FEATURED STORY
RECENT STORIES
STORIES BY TOPIC
NEWS
TRANSPORTER
Take me to a...
SEARCH
Enter any portion of the author name or story title:
For more options, try our:
SUBSCRIBE
Sign up for free daily sci-fi!
your email will be kept private
TIDBITS
Get a copy of Not Just Rockets and Robots: Daily Science Fiction Year One. 260 adventures into new worlds, fantastical and science fictional. Rocket Dragons Ignite: the anthology for year two, is also available!
SUBMIT
Publish your stories or art on Daily Science Fiction:
If you've already submitted a story, you may check its:
DAILY SCI-FI
Not just rockets & robots...
"Science Fiction" means—to us—everything found in the science fiction section of a bookstore, or at a science fiction convention, or amongst the winners of the Hugo awards given by the World Science Fiction Society. This includes the genres of science fiction (or sci-fi), fantasy, slipstream, alternative history, and even stories with lighter speculative elements. We hope you enjoy the broad range that SF has to offer.






Magic Rules Zero Through Four

Sue Burke lives in Chicago these days, back in the Midwest where she grew up. After working in journalism for a few decades, she branched out into fiction, poetry, and translation. Her perfect day would be to write, read, cook, eat, and sleep; all the rest is optional. Her next novel, Immunity Index, will be released by Tor on May 4, 2021. More details about Sue her books are at SueBurke.site.

Rule 0. Magic works. But few people believe in it.
A half-dozen students awaited their teacher in a secluded garden. The sorcerer, they thought, would be an elderly man with a long white beard and wise, sad eyes. Instead, a carefree young woman strolled in, wearing a fashionable hoop skirt, bell sleeves, and corseted waist. She hummed as she sat on a wicker bench.
Years later, you labor in the War Department in utter secrecy. If anyone asks, you manage a special procurement research project, which your coworkers believe is a cover for espionage. You never correct them.
Rule 1. The forces of the world will work in accord with magic. But they must be persuaded or beguiled.
"Magic is a matter of will." Her voice warbled like birdsong. "Human beings are endowed with an enormous force of will. We live for our plans and desires." The way she said desires made the entire class fall in love, or at least lust. Then she showed how she did that.
You're not a spy, but your country has excellent spies. The enemy hopes to change the course of the war with an invasion. You know exactly when and at which section of the coast.
Rule 2. The past and present cannot be changed. But the future can, and the further into the future, the more easily it can be changed.
She pointed to a nearby rosebush with impossible, sky-blue flowers. "Two years ago, I introduced the sky to the rosebush and let them see each other's beauty. A love charm today can alter the course of a dynasty." She waved her hand, and a tiny cloud condensed around her wiggling fingertips. "A major storm? Oh, it might take weeks to convince the right tempestas."
You spend sleepless days and nights negotiating with kobolds, flirting with undines, and chanting to the volcano goddess Pele's forgotten Atlantic Ocean cousin.
Rule 3. Every part of reality in the past, present, and future is connected; thus, one change can affect many things. But all those connections must be understood.
She suddenly grew grim. "I have much to learn about the causes of famines. I also made a series of sad errors regarding Napoleon Bonaparte."
Your troops, vastly outnumbered, clear civilians from a coastline and send cannonballs and bombs to slow the onslaught, but the enemy establishes a beachhead. At the right moment, the ocean floor snaps and a tsunami races toward shore. Your soldiers withdraw just in time, and the enemy is ravaged.
Rule 4. Rarely can accurate predictions be made about the future. But the future must be considered at every move.
"I have lived for two hundred forty-seven years," she said, "and experience has taught many hard lessons."
You fear that sooner or later, the enemy will begin at zero.
The End
This story was first published on Monday, April 19th, 2021


Author Comments

My favorite words are "but" and "what if." One day I thought about the way that the laws of thermodynamics begin with zero. What if magic had rules that started with zero, too? Our understanding of thermodynamics gives us great powers, but what powers would the rules of magic give us? This story offers one answer, but what if there are better answers?

- Sue Burke
Become a Member!

We hope you're enjoying Magic Rules Zero Through Four by Sue Burke.

Please support Daily Science Fiction by becoming a member.

Daily Science Fiction is not accepting memberships or donations at this time.

Rate This Story
Please click to rate this story from 1 (ho-hum) to 7 (excellent!):

Please don't read too much into these ratings. For many reasons, a superior story may not get a superior score.

4.5 Rocket Dragons Average
Share This Story
Join Mailing list
Please join our mailing list and receive free daily sci-fi (your email address will be kept 100% private):