Tradition vs. Technology -- April Ellie Sheeran
"I'm sorry, what?"
"What?"
The first girl, utterly bewildered, stared at the second. The second returned her stare, unnerved. "I'm sorry, Chris, but...You expect me...to write...with a feather?"
"What else would you write with? And stop staring at me like that; it's eerie." Chris picked up a long, elegant black feather that gleamed in the dim torchlight, dipping it in a small glass pot. "Also, it's called a quill."
"Why on earth would I write with that?" The first girl, still bewildered, grasped her quill awkwardly and uncomfortably. "It's nearly illegible, it's uncomfortable on my hand, the tip keeps breaking-"
"Oh, please, Anna," Chris interrupted lightly. "It's how we do things here."
"That again!" Anna erupted. "That's what everybody is saying at this stupid, backwards witch school-"
"Anna, come on-" Chris attempted to stop her in her tracks. Waving her off, Anna continued,
"You magic people are stuck three centuries ago! You're writing with quills and parchment, the former which are messy and inefficient and the latter being fragile! You work under torchlight, which is horrible for your eyes, there's no approved sanitation system: hell, you don't even have internet! Have you ever stopped to take a single glance at the non-magical world and what we've done?!" Chris frowned deeply, folding her arms across her chest.
"Listen, Anna. I was raised here, so take my word when I say that the magical world relies very heavily on tradition. That's why you still see arranged marriages in the 21st century." Anna gaped at this, but Chris powered on, "Most of the people in the Department of Magical Relations are old, stuffy, and look down on their non-magical coworkers- so no, they wouldn't 'take ideas' from the non-magicals." Chris paused. "What do you mean by internet?"
"The internet," Anna said blearily, her brain stuffed full of magic/non-magical diplomacy, "Is hard to explain." Chris raised an inquiring eyebrow. "Imagine being able to open a book- a small book, nice and light- and demand of it, let's say War of the Foxes. 12.5 million results containing that phrase will pop up on the pages of that book, and you can open up any of the results to see what they contain. You can search literally anything in this book and it will likely give you an answer: music, entertainment, news, famous people, not-so-famous people, history, genealogy, literally any subject field. You can communicate privately using the internet between either you and only one other or literally thousands, and, and..." Anna trailed off, her ears nearly steaming. Chris looked mildly impressed.
"Anna, that all is quite interesting," She began tentatively, not making eye contact. "However, we witches have spells that can archive and reveal information with almost if not the same efficiency."
"But, Chris, listen to me. The non-magical world has so much to offer and you're neglecting it, for, what?"
"Like I said, Anna," Chris sighed. "Tradition is an important part of magical life."
"Tradition my-" she paused, watching a professor in flowing black witches' robes walk by. "Tradition is just peer pressure from dead people, Chris. It's holding the magical world back!"
"Tradition is a means of identification and community that runs deeper the older it is." Chris stared at her non-magical raised friend. There was a pregnant pause.
"Well, when I run for Head of the Department of Magical Relations, you can bet that I'll be cooperating with non-magicals to integrate our society further and erase stigma."
"Integration shouldn't be the same as combination," Chris murmured.
"What are you suggesting?"
"Integrate us together as people, but recognize that we're two different groups with our unique identies and culture," Chris said. "In short, don't erase the witch culture. There are only what, two million of us? As compared to seven billion of you."
Anna regarded Chris seriously. "Chris, my offer still stands. I would still love to run for office with you." Chris laughed lightly.
"Maybe in a few years...for now, I'm sticking with history," She brushed her hair out of her eyes and spoke in a posh, high voice, "But you have my unique permission to seek my superior knowledge at any moment, o Squire." Anna laughed, standing and packing up her quills.
"Did your superior knowledge tell you that we're late for Spellweaving?" Chris swore, snatching her bag and nearly leaping from the library. Anna took her time, noticing the book Chris had neglected to take with her.
"Magical Politics and Tradition Throughout Modern History, eh?" She muttered. After a moment of deliberation, she murmured, "Gemino." A perfect copy of the thick tome appeared next to it and she packed it into her bag, picking up Chris' original copy on the way out.
"What?"
The first girl, utterly bewildered, stared at the second. The second returned her stare, unnerved. "I'm sorry, Chris, but...You expect me...to write...with a feather?"
"What else would you write with? And stop staring at me like that; it's eerie." Chris picked up a long, elegant black feather that gleamed in the dim torchlight, dipping it in a small glass pot. "Also, it's called a quill."
"Why on earth would I write with that?" The first girl, still bewildered, grasped her quill awkwardly and uncomfortably. "It's nearly illegible, it's uncomfortable on my hand, the tip keeps breaking-"
"Oh, please, Anna," Chris interrupted lightly. "It's how we do things here."
"That again!" Anna erupted. "That's what everybody is saying at this stupid, backwards witch school-"
"Anna, come on-" Chris attempted to stop her in her tracks. Waving her off, Anna continued,
"You magic people are stuck three centuries ago! You're writing with quills and parchment, the former which are messy and inefficient and the latter being fragile! You work under torchlight, which is horrible for your eyes, there's no approved sanitation system: hell, you don't even have internet! Have you ever stopped to take a single glance at the non-magical world and what we've done?!" Chris frowned deeply, folding her arms across her chest.
"Listen, Anna. I was raised here, so take my word when I say that the magical world relies very heavily on tradition. That's why you still see arranged marriages in the 21st century." Anna gaped at this, but Chris powered on, "Most of the people in the Department of Magical Relations are old, stuffy, and look down on their non-magical coworkers- so no, they wouldn't 'take ideas' from the non-magicals." Chris paused. "What do you mean by internet?"
"The internet," Anna said blearily, her brain stuffed full of magic/non-magical diplomacy, "Is hard to explain." Chris raised an inquiring eyebrow. "Imagine being able to open a book- a small book, nice and light- and demand of it, let's say War of the Foxes. 12.5 million results containing that phrase will pop up on the pages of that book, and you can open up any of the results to see what they contain. You can search literally anything in this book and it will likely give you an answer: music, entertainment, news, famous people, not-so-famous people, history, genealogy, literally any subject field. You can communicate privately using the internet between either you and only one other or literally thousands, and, and..." Anna trailed off, her ears nearly steaming. Chris looked mildly impressed.
"Anna, that all is quite interesting," She began tentatively, not making eye contact. "However, we witches have spells that can archive and reveal information with almost if not the same efficiency."
"But, Chris, listen to me. The non-magical world has so much to offer and you're neglecting it, for, what?"
"Like I said, Anna," Chris sighed. "Tradition is an important part of magical life."
"Tradition my-" she paused, watching a professor in flowing black witches' robes walk by. "Tradition is just peer pressure from dead people, Chris. It's holding the magical world back!"
"Tradition is a means of identification and community that runs deeper the older it is." Chris stared at her non-magical raised friend. There was a pregnant pause.
"Well, when I run for Head of the Department of Magical Relations, you can bet that I'll be cooperating with non-magicals to integrate our society further and erase stigma."
"Integration shouldn't be the same as combination," Chris murmured.
"What are you suggesting?"
"Integrate us together as people, but recognize that we're two different groups with our unique identies and culture," Chris said. "In short, don't erase the witch culture. There are only what, two million of us? As compared to seven billion of you."
Anna regarded Chris seriously. "Chris, my offer still stands. I would still love to run for office with you." Chris laughed lightly.
"Maybe in a few years...for now, I'm sticking with history," She brushed her hair out of her eyes and spoke in a posh, high voice, "But you have my unique permission to seek my superior knowledge at any moment, o Squire." Anna laughed, standing and packing up her quills.
"Did your superior knowledge tell you that we're late for Spellweaving?" Chris swore, snatching her bag and nearly leaping from the library. Anna took her time, noticing the book Chris had neglected to take with her.
"Magical Politics and Tradition Throughout Modern History, eh?" She muttered. After a moment of deliberation, she murmured, "Gemino." A perfect copy of the thick tome appeared next to it and she packed it into her bag, picking up Chris' original copy on the way out.
I love that you did something creative! Well done!
ReplyDelete