Beneath Ceaseless Skies #464, Aug 20, 2026

“Precogs in the Machine” by Nat Katz

“The Fall of Father Anatolio” by Lars Wehman Dabney

Reviewed by Henry Gasko

Before discussing these two stories in detail, it is worth remembering that Beneath Ceaseless Skies is above all an outlet for stories about fantasy and magic. As such, it might be useful to judge the stories against the three “laws” of magic as laid out by best-selling author Brandon Sanderson on his website and in the excellent series of one-hour lectures that are available online free of charge. The major corollary is that the system should be internally consistent, and the author should never pull a magical rabbit out of a hat just for the sake of the story. In other words, no deus ex magica. The first law is the reader must understand the magic system. The second law is that the limitations of a magic system are more interesting than the powers it gives to its wielders. The strong implication is that the use of magic should have costs and demand a price for its use. The final law is that authors, rather than expanding the breadth of their system, should concentrate on exploring the depths of what, i.e. the author should not just throw in random magical concepts just for the sake of it.

With these guidelines from the master in mind, we turn to this issue’s stories. First is “Precogs in the Machine” by Nat Katz. The story is set on a series of plateaus which rise above an almost bottomless valley containing a mysterious “mist” that is at times hard enough to mine into blocks, and at other times simply swirls and rises as normal fog. But this mist, in small doses, can give the power of precognition while in larger doses it is instant death. On top of this, there is a complicated power structure featuring a ruling group that does have actual powers of recognition, and a rebellious young woman named Cass whose parents were killed in an accident while mining mist blocks, and who was exposed to just enough of the substance to be able to see the future in a very limited way. And the entire technology of the plateaus rests upon ancient bridge-like structures created in the distant past by a race called the Priors who may or may not still be alive somewhere down in the mist.

Using Sanderson’s three laws as a basis for analysis, the story only barely passes the first test: Cass’s limited precognition is demonstrated clearly. However it is never clear why the rulers apparently are able to see the future in detail without the aid of the mist, or at least without suffering its effects. And the Priors and their very convenient bridges between the plateaus seem to be there for only that purpose—their necessity to the plot.

The story does pass the second law well enough: Cass’s powers are limited and lead to a plot that is internally consistent. As for the third law, the story does delve deeply into the powers and pitfalls of being able to see the future, and it does not require a new and un-foreshadowed bit of magic for its resolution. So a reasonably successful story of a magical power in an exotic landscape. My only objection would be that several episodes repeat a very similar motif and tell the reader basically the same thing.

The second story is “The Fall of Father Anatolio” by Lars Wehman Dabney. Again there is a despotic system overseen by a ruler who uses magic to keep his subjects in check, and there are freedom fighters trying to overthrow him. However this one, in my opinion, falls somewhat short of Sanderson’s advice. Rather than coherent world-building, the author gives us random throwaways: the ruler is, for no apparent reason, a blue blob who has managed to sire two normal daughters. And the female leader of the resistance movement, again for no discernible reason, has antlers. As for the second law, both the ruler and later the rebels are able to use a secret book of magic spells to conjure up whatever is necessary to keep the plot moving. So it is almost not a surprise when Father Anatolio, as he is thrown out of the city and is tumbling to his death, is able to recite an incantation that produces wings that save him, almost the definition of a deus ex magica.

As for the third law, at least the story sticks to its one main magical element: the book of spells that everyone is after. But the powers granted by the book are almost infinite, and any possible limitations are not mentioned. So while there is nothing wrong with the prose, and the character of the devious Father Anatolio is interesting, the magic system and thus the story as a whole are less than satisfying.