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All stories in the fantasy genre explore at least one major theme, whether it be love or war. Doing so adds depth to it, thereby strengthening the audience’s connection to them. These themes resonate with them in a profound way since they are something they can readily identify with. Of all the themes fantasy takes a look at, none are more fascinating than that of magic and technology.
While the two are presented as opposing forces in many works across the genre, a great deal of others showcase how they can work together. Fusing the two together gives creators ample opportunity to craft stories that take the best of both worlds and make them truly stand out in the genre.
You might be wondering how magic and technology could work together since they represent two wholly different sides of fantasy, thus seemingly making them incompatible with each other. Therein lies a golden opportunity to showcase how these two opposing elements can live side-by-side in the world and serve it well.
There are a plethora of opportunities when using the two together, far more than you might think. There is a treasure trove of potential to be had when diving into how they could mesh together. Many media do this but it is more prevalent in video games such as The Legend of Zelda since you can see what they’re capable of when they’re not opposing each other.
If magic and technology can coexist, how does that benefit the world? It does in in a number of ways. One such way is that it enables people to do far more in less time, giving them more time to do what they want. For example, you could use magic to instantly repair an oven that breaks during a party, thereby preventing it from becoming a disaster.
This is the eleventh article in the series examining the different nuances of magic. If you’d like to peruse our other articles, they’re all conveniently located on our blog page!
Magic and technology are explored in many different ways in stories. Some focus exclusively on one or the other and others illustrate how they come into conflict with each other, serving as the main drama of the plot. A third way is to show how these two can work in harmony.
Though they represent different aspects of fantasy, they have more in common than you think. For example, they serve the same function. That is, they are what makes the world go around. People use magic and machines in their everyday lives from cooking food to commuting to work.
The power to use magic and technology come from two different sources. For the former, wizards draw it from inside them since they were blessed with magical abilities. Technology is powered by electricity and people use their bodies to direct machines on what to do. Blending the two sources together is a great way to show what they can do when they’re not at odds with each other. For starters, you could use magic to put food in a blender and turn it on without having to physically do it all by yourself.
They can bring people from different groups who you think couldn’t get along together. Wizards and technocrats can design and construct machines that either run on magic or electricity and perform tasks that no other could do. By having those two groups work together, it reduces the friction between the two and helps make the world a better place.
In some cases, magic and technology perfectly complement each other, especially in areas that require manual labor like farming or construction. By having the two work in unison, they make the whole process more efficient, reducing waste and maximizing output which leads to more food being available and buildings and roads being completed ahead of schedule. This enables workers to do far more using less power.
Though the two have incredible potential just by themselves, when combining them, the number of possibilities skyrockets. There is no shortage of creative ways to incorporate both and you see this in many works that highlight how they can be used together.
One such possibility for fusing magic and technology is in the medical field. Doctors can utilize tech to provide them with everything they need to know about their patients’ conditions so that they can use the correct type of magic to cure them. They can instantly appear at a patient’s home when they are needed and use the tech they brought with them to administer care.
Another way to tap into the potential of the two is by researching and developing what other uses they can have. This is a superb way to conduct various experiments to see which ones bear fruit and those that require more finessing. They then put the information they’ve accumulated through these experiments to create products that take elements from both and put them to good use.
One area where magic and technology really shines is that of war. All powerful countries work to have cutting edge tech that puts them one step ahead of their rivals and there’s no better way than incorporating these two parts together to truly become a force to be reckoned with. You can have robots that shoot fire or electricity without suffering any harm or helicopters being guided by magical powers through a storm to stage an ambush on an enemy base.
There’s one thing everyone needs to survive and that would be food. By pooling together magic and technology, people can grow more food faster and safer. Wizards can use their powers to shorten crops’ life cycle, giving them more times to harvest them. The machines come in to harvest them and the process begins anew until the end of the harvesting season.
Though those two elements are powerful in their own right, when combining them, they are stronger than they are by themselves. Having those two work together benefits the world in several ways, all of which help make it better for everyone living there.
The first way magic and technology serve the world positively is that they give people more time to do what they want. Instead of spending time and energy working on things that tax their strength, they can spend even more hours with their loved ones and the people in their lives. There is nothing better than spending the time you have in the world surrounded by people who you love since the time you have with them is limited.
Another way the world benefits is that they enable people to complete their tasks faster than they otherwise would have. In other words, they’re able to do a lot more work in their day and use less energy which increases their productivity and the output of the company they work for. This leads to an increased number of services and products offered to customers across the world.
Bringing magic and technology together is a godsend for places that require extensive hours to successfully complete projects, whether it be construction of a bridge or building or growing crops. People incorporate both elements to help them bring their projects to completion earlier than expected — while still abiding by safely regulations — meaning more folks have access to buildings and more options to get around the city. This brings prosperity and jobs to communities.
One of, if not the best, ways magic and technology can be used in conjunction with each other is to serve as the basis of which people seize their dreams. There is no shortage of amazing possibilities that people can come up with using both which helps make the world become a better place. New ideas spearhead the rise of new industries and products that revolutionize how people do things!
These two elements are a crucial part of the fantasy genre, whether they appear just by themselves or when both are in the same worlds. While a good number of stories pit these two against each other, placing them as the epicenter of the drama, others take them in a different direction. By highlighting how they can coexist side-by-side, creators show the audience what people can do using them.
On surface, magic and technology just don’t seem like they could work with each other but the truth of the matter is, they can. In fact, there are areas like farming where they can achieve great success. They can even serve as an unifying force, bringing together different people.
Though these two are powerhouses in their own right, the sky is the limit when using both together. They can be used in just about any field, from business to agriculture to even hospitality. They offer enormous potential that can transform the world in positive ways.
The world benefits by having magic and technology together as opposed to against each other in several ways. One such is that it can speed up the economic development of towns and cities, bringing in jobs and money to these communities. They will change how things are done and help increase productivity.
While many stories like to have these two at odds since it offers ample storytelling potential, uniting the two comes with a treasure trove of stories to tell. It’s always exciting to see what people can do when using both magic and technology!
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