The usefulness of Hemalurgic Copper

[JustQuestin2004 he/him]

I've been thinking about H-Copper, specifically it's ability to steal 'Intelligence, mental fortitude and memories'. This makes me want to ask a few questions about it.

1) What exactly would 'Intelligence' mean? Is it mental processing, learning speed or a combination of multiple traits?

2) How would Hemalurgic Decay affect Memories taken? Would it lower the number that you took or lower their clarity?

3) If you were also a Copper Ferring and implanted yourself with a copper spike, could you store the spiked memories into a Coppermind? Because if so you would be one hell of a detective. if you were okay with murdering suspects of course.

Any thoughts?

[Quantus he/him]

1) Yes to all, I think.  You can steal that which you could store with F-Zinc (or F-Copper for Memories).

2) I think they'd get fuzzy the same way they do when stored/retrieved into Grey Matter

3) Probably since Memory can be stored in either. But there's most likely some Identity Muddling involved.  See WOB below.  My remaining question is whether a memory in a Spike get Removed when you recall it (as with Metalminds), and I think the answer is No since you stole the whole spiritual Hard Drive rather than making a copy of the content.  

 

 

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Lucadaw

If someone used Hemalurgy to take someones Feruchemical abilities would they be able to use that persons personal metalminds? Most relevantly perhaps to take that person's knowledge from their copperminds?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes.

Lucadaw

If someone stored their identity in an aluminium metalmind, then had their powers and metalminds stolen via Hemalurgy, then the person who took the powers used the aluminium metalmind to draw out the first persons identity would it permanently overwrite their personality with the original persons ? ( would kind of be a long winded way of stealing someone else's body and becoming immortal )

Brandon Sanderson

All Identity questions are a RAFO until I deal with it more in the books. (Sorry.)

WeiryWriter (in response to the first answer)

If the spike granting Feruchemy were to be reforged/split into two distinct spikes which are then implanted into two different people, could those two people "share" a metalmind (as in actually be able to tap something the other stored and vice versa?).

Brandon Sanderson

It's complicated, but no.

There would be too much of the other person mixed in. Both could use the metalminds of the person the Feruchemy was stolen from, but when they made their own, their own Identity would "muddy" the creation.

Worldbuilders AMA (Dec. 7, 2015)