So, there’s Clarke’s Third Law: Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
Then there’s what I first ran across attributed (in a Uni textbook, no less!) as Murphy’s reformulation of Clarke’s law: Any sufficiently advanced magic is indistinguishable from technology.
Then there’s what is in the textbook as a Programmers’ restatement of Murphy’s reformulation of Clarke: Any sufficiently advanced magic is indistinguishable from a rigged demonstration.
Like to see what you do with that. – RecklessPrudence
(#00310)
Katie had started tearing Hackmeyer a new one in multiple languages. But that hardly mattered, because the Professor was talking over her in his usual bombastic way. Drowning her out with sound waves.
“We have to impress upon our visitors that this is more than a rigged demonstration,” Hackmeyer boomed. “They want results they can see.”
Katie’s multilingual swearing continued unabated. Peppered with the odd phrase of English. Most common was “eat the fookain universe”.
“Times have changed since the reactor in the squash court, missy,” Hackmeyer trumpeted. Lesser men who used ‘missy’ on Katie got some tailor-made kharma inside of a week. Some got some instant attitude adjustment via her knee to their groin.
Hackmeyer was lucky her grades depended on a lack of physical violence on her part.
“We must assume that anything that looks like a rigged demo is a rigged demo.”
Then a pen floated up between her nose and his and just stayed there.
“Rigged demo that,” said Katie. “Reserve gravitational anomalies from the dimensional flux.”
Hackmeyer fell silent while he performed an interpretive dance entitled, Where The Fuck Is The Wire?
Katie looked at her watch. “Three. Two. One.” And neatly caught it.
“And I can do that in the shielded observation room?”
“I know how tae handle and predict it,” said Katie. “Let’s save it fer the after show, aye?”
“You have to show me the math on this.”
“I’m still workin’ it out,” avoided Katie. “It seems t’ be related tae a fractal distribution pattern on an astral scale.”
Hackmeyer nodded. “Keep working on it and show me when you get close. This might just impress them enough. But -ah- continue working on some safe fireworks, won’t you?”
Not bloody likely, thought Katie while she lied, “Oh aye.”
She waited until he was out of hearing range before leaning on a handy wall and rattling through every curse word she knew.
Kev was there by the time she reached 'tits’.
“Another Hackmeyer experience?”
“In this case… any sufficiently advanced rigged demo is indistinguishable from technology.” Katie made sure to add, or magic, only inside her head.
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