9.07am, Friday April 14th, 2023
Or vice versa, the point being as wizard Hodson will explain to my boy Tim, that "what the ignorant insist upon calling 'magic' is an entirely misplaced superstition similar to the religious beliefs practiced abroad.
What they call magic is simply the result of superior knowledge which can result in apparently wonderful or inexplicable practices denied to the majority and thus putting its practitioners at risk from the bigotry and ignorance of those substituting prejudice for a willingness to learn.
So never let me hear you use the word 'magic' even in jest because to do so can put at risk any to whom you might be referring including yourself. You legitimize ignorance by providing any excuse to give credence to nonsense such as that."
I'm still waiting for a suitable tile in which to put that piece of philosophical cogitation. It should happen at a very early stage of the relationship when Tim asks about how the 'witch Freda and her wizard husband' learned magic and can he learn some too.
At this innocent enquiry Hodson points to his library book shelves and replies something like 'you can make a start by reading and learning from these'.
How then do we explain all the Fey and the Barrier that protects them? Is it necessary?
Well yes from the authors point of view because I've never like plot lines that have essential devices whose function isn't given at least some kind of explanatory technobabble.
EG:- Spindizzy -
https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/spindizzy
Trouble with that little foible is that one can drown oneself and ones audience in a fascinating discourse on, for example, the reason for all the different thread forms...
What?
Well you asked me what size bolt to buy to replace the missing one and I said if its made in Japan or China its likely 10mm and you asked me what the country of origin had to do with it and so of course I had to start at the beginning...
To save me typing:-
http://progress-is-fine.blogspot.com/2017/01/the-evolution-of-standard-wrench-sizes.html
Unless, like me, you grew up using the plethora of different gauge fasteners likely to show up on an English motorcycle, for example, you have no idea as to the array of spanners required and the difficulty obtaining either they or their fasteners.
Incidentally I was overjoyed to see the (then) new F22 Raptor jet engine at Disney World and see the demonstrator make a point about how they had gone to considerable lengths to minimise the variation in fasteners to simplify maintenance and reduce downtime.
Now I knew about the values of this approach because Kawasaki engines use 10mm bolts for everything from cam and engine covers to internal assemblies even though in some cases it must have required considerable redesign of castings to accomodate this.
Whereas back in my BSA days (BSA were the unofficial mentor for the big K's engineers) it was more like big lumps needed big bolts and little ones needed little ones and count yourself damn lucky if they were of the same system.
We won't even begin to mention Lucas the Prince of Darkness and no bloody wonder!
So to return to the question of the Barrier..
2BCONT (eyes gone funny on me dammit)
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