Power from within

If "any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic," then any sufficiently advanced biology is indistinguishable from technology.

Magic has become something of a defining element in fantasy--a world can be categorized in substantial part by the inclusion or exclusion of magic and, if included, in the physics of magic, odd as that may sound. Is magic unlimited to those who can use it? It is bounded by the will of the user, exhausting her as she casts spells? Or is it connected to individual objects, able to be summoned out of them?

While perhaps seeming esoteric, these categories of magic are critically related to another metric: the distance of the fantasy from reality. If magic can be used to violate the Laws of Thermodynamics, then it truly is magic, unreproducible in the real world.

If, however, magic is constrained by the same general laws as the rest of nature--able to do things normal humans cannot, perhaps, but nevertheless based in some kind of approximation of physics--then it is effectively technology by another name.

Why should we care about these differences? Isn't fantasy just that--designed to ignore the limits of reality?

Perhaps, and perhaps not. If the goal is telling a compelling story, this can certainly be achieved without regard to petty complaints like realism. If the goal is assessing some facet of the human condition, developing a beautiful world in which to set otherwise-common human dramas, or analogizing for the purposes of philosophical introspection, then realism may be valuable.

Consider the related case: science fiction. Is the technology being employed actually magic? Or is it speculative but possible, a mere extension of the present into one of a multitude of futures? Much of biotechnological advancement, as noted in the introduction, at least attempts to fall within the latter group.

Dozens of games, movies, novels, and other media have answered these questions, with varying degrees of success. To the extent that such media reach for realism, we might add a related but frequently unexamined question: how might magic, technology, or biomodification affect the political structure of a society?

Three well-known games offer differing perspectives on this challenge, each corresponding to one possible ideal* government developed by the ancient Greeks.

Beginning tomorrow, I present a three-post sequence to break down these philosophies and the games that encapsulate them.


Next: the Republic of Halo

*Ideal here referring to the relevant philosopher's conception, not reflecting my judgment on them.