Nicrosil plus gold...what would they see!?

[+hwiles]

Just like the title says: what would an Augur see if a nicroburst turbocharged them?

In historical and religious text IRL, Augurs leverage their mastery of the past and their deep profound self-knowledge to predict the future by interpreting the "natural signs" all around them in real time. It isn't like atium, it's much more generalized and longterm where atium is hyper-specific and short-term, but it is ultimately all about predicting and controlling the future.

So back to the question: what does an Augur see when they are forced to burn and process and incredible amount of gold all at once? Is it a perfect harmonized version of themselves that, upon visualizing, forever changes and alters the way they think and behave? Is it some kind of extremely abstracted form of prophecy and futuresight via historic understanding ala wheel of time? Is it a simple onetime view of who they could have been under different circumstances as is implied in Era 1 with no strong correlation to the real world historical verbiage usage? Or is it something radically different entirely? The world has to know!

[Treamayne]

2 hours ago, hwiles said:

So back to the question: what does an Augur see when they are forced to burn and process and incredible amount of gold all at once? Is it a perfect harmonized version of themselves that, upon visualizing, forever changes and alters the way they think and behave? Is it some kind of extremely abstracted form of prophecy and futuresight via historic understanding ala wheel of time? Is it a simple onetime view of who they could have been under different circumstances as is implied in Era 1 with no strong correlation to the real world historical verbiage usage? Or is it something radically different entirely?

Well, start with what we know:

• Gold Shadows show a version of you (likely now) had the past been different
• Gold Shadows are accompanied by "thinking the thoughts" of both yourself and your Gold Shadow
  • This does not seem to be optional
• Malatium (which is likely related) shows a Malatium Shadow of somebody else's past
• Flared Malatium was able to show context to the vision (Kelsier saw the Well's Cave as Rashek entered the Well)
• Duralumin enhanced Allomancy uses up all available metal in one massive burst in seconds

Based on that, it seems likely that A-Nicrosil enhanced A-Gold would add context to the Gold Shadow and probably give an instinctual understanding of what events in the past were different for that Gold Shadow's "history." It would have to be an instinctual understanding, because the burst would not last long enough to "think the thoughts" of both to get that level of detail. I doubt there would be any permanent change, other than better understanding of how events have shaped your reality (and therefore how they may continue to be changed by ongoing events - maybe)

[JustQuestin2004]

Or maybe it'll just break your brain.

[+hwiles]

9 hours ago, Treamayne said:

...

Based on that, it seems likely that A-Nicrosil enhanced A-Gold would add context to the Gold Shadow and probably give an instinctual understanding of what events in the past were different for that Gold Shadow's "history." It would have to be an instinctual understanding, because the burst would not last long enough to "think the thoughts" of both to get that level of detail. 

...

See, this is exactly why I think there MIGHT (keyword) have to be permanent spiritual changes that result from nicrobursting an Augur. At least the first time.

I'm imagining the information that gets slammed through their brain being like unto the experience of "opening the gate" in full metal alchemist terms, or "piercing the veil" in more generic psi-believer and witchcraft terms. Like...people are self-aware in general and "know" how they got to where they are and what they are or could or could not have been capable of under different circumstances in a loose and abstract sense of the word...but this...this would be taking that to the next level of being absolutely unbreakably certain about the underlying details of that general awareness. I think a bursted-augur might be permanently altered, not unlike turning someone into an inquisitor (albeit much less gross, violent, and damaging).

I love the added detail though, thank you, this did help.

2 hours ago, JustQuestin2004 said:

Or maybe it'll just break your brain.

This has crossed my mind, yes.