They have no concept of the fact you're controlling this thing! They get into the box with you and suddenly the windows are whipping past at warp three and you're along for the ride, who knows where you're going or how this crazy place operates?! It's like an elevator and a ballistic weapon having a very convenient baby, and the dog is just delighted you'd include them in this world-altering experience.
that the idea of "magic words" and possibly "magic" in its entirety is just the intergenerational remnant of early humans' awe at the power of language as a means of making things happen without physical exertion
imagine being a peasant at the colosseum and seeing the elevators powered by hidden animals rise into the stage on the command of a majordomo
there's a lot of things that exploited that sense across the years once you're thinking about it. but on the other hand, the absolute wonder wears off once you see below
"anything sufficiently technologically advanced is indistinguishable from magic."
basically, if the audience doesn't know what's happening then it looks like magic. hence, a magician never reveals their secrets.
it's also the cornerstone of crapitalism, so...
(I wish I could say that I never liked Arthur Clarke, but that is in fact one of my childhood sins)
and I'll try to explain why, concisely: the premise is that magic simply fades away with the advance of technology, and that's actually wrong. it's preciously wrong: with fresh technological developments come fresh avenues for magic. technology can never catch up with magic, because the very existence of technology means that magical uses of that technology are now possible.
TV, for example! yes, it's "magic" to make a person's image appear over a long distance. but the mere existence of the television suggests two magical possibilities:
- the effects of TV, without all the complicated intermediate hardware
- magic that uses TV as a medium (like, you know, Sadako crawling through a TV)
so how can technology ever catch up to magic? magic races ahead of every technological development.
~Chara
