I started seriously pondering magic and the voids of space while attempting to write a short story about a Fuchi team sent to Mars in order to take out a Renraku outpost. My questions revolved around the feeling that getting a magician through vast distances of space would be a bit more complicated than simply reminding him or her not astrally project. The following starts out with information on what we already know about magic and space (i.e. I only made up half of it), and concludes with some possible ramifications of magicians traveling to distant planets.

On Earth, trees, rivers, people, your dog Ralphy, and even rocks work together to generate the pocket of astral space surrounding the Earth that makes magic possible. Much in the same way that sound waves require some sort of atmosphere through which to travel, magic needs the astral medium in order to get from point A to point B. The Earth’s astral ‘atmosphere’ or ‘pocket’ is fairly strong, extending to the limit of the normal, gaseous atmosphere of the planet.

What about the Moon? Could such a barren place, completely devoid of life, support an astral pocket? The answer, in my opinion, is yes, although it wouldn’t be nearly as strong as the one encircling the Earth. The Moon’s surface consists of natural matter, i.e. rock, but unlike the Earth it contains far less total astral energy, because it does not benefit from the combined natural forces exerted by living entities. Thus the Moon’s astral ‘atmosphere’ is weak, and probably doesn’t extend more than a kilometer or so above the surface. Yet, magical activities would be possible, since an astral pocket does, indeed, exists.

So how do we safely get a magician to the moon and through the voids of the space in-between? Magical abilities would almost certainly be useful in the construction of any lunar based outpost, and magical research that may be harmful to certain areas or population on Earth could be carried out in relative safety.

Well, we know that a magic user is safe in space, as long as they don’t attempt to use their magical abilities. The magical aura survives because it is contained within an extremely small pocket of astral space generated by the magician’s body, a pocket that probably doesn’t extend far past the surface of the skin. If a magician attempted to astrally perceive or project, they’d lose their mind and most likely their life as their astral form is annihilated by the astral vacuum. Casting a spell usually results in a similarly sad situation, as the magician is astrally torn apart when he attempts to make contact with the astral plane. Any foci carried would also be rendered inert, as they are astrally tied to the planet Earth; leaving it would sever all astral ties. In addition, I’d assume that any quickened or locked spells placed on other individuals on the planet would fizzle out as the astral link between the castor and the spell fades away.

So it would seem that, as long as the magician didn’t do anything stupid, he or she could safely make it across open space. Of course, this is way too simple for my tastes, so I’m going to interject an idea that hasn’t been mentioned at all, namely the need for a magician to frequently be in contact with an astral source other than him or herself.

Basically, if a magician stays away from a decent sized astral pocket for any extended period of time, they may risk losing their magical ability. The simple act of being a magician entails that the magic user has some kind of intimate bond with astral space, the source of all of their power. If a magician neglects this relationship for too long, it will begin to ignore him, similar to the way a shaman can lose their totem if they take it to too much for granted. A magician traveling from the Earth to the Moon could probably make it through the voyage with their magic intact, reaffirming their contact with large scale astral source once they’re on the lunar surface. But what about, say, traveling to Mars?

The year long journey needed to reach the red planet would create far too long a separation of the magician from astral space. Not to mention the fact that the magician would probably go out of his mind not being able to engage in magical activities, a torture similar to not allowing a marathon runner to get up out of a chair for 365 days. The magician would need some sort of astral contact during the voyage, contact that could be permitted by generating a pocket of astral space to travel along with the magician.

Since we know that astral energy is generated by natural matter, and that the Earth’s enormous astral pocket is generated by the combined energies of these types of objects, then it seems that we’d be able to create an astral pocket anywhere simply by filling a given space with enough natural stuff. If a large cabin was built on the spacecraft and nearly completely filled with plants, water, and perhaps a few animals, the result would be an astral pocket that could support limited astral activities of a magic user. The magician could astrally project into this small space, perhaps cast some spells, and basically go about their magical business without the risk of death by astral vacuum, mundanity by lack of astral contact, or insanity by sheer boredom.

While this method of astral generation may work well on a space station, it would be prohibitively expensive to do such a thing aboard a vehicle bound for another planet. After pondering this dillemma, I came up with a nifty little object called the MagiBox. The MagiBox works on a principle similar to the above, only the astral energy is derived from more compact forms, such as a form of FAT bacteria, or concentrated organic matter. The magician is essentially sealed in near cryogenic state in a coffin sized box and constantly surrounded by organic matter, thus generating the astral pocket necessary for keeping the magician’s magic intact. The magician would have to sleep through the entire journey because, even though the magician’s magical ability would remain in one piece, the MagiBox does not permit the space needed for actually engaging in magical activity. It’s simply an exercise in sanity and mercy to keep the magician asleep. In addition, the magician would have to stay sealed in the MagiBox right up to the point that they made contact with the planet’s surface. This is to prevent ‘astral shock’, an condition which occurs when an astral source is too quickly removed from a magician. (People on semi-ballistic flights don't experience the shock because the astral atmosphere fades slowly).

Well, there you have it. My perceptions of how magic would work in space. Hopefully I’ve cleared some lingering questions. Odds are I’ve generated a few as well.