Subject: [FFML] RE: magic & technology ...
From: Kent Arnold
Date: 3/5/1998, 6:56 AM
To: ffml@fanfic.com

if magic did exist it would probably never die, there will always be the
people who maintain and study it for the sake of knowledge. The power it
granted would be nice added benefit of course.
They would most likely discover that while magic is potent, if thrown
against technology its practicality declines(its easier and faster to
build a robot than a golem). Now if one could figure out how to combine
the two they could create something truly powerful and truly dangerous.

Another thing that would cause a decline in magic is the belief in it.
If one does not respect or believe a mage then he loses considerable
power, maybe not actual magical power, but power nonetheless. Also as
technology advanced people would try and find out HOW something happened
rather than just having faith in the fact that it happened. They would
eventually believe that anything not born of sweat, grease and hard work
didnt deserve any credit at all. So thus magic would of course begin to
decline, fewer and fewer people would be interested in studying it. With
less students comes less teachers, with less teachers it becomes harder
for the next generation to learn, etc, etc, etc.

I have a story about a culture that used both equally, eventually they
combined the two, and shortly after that real technology took a decline.
Magitech was the most important and magic being the second most
important, technology becoming something only the 'unskilled' used.

Just my two cents on magic & technology.