Magical Side-Effects

[Gawian]

I know it may be a little cheeky asking you guys to help develop my story, but I've been sat on an idea for a little while now, but I can't settle on a definite.

I'm making a world where Technology and Arcane Arts sit side-by-side.

But in the stories that I've read, Magic always seems like a clean source of energy. I want a way to flip that on its head.

Although personal magic has very few side-effects (fatigue mostly), I want my world to use magic in mass production. As such, I want a form of magical pollution. Arcane radiation.

The issue I'm having is, what does that pollution do??

Obviously it still uses Technology, which has all the forms of pollution that we have today. Environmental destruction and all that. (Unless you believe Climate Change is a myth, in which case, our planet is fine. Ice breaks all the time.)

I want Magical Pollution to have a few similar, long-term effects.

 

[Toby Frost]

Maybe it's like real radiation, but more "reliable", in that it creates functional monsters instead of just making people sick. A magically polluted place could be full of weird little creatures made out of clay making a nuisance of themselves like something from a Hieronymus Bosch painting. It would be like going into a surrealist picture, where the laws of physics broke down as they were corrupted by rampant magic.

 

[Gawian]

Maybe it's like real radiation, but more "reliable", in that it creates functional monsters instead of just making people sick. A magically polluted place could be full of weird little creatures made out of clay making a nuisance of themselves like something from a Hieronymus Bosch painting. It would be like going into a surrealist picture, where the laws of physics broke down as they were corrupted by rampant magic.

That's a tasty idea. The idea of magical critters running around tech facilities.

Like World War 2 pilots said, "A Gremlin in the Works".

 

[chrispenycate]

Read Harry Turtledove's 'The Case of the Toxic Spell Dump' (which is fun anyway) for an environmental agency clearing up ancient spells.

The Case of the Toxic Spell Dump by Harry Turtledove

 

[Hugh]

The question for me is what is the result of excessive magical practice on the human psyche. If you are over-academic, over-intellectual, over-athletic, overuse hallucinogens, overuse the internet, all of these have some downside, so what is the downside of overuse of magic? And if there is magical pollution on an industrial scale how will this affect reality itself and the perceptions of those in the neighbourhood? All kinds of stuff could break through into this reality, likewise peoples' perceptions could become significantly deluded.

 

[Gawian]

And if there is magical pollution on an industrial scale how will this affect reality itself and the perceptions of those in the neighbourhood? All kinds of stuff could break through into this reality, likewise peoples' perceptions could become significantly deluded.

So... in residential area that are HEAVILY affected by magical pollution, peoples nightmares become reality??

Or just, nightmarish creatures are a habit? So residential areas near Arcano-Tech (My preliminary name for Magical Mass-Production) districts are like warzones?

 

[Dave]

Firstly, if you want Magic to obey the laws of Physics then the biggest problem is surely the Conservation of Energy i.e. from where is the energy coming with which you are creating balls of fire, light and lightening, or making things grow, or moving things? The pollution resulting from Magic use would be the same as it would be with any other human activity - gases from burning, toxic waste, or heat, light and noise pollution, or radiation. However, the energy source that is being tapped into must be getting depleted. If not, how is it being topped up and what is the negative effect of doing that? If it is being depleted, what happens when it runs low? Does magic stop? Many have asked these fictional questions.

If you really need to create a new kind of magical pollution, and want to know how that pollution will be dealt with, then as in the real world, it probably wouldn't be tackled at all until it became such a problem that places became toxic or unsightly. At first it would be hidden, then later after a public outcry it would need to be cleaned up in the way old industrial brownfield sites are, usually by scraping off the surface and burying it. If Magic comes from another dimension, can you just send the pollution back there? What about the creatures who live on that dimension? I doubt they will be too pleased.

 

[Gawian]

Firstly, if you want Magic to obey the laws of Physics then the biggest problem is surely the Conservation of Energy i.e. from where is the energy coming with which you are creating balls of fire, light and lightening, or making things grow, or moving things? The pollution resulting from Magic use would be the same as it would be with any other human activity - gases from burning, toxic waste, or heat, light and noise pollution, or radiation. However, the energy source that is being tapped into must be getting depleted. If not, how is it being topped up and what is the negative effect of doing that? If it is being depleted, what happens when it runs low? Does magic stop? Many have asked these fictional questions.

The way I plan on having magic work is a sort of molecular weaving mixed with alchemy.

Personal magic for example, takes the atoms/molecules in the surrounding area and alters them to suit the users needs. Whether its conjuring a needed item or wall from thin air, or creating a wormhole to allow personal teleportation. So obviously, in a personal manner, its small scale magic. Taking a few atoms of air for example, won't be a problem because there is just more air to take its place.

However, when it comes to large facilities. They'll be taking much large amounts of molecular "ingredients". As such, I was toying with the idea of void spots. Power reactors for example, draw so much so that it leaves areas devoid of any atom/molecule.

But I couldn't settle on that idea because I kept coming up with more questions than I could answer.

 

[Dave]

Read Harry Turtledove's 'The Case of the Toxic Spell Dump' (which is fun anyway) for an environmental agency clearing up ancient spells.

The Case of the Toxic Spell Dump by Harry Turtledove

Thanks, I've ordered this book to read on holiday, though at a cheaper price than the copy in your link!

 

[Locrian]

I kind of like the idea of magic having an impact on life in the area if used industrially, for example magical factories literally sucking the life force out of the area around them or all of the magic in the air having all sorts of extra chaotic effects like warping physical laws. I also like the idea of pact magic; for example the source of magical power coming from a deal with some kind of otherworldly entity that needs to be appeased somehow for its on going cooperation. It's almost business like which leaves some room for having fun with allegories.

One point as well I feel is overlooked in depictions of magic are the levels of mental focus and concentration people might need to do it. Normally people are shown doing this in some kind of exceptional cool fantasy battle situation, but what about if that is your daily grind 9-5? Your shift manager wants you to Teleport deliveries a hundred times in the next 8 hours. What does that do to you? How often do you make mistakes? How long does it take for your blue-collar magic users to burn out and develop serious problems? What kind of problems?

 

[Ihe]

Magic "gone bad" could distort the physics of a place, or as someone else said, create semi-sentient monsters, or disrupt technology and other magics in the area. A whole bunch of strange magical diseases could also happen (ie, cataracts on your "third/soul eye", plague where you cause pain to anyone you touch, magical flu where every sneeze subtracts a day off your life, etc). These are silly examples, but if you go the silly route, a-la-Pratchett, these are easy. Serious effects will have to be more thought-out, and will depend largely on your world-building.

 

[K.S. Crooks]

Perhaps the use of magic creates a force that is the opposite of what powers regular magic- a mater/antimatter situation. This means the waste must be collected and contained to prevent it from coming into contact with magic's power source. The pollution could also be a type of infection. You can then decide what it's similar to in terms of its effects and transmission.