speculation [Bands spoilers] Healing (and other) Cubes

[Kadrok]

Forgive me if this has already been suggested (I do so hate reading the same speculations again and again expressed with varying degrees of eloquence, so if someone has already said this, I sympathize people, I do!).

 

Okay, so we know that compounding works by essentially reprogramming a metal, making it a key for a different power than usual. Basically you're using Allomancy to fuel Feruchemy powers:

 

Compounding is where you are able to kind of draw in more power than you should with feruchemy. What’s going on there is you’re actually charging a piece of metal, and then you are burning that metal as a feruchemical charge. What is happening is that the feruchemical charge overwrites the allomantic charge, and so you actually fuel feruchemy with allomancy, is what you are doing. Then if you just get out another piece of metal and store it in, since you’re not drawing the power from yourself, you’re cheating the system, you’re short-circuiting the system a little bit. So you can actually use the power that usually fuels allomancy, to fuel feruchemy, which you can then store in a metalmind, and basically build up these huge reservoirs of it. So what’s going on there is… imagine there’s like, an imprint, a wavelength, so to speak. A beat for an allomantic thing, that when you burn a metal, it says “ok, this is what power we give.” When it’s got that charge, it changes that beat and says, “now we get this power.” And you access a set of feruchemical power. That’s why compounding is so powerful.

 

Source: http://www.theoryland.com/intvsresults.php?kwt=%27compounding%27

 

This is all known. My question is, what happens when a Compounder holds one of those fancy Cubes from the South and burns their metalminds?

 

Say Miles burns a fully charged metalmind while holding a cube and then flings the cube into an emergency ward (or Scadrian equivalent). Would the cube heal the patients? Send out waves of healing energy? Does the cube make Feruchemy external?

 

OR, does the healing cube simply repair itself (the dull option)?

 

Also, Compounded-Copper cubes as "holo"projectors? Compounded-Brass cubes as ovens or heaters? Feed people by compounding Bendalloy into a cube. So many applications!

[Kadrok]

Drat. I forgot about spoiler season. I can't edit my title. If we're still in spoiler season can a Mod change the title to something less spoilery. GAH! I'm sorry I forgot!

[Voidus]

Got ya covered.   

We've only seen the cubes work with external feruchemy so far so it's hard to say what it would do with something internal, which all of feruchemy would fall under.

That said we know that they have devices for mechanically using feruchemy, so far the only example is weight I think but still probably enough to speculate on.

The inhabitants of aircrafts still have to use their own metalminds to store weight so I don't think it would work on anything other than the cube. Still, feruchemic heaters would be cool.

And giving a cube enhanced mental speed would just be hillarious. Use it as an anti-soulcasting measure so when Jasnah tries to persuade it to become fire it logically argues with her until she becomes fire instead

[Pagerunner]

We've only seen the cubes work with external feruchemy so far so it's hard to say what it would do with something internal, which all of feruchemy would fall under.

 

We haven't seen any Feruchemy, have we? Just Allomancy - Steel, Cadmium, Bendalloy, Chromium are the four kinds of Allomancy I can remember having been copied by the Cube; no Internal metals, no Feruchemical applications. Wayne used F.Gold, and everyone was using F.Iron, when they were around cubes, and it didn't imprint on the cubes.

 

As to the original post, I would connect the "beat" of Allomancy or Feruchemy to the pulses sensed by someone burning Bronze. Where a Seeker would just sense the pulses of someone using Allomancy, the cubes might resonate with those pulses, directing how energy from ettmetal can be used. That being said, Feruchemy is very difficult to detect with Bronze (though technically possible), so the pulses from Feruchemy might not resonate as well with the cubes. Because compounding is still Feruchemy, just drawing power from elsewhere, I don't think the cubes would be able to copy it.

 

Or, to put it more plainly,

• Normal Use: Power A (Preservation) being used with Magic A (Allomancy), and Power F (stores in metalminds) being used with Magic F (Feruchemy.)
• Cube: Imprints when someone is using Magic A, but provides its own Power E (ettmetal).
• Compounding: using Power A to use Magic F. Since there's no Magic A involved, there's nothing for the cube to latch on to.

[Voidus]

 

We haven't seen any Feruchemy, have we? Just Allomancy - Steel, Cadmium, Bendalloy, Chromium are the four kinds of Allomancy I can remember having been copied by the Cube; no Internal metals, no Feruchemical applications. Wayne used F.Gold, and everyone was using F.Iron, when they were around cubes, and it didn't imprint on the cubes.

 

As to the original post, I would connect the "beat" of Allomancy or Feruchemy to the pulses sensed by someone burning Bronze. Where a Seeker would just sense the pulses of someone using Allomancy, the cubes might resonate with those pulses, directing how energy from ettmetal can be used. That being said, Feruchemy is very difficult to detect with Bronze (though technically possible), so the pulses from Feruchemy might not resonate as well with the cubes. Because compounding is still Feruchemy, just drawing power from elsewhere, I don't think the cubes would be able to copy it.

 

Or, to put it more plainly,

• Normal Use: Power A (Preservation) being used with Magic A (Allomancy), and Power F (stores in metalminds) being used with Magic F (Feruchemy.)
• Cube: Imprints when someone is using Magic A, but provides its own Power E (ettmetal).
• Compounding: using Power A to use Magic F. Since there's no Magic A involved, there's nothing for the cube to latch on to.

 

I'd argue that actually compounding is just allomancy with something altering what power you get, I'd be very surprised if compounding didn't have a bronze pulse.

And no we haven't seen feruchemy from the cube specifically but it is mechanically used to make the planes lighter.

[natc]

Technically I'd say compounding is just making allomancy produce a power that mimics a feruchemical one. So instead of a steel allomancer you are currently acting as a "steelmind allomancer", creating steelrunning with the power of Preservation instead of a Push. As the power is now producing a feruchemical trait, it can be stored feruchemically while it is flowing through you.

[Master_Moridin]

I'd argue that actually compounding is just allomancy with something altering what power you get, I'd be very surprised if compounding didn't have a bronze pulse.

And no we haven't seen feruchemy from the cube specifically but it is mechanically used to make the planes lighter.

 

The cube wasn't used for reducing the plane's mass though.  The dude from SoScad (I am so blanking on his name) had Wax charge it with Allomantic Steel to power the propellers.

[Voidus]

The cube wasn't used for reducing the plane's mass though.  The dude from SoScad (I am so blanking on his name) had Wax charge it with Allomantic Steel to power the propellers.

That's what I said (albeit poorly) The cube didn't make the plane lighter but something does.

[Pagerunner]

No, nothing made the plane lighter. The individuals stored their weight, so the plane only had to keep its own weight in the air. It was basically a glider - small amount of fuel, absurdly small engine in the cube/rotors, and no weight from passengers, meaning that it didn't take much lift to keep it in the air. (I'm at work, otherwise I'd quote the text - I promise I'll come back later with a direct quote!)

 

EDIT: Allik is the SoScad guy's name.

 

EDIT 2: FWIW, here's the quote:

 

It's those medallions, he realized. They allow everyone to do as I do - to make themselves light, nearly as light as air. That meant he was really only lifting the ship itself, along with their equipment.

Edited February 24, 2016 by Pagerunner

[Voidus]

No, nothing made the plane lighter. The individuals stored their weight, so the plane only had to keep its own weight in the air. It was basically a glider - small amount of fuel, absurdly small engine in the cube/rotors, and no weight from passengers, meaning that it didn't take much lift to keep it in the air. (I'm at work, otherwise I'd quote the text - I promise I'll come back later with a direct quote!)

 

EDIT: Allik is the SoScad guy's name.

The larger ship not the smaller one, I think it was mentioned towards the ends of Bands, lent my copy out so I don't have it to hand unfortunately.

[Pagerunner]

The larger ship not the smaller one, I think it was mentioned towards the ends of Bands, lent my copy out so I don't have it to hand unfortunately.

 

Huh, you're right. The Hunter's ship does use mechanical Feruchemy by using a cube. I had missed it, since the passage goes across a page-break between "changing" and "machinery," so I must have been too busy turning the page to pay attention to the last few words.

 

Suit took it and rolled up his sleeve to strap it to his upper arm. "Is this ship operational?"

 

The man's eyes lit up. "Yes, sir! The machinery is operational, sheltered as it was from the weather. Sir ... it's amazing. You can feel the energy pulsing off that metal. We did have to send men out to unclog the fans - a few of the Coinshots helped - and we have them moving now. Fed is down below, priming the weight-changing machinery with her Feruchemy, to lighten the ship. That should be the last step!"

 

It looks like cubes can capture Feruchemy, no hacking involved!

[CaptainRyan]

 

 

Fed is down below, priming the weight-changing machinery with her Feruchemy, to lighten the ship.

 

Not to be nitpicky but is it confirmed that this "weight-changing machinery" and the cubes are the same thing? Perhaps the cubes operate on one principle that interacts with Allomancy and the "weight-changing machinery" of the larger ship operates on a different principle that interacts with Feruchemy.