From: JMoran78@intiris.gov
To: MBaker@intiris.gov
Subject: RE: Ritual Stability & Chaos Theory with Dr Reign-Hagen
> > >(wrt this mornings briefing) the thing is, magic is inherently unpredictability. There might be isolated pockets where things are more easily codified, but I’m unconvinced that these represent more than outlier phenomena. Ultimately, magic is an inherently chaotic phenomenon, and we can learn to intuit its tendencies but formal codification remains a pipe dream.
> > But those patterns that our ritual teams intuit /do/ exist. The complexity is beyond our current research, but they are there. Dr Vincent (in project GGP) has had significant success in predicting where leyline convergences will occur, both through divinatory techniques and ritual alterations. (See attached tables).
> OK then, convince me. How do you think it works?
OK this is going to take a bit of effort to type up.
Preliminary: this is all hunches. I have no concrete data backing it up (yet) but it seems to work so far. It’s similar to the models worked on in GGP & RG&SC, although both those teams are more hands-on and less theoretical.
Assume that magic exists over the earth similarly to the magnetosphere. This covers all magic, the six identified forms are just frequencies in this magnetic field. It’s moving and shifting. In response to what, we don’t know. But the patterns seem similar to things like ocean currents, weather patterns, etc.
In some points these movements form stable points. Like eddies in the ocean. Here, our use of magic is predictable, because the underlying flow is predictable.
At these points you can expect one or more of:
-Divinatory magic to be easily codified into simple omens.
-A coherent leyline convergence that can be manipulated by hand.
-The forms necessary for ritual magic to be stable, predictable and codifiable. (I propose that the R/P divide is artificial, P-magic is merely R-magic performed blindly outside a stable eddy.)
-The necessary fuel for R-magic condenses (see the items we term F-oblates and S-oblates) rather than being left unclear and arbitrary.
At these key eddies where all the variables are stable, R-magic is predictable. A given recipe has predictable, quantifiable costs and results. Outside of these key eddies, this is not the case: magic becomes too variable to predict and we are reduced to hope and guesswork. Further, outside these key eddies, we lack codifiable fuel (F-Oblates & S-Oblates); these only manifest in response to stable conditions.
These points are geographically and temporally contingent. Like weather. A significant thrust of the war effort is securing these stable eddies for ritual purposes, particularly those that hit all four points. It seems that there’s only one such eddy in London that we mischaracterise as many disparate phenomena. However, if you view the attached map, you’ll see that its position over time follows the suggested line.
While we don’t know /why/ this happens, the phenomenon is predictable enough to work with. Between the two of us & Dr Vincent, I think we could put a good team together to research it further. I’ll speak to Sir Edwards about it on Monday.
PS: It’s Helen in DTBS’s birthday over the weekend, we should get her a card.
Attached File:VBakerLeylinePredMap.png Attached File: JMoranLondonEddyMap.png