[HoE] Re: All that Mad Science, again

["Andrew Cain" <Requiem@etheric.freeserve.co.uk>]

To add to all the mad scientist 'forgetting how to do mad science after the
manitous stop telling them how', there is a point that seems to be
overlooked (Sorry to anyone that mentioned it already, I haven't been paying
that close attention): Mad Science isn't Science.
Yes it uses many of the same principles, but from what I have read of Smith
And Robards, etc. Mad science has a semi-spiritual side as well. I'm not
sure about unpowered devices but ones that use ghostrock seem to have
suggested that they are drawing more power from it than standard science
generators. This implies that there is at least one principle involved in
Mad Science that normal Science knows nothing about, obviously that the
ghostrock contains spiritual energy as well, and some method for converting
that into real energy.
If all the Manitous do is allow the Mad scientist to ignore that principle
by 'translating' it for them when creating/reading blueprints, rather than
explaining that principle to them, when the manitous stopped, the scientist,
no matter how much knowledge of normal science they had, would no longer be
able to understand the physical component.
Not neccesarily the whole answer, but it may be part of it.
Of course, I may be wrong, I haven't played Deadlands that much since HOE
came out ;)

Requiem for the forgotten