OK, been thinking over options for enchanting and spell anchoring and such, and one thing came to mind regarding the current discussion about a Miracle Pill: Even putting aside that we still need to research how to combine the anchoring and the insulation, our insulation tech is still pretty weak. We'd be lucky to get a pill that kept a healing charge for over an hour.
As such, I'm going to assert that it is way premature for us to be arguing about the technical details and merits of such an enterprise. Focus on what we can achieve in the immediate future, for the time being.
Right now, we have four types of tech to consider:
1) Simple spell anchoring. A spell is contained in an object, wrapped in an enchantment shell, and released when the shell is released. Requires a MG to maintain the shell, and the internal spell has no effect on anything until released.
2) Simple enchantment. A spell effect is embedded in an object (eg: shields, armor, etc), and maintained by a MG. The effect of the spell is maintained for as long as the MG puts power into it.
3) Insulated spell anchoring. Rather than use a magical layer to contain a spell, use one of our insulation techs to keep magic energy from escaping. Advantage is that it doesn't require the active attention of a MG, or in fact any MG involvement at all once the spell is contained. Disadvantage is that our insulation tech still doesn't hold a charge very long.
4) Insulated enchantment. Rather than needing a MG to maintain the enchantment effect, the effect is stored in an insulation material that doesn't let the magic dissipate very quickly. Allows a long-term enchantment. Disadvantage is that our insulation tech still doesn't hold a charge very long.
So, I tried working out an idea completely different from the current discussions. Leverage Akeno's inertia control to create a Gyroscope Delivery Box — everything inside always maintains the same orientation, and never spills.
Between anchoring and enchantment, this would be an enchantment, because the effect has to be always-on. A single burst effect would be pointless.
A simple enchantment would require Akeno creating the effect and passing it to another MG who would have to maintain it from then on. As soon as the girl put the box down, the effect would be lost. Similar if she tied it to her bike while making the delivery. Not too useful.
An insulated enchantment would allow the effect to remain in effect for however the insulation lasted. If it lasted at least an hour, Akeno could 'charge' boxes periodically that other MG delivery girls could use.
Of course that assumes Akeno is at the same delivery place as the rest. Since she's working for another restaurant now, she'd have to create an enchantment that lasted a good half-day, at least. That will require advances in our insulation tech.
For spell anchor tech, going to focus first on what our own MGs can use it for, rather than try to slip it into the mundane black market.
Of the 'common' magic types:
Once we have Spell Binding (see latest research projects listed just above), I'd probably imbue that in rings that get passed out to everyone. Outside of specifically planned-for events, emergency teleport isn't going to be very useful for us. For hunting, we never allow the hunters to be put at such a risk that that would be necessary. An emergency teleport would only be needed in a truly unexpected situation, which means a constantly maintained device would be a hassle.
Barrier and Healing charms would be 'common use' items that would likely be set up for hunters each day. A couple of each would give hunters breathing room if anything got dangerous, allowing escape as needed from most situations. These would be basic insulated charms.
As such, I'm going to assert that it is way premature for us to be arguing about the technical details and merits of such an enterprise. Focus on what we can achieve in the immediate future, for the time being.
Right now, we have four types of tech to consider:
1) Simple spell anchoring. A spell is contained in an object, wrapped in an enchantment shell, and released when the shell is released. Requires a MG to maintain the shell, and the internal spell has no effect on anything until released.
2) Simple enchantment. A spell effect is embedded in an object (eg: shields, armor, etc), and maintained by a MG. The effect of the spell is maintained for as long as the MG puts power into it.
3) Insulated spell anchoring. Rather than use a magical layer to contain a spell, use one of our insulation techs to keep magic energy from escaping. Advantage is that it doesn't require the active attention of a MG, or in fact any MG involvement at all once the spell is contained. Disadvantage is that our insulation tech still doesn't hold a charge very long.
4) Insulated enchantment. Rather than needing a MG to maintain the enchantment effect, the effect is stored in an insulation material that doesn't let the magic dissipate very quickly. Allows a long-term enchantment. Disadvantage is that our insulation tech still doesn't hold a charge very long.
So, I tried working out an idea completely different from the current discussions. Leverage Akeno's inertia control to create a Gyroscope Delivery Box — everything inside always maintains the same orientation, and never spills.
Between anchoring and enchantment, this would be an enchantment, because the effect has to be always-on. A single burst effect would be pointless.
A simple enchantment would require Akeno creating the effect and passing it to another MG who would have to maintain it from then on. As soon as the girl put the box down, the effect would be lost. Similar if she tied it to her bike while making the delivery. Not too useful.
An insulated enchantment would allow the effect to remain in effect for however the insulation lasted. If it lasted at least an hour, Akeno could 'charge' boxes periodically that other MG delivery girls could use.
Of course that assumes Akeno is at the same delivery place as the rest. Since she's working for another restaurant now, she'd have to create an enchantment that lasted a good half-day, at least. That will require advances in our insulation tech.
For spell anchor tech, going to focus first on what our own MGs can use it for, rather than try to slip it into the mundane black market.
Of the 'common' magic types:
- Telepathy — I can't think of anything a one-time burst would be useful for, never mind the difficulty of using it. Not useful for short-range signaling, since everyone has short-range telepathy, but possibly useful for long-range message passing, such as if we have someone scouting a distant city.
- Clairvoyance — Could be useful in a warfare situation, giving the girl a quick (if confusing) overview of the nearby area. I can't think of anything for normal situations, though. Might be useful if we did dungeon crawls (or high-end burglaries), but in modern society, not so much.
- Stealth — Not useful in simple burst form.
- Illusion — Potentially useful as a distraction (smoke cloud, Kyouko in a Can, etc) against other MGs, but not much beyond that.
- Teleportation — Emergency escape.
- Healing — Emergency healing.
- Barrier — Emergency barrier.
Once we have Spell Binding (see latest research projects listed just above), I'd probably imbue that in rings that get passed out to everyone. Outside of specifically planned-for events, emergency teleport isn't going to be very useful for us. For hunting, we never allow the hunters to be put at such a risk that that would be necessary. An emergency teleport would only be needed in a truly unexpected situation, which means a constantly maintained device would be a hassle.
Barrier and Healing charms would be 'common use' items that would likely be set up for hunters each day. A couple of each would give hunters breathing room if anything got dangerous, allowing escape as needed from most situations. These would be basic insulated charms.
