“Is Morgane an expat or something? How come Mail Calls are almost always in the dead of the night?”
I’m operating on US time. Sometimes it’s the only time I have after doing everything else in the day. Other times, well, it’s tradition. In either case, it’s a good reminder to myself to keep things moving along.
Just to sort of explain, I do try to answer questions in order (generally in the order in which I receive them), but sometimes, whims or interest might take me to other questions.
For instance, this is one from about a few months ago, but I’ve never gotten around to answering.
“Do shipgirls use magic?”
The question itself is a bit vague, but it’s an interesting one to consider. For starters, what is magic?
Is magic simply defined as something that an ordinary human can’t do? In that case, then, sure. The shipgirls can routinely perform superhuman feats. Lifting a car to them is as easy as opening a door for us.
Is magic something that, well, channels supernatural forces using incantations or rituals or whatnots? Sort of. Certainly some shipgirls think they’re magic. Certainly some of the things certain shipgirls can do would quantifiable as magic. However, I again answer the question with that it is a matter of perspective.
For instance, STEC isn’t quite sure how fairies are able to do a lot of the things they do, and what fairies can do might as well be magic. Take their ability to “pop” in and out of reality, for instance. That definitely sounds like magic, doesn’t it?
Well, maybe the prevailing theory is that they open up miniature wormholes to some alternative dimension to travel – i.e. literally walk between worlds. Maybe another theory says that they simply convert their own “matter” into energy, and achieve instant travel through higher dimensional physics. Maybe a third theory says that fairies aren’t living at all, but are simply some sort of projected “memory” or “images” that happens to be able to interact with the world.
What’s magic? You tell me.
You’ll notice that I sometimes take great pains to suggest plausible ways to explain phenomena within Pacific. Part of my preference for storytelling is to allow for the readers to explore this particular world. I, of course, have a clear idea in mind about how I want the world to function. But, that’s the joy of being the creator, I think. I may control how and when I water my garden and what I plant, but I want to see the garden bloom on its own. 🙂