The difference between humans and other animals is magic. It’s a magic we fail to notice because we redefine it every time a new form comes along. After all, once you know how something works, we move ideas from magic to mundane. We remain stuck on this idea that we do not notice the magic we see, the magic we create. For isn’t it magic to extend lives and alleviate pain, to change one thing to another, to create something out of nothing? Isn’t it magic just to live?
***
A woman takes a concoction each morning that keeps her heart beating. A man breathes in a powder that keeps his lungs breathing. A baby is born with a hole in its heart, but leaves the hospital with many more years added to a life that’s barely begun.
We usually call this medicine, and argue about it often.
***
Here’s a potion: First, you need the roots of a certain form of nightshade. Then you must take the secretions of a cow’s udders, let it sit, and skim off the layer that floats on top (use that, the rest can be used to strengthen bones). Take a twig of one of the needled bushes of the Mediterranean and strip off the needles. You may use other plants and even minerals, though the latter must be ground to be effective. Keep all of this in a cauldron (metal works best) and put over heat for two or so hours, stirring often in alternating directions, then consume.
This potion is also referred to as potato soup. It cures hunger rather well.
***
We take some metals and twist them into specific shapes, then electrify it with lightning we’ve produced through fire, water, or wind. We teach these metals a language shared between the two of us, then create several dialects of said language. We create new forms of them, some large as rooms, some that stay put, some that go anywhere, some so small you can keep them in your pocket. Feeding stations, in which you connect these creatures to harnessed lightning, can be found almost anywhere.
The metal creatures respond only to our commands, but sometimes get sick and fail to work as we think they should. Often, we get rid of the sick ones, but some keep them out of sentimentality, like an old friend. Increasingly, we teach our children to learn our shared language, as the creatures we created are becoming increasingly more intelligent and more and more common. We’re currently working on making them self-aware.
Generally, though, we just use computers to play games.
***
A person makes a certain collection of lines on. We look at this jumble of lines and declare that it’s a decent drawing of a dog. Some forms of lines depict something, others take up pages and pages but do not create the likeness of anything at all. The latter require you can decipher the specific shapes of said lines, note the pattern they’re in, redefine the meaning of said lines, and then put it in the context of several other patterns. Some people do this for hours on end for fun. People work very hard to make their lines look good, even if they don’t form the exact shape of the subject. Not always are the subjects real things. These only exist in lines, but we can recognize them as well as if we saw one every day. Occasionally, there is no subject at all. If you make your lines good enough, it may touch someone so deeply that they see things in a new light. They may even change how they live.
Almost anyone can take up art or writing. You can even do both, sometimes at the same time.
***
Do not forget, as so many have, the magic around you. Do not, dear reader, forget the magic you have.