Magic From Technology: Difference between revisions

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The science-fiction equivalent of magic. Magic does not derive from an actual mystical or spiritual source; rather, it is technology in disguise. The characters using this magic may or may not be aware of its true origins.

Compare [[Clarke's Third Law]]. Contrast with [[Skepticism Failure]]. For "[[Technology From Magic]]," see [[Magitek]]. Explaining away magic with [[Techno Babble]] or [[Minovsky Physics]] is [[Doing in the Wizard]]. Often used by [[Sufficiently Advanced Aliens]]. If ''the audience'' is left in doubt about its true origins, [[Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane]]. [[Magic by Any Other Name]] often overlaps with this.

Compare [[Clarke's Third Law]]. Contrast with [[Skepticism Failure]]. For "[[Technology From Magic]]," see [[Magitek]]. Explaining away magic with [[Techno Babble]] or [[Minovsky Physics]] is [[Doing In the Wizard]]. Often used by [[Sufficiently Advanced Aliens]]. If ''the audience'' is left in doubt about its true origins, [[Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane]]. [[Magic by Any Other Name]] often overlaps with this.

Despite similarity to the literal translation, [[Deus Ex Machina]] is unrelated. Not to be confused with [[Magic-Powered Pseudoscience]] where [[A Wizard Did It|magic]] turns out to be the [[No Plans, No Prototype, No Backup|hidden component]] in a [[Rube Goldberg Device|seemingly mechanistic]] but otherwise [[Hand Wave|inexplicable]] invention.

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** Made worse by ignoring the first law of thermodynamics, but that itself is saved by making that flaw a plot point.

* ''[[Scrapped Princess]]'' is big on this. Despite the magi, dragons, gods, and whatnot {{spoiler|that inhabit this apparently medieval-fantasy setting, [[Lost Technology]] actually underlies everything.}}

* ''[[~~Mai~~-HiME]]'' contains Magic From Technology, while ''[[Mai-Otome]]'' takes it one step further: the titular Otomes are basically [[Magical Girl]]s who gain their powers from [[Nanomachines]].

* ''[[My-HiME]]'' contains Magic From Technology, while ''[[Mai-Otome]]'' takes it one step further: the titular Otomes are basically [[Magical Girl]]s who gain their powers from [[Nanomachines]].

* The kemonomimi of ''[[Tokyo Mew Mew]]'' are [[Biological Mashup|parahumans]] created in a semi-realistic manner... but the genetic engineering also turned them into [[Magical Girl]]s.

* In the ''[[Suzumiya Haruhi]]'' series, the Data Overmind and its [[Artificial Human]] agents use non-mechanical technology that the [[Narrator]] usually just describes as "magic", since it can directly overwrite reality. As a result, Humanoid Interfaces fighting looks an awful lot like a [[Magical Girl]] battle. It's also implied that humanity, in [[The Future]], will use similar technology, which is why the series's representative [[Time Travel]]er can't operate any present-day technology more complicated than a flashlight; her society has [[Outgrown Such Silly Superstitions]] as thermodynamics.

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== Literature ==

* In [[Marion Zimmer Bradley]]'s ''[[Darkover]]'' series, human colonists stranded on a metal-poor alient planet eventually develop a new science based on [[Psychic Powers]] and [[Power Crystal|"starstones"]]. The resulting "matrix technology" can do things believed to be impossible by the conventional technology used by other human worlds.

* In [[Anne McCaffrey]]'s ''[[The Ship Who]] Won'', a [[Role Playing Game]]-obsessed space ship crew find a planet where magic seems to actually work. Then they discover there's a powerful weather control system built into the planet that can be operated through gestures and "magic words", which the inhabitants have just about broken through their overuse of it as a weapon and source of cheap magic tricks.

* In [[Anne McCaffrey]]'s ''[[The Ship Who...]] Won'', a [[Role-Playing Game]]-obsessed space ship crew find a planet where magic seems to actually work. Then they discover there's a powerful weather control system built into the planet that can be operated through gestures and "magic words", which the inhabitants have just about broken through their overuse of it as a weapon and source of cheap magic tricks.

* [[John Ringo]]'s ''[[Council Wars]]'' series is based around this trope. Unlike most such examples, rather than being set [[After the End]] when people have long since forgotten the origin of their "magic", it's set ''during'' the breakdown of a [[Sufficiently Advanced Aliens]] society into relative barbarism.

** Also in his ''[[Posleen War]]'' series the Indowy (and a very few human) Sohon adepts.

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== Live Action TV ==

* The ''[[Star Trek: The ~~Original Series|Star Trek the~~ Original Series]]'' episodes "Who Mourns For Adonais?", "Catspaw" and "The Squire Of Gothos". This is also vaguely implied to be what powers Q in ''[[Star Trek: The ~~Next Generation|Star Trek the~~ Next Generation]]'' and the Prophets from ''[[Star Trek: ~~Deep Space Nine|Star Trek~~ Deep Space Nine]]''.

* The ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series]]'' episodes "Who Mourns For Adonais?", "Catspaw" and "The Squire Of Gothos". This is also vaguely implied to be what powers Q in ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'' and the Prophets from ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]''.

** The ''[[Star Trek: The ~~Next Generation|Star Trek the~~ Next Generation]]'' episode "Who Watches The Watchers" uses this explanation to convince the people that they are not gods, by pointedly asking how they themselves might be regarded by ancient ancestors who had never seen a bow and arrow strike down an animal at range.

** The ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'' episode "Who Watches The Watchers" uses this explanation to convince the people that they are not gods, by pointedly asking how they themselves might be regarded by ancient ancestors who had never seen a bow and arrow strike down an animal at range.

* ''[[Babylon 5]]'' and ''[[Crusade]]'' had the Technomages, who used advanced technology to create the effect of magic (for example, holographic dragons). In a scene from the ''Crusade'' episode "The Long Road", two Technomages nonchalantly watch a pack of flying demons attacking people in a room, and discuss details of how they were constructed.

** Interestingly, they're entirely forthright that they're using techonology; their belief seems to be that magic is at base ''defined'' as functional artwork, artistry, or artistic intent. The trappings are an attempt to reconnect themselves and others with the inherent wonders of the universe and of manipulating these through applied will. Even more interesting is that other people actually buy into it as well. For example, after a Technomage basically infects Londo's computer with a virus, Londo himself refers to it as being "possessed by a holo-demon".

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== Tabletop Games ==

* Certain of the more esotetic tech devices in ''[[Warhammer ~~40000~~]]'' start touching onto this trope; especially when you start seeing tech devices that interact with [[Psychic Powers]] and things having to do with the warp in general. Certain xenotech devices, like Halo Devices from ''[[Dark Heresy]]'', definitively qualify. Despite its [[Machine Worship|religious view of technology]], however, most imperial tech does not come anywhere near this level.

* Certain of the more esotetic tech devices in ''[[Warhammer 40,000]]'' start touching onto this trope; especially when you start seeing tech devices that interact with [[Psychic Powers]] and things having to do with the warp in general. Certain xenotech devices, like Halo Devices from ''[[Dark Heresy]]'', definitively qualify. Despite its [[Machine Worship|religious view of technology]], however, most imperial tech does not come anywhere near this level.

** This is actually state policy. Common folk do not understand that their machines are exactly that and refer to "machine spirits" which need to be "appeased" by "rituals" to keep them working, healthy, and benevolent. Lesser "Tech Priests" usually buy the propaganda, too. Of course, the "religious" rituals tend to be good, old-fashioned maintenance with a few hymns thrown in. Based on the author (and world), this cargo cult madness might be reserved for very complex machines or might result in folks sing hymns to their noble, fallen light bulbs when they burn out. Whatever the case may be, the ''vast, vast'' majority of humans truly believe technology is magic.

* Lampshaded in ''d20 Past'', a supplement for ''[[D20 Modern]]''. The "Pulp Heroes" campaign setting includes a "Scientist" advanced class. One of the class features is that they make scientific discoveries, which they can then use to create technological devices by spending XP. The effects of these devices are taken from the spell lists for the "Urban Arcana" setting.

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* The ''[[Ar tonelico]]'' games use this sort of magic. The source of magic in the game world is a series of towers made from a [[Lost Technology]]. The spell casters in the game are either the administrators of the tower or the female descendants of same. They [[Magic Music|cast spells by singing songs in a special language]] that function analogously to computer programs to interface with the towers and summon forth magic.

** Even more so in the back story, as at one point there were machines that allowed regular humans to use it as well. However it was lost in [[The End of the World as We Know It]]. Well, [[The World Is Always Doomed|the most recent one]].

* The ''[[Wild ~~Arms~~]]'' series uses this as well. Though studied in academies like [[Functional Magic]] magic on Filgaia is actually a result of nanomachines {{spoiler|left in the atmosphere by the precursor race who were abandoning a swiftly dying planet, not realizing that by decreasing the population like they did they saved it anyway and the world survives.}} Any supernatural beings or monsters arise from people or animals being altered by nanomachines. In later installments of the series magic is channeled from technological spirits called Guardians using the same principles as above.

* The ''[[Wild ARMs]]'' series uses this as well. Though studied in academies like [[Functional Magic]] magic on Filgaia is actually a result of nanomachines {{spoiler|left in the atmosphere by the precursor race who were abandoning a swiftly dying planet, not realizing that by decreasing the population like they did they saved it anyway and the world survives.}} Any supernatural beings or monsters arise from people or animals being altered by nanomachines. In later installments of the series magic is channeled from technological spirits called Guardians using the same principles as above.

* While the entire [[Nano Machine]] technology system from the ''[[Metal Gear Solid]]'' series arguably fits here, an even better example is Fortune from ''[[Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty]]''. For most of the game, she is said to have been [[Born Lucky]]. At the end, it turns out that she has been carrying around some kind of electromagnetic device that somehow deflects bullets, stops explosions, and prevents an unstable weapon from destroying itself.

** Subverted {{spoiler|in that, after the device is destroyed, she still manages to deflect several projectiles fired at her.}}

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[[Category:Speculative Fiction Tropes]]

[[Category:Magic and Powers]]

[[Category:~~Magic From Technology~~]]

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