Post by Lorpius Prime on Jul 27, 2010 0:38:54 GMT -5
Magic has no rules.
Anything is possible through magic. Those intellectuals who realize the implications of this truth fear for the safety and continuity of existence itself. They are rightly terrified by the power mages wield.
Fortunately for humanity, however, there are severe obstacles facing those who wish to use magic.
Magic potential is quite adversely affected by rational thought: an individual who understands natural laws, or even simply believes in an ordered universe of any nature, is quite unable to defy those laws and alter the universe. It is not wise or learned men who become mages, nor men with faith in the supernatural.
The great mages have been, to a man, utter lunatics.
One might notice that people with magical talent tend to be, at the least, eccentric. Simply put, the crazier the mage, the more impressive the magic he can perform. Or perhaps it is better to say the magic that he might perform. For the mind of a powerful mage must needs be unpredictable and inscrutable. Directing such men to any useful purpose is usually a hopeless task. One may count on a village mage to reliably turn butter into ice cream with a glance, but this is a mere carnival trick. Finding a mage capable of turning rats into horses on command is an altogether more difficult task.
Most modern nations maintain at least one asylum. Those concerned with keeping a civilized image would have you believe that such institutions are meant for providing humane care even to those unfortunate souls with severe mental illness. Less reputable nations make no pretense about the truth: asylums are weapon factories.
There is nothing humane about keeping a man in a drug-induced coma for his entire life. Yet this is what all asylums do, lest they risk disaster. Those people who have truly lost all connection to reality, and are thus possessed of near limitless power, are far too dangerous to be allowed independent waking thought. Far more merciful to simply euthanize such individuals, not to mention less costly.
Yet no nation does this. Why? Because of the power available to the man or state who can control even one great mage. Few can resist the attraction of such power, and none are willing to risk it becoming the exclusive possession of a rival.
And so the asylums persist, regardless of their shameful nature and massive costs.
Consider the Dark Lord in whose shadow all nations cower. Tens of thousands pass through His asylums every year, both the naturally dysfunctional and prisoners sentenced to lobotomy. And for all that effort, the Dark Lord gains perhaps 2 functional mages every 10 years. Each one dependent upon life support equipment to keep him sedated and healthy. Each one managed by an entire staff of Trainers using methods unique to each case.
Yet despite the bitter poverty of his lands, the Dark Lord spares no expense to support his mages, because they have allowed him to bring the rest of the world to its knees, and continue his brutal rule with impunity.
Anything is possible through magic. Those intellectuals who realize the implications of this truth fear for the safety and continuity of existence itself. They are rightly terrified by the power mages wield.
Fortunately for humanity, however, there are severe obstacles facing those who wish to use magic.
Magic potential is quite adversely affected by rational thought: an individual who understands natural laws, or even simply believes in an ordered universe of any nature, is quite unable to defy those laws and alter the universe. It is not wise or learned men who become mages, nor men with faith in the supernatural.
The great mages have been, to a man, utter lunatics.
One might notice that people with magical talent tend to be, at the least, eccentric. Simply put, the crazier the mage, the more impressive the magic he can perform. Or perhaps it is better to say the magic that he might perform. For the mind of a powerful mage must needs be unpredictable and inscrutable. Directing such men to any useful purpose is usually a hopeless task. One may count on a village mage to reliably turn butter into ice cream with a glance, but this is a mere carnival trick. Finding a mage capable of turning rats into horses on command is an altogether more difficult task.
Most modern nations maintain at least one asylum. Those concerned with keeping a civilized image would have you believe that such institutions are meant for providing humane care even to those unfortunate souls with severe mental illness. Less reputable nations make no pretense about the truth: asylums are weapon factories.
There is nothing humane about keeping a man in a drug-induced coma for his entire life. Yet this is what all asylums do, lest they risk disaster. Those people who have truly lost all connection to reality, and are thus possessed of near limitless power, are far too dangerous to be allowed independent waking thought. Far more merciful to simply euthanize such individuals, not to mention less costly.
Yet no nation does this. Why? Because of the power available to the man or state who can control even one great mage. Few can resist the attraction of such power, and none are willing to risk it becoming the exclusive possession of a rival.
And so the asylums persist, regardless of their shameful nature and massive costs.
Consider the Dark Lord in whose shadow all nations cower. Tens of thousands pass through His asylums every year, both the naturally dysfunctional and prisoners sentenced to lobotomy. And for all that effort, the Dark Lord gains perhaps 2 functional mages every 10 years. Each one dependent upon life support equipment to keep him sedated and healthy. Each one managed by an entire staff of Trainers using methods unique to each case.
Yet despite the bitter poverty of his lands, the Dark Lord spares no expense to support his mages, because they have allowed him to bring the rest of the world to its knees, and continue his brutal rule with impunity.
