Quote: Imagine a world where the right words can literally and directly make things happen, where getting one of those words wrong can wreak unbelieveable havoc,
but where, with the right spell, you can summon immensely powerful agencies to work your will. Imagine further that this world is administered: There is an
extensive division of labor, among the magicians themselves and between the magicians and those who coordinate their activity. It's bureaucratic, and
also (therefore) chaotic, and it's full of people at desks muttering curses and writing invocations, all beavering away at a small part of the big
picture. The coordinators, because they don't understand what's going on, are easy prey for smooth-talking preachers of bizarre cults that demand
arbitrary sacrifices and vanish with large amounts of money.
Welcome...
To the IT Department.
From the introduction to the SFBC collected edition of Charles Stross' 'The Laundry' stories.
--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.