From:	sfeley@*****.com (Stephen Eley)
Subject:	Legal Magic
Date:	Tue, 16 Aug 2005 14:23:07 -0400

On 8/16/05, snicker@*********.net <snicker@*********.net> wrote:
> > From: Michael Weber [mailto:weberm@*******.net]
> >
> > Perhaps this is a silly question, but how would someone know a mage knows an
illegal
> > spell?
>
> I seem to recall reading somewhere that every spell cast has an astral
"fingerprint" as it were, and certain forensic magics would be able to detect
that fingerprint, as well as associate it with the casting mage (ala ritual magic). I'm
thinking something similar to psychometry or perhaps an astral-only form of
clairvoyance...

Yes, that's in the standard rulebook. But that's casting the spell,
not knowing it. That's the distinction we're arguing right now.

The only way to tell if the magician *knows* a given spell would be to
use Mind Probe or some other interrogation spell, and that ought to be
inadmissible in court. (In the UCAS, if they still have any shreds
left of the US Constitution, it would violate the defendant's Fifth
Amendment rights.)

So come to think of it, yes, in a country where Mind Probes were
acceptable for prosecutors (Aztlan, perhaps) it might be illegal
simply to know a spell. But in a country with that legal ethic, the
judicial system is probably a joke anyway, and it doesn't matter if
you *actually* broke the law if the government wants you.

--
Have Fun,
Steve Eley (sfeley@*****.com)
ESCAPE POD - the SF podcast magazine
http://escape.extraneous.org