small cartridge into a undermount grenade launcher, and when the trigger is
>pulled a chemical reaction takes place and shoots out a laser beam.
And that undermounted laser is used to temporarily blind people, not to
"shoot" them like Han Solo in Star Wars. Lasers, or energy weapons, need
vast amounts of power to pull that stunt off.
>As for a laser sword, please note, the sword is being made from something
>which is in the books, the Eye Tool Laser which does 4L damage. Now, imagine
>the damage potential of a true Tool Laser which does not have the limitation
>of being within the eyeball cavity and has a larger power source. The amount
>and quality of the damage will increase greatly.
Okay, a laser that doesn't have to tiny and can have a larger power source.
Sounds like an Ares MP-Laser to me. It's not the laser itself I have a
problem with, it's the fact that it "focuses" into a "sword" and I
simply
don't see how either RL or SR physics will allow that to happen. Yes, you
can have a cutting beam. But I can't see how you can focus that beam as
tightly as I seem to think you are doing. Lasers don't lose their
coherence and become mere light in the space of a few meters; even those
cheap laser pointers you can pick up for $20 retain enough coherence over
dozens of meters they are still projecting a laser light over a great
distance.
>A note to you, it has been said by a lot of computer manufacturers that
modern
>computers, the mainframes, are going to be on par with the ones they mention
>in Star Trek, so, reality and fiction are fast becoming a reality. And IIRC,
>somewhere I read that a computer of today would be faster and better than the
>computer that was on the original Enterprise, if it actually existed.
Dead on; a pocket calculator has more processing power than ENIAC. But I
would caution anyone against taking "treknology" too seriously.
>Progress is never slow, it is fast and destructive to those who will not
>change, and it only slows down when the technological infrastructure is
>getting ready for the next leap in the technology level. And as for progress
>being slow, compare the technology level of the beginning of the century and
>today. I would call that a massive and rapid change.
Really? I many ways, our modern century really reflects minor, if rapid,
change. The really major leaps forward came with the Renaissance, when
differing fields of knowledge first began to really intermingle. I would
argue that we are closer in tech level to 1900 than 1900 is 1800, or 1800
is to 1700. Remember, in 1900 we had light bulbs, cars, telephones,
photography, etc., all of which are around today in *improved* versions.
Today, much of what is known is easily available to nearly anyone,
especially those with a computer. There really aren't massive intuitive
leaps forward anymore (at least compared to the Renaissance anyway).
Instead, through a variety of factors, you have massive amounts of tiny
changes. I would argue that Einstein had the last major intuitive leap
forward, with his theories of relativity. Everything since then has been a
relatively clear and concise progression of small steps.
You see this the most with computers. Other fields of inquiry aren't
progressing anywhere near as fast. But right now, there are very powerful
economic reasons to progress as fast as is possible in the computer industry.
If you want to know about how change and technological progression works,
I'd check out books like "The Pinball Effect," "Connections" and the
"The
Day the Universe Changed" all written by the same author who has presented
these and other books in television programms of similar titles (can often
be found on PBS or the cable shows like The Learning Channel).
>> Okay, here goes. What is teleportation? It, in some fashion, takes
object
>> A and very nearly instantaneously takes object a from point 1 to point 2.
^^^^^^^^^^^
>Okay, I can believe that. Though, doing something in SR that is
>instantaneous, is something that happens only with LOS spells.
Didn't say instant. Said nearly instant.
>Tech is always harder to make, but once made is something that is easily
mass-
>produced and replicated. Magic is not so easily replicated or mass-produced.
Again, very true. Total agreement there.
>> What about taking the body into the astral plane and doing it that way?
As
>> ED has shown, that is possible, given appropriate mana and tech levels.
>> But this isn't currently possible in 205X; this comes from a
conversation I
>> had with Steve Kenson about two years ago when I was writing an article
for
>> the now-defunct Shadowlands magazine.
>
>True, but for an intiated mage, the mana potential that they can access is
far
>greater than a non-initiated mage also, they have direct access to the
>metaplanes.
I'm not sure of what you mean by "the mana potential that they can access
is far greater than for a non-initiated mage." Yes, their Initiation Grade
raises their Magic Attribute, which does allow them to, in game, throw more
dice and to cast higher Force spells. This means, to me, not that they can
access more mana but that they can control mana far better. They have
learned techniques and tricks (like Centering) that allows them greater
control over magic, not necessarily granting them more magic.
And I'm not sure what you mean by direct access to the metaplanes. Unless
I'm mistaken, they merely have access; they still have to astrally project,
then meet with Keeper at the Threshold to *then* proceed to the metaplanes.
I don't think magicians can just leap from their body straight to a
metaplane.
>Sounds like some something vindictive and sorry, <rant engaged> something
>close-minded. <rant disengaged>
Wasn't my idea. So don't rant at me. I merely reported a previous
experience with another GM that was otherwise top-notch.
>Sorry if I may have flamed you, I was tired, and the "attitude" of the
letter
>was too much for me.
Actually, no, you didn't flame me. But I don't understand where you and
Keith keep drawing this "attitude" thing from. Yes, I have a style to my
writings. Yes, I dislike it when things stray too far from canon. Yes,
I'm opinionated, but I'm very careful in speech and writing to add plenty
of qualifiers, like "apparently" and "seems to be" for example. But
I'm
not sure of what you mean by attitude.
Anyway, I tire of this. As I'm sure others are too.
Erik J.
"Ladies & Gentleman, the newest member of the band, the one and only Spice
Boy, GRUMPY SPICE!!!" <and the crowd goes wild!!!>
