Memories of the Knacker's Yard

I wanted to create a world going through rapid change — the equivalent of the Industrial Revolution, but with magic instead of science. This meant that I had to come up with specific examples of how fantasy tropes might develop under the application of "magical technology". Ghosts were an obvious area to explore. Traditionally, ghosts are rare, difficult to see, and never have much practical use. To move forward from this primitive concept, I assumed that under the stimulus of alchemy, everyone turned into ghosts when they died, and communicating with ghosts became routine. The social implications were immense. And since nothing exists in isolation, I created an entire ecosystem for ghosts, explaining how they interacted with each other and with the physical world. BOOK REVIEW: Another day, another corpse. This guy had been good-looking before someone worked him over. Now he had big, livid bruises on his head and upper body, cigarette burns on the cheeks and eyelids, and the usual wide slash across the throat. "How long have we had this one?" I asked, shivering in the morgue's chill. "Two days," the white-coat guy said. I didn't know his name. I try to remember the lab people and support staff, but turnover's too high. This line of work burns people out faster than a crematorium on overtime. "What did you leave it that long for?" I said, annoyed. "Waiting for the killer to turn himself in?" "We were waiting for the ghost to show up," he said. I shook my head in disgust. "Look, when someone's been murdered, they want us on the case. If their ghost doesn't turn up in twenty-four hours, that's because it can't."

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