effects of magic in modern day

[Queshire]

The basic premise of my WIP is that recently the existence of the supernatural was revealed to the world at large resulting in an Unmasqued World scenario The Unmasqued World - Television Tropes & Idioms The problem is that I'm not quite sure what all the fall out of this would be.

-The basic idea is a fantasy kitchen sink setting Fantasy Kitchen Sink - Television Tropes & Idioms just about everything in myths and legends is true in one form or another.
-There is a sort of magical world which includes all the classic magical realms, asgard, hell, etc,
-The magical world has been at war with these classically evil eldritch abombination things.
-This culminates in several of the abombinations being summoned into various locations in our non-magical world, breaking the masquerade.
-they manage to stem the tide of the abombinations.
-However, due to the damages caused to the magical world and fear of another attack, a flood of refugees come to the normal world.
-The story starts several months after that.

Now, some effects I have coming as a result of this include; magical carpets as an alternative to cars, fairy feeders which act like bird feeders but with fairies, pet hellhounds, various anti-magic-ism, X-men type stuff, magic classess being added to public school schedules, a sharp increase in all things magic even if they're fake, and so on.

Do you guys have any other suggestions on what would have changed in such a world?

 

[Mindfire]

Well, the natural human reaction to anything we don't understand is to kill it. Start with that and work your way from there. It would be awesome to see the US Air Force taking on a dragon.

 

[Drakhov]

Well, the natural human reaction to anything we don't understand is to kill it. Start with that and work your way from there. It would be awesome to see the US Air Force taking on a dragon.

Or if not kill, then regulate, control and exploit - various government and / or private agencies set up to utilize new sources of power and counter potential supernatural and paranormal threats.

New sub-cultures and underclasses composed of the refugees from the other realms - criminal gangs, lobbyist groups, pro and anti <insert name of sub-culture here> groups.

 

[unwittytitle]

Have you thought about the significant legal/ bureaucratic changes that might be required, especially in terms of national security and public safety. For example the public display of magic might be altogether outlawed, as it could be seen as disruptive or even dangerous if the mage didn't know what they were doing. Also state and local government institutions would probably need some kind of counter magic force or devices, otherwise how would regular police officer deal with potentially dangerous mages. There would also need to be some type of screening process, would magicians be allowed to travel on a plane or enter certain government/ public buildings without some form of restriction? Just some things to think about

 

[SeverinR]

Is magic new or has it been around?

People don't trust new. They get use to common.
A new car is accepted in people today, but put a new car into the 1930's, and it would unbelievable and maybe even bring fear.

Evalution of magic would make people more trusting of it, if it wasn't abused. Elite magic use to exploit the non-magic people would bring anger or distrust.
Magic newly discovered would be feared, world changing, and maybe linked to the devil. Salem witch trial type thing.

 

[DiferentFromTheAI]

I believe that magic would/could make people lazy, with most things accomplished my supernatural forces people may halt scientific development
Ps1- this does not apply if magic becomes a science itself
Ps2- maybe people with free time start looking for enlightenment and peace

 

[Jess A]

This sounds like a story a friend and I wrote together for years. One world was destroyed so its magical refugees came to modern Earth and changed our world forever. However, our 'magical' world was just a made-up world with our own created mythologies and creatures and peoples - it wasn't necessarily a reflection of Earth's mythology.

There are so many things to explore with your storyline. I'd be interested to read it and see how you portray it and what sorts of individual stories and/or major events you describe.

 

[Ankari]

I would think that the sudden appearance of refugees from this magic world would be met with containment. Think of District 9 as an example. You would have refugee camps of these magical people and they would under strict surveillance. From this you would have government agencies trying to harness the knowledge from these people. You would have power people trying to beat the governments to the punch. Organizations would form to represent the refugee's rights. And finally, you would see a special unit of these magical beings formed to counter any rogue elements of the evil eldritch abominations you mentioned.

 

[Queshire]

I was thinking that the sudden appearence of magic from another world might have an affect like when the US sailed into Japan, breaking their 200 or so years of isolation, and prompting an extensive "Westernization" of Japan. Basically, I think that if magic was suddenly revealed to exist in modern day, the goverenments would do everything they can to take full advantage of it.

Instead of containment, they would embrace it.

What do you guys think?

 

[Saigonnus]

I was thinking that the sudden appearence of magic from another world might have an affect like when the US sailed into Japan, breaking their 200 or so years of isolation, and prompting an extensive "Westernization" of Japan. Basically, I think that if magic was suddenly revealed to exist in modern day, the goverenments would do everything they can to take full advantage of it.

Instead of containment, they would embrace it.

What do you guys think?

I think that would be a great premise, but it would likely depend on the person using the magic. Like with "ordinary" people if a magician is particularly nasty or villainous, I would think the government would hunt them down and take them like they do with serial killers. In one sense they'd embrace the possibilities that magic offers on the advancement of society, but push it away on the other, usually in the above context. I also think it would depend on the people in power... undoubtedly there would be those in power that have animosity or hatred towards magic (unfounded or otherwise) and that would be a shifting current in politics. It could be a good thing to add that sort of undercurrent to the political system.

Also likely, the governments would find a way to make money from the magic-users like they do with pretty much everything else, perhaps instituting a system of "permits" on magicians so if they don't have a permit, they can't cast spells in public without getting fined. I am fairly certain they'd embrace the extra income into their coffers from the program, whether they really embrace the idea of magic or not.

 

[Mindfire]

Also likely, the governments would find a way to make money from the magic-users like they do with pretty much everything else, perhaps instituting a system of "permits" on magicians so if they don't have a permit, they can't cast spells in public without getting fined. I am fairly certain they'd embrace the extra income into their coffers from the program, whether they really embrace the idea of magic or not.

I agree that the government would find a way to profit from magic, maybe inducting magic users into government agencies. (A mind-reading IRS agent is a tax fraudster's worst nightmare.) But I don't think they could put a permit on magic use. That's dangerously close to violating the 1st amendment. Suppose someone sees magic as part of or evidence for their religion? Are you going to make them have a permit to practice their beliefs? And if magic isn't really a religion issue per ce, it would be something akin to a natural resource or a basic natural law. Are you now going to start requiring permits to use the law of gravity? Or permits to use your imagination? Or drink water? Ridiculous. I think the only magic-users that would require permits would be those who use their skills in the service of the public, either in government jobs or private enterprise. You can require a permit for someone to be an engineer. But you can't require a permit for someone to draw a picture of an airplane.

 

[Saigonnus]

I hadn't given it that much thought, but you are probably right about that first amendment thing. I think if people could cast fireballs or lightning bolts at will; destroying cars or personal property it wouldn't be considered a freedom of personal exprression but rather destruction of property and would have to be punished in some way. What would happen the first time there was a documented case of a magician using his powers of hypnosis (the real deal) to "convince" a cashier that they didn't give him enough change or that he'd paid when he hadn't? It could be extremely disrupting to the fabric of society.

I guess there would have to be a way of regulating/enforcing the uses of magic in a public setting, perhaps limiting it to certain kinds of magic, or specific circumstances. Most magicians would likely be like regular citizens, just going with the flow and not really using it in public.

 

[Ankari]

I agree that the government would find a way to profit from magic, maybe inducting magic users into government agencies. (A mind-reading IRS agent is a tax fraudster's worst nightmare.) But I don't think they could put a permit on magic use. That's dangerously close to violating the 1st amendment. Suppose someone sees magic as part of or evidence for their religion? Are you going to make them have a permit to practice their beliefs? And if magic isn't really a religion issue per ce, it would be something akin to a natural resource or a basic natural law. Are you now going to start requiring permits to use the law of gravity? Or permits to use your imagination? Or drink water? Ridiculous. I think the only magic-users that would require permits would be those who use their skills in the service of the public, either in government jobs or private enterprise. You can require a permit for someone to be an engineer. But you can't require a permit for someone to draw a picture of an airplane.

But this assumes that the story is only set in America and at the present moment. From what I read the whole world has been exposed to these magical beings. China would have a different take on what they would do with these beings than America.

That being said, I still think you would see a District 9 reaction. The governments and people don't know what threats these new beings pose towards their way of life. They would be quarantined and studied aggressively. I do like the comment on religion though. I could see whole new religion forming around these beings.

You would have much conflict in this world. The beings trying to live their own lives, the religious fanatics seeking answers to the unanswerable, governments seeking to exploit the beings, the wealthy seeking to monetize the beings, the rogue elements striking out against the world, the beings commissioned to fight against these rogue elements.

Now that I think of it, you have something going here. Run with it!

 

[ThinkerX]

Containment camps would be about the best the magical refugees could hope for, combined with high level negotiations, carefully monitored 'integration' programs ('You were six minutes late for work today - Why?' 'What is your explanation for casting spell X today in direct violation of rule Y?') and lots of clandestine efforts by the governments, military, corporations, private individuals, and magical peoples alike.

There is a rule of thumb for enacting major social changes - 'If everything goes well, it takes a decade'. Unanticipated problems or a flawed integration plan can result in anything from a delay to a complete collapse of the effort.

 

[Queshire]

what if magic is too powerful or too useful to contain?

 

[Ankari]

what if magic is too powerful or too useful to contain?

Too powerful would mean immediate envy. Envy means hate. Hate generates the need to destroy what is hated.

Too useful means greed. Greed means control. Control means conflict.

I love your setting. It reminds me of Shadowrun but with a broader scope of magic. Shadowrun was a dark alternate world where corporations vied against one another for control and magic being one of the conflict points. Your world sounds like a great canvas to paint the darker side of the human soul with flashes of brilliant light.

 

[Saigonnus]

what if magic is too powerful or too useful to contain?

I would think the reactions would vary depending on the society it is "unleashed" into. Each country/culture would probably have different ways of dealing with it and the reactions would likely vary from complete acceptance to hunting down and destroying magic users. There would probably be countries that would ban it's use and make magicians outlawed and force them to flee to countries more tolerant of their abilities. Could be a decent undercurrent to the societal structure in your main culture, depending of course on how that culture reacts to the presence of magic.

I could see a society in which magic using cooks roast meat and sell gyros or tacos from a street corner kiosk or other wizards levitate heavy furniture or boxes working for a moving company. It would be a place where wizard hunting teams search for those that go bad, like the feds searches for serial killers. Perhaps even undercover wizards whose talents are specifically taught along the lines of things useful to espionage to spy on those countries that are hard on magic.

 

[ThinkerX]

what if magic is too powerful or too useful to contain?

Containment would still be tried. It would fail, either because the magic can overcome the containment, or because too many people are making too much use of it, but it would still be attempted. The not so good consequences of magic would be played up big time. Destructive 'Incidents' caused by magic would be used as justifications for crackdowns. The authorities would seek to either control magic themselves, directly, or control those who do use magic, because the wanna-be magicians would still have connections to the rest of the world - family, friends, jobs, that sort of thing.

Eventually, barring something really catastrophic - like the magical equivilent of a bunch of nukes going off, or a massive magical terror campaign, there would be intergration of a sort. It would just take a while - as in several decades.

 

[Queshire]

Hmm.... Well whatever, thank you for your advice, but personally I disagree. I think magic would be treated like any other new technology just like the internet, video games, or smart phones. The goverenment would try to control it, but fail miserably.

 

[Jess A]

The government could control the more powerful magic-users and make use of the rest. They might develop something to control magic. It would naturally breed resentment. I'd think that permits would be required for certain uses of magic, as mentioned above. Of course, magic-users might plot their rise and get to the top. I have seen a few books and such written about magic-users being at the top and the non-magic users at the bottom. That might be something which would occur far, far down the track. There are bound to be those who want to try to obtain magic, and governments and scientists experimenting with this.

Somehow I am reminded of the TV show Heroes - those with abilities were rounded up and some scientists were trying to develop a means to give ordinary humans the mutations. I forget the specifics...

And then there is Harry Potter. I gather nobody wanted to mention it but there are magic laws and such in that world, even though both worlds are technically kept 'separate'. I don't know the specifics there, either.