>There's also the issue that a number of the ranking witches are very
>young as a result of them not really being able to stay ranking, so
>there's a lot of turn around.
>
>But now that won't happen, and while that'll surge witch numbers, it
>also means slower career progression once that settles out.

In practice, that depends on a couple of things. One is how much longer the war lasts. Progression is always slower in peacetime armies than during times of active war, particularly world war, partially because said armies tend to be a lot smaller, and partially because there aren't as many opportunities for people to distinguish themselves when nothing much is going on.

The other is how widely the Method is adopted. At the moment it's very much like a craft movement, starting to get some attention, but nowhere near hitting the mainstream.

>Squadron leaders and so forth won't lose their magic after a year or two.

Only if they decide to stay in, which it's entirely possible many of them will not choose to do. Because:

>"I was thinking I'd be squadron leader by 18, retired by 20 and
>married by 21. But now I'll be in service _forever_!?"

Right now, that last part is entirely voluntary. Under the existing regulations, a witch who doesn't want to stay in harness indefinitely can just... not do anything, and "nature" (by which read the progressively disabling effect of chronic depletion, which is really what's happening here) will take its course.

The worry, and it's a real one, is that once the brass gets its collective head around what's going on, there'll be a swing from being suspicious of and resistant to the idea of the Method if they've heard about it at all, to pushing to make it mandatory. Because that's not what it's supposed to be about. It's meant to be about choice. A way for the witches who feel like Mio and Wilma did to rewrite their fates, while those who would just as soon get out (and they do exist, we just don't see them much because the 501st is an elite outfit with high morale) still have the option to do so.

This is a can of worms which doesn't need to be opened right now, while the phenomenon is still obscure, but with the likes of the Emperor of Fusō taking a personal interest, G is aware that it may only be a matter of time until it has to be addressed.

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.