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Q&A What is a good way to foreshadow that magic is actually very advanced technology?

Magic vs advanced technology is a common enough question in fiction that your readers will already be primed to wonder. I agree with Amadeus that the reference to "knobs" is, in and of itself, eno...

posted 5y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

Answer
#4: Attribution notice removed by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-20T00:40:40Z (over 4 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/42867
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T11:06:07Z (over 4 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/42867
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by (deleted user) · 2019-12-08T11:06:07Z (over 4 years ago)
Magic vs advanced technology is a common enough question in fiction that your readers will already be primed to wonder. I agree with Amadeus that the reference to "knobs" is, in and of itself, enough to tip the reader off. **Magic wands don't have buttons.**

What you want though is not just the reader thinking advanced technology but considering where the tech comes from. Is it from an older society? aliens? a parallel but unknown community (like the fairy world in _[Artemis Fowl](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/249747.Artemis_Fowl)_)?

So **reference the "devastating global war."** You might even talk about how someone invented something but it got taken away.

**You don't need much here.** Let the reader have the thrill of figuring it out.

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2019-03-02T19:18:55Z (about 5 years ago)
Original score: 5