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** Almost happens again when Brit the Younger finally goes back in time to become Brit the Elder. There, she meets another version of herself called Brit the Much Elder (or Grand-Brit), who decides to help her build Atlantis. Before Brit the Younger can blow up, Grand-Brit reveals that she is joking and disappears.
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* FutureMeScaresMe: Brit the Younger really gets annoyed at Brit the Elder for always treating her as a child and constantly getting involved in Brit the Younger's business. Why? Because of a StableTimeLoop - this is how Brit the Elder remembers it back when she was Brit the Younger.
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* TheWebAlwaysExisted: The wizards are able to interact with the Internet as it is in their time period (of course, if they came from a time ''after'' the Internet was created). Justified since "where" and "when" a particular device is connecting from are mere data points in the file and can be modified or even set as constants (they don't necessarily have to match the physical location). Martin first figures this out while writing his Android app, making his phone always transmit from a specific location in the 2014 Seattle no matter where and when it is actually located. Thus, no roaming charges for using the phone in 12th century England. He also has the app periodically update the battery charge to a specific value, turning it into a perpetual motion machine of sorts. Ditto for his laptop.
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* TheWebAlwaysExisted: The wizards are able to interact with the Internet as it is in their time period (of course, if they came from a time ''after'' the Internet was created). Justified since "where" and "when" a particular device is connecting from are mere data points in the file and can be modified or even set as constants (they don't necessarily have to match the physical location). Martin first figures this out while writing his Android app, making his phone always transmit from a specific location in the 2014 Seattle no matter where and when it is actually located. Thus, no roaming charges for using the phone in 12th century England. He also has the app periodically update the battery charge to a specific value, turning it into a perpetual motion machine of sorts. Ditto for his laptop.laptop.
** The file's existence is justified, since it's, essentially, a projection of the reality program on a specific computer system. It's never explored why it projects itself to various systems, most often on a corporate or government server of some sort, although a singular example exists of a pre-Internet example in the [=1970s=] on a magnetic tape at Lockheed's Skunk Works.
** The file's existence is justified, since it's, essentially, a projection of the reality program on a specific computer system. It's never explored why it projects itself to various systems, most often on a corporate or government server of some sort, although a singular example exists of a pre-Internet example in the [=1970s=] on a magnetic tape at Lockheed's Skunk Works.
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* ThoseTwoGuys: Agents Miller and Murphy from the US Treasury, the only agents assigned to a special department investigating unexplained cases of fraud. A typical GoodCopBadCop team, they hate their current assignment and the ways their bosses keep trying to save a buck. They end up inadvertently helping Jimmy regain access to the file.
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* ThoseTwoGuys: Agents Miller and Murphy from the US Treasury, the only agents assigned to a special department investigating unexplained cases of fraud. A typical GoodCopBadCop team, they hate their current assignment and the ways their bosses keep trying to save a buck. They end up inadvertently helping Jimmy regain access to the file. Miller has a penchant for {{Cluster F Bomb}]s. The one time Murphy finally blows up, Miller surprises everyone by telling him to calm down. When Murphy complains, Miller explains that Murphy is terrible at it, so he should leave it to professionals:
--> "With that, Agent Miller threw open the valve on a fire hose of profanities delivered at top volume, and with the occasional hint of vibrato that is the mark of a true virtuoso."
--> "With that, Agent Miller threw open the valve on a fire hose of profanities delivered at top volume, and with the occasional hint of vibrato that is the mark of a true virtuoso."
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* TranslatorMicrobes: The shell translates anything a wizard says into the appropriate language and vice versa. It's all pieces of code anyway.
* WalkingTechbane: If a wizard is deemed too dangerous or untrustworthy, he is exiled and sent back to his own time, naked and hogtied, usually to be apprehended by the authorities (most wizards are fleeing authorities in their own time). Furthermore, in order to cut off their access to the file, the exile's magnetic field is boosted to such an extent that any electronic device nearby shuts down.
* WalkingTechbane: If a wizard is deemed too dangerous or untrustworthy, he is exiled and sent back to his own time, naked and hogtied, usually to be apprehended by the authorities (most wizards are fleeing authorities in their own time). Furthermore, in order to cut off their access to the file, the exile's magnetic field is boosted to such an extent that any electronic device nearby shuts down.
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* TranslatorMicrobes: The shell translates anything a wizard says into the appropriate language and vice versa. It's all pieces of code anyway.
anyway. However, this only applies when the wizard is speaking his own language. Attempts to say words in, say, Spanish, will not be translated.
* WalkingTechbane: If a wizard is deemed too dangerous or untrustworthy, he is exiled and sent back to his own time, naked and hogtied, usually to be apprehended by the authorities (most wizards are fleeing authorities in their own time). Furthermore, in order to cut off their access to the file, the exile's magnetic field is boosted to such an extent that any electronic device nearby shutsdown.down.
* TheWebAlwaysExisted: The wizards are able to interact with the Internet as it is in their time period (of course, if they came from a time ''after'' the Internet was created). Justified since "where" and "when" a particular device is connecting from are mere data points in the file and can be modified or even set as constants (they don't necessarily have to match the physical location). Martin first figures this out while writing his Android app, making his phone always transmit from a specific location in the 2014 Seattle no matter where and when it is actually located. Thus, no roaming charges for using the phone in 12th century England. He also has the app periodically update the battery charge to a specific value, turning it into a perpetual motion machine of sorts. Ditto for his laptop.
* WalkingTechbane: If a wizard is deemed too dangerous or untrustworthy, he is exiled and sent back to his own time, naked and hogtied, usually to be apprehended by the authorities (most wizards are fleeing authorities in their own time). Furthermore, in order to cut off their access to the file, the exile's magnetic field is boosted to such an extent that any electronic device nearby shuts
* TheWebAlwaysExisted: The wizards are able to interact with the Internet as it is in their time period (of course, if they came from a time ''after'' the Internet was created). Justified since "where" and "when" a particular device is connecting from are mere data points in the file and can be modified or even set as constants (they don't necessarily have to match the physical location). Martin first figures this out while writing his Android app, making his phone always transmit from a specific location in the 2014 Seattle no matter where and when it is actually located. Thus, no roaming charges for using the phone in 12th century England. He also has the app periodically update the battery charge to a specific value, turning it into a perpetual motion machine of sorts. Ditto for his laptop.
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* TheDungAges: Partly played straight. In fact, this is the reason all wizards arrive to 12th century England (usually in the vicinity of the White Cliffs of Dover, since that's the only landmark most of them know in England). They have all read a (fictional) book (or, as in Martin's case, read a part of the Amazon synopsis) called ''The Best Years to Live in
Medieval England'' by Gilbert Cox. Phillip reveals that the wizards have set up a script to buy a number of copies periodically in order to keep the book in print and get more new wizards to arrive to that time period.
Medieval England'' by Gilbert Cox. Phillip reveals that the wizards have set up a script to buy a number of copies periodically in order to keep the book in print and get more new wizards to arrive to that time period.
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* TheDungAges: Partly played straight. In fact, this is the reason all wizards arrive to 12th century England (usually in the vicinity of the White Cliffs of Dover, since that's the only landmark most of them know in England). They have all read a (fictional) book (or, as in Martin's case, read a part of the Amazon synopsis) called ''The Best Years to Live in
in Medieval England'' by Gilbert Cox. Phillip reveals that the wizards have set up a script to buy a number of copies periodically in order to keep the book in print and get more new wizards to arrive to that time period.
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* TheDungAges: Partly played straight. In fact, this is the reason all wizards arrive to 12th century England (usually in the vicinity of the White Cliffs of Dover, since that's the only landmark most of them know in England). They have all read a (fictional) book (or, as in Martin's case, read a part of the Amazon synopsis) called ''The Best Years to Live in
Medieval England'' by Gilbert Cox. Phillip reveals that the wizards have set up a script to buy a number of copies periodically in order to keep the book in print and get more new wizards to arrive to that time period.
** All wizards find ways around the "no modern plumbing" annoyance. Phillip has made himself an actual toilet that appears to disintegrate anything that falls into it ([[spoiler:it's actually a portal he set up with the exit point above Jimmy's golden statue in Camelot; thus he can literally shit on Jimmy's image]]). Tyler {{Time Travel}}s to his apartment for "number 2" (pretty much all wizards being male means finding a place to pee isn't an issue), meaning his bathroom has been in near-constant use since he left (people occasionally mention his enormous water bill), and he has stocked it with tons of toilet paper and paper towels.
Medieval England'' by Gilbert Cox. Phillip reveals that the wizards have set up a script to buy a number of copies periodically in order to keep the book in print and get more new wizards to arrive to that time period.
** All wizards find ways around the "no modern plumbing" annoyance. Phillip has made himself an actual toilet that appears to disintegrate anything that falls into it ([[spoiler:it's actually a portal he set up with the exit point above Jimmy's golden statue in Camelot; thus he can literally shit on Jimmy's image]]). Tyler {{Time Travel}}s to his apartment for "number 2" (pretty much all wizards being male means finding a place to pee isn't an issue), meaning his bathroom has been in near-constant use since he left (people occasionally mention his enormous water bill), and he has stocked it with tons of toilet paper and paper towels.
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* ShoutOut: The novels are packed full of them, since most magic-users are nerds. However, not all wizards get the references, such as Phillip (who is from 1984) being annoyed from the frequent references to ''TheSimpsons'' (which premiered in 1989).
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* ShoutOut: The novels are packed full of them, since most magic-users are nerds. However, not all wizards get the references, such as Phillip (who is from 1984) being annoyed from by the frequent references to ''TheSimpsons'' (which premiered in 1989).1989).
* TheSlowPath: After Jimmy is sent back to his own time (TheEighties), he has to spend the next 30 years waiting for his chance to get access to the file again and be able to return to Medieval England to [[spoiler:beg for forgiveness]]. Since he is no longer TheAgeless, he's in his [=50s-60s=] by that point. Due to him being a WalkingTechbane, he can't hold a normal job (since that usually involves being in the vicinity of an electrical device), can't get around in anything more complex than a bicycle, and can't get proper medical care.
* TheSlowPath: After Jimmy is sent back to his own time (TheEighties), he has to spend the next 30 years waiting for his chance to get access to the file again and be able to return to Medieval England to [[spoiler:beg for forgiveness]]. Since he is no longer TheAgeless, he's in his [=50s-60s=] by that point. Due to him being a WalkingTechbane, he can't hold a normal job (since that usually involves being in the vicinity of an electrical device), can't get around in anything more complex than a bicycle, and can't get proper medical care.
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* RealityEnsues: There's a reason the wizards strictly prohibit attempting to modify a person's physical parameters - it's almost always fatal. While reality is a computer program, it's a ''fine-tuned'' computer program. A subroutine as complex as a human being only runs well if no one messes with the settings. Martin's first accidental discovery of the file results in him "growing" by 3 inches. He changes his height back, but Phillip later explains that, any higher, and his spine would've disconnected from his brain. Jimmy attempts to work around this by making small, incremental changes to change people into elves, orcs, dwarves, and hobbits. He ends up accidentally skipping a step and killing a whole village full of people, whose bodies can't cope with the sudden changes. The only changes wizards are allowed to do is make themselves nigh-immortal by stopping the aging process and making them immune to physical damage. They can still suffocate, drown, or die of thirst/hunger, though.
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* CoolPlane: Discussed. Martin is ecstatic to learn that Roy was one of the designers of the Lockheed SR-71 "Blackbird". In fact, Roy used the file to make the first plane perform better than expected. Unfortunately, when he got transferred to another project, the powers-that-be quickly realized that the subsequent planes did not match the quality of the prototype and went to Roy for some questions, resulting in his flight to Medieval England.
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* WalkingTechbane: If a wizard is deemed too dangerous or untrustworthy, he is exiled and sent back to his own time, naked and hogtied, usually to be apprehended by the authorities (most wizards are fleeing authorities in their own time). Furthermore, in order to cut off their access to the file, the exile's magnetic field is boosted to such an extent that any electronic device nearby shuts down.
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* WalkingTechbane: If a wizard is deemed too dangerous or untrustworthy, he is exiled and sent back to his own time, naked and hogtied, usually to be apprehended by the authorities (most wizards are fleeing authorities in their own time). Furthermore, in order to cut off their access to the file, the exile's magnetic field is boosted to such an extent that any electronic device nearby shuts down.
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* InitiationCeremony: After undergoing a period of training, a wizard-in-training goes to Camelot with every other wizard gathered there as well for a big feast. During the feast, the apprentice must present his "salutation", which is a presentation designed to awe people. The next day involves a complex test. Passing it means that the apprentice is now a full-fledged wizard with unrestricted shell access. [[spoiler:There is no test. The apprentice is watched for signs of malice throughout the training]].
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** A scene in the second book has an interesting aversion. Phillip is a big fan of burritos, so he naturally produces them out of his hat during a break in the summit. Someone notes that Phillip, a Londoner, is eating a burrito, while an Incan priest is manifesting himself some fish-and-chips.
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* EthnicMagician: Played straight. Most people who discover the file tend to go back in time to become his culture's version of a magic-user. Most westerners go to Medieval England to be wizards. Chinese go to Ancient China to be sorcerers. Indians go to become fakirs. The exception are women, who usually head to Atlantis. Also, Tyler (black) and Eddie (Asian) chose to go to Medieval England; however, they are thoroughly westernized, and Eddie pretends to be from the Far East anyway.
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* OlderIsBetter: No matter what, Phillip loves his Commodore 64 and is incredulous of anyone using a powerful computing device as a phone. After Martin buys him a 2012-era computer made to look like a Commodore 64, Phillip uses it but only through a Commodore 64 emulator. Martin suspects Phillip only does this to annoy him. On the other hand, Phillip initially refuses Martin's offer, as he claims he wouldn't know how to use a 2012 laptop.
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* ProudToBeAGeek: Pretty much anyone who discovers the file does so because he or she spends a lot of time on a computer and, most likely, engages in hacking. As such, most magic-users tend to be a little nerdy. Since they also have "magic" powers, they also are free to be proud of their nerdiness without fear of being bullied.
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* AndIMustScream: "Ghosting" someone turns them into an invisible and intangible... well... ghost. The person can't eat, drink, or breathe but still survives in constant agony. The only sounds the "ghost" can make is a strange, very quiet howling. This is done so that the "ghost" haunts his or her relatives and friends in an attempt to get help. The spell is reversible, though. It was developed by a wizard-in-training named Todd, who was immediately exiled afterwards (the second book reveals that one of the first things Todd did after discovering the file is kill his boss in a particularly [[ChunkySalsa gruesome way]] and then gave himself away by showing up to work in galoshes). The spell is used once again by Jimmy to keep Tyler quiet, after Tyler discovers his plans for England.
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** However, in their own time periods, each group tends call itself differently. For example, time travelers in 12th century England call themselves wizards, while Atlantean female magic users call themselves sorceresses. There are also shamans, witch doctors, fakirs, priests, magicians, etc.
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* TemporalMutability: Strangely, doing anything in the past appears to have no effect on the future. The two main explanations are that either something between the time of the change and the present will nullify all changes, or the program creates an alternate past for the time travelers.
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* NotQuiteFlight: Martin's first attempt at creating a flying spell does not go as expected. The "hover" button on his app teleports him into the air (not high) and updates his altitude ten times a second. However, instead of being a smooth levitation, it's a very choppy and shaky affair that feels awful. Phillip later explains that he found a way to make certain variables into constants, thus allowing for smooth flight.
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[[quoteright:260:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/spell_or_high_water_6167.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:260:''Spell or High Water'' cover]]
[[caption-width-right:260:''Spell or High Water'' cover]]
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* MagicStaff: Most wizards prefer staffs to wands. However, either one is necessary for the shell to recognize a wizard as a user. Later, some wizards begin to carry back-ups in the form of collapsible wands. A staff must be about 5 feet to be recognized and is usually topped with an ornament unique to the wizard. Martin chooses a bust of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Santo El Santo]] as his ornament, while Jimmy uses a plasma globe. A wand is typically 1.5 feet in length.
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* MagicStaff: Most wizards prefer staffs to wands. However, either one is necessary for the shell to recognize a wizard as a user. Later, some wizards begin to carry back-ups in the form of collapsible wands. A staff must be about 5 feet to be recognized and is usually topped with an ornament unique to the wizard. Martin chooses a bust of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Santo El Santo]] as his ornament, Phillip uses a bottle of Tabasco sauce (claiming that it's dragon blood), while Jimmy uses a plasma globe. A wand is typically 1.5 feet in length.
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[[quoteright:226:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/off_to_be_the_wizard_3498.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:226:''Off to Be the Wizard'' cover]]
[[caption-width-right:226:''Off to Be the Wizard'' cover]]
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* TranslatorMicrobes: The shell translates anything a wizard says into the appropriate language and vice versa. It's all pieces of code anyway.
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* TranslatorMicrobes: The shell translates anything a wizard says into the appropriate language and vice versa. It's all pieces of code anyway.anyway.
* WalkingTechbane: If a wizard is deemed too dangerous or untrustworthy, he is exiled and sent back to his own time, naked and hogtied, usually to be apprehended by the authorities (most wizards are fleeing authorities in their own time). Furthermore, in order to cut off their access to the file, the exile's magnetic field is boosted to such an extent that any electronic device nearby shuts down.
* WalkingTechbane: If a wizard is deemed too dangerous or untrustworthy, he is exiled and sent back to his own time, naked and hogtied, usually to be apprehended by the authorities (most wizards are fleeing authorities in their own time). Furthermore, in order to cut off their access to the file, the exile's magnetic field is boosted to such an extent that any electronic device nearby shuts down.
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** In the second novel, Martin devises an interesting method of teleporting without setting up coordinates. He carries a special pouch which he throws and then teleports to it with the word "Bamf".
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* Usefulnotes/EsperantoTheUniversalLanguage: Justified since, being an artificial language created in the 20th century, it's not likely to be recognized in any time period before that. Thus, 12th century English wizards use it for their spells (for example, the standard flight spell is "flugi", meaning "fly"). When asked why Latin isn't used, Phillip explains that a good number of locals speak at least some Latin. However, no one really bothers to learn Esperanto grammar, so everyone just uses a bastardized version of Esperanto with English grammar.
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** Magic-users from other time periods/countries use other means. For example, Indian fakirs use [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pungi pungis]]. Victorian magicians Sid and Gilbert use their canes. Some don't use an object at all. Atlantean sorceresses simply use a gesture-based Interface visible only to the user.
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* TranslatorMicrobes: The shell translates anything a wizard says into the appropriate language and vice versa. It's all pieces of code anyway.
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* TranslatorMicrobes: The shell translates anything a wizard says into the appropriate language and vice versa. It's all pieces of code anyway.
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* CannotSpitItOut: Gwen in the second book. Martin eventually gets fed up with trying to woo her and starts ignoring her. An Atlantean servant finally explains to Gwen that Martin is a direct guy and might not understand Gwen's subtle attempts to let him know her feelings.
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* EternalEnglish: Martin doesn't appear to have any trouble communicating with 12th century Englishmen. Justified later, when Phillip adds him to the shell, which translates all languages, but no explanation of how Martin was able to communicate before is made.
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* MagicStaff: Most wizards prefer staffs to wands. However, either one is necessary for the shell to recognize a wizard as a user. Later, some wizards begin to carry back-ups in the form of collapsible wands. A staff must be about 5 feet to be recognized and is usually topped with an ornament unique to the wizard. Martin chooses a bust of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Santo El Santo]] as his ornament, while Jimmy uses a plasma globe. A wand is typically 1.5 feet in length.
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* TranslatorMicrobes: The shell translates anything a wizard says into the appropriate language and vice versa. It's all pieces of code anyway.
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* MagiciansAreWizards: Sid and Gilbert are living in Victorian England as magicians. However, when asked by Martin, they explain that they do not use real magic in their acts, as that would be dishonest. People expect to be tricked by something explainable. To use actual magic would ruin it. Instead, they use time travel to steal magic tricks from the 20th century and use them in the past. When battling Nilo, they make themselves appear as [[Franchise/CthulhuMythos Cthulhu]] and [[http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Fek'lhr Fek'lhr]].
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* MagiciansAreWizards: Sid and Gilbert are living in Victorian England as magicians. However, when asked by Martin, they explain that they do not use real magic in their acts, as that would be dishonest. People expect to be tricked by something explainable. To use actual magic would ruin it. Instead, they use time travel to steal magic tricks from the 20th century and use them in the past. When battling Nilo, they make themselves appear as [[Franchise/CthulhuMythos Cthulhu]] and [[http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Fek'lhr org/wiki/Fek%27lhr Fek'lhr]].
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* MagiciansAreWizards: Sid and Gilbert are living in Victorian England as magicians. However, when asked by Martin, they explain that they do not use real magic in their acts, as that would be dishonest. People expect to be tricked by something explainable. To use actual magic would ruin it. Instead, they use time travel to steal magic tricks from the 20th century and use them in the past. When battling Nilo, they make themselves appear as [[Franchise/CthulhuMythos Cthulhu]] and [[http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Fek'lhr {{Fek'lhr}}].
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* MagiciansAreWizards: Sid and Gilbert are living in Victorian England as magicians. However, when asked by Martin, they explain that they do not use real magic in their acts, as that would be dishonest. People expect to be tricked by something explainable. To use actual magic would ruin it. Instead, they use time travel to steal magic tricks from the 20th century and use them in the past. When battling Nilo, they make themselves appear as [[Franchise/CthulhuMythos Cthulhu]] and [[http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Fek'lhr {{Fek'lhr}}].Fek'lhr]].
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* MagiciansAreWizards: Sid and Gilbert are living in Victorian England as magicians. However, when asked by Martin, they explain that they do not use real magic in their acts, as that would be dishonest. People expect to be tricked by something explainable. To use actual magic would ruin it. Instead, they use time travel to steal magic tricks from the 20th century and use them in the past. When battling Nilo, they make themselves appear as [[Franchise/CthulhuMythos Cthulhu]] and [[http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Fek'lhr Fek'lhr].
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* MagiciansAreWizards: Sid and Gilbert are living in Victorian England as magicians. However, when asked by Martin, they explain that they do not use real magic in their acts, as that would be dishonest. People expect to be tricked by something explainable. To use actual magic would ruin it. Instead, they use time travel to steal magic tricks from the 20th century and use them in the past. When battling Nilo, they make themselves appear as [[Franchise/CthulhuMythos Cthulhu]] and [[http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Fek'lhr Fek'lhr].{{Fek'lhr}}].
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* DifferentlyPoweredIndividuals: One of the reasons for the Atlantean summit in the second book is to figure out a way to call all magic-users. Brit the Elder proposes "time travelers" and immediately admits that this is what the summit will decide anyway.
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''Magic 2.0'' is a science-fiction/fantasy book series written by Scott Meyer, the author of the web-comic ''Webcomic/BasicInstructions'' in his usual tongue-in-cheek manner. The overall idea of the novels is that reality as we know it is nothing more than a complex computer program. While not a new idea, the author manages to come up with an interesting twist: WhatIf some people found a way to RewriteReality by simply editing a file in a text editor?
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''Magic 2.0'' is a science-fiction/fantasy book series written by Scott Meyer, the author of the web-comic ''Webcomic/BasicInstructions'' in his usual tongue-in-cheek manner. The overall idea of the novels is that reality as we know it is nothing more than a complex computer program. While not a new idea, the author manages to come up with an interesting twist: WhatIf some people found a way to RewriteReality [[RewritingReality Rewrite Reality]] by simply editing a file in a text editor?
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''Magic 2.0'' is a science-fiction/fantasy book series written by Scott Meyer, the author of the web-comic ''Webcomic/BasicInstructions'' in his usual tongue-in-cheek manner. The overall idea of the novels is that reality as we know it is nothing more than a complex computer program. While not a new idea, the author manages to come up with an interesting twist: WhatIf some people found a way to RewriteReality by simply editing a file in a text editor?
In ''Off to Be the Wizard'', Martin Banks is a 23-year-old hacker (who dislikes the term) who works a dead-end data entry job and looks through corporate file servers in his spare time. One day, he finds an extremely-large file on a server and quickly discovers that, by editing it, he can change certain things about the world (he accidentally increases his height by 3 inches, although he later learns that could have killed him). Very quickly he learns to teleport (by editing his geospatial coordinates), TimeTravel (by editing his time coordinates), and become rich (by editing his bank account balance). He writes an Android app to be able to access certain functions without access to his computer and teleport at will. A few days later, two US Treasury agents named Miller and Murphy arrest him for suspected bank fraud, forcing Martin to flee 2012 to the past. He chooses 12th century England and arrives to a town called Leadchurch, trying to pass himself off as a wizard. He learns that he's not the first to find the file and flee to Medieval England and becomes the apprentice of a man from 1984 named Phillip who works as a local wizard. He explains the rules adopted by all "wizards" and trains Martin in the use of the open-source shell used by the wizards to write code and macros that manifest as spells through the use of gestures and words in a bastardized version of Esperanto (the locals know Latin). A local female tailor named Gwen (a good friend of Phillip's) makes Martin a robe and a conical hat (necessary for the shell to recognize him). Martin tries to unsuccessfully hit on her.
Martin learns of another wizard named Jimmy who has arrived to Medieval England shortly after Phillip. Instead of living a quiet life in the countryside, Jimmy went to London and convinced the king to rename his city to Camelot and his son to Arthur, himself adopting the name Merlin. Phillip hates Jimmy with a passion and refuses to call him Merlin.
Shortly after Martin's training is complete and he gains full shell access (instead of being sent back to his own time naked and hogtied with his file access cut off), him and several other wizards receive a visit by Gwen to directs them to a village that appears to have been completely wiped out by magical means. Seeing the short, shoe-less forms of the dead villages, Martin realizes that a wizard has been attempting to create {{Hobbits}}, thus violating all three of the wizarding taboos (experimenting on non-wizards, experimenting on people without their permission, and changing someone's physical parameters). Martin and two other wizards are captured by a group of local thugs but are rescued by Gwen, who turns out to be a witch herself. The wizards learn that the culprit is Jimmy/Merlin and teleport to London/Camelot to confront him. Jimmy tries to explain that he has been attempting to turn England into a mini-version of [[Franchise/TolkiensLegendarium Middle-Earth]]. When the rest of the wizards refuse to accept his "genius", he tricks them, takes away their shell access (i.e. de-powers them) and sends his army of orcs to kill them. Wizards with portable devices (including Martin and Gwen) are able to access the file directly to escape. Martin teleports into Camelot and challenges Jimmy to a duel. While they fight (with Jimmy mostly beating up Martin), Phillip sneaks in and knocks Jimmy out. Jimmy is then sent back to his own time as a WalkingTechbane (thus preventing him from accessing the file). Martin says goodbye to Gwen, who decides to time travel to {{Atlantis}}, the only time period where female magic-users can feel safe from the BurnTheWitch attitude of most of history.
In ''Spell or High Water'', Martin takes on a newly-arrived time traveler as his apprentice a few months after Jimmy's exile. Shortly after, Phillip receives a message from Gwen, inviting him and Martin to Atlantis for a summit of time travelers from all of history as representatives of all wizards in 12th century England. They time travel to 368 B.C. and find themselves in the Mediterranean. Atlantis is a LadyLand built and ruled by sorceresses as a gleaming city literally made of diamond. Gwen explains that the city is ruled by a triumvirate: President Ida (the only elected official), Brit the Elder (the builder of the city), and Brit the Younger (Brit the Elder's younger self who is destined to go back in time and build the city). Since no magic-user ages (one of the first thing they do is freeze their biological age), the Brits look identical. While Martin continues trying to woo Gwen, Phillip and Brit the Younger hit it off after both admit their dislike of Brit the Elder. The summit is interrupted several times by attempts on Brit the Younger's life. No one is particularly worried since Brit the Elder's presence implies that Brit the Younger survives. However, one attempt appears to succeed, when Brit the Younger and Phillip are swallowed by a portal, causing Brit the Elder to disappear. Martin discovers that the culprit is Ida's servant/lover Nilo, whom Ida has given limited powers. While Martin and several other male wizards battle Nilo, [[DesignatedGirlFight Gwen confronts Ida]]. Ida and Nilo are subdued and punished, while Brit the Elder appears and reveals that everything went as she remembers from Brit the Younger's days. Phillip and Martin return home, but Brit the Younger and Gwen (who finally admits her feelings for Martin) promise to visit.
Upon arrival, all wizards are summoned to Camelot. There, they discover that Jimmy has managed to find a way to regain his powers (which takes him 30 years) and returns. He de-powers all the wizards and... begs for forgiveness, claiming that 30 years of living as a beggar have taught him the error of his ways. He voluntarily de-powers himself, returning shell access to all the other wizards. Despite Phillip's reservations, the wizards vote to allow Jimmy to remain with limited powers and under constant watch. Meanwhile, the Atlantean summit results in the decision to password-protect all known copies of the file to prevent people from finding and misusing it.
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!!The novels provide examples of the following tropes:
* TheAgeless: One of the first things all magic-users do is freeze their biological age. They also make themselves impervious to physical damage (although pain is still present). However, attempts to make a person not require food, water, or air had some nasty results. Thus, a magic-user can still be killed by drowning or suffocation.
* {{Atlantis}}: Atlantis was created by a female time traveler named Brit in the 5th century B.C. as a haven for female time travelers. It became a LadyLand ruled by sorceresses, who make up the privileged class. The rest of the citizens are from the neighboring lands like Greece. The city is made of pure diamond using a method pioneered by Brit.
* BestServedCold: After Jimmy spends 30 years as a beggar, being unable to even be anywhere near an electronic device, following his exile from 12th century England, he finally hatches a complex plan to regain access to the file and return to 12th century England, take away the powers of all the wizards and... beg for forgiveness. Yeah, living like this for 30 years has given him a lot of time to think and realize the error of his ways. They let him stay provisionally.
* CityOfGold: One of the things Jimmy does is have the people of London/Camelot build a castle made almost entirely of gold. He spends a long time duplicating enough gold for the task.
* ClothesMakeTheSuperman: In order to be recognized as a user by the shell, a wizard must be wearing a robe of a certain cut, a conical hat, and hold a 5-foot staff or a 1.5-foot wand. Wizards without their staffs/wands are powerless, although some later start keeping collapsible wands in their pockets as backups.
* CoolCar: Averted. Phillip's favorite car is his old 1984 Pontiac Fiero. The only cool thing about it is the fact that he made it (and any passengers) indestructible.
* HeelFaceTurn: Jimmy, at the end of the second novel.
* HehHehYouSaidX: One of the cardinal rules of all wizards in Medieval England is to ''not'' make the obvious joke about staffs or wands. Martin gets mad at two Victorian-era magicians who break the rule.
* LethalChef: During his training, Martin is forced to constantly eat Phillip's stew. At one point, Phillip even makes a stew breakfast bar (which Martin refuses to eat). Finally, Phillip reveals that he can easily produce burritos, among other food items. When Martin asks why he hasn't done that before, Phillip points out that ''Martin'' was the one who was eating the stew. Phillip never touched it.
* MagiciansAreWizards: Sid and Gilbert are living in Victorian England as magicians. However, when asked by Martin, they explain that they do not use real magic in their acts, as that would be dishonest. People expect to be tricked by something explainable. To use actual magic would ruin it. Instead, they use time travel to steal magic tricks from the 20th century and use them in the past. When battling Nilo, they make themselves appear as [[Franchise/CthulhuMythos Cthulhu]] and [[http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Fek'lhr Fek'lhr].
* MatterReplicator: Before traveling back in time, Brit creates a macro to build objects molecule-by-molecule, thus allowing for the creation of super-strong monolithic structures. Thus, most of Atlantis is made of pure diamond.
* MindOverMatter: While any wizard can lift and manipulate objects, it only reliably works on either living things or monolithic objects. Anything that's not monolithic is treated as a collection of parts. Even a large rock that has a vein of another mineral in it will break into pieces when levitated. The same logic applies to teleportation and time travel.
* NoEqualOpportunityTimeTravel: Averted with Tyler (who is black) and Eddie (who is Asian), who live in 12th century England. Tyler claims to be a Moor, while Eddie pretends to be Wing Po, the mysterious sorcerer from the East (despite his heavy {{Joisey}} accent). Played straight with any female time traveler, most of whom choose to go to Atlantis to avoid the BurnTheWitch mentality of most time periods.
* OnlyOneName: Since the number of magic-users/time travelers is fairly small (not much more than 100), there's not really a need for people to bother remembering last names. Plus, many of them are on friendly terms. This only causes confusion when talking about Magnuses, two guys named Magnus who live in Medieval Norway. The Atlantean Brits are usually distinguished by adding "the Younger" and "the Elder" to their names, since they're the same person from different time periods. The only time someone's full name is mentioned is when their file reference is accessed.
* OurOrcsAreDifferent: During Jimmy's attempt to remake England to be more like Middle-Earth, he turns a small group of guards into orcs. Or rather, he starts the process by making them larger, bluish-grey skinned, and with teeth that hurt their mouths. He keeps them in line by dulling the pain and threatening to return it. After his defeat, the other wizards start to slowly turn them back into humans.
* PowersAsPrograms: The shell created by Phillip, Jimmy, and Gwen is designed to be open-sourced, allowing any wizard to add code to it. Being programmers, most wizards spend their time writing new code or macros for new types of spells or visual effects. "Spells" are triggered by certain gestures and/or words spoken in a bastardized version of Esperanto (or any language, really).
** The second book reveals that many other time periods have adapted the shell for their own use. The Atlantean Interface uses the shell as its core but is more gesture-based (sorceresses wave their hands and then select options from menus that only they see).
* PublicDomainCharacter: Played with. Merlin and Arthur never existed. However, Jimmy chose to pass himself off as Merlin and convinced the king to rename London to Camelot and his son to Arthur.
* RewritingReality: Editing the file/repository/database (whether directly or through a custom program/shell/app) allows one to change seemingly anything.
* ShoutOut: The novels are packed full of them, since most magic-users are nerds. However, not all wizards get the references, such as Phillip (who is from 1984) being annoyed from the frequent references to ''TheSimpsons'' (which premiered in 1989).
* StableTimeLoop: When Brit first arrives to the 4th century B.C., she finds a welcome reception headed by her older self who explains that she will travel back in time in about 50 years to build Atlantis. Phillip refuses to believe in this trope, being a firm believer in free will.
* TeleportersAndTransporters: Each person or objects's file entry has fields for geospatial coordinates and altitude. By editing the field, the person/object can be teleported anywhere on Earth. Since simply winking out is not cool enough for a wizard, most add visual and sound effects, anything from a column of smoke to a ''StarTrek'' transporter effect (most wizards being nerds and all).
* ThoseTwoGuys: Agents Miller and Murphy from the US Treasury, the only agents assigned to a special department investigating unexplained cases of fraud. A typical GoodCopBadCop team, they hate their current assignment and the ways their bosses keep trying to save a buck. They end up inadvertently helping Jimmy regain access to the file.
* TimeTravel: By editing one's temporal coordinates, a person can travel to the past. However, the reality/program prevents a person from traveling to any time in his or her future. Thus, Phillip, whose native time period is 1984 is unable to visit Martin's time period of 2012. Traveling to any time and place in the past is fair game, however.
In ''Off to Be the Wizard'', Martin Banks is a 23-year-old hacker (who dislikes the term) who works a dead-end data entry job and looks through corporate file servers in his spare time. One day, he finds an extremely-large file on a server and quickly discovers that, by editing it, he can change certain things about the world (he accidentally increases his height by 3 inches, although he later learns that could have killed him). Very quickly he learns to teleport (by editing his geospatial coordinates), TimeTravel (by editing his time coordinates), and become rich (by editing his bank account balance). He writes an Android app to be able to access certain functions without access to his computer and teleport at will. A few days later, two US Treasury agents named Miller and Murphy arrest him for suspected bank fraud, forcing Martin to flee 2012 to the past. He chooses 12th century England and arrives to a town called Leadchurch, trying to pass himself off as a wizard. He learns that he's not the first to find the file and flee to Medieval England and becomes the apprentice of a man from 1984 named Phillip who works as a local wizard. He explains the rules adopted by all "wizards" and trains Martin in the use of the open-source shell used by the wizards to write code and macros that manifest as spells through the use of gestures and words in a bastardized version of Esperanto (the locals know Latin). A local female tailor named Gwen (a good friend of Phillip's) makes Martin a robe and a conical hat (necessary for the shell to recognize him). Martin tries to unsuccessfully hit on her.
Martin learns of another wizard named Jimmy who has arrived to Medieval England shortly after Phillip. Instead of living a quiet life in the countryside, Jimmy went to London and convinced the king to rename his city to Camelot and his son to Arthur, himself adopting the name Merlin. Phillip hates Jimmy with a passion and refuses to call him Merlin.
Shortly after Martin's training is complete and he gains full shell access (instead of being sent back to his own time naked and hogtied with his file access cut off), him and several other wizards receive a visit by Gwen to directs them to a village that appears to have been completely wiped out by magical means. Seeing the short, shoe-less forms of the dead villages, Martin realizes that a wizard has been attempting to create {{Hobbits}}, thus violating all three of the wizarding taboos (experimenting on non-wizards, experimenting on people without their permission, and changing someone's physical parameters). Martin and two other wizards are captured by a group of local thugs but are rescued by Gwen, who turns out to be a witch herself. The wizards learn that the culprit is Jimmy/Merlin and teleport to London/Camelot to confront him. Jimmy tries to explain that he has been attempting to turn England into a mini-version of [[Franchise/TolkiensLegendarium Middle-Earth]]. When the rest of the wizards refuse to accept his "genius", he tricks them, takes away their shell access (i.e. de-powers them) and sends his army of orcs to kill them. Wizards with portable devices (including Martin and Gwen) are able to access the file directly to escape. Martin teleports into Camelot and challenges Jimmy to a duel. While they fight (with Jimmy mostly beating up Martin), Phillip sneaks in and knocks Jimmy out. Jimmy is then sent back to his own time as a WalkingTechbane (thus preventing him from accessing the file). Martin says goodbye to Gwen, who decides to time travel to {{Atlantis}}, the only time period where female magic-users can feel safe from the BurnTheWitch attitude of most of history.
In ''Spell or High Water'', Martin takes on a newly-arrived time traveler as his apprentice a few months after Jimmy's exile. Shortly after, Phillip receives a message from Gwen, inviting him and Martin to Atlantis for a summit of time travelers from all of history as representatives of all wizards in 12th century England. They time travel to 368 B.C. and find themselves in the Mediterranean. Atlantis is a LadyLand built and ruled by sorceresses as a gleaming city literally made of diamond. Gwen explains that the city is ruled by a triumvirate: President Ida (the only elected official), Brit the Elder (the builder of the city), and Brit the Younger (Brit the Elder's younger self who is destined to go back in time and build the city). Since no magic-user ages (one of the first thing they do is freeze their biological age), the Brits look identical. While Martin continues trying to woo Gwen, Phillip and Brit the Younger hit it off after both admit their dislike of Brit the Elder. The summit is interrupted several times by attempts on Brit the Younger's life. No one is particularly worried since Brit the Elder's presence implies that Brit the Younger survives. However, one attempt appears to succeed, when Brit the Younger and Phillip are swallowed by a portal, causing Brit the Elder to disappear. Martin discovers that the culprit is Ida's servant/lover Nilo, whom Ida has given limited powers. While Martin and several other male wizards battle Nilo, [[DesignatedGirlFight Gwen confronts Ida]]. Ida and Nilo are subdued and punished, while Brit the Elder appears and reveals that everything went as she remembers from Brit the Younger's days. Phillip and Martin return home, but Brit the Younger and Gwen (who finally admits her feelings for Martin) promise to visit.
Upon arrival, all wizards are summoned to Camelot. There, they discover that Jimmy has managed to find a way to regain his powers (which takes him 30 years) and returns. He de-powers all the wizards and... begs for forgiveness, claiming that 30 years of living as a beggar have taught him the error of his ways. He voluntarily de-powers himself, returning shell access to all the other wizards. Despite Phillip's reservations, the wizards vote to allow Jimmy to remain with limited powers and under constant watch. Meanwhile, the Atlantean summit results in the decision to password-protect all known copies of the file to prevent people from finding and misusing it.
----
!!The novels provide examples of the following tropes:
* TheAgeless: One of the first things all magic-users do is freeze their biological age. They also make themselves impervious to physical damage (although pain is still present). However, attempts to make a person not require food, water, or air had some nasty results. Thus, a magic-user can still be killed by drowning or suffocation.
* {{Atlantis}}: Atlantis was created by a female time traveler named Brit in the 5th century B.C. as a haven for female time travelers. It became a LadyLand ruled by sorceresses, who make up the privileged class. The rest of the citizens are from the neighboring lands like Greece. The city is made of pure diamond using a method pioneered by Brit.
* BestServedCold: After Jimmy spends 30 years as a beggar, being unable to even be anywhere near an electronic device, following his exile from 12th century England, he finally hatches a complex plan to regain access to the file and return to 12th century England, take away the powers of all the wizards and... beg for forgiveness. Yeah, living like this for 30 years has given him a lot of time to think and realize the error of his ways. They let him stay provisionally.
* CityOfGold: One of the things Jimmy does is have the people of London/Camelot build a castle made almost entirely of gold. He spends a long time duplicating enough gold for the task.
* ClothesMakeTheSuperman: In order to be recognized as a user by the shell, a wizard must be wearing a robe of a certain cut, a conical hat, and hold a 5-foot staff or a 1.5-foot wand. Wizards without their staffs/wands are powerless, although some later start keeping collapsible wands in their pockets as backups.
* CoolCar: Averted. Phillip's favorite car is his old 1984 Pontiac Fiero. The only cool thing about it is the fact that he made it (and any passengers) indestructible.
* HeelFaceTurn: Jimmy, at the end of the second novel.
* HehHehYouSaidX: One of the cardinal rules of all wizards in Medieval England is to ''not'' make the obvious joke about staffs or wands. Martin gets mad at two Victorian-era magicians who break the rule.
* LethalChef: During his training, Martin is forced to constantly eat Phillip's stew. At one point, Phillip even makes a stew breakfast bar (which Martin refuses to eat). Finally, Phillip reveals that he can easily produce burritos, among other food items. When Martin asks why he hasn't done that before, Phillip points out that ''Martin'' was the one who was eating the stew. Phillip never touched it.
* MagiciansAreWizards: Sid and Gilbert are living in Victorian England as magicians. However, when asked by Martin, they explain that they do not use real magic in their acts, as that would be dishonest. People expect to be tricked by something explainable. To use actual magic would ruin it. Instead, they use time travel to steal magic tricks from the 20th century and use them in the past. When battling Nilo, they make themselves appear as [[Franchise/CthulhuMythos Cthulhu]] and [[http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Fek'lhr Fek'lhr].
* MatterReplicator: Before traveling back in time, Brit creates a macro to build objects molecule-by-molecule, thus allowing for the creation of super-strong monolithic structures. Thus, most of Atlantis is made of pure diamond.
* MindOverMatter: While any wizard can lift and manipulate objects, it only reliably works on either living things or monolithic objects. Anything that's not monolithic is treated as a collection of parts. Even a large rock that has a vein of another mineral in it will break into pieces when levitated. The same logic applies to teleportation and time travel.
* NoEqualOpportunityTimeTravel: Averted with Tyler (who is black) and Eddie (who is Asian), who live in 12th century England. Tyler claims to be a Moor, while Eddie pretends to be Wing Po, the mysterious sorcerer from the East (despite his heavy {{Joisey}} accent). Played straight with any female time traveler, most of whom choose to go to Atlantis to avoid the BurnTheWitch mentality of most time periods.
* OnlyOneName: Since the number of magic-users/time travelers is fairly small (not much more than 100), there's not really a need for people to bother remembering last names. Plus, many of them are on friendly terms. This only causes confusion when talking about Magnuses, two guys named Magnus who live in Medieval Norway. The Atlantean Brits are usually distinguished by adding "the Younger" and "the Elder" to their names, since they're the same person from different time periods. The only time someone's full name is mentioned is when their file reference is accessed.
* OurOrcsAreDifferent: During Jimmy's attempt to remake England to be more like Middle-Earth, he turns a small group of guards into orcs. Or rather, he starts the process by making them larger, bluish-grey skinned, and with teeth that hurt their mouths. He keeps them in line by dulling the pain and threatening to return it. After his defeat, the other wizards start to slowly turn them back into humans.
* PowersAsPrograms: The shell created by Phillip, Jimmy, and Gwen is designed to be open-sourced, allowing any wizard to add code to it. Being programmers, most wizards spend their time writing new code or macros for new types of spells or visual effects. "Spells" are triggered by certain gestures and/or words spoken in a bastardized version of Esperanto (or any language, really).
** The second book reveals that many other time periods have adapted the shell for their own use. The Atlantean Interface uses the shell as its core but is more gesture-based (sorceresses wave their hands and then select options from menus that only they see).
* PublicDomainCharacter: Played with. Merlin and Arthur never existed. However, Jimmy chose to pass himself off as Merlin and convinced the king to rename London to Camelot and his son to Arthur.
* RewritingReality: Editing the file/repository/database (whether directly or through a custom program/shell/app) allows one to change seemingly anything.
* ShoutOut: The novels are packed full of them, since most magic-users are nerds. However, not all wizards get the references, such as Phillip (who is from 1984) being annoyed from the frequent references to ''TheSimpsons'' (which premiered in 1989).
* StableTimeLoop: When Brit first arrives to the 4th century B.C., she finds a welcome reception headed by her older self who explains that she will travel back in time in about 50 years to build Atlantis. Phillip refuses to believe in this trope, being a firm believer in free will.
* TeleportersAndTransporters: Each person or objects's file entry has fields for geospatial coordinates and altitude. By editing the field, the person/object can be teleported anywhere on Earth. Since simply winking out is not cool enough for a wizard, most add visual and sound effects, anything from a column of smoke to a ''StarTrek'' transporter effect (most wizards being nerds and all).
* ThoseTwoGuys: Agents Miller and Murphy from the US Treasury, the only agents assigned to a special department investigating unexplained cases of fraud. A typical GoodCopBadCop team, they hate their current assignment and the ways their bosses keep trying to save a buck. They end up inadvertently helping Jimmy regain access to the file.
* TimeTravel: By editing one's temporal coordinates, a person can travel to the past. However, the reality/program prevents a person from traveling to any time in his or her future. Thus, Phillip, whose native time period is 1984 is unable to visit Martin's time period of 2012. Traveling to any time and place in the past is fair game, however.
