XPost: rec.arts.sf.written   
   From: djheydt@kithrup.com   
      
   In article ,   
   Gene Wirchenko   wrote:   
   >On Fri, 13 Dec 2019 14:49:01 -0500, Joel Polowin   
   > wrote:   
   >   
   >>On 2019-12-13 2:03 AM, Gene Wirchenko wrote:   
   >>> On Thu, 12 Dec 2019 18:08:55 -0500, Joel Polowin   
   >>>  wrote:   
   >>>>At least with the physical properties of our universe.  Another set   
   >>>>of experiments to try would be to see if Faerie creatures are poisoned   
   >>>>by the presence of other elements, in universes which have physical   
   >>>>constants different from ours.   
   >>>   
   >>>      Maybe, the iron reaction is a deficiency.  Where does their magic   
   >>> come from?   
   >>   
   >>The thing is, it's generally a reaction to *metallic* iron in the   
   >>stories.  Rust isn't generally described as being a problem, nor iron-   
   >>based minerals.  The "problem" came when humans started smelting ores   
   >>to the metal.   
   >   
   >     Maybe, the metallic iron sucks the elves' magic away and that   
   >causes trouble because their metabolism is partially magic-based.   
   >   
   >     If someone wants to run with this idea, I would be pleased to see   
   >what could be done with it.  Just let me see the result.   
      
   Well, you could start with Wrede's Frontier Magic trilogy   
   (Thirteenth Child, Across the Great Barrier, The Far West), in   
   which there are no sophonts, but lots of plant and animal life,   
   with magic-based metabolisms.  At one point in the story a   
   critter shows up that drains magic not only from other plants and   
   animals, but from the ground itself, which means that for several   
   years magic-using crops won't grow well, or at all.   
      
   --   
   Dorothy J. Heydt   
   Vallejo, California   
   djheydt at gmail dot com   
   www.kithrup.com/~djheydt/   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
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