Hoid's mercantil ecosystem

[dgenio8]

In SH Hoid mention to Kelsier that by destroying the other perpendicularity he destroyed a mercantile ecosystem. This means that someone was travelling to Scrandrial from elsewhere in the Cosmere to get something or to sell it. What could it be?

My theory is that they where coming to get nicrosil charged with by someone without identity with investiture. Investiture is the single most powerful resource in the Cosmere. While in Roshar is everywhere, it seem very unstable (stormligth leaves the body to fast) and in Nalthis you need to convince people to give it to you. With feruchemistry, you get a durable vehicle to get Investiture and store it. The other obvious option for me would be that someone was using hemalurgy to steel power to sell, but given the low number of allomancers and the small number of feruchemistys this seams unlikely.  As a side observation, when someone is storing Investiture in nicrosil, is it being remove from the shard access? I mean, could someone made Harmony week by forcing a lot of Soulbearer Ferrings to charge nicrosil?!

[Yata]

But your idea have some problems:

First of all, in the Final Empire Era nobody knows of Chromiium and Nicrosil
Second, if someone with the right knowledge (for hipotesis) and right power (you need a full Feruchemist or Hemalurgy...both magic little understood at that time) was willing to start up some "investiture market" for the Cosmere....What's the point in remain on Scadrial ? You may move the production quite everywhere in the Cosmere....the Chromium may be find in quite all the planets and "created" in some of them thanks to other magic systems (for example Soulcasting)

Edited November 9, 2016 by Yata

[shadowwisp]

Honestly, it is more than likely some specific spice or food native to Scadrial. 

 

Maybe metal due to the abundant supply.

Edited November 9, 2016 by shadowwisp

[Bromo_Sapien]

24 minutes ago, Yata said:

But your idea have some problems:

First of all, in the Final Empire Era nobody knows of Chromiium and Nicrosil
Second, if someone with the right knowledge (for hipotesis) and right power (you need a full Feruchemist or Hemalurgy...both magic little understood at that time) was willing to start up some "investiture market" for the Cosmere....What's the point in remain on Scadrial ? You may move the production quite everywhere in the Cosmere....the Chromium may be find in quite all the planets and "created" in some of them thanks to other magic systems (for example Soulcasting)

In the FE Era, nobody *on Scadrial* knows of Chromium and Nicrosil (and even that may not be completely true. All we know for sure is that no one in the Final Empire knew of it. Who knows if Ruin/Preservation or a Southern Scadrian knew of it?). Hoid/Khriss/Worldhopper Feruchemist from pre-Rashek Scadrial could have known about it beforehand. 

 

That being said, I doubt it. Seems like too many maybes. More likely, imo, is slave labor. You have a beaten down populace that is, unfortunately, genetically predisposed to servitude and manual labor. Others in the cosmere would most definitely take advantage of that. It also explains why destroying that perpendicularity ended the ecosystem when there are, conceivably, other ways to worldhop onto Scadrial: Destroying the Pits was the first blow that led to the rebellion and the end of the skaa being perfect slaves. Whereas before they were dejected and resigned to servitude, after the destruction of the Pits, they had some measure of hope built through this cult of Kelsier (which turned into the cult of the Survivor). 

[Tsidqiyah]

Isn't there a WOB about powers/beings actively pushing for the development of instant noodles? maybe there was something like that that only existed in Scadrial that was desired by others. Maybe Hemealugry was known elsewhere and world hoppers came in took Atium beads and left without ever being seen?

BTW Hoid would make bank running a Ice Cream store, if only Scadrial Era 1 had had ice-cream.

Who else want Scadrian Ice-Cream now? I'm buying

[Djarskublar]

This is actually kinda obvious. Atium. The thing that he destroyed the production of, and easy access to. The thing that even on world where it is produced it is easily the single most valuable thing. The only known pure solid chunk of a Shard's power that isn't sapient (because I'm not counting Lerasium due to rarity or Shardblades due to danger and ethical issues). If I was from Silverlight, I would buy some to study.

Even if we discount that, he destroyed the on world ecosystem of people buying the stuff to use.

[Landis963]

1 hour ago, Djarskublar said:

This is actually kinda obvious. Atium. The thing that he destroyed the production of, and easy access to. The thing that even on world where it is produced it is easily the single most valuable thing. The only known pure solid chunk of a Shard's power that isn't sapient (because I'm not counting Lerasium due to rarity or Shardblades due to danger and ethical issues). If I was from Silverlight, I would buy some to study.

Even if we discount that, he destroyed the on world ecosystem of people buying the stuff to use.

That and the concentration of Ruin's Investiture made the Pits a perpendicularity that Worldhoppers could use to access Scadrial's Physical Realm (where they could get things like "data on Allomancy" or "proper metallurgic resources" or, yes, atium).  When Kelsier sets out to destroy something, he doesn't mess around.  

[emailanimal]

My understanding is that a significant chunk of worldhoppers aren't actually playing any Cosmeric games and aren't trying to put into action someone's plan. They just... are... So I am with the group that thinks it was more benign commerce Hoid was referring to. 

 

As much as a specific magic "hack" may be a thing in Cosmere, I doubt that it forms a basis for a significant undercurrent in the stories.

[theuntaintedchild]

Another possible option is that what was being sold was people. Specifically Kandra. I do think Atium makes a lot of sense for the same reasons as posted above. 

 

[Farnsworth]

The real question is what was being sold to the people on Scadrial. What did they need? I doubt that there is a universal currency in all the Cosmere, so something was being traded.

[hula]

 

4 hours ago, Ookla the figberts said:

The real question is what was being sold to the people on Scadrial. What did they need? I doubt that there is a universal currency in all the Cosmere, so something was being traded.

if the above convo has any true merit about a workforce... what if someone came to you and said "hey, i know your life here sucks... come with me- i'll have you work half as hard, and you'll be able to eat twice as much. oh- you want jobs for your family members? sure thing! i'll even pay you!"

just the cosmere's version of illegal immigrants taking jobs for much less pay...

[Farnsworth]

But Skaa can't travel through the cognitive realm. How would they leave?

[Jondesu]

2 hours ago, Ookla the figberts said:

But Skaa can't travel through the cognitive realm. How would they leave?

Why not?  They'd need a perpendicularity or another means of accessing it, but presumably whoever was offering would have a way.  There's nothing about Skaa specifically that would prevent them.

Not that I think that's what it was.  I suspect if anything was being traded, it was either knowledge or metals.