A crystal ball, also known as an orbuculum, is a crystal or glass ball and common fortune telling object. It is generally associated with the performance of clairvoyance and scrying in particular. Crystal balls are common in stage magic acts.
In numerous fantasy works of Harry Turtledove, crystal balls (often called crystals) serve as analogs of the telegraph, the telephone, radio, film, television, and/or the Internet, depending on the level of development in a story's civilization. The analogy is not always clear cut. For example, The War Between the Provinces is an analog of the American Civil War (1861-1865), when the telegraph was the cutting edge, yet the crystals which the Detinan royals and generals use are essentially videophones, which did not exist before the late 20th century.
One of the greatest wonders of the age was when the Cosmos-Spanning Consortium mystically linked all the crystals in the world together, forming a communications network.
Pocket crystals had become common by the early 21st century.
Crystal balls were the most efficient communications technology in the world during the era surrounding the War of the Kingdoms. Consolidated Crystal was the biggest crystal service available.
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Crystals were the most efficient communications technology in the United States in the 1930s. Consolidated Crystal was the biggest crystal service available.[1]
