Felix Gaeta (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
not_a_traitor) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
ph_logs2025-07-01 11:07 pm
not_a_traitor) wrote in ph_logs2025-07-01 11:07 pm
[OPEN] through telescopes and calculations
Who: Felix Gaeta (not_a_traitor) & YOU!
What: If any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic, then magic should be translatable to sufficiently advanced technology. Or: Gaeta finally gets a frakking hobby.
When: Throughout July
Where: Mostly on the green in Downtown Hollow
Warning(s): probably lots of scientific + mathematical inaccuracies because I am writing waaaaay outside my wheelhouse, if you're an expert in either pls forgive me. (Will warn for anything else as it comes up!)
0. spellbook [meta]
In the middle of another sleepless night, right before he manages to drift off at a truly indecent hour, Gaeta blearily scribbles in his notebook:
VOICE = SOUND WAVE/VIBRATION
GESTURE = PHYS. FORCE
MATERIAL = INTERACTION W/CHEM. ELEMENTS (RIPLEY'S ROCKS?)
Shockingly, this still makes sense in the morning. Mostly. He'd been thinking about the intersection of science and magic again, rotating different frameworks around his head -- could magic be described as a chemical element like carbon or oxygen? Radiation, or some other energy emitted as an element decays? A force like gravity? -- and his brain combined it with some actual mechanics of spellcasting as he'd observed around Marrow Isle for the last year and change. A chemical element could easily interact with any of those mechanics to produce a new result. A force could act upon those mechanics. Radiation... well, that one's probably better folded under an elemental framework. (He was really tired when he first started sketching everything out, okay.)
The more he thinks about it, the more he leans toward force. Something similar to electromagnetism, maybe. That could open up a whole host of possibilities, ranging from intermediary force carriers to atoms taking on an entirely new kind of charge -- positive, negative, or magical -- if subjected to the right conditions. Too bad half the island hasn't even heard of quantum physics yet, let alone built the proper research equipment, but every major discovery starts with basic observation, right? He can probably build a couple small things. See where it goes.
Looks like Gaeta has a new project to tackle.
1. detect magic
Say magic is a variation on an electromagnetic charge. Simple experiments with everyday objects that demonstrate positive or negative polarity are a cubit a dozen; electroscopes can be slapped together in under an hour with the right supplies. And thanks to a recent purchase at Cukefest, he's even got an item on hand that he knows is holding some version of a magical charge.
Gaeta doesn't have a yard of his own and doesn't want to disturb Mulcahy's garden if something goes awry, so once he thinks he's got a good idea of how to modify an electroscope to detect a (theoretical) magical charge, he sets up the experiment on the green, far enough away from the giant watermelon that he won't have to worry about ants getting into his equipment. Along the center of the table rests his cane. The modified electroscope, rigged with a stone that one of the shopkeepers said would work well as a "focus" (which almost sent Gaeta down an entirely different research rabbit hole before he yanked himself back), rests nearby. All it should take is a tweak here, a shift there, then bringing the focus close to the cane, and...
Two things happen in quick succession.
One, the stone bursts into flame.
Two, Gaeta's cane goes rocketing off the table like it's been yanked by invisible strings.
Gaeta yelps in pain, drops the focus, swears, shakes out his hand, then swears even louder once he realizes his cane's hurtling right toward an unfortunate passerby. "Shit, frak -- LOOK OUT!"
2. spell components
So, yeah, that didn't work. (Or maybe worked too well?) Time to take it back a few steps.
He spotted something interesting in the window of the toy store a while ago: a kit that reminded him of those baking soda and vinegar volcanoes he made while on his geology kick as a kid. Except this one purports to show how different mechanics of spellcasting -- voice, gesture, and material -- can affect the same object. Just the thing he needs to study the basics. So what if it's meant for an eight-year-old? Frankly, that's about where his knowledge base is at.
About a week after the Cane Incident, he's back on the green with a slightly less dangerous-looking setup. Three palm-sized origami boxes labeled V, G, and M. That's it. But with the intense way Gaeta's staring at them, somebody might be forgiven for thinking there's more to it.
Slowly, he hovers a hand over the one labeled G. Curls his fingers. Flares them out in swift mimicry of an explosion.
...
Nothing.
"Godsdammit," he mutters as he slumps back in his chair. Well, apparently his knowledge base is worse than an eight-year-old. Not entirely rhetorical, pressing his hands over his face with a frustrated groan: "What am I doing wrong?"
3. minor illusion
Then he comes across a particular illusion spell that seems ripe for dissection. It's already easy to create a ghostly three-dimensional projection with the right materials, angles, and light sources; Gaeta did it for fun a couple times during his other magic phase at age nine (though that was the rabbits-and-card-tricks kind of magic, not... this). He can jot down the equations and a proper diagram without even thinking about it. So just like he tweaked the electroscope, he should be able to modify the setup to incorporate what he's learned regarding actual magic.
Which means letting his ego take a solid beating for a couple more weeks, but whatever. All in the name of scientific progress, he guesses. If he continues looking like an absolute fool on the green, muttering to himself as he adjusts materials and tests different gestures to see how one angle of attack might affect the stability of this interaction with that material and another -- well, at least nothing explodes this time.
One sweltering afternoon, as he looks so wrung out by the heat alone that it's a miracle he can do anything at all, he tries one more time before packing it in for the day. Knitting his fingers together, he flicks them upward and apart as if swiping an object from one computer screen to another.
Above the table, a translucent, shimmering map of the Twelve Colonies pops into view.
Gaeta stares.
And then he whoops so loudly he accidentally makes the whole illusion collapse, but who the frak cares? "IT WORKED!" he yells, punching the air with both fists, caught in the kind of gleeful excitement nobody on the island -- and maybe not even on Galactica -- has ever seen him display.
not_a_traitor) & YOU!What: If any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic, then magic should be translatable to sufficiently advanced technology. Or: Gaeta finally gets a frakking hobby.
When: Throughout July
Where: Mostly on the green in Downtown Hollow
Warning(s): probably lots of scientific + mathematical inaccuracies because I am writing waaaaay outside my wheelhouse, if you're an expert in either pls forgive me. (Will warn for anything else as it comes up!)
0. spellbook [meta]
In the middle of another sleepless night, right before he manages to drift off at a truly indecent hour, Gaeta blearily scribbles in his notebook:
VOICE = SOUND WAVE/VIBRATION
GESTURE = PHYS. FORCE
MATERIAL = INTERACTION W/CHEM. ELEMENTS (RIPLEY'S ROCKS?)
Shockingly, this still makes sense in the morning. Mostly. He'd been thinking about the intersection of science and magic again, rotating different frameworks around his head -- could magic be described as a chemical element like carbon or oxygen? Radiation, or some other energy emitted as an element decays? A force like gravity? -- and his brain combined it with some actual mechanics of spellcasting as he'd observed around Marrow Isle for the last year and change. A chemical element could easily interact with any of those mechanics to produce a new result. A force could act upon those mechanics. Radiation... well, that one's probably better folded under an elemental framework. (He was really tired when he first started sketching everything out, okay.)
The more he thinks about it, the more he leans toward force. Something similar to electromagnetism, maybe. That could open up a whole host of possibilities, ranging from intermediary force carriers to atoms taking on an entirely new kind of charge -- positive, negative, or magical -- if subjected to the right conditions. Too bad half the island hasn't even heard of quantum physics yet, let alone built the proper research equipment, but every major discovery starts with basic observation, right? He can probably build a couple small things. See where it goes.
Looks like Gaeta has a new project to tackle.
1. detect magic
Say magic is a variation on an electromagnetic charge. Simple experiments with everyday objects that demonstrate positive or negative polarity are a cubit a dozen; electroscopes can be slapped together in under an hour with the right supplies. And thanks to a recent purchase at Cukefest, he's even got an item on hand that he knows is holding some version of a magical charge.
Gaeta doesn't have a yard of his own and doesn't want to disturb Mulcahy's garden if something goes awry, so once he thinks he's got a good idea of how to modify an electroscope to detect a (theoretical) magical charge, he sets up the experiment on the green, far enough away from the giant watermelon that he won't have to worry about ants getting into his equipment. Along the center of the table rests his cane. The modified electroscope, rigged with a stone that one of the shopkeepers said would work well as a "focus" (which almost sent Gaeta down an entirely different research rabbit hole before he yanked himself back), rests nearby. All it should take is a tweak here, a shift there, then bringing the focus close to the cane, and...
Two things happen in quick succession.
One, the stone bursts into flame.
Two, Gaeta's cane goes rocketing off the table like it's been yanked by invisible strings.
Gaeta yelps in pain, drops the focus, swears, shakes out his hand, then swears even louder once he realizes his cane's hurtling right toward an unfortunate passerby. "Shit, frak -- LOOK OUT!"
2. spell components
So, yeah, that didn't work. (Or maybe worked too well?) Time to take it back a few steps.
He spotted something interesting in the window of the toy store a while ago: a kit that reminded him of those baking soda and vinegar volcanoes he made while on his geology kick as a kid. Except this one purports to show how different mechanics of spellcasting -- voice, gesture, and material -- can affect the same object. Just the thing he needs to study the basics. So what if it's meant for an eight-year-old? Frankly, that's about where his knowledge base is at.
About a week after the Cane Incident, he's back on the green with a slightly less dangerous-looking setup. Three palm-sized origami boxes labeled V, G, and M. That's it. But with the intense way Gaeta's staring at them, somebody might be forgiven for thinking there's more to it.
Slowly, he hovers a hand over the one labeled G. Curls his fingers. Flares them out in swift mimicry of an explosion.
...
Nothing.
"Godsdammit," he mutters as he slumps back in his chair. Well, apparently his knowledge base is worse than an eight-year-old. Not entirely rhetorical, pressing his hands over his face with a frustrated groan: "What am I doing wrong?"
3. minor illusion
Then he comes across a particular illusion spell that seems ripe for dissection. It's already easy to create a ghostly three-dimensional projection with the right materials, angles, and light sources; Gaeta did it for fun a couple times during his other magic phase at age nine (though that was the rabbits-and-card-tricks kind of magic, not... this). He can jot down the equations and a proper diagram without even thinking about it. So just like he tweaked the electroscope, he should be able to modify the setup to incorporate what he's learned regarding actual magic.
Which means letting his ego take a solid beating for a couple more weeks, but whatever. All in the name of scientific progress, he guesses. If he continues looking like an absolute fool on the green, muttering to himself as he adjusts materials and tests different gestures to see how one angle of attack might affect the stability of this interaction with that material and another -- well, at least nothing explodes this time.
One sweltering afternoon, as he looks so wrung out by the heat alone that it's a miracle he can do anything at all, he tries one more time before packing it in for the day. Knitting his fingers together, he flicks them upward and apart as if swiping an object from one computer screen to another.
Above the table, a translucent, shimmering map of the Twelve Colonies pops into view.
Gaeta stares.
And then he whoops so loudly he accidentally makes the whole illusion collapse, but who the frak cares? "IT WORKED!" he yells, punching the air with both fists, caught in the kind of gleeful excitement nobody on the island -- and maybe not even on Galactica -- has ever seen him display.
Detect Magic
(no subject)