A Bridge To The Quiet Planet: Medicine

(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com and Steve’s Tumblr.  Find out more at my newsletter.)

Let’s get to know more about the setting of my upcoming novel, A Bridge To The Quiet Planet.  It’s out late this fall but you can find out about the world now . . .

Medical Care

Medical care on a world of sorcery, super-science, and eccentric gods is complicated. Throw in other worlds, ancient bioweapons, and more and you have a place where “hypochondria” might be considered a rational reaction.

Medical care on Telvaren and it’s worlds has the following common traits:

Prevention

Preventative medicine is paramount for all inhabitants of the worlds, at least in the Great Cities and Unaffiliated Nations. Most people are raised very young to engage in healthy habits and activities, and its a popular area of discussion on talk shows, magazines, and books.

Vaccines

Vaccination is also of major importance in the setting, and for some Great Cities not being vaccinated is considered a criminal offense – one can be literally exiled in Olanau-Kau or Vasikon Zek for not vaccinating oneself or their children. Followups are also important. Many Guilds provide related medical service.

Diet

Diet is considered a core part of health, and is a mixture of scientific pratcie, ancient and at times unquestioned tradition, and personal preference. Most people have a decent amount of dietary knowledge, though in some Cities and Wars/Districts people tend to eat locally as opposed to cook.

The mixture of good ideas, traditions, and useless habits is hard to separate, and often varies from region to region and City To City. It’s not common to argue diet and food among people.

Testing

With so much unpredictability, medical testing is a part of daily life and security. Most people have a general health exam including blood work every six month from childhood. For those in more dangerous professions such as relic recoverers, Cryptodivers, or the Military, it can be monthly.

Alchemy

Alchemy, the art of combining magic and chemistry, has led to many useful treatments over the aeons. Common alchemical treatments are sold with moderate regulation.

Alchemical treatments are restricted in their larger use and common use for two reasons:

  1. Users of magic and those with related magical abilities like Revenauts may find such treatments cause unusual side effects.
  2. Continuous use of magical treatments has medical risks, especially when used for healing.

Surgery

Surgery is an obviously common treatment as it is in our world. Magic is often kept out of surgery except in limited extends. Vast exchanged of surgical knowledge are held among medical professionals, and recovered knowledge is propigated quickly.

Magic

Magic is used careful in medicine due to its ability to affect other magic users and the fact that using magic on living systems has side effects. Common uses of magic are:

Healing Acceleration: Healing Acceleration accelerates the bodies own processes. However overuse of it has a risk of cancer or weaker healing simply because one is accelerating cell division. Safe amounts have been worked out mathematically.

Sealing And Repairing: More common in medical magic is the ability to seal a would or re-knit bones with existing materials. Such first-aid magic is quite effective and less risky.

Transplant Connection: In the case of transplants, magic is a powerful way to quickly re-bond organs despite any risk.

Divine Power

Gods often provide healing Aspects to their Clerics or the Touched. This varies with the god, the individual, and their need and is not always reliable. Such healing usually has no side effects.

There are a variety of Medical gods with no actual leaders among them. The noteworthy ones are

  • Sybella – The general medical goddess, The Lady Of Health. She’s considered patron of most general practitioners and good habits. She is portrayed as a woman whose age changes to fit the individual praying.
  • Romolak – Our Lord of the Red Shield. Romolak is the god of vaccines and preventative medicine. He is portrayed as a warrior dressed in red, and is noted for switching between being dead serious and having a wacky sense of humor.
  • Mavina – The Uncutting Knife. Mavina is a genderless god who is the patron of surgery. Portrayed as a tall person with dark skin and white hair, wearing robes within which are a variety of tools. Mavina is calm, clever, and thoughtful, and maintains good relations with both the technology god Xomanthu and the magic god Ivonau.
  • Yavolox – The Lord of Development. Yavolox is a god of exercise as well as good cooking. The brother and at times rival of Romolak. Yavolox maintains a cheery attitude at all times, and is often portrayed as an Easterner with curly hair and a powerful but limber build.

– Steve

Thoughts On Fandom Pathology

(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com and Steve’s Tumblr.  Find out more at my newsletter.)

I recently read a great Tumblr post (yes, I use Tumblr, where else can I get snarky Overwatch memes) about how writing was a way to reduce anxiety. This led me to a realization of how hobbies help us deal with stress – and hurt us.

Reading this reminded me that my writing is often a great way to deal with stress – I find it relaxing. Admittedly publishing is often stressful, but writing is quite enjoyable. Even when I’m not in a writing mood, I find once I get into the rhythm, I feel much more relaxed afterwards.

Even when not writing, there’s something relaxing about plotting my next story or blog post or book. I began to ask why was this.

I came up with a few conclusions.

  1. I like writing. Nuff said.
  2. If I’m having a bad day, writing occupies my mind, uses my abilities, and thus they’re not being used to think about how lousy the day is.
  3. I have a sense of achievement from my work, and thus if I feel bad, I feel better about myself.
  4. Writing connects me with people, giving me something to discuss, edit, work with them, share.
  5. My writing contributes to the rest of my life, building a skill, ensuring I’m published, creating options.

I’m sure you can relate. Writing makes me feel good due to a number of reasons, and I’m sure you have similar experiences with a positive hobby or interest.

Being a person who will analyze the heck out of anything, I then asked “why do some people’s hobbies lead to pathology?” If my writing interest yielded so much benefits, why do other interests lead to fanwars, harassment, and enjoyment becoming anger?

This is a complex subject and I’m not going to discuss all the elements, but focus on a few of my more intense insights.

WHEN INTERESTS GO BAD: Disconnection

First, the fact my writing connects me with others is a positive. To have others in my life relieves stress (to put it negatively) and enriches my life (to put it positively).

For some people, I think they may have items #1, #2, and #3, but their interests don’t connect them with others. This may be fine if that’s what they want. However if this isn’t voluntary, or they’re not aware of it, putting in time on an interest that doesn’t connect you to people may limit their social sphere. With limited social spheres, one is more vulnerable to stress.

So though your interest may have benefits, it may have social negatives. For some people, pouring themselves into an interest that leaves them disconnected may make their overall life worse.

(However we often need space, so remember that may be a positive)

WHEN INTERESTS GO BAD: Bad Communities

Just because your interests bring you social connections, sadly, doesn’t mean their healthy. How many of us have seen, dealt with, or been in pathological communities based around hobbies and interests?  I’m sure we all have.

Even if your interest provides a number of benefits, even if it connects you to people, those connections may not be healthy or involve too much pathology.* In some cases you may be better of without the community.

It’s not just “does my interest connect me to people” it’s “does it connect me with healthy people and communities?”

We’ve all seen what happens when it doesn’t.

WHEN INTERESTS GO BAD: Irrelevance

One of the major things my writing brings to me is a sense of larger connection. People read my blog posts. My books mean speaking and educating and of course making money. My skills are transferable to the job.

My writing connects me to the larger world.  That’s a good thing for everyone

I’m not talking just job and skills-wise – that’s my thing. A good hobby may help you build confidence or give you insights into things like history or improve tactical skill or be fun to chat about at parties. If your interest does “more” than just be relaxing and confidence-building and social, then it means you have a more unified, cohesive life.

But what happens if a hobby or interest lacks these connections? If it’s not transferable in some way? If it doesn’t enrich you as a person? If it’s of highly limited interests to others? In this case, it might be pathological as you’re putting a lot of time into something that may have limited benefits.

We should evaluate our hobbies by how they benefit us. “I use it to blow off steam” is fine if you’re aware of it.  “I’m just goofing around” is fine if that’s what you want.  Its just that sometimes this can go wrong when what you get from the fandom isolates or limits you.

I’m thinking specifically of the people who often annoy us in fandoms – people who spout trivia as a dominance ritual, or brag about game skills that are irrelevant outside of the game. The people who have put a lot of their time and interests and identity into something – but that thing has little to no relevance in the rest of their lives . . . and act like it’s the most critical thing in the world.

But – and you’ve seen this – these people act like it’s the most critical thing in the world.

This is why it’s important to evaluate our hobbies and interests, both to know and maximize the benefits, but also know if we’re down a rabbit hole. If we start caring about this side thing and its limited sphere and fandom, we’ll be disconnected from the world and perhaps get more disconnected. I’m sure we’ve all been there.

WHEN INTERESTS GO BAD: Deadly Synergy

I think the ultimate expression of Hobby Pathology occurs when people’s hobbies lead them to a limited social sphere (those in said hobby) and that interest occupies a lot of their time without connecting to the rest of their lives. Soon you have something fun that becomes self-limiting and self-reinforcing – and with a community that feeds on itself and acts as a pressure cooker.

Such communities also tend to reward bad behavior. Because the important social signifiers are about said interests – not life, the big picture, the larger world – they become more important than things like actual civic behavior. If you’ve ever watched a fan war you know what I mean.

Finally, these tight-situations of almost “self-culting” seem to attract bad actors as it is. When you have a group and know the signifiers to communicate, you can easily propagate bad ideas or just build your own little fiefdom for yourself. People leave, more bad actors come in, you get the idea.

REVIEW

My ultimate conclusion here is that we should be conscious of our interests, to maximize their benefits, but also be aware they might lead us to pathological isolation or limited social connections. When one’s interests are of limited relevance outside of that hobby, and lead to a limited (or nonexistent) social circle that’s a sign there may be problems.

On the other hand when you can say “I am gonna do this to get away from crap” with full self-awareness, great.

I clearly need to study this idea more, but I think I’m on to something.

– Steve

A Quick Note On My Brainstorm Book Posts

(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com and Steve’s Tumblr.  Find out more at my newsletter.)

My Brainstorm Book posts are done – for now – as of this post. I wanted to explain a bit about how they were part of a larger project.

Lately, I wondered about what I call “bookblogging.” Taking a subject, exploring it in blog posts, and using that as a way to draft out parts of a book. This way I get feedback, I get insight, I share things over time, and thus can ensure the ideas become a more effective book.

Also if it turns out my idea is awful or not suited, well, I learn that too!

My Agile Creativity was the first experiment to do this deliberately (Way With Worlds was a kind of afterthought), and as that book approaches launch, it seems to have worked out. The Brainstorm Book posts here, rewritten and expanded with what I’ve learned, will be another book in a month or two.

I’m not sure if this’ll work, if it’s a good idea, or what, but it’s going to be a fun experiment. I’ll probably be posting more thoughts on what I learned.

– Steve