Allomancy and Hemalurgy

[Schventagon]

OK, just thought this one up:

 

SPOILERS,of course.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Is it possible to steal someone's Allomantic ability before they "snap?"  Do you think that the Allomancy is part of a person's spiritweb enough that their ability could be stolen before it has become active?  Having run this through my head, I can't decide.  I'm leaning more towards no, because it hasn't manifest itself as an active part of their spiritweb, same as you couldn't use a Hemalurgic spike to steal someone's life force once they are dead, since, at that point, their spiritweb isn't tied to their body anymore.  But, on the other hand (sorry for sounding like Tevye), it is ultimately a part of their spiritweb, and therefore could possibly be stolen.  It all depends on if the ability has to be active to be stolen.  Tell me what y'all think.

 

Thanks,

 

Nathan "Schventagon" Swensen

Edited September 5, 2015 by Schventagon

[Yata]

I believe that you can't stole a pre-snapping Allomantic Power, just because there isn't power.

 

It's not "hidden", during the snapping the intense trauma crack a little your (allomantic-ready) spiritweb, this "crack" were filled with Preservation power and this extra Investiture developes Allomancy.

 

This is the reason of the Snapping, give to the people under the "Preservation-Investiture-requirement-for-Allomancy" a way to fill the gap. When the Lerasium spreads in Noble's blood, there was no need of Snapping because of the Huge amount of Preservation in the Nobles.

 

But it could be possible sometimes stole Allomancy from a pre-snapping Allomancer, just because the trauma and fear for his own life Snapped the poor man just before the spike hits the right bind-point.

 

But this it is unlikely because If I remember right, we have no prove about the time to develop an Allomantic power after the Snapping.

[killersquirrel59]

I'm with Yata on this, but for a slightly different reason. Hemalurgy is net-negative. The power you steal is always a little bit less than what was there, even before decay sets in. If there is no power manifested, there is nothing to decay and thus the power could never be net-negative.

[thekingofpillowland]

So funnily enough, if you tried this, you would still get a net-negative. The negative being that you kill yourself by plunging a spike into your body.

[Yata]

I'm with Yata on this, but for a slightly different reason. Hemalurgy is net-negative. The power you steal is always a little bit less than what was there, even before decay sets in. If there is no power manifested, there is nothing to decay and thus the power could never be net-negative.

If the attempt to Spike someone, make the guy Snap. Is still end-negative.

But this type of Hemalurgy could not be, because you can't put the right Intent to create a Spike without know how to place it and what are you stealing.

[Kipper]

Fyi, shvent, you can make a spoiler like this:

[spoiler*]

Spoiled Text

[/spoiler*]

Except without the asterisks. Example:

Spoiled Text

And I don't think that a spoiler is really necessary in this sub-forum, but I could be wrong...carry on!

[Moogle]

I do think it could be; your Misting type is determined from birth:

PrncRny
How and when is the type of Misting you become determined? Can you tell what type of Misting you are before you Snap?

Brandon Sanderson (Paraphrased)
It's determined at birth. The cosmere by combining 3 aspects of self. Your physical self, mental self, and spiritual self. The spiritual self is tied to the Investiture of the world that you come from. When an Allomancer snaps, a piece of their soul is broken and some of that power leaks into them, giving them their abilities.
(source)

 

Of course, the WoB is a little unclear since in notes power is added later. But if this power is added through a Spiritual crack, your location shouldn't matter. And, perhaps, spiking by itself would be enough to cause trauma and Snap you - perhaps the recipient of the spike has to Snap, though.

[Ari]

I would have thought that Snapping is somewhat like having swallowed your metal- it allows you access to powers granted by your sDNA, and snapping is part of how you gain access to borrow part of Preservation's power. Given Hemalurgy tears off part of the sDNA and "staples" it to the recipient of the spike, in theory I expect you could totally spike someone and steal their power before they've Snapped, as your spiritual DNA is already determined, but the issue is, you need to know what their power is to determine the correct type of spike, so unless you're willing to waste a very valuable metal as a wildcard spike, you probably shouldn't try to spike someone before they've Snapped. (and honestly, how would you know they can be spiked until they've snapped?)