fantasy dystopian society where the magic underpinning society and the infrastructure of civilization is run by a powerful noble class of mages
plot twist: it is not magic at all. it is technology, which got so complex and society became so well-trained to not question how the technology works so people whose job was to maintain and repair and understand the tech wound up gaining power
@InspectorCaracal I kind of have a lot of criticisms of the implicit assumptions here, but I don’t want to spoil anyone’s day by getting all negative,
@ghost_bird If the criticisms are about the plausibility, then sure. I mean, it's not like I think it's ACTUALLY going to happen? It's the whole pointing out an element in society in fiction by exaggeration thing.
@InspectorCaracal More that I think money and ownership are the important things, not technical knowledge.
@ghost_bird Probably! The idea came from a combination of the idea of increasing reliance on technology we don't understand and the concept of cargo cults.
@InspectorCaracal It goes back to at least H G Wells as an idea, but I think it tends to reduce to flattery for nerds (if the nobles are benevolent) or a warning against giving the workers control of the means of production (if they’re not). And - crucially - we’ve been through several tech revolutions without it happening.
@InspectorCaracal (And this is what I mean about not wanting to be too negative. Because it’s a fun idea to play with and I don’t mean to crush your jeu d’espirit by getting all heavy about politics.)
@ghost_bird Ehhh you aren't being too negative yet, don't worry xD