Idea for Connection-based Navigation and Trailblazing

[Duxredux]

We learn from TSM that the reason The Night Brigade is hunting Nomad is so that they can kill him and create a spike that will lead them to the Dawnshard. I think a reasonable guess is that they killed someone close to him and are using the resulting spike to track him no matter where he Skips to in the Cosmere, which might explain why he is trying so hard to avoid people that he cares about. The idea I had while considering this is that perhaps most exploration and navigation ends up using Connection for navigational purposes.

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Overlord Jebus

Is all Investiture in the cosmere associated with a Shard?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes, well, okay. So this is a complicated one. *pauses* So, Investiture predates the Shattering of Adonalsium, all Investiture was from Adonalsium, all Investiture got assigned to one of the 16 Shards when Adonalsium was Shattered. Some of the Investiture was not on Yolen but location is irrelevant. So Investiture is related to Shards even on planets where none of the Shards are inhabiting. 

Overlord Jebus

Are they aware of that Investiture?

Brandon Sanderson

That's part of the whole seeing into the infinite, being beyond even the power of a Shard. So, technically you could make the argument that Harmony could feel the sense of Preservation on every world in the cosmere, right? Because the building blocks of all life and creation are these things.

Overlord Jebus

So the Shard of Preservation embodies all preservation in the cosmere?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes but he just can't do that, right? Like, he's not infinite. The Vessels are not, even if their minds are enormously expanded by holding a Shard, they are not infinite. The Connection is all there in the Spiritual Realm

Oathbringer London signing (Nov. 28, 2017)

So here's the basic idea. 

1. Develop tech or find abilities that allow you to see Connection even on a planetary or Cosmere level. As said earlier, apparently The Night Brigade can make a spike to track the Dawnshard from Nomad even with him hopping from planet to planet, so one of the harder parts seems to be solvable at some future date.
2. Learn to isolate what specific Connection you are looking for, probably starting with native Investitures. Ideally isolate it from any Connection to you or your ship. Let's start with Ambition assuming you're living on Threnody, but this idea probably would work for most Shards and planets, so feel free to swap out for another. Find some Investiture heavily associated with Ambition and view the Connection it has to all other Ambition in the Cosmere.
3. Launch yourself into space or enter Shadesmar and walk far away from the planet (depending on which actually works and lets you take Investiture from the planet), and then use Aluminum to block off the strongest Connections as those will lead right back to Threnody. The idea is that if this genuinely lets you see the Connection that Ambition has with itself within the PR or CR, then the remaining strongest Connections should point to the largest or closest concentration of Ambition Investiture. I assume any significant source of Investiture will be a major point of interest and most of the time would be an Invested planet just based on the scale of these things. Don't forget to bring something that specifically Connects you back to your home planet so that you always have a reference point. Maybe even a crate full of things Connected to your home planet so that you can leave a "guidance beacon" of sorts.
4. Once you arrive, collect something that is intrinsically Connected to the specific planet you found, leave a guidance beacon, and make sure you label your samples. Travel to the next place and you can see identify the 'unknown' Connections by comparing the lines to the samples you have taken from each previously surveyed world.

The simple advantage of this is that you will always be going somewhere that has Investiture that is more likely to be compatible with your own tech or abilities, and where there is Investiture, there's a high potential for life and other interesting phenomenon. You probably could outfit other ships with IFF Connections and track your fleet that way or make sure the Ambition you're following isn't actually your buddy Adonalsium-Will-Get-Us-Off-This-Rock (Identification Friend or Foe tags are transponders military groups use to identify allied ships, there could probably be some safeguards installed to prevent someone from stealing one and tracking all of your stuff, but that's another train of thought). With analysis, you probably would be able to use the "width" of the Connection to identify how close you actually are to the target and stop nearby so you don't just ram into it while going FTL. 

Thoughts? Any problems or alternative applications anyone can see?

Edited October 11, 2023 by Duxredux
Accidentally submitted early while trying to drop out of a numbered list

[Treamayne]

Good theory, interesting read. I have a feeling that in Nomad's specific case, they are probably using a hacked version of A-Bronze (and/or Heliodor Fabrail). Provide a Connection, and the fabrial gives you direction while pulse strength gives you distance. . . 

[drunkenbotanist]

"Adonalsium-Will-Get-Us-Off-This-Rock"