Mistborn 3 Annotations Discussion *Spoilers*

[Morderkaine]

A hemalurgic spike works by stealing the little bit of Preservation within a person's soul and splicing it into another's, granting specific abilities depending on the abilities of the sacrifice and the placement in the recipient. Since the ability to use allomancy is directly proportional to the amount of Preservation in one's soul, no matter how it got there, and the inborn level of Preservation in a person is a function of their parents levels at the time of conceiving, the children of Inquisitors would be almost guaranteed some allomantic ability, and possibly feruchemical ability as well. That is assuming, of course, that Inquisitors breed true, after all, we only know of one hemalurgic creation that breeds true, the Kandra, and even they don't breed completely true. Given this I believe that the number of spikes effects the ability to reproduce, the more spikes a creature posses the less likely it is to breed true but we will need to meet more hemalurgic creations to confirm this as right now we only have three: 1) Kandra with two spikes who breed somewhat true, Mistwraiths as opposed to Kandra, 2) Koloss with four spikes and don't breed true and, 3) Inquisitors with eleven plus spikes and probably don't breed true.

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fixed a small spelling mistake

[Patriotic Kaz]

I'm convinced it is in all aspects a hack (if you remember it has diminished powers from the original host, which supports the hypothesis) and in being a hack not heritable.

[Morderkaine]

I do agree that hemalurgic endowment is a kind of human "hacking" but what the "hack" does is in-bed the Preservation from one person's soul into another's and so it could then be passed on to the spiked person's descendent's. As for the for the diminished power, I believe that is a result of the interaction between Ruin and Preservation's powers as in order to transfer that bit of Preservation from one person to another it must first be contained by Ruin's power.

Also, regarding my previous post, I was right about inquisitors not breeding true. In his most recent annotation, chapter 40, Brandon said:

The Inquisitors were always so determined to catch the skaa [mistings]. So passionate. With good reason, for that was the only means by which their race—and Inquisitors are a separate race, just like the koloss and the kandra—could perpetuate itself.

[happyman]

I do agree that hemalurgic endowment is a kind of human "hacking" but what the "hack" does is in-bed the Preservation from one person's soul into another's and so it could then be passed on to the spiked person's descendent's. As for the for the diminished power, I believe that is a result of the interaction between Ruin and Preservation's powers as in order to transfer that bit of Preservation from one person to another it must first be contained by Ruin's power.

Also, regarding my previous post, I was right about inquisitors not breeding true. In his most recent annotation, chapter 40, Brandon said:

The Inquisitors were always so determined to catch the skaa [mistings]. So passionate. With good reason, for that was the only means by which their race—and Inquisitors are a separate race, just like the koloss and the kandra—could perpetuate itself.

It seems highly likely to me that Inquisitors lose the desire to reproduce in the normal way, and perhaps the ability.  Given Spook's behavior, though, I think we can say that one or two spikes don't have the same effect, and so the issue of what happens with a spiked person remains.

[Eerongal]

I do agree that hemalurgic endowment is a kind of human "hacking" but what the "hack" does is in-bed the Preservation from one person's soul into another's and so it could then be passed on to the spiked person's descendent's. As for the for the diminished power, I believe that is a result of the interaction between Ruin and Preservation's powers as in order to transfer that bit of Preservation from one person to another it must first be contained by Ruin's power.

Also, regarding my previous post, I was right about inquisitors not breeding true. In his most recent annotation, chapter 40, Brandon said:

The Inquisitors were always so determined to catch the skaa [mistings]. So passionate. With good reason, for that was the only means by which their race—and Inquisitors are a separate race, just like the koloss and the kandra—could perpetuate itself.

It seems highly likely to me that Inquisitors lose the desire to reproduce in the normal way, and perhaps the ability.  Given Spook's behavior, though, I think we can say that one or two spikes don't have the same effect, and so the issue of what happens with a spiked person remains.

though, to me, this raises another question. When, exactly, do you cross the line between "human" and "inquisitor"? Do you have to have X number of spikes? Do you have to have large spikes, and not small spikes? Is it only when ruin gains so much control over you? Were Vin/spook technically "inquisitors" despite having tiny/few spikes?

I can understand Koloss/Kandra being seperate races, as their physiology is so radically twisted, but inquisitors by far SEEM the most human, (in regards to inner, and outer i suppose, workings of their bodies) aside from giant metal spikes not killing them.

Though, if you want to get technical the Kandra *SEEM* the most human when humans see them.

[happyman]

This is pure speculation, mind you, but it would, in my mind, be most logical to officially become an inquisitor when the removal of all the spikes would kill you.

Also, Inquisitors may look human, but that little bit about spikes not killing them is actually more extreme in some ways than the koloss.  The brain was reshaped.  How is that not going to change their behavior?

[Czanos]

If you want to be nitpicky about it, I'd say becoming an "Inquisitor" requires the full set of spikes in the right places, A Hemalurgist only requires one spike, and the definitive switch from one species to another is when removing the spike will kill you. The last one is basically just intuition, but it seems logical, at least to me.

[Eerongal]

The only problem i have with the "when the spike is removed, you die" point of being the definitive time when you officially switch is what if you have a single, small spike in a very definitive spot that removing it would kill you? Like if it were, say, in your heart, and it was tiny, but removing it (somehow, without cutting you open or something, kinda hard to do).

Actually, a better example might be a small, slightly thick spike right in the jugular, and removal will cause you to bleed to death, but when it's there, it's blocking the blood loss. It's possible, though likely rare to happen, i would assume.

Would this officially be considered not human?

[Chaos]

I think the distinction is intentionally vague. One could argue that Spook in Hero of Ages is inhuman in multiple ways: the first being a savant, and the time when he had an imbued Hemalurgic spike in him which altered him slightly.

(I still vote that we call something Feruchemically charged and Hemalurgically imbued, for the sake of distinctiveness)

[Eerongal]

(I still vote that we call something Feruchemically charged and Hemalurgically imbued, for the sake of distinctiveness)

I see no problem with that. Heck, if it becomes common enough, i dont see why we couldnt just say just charged/imbued metals to shorten it, as long as people know what we mean.

[happyman]

The only problem i have with the "when the spike is removed, you die" point of being the definitive time when you officially switch is what if you have a single, small spike in a very definitive spot that removing it would kill you? Like if it were, say, in your heart, and it was tiny, but removing it (somehow, without cutting you open or something, kinda hard to do).

Actually, a better example might be a small, slightly thick spike right in the jugular, and removal will cause you to bleed to death, but when it's there, it's blocking the blood loss. It's possible, though likely rare to happen, i would assume.

Would this officially be considered not human?

Perhaps we could state it more clearly as being when the loss of the spike would kill you, not any damage incident to the loss of the spike.  Getting metal pounded through your body is liable to kill anybody.  Just like, you know, the real world.  If you would die, despite the lack of further proximate cause, then you've hit a clear cutoff.

This is  a useful definition, in my opinion, because there is no going back.  You will never not be a hemalurgist again.  I think this is significant.

[zas678]

So does that mean that Penrod would be considered a Inquisitor, since his spike went through his heart?

I think the point that they become Inquisitors is when Ruin (or a duralumined  Allomancer) can take control of your body. 

[Chaos]

So does that mean that Penrod would be considered a Inquisitor, since his spike went through his heart?

I think the point that they become Inquisitors is when Ruin (or a duralumined  Allomancer) can take control of your body. 

No, what happyman means, I believe, is that Penrod isn't an Inquisitor, since losing the spike just makes you bleed to death (bleeding to death is damage incident to losing the spike), rather than the actual loss of the spike kills you.

The point about taking control of your body is an interesting one. Certainly that's a good distinction, because it marks when you have enough spikes that there are "holes" in your mind Ruin/Allomancy can take over. The question is, what is this point?

[Czanos]

I think it depends on where the spike is. Brandon explained once that a person has sort of a spiritual bloodstream, and that Hemalurgy could splice new spiritual patterns into this. I would guess that critical spikes are ones that completely sever or segment the original spiritual pattern. So the bind point in your ear doesn't kill by removal because it is relatively on the edge of your spiritual matrix, the one in the spine does because that must be a major focus for spiritual flow between head and torso, and eye spikes only do if you remove both, because one is redundant.

[darxbane]

There is another small point here; the Inquisitors have been physically altered by Hemalurgy.  They are pale, abnormally tall (they look stretched out, actually, and IIRC, it gets worse the more spikes you have), and their voices seem to change as well.  We need to learn how many spikes it takes to begin physically twisting the body.  A single spike just doesn't appear to be enough.