I’ve talked before about sci-fi, and how the technology can be divided into hard and soft. The same can be done with magic. And like hard and soft sci-fi, both have their advantages and disadvantages. So, what divides the two? Hard magic represents magic as technology, albeit very advanced. Hard magic has strict rules, and behaves in predictable ways. If one knows enough about hard magic, they can shape it to their will, just like technology. A good example of this is the magic system from the anime/manga Full Metal Alchemist. In it, magic can be used to reshape any material, but only with sufficient material. If one wanted to make a tree into a boat, the tree would need enough wood. Hard magic systems do have the disadvantage of typically requiring more work to create. Soft magic is magic in its most arcane form. Magic cannot be predicted, and it is not internally consistent. No one understands its true nature. Soft magic systems do not have to follow any specific rule. A good example of this would be the magic from the world of Tolkein. The boundaries of magic are never defined, and it manifests in many different ways: giants that defy physics, swords that glow in the presence of goblins, etc. The magic cannot be constrained, or consistently catalogued. Another element that adds to this is the presence of gods. If a world has one or more gods who can change reality at a whim, a hard magic system would be difficult to reasonably implement. One major disadvantage of soft magic is the presence of a deus ex machina. See my previous post for more on this. A magic system that isn’t very well defined can run the risk of making solutions to problems feel contrived. Let’s return to our fantasy hero, Sebastian. He is cornered by the Dark Lord and has no more options. But wait! He looks within, and summons the POWER OF LOVE to invoke some new spell never seen before to obliterate the Dark Lord. Of course, this doesn’t make soft magic all bad. As long as the author writes carefully, tension can be retained without too much trouble. The things I have described are on two ends of a spectrum. The magic in the Harry Potter series, for example, is a mix of the two. Magic needs an action or verbal command to perform, but the spells themselves are numerous and not very consistent. Again, magic need not be limited by these constraints. If you disagree with my definitions, feel free to do so. Magic is, after all, vague by definition.
science fiction
Deus Ex Machina and the Power of Plot Convenience
How many times have you heard something along the lines of this? Our heroes are in a tough spot! Whatever will they do? But wait! Our hero is going to harness the POWER OF FRIENDSHIP and gain powers they didn’t have before! Or a convenient army arrives and saves them. Or their enemies that are on the verge of raising the DARK LORD have to take a convenient lunch break. These kinds of convenient happenings are known as deus ex machinas, meaning “god from the machine.” It is called that because in a Greek plays, a guy dressed as a literal god would be lowered down onto the stage using a machine, and neatly wrap everything up. A deus ex machina usually happens when an author writes himself or herself into a corner. Above: an example of deus ex machina being used badly. Image found on tvtropes.org. As the comic above illustrates, deus ex machina used badly can make a story’s conclusion somewhat unsatisfying, as it makes the conclusion feel unearned. For an example, I’ll write a quick fantasy story to illustrate my point. Our hero, Sebastian, is on an epic quest to save the world. He has fought his way through hordes of orcs, kobolds, and other such vicious monstrosities to stop the demonic ritual of the evil dark lord, Mordrath the Accursed. When Sebastian faces Mordrath, the foul demon is too powerful, and Sebastian simply cannot defeat him. As Mordrath raises his sword to perform the killing blow, however, he suddenly comes down with the flu and has to take a break. This kind of ending is unsatisfying, because no one earned anything. You, the reader, get no proper conclusion to the conflict. No one loses anything, and no one gains anything. The characters don’t get any development. This deus ex machina is an example of lazy or badly planned writing. However, we can rewrite this conclusion to make it more satisfying. Perhaps, before the fight, Sebastian coated his blade with venom to incapacitate Mordrath. Or, maybe he intentionally sent plague-infected rats into the dark lord’s castle to give him a disease. These examples establish Sebastian as a clever fighter who identifies his enemies’ weaknesses. It also makes it so that his salvation is earned, and not just a coincidence. Avoiding a Deus Ex Machina In my experience, the best way to avoid a deus ex machina is to plan out your writing. If you start writing without a plan, you may find yourself being trapped in a corner. Maybe the evil mad scientist destroyed all of reality. Maybe your hero got his spine ripped out and got buried alive, but you still want him to win. Both of these situations warrant a deus ex machina. The best way to avoid these dilemmas is to plan ahead. Figure out the climax and denouement beforehand. As long as you pay attention to these things, you can avoid writing a deus ex machina in the future.
A Wrinkle in Time, Reviewed by Daniel Zhu, 10
Imagine living in total peace, but being mind-controlled every minute of your life. The book A Wrinkle in Time describes such life in Camazotz; being controlled by IT, which is a brain that tries to drag you in, absorb your life force, and control you. Honestly, I don’t think that is a fair trade for peace and order. I think that, while there might be advantages to Camazotz, it is still, overall, a bad place to live in. First of all, what are the advantages of Camazotz? You get peace and order. There are no conflicts, for a simple reason: no one has any opinions, because they are all controlled by one brain. Opinion is the root of war. For example, the trade war started because Trump thought that other countries were making too much money importing to America, but China thinks the tariffs are unjust. The keyword here is “think.” Conflicts start because two sides, in this case, America and China, have different opinions, thoughts, on a certain subject, which in this case, is tariffs. However, in Camazotz, everyone is controlled by one thing, thus everyone has the same thoughts and opinions. Nevertheless, there are still many disadvantages. While you may be tempted by the good things Camazotz has to offer, keep in mind that there are many bad things about it too. First of all, you have no freedom. You are possessed every day, sometimes involuntarily, by IT. In other words, you are brain-dead, a zombie. Also, you can’t experience the fun of life, because, technically speaking, your life is not yours; it’s IT’s. This means that you are basically slaves. Even though IT isn’t doing anything bad with the people on Camazotz right now if IT wanted to wage war, I could just use the people of Camazotz for soldiers. Personally, I think that is one of the most inhumane and wrong things that could ever be done. All in all, three words: Camazotz is bad. I mean, look at how willingly people are willing to rebel for freedom. The American Revolution. The Civil War (of America). The Yellow Scarf Rebellion (in China). Humans strain and strive to be free; it’s in their nature. Yet IT is taking this freedom away and turning humans into playthings, puppets.Is it really ideal to live under a “leader” like this? To have your own body, your own legs, your own feet, your own head…but not your own brain? Even the bad things that happen in the world are human will. We get to control our own life here. But on Camazotz, you have no control over anything, even your own life. What kind of world is that? However, as much as I am firm in my saying that Camazotz is not a good place to live, it is still my own opinion. What about you? After hearing this, would you still like to live on Camazotz? Perhaps, just like Madeleine L’Engle envisioned the bizarre world in A Wrinkle in Time when many stunning scientific breakthroughs that relate to the book were not made yet, you can envision the good in Camazotz. After all, there is a good side and a bad side to everything; the world is a delicate balance between right and wrong. As Angelina Jolie said, “[Everything] has two sides, a good side, and a bad side…We must embrace both.”
