"Magic is what makes fantasy fantastic," someone says, "you can't apply rules to them or else it loses wonder!" I respond, "Sure, but if you want to write them you will certainly want to know how they work." Writing is all about execution, and I find applying some basic laws of physics to magic systems make them more understandable and realistic. Here, I'm going to outline my basic method for developing a magic system.
Column by Chaos2651
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Danica Jarvis switched off the Moonskimmer's main engine, and her stomach lurched in the familiar way that marked the change to zero gravity. She fired the attitude thrusters, turning the mushroom-shaped ship until it floated head-down over the Moon, so the long stem of the engine wouldn't get in the way. The clear diamondglass of the Moonskimmer's hull allowed an unobstructed view of the lunar landscape.
From her pilot's chair in the center, she looked around at the eight tourists strapped to their seats along the circumference of the cabin. "This is the fun part of the trip. Unbuckle your seatbelts and float while you enjoy the view."
"Fun?" A teenage boy -- Bryson Sullivan, according to the manifest -- snorted. "Can we go back to the Hilton now?" He sported a bright purple datavisor and a shaved head.
Danica mustered her best be-nice-to-the-people-who-pay-my-salary grin and said, "Don't worry, Eddie and I will have you back to Luna City before the basketball game tonight. Right, Eddie?" Lunar-gravity basketball was a major tourist draw.
"Yes," said Eddie, the Moonskimmer's A.I. "Our total flight time is less than two and a half hours. You'll get to see the far side of the Moon, something fewer than a thousand humans have seen with their own eyes. You should enjoy it." Eddie's voice was enthusiastic.
The boy rolled his eyes, then opaqued his visor.
Danica decided to ignore the useless brat and turned her attention to the rest of the passengers. She pointed to one of the craters below and began her routine tour-guide patter.
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"Okay, folks, if you'd please return to your seats and buckle up," said Danica, "I'm going to turn the ship so you can see the Earth rise over the lunar horizon."
It took a couple of minutes for everyone to get settled. For most of the tourists, this was their first zero-gee experience, and it showed.
"Wait, I want to try zero-gee," said Bryson. He began unbuckling his seatbelt.
Danica couldn't believe it. The kid had stayed in his seat the whole time, probably playing videogames on his visor.
"I'm sorry," she said, "but we--"
Fwoomp!
The Moonskimmer jerked sideways, then lunged forward at its maximum acceleration of 0.75 gee.
Bryson yelped as he hit the floor.
...
And if all of Analog’s stories were as good as “The Ashes of His Fathers,” the magazine might sell substantially better.Read "The Ashes of His Fathers" for free on my website.
The story is personal in scale and filled with mystery, action, and even tragedy. Stone explores many themes: the nature of life, magic versus technology, magic as technology, moral dilemmas, and self-sacrifice being only a few. He does so while also creating a complex plot that doesn’t confuse the reader, establishing depth of character, and describing a rich and fascinating world while also maintaining a good pace. It is, by far, the best story in this issue.I can't make the story available for free on my website because IGMS still has exclusive rights to it, but you can read the beginning here, and if you want to read the end, the issue only costs $2.50.
P.R. Problems
by Eric James Stone
What annoys me the most about vampires and werewolves is their good P.R. Not that I want a return to the days of villagers with pitchforks and torches, but all the romantic attachment to predators who hunt and kill humans makes me sick.
So when a cannibalistic serial killer started leaving the gnawed-on bones of his victims in public places, did the media label him a vampire? No. A werewolf? No.
The press called him the "Grove City Ghoul."
Those reporters had obviously never heard of fact-checking.
First, we ghouls are carrion eaters, not predators -- hyenas, not wolves. Sure, we like to feast on human flesh, but we find bodies that are already dead and eat them, after they've had a chance to decay a bit. For some inexplicable reason, people seem to think that's more grotesque than the actual killing by vampires and werewolves.
Second, a ghoul wouldn't just gnaw on the bones, he would eat them. Besides being nice and crunchy, they're a good source of calcium. That's why ghouls never suffer from osteoporosis.
We ghouls just have bad P.R. And the serial killer wasn't helping.
