Marasi, the Trap: where do you store your metal?

[Kaymyth]

Not saying it would be dust persay...more of very fine metal powder bonded with some sort of liquid mist, much like how an inhaler works presently (of course without the metal). I know it would be harmful in the long run, but only if the metal weren't burned off right away, which in this case it would be as we're talking about some sort of emergency delivery system.

 

Except that the act of burning it would probably cause some lung irritation in and of itself.  Allomancers can feel the metal burning in their stomach, and it's got some serious protections on its lining.  The same effect in the lungs would probably be Very Bad.

[The Invested Beard]

Unless you're a smoker and you're used to that feeling.

 

Edit: Also isn't it described more as a comforting warmth in the stomach than a fiery burning? So more like how a good Whiskey warms you than horrible gas pains/heartburn. I would assume if it were really uncomfortable or painful it would hamper allomancers in some way.

Edited January 22, 2016 by The Invested Beard

[Kaymyth]

Unless you're a smoker and you're used to that feeling.

 

Edit: Also isn't it described more as a comforting warmth in the stomach than a fiery burning? So more like how a good Whiskey warms you than horrible gas pains/heartburn. I would assume if it were really uncomfortable or painful it would hamper allomancers in some way.

 

Well, there we go.  I'm an asthmatic and even thirdhand stuff has the potential to send me into an attack.

 

Yeeeah...there's also a fine line between "comforting warmth" and "fiery burning".  Whiskey burns.  Some of us are a wee bit more sensitive.  Plus, keep in mind that your stomach has a lining on it that protects against the hydrochloric acid that we use to digest our food.  Feeling something burning in your stomach is likely to feel different than it would in your lungs. 

[The Invested Beard]

Well, there we go.  I'm an asthmatic and even thirdhand stuff has the potential to send me into an attack.

 

Yeeeah...there's also a fine line between "comforting warmth" and "fiery burning".  Whiskey burns.  Some of us are a wee bit more sensitive.  Plus, keep in mind that your stomach has a lining on it that protects against the hydrochloric acid that we use to digest our food.  Feeling something burning in your stomach is likely to feel different than it would in your lungs. 

 

Fair enough. Perhaps the inhaler could be an option for older more grizzled allomancer.

[Kaymyth]

Fair enough. Perhaps the inhaler could be an option for older more grizzled allomancer.

 

Older?  I'll have you know I've got 3 years on you, whippersnapper! 

[The Invested Beard]

I meant even older than us lol. I was thinking more of like the Kurt Russell type characters.

[Pechvarry]

Crap.  This is now as good as fact in my head.  I'll be reading Bands of Mourning with Wax Plissken at the helm.

Edited January 25, 2016 by Pechvarry

[Uilos]

In Final Empire, Kelsier tells Vin to burn any excess metals in her system before she sleeps, noting the toxicity. It does exist, but the idea is that the metals aren't staying in the system long enough for their to be an effect. There is also the allows tidally sound versions of metals, mixed wrong, the metals become toxic, though possibly not lethally. Vin had gotten sick many times trying to nail down duralumin.

[Orsium]

So here's my theory.  Metal toxicity isn't really a thing that exists on this planet.  Ruin and Preservation built the humans on Scadrial, why would they leave that aspect in people when that is the primary way they access Investiture?  I think that it comes down to the fact that Investiture WANTS to be used. 

 

Take Raoden on Sel.  He got "sick" when he couldn't access the Dor.  So if you ingest metals, and then DON'T use them, or don't have the correct alloy(to continue the parallel, not having the chasm line), you aren't getting metal toxicity, you are getting the side effect of having an open link to Investiture but not using it.  Or not having the correct size "nozzle" to channel it if the alloy is wrong.

 

I think Kelsier in world just THINKS it's metal toxicity because of the ignorance of Realmatics.

[dyring]

Get a piercing inside your mouth.

 

Have a hole in the piercing with a screwlock smooth enough that you can screw/unscrew it with your tounge.

 

Put Cadmium(or other metal of choice) in your piercing. Voila, Cadmium without anyone being able to notice it, anytime you want, althou it may take 5-10 secs to get at it.

 

Piercings are hard to push, but if you want to be real safe, make it an alluminum or plastic piercing.

[Pathfinder]

Get a piercing inside your mouth.

 

Have a hole in the piercing with a screwlock smooth enough that you can screw/unscrew it with your tounge.

 

Put Cadmium(or other metal of choice) in your piercing. Voila, Cadmium without anyone being able to notice it, anytime you want, althou it may take 5-10 secs to get at it.

 

Piercings are hard to push, but if you want to be real safe, make it an alluminum or plastic piercing.

Been awhile since I have had friends with tongue piercings, but how can you unscrew a portion of a piercing while it is pierced in your tongue with your tongue? Unless your ancestor is a snake, or your Gene Simmons, I have no idea how that would be managed lol. 

[The Ninja Yodeler]

So here's my theory.  Metal toxicity isn't really a thing that exists on this planet.  Ruin and Preservation built the humans on Scadrial, why would they leave that aspect in people when that is the primary way they access Investiture?  I think that it comes down to the fact that Investiture WANTS to be used. 

 

Take Raoden on Sel.  He got "sick" when he couldn't access the Dor.  So if you ingest metals, and then DON'T use them, or don't have the correct alloy(to continue the parallel, not having the chasm line), you aren't getting metal toxicity, you are getting the side effect of having an open link to Investiture but not using it.  Or not having the correct size "nozzle" to channel it if the alloy is wrong.

 

I think Kelsier in world just THINKS it's metal toxicity because of the ignorance of Realmatics.

Sounds good I think. I'm trying to think of an analogy to keeping Investiture bottled up after ingesting metals, and not burning it causing the body to go through a type of Investiture shock. Because you're right, it doesn't make sense for R & P to make a planets "focus" poisoness to the life forms using it.

[dyring]

You dont haveto have a tounge piercing, thats propably not convinient, put it in your cheek on the inside. Or on the top of your mouuth inside the teeth. Plenty places where you could reach it with your tounge. Just trial and error to see where it wont be to much in the way in normal life.

[Pathfinder]

You dont haveto have a tounge piercing, thats propably not convinient, put it in your cheek on the inside. Or on the top of your mouuth inside the teeth. Plenty places where you could reach it with your tounge. Just trial and error to see where it wont be to much in the way in normal life.

Ahhhh gotcha. That was a misread on my part. Sorry!

[hoidhunter]

The Long-winded Introduction:

 

Yes, Brandon Sanderson enjoys using weakness to overcome strength.  He likes to show us how a weak power can overcome invincible madmen if the situation is right. 

 

But it occurs to me the very presence of Wax & Wayne makes Marasi even more dangerous.  Consider:

You are a villainous wretch.  Yes, you are!  This guy who you can't stop or pin down, let alone kill is dismantling your comrades, and this other one is killing at least 2 of your allies with every breath he takes.  You can't stop them.  You can't flee.  You need leverage.  How about this wide-eyed constable gal hiding behind cover?

 

Do you understand what I'm trying to say, here?  The apparent danger of Wax & Wayne is precisely what makes Marasi more of a threat than her power normally allows.  The juxtaposition makes her seem weak, and the weaker you view her, the stronger she becomes.

 

...If she has metal in her tummy.

 

 

Problem:

 

Cadmium is toxic and carcinogenic.  You kinda want to burn your toxic metals before bed, as is mentioned in the original trilogy.  But burning away your Cadmium means it's likely tomorrow by the time you're "clean."  

 

When your goal in life is to get taken hostage and then burn metal in your digestive tract, you need a way to access Cadmium ONLY when it's necessary. Your captor isn't likely to let you doff a vial.  So where do you get your metal when you need it most?

 

What this thread is about:

 

At the time of this writing, we're a week away from Bands of Mourning, and I'd like to see what we can come up with (or anticipate what Brandon will think of) in terms of emergency metal delivery systems.

 

This isn't limited to Cadmium, but I do think "Marasi with a gun pointed at her head" is one of the best scenarios to think of.

 

So, how do you do it?  Fake tooth is always a favorite, but seems a bit impractical.  I mean, do you really want to be that afraid of chewing on the left side?  Maybe you wear a bracelet you can lick to get just a sprinkle.  What do you do?

I think you eat metal whenever you want...and just visit a leecher each night before bed...

[The Ninja Yodeler]

I think you eat metal whenever you want...and just visit a leecher each night before bed...

Im still confused as to how a leeched metal inside your body doesn't poison someone anyway. It's still metal sitting in your stomach and being digested.

But on subject, one of those little candy necklaces, but with cadmium balls. Tiny nubs on either side of each ball stopping them all from sliding off after you break that piece of the chain. Magnetise the chain so it doesn't fall off after one use, and reconnects itself. Maybe it could work, maybe not. I think it could.

[Unodus]

Im still confused as to how a leeched metal inside your body doesn't poison someone anyway. It's still metal sitting in your stomach and being digested.

 

 

Perhaps, after generations of metal ingestion- scadrians have simply just evolved to be more resistant to metal toxicity? 

[Kaymyth]

Im still confused as to how a leeched metal inside your body doesn't poison someone anyway. It's still metal sitting in your stomach and being digested.

But on subject, one of those little candy necklaces, but with cadmium balls. Tiny nubs on either side of each ball stopping them all from sliding off after you break that piece of the chain. Magnetise the chain so it doesn't fall off after one use, and reconnects itself. Maybe it could work, maybe not. I think it could.

 

I was under the impression that chromium actually eliminates the metals themselves, like aluminum does.

[Lupis]

Just had the odd thought that if Marasai has to burn off the cadmium each night she could potentially be the "older" sister. Well born first anyway.

[Uilos]

Perhaps, after generations of metal ingestion- scadrians have simply just evolved to be more resistant to metal toxicity? 

That might be possible, considering that TLR messed with the biology of the Scadrians to better live in the World of Ash

[KOOZ]

Greetings, everyone!

 

I think that, ultimately, the choice of emergency metal ingestion and burning is limited primarily by two factors which, so far as I can tell, have not been fully clarified (kindly do correct me if there are WoB on this that I missed): 

 

1). Is the metal burning process limited specifically to the stomach, or it can take place anywhere in the digestive tract? Or, indeed, as long as the metal is located within the allomancer, it can be burned? 

2). Need the metal surface be in contact with the lining of the stomach/flesh of the allomancer?

 

For part 1, most likely we can eliminate the latter possibility, since burning allomantic metals anywhere in the body of the allomancer can be lethal - e.g. one does not wish to burn up all the iron in the body. If one assumes burning of allomantic metals is limited to stomach only, then most logical oral-based metal ingestion methods have been outlined above. However, if we assume that one can burn the metal anywhere in the digestive tract (e.g. Zane might have kept the coin in his mouth not only as an emergency landing pad, but also as an extra source of metal - the lad was creative), then there is another possibility - instead of focusing on the mouth, we can consider the other end of the digestive tract. Advantages include: unexpected place, well concealed from sight; villains, especially in that time period, are unlikely to check there, it will also take them precious seconds to get to the metal "compartment" at which point the allomancer can burn it; in addition, it is very easy and, dare I say, natural, to expel unused metals.   

 

For part 2, I vaguely recollect a WoB on how it is the structure of the metal/alloy that acts as a catalyst/key for enabling the allomancer to use a specific ability. Thus, if the ability is fully dependent on the metal lattice structure being in the allomancer, it could be that concealing the metal in something else, undigestible, is a possibility - then, as proposed before, one can put metals in capsules and swallow at leisure. I think there is one obvious example which might indicate that this is possible: people swallow aluminium (e.g. Vin in the original trilogy) and it works - yet under normal conditions, the surface layer of aluminium is covered by aluminium oxide, which lends rise to a different atomic arrangement on the surface and prevents the lining to be directly in touch with aluminium metal per se, yet the metal nugget remains allomantically active. 

[Stormgate]

You can only burn pure metal, it requires an Allomancer with enormous power to pull on the metals inside a person. A Nicrosil compounder may be able to do this or something similar. It has been confirmed that, perhaps with a nicroburst or Leecher, a Steel Inquisitor could burn their spikes while they are inside the various parts of the body, i.e. they can burn their eyespikes or chest spikes. This would lead to death in the case of many Hemalurgists, but there is no reason why there can't be Allomancy shots or something. Swallowing the metal is of course preferred in many cases, but may provide an answer to possible storage spots.

[Pechvarry]

I always hated that "confirmation" of burning spikes. iirc, the question was "could you burn your spike?" and not "can you burn your spike without removing and eating it first?" I understand the implication seems clear, but in this case, that implication flies in the face of the original trilogy.

Maybe it's possible and just requires mental acrobatics, as is the case with several hypotheticals we've asked Brandon. That would explain why vin didn't accidentally burn her earring, particularity when she burned aluminum.

But if that's the case, then we shouldn't expect our theoretical Marasis and such to be capable of it.

[Lupis]

That might be possible, considering that TLR messed with the biology of the Scadrians to better live in the World of Ash

I think it is very likely Harmony undid most of those changes. They would no longer be required and if he didn't make changes it is very likely that the people would be highly susceptible to things like skin cancer in his new world, where sunlight isn't being mostly blocked by ash..

[IndigoAjah]

Heavy metal poisoning is hardly instant, and I assume before it starts to cause damage, mistings can burn the metal in their blood too?