Practical Magic

Science Fantasy. That genre that crosses the void between science fiction and fantasy. It joins the two in marriage and gives the reader a taste of both worlds.

It is the genre where magic happens in a technology world.

Once upon a time, the main genre was called, sci-fi/fantasy. The one genre encompassed both magic or science fiction, but not both. If you had a book of science fantasy, well you had to choose one or the other, you couldn't be both. If you didn't choose, someone chose for you.

Now that genre has split into two and face each other across an ever increasing void. I think some writers groups forget where they came from, writing pure science fiction or pure fantasy. (I'll just point out that all fiction is fantasy.) Some suggest that the twain shall never meet. You cannot blend the two genres.

Well, you can. All you have to remember is to be scientific about fantasy.

Of course it takes research to do this, but we also live in a world where practical magic is done every day. I don't mean card tricks, I mean spells and incantations.

It's been around for thousands of years by thousands of people, on every continent. And if you don't think it works, think again. I'll use Australia as an example.

Our indigenous population have the Kadiachi man. He is used as punishment and he doesn't have to touch the perpetrator to cast his magic. If convicted of a crime against the tribe, he will cast his spell. Word will get to the convict. If the Kadiachi man says in five days you will have a temperature, the convict, five days later, will have a temperature. If the curse says two days after that you will experience pain... and so on, it will happen. Why? Belief. Absolute, total, unwavering belief. I would say that the Christian Church has similar magic and before I'm accused of heresy, Christians pray and sometimes those prayers are answered. What is that if not magic?

To the fictional world, then. Magic within technology. We consider ourselves sophisticated, intellectual beings, and yet the idea of magic is not uncommon. Think you on JK Rowling's books. Magic is an integral part of the books. Okay, you say, but it's the suspension of disbelief. Is it, though?

Consider more closely the use of magic. Each character has a wand, speaks an incantation and voila. A spell erupts from the wand and does wonderful or terrible things.

A wand is a stick.

Nothing technological about it. Nope. It's an inert object.

A stick is a piece of fire wood, it's a tool for digging holes, it's a measure, it's a guide pointing in a particular direction, it's a weapon, a toothpick, a lever, a piece of art, it's part of a structure and a lot more. That's the physical.

On an emotional level, it can be whatever you want it to be. It's the memory of throwing it for your dog, it's the fingers you burnt while prying off the melted marshmellow, it's smacking your evil sibling and the tears that followed. Combine that with something as esoteric as magic, and you have science fantasy.

The magic comes from within. Point and flick with your stick and see what happens. Magic mixes with technology and out pops science fantasy. The genre that bridges two worlds.

It does need explaining. With the two, it is the science that has to be explained, and to explain the science, you have to explain the magic. It's not hard, just think of where the magic came from and that's all the explanation you'll ever need.