I was wondering if magic can also be in the science fiction genre instead of fantasy or horror. What are your science fictional magical powers you can think of? It can be alien or some kind of psychic power.
Magic in Science Fiction
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It can 'appear to be' magic, it can even 'be' magic, but any scientific-minded person in the story will assume the magic has some mundane physical explanation that hasn't been figured out yet. Reference: the overused Clarke 'indistinguishable' quote.
You have to have at least the HOPE that anything that happens in the story iis explainable through the physical laws of the Universe (even if it's the Universe of the story and not the one WE live in), else it's not science fiction. At least IMHO.
You have to have at least the HOPE that anything that happens in the story iis explainable through the physical laws of the Universe (even if it's the Universe of the story and not the one WE live in), else it's not science fiction. At least IMHO.
Certainly it can be. Just look at Star Wars.
And sometimes the sci-fi genre can end up in fantasy. The first example I come up with (not a book either. hmm) is Warren "Robot Boy" from Buffy, who was a superscientist in the midst of vampires and witches
I think that magic in sci-fi is a wonderful touch. The only problem is, you have to attempt, at least, to be original. How you go about being original is the tough part.
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A lot of sci fi has magic in it. Sci fi tends t be a 'trump' genre so that any sci fi element makes it sci fi even if the lot of the content is fantasy in nature.
It's certainly possible to have both fantasy and and sci-fi elements (Star Wars), but just remember it'll make things more complicated. Readers will have the advanced technology of your world to learn already. Add in a magic system, and it could get tedious if it's not handled carefully.
But would it be cool? Definitely.
But would it be cool? Definitely.
Of course there can be magic in Sci-Fi, as long as you're scientific about it. 
Magic can fit very well into scifi if it is just part of the world, i.e. you don't really have to explain it to the reader, but the characters treat it much like technology. Maybe the governing laws aren't fully understood, but it's being researched. Compare it to medical technology some time ago. There were a lot of old traditions involved in healing people, some working, some not, but people were finally starting to do actual scientific research into what works, and what doesn't.
Of course it can also be beyond that with magic just being an integral part of society, being used just as machines are.
Star Wars is not really a good example though as it isn't Sci-Fi. (nor was it intended to be)
Magic can fit very well into scifi if it is just part of the world, i.e. you don't really have to explain it to the reader, but the characters treat it much like technology. Maybe the governing laws aren't fully understood, but it's being researched. Compare it to medical technology some time ago. There were a lot of old traditions involved in healing people, some working, some not, but people were finally starting to do actual scientific research into what works, and what doesn't.
Of course it can also be beyond that with magic just being an integral part of society, being used just as machines are.
Star Wars is not really a good example though as it isn't Sci-Fi. (nor was it intended to be)
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No. Science Fiction cannot have magic in it.
It can have unexplained alien science, it can have explained junk science, it can have pseudoscience ...
It can have crazy virtual reality universes where "magic" appears to work.
It can have Arthur C. Clarke's famous riff where advanced Science appears as "magic"
You can have your characters have sex dressed up as Fluffies or Puffies or whatever it's called. Plushies?
But Science Fiction cannot have actual magic in it, or a robot will assassinate you with a raygun at the first Sci-Fi Convention they hunt you down at.
Get a grip, laddie!
It can have unexplained alien science, it can have explained junk science, it can have pseudoscience ...
It can have crazy virtual reality universes where "magic" appears to work.
It can have Arthur C. Clarke's famous riff where advanced Science appears as "magic"
You can have your characters have sex dressed up as Fluffies or Puffies or whatever it's called. Plushies?
But Science Fiction cannot have actual magic in it, or a robot will assassinate you with a raygun at the first Sci-Fi Convention they hunt you down at.
Get a grip, laddie!
I rave read several books dealing with a conflict between science and magic.
Having the two co-exist is an interesting concept.
There is a series of Shadowrun books that deal with a mix of high science and magic. Of course they also toss in computer using elves, and orcs with machine guns...but the stories work.
I've been tossing about an idea where humans rediscover magic. In the early years only university history department professors and students learn magic. And the rush is on to steal magic items away from museums and dig sites. In this case the competition is so fierce that the universities (each with its own brand of magic) actually make war with each other.
Its only when the governments get wind of whats going on that a true blend of techno magic gets going...and the universities are put in their place.
Think. You might end up with magicly aware computers, that can then be possessed by unclean spirits. Spaceships that use magic to travel faster than light. Talismans that protect the wearer from Bullets (but not arrows). Normal items can be enchanted, but what happens when you enchant a robot?
Mixing the two genres sounds like a LOT of fun!
There is no need to explain magic away, just write the story.
Have a load of fun. Your readers certainly will.
Having the two co-exist is an interesting concept.
There is a series of Shadowrun books that deal with a mix of high science and magic. Of course they also toss in computer using elves, and orcs with machine guns...but the stories work.
I've been tossing about an idea where humans rediscover magic. In the early years only university history department professors and students learn magic. And the rush is on to steal magic items away from museums and dig sites. In this case the competition is so fierce that the universities (each with its own brand of magic) actually make war with each other.
Its only when the governments get wind of whats going on that a true blend of techno magic gets going...and the universities are put in their place.
Think. You might end up with magicly aware computers, that can then be possessed by unclean spirits. Spaceships that use magic to travel faster than light. Talismans that protect the wearer from Bullets (but not arrows). Normal items can be enchanted, but what happens when you enchant a robot?
Mixing the two genres sounds like a LOT of fun!
There is no need to explain magic away, just write the story.
Have a load of fun. Your readers certainly will.
To me it sounds cool to insert a wee bit of magick into a Sci-Fi-novel.
As far as I'm concerned, it is the writer's option to elaborate his/her work, and to try and be as original and imaginary as he/she pleases.
To me, magic always comes from within, and I see no reason why a character, found in a Sci-Fi-novel, couldn't have developed certain magick abilities. And just imagine what cool spells one could come up with if the magick was alien.
As far as I'm concerned, it is the writer's option to elaborate his/her work, and to try and be as original and imaginary as he/she pleases.
To me, magic always comes from within, and I see no reason why a character, found in a Sci-Fi-novel, couldn't have developed certain magick abilities. And just imagine what cool spells one could come up with if the magick was alien.
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I've always looked at arbitrary genre rules as somewhat meaningless. The answer behind rules like this are typically variances on "Because its never been done." Cyclops referenced the Shadowrun books, and that was the first thing I thought of when I saw this post, so it has been done before.
There is no reason why you can't have a society that has evolved magically and techonogically. I would think there would be some reasons for this, and probably more than a bit of friction between the two camps, but no reason why it can't be done.
There is no reason why you can't have a society that has evolved magically and techonogically. I would think there would be some reasons for this, and probably more than a bit of friction between the two camps, but no reason why it can't be done.
In sci-fi, yes, but whatever Star Wars might be, science fiction it ain't. Neither is Buffy.
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I certainly would classify it as space opera, or rather even space fantasy. Some people claim it actually follows the "rules" for a western, and they appear to be more knowledgeable about that movie genre than i am (and i don't like westerns) i tend to trust their judgement.
Anyway, the question wether something is Sci-Fi or not is imo a matter of style rather than content. I'd classify Jules Verne as writing Sci-Fi though none of his science is fictional any longer and lots of it wrong as we now know. Still as long as you follow the determining characteristics of Sci-Fi (what if scenario, a logical, "scientific", extrapolation thereof, as few flat out wrong science as possible etc.) you're writing Sci-Fi. Even if there's not a laser gun in sight. And if you don't, even spaceships won't make your work Sci-Fi.
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Star Wars (the real first movie) was based on a Kurosawa film, so it's more a samurai movie than anything.
Magic means not SF. It may be Space Fantasy, but as soon as you put magic in there it ceases to be SF. The ruling premise of SF is that everything can be explained, with the corollary that it can be explained without resorting to supernatural causes. Magic is supernatural and not SF.
Magic means not SF. It may be Space Fantasy, but as soon as you put magic in there it ceases to be SF. The ruling premise of SF is that everything can be explained, with the corollary that it can be explained without resorting to supernatural causes. Magic is supernatural and not SF.
What about alien magic? Like there's a race of aliens, who are like wizards. I'm thinking in my story Beast Planet, one of the humanoid animal like aliens have super natual powers beyond human understanding.
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No, no magic at all. The aliens may have powers we don't understand, but they would be natural (not supernatural) and if we knew what they did we would understand it too.
You can have that in your story, it just won't be Science Fiction.
You can have that in your story, it just won't be Science Fiction.
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Check out works by Jack Vance (Dying Earth) and M John Harrison (Viriconium) - both excellent authors who dwell in the murky realm of science fiction and magic.
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Okay, if I know their titles. But hey, alien wizards sound cool! What if in Harry Potter, an alien wizard kid goes to Hogwards? How would the teachers figure out his powers? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
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I remember reading a lot of George Lucas interviews when Star Wars first came out and I don't recall him saying that. I thought he said it was more or less an homage to all the old sci-fi serials of the 40s.
Sure, you can mix high tech and magic if you want. You can mix anything you want.
I'd call it fantasy, though. Futuristic fantasy, if someone really bugged me to label it. The way I see it, there's absolutely no shame in writing fantasy, and an awful lot of scope. You can write standard sword-and-sorcery, if you want to---but you can also write steampunk interplanetary fantasy in which the space ships are powered by specialized Babbage computers casting motion spells several hundred times a second. Or anything else you want, so long as you can make it look logical.
So maybe the question should be, not can you have magic in a science fiction story, but can you have starships in a fantasy story. And the answer is that of course you can---so long as it's consistent with the rest of the world.
Izunya
I'd call it fantasy, though. Futuristic fantasy, if someone really bugged me to label it. The way I see it, there's absolutely no shame in writing fantasy, and an awful lot of scope. You can write standard sword-and-sorcery, if you want to---but you can also write steampunk interplanetary fantasy in which the space ships are powered by specialized Babbage computers casting motion spells several hundred times a second. Or anything else you want, so long as you can make it look logical.
So maybe the question should be, not can you have magic in a science fiction story, but can you have starships in a fantasy story. And the answer is that of course you can---so long as it's consistent with the rest of the world.
Izunya
Pretty sure that's actually all sci-fi & any "magic" is really out of aliens just being different & having different abilities from us. It's science, even if it's wibbly-wobbly, timey-whimey science.
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