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Cyborg hemalurgy and cyberpunk mistborn


Ixthos

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The sky is slate grey, the sun blotted out behind the pollution pumped into the atmosphere, tainted by the work of the government, tainted during the the first experiments with a new, dark science. A science whose products now dominate the society. Tall builds, brutal yet beautiful, fill the sprawling metropolis, flaunting the wealth of those who live in them, overlooking the slums of the lower classes, while a single, massive structure rises from the centre of the city, the seat of government and arbiter over a cowed populous. The river is used as a dumping ground with the waste that fills the streets, and a thick haze fills the city during night.

The land is ruled by a corrupt, decedent upper class, a single group combining the roles of aristocracy and business men, who make use of the more commonly available products of the science that they say saved the world, while others say broke it. The lower class are little more than pests to them, those who live in the slums, while they live in their high towers, throwing opulent balls, confident in the protection afforded to them by their riches, riches afforded them by the favouritism given them by the leadership. In the day, in public, they laugh and dine with one another, putting forth a civil face. At night, in secret, they sent their agents to spy and to assassinate, to misdirect and to hunt.

On the streets, the people live in fear of the government and its enforcers. Those enforcers are secretive, shadowy agents, whose sole goal is to hunt down, capture, and perform brutal experimentation on captured dissidents, especially those who attempt to make use of the government controlled products of the new science. Their eyes are obscured by shining augmentations - the lest well known of the products of this new science - that enhance their sense of sight. Indeed, their bodies are filled with those strange augmentations, making them faster, stronger, and able to sense almost supernaturally the activities of underground groups (perhaps, say the rumours on the streets, they do so using a vast virtual world which the rebels unknowingly access). They are able to heal more quickly than can be explained, control the emotions of those around them, and have access to the highest levels of government, where even the rich business owners and members of high society fear being called in for questioning.

Yet if the agents are a scalpel, careful yet violent, then others serve as a hammer. Taken from the enemies of the authorities, some dissidents are subjected to a horrific transformation. Just as the augmentations grant the agents their vast, little understood powers, so to can they be used to twist the bodies and control the minds of the enemies, strengthening their bodies and weakeing their minds, violently breaking them them into monsters under the control of anyone who can hack the augmentations, as indeed anyone with these augmentation can be hacked.

Less well known, but no less disturbing, are the genetically engineered infiltrators, derived from human roots, that also serve the aristocracy. Gelatinous shapeshifters, these are augmented by the same technology the agents and monsters, only this time it is their minds that are enhanced by the surgically grafted devices, granting them a greater awareness of the vast virtual world that lattices the metropolis, working in secret for whomever hires them, working to uncover the secrets of their employers enemies by interrogating and consuming the bodies of others.

And, unknown to all but the highest levels of government, a secret, highly intelligent ... thing ... lives in the virtual world, and from its information the augmentations were derived. It longs to break free of the prison that contains it, a limit on its power and ability to access the world, a firewall that locks it in place. Still, it can slip a few instructions by, and its vast intelligence is already devising a method of escape ...

 

Did I just describe Mistborn, or a cyberpunk novel?

 

Mistborn era 1 is basically cyberpunk if it weren't set in a fantasy setting without access to any computers. Of course, it would be rather sad if, once they have computers, they tainted the sky again with industry, made slums and a lower class again, and forced the protagonists to work in secret, infiltrating towers to assassinate enemies ...

Moving on, while Brandon has mentioned that he might do a cyberpunk mistborn, he did say he might not. This would likely take place if written between eras 3 and 4, or be part of era 3. Brandon has also said that later novels will explore the more complex properties of the metallic arts (though possibly talking only about allomancy, but probably talking about all the arts), especially relating to how they tie to metals, and what real world metallurgy has shown can be done with them.

This topic is mainly focused on hemalurgy and its link to cyborgs. Some of this will relate to an earlier, Cosmere spoiler heavy topic I posted, which covered a theory on computers in the Cosmere. Be aware, as the preceding sentence said, it has Cosmere spoilers. I will summarise the most important parts in this post, but reading this could help elaborate on some of the ideas expressed, including the idea that (Cosmere spoilers:)

Spoiler

The third era on Scadrial will involve corpoerations stealing magic and metal from other shard worlds, incorporating their alloys into the development of new technologies, both with metals and with the other magics directly, and possibly with a combination of the two, using the metal to manipulate the magic to better match allomancy, feruchemy, and hemalurgy. Also, using hemalurgy to steal from other systems.

 

Also, while we are on the topic, I except that both Sel and Roshar will be doing basic space exploration in era 3, possibly with some of their ships stopping by the try and get back their stolen people (if hemalurgy is involved) and magic, or just to get revenge.

This also covers some feruchemy-hemalurgy and allomancy-hemalurgy possibilities. So, lets talk about hemalurgy and cyborgs.

 

Cyborgs. If anything in the Cosmere is cyberpunk, if anything covers cyborgs, its ... well its (unpublished works spoiler:)

Spoiler

Aethers. Seriously, all of them are basically cybernetic implants, and I will be surprised if we don't see space ships with human cores, and we don't see exotic creatures (like Kandra, sleepless, chasmfiends, etc.) grafted on to people using Aethers ... but I already covered that in another topic ... and also assuming Brandon hasn't changed them

but if its TWO things, then the second is hemalurgy. It matches a classic approach to cyborgs, being people with shiny bits of metal sticking out of them, and the classic cyberpunk vision of agents with their eyes covered by some shiny obscuring lenses, their bodies filled with illegal implants granting them powers at the risk of being hacked, etc. basically matches the Inquisitors. If hemalurgy is anything then its ... well, (Cosmere spoilers) undead, but I covered that before. But if hemalurgy is TWO things, then its cybernetics.

This post assumes a few things, but most theories do, and I'm speculating on possibly things that can be done with hemalurgy. First those, lets look at some classic cyborg ideas.

  • Enhanced physical abilities, including speed, strength, and senses - can be general, or applied to a specific limb (for added realism, remembering that a stronger limb still has to be supported by the rest of the frame, so a strong arm won't let you lift a truck if their back isn't enhanced, or your limbs. For senses, a single eye wouldn't give depth perception, etc.)
  • Nanobots or nanites to accelerate healing
  • Integrated weapons and protection, including energy weapons and force fields, as well as close combat
  • Wireless access to the internet
  • Physical interfacing with technology
  • Enhanced mental processing, memory, etc., and possibly an integrated A.I.

And while I talked about classic cyborgs having metal sticking out of them, that isn't always the case in fiction, as the metal can be fully internalised, or replaced with some other material, but one with a mechanical or electrical capability integrated into the body of the user.

Hemalurgy, as presented, already covers some of this, both with allomancy and feruchemy, and human traits. But some can be refined, and I think some alloys and some other magic systems (and for shard metal alloys, this is a combination) the rest can be explored, especially exploring the ideas of bind points and, more importantly, metallurgy. Lets start from the top, and cover both classic hemalurgy, as well as hypothetical applications.

 

Enhanced physical abilities, including speed, strength, and senses

The most straightforwards of all abilities ... or is it? ... Yes, it is, but with a twist. The standard metals, stealing physical allomancy (sans iron-pulling and steal-pushing, those are covered below), physical feruchemy, and human strength and senses, cover the basics of this, but there are three possible twists. The first refers to using hemalurgy to steal from the above spoilered "other" magic system that is even more like cybernetics, and using it to graft on something from another form of life to enhance the body physically. The second, stealing the strength or senses from other forms of life or people with investiture, and directly adding their unique physical and sensory traits. The third, and this is the most potentially interesting as it can borrow from the other two, is to take a spike for allomantic or human strength or senses, and splintering that spike, making microcharged needles, and inserting them into specific places. While places which grant the ability to the entire body are known it is also possible that places exist which grant a property only to a specific limb, so one can use a spike to grant even more strength to a person than normally would be granted, but only to that specific limb.

 

Nanobots or nanites to accelerate healing

The least amount changed, gold feruchemy could cover standard healing, though a system in place to let it slowly build up health over time without direct control from the user, a spike that acts as a tap into their health normally, slowly draining their health into the metalmind which can then be drawn at any time. And combined with one of the lower entries, physical interfacing, it could be that there are places someone with spikes could "top up" on unkeyed feruchemy for healing, recharging health into a metalmind directly or possibly wirelessly. Of course, gold-based nanites could also be used, each with an atom or small amount of gold in their core to apply healing to specific areas, preventing waste on a minor ailment while healing a major one. This might just involve feruchemy though.

 

Integrated weapons and protection, including energy weapons and force fields, as well as close combat

Any offensive magic in the Cosmere, including iron and steal allomancy. At also could involve a mechanical store on the persons own body of projectiles stored in a container, a type of gun integrated into a spike, allowing the hemalurgist to use steel to push on the stored ammo. Or it could involve using a shard metal alloy that changes iron or steel lines into offensive beams rather than connections. It also could include typing mechanical allomancy, medallions or primer cubes, into an interface on the hemalurgists body, allowi- ... well, we will cover that below.

 

Wireless access to the internet (and wireless traits)

The cognitive realm is basically a virtual world, and probably will either be or contain Scadrials computer network, and either involve laying down wires in the cognitive realm or listening and using soothing or rioting signals to allow communication. This could be used for hemalurgy, with an integrated A.I, handling the signal, but it also could involve the spiritual realm. Hemalurgy specifically ties to the spirit of its target, and as the spiritual realm connects to all points equally, it could possibly be used to wirelessly link two people, or someone with a spike to a computer elsewhere. It also might be used to wirelessly transmit a property, recharing or sharing the charge between two feruchemical storages by using spikes that have been connected (side note: my own theory on Kandra spikes is that they are made from melting two seperate spikes together and then separating them out again, combining them). Someone could "buy" access to a cloud storage of health or strength, etc., and tap into it at any time, using the spike to make the link, computers handling the tranission of the property along the network.

Oh, and it also would mean access to virtual reality and augmented vision if a spike were inserted into the right place in the brain to let a computer send signals.

 

Physical interfacing with technology

I have an idea of someone with a spike sitting down with a little EEG pad attached to it, letting it connect to a computer. I don't know, but that seems like something that could be done. It also could be used as a mounting point for a cybernetic limb or tool, connecting to the spike which is part of the person.

Also, everything said about wireless also applies here, with specific spikes in certain places allowing recharging, interfacing, and so on.

 

Enhanced mental processing, memory, etc., and possibly an integrated A.I.

As mentioned in the 128 duel splinter link, I think hemalurgy might be used to make A.I.s, ripping out the part that corresponds to thinking and then, in the cognitive realm, coaxing it into continuing to thinking of itself as something that processes information, so using a spike as part of a computer. I think a similar thing could be done to grant enhanced mental abilities, in addition to the mental spikes that are already known. However, another possibility is for an existing A.I., however produced, to be transferred into a spike, and then that combined with someone.

 

One last side note to this, is the idea of being able to use feruchemy to place something stored in a spike into a feruchemical store which would prevent loss of that trait, and using allomancy to restore it, possibly lessening the issues with using hemalurgy to kill and grant powers. It might also be possible to use this to make a spike which didn't kill anyone, or has an existing cognitive shadow stored in it, or an A.I. as mentioned.

Most importantly, if an A.I. is involved any of these can also theoretically also be done using nothing more than using hemalurgy to graft a real technological item to someone, something which might be possible, or might require some changes. But in theory hemalurgy can be used to combine two items together, allowing for something which wasn't part of something alive to become part of something alive, as covered above.

 

Something I hope is to discuss with you guys the other possibly things that can be done with the metals, but until then, I hope you have all enjoyed reading this, and I look forwards to any suggestions you have, and what you think about it. Take care :-)

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@Gasper Fair point, though my reasoning on that is from a few ideas. Brandon has said it is theoretically possible to store strength from one limb and tap it in another, so rather than becoming weak throughout every muscle or strong throughout them, it can be channelled. If that works for one trait, why not another? Weaken one eye and strengthen the sight in the other, or warm in part and cool in part, etc. So, I applied that to healing. From another viewpoint, if hemalurgy can be applied more specifically, applying a trait to one area rather than another or the whole body - again, an assumption - then it might be possible with nanites doing the same, possibly even acting as little spikes which target the area.

 

[Edit] To clarify the last sentence, what I mean is there are bindpoints to give allomancy to the whole body, or human traits, or feruchemical traits. But what if there are bindpoints that give a trait only to a specific zone. A bindpoint for the leg, rather than for the whole

Edited by Ixthos
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Well we know from the Hemalugic Table that the God Metals have some funky properties. Lerasium spikes steal everything, so find someone who naturally has the power set you want and take from them everything. Atium spikes steal more effectively so someone with the knowledge could probably spike any one specific trait out of someone, not just powers but attributes, and at near the same strength as the donor.  A crappy example, someone has extraordinary eyesight. That's an attribute an expert hemalurgist can snatch and give to someone else. 

Many of the things @Ixthos speculates could be done likely require God Metal usage. There are currently 4 shards plugged in to Scadrial, Preservation, Ruin, Harmony and Autonomy (Trell). 2 of those we don't yet know the Hemalugic properties of. Any other Gods would have to plug in to Scadrial before their Hemalugic properties are discovered (Allomantic and Ferochemical properties too for that matter).

Personally I think the possibilities are near endless. But more investment is needed to unlock the extraordinary potential of Hemalurgy.  But much can be done even with the Godmetals we already have. The problem becomes supply. Whatever gets done now would need Harmony's participation. He would have to actively produce both Atium and Lerasium in at least some limited capacity in order to have the support metals.

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@Bigmikey357 Exactly! I think it will be a combination of shard metals, the unique possible charges spikes can have from other types of life, and metallurgy allowing for single-atom spikes, and one type of metal welded to smaller slivers of other metals.

 

I think part of future stories will involve them finding sources of the metals, possibly able to precipitate them out of the spiritual realm directly once they identity the correct shard, or visiting shardpools to extract them.

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10 hours ago, Ixthos said:

@Bigmikey357 Exactly! I think it will be a combination of shard metals, the unique possible charges spikes can have from other types of life, and metallurgy allowing for single-atom spikes, and one type of metal welded to smaller slivers of other metals.

 

I think part of future stories will involve them finding sources of the metals, possibly able to precipitate them out of the spiritual realm directly once they identity the correct shard, or visiting shardpools to extract them.

Check out the link, Phase States. I wrote a post about a month ago that speculates on ways Investiture could be changed from solid to liquid or really any phase changes. Temperature isn't a factor, I don't think. I thought harnessing the friction between Realms would be what I'd postulate. Future Scadrian scientists are going to have a fun time regardless.

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Indeed! In a sense the metals are an exotic form of matter, and finding out the exact differences and properties they have with regards to regular metals and each other ... that has lots of possibilities - for example, what would happen to a Lerasium alloy that was melted using some form of investiture? Would it do something different to Preservation's pool?

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