Would an Allomancer be Able to Burn Metals While Inside an Aluminum Box?

[Trusk'our he/him]

Would the aluminum block them from drawing in investiture from Preservation?

Also, would storing Feruchemical attributes work just fine, since you’re technically just diverting your own stream on innate investiture, or would you only be able to store a limited amount depending on how large the box was?

[Treamayne]

Being physically located inside an aluminum box (or aluminum lined room) should have no effect on the ability to burn metals/store attributes or tap attributes (this may not apply to AonDor on Sel). Afterall:

1. The metal is only a "key" and the power of preservation comes from the SR, where all places and times are the same (being in a box on the PR has no bearing on accessign investiture from the SR). However, it would affect the ability to use metals on things/people outside the box (because now the physical manifestation of that investiture on the PR is being blocked by Aluminum on the PR). WoB
2. If an aluminum box/room blocked all access to investiture (or limited it by the size of the box/room); then Azure would not have been able to have so much food made with the soulcaster in Kholinar.

[NameIess]

1 hour ago, Treamayne said:

Being physically located inside an aluminum box (or aluminum lined room) should have no effect on the ability to burn metals/store attributes or tap attributes (this may not apply to AonDor on Sel). Afterall:

1. The metal is only a "key" and the power of preservation comes from the SR, where all places and times are the same (being in a box on the PR has no bearing on accessign investiture from the SR). However, it would affect the ability to use metals on things/people outside the box (because now the physical manifestation of that investiture on the PR is being blocked by Aluminum on the PR). WoB
2. If an aluminum box/room blocked all access to investiture (or limited it by the size of the box/room); then Azure would not have been able to have so much food made with the soulcaster in Kholinar.

While I do agree that being in an aluminum box would not prevent an allomancer from burning metals, soulcasters have an internal power source in the stormlight spheres, so that's not a concrete example.

[Treamayne]

4 minutes ago, Nameless said:

soulcasters have an internal power source in the stormlight spheres, so that's not a concrete example.

Well, that depends on if the Stormlight in the soulcaster device is powering the entire transformation - or - powering the connection and allowing SR investiture to power the change once the connections are made. 

Fabrial or not, local access to investiture or not; the process still has to be reaching into the CR and SR outside the physical confines of the box to both determine how to change and what to change into. 

Spoiler

Emporer's Soul, Day 12:

Quote

 

The longer an object exists as a whole, and the longer it is seen in that state, the stronger its sense of complete identity becomes. That table is made up of various pieces of wood fitted together, but do we think of it that way? No. We see the whole.

“To Forge the table, I must understand it as a whole. The same goes for a wall. That wall has existed long enough to view itself as a single entity. I could, perhaps, have attacked each block separately—they might still be distinct enough—but doing so would be difficult, as the wall wants to act as a whole.”

“The wall,” Gaotona said flatly, “wants to be treated as a whole.”

“Yes.”

“You imply that the wall has a soul.”

“All things do,” she said. “Each object sees itself as something. Connection and intent are vital. 

 

 

If they were changing rocks cut by Azure's blade into food; then the SPiritual template of what "food" is has to be accessible to the rock being changed even if the investiture powereing th echange is coming from the gems in/on the soulcaster. Which also means that, in the question above, a feruchemist should be able ot store or tap most attributes and an allomancer would be able to burn metals; they just would be unlikely to be able to affect anything Physical that is outside the box.

[NameIess]

4 minutes ago, Treamayne said:

Well, that depends on if the Stormlight in the soulcaster device is powering the entire transformation - or - powering the connection and allowing SR investiture to power the change once the connections are made. 

Fabrial or not, local access to investiture or not; the process still has to be reaching into the CR and SR outside the physical confines of the box to both determine how to change and what to change into. 

  Reveal hidden contents

Emporer's Soul, Day 12:

 

If they were changing rocks cut by Azure's blade into food; then the SPiritual template of what "food" is has to be accessible to the rock being changed even if the investiture powereing th echange is coming from the gems in/on the soulcaster. Which also means that, in the question above, a feruchemist should be able ot store or tap most attributes and an allomancer would be able to burn metals; they just would be unlikely to be able to affect anything Physical that is outside the box.

Aluminum affects connection and spiritual realm stuff oddly, and while I agree with you that the allomancy and the spiritual realm probably work like that, a soulcaster being able to access the spiritual and cognitive realms doesn't necessarily mean that aluminum doesn't block the connection to Preservation that is necessary for allomancy.

[Treamayne]

I can see your point. I still think it would take much more (like an aluminum bodysuit) to prevent something like allomancy (after all, it's only blocking connection between two halves in the physical realm, where it is physically between them as well as spiritually blocking connection). However, I can see the abiguity so until there is a definitive WoB we can only exchange hypotheses and debate the data available.