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b"Mortalos - a 100 word story\\n\\n\\n\\nThe voices whispered to him, promising more power. He ignored them, focusing void and shadow magic on a single candle. The candle lit, happy flame bursting into life. He used the powers on a second candle, then made sure the table map had no wrinkles, the plates were set exactly opposite each other and the cutlery was positioned just right. \\u201cDinner is served,\\u201d he announced. Being an undead shadow priest was not what he imagined, but it had its benefits and the master paid well. Mortalos The Butler was looking forward to the benefits of an extraordinarily long retirement plan.\\n\\n\\n\\n-----\\n\\n\\n\\nHi there and thanks for stopping by. I\\u2019m Guy, and you\\u2019re listening to my surreal sketchbook of reality.\\n\\n\\n\\n-----\\n\\n\\n\\nEpisode 14, The Butler Was Looking Forward\\n\\n\\n\\nWhile magic in the real world is based on tricks and illusions, in the world of fantasy it is derived from invented science that is often derived from mythology and discarded scientific theories. This episode Is a semi-philosophical look at magic. I\\u2019m not a professional philosopher by any means and my approach can be quite absurd, illogical and not at all that serious, so - you've been warned. Do not take this podcast too seriously. If you tend to take things too seriously, this might not be the podcast for you. Seriously. I mean it. Find another podcast to listen to.\\n\\n\\n\\nYou\\u2019re still here? Good. Let\\u2019s talk about magic. In the real world, a magician is an illusionist, a trickster of the mind, a mentalist who tricks you into believing something happened when in fact, something entirely different is right in front of your eyes. A good magician is actually a psychologist or a social scientist, analyzing your behavior, or the behavior of an entire audience, then using that analysis to create an illusion such as the disappearance or the transformation of an object. He can trick you into believing he knows something he doesn\\u2019t by extracting the information from you, without your even noticing it. For example, he can tell you something that happened in your past by having you tell him the event while having you believe you hasn\\u2019t really told him anything.\\n\\n\\n\\nSome magic tricks call for an illusion in which what you see is not physically possible, like a person suspended in mid-air or in a box that is sawn in two. This calls for manipulation of the angle in which you view the illusion or the participation of another person who is in on the trick. A good magician can use mirrors, smoke or just position things a certain way for them to look impossible. In the end, it\\u2019s all tricks. Magic in the real world is not real. If it\\u2019s real, it\\u2019s not really magic, it\\u2019s science, and science can sometimes look like magic to the untrained eye, but it\\u2019s not really magic. The science of fantasy magic is something completely different though. I\\u2019m going to magically disappear now and appear on the other side of a short break. I\\u2019ll be right back.\\n\\n\\n\\n-----\\n\\n\\n\\nHuman Food - a 100 word story\\n\\n\\n\\nIt was green, wet and wrinkled. Quansity stared at it with disgust. \\u201cWhat is it?\\u201d he asked. \\u201cIt's Human food,\\u201d said Ginswey knowingly, \\u201cit's called a pickle.\\u201d Quansity continued staring at the dripping green thing on the green dining table. \\u201cYou mean they eat that stuff?\\u201d he asked, horrified. \\u201cYes, and quite eagerly too\\u201d answered Ginswey, \\u201cbut that's not the worst thing those barbarians eat.\\u201d Quansity held his breath and started looking a little green himself. \\u201cYou mean... there's worst?\\u201d he asked, astonished. \\u201cYes,\\u201d said Ginsway, \\u201cthere is this thing called eggplant lasagna. It's very popular, or so I'm told.\\u201d\\n\\n\\n\\n-----\\n\\n\\n\\nWelcome back. Magic in fantasy is often derived from mythology and scientific theories that have been disputed. Until the end of the 19th-century, scientists believed there\\u2019s a substance called \\u201caether\\u201d that connects the universe and keeps everything from falling apart. This theory has been long since abandoned, but it\\u2019s the basis of magic in several fantasy writings, where thin"