At the “Did a Wizard Do It? The Physics of High Fantasy” panel on Friday at 10AM in Marriott L401–403, panelists Davis Ashura, Jotham R. Austin II, Paige L. Christie, Dakota Krout, and moderator Mary Robinette Kowal proposed theories to reconcile physics and biology with various magical tropes in fantasy literature. To begin, Kowal asked the audience for questions to consider.
The first conundrum: How important is it for the magic to be plausible? Christie opined that in fantasy, magic only needs to make enough sense in the world created so that the reader believes it. “The more detailed you make [the magic],” Ashura warned, “the more mistakes you’re going to make.” But how do you balance explaining how the magic works without the dreaded info dump? According to Christie, have the characters seek the information along with readers, so they learn through the characters’ eyes. Austin advised authors to “sprinkle the concept” into the story and to contact experts who will be happy to talk about it. “Because,” Kowal quipped, “their family is tired of hearing about it.”
What about fireball spells and carbon monoxide poisoning? Fireballs aren’t typically used inside, Ashura noted, so the CO doesn’t tend to gather. Also, Kowal added, CO is heavier than oxygen and would flow to the floor, so just stand up. Problem solved.
Okay, then. Explain teleportation and conservation of momentum. The earth is spinning. Fast. Why doesn’t the traveler splat out the other side of a portal? There must be, Krout explained, a built-in safety mechanism that also takes into account possible changes in air pressure. Perhaps, Austin decided, the person is genetically altered to allow them the ability to do it. Do the characters know how it works? Christie wondered. If not, maybe they just know it does but can’t explain it. That’s often sufficient for the reader to accept. It’s magic, like the average person trying to understand how electricity works. It just does. “I always threaten to write about how faucets work in the airport” Kowal joked while waving her hands around.
Disintegration spells could be explained by separating a person’s molecular bonds (Ashura) or by phase separation, where you blob cells together and then dehydrate them (Austin). The time dilation experienced by the Flash? According to Ashura, it must involve gravity, which is tied to time. The air displaced while speeding along would collapse buildings and damage pavement, though. And the Flash’s heart must be adapted to increase blood flow to the brain. He would also have to be able to process information much faster than normal. So he’d have turbo ADHD, Kowal said.
Invisibility presents a problem. If the retina’s rods and cones are also invisible, how would the character see? Suggestions varied from use of a forcefield that bends light to specialized skin cells, like a layer of chromophores, Austin suggested.
Necromancy presented further difficulties. If using telekinesis, as Krout proposed, Ashura wanted to know how they would deal with rigor mortis. “Hand wavium?” Death involves too many biological changes. After discussing the possible solutions for types of dragon breath (fire breathing might require a mouth clicker), and the improbably ability of dragons being able to fly (hollow bones? Bellies full of gas lighter than air?), the panel of experts left the audience with many theories to ponder.
