text; un: doctorziegler

[caduceusoncall]

[Angela hesitates to press send. This is a commitment.]

As many of you know, I am the afternoon shift doctor at the medical bay, Doctor Angela Ziegler. I have recently acquired the ability to perform a physical scan with magic. It's non invasive - just a simple wave of the hand. Completely painless, no touching involved.

If you have the chance, please stop by the medical bay for a scan so that I can cross-check and update your charts. I will try to occupy as little of your time as possible.

Additionally, please heed Jetshard's warnings of heatstroke and exhaustion during the upcoming heatwave. Don't hesitate to come to the medical bay if you are suffering the effects of heat exhaustion. If you suspect you are suffering from heat stroke, come in immediately.

Thank you for your cooperation.
- Doctor Ziegler

Comments

[blackestwitch]

How

[caduceusoncall]

[Behind the screen, she lights up. The subject and process was quite interesting to her and she actually studied for two nights in a row to get the basic concept of how magic is cast down.]

Magic here is a manifestation of will and manifests as a manipulation of ambient energy to accomplish the intended effect. Therefor, Strange taught me how to concentrate my will into a localized pulse of energy that acts a bit like echolocation - it bounces off of the target and returns information based on what I intend to view.

To ensure it does not return results that I intend to find (or in other words, to remain impartial and accurate), I have structured the spell as several small pulses that seek out specific information such as temperature and blood pressure, and bodily actions such as heartbeat, respiratory rate, etc. The final pulse returns information on things I wouldn't expect to find in a healthy individual, such as injuries or outstanding scarring, illness, or infection.

The ability to cast magic itself, I have learned from studying some of the library's books. It seems to primarily be a matter of focus and placing importance on words, actions, or objects. In this case, I use my palms as a medium through which to concentrate and move energy forward to a target.

[blackestwitch]

That makes absolutely no sense from everything I know about magic. What is ambient energy? Manifesting will?

And being something that you can learn? As an adult? It's unlike anything in my world.

[caduceusoncall]

The differences between worlds, particularly in their systems of magic, are outstanding. Where I come from, there is no magic at all.

But to answer your questions: There seems to be a prevalent theory that every item and person has a flow of energy attached. That energy can overflow or runoff and become ambiently available to manipulate. Personal will or intent is a potential source of this energy and can be projected into the real world through focus objects or actions, sometimes without either for the particularly skilled, I believe.

Keep in mind this is largely speculation from what I've read about native magics in this world. The specifics are vague and difficult to conceptualize.

[blackestwitch]

See, that's the kind of stuff I find really interesting though. I ran a podcast about magic back home, even though I can't use any myself.

I'd ask to see what books you were reading, but alas. Only if there's an audio version.

[caduceusoncall]

It is fascinating, isn't it? If I can learn it coming from a world with no magic at all, I am certain you could pick up some spells yourself.

I can see about compiling a list of the books I referenced and you can pick a few out that I can try to have narrated. I don't mind reading them myself, but there may also be others on the station willing to help build an audio library, especially now that we have multiple blind residents.

[blackestwitch]

Where I come from, you have to transform to use magic. And only children can - once you're an adult, you lose whatever magic you had.

So it sounds like they're two completely different ballgames, so to speak.


[ Technically everything Maddie wrote there is a lie, but. That's the public perception, so she has to roll with it. ]

[caduceusoncall]

Transform? You mean physically alter your form, or in a more abstract sense? And I haven't heard of age barriers in magic, but then I haven't read every book ever written on the subject.

Still, there is a possibility that by mastering this world's interpretation of magic, you could still utilize it.

[blackestwitch]

Mostly cosmetic changes, but it also lets people access their magic and sometimes magic weapons. New outfit, new hair, new ability to shoot fire out of your hands. Or whatever.

[caduceusoncall]

Fascinating. I will have to look into this in more detail at some point. So it is primarily a combat-focused form of magic?

[blackestwitch]

If not, they figure out how to make it apply to combat pretty fast.

[caduceusoncall]

Is there any focus or development in regards to healing magic?

[blackestwitch]

Magic in my world is very... individualistic. Magic is an extension of yourself, how you view the world, and how you view your place in the world. It's built off what you think, what you feel, and what you expect.

So there's nothing to develop or. Focus on. When children gain their magic, its form is decided by them unconsciously. Some of them gain healing magic, I'm sure, or might have it as a secondary effect.

But most of them also know that magical boys and girls have to fight monsters, so there's already a built-in expectation that it's going to be for fighting, which is going to change what magic they develop. If that makes sense.

[caduceusoncall]

That is extremely interesting, if a little disturbing in implication. Children are forced into magical combat in your world?

[she's not wondering how her own magic would manifest in that kind of setting or anything]

[blackestwitch]

I don't know about the word forced. They're given a choice. But given how the two choices are to help protect their friends and family from monsters that traditional weapons can't hurt, or let people die, they usually choose to fight.

Not that plenty of them don't regret making that choice. A lot of them die.

[caduceusoncall]

I'm afraid I cannot support that sort of behavior in any society, magical or not. Endangering children is simply unacceptable. I'm sorry you came from a world where such dangers are present.

[Children and the way they're effected by combat may be a sore subject for her...She can't keep the bite out of her text. Angela truly can't imagine wanting to return to such a world, where children are shoehorned into fighting and dying - throwing their lives away at a stage where they're too young to understand what they're doing.]

[At least, that's the way she sees it.]

[blackestwitch]

The flip side is also that the monsters in my world eat magic. So even if they choose not to fight or develop their powers, the mage children will end up attracting thaumivores to them.

It also means that people with little magic power, most people, tend to get overlooked and not get killed or eaten.

I really don't want to defend it though. Because it sucks. Nobody really looks into alternatives, and there's not enough support out there for the kids fighting in the first place.

[caduceusoncall]

So they have the choice of being defenseless or fighting for their lives. Again, my condolences that you had to experience such a world. Were you magically active yourself?

[blackestwitch]

No. I've had chances to actually talk with some mages, though. Famous ones, not so famous ones. My part-time job boss had some connections.

[caduceusoncall]

You must have had some interesting conversations. However, you mention that some are famous. Would being well-known as a mage not be a serious liability?

[blackestwitch]

They only fight monsters, so not really. But most of them keep secret identities anyway. I mentioned they transform, and that keeps most people in the dark.

Plenty of mages wind up being famous, even if only under their magical guise. Not only does the public follow the going-on of mages through news, social media, and dedicated websites, but there are even entertainment industries that are built around either getting mages to speak or perform for them, or actually recruiting mages to work as entertainers full-time.

[caduceusoncall]

[What she wants to say is that it's disgusting to exploit children who have no choice but to defend themselves with powers they never asked for for entertainment purposes. What she actually says is:]

I see.

A very unique way to adapt to circumstances, if nothing else.

1/2

[blackestwitch]

It's kind of messed up.

A couple of years back, there was a magical girl who signed up to be a singer because she had apparently wanted to be one and was willing to use being a mage to get her foot in the door. Which isn't terribly unusual, except the next part. There was a monster attack while she was working on a music video or something, she had to fight to protect the crew that was there, and she lost an arm.

Tragic, right? Like that's bad enough.

But then she gets sued by her employers for willingly putting herself in harm's way and damaging her marketability.

[blackestwitch]

Anyway the long and short of it is that while there might not be a better alternative to fighting thaumivores, people suck in general. Or adults, at least.

No offense.

[caduceusoncall]

No offense taken. I am inclined to agree with you.

But that situation is completely unacceptable to me. I cannot fathom a world in which that is okay to do to someone who has laid down so much to protect the innocent.

Furthermore, children should not be the ones protecting others. I understand that you do not seem to agree with your world's practices either, but I am simply baffled that any place could operate under such absurd conditions.