[AuraTwilight]

It's possible I'm just misunderstanding you, but you seem to be trying to have it both ways with "magic." If emotions are chemicals and the soul is a neural program, then the causes of magic are within the reach of sufficiently advanced science. At least some of the effects of magic in the world are also empirically observable, and thus also within the reach of sufficiently advanced science. So magic, then, is not some "other" which is immune to scientific inquiry. Magic, in this context, is just another domain of science that (as far as we know) exists in PMMM's reality but not our reality. The Incubators cannot use magic per se, because they lack emotion, but there is no basis for claiming they could not reproduce some effects of magic via sufficiently advanced technology.

It's not that magic can't be observed, but the Incubators don't understand how it works, only what it does and what causes magic to happen. Even with that, a deity that cannot be observed and transcends time is on a different level.

Also, Madoka is a law of the universe. If they were capable of trumping those, entropy would've never been an issue in the first place.

We don't know the limits of real science, let alone fictional science. How do you know that Madoka's acts are not "scientifically reproducible" in the context of PMMM's reality?

Because Madoka's acts rewrote the laws of the universe, and the power of science/technology is effectively just utilizing the product of those laws.

Show me science that can permanently rewrite how science functions and maybe I'll concede the point.

How exactly is it that she "demonstrably transcends non-absolutes"? What does that even mean?

*Points to Kyubey's spiel in episode 12 about how Madoka's wish tells the laws of time and space to shove it.*

In any case, a photon is a physical entity. If Madoka took the form of photons, then she would be observable as photons. So "step 1" (observe Madoka) would have been at least a partial success for the Incubators. They could then analyze that data, and set up another experiment based on what they learned. Madoka has to go claim every magical girl; it's not like the Incubators will run out of test subjects any time soon.

The photon thing was an example of Madoka going around Kyubey's interference in her task, not necessarily dodging Kyubey's observations.

It's not even necessary, because the laws of the universe are effectively omnipresent. Witch barriers don't have their own flow of time, for instance (that we know of).

An omniscient Madoka has no business saying things like "maybe" or "let's believe" because she would already know what will or won't happen. An omniscient Madoka could just state directly: "Homura-chan, you won't forget me. I know." Or something to that effect. But she doesn't say that at all. Her only clear assertion is a vague "it'll be all right."

Gonna stop you right there by pointing out that the Japanese language doesn't distinguish between 'if' statements and 'absolute' statements like that, and that the language is structured to offer passive non-absolutes as part of its integral grammar. An absolute factual statement can and often is translated into English as rhetorical questions, because boldly stating things as absolutes in Japanese is incredibly rude and unfitting of Madoka's gentle and feminine speaking style.

Now, yes, I can't definitively prove that she's not just jerking Homura around, but come on... are you really going to argue she's playing a cruel game with Homura's feelings? As soon as Homura arrives in the new universe she will realize that she does indeed remember Madoka, so what possible justification could Madoka have for not simply telling Homura?

By not putting things in terms of absolutes and predetermined outcomes, she offers Homura hope that things can change and a true miracle can occur by Homura's own doing.

You know, that hope thing that she's kind of in charge of handing out, now.

Even on a thematic level, it would be pretty weird that the girl who became hope would be incapable of hope herself -- but that is what omniscience would entail. Hope is about positive belief/feeling/expectation when facing uncertainty. The uncertainty part is critical. It's not hope if you already know the result.

According to the dictionary, hope is " the state which promotes the desire of positive outcomes related to events and circumstances in one's life or in the world at large." This doesn't necessitate uncertainty or belief at all. Moreover, she is a hopeBRINGER. She is a law of the universe that offers uncertain mortals the assurance that things can and will be alright for them.

Your argument is akin to claiming that Christ can't feel the very thing he's offering his followers.