How does storing and tapping Feruchemical Connection work?

[Trusk'our he/him]

So, I'm a bit confused as to how this actually works, but I can think of multiple ways it could work;

1. When you store Connection, you store all of your Connections equally. When you tap the metalmind, you tap all of the stored Connections equally.

2. When you store Connection, you may choose to store specific Connections, leaving others untouched if you desire, similar to storing memories in a coppermind or senses in a tinmind. When you tap the metalmind, you may choose to tap only specific Connections, making only those stronger.

3. When you store Connection, you store the ability to create new Connections and to strengthen pre-existing ones. When you tap the metalmind, you can create new Connections much more quickly, and make them much stronger than you normally can.

So, which of these sounds most like what Feruchemical Duralumin actually does, or are none of them correct?

Edited December 27, 2021 by Trusk'our

[Honorless he/him]

I don't think we know the answer. Iirc, the only kind of F-Connection we've seen in the books was in BoM, Allik tapping Connection to the Elendel Basin via mechanical Feruchemy to speak the associated language:

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"Clever, but it won’t work on you.”
“Why?”
“Because we’re in your lands,” he said. “The visitor always has to wear the medallion. It’s filled with Connection, yah? Blank Connection, to no place. But Connection can’t just be connected to nothing, so when you tap it, it reaches out and connects you to the place where you are. Makes your soul think you were raised in this place instead, so your language changes.”

 

[Trusk'our he/him]

I figured out how Feruchemical duralumin works. Okay, so it looks like when you store Feruchemical duralumin, you store the natural ability to make Connections, rather than preexisting Connections. In the BoM, it hints to this,

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“He made a gesture, like a hand drawn across his face, that she thought indicated a smile. ‘Clever, but it won’t work on you.’ ‘Why?’ ‘Because we’re in your lands,’ he said. ‘The visitor always has to wear the medallion. It’s filled with Connection, yah? Blank Connection, to no place. But Connection can’t just be connected to nothing, so when you tap it, it reaches out and connects you to the place where you are. Makes your soul think you were raised in this place instead, so your language changes.” -BoM, page 338.

In addition, there is a WoB that states that Feruchemical duralumin can’t be used to help you get off world, which makes sense, or else Kelsier wouldn’t be having such trouble with this issue.

Quote

Questioner

I'm not sure if it was duralumin or something but the Feruchemical ability to store Connection, is that how Hoid worldhops? It stores Connection to another world?

Brandon Sanderson

It's a good question, it doesn't have anything to do with worldhopping but what it does do is once you have worldhopped you can change your Connection to which planet you are on, which helps you with magic systems.

This is honestly a little bit disappointing to me, as I had come up with lots of ways that manipulating Connections you already had might work. However, a Bondsmith like Dalinar probably could achieve these effects though, so maybe I’ve just been looking into the wrong powers.

(Also, sorry Honorless if this seems like I just copied my response off of yours; I spent too much of an embarrassingly long time coming up with it on my own to cut it out I felt. But I guess it just goes to show how great minds do think alike after all )

[Friendshipspren he/him]

There's also allomancer jak and the pits of eltania . Handerwyrm uses F-connection there . Might give you some clues

[+Oltux72 he/him]

On 29.12.2021 at 4:12 AM, Friendshipspren said:

There's also allomancer jak and the pits of eltania . Handerwyrm uses F-connection there . Might give you some clues

I doubt he had had a connection to that specific tribe of Koloss. The story also points to #3.

It does show you that natural feruchemists are better than the people wearing medaillions though.