(Spoilers) Discussion on the implications of Brandon's announcement on the Cosmere

[+Oltux72]

5 minutes ago, Ixthos said:

Well, and beating up Kelsier in Mistborn: Secret History 

Oops. Right. Overlooking the blindingly obvious.

5 minutes ago, Ixthos said:

 

I'm wondering if secret project 4 is set inside an O'Neill Cylinder, based on the pattern in the background, with the "clouds" being plants or buildings further along the tube.

That would scream Innovation's world. Possible. I would associate Innovation with #3 as Brandon liked it best and Brandon likes Innovation, but the idea makes sense.

[Pagerunner]

6 hours ago, Oltux72 said:

But Hoid would not be a character that would otherwise be overlooked, would he? And Hoid is not referenced in Arcanum Unbounded outside The Emperor's Soul.

...

I'd like to read about Baon, but if their is a connection to Arcanum Unbounded, then it points at Demoux.

Are you mixing up Lost Metal with the secret projects? In the only piece I've managed to transcribe so far from yesterday's videos, he didn't give any info on what exactly the SP4 connections were, but he said that one of the AU novellas was relevant to TLM.

Quote

Daniel Green

Are the new [Secret Project] Cosmere books open to new readers, or more Cosmere-aware because they are special?

Brandon Sanderson

All of these books are pretty open to new readers. In fact, I would say Secret Projects One, Two, and Three in particular are among the most open to new readers of books I've written. There are slight Cosmere-aware things that you will get from them. You will get lots of references. In fact, I shouldn't say slight: more than early books of mine, because there's more of the Cosmere to reference, now, that you know about. So you will get lots of cool inside references through both of those.

But the way the core narratives are designed, they are very good entry points to the Cosmere, particularly Secret Project One and Three, I would say. Secret Project Four is the one that is more requiring of some Cosmere knowledge. It is, again, written in a way that you don't need any, but it is the one that's focused on a character you've seen before, and that character's backstory is relevant, and you will get more out of it by having read some things.

Basically, if you have never read any of my books before, this is a safe Kickstarter to back. But it's also me allowing myself more references than I used to put in, shall we say. And you'll see, on Thursday, some of what I mean by that. Because Thursday will make it clear that there is at least one very big reference that is relevant.

Chris Tobin

Will you let us know what Cosmere books to read before?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes. Really, again, only Secret Project Four would really benefit from that. The rest of them, they'll be, but I can let you know. The other two will reference worldbuilding elements pretty consistently from around the Cosmere, here and there, but not in ways (hopefully) that are distracting.

I will say that Lost Metal is a little more Cosmere-aware than any book I've done before. So that's the one that I would say: be up to date on some of your other Cosmere series before you read, particularly one of the novellas in particular, shall we say. It is hard to talk around those. When Lost Metal comes out, for those who want to be spoiled a little bit more, I can mention which that is. But let's just say that if you have read Arcanum Unbounded, you have read the main reference point that you would want to know for Lost Metal.

Secret Project Announcement Stream (March 1, 2022)

There was an awful lot of new info yesterday, and unfortunately about fifteen minutes of the livestream are missing due to an odd YouTube glitch. (The first hour had been missing, for a while, too, but it's back now, so I'm sure the rest will be getting fixed soon.) A good chunk of it is up for transcription: https://wob.coppermind.net/todo/. It will be nice to have exact wording on a lot of these, to help narrow down our speculation, as long as the community can keep up with the rapid pace of releases over the next month.

[+Oltux72]

33 minutes ago, Pagerunner said:

Are you mixing up Lost Metal with the secret projects?

I wrote this comment before I started relistening to the big relevation. But it is possible.

33 minutes ago, Pagerunner said:

In the only piece I've managed to transcribe so far from yesterday's videos, he didn't give any info on what exactly the SP4 connections were, but he said that one of the AU novellas was relevant to TLM.

On rehearing it seemed to me like he told us about a connection between TLM and SP4.

Basically Hoid is just not a side character and he said something about SP4 being about somebody we had seen in a series. Strictly speaking that leaves only Stormlight and Mistborn.

 

[paperstones]

I would love for SP4 to be about Marsh.

[Ixthos]

Okay, I was just thinking - what if secret project 3 is a Stormlight/Mistborn crossover, with a Mistborn and a Windrunner on a third planet. The top figure looks like they have a mistcloak, and the bottom figure looks like they might be wearing an Alethi uniform, and the symbolic shape behind them implies winds swirling around each other, such as mist and air.

Also, I'm even more convinced secret project 4 is on a space station.

[Thaidakar the Ghostblood]

6 minutes ago, Ixthos said:

Okay, I was just thinking - what if secret project 3 is a Stormlight/Mistborn crossover, with a Mistborn and a Windrunner on a third planet. The top figure looks like they have a mistcloak, and the bottom figure looks like they might be wearing an Alethi uniform, and the symbolic shape behind them implies winds swirling around each other, such as mist and air.

Also, I'm even more convinced secret project 4 is on a space station.

I just realized that was two people in project three lol.

[Ixthos]

Just now, Thaidakar the Ghostblood said:

I just realized that was two people in project three lol.

Or are there!? *cue mystery music*

[Thaidakar the Ghostblood]

Just now, Ixthos said:

Or are there!? *cue mystery music*

*cue facepalming*

[StormingTexan]

48 minutes ago, Ixthos said:

Okay, I was just thinking - what if secret project 3 is a Stormlight/Mistborn crossover, with a Mistborn and a Windrunner on a third planet. The top figure looks like they have a mistcloak, and the bottom figure looks like they might be wearing an Alethi uniform, and the symbolic shape behind them implies winds swirling around each other, such as mist and air.

Also, I'm even more convinced secret project 4 is on a space station.

Oh I like it! "A forbidden love from across the Cosmere" After a chance meeting in Shadesmar our two star crossed lovers have to cope with their unorthodox relationship in the physical realm. What will her family think when she brings home a Surgebinder? What will his family think when when she eats the silverware? 

[EmulatonStromenkiin]

26 minutes ago, StormingTexan said:

Oh I like it! "A forbidden love from across the Cosmere" After a chance meeting in Shadesmar our two star crossed lovers have to cope with their unorthodox relationship in the physical realm. What will her family think when she brings home a Surgebinder? What will his family think when when she eats the silverware? 

They're not all Vin.

[Thaidakar the Ghostblood]

1 hour ago, EmulatonStromenkiin said:

They're not all Vin.

1 hour ago, StormingTexan said:

Oh I like it! "A forbidden love from across the Cosmere" After a chance meeting in Shadesmar our two star crossed lovers have to cope with their unorthodox relationship in the physical realm. What will her family think when she brings home a Surgebinder? What will his family think when when she eats the silverware? 

'what will his family think when she eats all the SILVERware.' I think there is one problem with that...

[Humble_Knight]

6 hours ago, Thaidakar the Ghostblood said:

'what will his family think when she eats all the SILVERware.' I think there is one problem with that...

Yeah, it means his family cheaped out on the silverware...

[Goatbringer]

Hey I think I missed the memo - are the first title announcements/chapters being released today or are they going to start next Thursday?

[Ixthos]

9 hours ago, StormingTexan said:

Oh I like it! "A forbidden love from across the Cosmere" After a chance meeting in Shadesmar our two star crossed lovers have to cope with their unorthodox relationship in the physical realm. What will her family think when she brings home a Surgebinder? What will his family think when when she eats the silverware? 

... That's not quite what I meant, but that actually sounds better 

 

Also:

"Gemheart, are you okay?"

"Uhhhh, no, not really. Tell your mother that your "pure gold" forks aren't as pure as you suppose. I think I can see my lunch's history ..."

 

... and now I'm thinking of an Electrum Misting hitting on someone: "Baby, I can see we have a future together."

 

 

[Edit] @Goatbringer I think its this week, so later today Brandon will be reading a sample of secret project 1.

Edited March 3, 2022 by Ixthos

[mathiau]

2 hours ago, Ixthos said:

Also:

"Gemheart, are you okay?"

"Uhhhh, no, not really. Tell your mother that your "pure gold" forks aren't as pure as you suppose. I think I can see my lunch's history ..."

Wait.

They have Atium impurities in their forks?

[Goatbringer]

@Ixthos You were right!

This is now live on his site if people want spoilers for the title/content of SP1: https://www.brandonsanderson.com/first-look-at-secret-project-1/ 

[Ixthos]

44 minutes ago, mathiau said:

Wait.

They have Atium impurities in their forks?

Yes.

 

8 minutes ago, Goatbringer said:

@Ixthos You were right!

This is now live on his site if people want spoilers for the title/content of SP1: https://www.brandonsanderson.com/first-look-at-secret-project-1/ 

You're welcome  and thanks! (Also, greetings fellow South African!)

[mathiau]

[first look at project #1]

Spoiler

“It’s old Iriali,” he said. “They vanished, you know. The entire people: poof. Away they went, gone one day, their island left uninhabited. Now, that was three hundred years ago, so nobody alive has ever met one of them, but they supposedly had golden hair. Like yours, the color of sunlight.”

Unless it's set millennia in the past, it's unlikely that planet is before Roshar on the Iriali Trail. Unless it's set millennia in the future it's unlikely the Rosharan Iriali will ever disapear like the one on the Aether planet did. So I think this planet is the fifth of the Iriali Trail (as if it had been the sixth the Trail would be completed and really doubt it's the case)

[Pagerunner]

All right, looks like I was right about the Aethers. When the Reddit thread goes up for Thursday's Q&A, I'm gonna have to hit it up pretty quick and give Brandon some flak about lying to my face. "I can't canonize the name until I write it," oh sure, and you haven't already written it. I wonder if the planet's name is still Lor or if this incarnation is sufficiently different from the last one that he's got a new name for it.

Twelve moons, twelve-centric Aether planet, colored spores coming from each; I wonder if the moons themselves are the core Aethers that Brandon briefly mentioned at the Mini-Con. The colors of the spores and the effects are definitely reminiscent of Aether of Night; green spores that turn into plants in the Verdant Sea, a Midnight Sea (for Night). I don't know what the Crimson sea is, though. The mechanism seems pretty different, with spores, instead of the symbiotic element we saw in both Aether of Night and the Liar of Partinel chapters.

I'm not sure if I'll stick to my guns on SP4 being Hoid, since this story is his narration. I don't have any better theories, though, so I guess I'll keep my money on it for now.

1 hour ago, mathiau said:

[first look at project #1]

  Hide contents

“It’s old Iriali,” he said. “They vanished, you know. The entire people: poof. Away they went, gone one day, their island left uninhabited. Now, that was three hundred years ago, so nobody alive has ever met one of them, but they supposedly had golden hair. Like yours, the color of sunlight.”

Unless it's set millennia in the past, it's unlikely that planet is before Roshar on the Iriali Trail. Unless it's set millennia in the future it's unlikely the Rosharan Iriali will ever disapear like the one on the Aether planet did. So I think this planet is the fifth of the Iriali Trail (as if it had been the sixth the Trail would be completed and really doubt it's the case)

My first impression was that it was far in the past; Aethers are important for space-age cosmere, but this seems like a really low-tech world. I have a feeling, from the way fabrial tech is advancing in Stormlight and medallion tech is advancing in Mistborn, that we're hitting a "Moore's Law" sort of technological advancement where planets are accelerating really quickly, and it's only going to be a few hundred more in-world years before we're in the space age.

[+Oltux72]

11 minutes ago, Pagerunner said:

My first impression was that it was far in the past; Aethers are important for space-age cosmere, but this seems like a really low-tech world.

No. I am sorry, but this is a flat out no. They have air pollution from machinery and the technology to blow air out of vents in the sea floor. They can also drill down to a deep aquifer. This is 19th century technology at the earliest.
This is further suggested by somebody losing 10 000 men in a battle. Such population numbers are just not available from really primitive technology.

Frankly, if this is really the deep past, it makes the Cosmere a much more dismal place, What throws back all those advanced civilizations by millenia regularly?

[Pagerunner]

3 minutes ago, Oltux72 said:

No. I am sorry, but this is a flat out no. They have air pollution from machinery and the technology to blow air out of vents in the sea floor. They can also drill down to a deep aquifer. This is 19th century technology at the earliest.
This is further suggested by somebody losing 10 000 men in a battle. Such population numbers are just not available from really primitive technology.

Frankly, if this is really the deep past, it makes the Cosmere a much more dismal place, What throws back all those advanced civilizations by millenia regularly?

Good point on the salt mines; I'd skimmed over the line about how "the equipment that worked the salt mines belched a constant stream of black smoke into the air." None of the rest of it seems too advanced, though; drilling wells isn't anything new, and there are plenty of battles in antiquity with tens of thousands of casualties. Since it's a Princess Bride-inspired story, I've been envisioning it set in a similar time period, which is apparently a big can of worms to nail down, but no matter how you slice it is pre-Industrial Revolution.

[mathiau]

24 minutes ago, Pagerunner said:

Since it's a Princess Bride-inspired story, I've been envisioning it set in a similar time period, which is apparently a big can of worms to nail down, but no matter how you slice it is pre-Industrial Revolution.

So is Roshar but it will still be relevant to space age cosmere

[Pagerunner]

23 minutes ago, mathiau said:

So is Roshar but it will still be relevant to space age cosmere

Roshar is in the middle of their Industrial Revolution; it's just fabrial-based instead of traditional technology. Aethers will be important for space age Cosmere, seemingly in the same technology level, and I don't see indications of Aether-based technology yet in this story. Roshar and Scadrial are both hitting their technological advances at around the same time, so if this is the Aether world at minimum 301 years after Stormlight (assuming the Iriali pick up and haul out in the middle of SA5 and spend a year on the Aether planet), it's at quite the disadvantage.

I suspect we'll find out on Tuesday during the livestream; Iriali chronology is gonna be a pretty popular question. I don't see anything disqualifying either option, before or after, but aside from the salt mine, it very much feels like a "once upon a time" story to me.

[Nathrangking]

Hoid is truly talented. Storyteller, Jester, Cabin boy, coachman. What can't he do?

[Ixthos]

5 minutes ago, Nathrangking said:

Hoid is truly talented. Storyteller, Jester, Cabin boy, coachman. What can't he do?

Hurt someone hurt someone who is alive  (other options include become an Elantrian - unless he found a way around that - and remember his first conversation with Taravangian)