Timewaster's Guide Archive
Local Authors => Brandon Sanderson => Topic started by: kherezae on March 16, 2010, 08:37:22 PM
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So I've been wondering, and googling, and unable to find the answer to this question:
Kwaan's message etched in the metal claimed that the metalminds of the other Terrismen were being changed, and yet Ruin can't look directly at metal. Metal's supposed to be the only thing safe from him; that would be why Kwaan etched his message in metal. So... how can he change metalminds?
Just curious, of course! I absolutely adore the Mistborn books, they're my favorite series by far, but that one detail stuck out to me and I was wondering if anyone else had given it thought.
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The theory that I've posted is that the information is stored in the metal on a quantum level, which Ruin can perceive and affect easily because it's just moving quarks around. The metal blindness only comes into effect at the macroscopic level. That's my theory and I'm sticking to it. :)
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Listen to Peter, this is a man who knows what he is talking about. And that's the best theory I've heard on the subject, so I'm gonna run with that.
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I thought it made perfect sense. 'I write these words in steel, for anything not set in metal cannot be trusted.'
What's within the metalminds is only stored in the metal. It's not inscribed upon them, and thus can be altered by Ruin.
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Now that you mention it.... Hm. I can see that.
I mean, obviously they can sense/manipulate the power surrounding metal, like Ruin giving his little puppets perfect Hemalurgic aim. So I guess it's more along those lines.
Cool, thanks guys!
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i just sort of assumed that he could in fact read the metal tablets and etched letters, he just couldn't alter them in any way, like that he couldn't actually change or even directly effect metal, but with the metal minds it was the intangible info, not the structure, that was altered, so only the etched or carved letters in the metal structure were safe.
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Ahh, but in HoA we learn that Ruin definitely cannot read anything on metal, because he can't actually see it. It's just blinding light. That's why Marsh had to read Goradel's message for him. And aren't we glad he did. ;D
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Maybe he can not see the metal itself, but I don't think he had any trouble with seeing the power connected to the metal. Like, he couldn't see a metalmind, but he could see the information stored in it, for he saw not the metal, but the energy connected to it.
That would make sense. He couldn't see the allomantic powers of metal, for it was a Preservation's domain, but since feruchemy was natural, and hemalurgy was his, he could see and manipulate that power.
On the other side, Preservation would be able to make changes in feruchemy, and have a great influence on allomancers. Not control them like Ruin did, of course, for that wasn't his way.
And yes, I know that Peter gave the answer, and it's the most probable one, but I don't like it. Since it's not official, we can still make some speculations :)
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Or maybe it is stored in some part in the Cognitive Realm, where Ruin can mess with them at will.
But Ookla's (Peter) explanation sounds better ;)
I have a question. What is the storage size of metalminds? How much memory can you fit into a finger ring?
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The size to feruchemical energy ratio is one that I've wondered about as well. We know that the energy stored in a ring sized goldmind was enough to heal Sazed when he basically got shot repeatedly in the stomach with the rings.
I like some of theories as to why Ruin can change feruchemical memories but can't see things inscribed in metal, especially Peter's, but I have a different one.
The reason Ruin can't see inscriptions is because metal is power in Scadrial, yes? The shards see power, and the metal gives off so much power that he can't look directly at the metal. Like staring straight at the sun hurts your eyes. I think that the memories are stored in the form of energy, but a different sort of energy than the raw power of the metal by itself. So Ruin may not be able to see the metal, but he can see the memory power because it's a different kind of power. And he can mess with the power, changing the memories contained within. He just can't change the source of the power.
Of course, a sort of corollary to this is that all feruchemical energy is like this. But the other kinds of stored energy aren't complex enough to really be changed at all, not in a way that Ruin can use, that is. But memories are very complex and used in such a way that Ruin can change it and use it for his own devices.
I've probably overlooked some obvious flaw in this, but until then, this is what I'm sticking with.
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Or maybe it is stored in some part in the Cognitive Realm, where Ruin can mess with them at will.
I like this. I like this alot.
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That actually makes a lot of sense.
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That actually makes a lot of sense.
What does?
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What Aranfan quoted from Terrisman.