Is it possible for an Inanimate object to become a Shard?

[Ookla, Harmony’s Hat he/him]

Would it be possible, if an inanimate object was given enough Connection,

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(Like Kelsier did to ascend to Preservation)

, they would be able to become a Shard? If so, would they basically become their Shard? 

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For example, if a chair ascended to Ruin, they would just try to mindlessly destroy everything.

Objects that people see as something have rudimentary thinking, like 

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how Shallan spoke to the Wind’s Pleasure to convince it to become water. Because it had spent so much time being seen as a ship, and because the sailers has personified it, seeing it as less of an object, it had a rudimentary ability to think. In direct contrast to this, Stick had very limited vocabulary, because it was constantly being seen as only a stick.

Would that be enough to become a Shard? It seems they don’t need a physical body, or at least not once you have enough Connection 

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e.g. Kelsier, being a cognitive shadow and all when he became Preservation.

Would you need to intend to take the shard, or could you just stumble into it on accident and ascend? If you need to consciously take the shard, I doubt an object would have enough Identity to do so, but I don’t know how all the schematics of complicated Cosmere parts fit together on this…

Help!

Edited July 14, 2022 by I_am_a_stick
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[Quantus he/him]

Since a Shard's power can gain sentience all on it's own, kinda sorta sure but maybe No depending on your definition of Vessel. 

As far as I can tell below, he's saying he see's a difference between a Person that has become the Vessel of a Shard's power and a Super-spren that is the Power itself gaining sentience.  But the people in-world that dont believe in The Beyond and/or see Spren and Souls and Cognitive Shadows as all the same basic thing might argue that there is no meaningful difference.  

 

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Questioner

Would it be possible for an inanimate object that was invested to the point of sentience Ascend to Shardhood?

Brandon Sanderson

To become a Vessel of Adonalsium, or become a Shard through...? This is a tricky question because the power left alone will become sapient. And at that point, the distinction between being a Shard and a Vessel is fine but still extant. And I would say the power could not become a Vessel in the same way because it's defined as something different. But it is possible for the power to be left alone and to gain sapience on its own.

Questioner

The example we were thinking of was Sel. It was stated in Arcanum that the landscape itself was invested to the point of.. Could the planet of Sel be the Vessel of Devotion?

Brandon Sanderson

At this point, it's playing semantics, and I would say no. But there are people in-Cosmere that would argue that the semantic distinction is irrelevant and that it is the same.

Legion Release Party (Sept. 19, 2018)

 

 

 

[Sjsharks93]

I think there needs to be sapience to truly become a Vessel. From looking through some WoB's, Brandon never outright says it, but he makes it seem like it would need to at least be something alive.

He does say that the power of a Shard left alone long enough will start to develop a consciousness similar to the Stormfather (although he has cognitive shadow weirdness going on too)

My theory would be that you would get something similar to Nightblood, a sentient object with the desire to fulfil it's intent