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"Real Life" Allomancy or How the second Trilogy might work


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So, what I like most about dear Mr. Sanderson's books and by extension this forum, is the rules to his magic systems, and by proxy all the fun things that can be applied to them. I like taking fantasy magic or settings and see how they would interact with my day to day life. Since that is sort of where Brandon is going with the mistborn series I thought I would post some of the thoughts I had and see what everyone else has come up with as well. This is for general fun, and also allows for some speculation for the next trilogy. Some include are:

 

How much does distance and mass affect pushes and pulls? To clarify I do not mean mass as your own, I mean how much does the stuff in the way between you and what you push or pull affect your push or pull? Same with distance. To the best of my recollection it has never been addressed. Wax has pushed and pulled through walls with no problem, but those have been wooden walls and one could argue given the time period, rather thin. What if a coinshot wants to fly down a street by pushing on underground sewer lines? Would how deep, or how much concrete in the way matter? If a lurcher uses light posts to pull, since the ENTIRE light post is made of metal, can the lurcher choose what portion of the light to pull on? Or does he or she have to pull on the ENTIRE post? if it is the former, does the light post have hundreds of allomantic lines streaming towards it when burning steel or iron, or does it have one giant thick blue allomantic line?

 

Would pewter feruchemists, or pewter thugs potentially prevent the advent of machinery used for construction or the assembly line? Which is more cost efficient, building a machine (when it was first developed) to build a car, or pay a pewter thug an hourly wage to work long hours burning pewter. You could either replace machine parts, or switch off pewter thugs. Would this stunt the machine industry or would progress still advance the way it did in the real world? Though machines do need to be repaired, if programmed well, they don't make "mistakes" like a pewter thug might despite burning pewter. 

 

This also leads to another question I have had in my mind in instances like x-men, heroes, and also Sanderson's world. If you ran a courier business, and you had a choice between a person (whether normal or with a non applicable ability), a coinshot, or a steel ferring which would you chose to hire? Would abilities tend to pigeon hole individuals into certain careers? Physical disciplines for physical occupations (construction, fire fighters, police), mental disciplines for "mental" careers (zinc feruchemists for engineers or mathematicians for instance).Could every office or maybe even every occupation have their resident "company morale engineer" in the form of a soother or rioter to help make a "happy" work space?

 

Would allomancers have to register their abilities? And in some cases register as a "human weapon"? This has come up in other works of fiction (x-men for one), what about in this one? Would a pewter thug fighting and killing someone while burning pewter count as the same as using a gun in the legal system? Breeze always joked that using his ability was no different than a very charismatic or charming individual. Would soothers and rioters have to walk around with some clear identifier so people would know that they could be manipulated? Would that lead them to be ostracized in modern society? Would it be criminal for them to use their abilities in bars or social situations (like drugging someone's drink), or would it be accepted as par for the course as Breeze presents it should be? Just another skill that a person can use.

 

What types of technologies might be developed or used as result of allomancers? FTL travel has been thrown around a lot, but what about some more mundane concepts? One off the top of my head, though is a stretch could be wheel-less trains like the suspended high speed rails. Potentially if you strap in a whole bunch of lurchers (suspended track) or coinshots (ground track) and have them all push in tandem and timed, you could POSSIBLY have a train car that travels quickly and maybe even inexpensively. It would still rely on human error, but any ideas of other technologies that could sprout up?

 

I realize this turned into a rather long post but these are just some general thoughts I had. Hopefully I am not alone in this lol. 

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Well, I still think industry would tend towards machines. Machines don't get injured as easily, and they don't sue you when they do. In addition, the relative rarity of thugs would be prohibitive - and using Allomancy 9-5 every day could have culminative effects on you - consider pewter dragging. This applies for Lurchers and Coinshots as well - there are just so many things you could do with those powers that are enjoyable that it would take a huge amount of money to tempt them to act as human electromagnets for monorails. I can see something like that happening in a authoritarian imperial reign of fear, but I doubt that's going to happen again on Scadrial.

For pigeonholing - absolutely. However, I can see specialist "Allomancer Corps" operations springing up - companies that use Allomancers and Feruchemists for contract work - or special departments in public service. Of course, the application of the magic is wide enough that you could probably find academic work even as a thug - I'm imagining pewter-dragging to work on a thesis. You know, piles of white powder everywhere, scribbling furiously.

Emotional Allomancy - that could be a problem. It would be something to conceal from birth, for certain.

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For pigeonholing - absolutely. However, I can see specialist "Allomancer Corps" operations springing up - companies that use Allomancers and Feruchemists for contract work - or special departments in public service. Of course, the application of the magic is wide enough that you could probably find academic work even as a thug - I'm imagining pewter-dragging to work on a thesis. You know, piles of white powder everywhere, scribbling furiously.

Emotional Allomancy - that could be a problem. It would be something to conceal from birth, for certain.

Hmmmm, in that case, would the allomancer corps coming in be called scabs or strike breakers? Like anytime the employees start to organize a union or go on strike, just contract some allomancer corps to do the work till the strikers give in. Sweat shops could potentially remain a PRIMARY form of business for a very long time. 

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I'm leaning towards allomantic machines for a lot of stuff, such as trains, the mail, etc.

Pigeon Holing I totally see it happening. I would love to see what a Tin eye would get holed into though.

Emotional Allomancy... I'm not sure. I see a smokers being politicians and police officers a lot, just from that one mention in Alloy of Law about the guy who ran for judge or whatever just on that one thing.

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Human electromagnets isn't happening, but the Southern Scadrian Allomantic Machines (SSAM for short) might be more feasible.

For other interesting possibilities, I bet Spinners would be legally prohibited from the lottery/casinos/games of chance, and that all casinos would search people for metalminds.

I'm also sure there'd be some kind of registry with any decently developed bureaucratic government. It's too important information for it to not be catalogued. There's probably even standardised tests for allomancy, with a doctor on hand to help against metal poisoning.

Edit:

Hmmmm, in that case, would the allomancer corps coming in be called scabs or strike breakers? Like anytime the employees start to organize a union or go on strike, just contract some allomancer corps to do the work till the strikers give in. Sweat shops could potentially remain a PRIMARY form of business for a very long time.

I doubt it. Specialists like that are too expensive to use as strike breakers. You would only call them in for things they alone can do– feats of strength, telekinesis, etc. Much less expensive to simply concede to the union's demands. Edited by PorridgeBrick
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I could picture a lot of signs. "Metallic Arts strictly prohibited" "Emotional Allomancy unlawful in this court room" "Coinshot/Lurcher X-ing" "For Thug/Brute use only"

And more:

"Warning: Seekers on premises at all times" "Please deposit all metal minds before entering" "steel running lane" "Aluminum hats sale today!"

Edited by Cstryon
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The President solemnly dons an aluminum foil hat before every speech, polished to a gleam, to prove that he speaks for himself.

If only I could upvote this twice.

Anyways, I wonder if Feruchemical brass machines could replace ovens somehow. Leave it in the sun all day to store heat, then have it tap in the evening to cook food/heat houses. 100% efficient solar power. Scadrial could go Green.

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I don't think Ferochemy would ever get that common place. I think that it would be more likely that they would use Ferochemy to fuel the electricity plants, which would lead to being Green. Same destination, different journey. B)

 

Oh and I upvoted them again so they got the credit they deserved.

Edited by CalebTheGeek
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They've discovered a way to turn Feruchical charge into electricity, so all Feruchemists are forbidden by law to tap their metalminds. They have to store as much as humanly possible, all the time, and as a result often die early.

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That's.... sad. It also means that there will be fewer feruchemists eventually.... I think you just ruined my day Swimmingly. Shame On You, I shall call the church of the stick down on your head!

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I'm leaning towards allomantic machines for a lot of stuff, such as trains, the mail, etc.

Pigeon Holing I totally see it happening. I would love to see what a Tin eye would get holed into though.

Emotional Allomancy... I'm not sure. I see a smokers being politicians and police officers a lot, just from that one mention in Alloy of Law about the guy who ran for judge or whatever just on that one thing.

Hmmmm Tin Eye, they could be surgeons possibly, or general practitioners. The increase of senses would allow better discernment of symptoms in my opinion. Also they could make excellent snipers. They would require incredibly effective noise canceling headphones though lol.  They could replace guard dogs for airport security by sniffing for bombs or in the police for drug busts. They could be gourmands or professional cooks with an extensive and powerful palate. They could excel in certain sports such as golf. Being able to judge a vast difference, feel the shift in the wind, and judge the texture of the green. Which does lead to another dilemma. How would sports leagues be handled? Would there be segregation? An Allomantic league vs a "norms" league?   

 

Scadrial doesn't have blimps, just large boats towed through the sky by scores of gently floating Iron ferrings. :P

LOL figures I tend to look at military applications because now I am picturing world war 2 era films, but instead of showing blimps dropping bombs, its iron ferrings. 

 

Also an idea I had, how about allomantic and/or feruchemal spas/gyms? Let's say you are a steel ferring, recline in luxury while storing speed as people wait on you. Same thing with strength, or mental speed. It would be the ferring version of an old folks home but it would be for storing. Or a rather grim way of viewing things, "drug" dens. Imagine instead of opium dens, you have tin eyes lounging around sniffing very faint strips of perfume, while ensconced in silks/furs. 

Edited by P4thf1nd3r
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How much does distance and mass affect pushes and pulls? To clarify I do not mean mass as your own, I mean how much does the stuff in the way between you and what you push or pull affect your push or pull? Same with distance. To the best of my recollection it has never been addressed. Wax has pushed and pulled through walls with no problem, but those have been wooden walls and one could argue given the time period, rather thin. What if a coinshot wants to fly down a street by pushing on underground sewer lines?

 

It has been addressed. When vin opened the secret chamber leading to the well of ascension, there were huge metal railings encased in stone. she woul have sensed them very easily without the stone in between. So, having solid material between you and the stuff you want to pull makes things more difficult. a thin wooden wall is negligible, a few meters of stone are enough to block anything short of a duraluminium pull. possibly different materials affect in different ways. no idea for liquids.

 

 

 If a lurcher uses light posts to pull, since the ENTIRE light post is made of metal, can the lurcher choose what portion of the light to pull on? Or does he or she have to pull on the ENTIRE post? if it is the former, does the light post have hundreds of allomantic lines streaming towards it when burning steel or iron, or does it have one giant thick blue allomantic line?

 

kelsier did something similar with iron bars, pulling on one end and pushing on the other to make them rotate. It probably takees lots of practice. so a lurcher should be able to do so. no idea if he sees one massive line or several. maybe depends on his skill to actually push in different places.

 

Would pewter feruchemists, or pewter thugs potentially prevent the advent of machinery used for construction or the assembly line?

 

I don't think so. there probably aren't enough pewter burners around. Also, the strength granted by pewter is not nearly enough to substitute an industrial line. other times the machine simply does some complex task that humans could not do efficiently. think about the macine for making textiles; a pewter burner would never be able to replicate that, and would only get some additional dexterity to help.

 

Would abilities tend to pigeon hole individuals into certain careers? Physical disciplines for physical occupations (construction, fire fighters, police), mental disciplines for "mental" careers (zinc feruchemists for engineers or mathematicians for instance).

 

Again, I think you're overstimating the amount of allomancers available. Still, "pigeon holing" would be a reality. No one forces a zinc feruchemist to become an academic, but he would have an advantage in pursuing that career. The police and army would certainly have uses for physical skills. It's not much different from the real world: tall people are more likely to become stars at basket. And we're not really sure how much of the intelligence required to work in the university comes from hard work and how much simply comes from having the right genes. Anyway, in the real world we can work to improve ourselves, while there is no way to gain allomantic powers (ok, hemalurgy or lerasium, but that's not the point), and that would be the main difference.

 

 

Could every office or maybe even every occupation have their resident "company morale engineer" in the form of a soother or rioter to help make a "happy" work space?

 

It would be expensive to hire a soother or rioter for that, but it could be worth its price. probably big companies with big working spaces would find it cost-effective. the police may also employ some soothers to sedate riots.

 

Would allomancers have to register their abilities? And in some cases register as a "human weapon"? Would it be criminal for soothers to use their abilities in bars or social situations?

That is one of those unpredictabilities that are in culture. I think it could go either way., and it probably goes either way in different societies. Some nations would require coinshots to register as human weapons, other would not. Some would consider criminal to use soothing on others against their will, others would consider it merely unpolite, to others it would be acceptable

Just as in the real world some nations require you to register and take extensive esamination and paperwork to buy a gun, and other nations let you buy a gun in any shop without questions asked. Or in some places it is the most natural thing in the world to have premarital sex, in others it is frowned upon, and in yet others it is a criminal offence.

 

 

What types of technologies might be developed or used as result of allomancers?

 

 

I'd say not many. a technology requiring a very special person to activate is not suited for mass production or large scale application. I'm sure there would be some niche uses, but I can' really figure them out right now.

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@king of nowhere, thank you for addressing those points on pushes and pulls. It was something I was wondering for awhile but didn't recall instances to support one way or the other  :)

 

Regarding the potential population of allomancers/feruchemists. I admit it was a broad assumption on my part that those abilities would pervade the society, but do we have any concrete information stating otherwise? Not asking to critique, just curious if there was a post or WoB that I missed. The more I learn the better  :D

 

Ah, I see what you mean. Like how in Warbreaker, one society embraced awakening to the point of making it a religion, while another society viewed it as evil. Although it seems unlikely as the setting on Scadrial (as of AoL) seems very accepting of misting/feruchemal as part and parcel of everyday life, that doesn't include the south as well as potential events that could occur to change such views. Maybe an allomantic Hitler/Stalin (take your pick of dictator) rising or the serial killer mistborn alluded to in the second trilogy?

 

That is an excellent point, but I wouldn't count the possibility out completely yet. How many technologies when thought of at the time were viewed as ludicrous, ended up being prime mainstays in our day to day life? Easiest example off the top of my head, texting. Why would a person go through the trouble of typing on a tiny phone a message instead of calling? Turns out there are tons of reasons and now it is prolific. True the unique nature of the person needed to activate would hinder such development, but depending on the benefit, and how the concept is sold, I could see the possibility still being very viable. 

 

Overall, great points to everyone, thank you all for contributing, and looking forward to hopefully even more ideas, suggestions, thoughts and discourse! 

Edited by P4thf1nd3r
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I imagine that the Allomantic device market would be rather niche; maybe Ranette-style home improvement projects for Coinshots and Lurchers who want to exploit their abilities to the fullest in everyday life, specialised coinshot ammo, flavoured metal shots, fashionable metalminds (or imitation metalminds), retreats for storing as much as you wish (health, speed, strength, senses), lens collections and hearing aids for windwhisperers that want to maintain normal senses while storing, magnetised powder you toss in the air to find Iron Feruchemists, Thug brand home gyms designed to require more strength than any normal man, metal stars for use by Coinshots to tag someone. Also, plastics, ceramics, and glasses as alternatives to metal in high-security situations - perhaps your bank vault has a ceramic lock mechanism so a talented Lurchers can't see the positions of the tumblers.

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I think the answers to a lot of these questions depend on if a tradition of liberty emerges on Scadrial like it did on Earth. If so, I don't see things like registration of powers lasting for very long.

 

Technology would still develop along similar lines to Earth. Allomancy is neither common enough nor powerful enough to seriously retard the factors that produce technological development. Technology from allomancy seems unlikely due to the rarity of allomancy.

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The Set might very well be breeding allomancers trying to make a mistborn. I'm picturing babies being rescued from the Set during the AoL events.... These babies of course would need to be adopted, and probably end up in orphanages. Depending on how long this breeding has been happening, or will happen, it's possible that allomancy will become much more common.

Also, considering the advantages of being born with metal arts abilities, I could picture arranged marriages (house names seem to still be important, and marriage seems to be used as gaining power for houses and not just love) being set up to have children with more chance of being misting, and ferrings. I think it's very possible that by modern times, metal arts will be much more common, and often preferred traits.

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HEMALURGY, how has this not been discussed yet, power can be obtained and horded to one person, we know that the serial killer in the next mistborn trilogy is a mistborn, what if he is going around killing ferrings with spikes to gain new abilities.

 

I know that it is tricky to find different hemalurgic points on the body but I can imagine them being found (I think there is a WoB saying we will eventually get a chart). so what are the consequences to spiking someone or spiking yourself, could it be some sort of sick tradition to pass your powers on through generations using spikes, this could lead to various out comes of society, another we have to think about is religion based around these things.

 

I think hemalurgy has the ability to make a very corrupt society, although I doubt it will be common knowledge it is hard to make that sort of thing disappear, i mean just think of what the koloss used to be, I wonder if they still exist in their hemalurgic state, or if they are al now bread into semi-humans, and that could be another point of conflict!

 

I'm gonna stop now I'm rambling.

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