WIB!

[roseembolism]

Over on rec.arts.sf.written (one of the few usenet newsgroups still worth the bother of reading), we were discussing Harry Potter (because it's SF, right?). One of the posters was discussing the idea that the REAL reason that Dumbledore hasn't killed Voldemort is that the two are actually working together.

Such conspiracy thinking got me to thinking about the equivalent of tinfoil hat-wearers in the wizardly world. Which lead to my envisioning the mirrorshade-wearing Wizards in Black from the Ministry of Magic, swooping down on their Black Broomsticks to cover up...what exactly?

That's where it kind of broke down- I'm trying to figure out what a wizardly government conspiracy would be keeping quiet, aside from covering up muggle/wizard encounters. Goblin mutilations? A hanger with a crashed F-15? Fnord?

Comments

Did you really want to get me started?

[mithriltabby]

The secret conspiracy that understands how to perform a proper integration of technology and magic, of course. Why do you think it’s forbidden to study that? Sure, the occasional flying car isn’t going to do any harm, but if people get good at that sort of thing, they might figure out how the entire television broadcast system is establishing a sympathetic magical connection that allows the wizards to drain the life force from the muggles. That’s why you get all the uniformity in popular culture: these are the people who are most susceptible to having all the magic in their souls siphoned out through the TV set.

[roseembolism.livejournal.com]

I thought that it was the computer netwworks that were the sympathetic ritual element, with Windows being the magical sympathetic connection that was slowly leaching the vital essence from the American public. But you have a point with the popular media thing...

There's also the occasional wizard who is whisked off in a strange howling rolling thing, to be taken to a place where their knees are tapped with rubber mallets, lights are shined in their ears, and wooden sticks placed on their tongues. It's the WiBs job to cover up close encounters like this.