wax Scadrial Technological Progression

[Shatter He/Him]

In Era 2, Scadrial made a huge leap from 19th-century tech (like horses, revolvers, and wooden ships) to mid-20th-century tech (cars, auto-fed guns, battleships, and atomic bombs) in just a decade. That’s like progressing at five times the rate of Earth's technological advancement. Plus, Kelsier asked Harmony to SPEED THING UP EVEN MORE! If this rapid advancement continues, there's a chance Wax could still be around in Era 3 (which will be a late Cold War-style setting).

[alder24]

1 hour ago, Kiriv Velonall said:

In Era 2, Scadrial made a huge leap from 19th-century tech (like horses, revolvers, and wooden ships) to mid-20th-century tech (cars, auto-fed guns, battleships, and atomic bombs) in just a decade. That’s like progressing at five times the rate of Earth's technological advancement. Plus, Kelsier asked Harmony to SPEED THING UP EVEN MORE! If this rapid advancement continues, there's a chance Wax could still be around in Era 3 (which will be a late Cold War-style setting).

Not really. In books you just happen to see the transitional period, which makes you think they are developing fast, but in fact they don't. It took them nearly 350 years to get there, while being spoon-fed with knowledge and designs left by Sazed and living in a literal paradise on the planet, with no threats, no wars, no shortages of food or resources. They were in stagnation for nearly 300 years and only recently new things started to slowly appear. A single airship from the south made them all lose their minds. It's even more embarrassing when you consider that the Words of Founding talked about electricity, powered flight and even planned out the city of Elendel itself. SoS ch 7:

Quote

Already I fear that I have made things too easy for men. This city, the perfect climate, the ground that renews … You were to have had the radio a century ago, but you didn’t need it, so you didn’t strive for it. You ignore aviation, and cannot tame the wilds because you don’t care to study proper irrigation or fertilization.
“The … radio? What is that?”
You don’t explore, Harmony continued, ignoring Wax’s confusion. Why would you? You have everything you want here. You’ve barely progressed technologically from what I gave you in the books. Yet others, who were nearly destroyed …

If there is one thing that drives innovation forward, it's war. You can count on this newly uncovered conflict to be the beginning of a true technological progress on the northern Scadrial. 

[Shatter He/Him]

15 hours ago, alder24 said:

Not really. In books you just happen to see the transitional period, which makes you think they are developing fast, but in fact they don't. It took them nearly 350 years to get there, while being spoon-fed with knowledge and designs left by Sazed and living in a literal paradise on the planet, with no threats, no wars, no shortages of food or resources. They were in stagnation for nearly 300 years and only recently new things started to slowly appear. A single airship from the south made them all lose their minds. It's even more embarrassing when you consider that the Words of Founding talked about electricity, powered flight and even planned out the city of Elendel itself. SoS ch 7:

Quote

Already I fear that I have made things too easy for men. This city, the perfect climate, the ground that renews … You were to have had the radio a century ago, but you didn’t need it, so you didn’t strive for it. You ignore aviation, and cannot tame the wilds because you don’t care to study proper irrigation or fertilization.
“The … radio? What is that?”
You don’t explore, Harmony continued, ignoring Wax’s confusion. Why would you? You have everything you want here. You’ve barely progressed technologically from what I gave you in the books. Yet others, who were nearly destroyed …

If there is one thing that drives innovation forward, it's war. You can count on this newly uncovered conflict to be the beginning of a true technological progress on the northern Scadrial. 

The Set had the radio in The Lost Metal and the fact remains that they will still be spoon-fed inventions. Therefore, we might still see Wax in his 80s or something.

Edited August 23, 2024 by Kiriv Velonall
Adding info

[alder24]

3 hours ago, Kiriv Velonall said:

The Set had the radio in The Lost Metal 

They had a radio in BoM. It was either a tech given to them, or influenced by Autonomy, or it was salvaged from the crashed Malwish ship.

3 hours ago, Kiriv Velonall said:

and the fact remains that they will still be spoon-fed inventions.

That's not certain. All those new inventions after Catacendre came from the Words of Founding, books left by Harmony after his Ascension. Since then Sazed realized it was a mistake and didn't intervene in Scadrial technological progress. In TLM epilogue Sazed was still against helping humanity develop faster, so we don't know if he will give them anything.

3 hours ago, Kiriv Velonall said:

Therefore, we might still see Wax in his 80s or something.

Unlikely. Era 3 will be set up around 50-70 years after Era 2 and Wax in TLM already has 50 years. He might, being more invested increases your lifespan and he's not only a Twinborn, he's not a very weak Mistborn with a Hemalurgic spike. On top of that he was Harmony's Sword and did ingest Mists on some occasions. This might have invested him enough to sufficiently prolong his life to pass 100 years old. And he also has access to a very weak cadmium bubble. It's possible, but I highly doubt he will be alive in Era 3 - it's not his story anymore. His kids or grandkids might be of far greater importance.

But there is always hope - Spook stepped down as Elendel's ruler when he was 118 and since then his fate remained unknown.