Doing survey of the mana field across Fenspace, including on Terra, would seem to make sense. Initially this would likely just be collecting a few data points, then finding if the field changed over time, and with what pattern. A way of predicting the 'mana weather' would be a longer term aim.
There will be people looking for patterns in the 'mana weather' as early as mana detection instruments become available. Some, with various axes to grind, will be doing long-term studies of places like Stonehenge, Ayers Rock, and anywhere on Terra which history, myth or legend suggests 'strange things' are connected with. There will also be attempts to see if population density affects mana levels, and how, and again that means Terra, to check the high end of the spectrum.
Questions will be asked about how mana varies across Fenspace, if it is (on average) strongest near the Sun, weakest out in the Oort Cloud, whether interesting things happen near the Limit. Probably there will be manned and unmanned interstellar probes, some of which quite deliberately don't use an FTL drive in case that interacts with mana in some way. Some probes may be as pure as possible hard tech, with only the array of mana detectors using handwavium (I'm assuming pure hard tech mana detectors take time to arrive, if ever possible).
Assuming that mana patterns seem to be anchored to the Solar System, then how being on a planet, or being in the lowest mass density, affects mana levels will be checked. Also, the bottom of deep holes in Terra and other planets, and as deep in the atmosphere of the gas giants as can be managed. Bore holes have the virtue of humans having never been there, which if (some) humans interact with mana could be highly relevant.
There will be attempts to see if humans interact with mana levels, probably scanning the humans as carefully as possible as well as the mana. Then, use of things like fNMR brain scans and bio feedback techniques, to see how people can be trained to at least affect mana levels. I'd expect some of this to turn up 'talented' people...
Quite early on, there will be theories chucked around about the patterns of mana changes. All sorts of mathematical models will be tried, and math that no one has yet found any scientific use for considered. There will be lots of attempts to tie mana levels to other natural phenomena, and scholarly papers about 'long term periodic fluctuations', and speculations of all sorts, including the interaction of mana with human evolution.
Among other things the interaction between handwavium and mana levels will be checked. Likely places on Terra and in Fenspace where handwavium has been used on a large scale will be investigated, like around and in the holes left by Unreal Estate. It's likely that attempts will be made to find the first places, or at least as many early places as possible, where handwavium was used and find out if the mana levels are doing anything interesting there. And if mana does interesting things around current large stores of handwavium.
This will be a moderately insane period of scientific research, with people blaming each other for "contaminating the results". There will be, of course, people trying to figure out ways of becoming rich out of this, so expect a big upward swing in the sale of mana dowsing rods and pendulums, mana focusing and storage crystals, and books on "How to Control Your Personal Mana". Some of these (5%? 0.25%?) might even be useful!
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"It is the business of the future to be dangerous" - Hawkwind
Quote:M Fnord wrote:
On Mana Levels: In GURPS terms, Fenspace mana levels were Very Low to None until things were catalysed into action in 2008. Since then the level averages out to Normal, but in practice it’s very chaotic. There are hot spots and cold spots, some are stable but others drift and change shape over time, like weather fronts.
There will be people looking for patterns in the 'mana weather' as early as mana detection instruments become available. Some, with various axes to grind, will be doing long-term studies of places like Stonehenge, Ayers Rock, and anywhere on Terra which history, myth or legend suggests 'strange things' are connected with. There will also be attempts to see if population density affects mana levels, and how, and again that means Terra, to check the high end of the spectrum.
Questions will be asked about how mana varies across Fenspace, if it is (on average) strongest near the Sun, weakest out in the Oort Cloud, whether interesting things happen near the Limit. Probably there will be manned and unmanned interstellar probes, some of which quite deliberately don't use an FTL drive in case that interacts with mana in some way. Some probes may be as pure as possible hard tech, with only the array of mana detectors using handwavium (I'm assuming pure hard tech mana detectors take time to arrive, if ever possible).
Assuming that mana patterns seem to be anchored to the Solar System, then how being on a planet, or being in the lowest mass density, affects mana levels will be checked. Also, the bottom of deep holes in Terra and other planets, and as deep in the atmosphere of the gas giants as can be managed. Bore holes have the virtue of humans having never been there, which if (some) humans interact with mana could be highly relevant.
There will be attempts to see if humans interact with mana levels, probably scanning the humans as carefully as possible as well as the mana. Then, use of things like fNMR brain scans and bio feedback techniques, to see how people can be trained to at least affect mana levels. I'd expect some of this to turn up 'talented' people...
Quite early on, there will be theories chucked around about the patterns of mana changes. All sorts of mathematical models will be tried, and math that no one has yet found any scientific use for considered. There will be lots of attempts to tie mana levels to other natural phenomena, and scholarly papers about 'long term periodic fluctuations', and speculations of all sorts, including the interaction of mana with human evolution.
Among other things the interaction between handwavium and mana levels will be checked. Likely places on Terra and in Fenspace where handwavium has been used on a large scale will be investigated, like around and in the holes left by Unreal Estate. It's likely that attempts will be made to find the first places, or at least as many early places as possible, where handwavium was used and find out if the mana levels are doing anything interesting there. And if mana does interesting things around current large stores of handwavium.
This will be a moderately insane period of scientific research, with people blaming each other for "contaminating the results". There will be, of course, people trying to figure out ways of becoming rich out of this, so expect a big upward swing in the sale of mana dowsing rods and pendulums, mana focusing and storage crystals, and books on "How to Control Your Personal Mana". Some of these (5%? 0.25%?) might even be useful!
--
"It is the business of the future to be dangerous" - Hawkwind