How was Kelsier able to speak to Spook?

[Arcoss]

It's been established that Preservation can only listen to people's thoughts, not speak to them

[Eki]

(I haven't read SH yet)

I've thought about this, and the only thing I can think of is that he used his personal connection to Spook, rather than Preservation's power. Perhaps the connection was augmented by Preservation, but the actual 'link' was Kelsier's own. If that's not it, then I don't know.

[Unodus he/him]

Maybe it's to do with the idea that Kelsier is more connected to ruin than preservation? 

[Voidus]

He can whisper to people, not hold full conversations or produce hallucinations like Ruin can.

[Oversleep]

I remember a WoB that it was also due to Spook believing in Kelsier.

And remember that Vin also whispered to Elend when she held Preservation.

[Jondesu he/him]

Yeah, I think it's shown (though not outright stated) that a strong Connection between the Vessel and another person can let them speak to them, though it ends up being faint in the case of the two holders of Preservation we see (probably because Preservation's power seems to not work well for that).  Vin was very strongly Connected to Elend (they not only loved each other very strongly, but were married, which would boost that Connection by the Cognitive bond they and everyone else perceive because of the marriage), and Kelsier was very connected to Spook, mostly because Spook idolized Kelsier so much, I suspect.

 

jW

[Alfa he/him]

There is also the point, that (at least the Scadrian) shards can only "speak" through "cracks" in the mind, usually to people that are slightly not right in their head (probably the reason why some prophets were kinda off, but that's another topic), or, in Ruin's case, spiked (which seems to be a rather big "crack"). But the shards differed on one level: Ruin could deepen that cracks, preservation smooth them, so Ruin could more-or-less choose with whom to talk, while Preservation seemed to heal the "cracks" and so making it more difficult to "speak".
It lead to the fact, that Kelsier could speak more or less with the single one "very, very cracked", not spiked man he had a strong Connection with.

[Jondesu he/him]

Not to mention that Spook had been spiked, and I suspect that damage doesn't just heal immediately when the spike is removed.

jW

[Eki]

Not to mention that Spook had been spiked, and I suspect that damage doesn't just heal immediately when the spike is removed.

jW

Once, when Vin lost/removed (don't remember which) her earring in HoA, Ruin immediately disappeared.

[Landis963 he/him]

Once, when Vin lost/removed (don't remember which) her earring in HoA, Ruin immediately disappeared.

The damage was still there, though. The spike just gave Ruin an in that he wouldn't have without it. (Even Kelsier, as connected to Ruin as he was, as broken as his experiences made him, did not hear Ruin's voice) Of course, it quickly became a moot point because Vin Ascended not 2 minutes later.

[Eki]

The damage was still there, though. The spike just gave Ruin an in that he wouldn't have without it. (Even Kelsier, as connected to Ruin as he was, as broken as his experiences made him, did not hear Ruin's voice) Of course, it quickly became a moot point because Vin Ascended not 2 minutes later.

No, this was earlier, in Fedrex (?). I think it was when Ruin found out the atium wasn't in the city.

 

My point was that in that case, the connection to Vin was broken immediately. Maybe that doesn't mean that the 'hole' in the spiritweb was gone though, I dunno.

[Jondesu he/him]

No, this was earlier, in Fedrex (?). I think it was when Ruin found out the atium wasn't in the city.

 

My point was that in that case, the connection to Vin was broken immediately. Maybe that doesn't mean that the 'hole' in the spiritweb was gone though, I dunno.

 

True, but Ruin didn't have any direct personal Connection to Vin.  I suspect that with that combination, of the damage to Spook's soul, and Kelsier's Connection to him (and perhaps also the fact that he started speaking to Spook immediately after he pulled out the spike?) was what did the trick.

 

jW

[natc]

To begin with all allomancers have a crack of some sort due to snapping, so even without Spook having been spiked Kelsier would probably have something to work with.

Actually, I believe the mechanism of interfering with copperminds involved screwing up the feruchemist's memories as they are being transcribed? Perhaps both shards can only whisper, Ruin being a bit louder and clearer by virtue of not being Preservation; the spikes possibly strengthen the link to the point that he could have entire conversations and have hallucinatory presence.

[Oudeis he/him]

It's also worth noting, when Kelsier speaks to Spook, he's expressly... trying to think of how to phrase it. He's baring his soul, letting the power of Preservation slip a little bit away from himself. It's more like a thing Kelsier-the-Cognitive-Shadow could have done, and he's deliberately trying to reduce the interference from Preservation's power.