Thoughts About the New Perpendicularity WoB

[Confused]

The recent Odyssey Con report includes Brandon’s answer to a question about the nature of Perpendicularities (edited to highlight what I deem to be the important parts):

 

Brandon: “[L]arge concentrations of investiture can cause a puncture through the Spiritual Realm straight to the Physical Realm. If you know how to use it, you may transition. That's not the only way but is the primary way….”

Q: “[Y]ou said ‘punctured’ almost as if it were a spike.”

Brandon: “Yes, yes, that was intentional.”

 

This post speculates about the meaning of these statements.

 

Introduction

 

We’ve known that at least certain people can Worldhop through Shardpools, which is one (and maybe the only) type of Perpendicularity. Perpendicularities are caused by “large concentrations of investiture” that “puncture” the Realms like a “spike.” Elsewhere in the Odyssey Con Report, he implies that Perpendicularities were not created by a hemalurgic spike because of hemalurgy’s limitations:

 

Q: “Is it theoretically possible to hemalurgically spike a Shard into someone else, and if so, what would be the outcome?”

 Brandon: “A full shard? Hemalurgy could not hold that much of an invested charge. Not without something really weird happening.”

 

This leads to several questions:

 

1. What causes such “large concentrations of investiture”?

2. Why do such concentrations puncture holes between the Realms?

3. Why are such holes shaped like spikes?

 

Speculation

 

My short answer to these questions is that Shards inject their Investiture into their Shardworlds. Their investment pours in at a specific point and then spreads to the remainder of the Shardworld, like injected vaccines spread throughout our bodies. The Shard remains “hooked” into the Shardworld as a result, limiting the Invested Shard’s ability to migrate from its Shardworld.

 

I do not believe the “puncture” has anything to do with how the Shards became pieces of the Powers of Creation at the Shattering. They were on Yolen at the Shattering. Perpendicularities seem to be a feature of individual Shardworlds. Adonalsium created all Shardworlds, even Scadrial, before the Shattering. When Shards made their way to their own Shardworlds, they shaped them with their own Investiture. Perpendicularities resulted from the injection of their Investiture.

 

In answer to the three questions, then:

 

1. Shards mostly exist in the Spiritual Realm. They are comprised of the Powers of Creation. They convert their Powers into Investiture in the Spiritual Realm (“true” or “raw” Investiture), concentrating it there. When a Shard is satisfied with the Spiritual Realm form of its desired creations (the creations’ Soul or Essence), it pushes that Investiture downward, through the Cognitive Realm to manifest in the Physical Realm.

 

2. The weight of the concentrated Investiture “punctures” a hole in the fabric of the intervening Realms. For whatever reason, that hole does not heal. It remains open for Realmatic transitions. Perhaps these holes form the conduits that Connections between Realms pass through – like electrical wiring running through the Realmatic “house.”  

 

3. I think Brandon “intentionally” uses the “spike” metaphor to convey a sense of the both the narrowness of the conduits and how much like a hypodermic needle they are.

 

Your thoughts?

Edited April 22, 2016 by Confused

[asterion137 he/him]

So i was right about perpendicularities not being the same as shardpools all the time

[Eagle of the Forest Path he/him]

Shardpools 'd be a subset:

All shardpools are perpendicularities, but not all perpendicularities are shardpools.

[ParadoxicalZen he/him]

Although Perpendicularities may just be the Cosmere-term for Shardpools, as I seem to recall the original term was coined by a questioner during an early interview. After all;

Minor SA3 Jasnah excerpt spoilers

we see Ivory call it Honour's Perpendicularity in Shadesmar

[Khyrindor he/him]

I also think that holding enough Investiture can act as a Perpendicularity, as long as it would follow your Intent, or the Intent of the magic. That is how Jasnah can enter the Cognitive Realm at will.