A concept from Vernor Vinge's SF masterpiece A Deepness in the Sky.
In Vinge's universe the speed of light isn't constant, but gets faster the further away from matter you go. Down near the cores of galaxies, things don't work at all because light moves too slowly. Out/up on the galactic periphery, technological artefacts can be constructed which have behaviours and abilities indistinguishable from magic.
See also The Singularity