Post by Malefact on Sept 28, 2003 13:18:04 GMT -5
*saunters in looking extremely grand in his silver robe with photoct sash*
DISCLAIMER: Do not continue to read if you go mad easily.
Lesson One: The Existential Shield
A nice, easy start. Basically, Quasi-Existential Magick is the magic of Quantum Mechanics - the science of what you thought to be true being, in fact, totally false because you thought it was true.
A person with this kind of shield is totally detached from reality. They cannot reach out from it and nothing can penetrate it. From the outside, it cannot be seen. It has an effective volume of zero. From the inside, you will be surrounded by blackness (so additional magic for atmosphere and gravity is required). This is the most powerful shield that there can possibly be, bar none.
The theory is that one can never be sure that an event has actually happened. The shield works by not altering its surroundings with its presence, which means it cannot be interfered with. So, because it cannot be detected, there is no way of knowing that an event has actually happened to it - so it never does!
In short, if you cast a FIRE spell at someone in an Existential Shield, nothing happens. The spell DOES, in fact, do what it is supposed to do but no-one is able to observe the effect. And since observing the event is the only way to tell that the event has happened, it effectively HASN'T happened - which means that it ACTUALLY hasn't happened. Geddit?
Making the shield is virtually impossible for all but the best Q.E.M. Magicians. The theory is that if perception tells us about the universe, perception IS the universe. Therefore, if we can reprogram our minds to allow us to dictate to ourselves what we perceive, then the universe will appear to change - therefore it actually WILL change.
To cut a long story short, you have to totally cut off all your sensory information and replace it will what you want to perceive. In the case of a Causality Shield this is absolutely nothing, combined with an absolute and total belief that there is nothing that can harm you.
It's like a huge extension of walking on hot coals, really.
Next time: the infamous SHUNT spell.
DISCLAIMER: Do not continue to read if you go mad easily.
Lesson One: The Existential Shield
A nice, easy start. Basically, Quasi-Existential Magick is the magic of Quantum Mechanics - the science of what you thought to be true being, in fact, totally false because you thought it was true.
A person with this kind of shield is totally detached from reality. They cannot reach out from it and nothing can penetrate it. From the outside, it cannot be seen. It has an effective volume of zero. From the inside, you will be surrounded by blackness (so additional magic for atmosphere and gravity is required). This is the most powerful shield that there can possibly be, bar none.
The theory is that one can never be sure that an event has actually happened. The shield works by not altering its surroundings with its presence, which means it cannot be interfered with. So, because it cannot be detected, there is no way of knowing that an event has actually happened to it - so it never does!
In short, if you cast a FIRE spell at someone in an Existential Shield, nothing happens. The spell DOES, in fact, do what it is supposed to do but no-one is able to observe the effect. And since observing the event is the only way to tell that the event has happened, it effectively HASN'T happened - which means that it ACTUALLY hasn't happened. Geddit?
Making the shield is virtually impossible for all but the best Q.E.M. Magicians. The theory is that if perception tells us about the universe, perception IS the universe. Therefore, if we can reprogram our minds to allow us to dictate to ourselves what we perceive, then the universe will appear to change - therefore it actually WILL change.
To cut a long story short, you have to totally cut off all your sensory information and replace it will what you want to perceive. In the case of a Causality Shield this is absolutely nothing, combined with an absolute and total belief that there is nothing that can harm you.
It's like a huge extension of walking on hot coals, really.
Next time: the infamous SHUNT spell.