A common assumption made in speculative fiction is that magic and technology don't coexist. They can't. You either have magic, in which case you're reading fantasy, or you have technology, in which case you're reading science fiction. There are exceptions, of course--the Star Wars universe juxtaposes space travel with a particular form of religious magic, and the Mageworld series by Doyle and Macdonald takes that juxtaposition even further--but they are very much outnumbered. Besides, their inclusion of magic is enough to get critics sneeringly labeling them "space fantasy" anyway.
Another assumption, built off the first, is that the development of technology causes magic to die off. We gain telephones only to lose telepathy. As automobiles evolve, so must unicorns go extinct. The fae exile themseleves to the summerlands, declaiming as they go that there is no room for wonder in the scientific mind.
Yet a third assumption is that this is a one-way process. Magic fades away, science takes its place, and technology advances toward the singularity and beyond. I think it's supposed to be a metaphor for growing up. In order to gain knowledge and become an adult you have to give up your childlike imagination. Some depressing nonsense like that, anyway.
But you have to be careful about making assumptions. They often turn out to be wrong. And metaphors don't define the things they point at.
Cover art incorporates "a t-res-fossil" by 3weg.nl (CC BY 4.0)
ESTÀS LLEGINT
Tomorrow Belongs to the Dragons (excerpt)
Relat curtFriday Fictionette for March 9, 2018. "There's nothing particularly unusual about dragon skeletons."
