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I have come to the conclusion that the key element that carries Space Fantasy worlds like Star Wars, Flash Gordon, Dune, and Barsoom is not the presence of magic, but the anachronism between society and technology.
Despite having futuristic technology of the 21st century in their everyday life, people act like they live in a 19th or 18th century society. They shoot laser guns like they are musket, ride horses, keep slaves, and wear capes.
Interestingly, I feel like the reverse anachronism is what seems to be dominating High Fantasy for the last 20 years. People live with the technology of the 15th to 19th century, but think and behave like 21st century people.
हिति , in Nepāl Bhāṣā, is the word for a shared community water tap. Even in modern Newar cities, these ancient structures still pour out fresh mountain water piped through ancient underground filters and conduits. They are a place to wash, to talk, to drink, to meet the locals: a nourishing, refreshing social-ecological place.
