, ▁in ▁varying ▁degrees ▁of ▁ru in , ▁squ al or , ▁or ▁lux ury . ▁In ▁addition , ▁many ▁people ▁make ▁use ▁of ▁technology ▁or ▁magic ▁which ▁was ▁created ▁long ▁ago , ▁but ▁which ▁they ▁no ▁longer ▁understand . ▁No ▁distinction ▁is ▁ever ▁made ▁between ▁technology ▁created ▁through ▁science ▁and ▁that ▁created ▁by ▁magic ; ▁the ▁line ▁between ▁the ▁two ▁is ▁bl ur red , ▁and ▁it ▁is ▁heavily ▁imp lied ▁that ▁the ▁two ▁are ▁ultimately ▁ind ist ingu ish able . ▁The ▁characters ▁in ▁the ▁stories ▁are ▁aware ▁that ▁they ▁live ▁on ▁a ▁" D ying ▁Earth " ▁and ▁often ▁make ▁care free , ▁n ih il istic ▁references ▁to ▁the ▁fact ▁that ▁their ▁planet ▁does ▁not ▁have ▁much ▁longer ▁to ▁live , ▁assuming ▁that ▁the ▁sun ▁will ▁soon ▁burn ▁itself ▁out . ▁It ▁is ▁never ▁explained ▁how ▁long ▁the ▁Earth ▁has ▁left ▁to ▁live ; ▁it ▁could ▁be ▁only ▁dec ades , ▁or ▁possibly ▁still ▁thousands ▁or ▁millions ▁of ▁years . ▁ ▁Many ▁of ▁the ▁most ▁important ▁people ▁in ▁As col ais ▁are ▁w iz ards . ▁In ▁the ▁D ying ▁Earth , ▁w iz ards ▁use ▁magic ▁primarily ▁by ▁memor izing ▁length y ▁formulas ▁for ▁sp ells , ▁and ▁then ▁activ ating ▁them ▁by ▁speaking ▁the ▁proper ▁commands . ▁Once ▁cast , ▁the ▁spell ▁formula ▁is ▁instantly ▁forgotten , ▁requiring ▁the ▁w izard ▁to ▁r ere ad ▁and ▁re - mem or ize ▁them . ▁Because ▁even ▁tal ented ▁w iz ards ▁can ▁only ▁memor ize ▁and ▁" load