Is anyone else worried?

[Steelsight he/him]

I just finished Emberdark and I have some worries

From what we see in the book, future Scadrial doesn't seem like a very nice place, there's even a mention of the Malwish empire being fascists when Starling first goes to confront them

So now I'm worried, cause we have fascists with a magic system that's transferred genetically (and based on the diminished power of diluted bloodlines, it's an autosomal recessive trait with variable expressivity, like Huntington's disease) which makes me immediately jump to eugenics

We've seen the early variations of it in era 2

but with gene editing, CRISPR and other cellular machinery the possibilities are terrifying

If some scadrian wanted to test the limits of what was possible and they didn't have a conscience.... I'm shivering, making everyone an allomacer/feruchemist is just the tip of the iceberg

Like, could they adapt the arcane gene (allomancy/feruchemy) and transfer it to animals? Could the build a bio nanomachine that utilizes miniscule amount of metal? Would the intent of the technician be sufficient in that case? And if that's not possible, could they create unhuman abominations that their entire purpose in their "life" is to produce metalminds?

So yeah, worrying

[Treamayne]

1 hour ago, Steelsight said:

So now I'm worried, cause we have fascists with a magic system that's transferred genetically (and based on the diminished power of diluted bloodlines, it's an autosomal recessive trait with variable expressivity, like Huntington's disease) which makes me immediately jump to eugenics

We've seen the early variations of it in era 2

but with gene editing, CRISPR and other cellular machinery the possibilities are terrifying

Please keep in mind that the heritage of being MetalBorn is a function of sDNA (Spiritual DNA, a portion of the Spiritweb), not Physical Realm DNA. Also, sDNA inheritance is similar, but not the same as physical DNA inheritance. 

Spoiler

Quote

Questioner

The change in how the magic (on Scadrial) interact with each other, was that done by Sazed?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes it was. You will find a theme. The snapping in Mistborn is actually a repeated theme through a lot of the different magics. Um, but what I felt at the end of the day Sazed would do something about it. So, even though that is part of the magic system, he changed that. The change to Feruchemy is more a matter of other factors such as the large amount of interbreeding that happened following...and things like that. And so a lot of people with Feruchemy sDNA mixing with people with people with Allomantic sDNA has affected the way the magics blend, so to speak. That's not done by Sazed. That's just kind of an effect.

Steelheart Seattle signing (Oct. 14, 2013)

Quote

Questioner

If you have a series of Inquisitors, like a family of Inquisitors having children for generations over...

Brandon Sanderson

Would the Hemalurgy influence the sDNA of the children? Is that what you are asking? That is a hypothesis that has merit in the way the magic system works (grin). It is not a supposition to be discarded out of hand.

Steelheart Seattle signing (Oct. 14, 2013)

 

Quote

 

Questioner (paraphrased)

Would Inquisitors' kids have Allomancy?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

Not usually. It happens sometimes, but not usually. He then mentioned a little about sDNA, but that it's not inherited as much as it is when it's natural.

Orem signing 2014 (Dec. 6, 2014)

 

 

Quote

Moogle

Why can non-Scadrians use Hemalurgy? Don't they need Ruin's sDNA, like Allomancers need Preservation?

Brandon Sanderson

Hemalurgy is built to be able to be used by anyone. It's about taking and breaking. Ruin doesn't care who does such things

#NookTalks Twitter Q&A with Barnes & Noble (Feb. 16, 2016)

Quote

Bean (paraphrased)

If a person took lerasium and alloyed it with Iron and steel then consumed them both at the same time, would they be able to burn exactly two metals?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

Theoretically, yes. Because they were using Lerasium. He said it was because it overwrites sDNA.

Bean (paraphrased)

I asked something about if they were taken separately.

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

He said they would then only have one Metal.

Footnote: This contradicts what Brandon has previously established, that there is no canonical way of being able to burn more than one metal without being Mistborn or using Hemalurgy.
Firefight Phoenix signing (Jan. 21, 2015)

 

Hope that helps

Edited July 7, 2025 by Treamayne
SPAG

[+Oltux72 he/him]

14 minutes ago, Steelsight said:

I just finished Emberdark and I have some worries

From what we see in the book, future Scadrial doesn't seem like a very nice place, there's even a mention of the Malwish empire being fascists when Starling first goes to confront them

Future Scadrial most likely is a beautiful place to live in. It is just a horrible entity to be an enemy of or hindrance to.
A military that gets you a mandatory court martial after six losses is hardly a sign of fascism.

17 minutes ago, Steelsight said:

So now I'm worried, cause we have fascists with a magic system that's transferred genetically (and based on the diminished power of diluted bloodlines, it's an autosomal recessive trait with variable expressivity, like Huntington's disease) which makes me immediately jump to eugenics

It isn't genetic. It is hereditary (mainly), but not genetic. That means that they'll have to resort to actual breeding. Now, people in the Cosmere will eventually try to do something to manipulate their sDNA. But, perversely Scadrians have less reason to do so. They can use good old breeding after all.