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stargateficrecShow: SGA
Rec Category: Alternate Universe
Characters: Rodney McKay/John Sheppard, Elizabeth Weir, Colonel Maybourne
Categories: M/M
Words: 23,072
Warnings: No AO3 warnings apply
Author on DW:quasar
Author's Website: Quasar on AO3
Link: Any Sufficiently Advanced Technology on AO3
Why This Must Be Read: This is a really interesting magical AU, as Quasar treats magic like science, or rather, Rodney does, and he teaches it in combination with physics. He's a genius thaumaturge (wizard) and in this AU John's military and initially assigned to the NID and working for Maybourne. There's loads of plot with an interesting story structure where we move between the present in which Rodney, traumatized by what happened in the past, has renounced magic entirely and John and Rodney have been apart for 12 years (in fact, Rodney thought John was dead). Intercut with that is the story of how they first met and the disastrous adventure set in motion by Maybourne's machinations. It's gripping, with excellent worldbuilding and characterization, and it's a really great read.
"Magic works by manipulating fundamental physical forces," said McKay with emphatic stabs of his chalk at the board. "And magic comes from here -- " He pointed a finger just above his ear, in the direction of the tiny brain organ associated with magic use. "So it follows that understanding the underlying physics will help you get your brain into the right configuration to produce the desired magic."
Students stirred, and McKay held up a hand at them. "I know what you're going to say! Yes, you can do magic without understanding exactly how it works. Children do it every day. Adults did it for thousands of years before Newton, before Einstein. There are cantrips and meditations and visualization exercises and whatnot, all to achieve the same effect: to put your brain into the right state. But I guarantee you -- I guarantee! -- your mastery of magic will be faster, and easier, and more reliable, and stronger if you take the time to learn the physics behind it. Case in point. How many here can levitate objects?" McKay held up his left hand in demonstration.
All but two of the students raised their hands. John, with a smile tugging at his lips, put his hand up as well.
"Can you levitate more than ten pounds?"
A couple of hands went down.
"More than thirty? More than one hundred?"
Most of the hands were down now. John lowered his own to half-mast. Once, just once, he had levitated himself -- and it was very cool, for a couple of minutes. But afterward he was panting and headachy, and his muscles were trembling as if they'd done the work instead of his brain. It was more exhausting than chin-ups for pretty much the same effect -- and a lot more exhausting than stair-climbing, which lifted his body far higher. That was about the point where John decided magic wasn't worth the effort, and he changed his concentration.
McKay nodded. "So that's what a few hours of meditation will get you. Here's what a thorough understanding of General Relativity gets me."
A couple of students exclaimed in surprise, on opposite ends of the room. A big muscular jock on the left and a less-than-svelte woman on the right clutched at their desks as they rose several feet in the air, notebooks and backpacks and all. While most of the students were craning around to one side or the other, John noticed that Dr. McKay, in the front of the room, was floating on a comfortable cushion of air himself with arms crossed and a triumphant smirk. He had a little frown of concentration between his brows, but no visible sign of great effort.
John leaned forward for a closer look. He was pretty sure that one of the front-row nerds was between McKay and the jock, or had been before the jock's chair rose up. So the dossier was correct and McKay really could get around the famous Line of Sight Rule; he could exert a magical effect on something (or someone) without also affecting everything along the path between himself and his subject. It was a simple but impressive demonstration, more so for anyone who knew a little about magic and its limitations.
The two students and their desks settled down with hardly a sound, and then there was another series of murmurs as the students finally noticed that McKay himself was levitating. He stepped down as if from an invisible floating cushion and summoned a glass of water from his desk to his hand. John could just see a faint sheen of sweat on the man's forehead, but it still wasn't much given the amount of mass McKay had just lifted.
"Go ahead, practice meditation so you can control your emotions," McKay said. "But if you really want to get better at magic, study physics. Now, I'm going summarize the kinds of physics you need to learn."
Rec Category: Alternate Universe
Characters: Rodney McKay/John Sheppard, Elizabeth Weir, Colonel Maybourne
Categories: M/M
Words: 23,072
Warnings: No AO3 warnings apply
Author on DW:
quasar Author's Website: Quasar on AO3
Link: Any Sufficiently Advanced Technology on AO3
Why This Must Be Read: This is a really interesting magical AU, as Quasar treats magic like science, or rather, Rodney does, and he teaches it in combination with physics. He's a genius thaumaturge (wizard) and in this AU John's military and initially assigned to the NID and working for Maybourne. There's loads of plot with an interesting story structure where we move between the present in which Rodney, traumatized by what happened in the past, has renounced magic entirely and John and Rodney have been apart for 12 years (in fact, Rodney thought John was dead). Intercut with that is the story of how they first met and the disastrous adventure set in motion by Maybourne's machinations. It's gripping, with excellent worldbuilding and characterization, and it's a really great read.
"Magic works by manipulating fundamental physical forces," said McKay with emphatic stabs of his chalk at the board. "And magic comes from here -- " He pointed a finger just above his ear, in the direction of the tiny brain organ associated with magic use. "So it follows that understanding the underlying physics will help you get your brain into the right configuration to produce the desired magic."
Students stirred, and McKay held up a hand at them. "I know what you're going to say! Yes, you can do magic without understanding exactly how it works. Children do it every day. Adults did it for thousands of years before Newton, before Einstein. There are cantrips and meditations and visualization exercises and whatnot, all to achieve the same effect: to put your brain into the right state. But I guarantee you -- I guarantee! -- your mastery of magic will be faster, and easier, and more reliable, and stronger if you take the time to learn the physics behind it. Case in point. How many here can levitate objects?" McKay held up his left hand in demonstration.
All but two of the students raised their hands. John, with a smile tugging at his lips, put his hand up as well.
"Can you levitate more than ten pounds?"
A couple of hands went down.
"More than thirty? More than one hundred?"
Most of the hands were down now. John lowered his own to half-mast. Once, just once, he had levitated himself -- and it was very cool, for a couple of minutes. But afterward he was panting and headachy, and his muscles were trembling as if they'd done the work instead of his brain. It was more exhausting than chin-ups for pretty much the same effect -- and a lot more exhausting than stair-climbing, which lifted his body far higher. That was about the point where John decided magic wasn't worth the effort, and he changed his concentration.
McKay nodded. "So that's what a few hours of meditation will get you. Here's what a thorough understanding of General Relativity gets me."
A couple of students exclaimed in surprise, on opposite ends of the room. A big muscular jock on the left and a less-than-svelte woman on the right clutched at their desks as they rose several feet in the air, notebooks and backpacks and all. While most of the students were craning around to one side or the other, John noticed that Dr. McKay, in the front of the room, was floating on a comfortable cushion of air himself with arms crossed and a triumphant smirk. He had a little frown of concentration between his brows, but no visible sign of great effort.
John leaned forward for a closer look. He was pretty sure that one of the front-row nerds was between McKay and the jock, or had been before the jock's chair rose up. So the dossier was correct and McKay really could get around the famous Line of Sight Rule; he could exert a magical effect on something (or someone) without also affecting everything along the path between himself and his subject. It was a simple but impressive demonstration, more so for anyone who knew a little about magic and its limitations.
The two students and their desks settled down with hardly a sound, and then there was another series of murmurs as the students finally noticed that McKay himself was levitating. He stepped down as if from an invisible floating cushion and summoned a glass of water from his desk to his hand. John could just see a faint sheen of sweat on the man's forehead, but it still wasn't much given the amount of mass McKay had just lifted.
"Go ahead, practice meditation so you can control your emotions," McKay said. "But if you really want to get better at magic, study physics. Now, I'm going summarize the kinds of physics you need to learn."
