Was Roshar Settled by Space Ship?

[Confused]

I often speculate about the configuration of the “Dawn Cities” – a series of geometric shapes. They remind me of the crop circles we find on earth. That and the description of the black “fortress” in the Purelake during Dalinar’s vision – “finlike sides rising towards peaked tips above, towers like arrowheads…” (WoR, Kindle p. 73) – make me think of space ships.

 

I’m not pushing this (yet); but it’s always made me wonder…Has anyone else had similar thoughts?

 

(And the black "obsidian" of the Purelake "fortress" could easily be black metal. Dalinar wouldn't be able to tell the difference, never having seen a large structure made from metal, especially from distance.)

Edited August 11, 2015 by Confused

[Alfa he/him]

I like this Idea, even if I think, that it was easier to settle Roshar via worldhopping.

On the fortress? How did it survive the unknown number of pre-radiant desolations?

[ParadoxicalZen he/him]

I'm not sure exactly how it was done but it is an interesting idea. My guess it could have been a Shard assisted exodus á la Battlestar Galactica with the Origin in Eastern ocean a Shard created space-gate but I don't actually remember Yolen's level of technology/culture/civilisation

[Seloun]

I could believe this theory. I'm not sure that it has to necessarily be a technological space ship (so not sure the tech level issue is really relevant). While I think there was WoB that suggested Surges don't work exactly the same way in space, if something similar to Gravitation was available it seems quite reasonable to postulate Shardships (in a way, Navani's levitation fabrials are a crude beginning towards something similar).

 

For bonus points, how does this relate to the Wandersail?

[Dahak he/him]

I got the impression that Shinovar had been moved lock stock and barrel from a more earthlike world.

[Ascendant Warrior he/him]

The Shin live far to the west, beyond the Misted Mountains that break the torrent of the raging highstorms. Because of this, the part of the world the Shinovar live in is a vastly different place, as the creatures there have not the need to adapting to survival in the highstorms.

Source

[hoser he/him]

I've never understood how you would call a planet "Tranquilline Halls".  I could imagine a spaceship on a multi-generational journey being known as such. 

[WindrunnerRadiant he/him]

A note I might make on the Tranquilline Halls: They are mythological. They may have something that they originated from, but it is just as likely that they don't. Beyond that, I think it more likely that, rather than humans getting to Roshar via spaceship or worldhopping, They were made there. We already know that Preservation and Ruin created life on Scadrial, so it isn't like it would be a stretch to believe that the shards on Roshar did as well. Particularly when we look at many of Roshar's culture's particular view on Honor and how that effects society and the fact that one of the Shards is Cultivation. On the other hand, I don't think Odium had anything to do with it, especially because he went to the Greater Roshar system separately from Honor and Cultivation, who went there together.

[hoser he/him]

A note I might make on the Tranquilline Halls: They are mythological. They may have something that they originated from, but it is just as likely that they don't. Beyond that, I think it more likely that, rather than humans getting to Roshar via spaceship or worldhopping, They were made there. We already know that Preservation and Ruin created life on Scadrial, so it isn't like it would be a stretch to believe that the shards on Roshar did as well. Particularly when we look at many of Roshar's culture's particular view on Honor and how that effects society and the fact that one of the Shards is Cultivation. On the other hand, I don't think Odium had anything to do with it, especially because he went to the Greater Roshar system separately from Honor and Cultivation, who went there together.

The Iriali mythology has multiple migrations (five?).  The Vorin mythology has at least one.  The listener mythology has the humans appearing suddenly.  While nothing is provable, either way, you are discarding a lot of information and worldbuilding for your textually unsupported theory that Brandon wrote part of the story the same as Mistborn. 

My understanding of Brandon has doing it the same as Mistborn as an unlikely possibility.  So the only support you have for your theory is more evidence against it for me.  Brandon likes to do things in creative and interesting ways.  While there are likely twists involved in understanding the mythological migrations, discounting them totally as a distraction makes no sense to me.  The books are already long enough.  Brandon doesn't need to throw in random red herrings. 

[Patrick Star]

Yeah, sounds about right.

 

Don't forget that the desolations are health check simulations created by mice in order to check the operational integrity of Roshar, which is simply a giant computer that is meant to come up with a better answer than "42".

[ParadoxicalZen he/him]

 Brandon doesn't need to throw in random red herrings. 

 

Missing a word there: 'More' red herrings*

[Numuhuku he/him]

I got the impression that Shinovar had been moved lock stock and barrel from a more earthlike world.

I think that mostly has to do with Shinovar being the one place geographically on Roshar where an earthlike ecology could out  compete the native Roshar flora and fauna. If getting weed whacked by high storms isn't an issue, earth style vegetation has quite a bit of efficiency advantages over plants that have to waste energy being able to move or growing shells for themselves.

[tobar14 he/him]

Yeah, sounds about right.

 

Don't forget that the desolations are health check simulations created by mice in order to check the operational integrity of Roshar, which is simply a giant computer that is meant to come up with a better answer than "42".

Haha thanks for the input, Douglas.