Twenty years ago in roleplaying, science fiction was science fiction, and fantasy was fantasy. Star Frontiers and Traveller had their tropes, Dungeons and Dragons and Rolemaster had theirs, and never the twain meet. Now, you can’t shake a stick without finding some mix of science and magic, from GURPS Technomancer to Shadowrun to Expedition to the Barrier Peaks. It was and is inevitable. Even the Steampunk of Castle Falkenstein has magic, and science is science whether it’s splitting atoms or more modest goals.

However, placing magic and science together creates some complications. Science is expected to follow certain rules, and magic is, well, magic. It can have its own logic, but often it is incompatible with science. When you mix the two together, you can have magic shore up science’s strengths, and vice versa.

But it’s greater than that. Magic is a product of the Middle Ages, of a certain style of life with all its restrictions. Modern life has a different zeitgeist, and magic needs to reflect the society. With all that in mind, let me suggest some sample newspaper / talk radio / television stories:

SCIENCE: Researchers at Stanford University, partnering with Waseda University, discover a potential resolution to the Heisburg-Bayerl Thaumaturgical Exception to the first law of thermodynamics. The HBT Exception, first postulated in 2015 in an American Physical Society meeting held at London, states that magical effects function beyond the normal process that energy cannot be created nor destroyed. This announcement was first lauded by the press and the public as a cheap, environmentally friendly, and abundant source of energy, but the practical limitations of maintaining spells and lack of automation soon killed this line of research. Since this time, the HBT Exception became a more academic matter.

However, Dr. Lyons, Dr. Weaver, and Dr. Miyagishima, using new equipment developed at Stanford, performed studies that suggests that the HBT Exception may not exist. Their group measured 26 spellcasters during the process of creating the popular “Fireball” spell. Studying these records, the Stanford team discovered that minute rifts channel energy from the ambient atmosphere. “Instead of focusing on the magic itself,” states Dr. Weaver, “we hope to look at a way to create these rifts to generate energy.” This will be presented at the June meeting of the American Physical Society. Dr. Weaver will also meet with the Energy Research Advisory Board to investigate this line of research for practical uses.

TECHNOLOGY: Cassandra Anderson, Plant Manager at the West Union Widget factory, has both a problem and an opportunity. Like many others, WUW joined the bandwagon in industrial automation, citing cheaper costs and increased quality. However, the automation process has yet to recoup the initial cost of automation. And now Cassandra is facing obsolescence. “We retooled the plant fifteen years ago, but we kept getting defects in the process. When we finally ironed out all the kinks, new regulations required us to retool the entire QA line. I don’t think we had a full year of breakeven costs. We are not a large shop, and we can’t afford this.” And, she reports, recent laws are going to require a second round of reprogramming, reinstalling, and field testing the robots.

Now, the opportunity: Cassandra is looking at a new process entirely: golems. These magical robots have the same advantages as robots: higher precision, 24x7 production, fewer injuries, and lower staffing costs. However, companies like “Lightening Golem Service” say that golems have more flexibility in the workplace. “Once you install a robot, you are locked into what that robot can do. Robots are mindless, fixed into traditional logic process. Golems go beyond that, and for less money.” 22% of American plants have converted to golems based on these promises. And they have delivered, although plants have dealt with issues. Ted Taylor, CIO from Tandem Enterprises says of his Mexico plant, “We had the conveyor belts still run by computers, but the floor workers were replaced by golems, and we had problems tying the golems and the computers. And when we replaced the conveyor belts, we lost all our computerized supply chain process.” But, it still remains a possibility to Cassandra Anderson and West Union Widgets.

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT: Forget the latest blockbuster, and throw away the newest console game. Today’s rage is MVR, or Magic Virtual Reality. Armed with the latest illusion spells and magic automation, these sets are the latest, and most expensive, fads for the gamers in your family.

The sets themselves look simple – a helmet or set of helmets connected by a thin wire to a box about the size of a small desktop computer. The helmets have a dark faceplate, although it’s there more for show than anything else. Along where your temple is, a keypad with a small scroll wheel allows you to control the system, iPod style. The display appears on the faceplate in LED. Hit Play, and then the magic begins.

And it is truly magic. Illusion spells kick in, and suddenly you are in a spaceship, a field surrounded by enemy troops, or a World War II war zone. The controls are intuitive – run forward (or at least try to), and your character runs forward as well. Pick up an imaginary gun, and your character picks up the gun. Saying a command word brings up a menu to save, load, and quit. The games are expensive (ranging from $1000 up) and the replay level is low, but this market is opening up as spells become cheaper to cast. Uses are expanding to beyond games, helping first responders train for emergency sessions.

BUSINESS: Donna Whittenberg of Dayton, Ohio bought a wand to summon an unseen servant to help her with the cleaning. What was summoned did over $9,000 in damage and caused numerous injuries to Donna and her 13-year old son, Randall. What followed in the legal case was an unprecedented review of the so-called “sweatshop mage” industry, where young mages are forced to work 18 hour days to cast spells for little pay.

It starts in large cities in areas as diverse as China, El Salvador, and Myanmar. So-called “psi-scouts” look for children who show any talent in magery, focusing on ten to twelve year old girls. When they find their mark, they pass on the information to one of the big businesses. The big businesses go first to the family, offering them money and lies. Once the deal is set, the woman is trained for a few months on a specialized set of spells, then locked in a room with wands and trinkets, forced to expend her energy to enchant the items. The working conditions are long and draining. After five years, the woman is used up and fired.

Furthermore, quality control is spotty in these shops. Mages are trained in the basics, and conditions are not optimum for casting spells. The shops are usually in areas where law enforcement and outside control can be bribed. All this leads to poor performance, and products that Donna Whittenberg faced. The United States and European Union promised to investigate these issues.

FASHION: Yes, you’ve heard of the dryads and oreads and nereids, popular for their ethereal beauty. But the latest fads are the astras, nymphs of space. First discovered in the Mars Expedition of 2032, these ebony-skinned nymphs are unlike anything seen on Earth.

Like other nymphs, astras need regular exposure to their element. Fortunately, they can project themselves to space and return to Earth at will – otherwise, it would take a Herculean effort to ferry these beauties to space and back. First displayed on the arm of Hollywood star Aston Smith, these nymphs work as fashion models, showgirls, and entertainers. It has been estimated that about a hundred exist on Earth, most in Paris, Monaco, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles. These new women are truly stars of the highest order!

TELEVISION: NewsHour featured Johnston Andrews, author of Modern Day Doolittle and Animals Speak Out, and ten mice and rabbits obtained from Rebecca Cosmetics. “These animals will tell you in their own words what horrors they experienced under the cosmetic company.” And the animals did, reports of testing and their aftereffects which included blindness, skin irritancy, and levels of pain, along with impassioned pleas to be released.

Rebecca Cosmetics CEO and owner Rebecca Wilhelm responded: “While we have no comment on Mr. Andrew’s claims themselves, we point out that scientific journals have determined that animals such as these are not capable of communication, and studies have determined that the “speak with animals” spell used on the show merely allows the spellcaster to literally place words in the hosts’ mouth. This is literally nothing more than a ventriloquist act. Rebecca Cosmetics follows all laws concerning the care and use of laboratory animals in order to ensure the quality of our products.”

The episode of NewsHour was rated 5th in its timeslot.

NEWS: At least 8 people were killed when a flying carpet lost power and crashed in southern Illinois, 50 miles north of Paducah, Kentucky. Two small children were among the dead, according to flight reports. The carpet was launched from Midway Airport, Chicago, heading to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, following all proper guidelines, and the pilot had registered flight plans. A preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board does not list a probable cause and does not indicate that there was any malfunction. The report indicates the craft was flying in good weather conditions. Per regulations, the pilot had a radio but did not make radio contact during the emergency.

This is the third crash in the last two years concerning magical flying devices. A bill sponsored by Representative Richard Knox (D-IL) places more control and oversight over these devices under the US Federal Aviation Administration. “The Magical Flight Authority Law will ensure that disasters like what happened in Illinois will not happen elsewhere. Consumers need to know that no matter how they fly, they will be safe.” Currently, personal magical devices (rated as occupancy under 20 and cannot fly in international airspace) are not regulated by either national or international standards. Aladdin Flying Carpets, the maker of the device, had no comments.

As the above suggests, it’s not just science, but the scientific and modern viewpoint we need to deal with. I’ve found GURPS sourcebooks to be very handy in dealing with this subject, especially the above-mentioned Technomancer, GURPS Supers, and Magic Items 3 (disclosure: I did get a few items published in GURPS Magic Items 3 dealing with science and magic). Anything that talks about how telepaths can subvert the American judicial system is worth the price of admission, in my opinion.

Next on the list are the Elements – Air, Fire, Earth, Water, and how the classical system of classification has influenced magic.