Magic

This is my world’s “magic,” but as you’ll see it’s far more scifi than fantastical.

NAME is a subatomic particle which reacts very strongly when in contact with electrons. In everyday life, its reactions are far too varied to have any meaningful impact; they are either imperceptibly small or simply cancel each other out. But with careful manipulation, it can be activated in such a way that pulls energy from the surrounding area to create large bursts of energy, move objects, break or fuse chemical bonds, and much more. This action is referred to as “(SCIENTIFIC NAME),” “(SECULAR PRE-SCIENCE NAME),” “(RELIGIOUS NAME),” or “magic.” The average creature can barely manage to do any of these, but some, such as the Gods, can do incredible things.

The Basics

celestial bodies - where it comes from

the Sun is made largely of NAME which enables it to (???). (solar flare)
The Planet’s core also has a very high concentration of NAME. (radhika’s towers and hamsa)

regular mortals

Creatures’ ability to manipulate NAME varies greatly. Most species and individuals have a hard time doing anything perceptible without extensive training. Some species, such as the Crocodiles, naturally produce a substance which allows NAME to crystallise on their bodies, increasing their chances at activating it to productive ends.

gods

Some groups of Gods, namely True Gods and Ancients, gained access to huge quantities of NAME (plus an encyclopaedic understanding of physics -- see their main article for more), enabling them to do almost otherworldly feats such as erecting entire buildings, resurrecting the dead, and stopping time. (their immortality)

machines

Even the Gods, however, could not accomplish such feats without the help of technology. Machines, often computers in recent times, can be wired to activate NAME in precise ways on cue to alleviate some pressure from the person attempting the feat. Radhika, the king of the Ancient Gods, built hundreds of these devices. (more)

History of NAME

early conceptions/theories

(moon cult) (avalid gods)

discovery of the science

ancients

(radhika)

modern

(taiga and what the gods know)
(aria and what non-gods know)

development and machinery

Radhika was the first to build machines for NAME. His, located in the Inverted Tower and Undersea Tower, ranged from drawing world maps, to calculating efficient ways to use NAME for some of his major construction projects, to resurrecting cryogenically frozen organisms at the press of a button. In his time, electricity was not mass-produced, so several of his machines only involved NAME because it was his way of giving them the power they needed to run. In this way, most of his machinery involved several machines strung together: the first activating NAME with a small amount of electricity from some kind of magnet or thermal generator, the next amplifying it, the next doing the task.

Further Reading

Crocodiles
God
Inverted Tower
Undersea Tower
Solar Flare
Radhika
Hamsa
Taiga Kuvaal
(Aria’s philosophical writings)

Type

Elemental / Molecular