Wizards and Computers

[toturi]

Wizards generating an advanced electromagnetic field is something Butters is guessing at. It is not an established canon fact. You want to make it so in your games, that's rad, but the canon actually leans against that theory, considering how an automatic with almost no vulnerability to electromagnetic fields (for example) can jam around a tense Wizard.

Have we actually seen a gun jam because of a tense wizard?

I mean that there are times where Harry is in a very tense situation and yet in those scenarios, automatic weapons are still functional.

[Lanodantheon]

The laser keyboard idea is neat. I like it. Thought I think the optical mouse would laugh a you in death before you even drew the circle.

I've also been a fan of using older front ends from the 1960's (the green displays) or rigging up an analog mouse using mechanical devices. and a projector mounted on a high ceiling.or from another room or 3 using a collection of low-tech lenses so the high-tech is as far away from the wizard as possible.

THe big problem with a wizard using a computer is the first thing about computers everyone overlooks: How does he turn it on? 

Voice actuation and the optical keyboard thingies both kill response times. You couldn't game online for example. You also couldn't use and other peripherals like scanners, printers or good speakers without an assistant.

My thoughts on how a Wizard could use a keyboard and mouse  goes back a few years since I started reading the series. I came up with 2 solutions and only 1 of which I would have faith in(though not for long periods.

1) Water

Water grounds out magic. My first thought would be to immerse the wizard in water(use a waterproof mouse and keyboard and it should block the field. Though, I never figured out outside of a rube goldberg machine how the hell he would turn it on.

My other solution is the one I personally stand by as the best way, but it would be an unholy b**** to make, maintain and test.

2) Reverse Radiation Suit.

Make your own radiation suit-like apparel (must be completely self-contained) out of whatever. Put it on. Design it so that when you put it on it make a circle seal like the one Butters did that covers the whole suit. Making it with bits of metal it would probably be easy as hell magically speaking especially if the metal circle bits fit perfectly together.  The seal has to be perfect though, so whatever the materials the whole rig would be like an old diving suit.

Whammy! Your Murphonic Field is stopped could by a magic circle that you wear.

Problems/Concerns:

A) Visibility.  You would be hard-pressed to see out of it, even if you used a motorcycle helmet as a base.

B) Comfort. It would be like wearing an old fashioned deep-sea diving suit so you'd need to make sure it was cofortable to wear if you wanted to get any real work done over many hours at a keyboard.

C) Heat & Air. Unless you worked up a low tech cooling and oxygen replacement unit, you're in a sealed container. The idea is to keep maigc in so the suit has to be sealed. I guess you could make air holes and not break any circles, maybe but a sealed suit is ideal. I recommend go with the diving suit idea and have an old pump and hose attached to it to recycle air and take away heat with freon.

D) Sweat.  Related to Heat & Air, you would sweat like made in that thing and it is nasty when you wear Latex gloves for too long in heat, imagin a whole suit.

But, you would for all that crap be able to continue turning on the computer, use all modern, unmodified components and peripherals and be able to make use of a keyboard and mouse. BUt if you took the suit off or if it got damaged...*PUff* *Blue Smoke of doom*

[Nomad]

BigMrE: I think you misunderstood, Im trying to put the computer in the circle and the wizard outside it (so theoratically the optical mouse wouldn't bork)
Butters being able to use GPS inside the circle means (at least as far as I understand it) that if you don't have an active source in the circle (like a wizard),  it will continue working like a normal mortals machine.

[theDwarf]

1) Water

Water grounds out magic. My first thought would be to immerse the wizard in water(use a waterproof mouse and keyboard and it should block the field. Though, I never figured out outside of a rube goldberg machine how the hell he would turn it on.

Computers can work inside of oil (current ones appear to be mineral oil but I swear I heard cooking oil in the past ... do a search and you will also get pictures   )

So, if the computer is sealed in oil and both the computer and Wizard are located underwater (preferably in running water, like a swim tank or such) then as long as the power in is shielded as well the computer should be fine.

 

 

[Ophidimancer]

My own feeling was that knowing humans have the Internet maybe powerful Wizards have a Spectral Net that uses either crystal balls or similar devices and "Bobs" (either TV "Ghost in the Skull" versions or tethered Air Spirits) to create information relays and storage.  Been thinking on that ever since I first saw the TV show (read the books afterwards and thought maybe sprite type faes as "messengers" and such).

Hmm ... you know, Ivy would probably make the perfect server.

[GruffAndTumble]

Have we actually seen a gun jam because of a tense wizard?

I mean that there are times where Harry is in a very tense situation and yet in those scenarios, automatic weapons are still functional.

I don't know about onscreen, but we are repeatedly told by Harry that it can and does happen.

[Tsunami]

SF at the lake house, the Beckitt's guns jam... though there certainly was more magic flying around than from "a wizard in a tense situation"

[Papa Gruff]

There is an other scene in SmF i think, where the assault riffle of one of nicodemuses minions has a malfunction.

[flashwitch]

I like the idea of the computer in a circle, but I agree with other posters that it isn't a perfect solution.
But what I don't get is why Harry doesn't put his shower in a circle. All he has to do is have the shower tray, or the water heater, in a circle and he gets hot showers. And if the circle goes, he doesn't lose data, or fry the hard drive the way he would with a computer. He'd probably just have to reset or change the fuse.
Unless, does the shower count as running water? Because it's stated that he'd need a stream to ground magic in the past, which is a bit bigger than the shower.
Even if it did, Molly could circle the heater while Harry was in the shower. That'd work. I think.

[blankshield]

I think the reason Harry doesn't have a water heater is fairly straightforward: When something goes wrong with a computer, it goes *fizzttzz*.  When something goes wrong with a hot water tank, it goes *BOOM*.


James

[Belial666]

Question:
Why not make a magical computer?

Fact 1: non-mortal magical beings don't adversely affect technology.
Fact 2: spiritual beings can possess objects
Fact 3: such beings can move the object they possess - to a point.
Fact 4: a few such beings are capable of much faster thought processing than humans



So, here's how it works:

Step 1: Buy a computer and have it delivered to your house
Step 2: Set up old telephone and power landlines. Those go back to the 1800s so accidental hexing won't mess them.
Step 3: Make a circle around your house. Use up all the magical energy inside.
Step 4: Unpack and install your new computer. No energy = no hexing.
Step 5: Make a second, heavy-duty circle around your new computer after you shut it down and erase the first circle. This circle should also stop physical stuff.
Step 6: Summon a spirit of intellect into the circle - have it possess the computer.
Step 7: Set up a dummy keyboard and mouse (unpowered) outside the circle but where the spirit-possessed PC can see them.
Step 8: Have the spirit press the power button and depress whatever keys you press on the dummy keyboard as well as move the mouse like you move the dummy mouse. Enjoy your new magically protected, very intelligent PC.
Step 9: Make sure your spirit of intellect is not using the PC to perform illegal acts on the internet while you're not looking.
Steps 10-100000: Check that Step 9 is followed.

[Drashna]

The RPG book mention that it's about belief, and I think that is best explanation for why it won't work in general. That the wizard has to believe that it's going to work without *any* doubt.  Now how many of you can tell me exactly how every aspect of a computer works, down the each nanometer transistors works?  Especially considering 45nm manufacture has issues with "quantum leakage" (aka, switch is off, but still leaks electricity).  Do you know how atoms work? Or subatomics? Let alone, do you know how a comparatively simple device such as a car engine works? 

Personally, I've fealt that the "murphy's law field" is a poor answer. It's more that magic is a wizard exerting his will over the world, and the "hexing aura" is his subconsciousness expression of it. Which is why when big magic is happening, more things go BOOOM.  The older the wizard, the less familiarity with "technology", the quicker things go wrong.
Which means even a circle will cause issues as it *is* a magical construct.

Personally, from a story standpoint, using the internet, or computers feels wrong... and lazy.  What's the point of having a magical community if all you ever do is sit on the computer (yes, I note the irony in the statement)?  That's the point of summoning spirits and demons and other creatures of the Nevernever.  More flavor for the game. That, and you'd almost *never* need thaumaturgy!

That being said, magic circle, Windows, speech recognition. It works GREAT.  I use it at home all the time.  Works great. Though, you'd want to pick up that extended warranty, and that's not a "just in case". that's a "for when it happens".