The Pub Discussion Board

The scroll that was stolen earlier had HUNDREDS of spells in it, and was considered a national treasure.  The flute doesn't work unless you also know the hex.  Also, the flute has been sitting there for hundreds of years, unbothered.  Sorry, but human nature says that things that fade into the background do not grab our attention nor merit our effort.

And... what use would they have to be shown modern weapons?  They can't realistically make use of them.  Realize that there are probably more Americans involved in arms production than all of the people living in Callamandia.  Technology requires a large population, because so many of the items produced are so specific.  Modern weapons require purchase of weapons, ammo, maintenance equipment, replacement parts, they run OUT of ammunition... it's just not a wizard's way of doing things.  Everyone has blind spots.

Further, most wizards who live in Earth don't really give a shit about Dugerra (obviously), so why would they show them anything?

As to nuking Vrudena:  That would be a heinous and massively unethical act.  Also not a wizard's way of doing things.

Eric Storm

You know, that could be a new form of Elemandy:  Radiation or Nuclear Energy.  It is VERY present in all things and while the vast majority of radiation is energy (Gamma) Alpha and Beta Radiation are definitively particles.  Electricity being the movement of Electrons could be the basis of the control of sub-atomic particles.

P.S. @Eric: The "drama in the LBC" statement is a reference to a song from the 90's by Snoop Dogg.  I happened to hear it on the way home from work the other day since I listen to SiriusXM 90's channel.  It got stuck in my head.  Damn earworms.

Last edited by Fenixreign (2016-10-03 04:56:10)

I would like to point out that military helmets are actually more of a false sense of safety. Helmets are more fore shrapnel and grazing shots. If the rifle being used was a .223 or better the round would easily penetrate through the the skull and out the rear of the helmet. Now whether or not it would hit its intended target is more of a matter of luck. When a bullet hits a object its speed is altered as well as its trajectory because it's stable flight path has been altered. Needless to say it's more a matter of luck than anything now that the round has been fired.

Eric Storm wrote:

The scroll that was stolen earlier had HUNDREDS of spells in it, and was considered a national treasure.  The flute doesn't work unless you also know the hex.  Also, the flute has been sitting there for hundreds of years, unbothered.  Sorry, but human nature says that things that fade into the background do not grab our attention nor merit our effort.

And... what use would they have to be shown modern weapons?  They can't realistically make use of them.  Realize that there are probably more Americans involved in arms production than all of the people living in Callamandia.  Technology requires a large population, because so many of the items produced are so specific.  Modern weapons require purchase of weapons, ammo, maintenance equipment, replacement parts, they run OUT of ammunition... it's just not a wizard's way of doing things.  Everyone has blind spots.

Further, most wizards who live in Earth don't really give a shit about Dugerra (obviously), so why would they show them anything?

As to nuking Vrudena:  That would be a heinous and massively unethical act.  Also not a wizard's way of doing things.

Eric Storm

Yes I know that nuking them would be unethical. But you would think that some where in the Callamandia that there is a intelligence service that deals with the technos. Have they all been napping? Not to mention some of the people from earth would have at some time talked about World War II.

Archangel:  I do research this stuff, you know.  Your information is out of date.  The helmet either currently being issued, or next to be issued, to the US Army, is spec'd to stop a rifle round.  And even if it wasn't, there are commercial protective helmets out there that are, which would have been what David got hold of.

riun:  Why would the Callamandian government waste their time on gathering intelligence about Earth?  If the king doesn't know what a gun is, it means that Earth tech has not involved itself in Callamandian affairs for CENTURIES, if ever.  This is not the US Government, with millions upon millions of workers that they can throw at every task they think of, and where they invent new tasks just to keep people busy.  This is a SMALL government, with targeted goals, and a very limited number of people to meet them.  The intelligence apparatus they have is devoted to rather more existential threats, like Vrudena.

Why would a technomander create a magical device that screws with technology?  Hmmm...  how about, because it's in his field of study?

Fenixreign:  First off, you're bouncing back and forth between "things".  Radiated energy, and subatomic particles.  Yes, radiation exists in quanta, but the "photon" is a very special kind of wave-like particle... or particle-like wave, or whichever you wish to call it.  A quark, however, is a particle, plain and simple.  (Or as simple as subatomic physics is allowed to get.)  You can't act as if the two are the same.  Photons, for one thing, are massless, and quarks are not.  How you deal with them would be inherently different, and couldn't be classified as the same kind of -mandy.  Radiomandy would have to be the manipulation specifically of EM radiation.  The manipulation of subatomic particles would be... nucleomandy?  Quarkomandy?  I'm not even sure what you'd call it.

And... you know, we can probably stop right here, as this is the nature of the problem.  When you get down to this level, you can't even adequately describe what you're dealing with, without quantum mechanics, calculus, and a degree in physics.  This is well beyond all but maybe one or two Callamandians.  And who's to say that they're good elemanders?  Understanding intuitively what you're interacting with is a prerequisite to making anything happen in elemandy.  People can understand dirt, water, fire, electricity, and even air... but almost no one really understand muons, gluons, and leptons.  (I know nothing about them past their names, so...)

I will also say that you mentioned nothing in your post that cannot already be accomplished more easily through simpler magic.  A couple things I would like to point out:

Cloaking an army would be impossible by any means, because the use of that much magic is, itself, detectable by a wizard.  You would be broadcasting your presence, and you would, in fact, be more "hidden" by doing nothing at all.

compressing matter can be done through a magical spell.  Doing it in the way you're talking about would require manipulation of both subatomic particles and their energy states at the same time to prevent an explosion when the atom rips itself apart from the energy imbalance.

My impression may be mistaken, but I feel as though both riun's question and your suggestion come from the same place, and that is the assumption that Earth is better than Dugerra because it has technology, and Dugerra should be doing all it can to borrow whatever of that tech it can get its hands on.

Most of the things wrought upon the Earth in the last 20-30 years by technology have been bad for us, so I'm really not sure that Dugerra should be trying to emulate us.  Further, Dugerrans have a different outlook on life than Earthers... that's why they live in Dugerra, instead of Earth.  There's a reason that Dugerran buildings are still made of stone and wood, and not steel and concrete, even though Dugerrans have the ability to metamorphose materials into one another.  The reason?  They like it that way.

Eric Storm

No worries.

Eric Storm

There are not "types" of magic.  Magic is an energy field, right alongside electromagnetism and the other energy fields of the universe.  When it is accessed, it leaves a signature.  Wizards can detect that signature.  It doesn't matter if you're doing conjuring or metamorphosis: magic is magic.  The different "types" you speak of are simply ways of accessing the field of magic, not a difference in the field itself.

In what way does David have "an inherent understanding" of nuclear physics?  When he started taking TEM, I made it clear that physics of any type was not his cup of tea.  David isn't even manipulating things at the molecular level, let alone the subatomic one.

And, as far as my research suggests, photons do not have rest mass.  They do have momentum, caused by their relativistic speeds.  If photons have rest mass, it screws with a LOT of physics.  And of course neutrinos pass through matter.  They're tiny, even on a nuclear scale, and they have no charge, so they don't get diverted from their course by other, charged, particles.  And, as we've pointed out, "matter" is mostly empty space.  About... well, 99.99999% empty space...   But ultimately, the point of all this is that the field of study involved in radiomandy is so esoteric, so specific, and requires so much "Earther" knowledge, Dugerrans would simply never bother with it.  Especially given the slow rate of change in Dugerran life, and the fact that quantum theory is about 100 years old...  Even if they were interested in radiomandy, it hasn't had time to be developed yet.

As to developing "new spells" to deal with technology:  New spells aren't needed, merely applications of old spells.  Had they had the time to prepare, David's plan would not have been needed.  They could have trained someone to levitate around a heavy steel plate to do the same job David did with his head: stand between the king and the bullet.  There are other methods, as well... but they will require some training, which they didn't have time for.  What David was able to provide was an instantaneous protection plan.

Preventing this from being a problem in the future would be child's play, if they become paranoid about it.  Simply station someone at every travel gate and check them for Earther weapons.  (Remember, this isn't a democracy, it's a monarchy.  If the king says that's what's going to happen, then that's what happens...)  If they use a foreign travel gate to circumvent the protections, then they have to actually travel through Callamandia to reach the king, putting them at risk for discovery.

Eric Storm

I had been upset at not having the time to read this months chapter til today due to working long hours out of town, but with an ending like that it may be a blessing since I don't have to wait as long to read what happens next lol. Yet another excellent chapter. Hope next month ending is easier on the heart 😂

Glad you're enjoying Woodward.  I hope someday it surpasses... that... OTHER book... in your opinion.

And you're working on TWO stories?  Well, where are they, man???

Thanks for the feedback,
Eric Storm

PS:  I have changed my penname exactly four times over the course of 19 years of writing.  The last time was in 2008, so I guess you could say I changed it 4 times in 11 years, if you like.  Still, not "a half dozen times"...  Just sayin'. 


For the record:
WhiteStar => Net Wolf: Jan. 2000
Net Wolf => Ice Phoenix: April(?), 2002
Ice Phoenix => Net Wolf: January, 2004
Net Wolf => Eric Storm: January, 2008

ugh...I think I may have to take a nap...it's 10:30 pm here and I don't want to wear out my mouse clicking here to keep check for the next hour and a half (or so, I never can remember how far ahead or behind Eric is from me in time zones)

(posted from the Item Information Page)

Guys... I NEVER post before midnight.

And I live in Florida, so, Eastern Time zone.

And it's been posted.

Eric Storm

Damn, another great chapter....I also like seeing things that remind me of times when I was a kid and watching cartoons (just a bit more than I do now) Goliath from Gargoyles? man that brought back some memories lol

(posted from Chapter 11: April)

I honestly think this is your best chapter yet... I think so anyways. Really looking forward to the next chapter now lol. Good work.

(posted from Chapter 11: April)