2016-11-30 [Arcanum Unbounded] Borderlands - San Francisco, CA

[Weltall]

Two days until the event. So, who else is going?

I'll be there with a stack of unsigned books, a stack of questions and my 'This coffee is making me Awesome' cup.

Edited November 28, 2016 by Weltall

[Argent he/him]

9 minutes ago, Weltall said:

a stack of questions

May the odds be ever in your favor.

[Herald he/him]

I'm going to be there and I'm so nervous and excited at the same time since it's my first signing. All the books I have read till now are kindle ebooks, but I'm planning to buy one at the store to get a signed copy.
Can anyone suggest some questions to ask? I have read all the cosmere books and I think the answer to most of my questions will be RAFO, so wanted to know how to ask 'reasonable questions'

Edited November 30, 2016 by Herald

[maxal she/her]

Since it has been an ongoing discussion which never seems to go to rest, I'd love if someone could ask Brandon if he could confirm Ym's order now Edgedancer is out. Despite the new clues given into the novella, opinions do not all agree.

 

[Weltall]

2 hours ago, Herald said:

Can anyone suggest some questions to ask? I have read all the cosmere books and I think the answer to most of my questions will be RAFO, so wanted to know how to ask 'reasonable questions'

If you want, you can post the questions you're thinking of asking here and we can give feedback. There's also a big list of questions if you're looking for new ones (and the topic itself is a good place for discussing questions) you might like to check out.

And if you do ask a question and it gets RAFO'd, don't feel bad. It happens to all of us sometimes; in fact the first signing I went to, that's exactly what happened to me.

[skaa he/him]

Here's another question based on something from Arcanum Unbounded:

Khriss talks of the three great domains on Sel. Is there a third empire and a third continent we haven't seen yet?

Edited November 30, 2016 by Ookla the Insipid

[Blightsong he/him]

Just now, Ookla the Insipid said:

Here's another question based on something from Arcanum Unbounded:

Khriss talks of the three great domains on Sel. Is there a third empire we haven't seen yet?

Almost 100% for certain

[skaa he/him]

3 minutes ago, Blightsong said:

Almost 100% for certain

As seen on this thread, some people think the third great domain is Elantris, or the Ire. I think it's on a continent we haven't seen before. Might be worthwhile to ask.

[Blightsong he/him]

1 minute ago, Ookla the Insipid said:

Here's another question based on something from Arcanum Unbounded:

Khriss talks of the three great domains on Sel. Is there a third empire we haven't seen yet?

Almost 100% for certain

[skaa he/him]

22 minutes ago, Blightsong said:

Almost 100% for certain

 

14 minutes ago, Blightsong said:

Almost 100% for certain

 

Well, if you insist.

Here's another one: Is "Drominad" the name of the star/sun in the Drominad System?

I had been wondering why Mashe was the only sun that was given a name in AU. I wish we had more star names in the star chart.

Edited November 30, 2016 by Ookla the Insipid

[Herald he/him]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions.

I have originally thought of these questions. I'll definitely try to ask the empires on Sel if I have time. I'm not sure how many questions I could ask though

1. Is Bavadin refered to as he/she or is it unknown and Khriss assumed the gender? (Hope I get something other than RAFO)
2. Is there more significance to the 10 other planets around the Rosharian start system and them being gaseous? (pretty sure the answer is yes but it would be good to confirm)
3. Do Ym, Stump belong to Edgedancer? Will we see Stump again in the future (in case the first part is RAFO-ed)
4. Have we seen/Are there hints to Hemalurgy in the published novels till now other than Mistborn series? Since Hemalugry can steal any form of investiture.
5. Is Vax present (lurking) in any of the star systems explained in Arcanum Unbounded? (I think there will be more star systems that would be discovered in the future and Vax might be part of them)
6. Have we seen any end-negative systems besides Hemalurgy? Or any other magic system that applies to all forms of investiture?
7. What would have happened if Kelsier hasn't taken Preservation or later Sazed hasn't taken Ruin and Preservation powers? Would the earth have been destroyed due to so much raw power much before the actual destruction due to Ruin's actions?

Edited November 30, 2016 by Herald

[teknopathetic he/him]

On 11/30/2016 at 4:39 PM, Herald said:

Thanks everyone for your suggestions.

I have originally thought of these questions. I'll definitely try to ask the empires on Sel if I have time. I'm not sure how many questions I could ask though

1. Is Bavadin refered to as he/she or is it unknown and Khriss assumed the gender? (Hope I get something other than RAFO)
 

Number 1 has been answered over on Reddit: Bavadin is primarily female, but she has many female and male manifestations and sub deities that she has created. What is unclear is whether or not these sub-deities are real manifestations or just religions she generated as ideas. 

[Herald he/him]

5 minutes ago, teknopathetic said:

Number 1 has been answered over on Reddit: Bavadin is primarily female, but she has many female and male manifestations and sub deities that she has created. What is unclear is whether or not these sub-deities are real manifestations or just religions she generated as ideas. 

Can you provide the Reddit link? Hoping that there might be more discussion there which would shed more light on this.  One thing I understood from Sanderson novels is that most religions are close to the truth. So even if they are ideas generated, there might be some grain of truth somewhere in them

Edited November 30, 2016 by Herald

[PallonianFire he/him]

5 minutes ago, Herald said:

Can you provide the Reddit link?

The big discussion on the Shard is going on here.

[ccstat he/him]

2 hours ago, Herald said:

2. Is there more significance to the 10 other planets around the Rosharian start system and them being gaseous? (pretty sure the answer is yes but it would be good to confirm)

6. Have we seen any end-negative systems besides Hemalurgy? Or any other magic system that applies to all forms of investiture?
7. What would have happened if Kelsier hasn't taken Preservation or later Sazed hasn't taken Ruin and Preservation powers? Would the earth have been destroyed due to so much raw power much before the actual destruction due to Ruin's actions?

I like 7, and the end-negative part of 6 is good (it seems pretty well confirmed to me that the universal applicability bit is unique)

As phrased, 2 doesn't seem likely to get a useful answer, but it has potential. We know that Roshar's moons have unnatural orbits; this strikes me as further evidence of astronomical manipulation in the system. I'm not sure which aspect you are interested it, but my question would be: "The outer 10 gas giants in the Rosharan system suggest a tie to the number ten that predates the arrival of the current Shards. Is the prominent numerology we see around the Cosmere an inherent property of the planets, rather than the Shards who invest them?" Follow up: "Would Ashyn/Braize share the 10-centric numerology of Roshar?"

[ParadoxicalZen he/him]

Questions part deux

Can we get a canon pronunciation of Bavadin?

And a very much needed; Do you have a canon term for each Shard's characteristic Intent/Mandate?

[Blightsong he/him]

5 hours ago, Herald said:

Thanks everyone for your suggestions.

I have originally thought of these questions. I'll definitely try to ask the empires on Sel if I have time. I'm not sure how many questions I could ask though

1. Is Bavadin refered to as he/she or is it unknown and Khriss assumed the gender? (Hope I get something other than RAFO)
2. Is there more significance to the 10 other planets around the Rosharian start system and them being gaseous? (pretty sure the answer is yes but it would be good to confirm)
3. Do Ym, Stump belong to Edgedancer? Will we see Stump again in the future (in case the first part is RAFO-ed)
4. Have we seen/Are there hints to Hemalurgy in the published novels till now other than Mistborn series? Since Hemalugry can steal any form of investiture.
5. Is Vax present (lurking) in any of the star systems explained in Arcanum Unbounded? (I think there will be more star systems that would be discovered in the future and Vax might be part of them)
6. Have we seen any end-negative systems besides Hemalurgy? Or any other magic system that applies to all forms of investiture?
7. What would have happened if Kelsier hasn't taken Preservation or later Sazed hasn't taken Ruin and Preservation powers? Would the earth have been destroyed due to so much raw power much before the actual destruction due to Ruin's actions?

Empires on Sel: 

Spoiler

The direct quote from AU confirming that there are three: "CENTRAL to this system is the planet of Sel—home to multiple empires that, uniquely, have remained somewhat ignorant of one another. It is a willful kind of ignorance, with each of the three great domains pretending that the others are mere blips on the map, barely worth notice." Notice that when she says three great domains she is still referring to the empires. It's totally confirmed.

4. Brandon has said that we have seen Hemallurgy in other books, but that it is very unobvious and hasn't really been hinted at.

7. The times we have seen a shards power left without a Vessel before it didn't destroy the planet, so I would assume Scadrial wouldn't have been destroyed.

[Argent he/him]

11 hours ago, Ookla the Insipid said:

Here's another one: Is "Drominad" the name of the star/sun in the Drominad System?

I would straight-up ask why the Drominad is "nicknamed" (Khriss' word) so.

7 hours ago, Herald said:

6. Have we seen any end-negative systems besides Hemalurgy? Or any other magic system that applies to all forms of investiture?

I asked this last year, but I doubt the answer has changed:

Quote

ARGENT

Are there any other end-negative magic systems out there other than hemalurgy?

BRANDON SANDERSON

Yes.

ARGENT

Have we seen either the system or the world one of them is in?

BRANDON SANDERSON

Literal RAFO

Maybe I can offer you an alternative question? For example:

There seems to be some relationship between dominant aspects of a Shardworld's Physical realm and the primary building block of its Cognitive realm (e.g. the Cognitive Realm around Scadrial looks misty, the one corresponding to Roshar is full of spheres). 

1. Is it possible to reliably deduce what a Shardworld's Cognitive realm will look like if we knew a lot about its Physical?
2. Why spheres on Roshar? Something related to the highstorms makes more sense in my mind.

Edited November 30, 2016 by Argent

[Farnsworth]

Just coming home from the event! He was awesome! I asked two questions (I wanted more, but had no time). I asked Szeth is a Skybreaker, and why was Hoid drinking perfume that time he met Wax. They were BOTH RAFOed! I got my first card though, which was nice.

Hey, is they guy with the two awesome clear-bladed daggers on here?

Edited December 1, 2016 by Ookla the figberts

[Herald he/him]

On the way back home. He was patient and answered all my questions though half of them were RAFOed and I finally got a RAFO card. Will update everything in two hours. Meanwhile an interesting thing - Asked for a dedication from a resident of Yolen. Got "May two worlds become one to you" He stressed that it's worlds not realms!!!

Edited December 1, 2016 by Herald

[skaa he/him]

2 minutes ago, Herald said:

On the way back to home. He was patient and answered all my questions though half of them were RAFOed and I finally got a RAFO card. Will update everything in two hours. Meanwhile an interesting thing - Asked for a dedication from a resident of Yolen. Got "May two worlds become one to you" He stressed that it's worlds not realms!!!

Reminds me of what Hoid said in Warbreaker (Chapter Thirty Two):

Quote

It was a distant place where two lands meet and gods have died.

 

[Herald he/him]

 

There is a long line and it's almost 10 PM, but a big thank you to Brandon for patiently answering questions asked by everyone.
Personalized copy - " Dedication from a resident of Yolen please"
"May two worlds become one to you" He stressed that it's worlds not realms. I'll give a link to the picture later.

Here are the questions I asked:
1.a. Is it possible to reliably deduce what a Shardworld's Cognitive realm will look like if we knew a lot about its Physical realm? For example, mists in Scadrial, spheres in Roshar etc. (Thanks @Argent)
A. Yes, but it works in odd ways. So it may not work in the logical way that you think
1.b. Why spheres on Roshar? Something related to the highstorms makes more sense, right?
A. Yes there is a reason for them being spheres. RAFO

2.  How do we pronounce Bavadin? Have we see his/her influence on other worlds till now – like Austre in Nalthis or other religions which Sazed studied on Scadrial for example.
A. ba-va-din (ba as in batman, va as in  want, din as in dinner). Yes you have seen her influence in other worlds other than Taldain. He wouldn't confirm if it is Nalthis or Scadrial or any other planet.

3. a. Is there more significance to the 10 other planets around the Rosharian start system and them being gaseous? We know that Roshar's moons have unnatural orbits; so there seems to be some astronomical manipulation in the system. 
A. Yes there is significance of 16 in cosmere and 10 in Rosharian system.
3. b. The outer 10 gas giants in the Rosharan system suggest a tie to the number 10 that predates the arrival of the current Shards. Is the prominent numerology we see around the Cosmere an inherent property of the planets, rather than the Shards who invest them? 
A. Big RAFO
3. c. Would Ashyn/Braize share the 10-centric numerology of Roshar?
A. Yes 10-centric is for the entire Rosharian planetary system...wait Braize is 9-centric

4. Do Ym, Stump belong to Edgedancer? Will we see Stump again in the future?
A. Ym is not an Edgedancer. You will see Stump in the future novels though you may not see Tashikki much again.

5. Is Vax present (lurking) in any of the star systems explained in Arcanum Unbounded? Personally I think there will be more star systems that would be discovered in the future and Vax might be part of them. Comment?
A. RAFO for Vax. Yes, there might be more stars. The picture on the cover is the sight observed from one particular place (Silverlight? RAFO). Let's just say that there are more planetary systems present in the existing star chart itself that you don't know yet. (He RAFO-ed when I asked if Yolen is present in the dragon constellation)

6.a. Have we seen any of the system or the world that has end-negative magic system other than Hemalurgy? 
A. Yes there is one more end-negative magic system and you have seen minor hints of it.
6. b. What about Hemalurgy in other worlds other than Mistborn?
A. Yes. (I again asked with the exception of Kandra, have seen Hemalugry such as people who may have been spiked. He repeated "You have seen Hemalugry in other worlds."  (In other words he is tight-lipped about Kandra part - neither yes or no) 

7. What would have happened if Kelsier hasn't taken Preservation or later Sazed hasn't taken Ruin and Preservation powers? Would the earth have been destroyed due to so much raw power much before the actual destruction due to Ruin's actions?
A. Yes. Bad things would have happened (Me - "Like Sel?" Him - "Not going to answer that. Just bad things would have happened")

At the end he thanked me for the questions!! I was almost stammering while asking all these questions since I'm so excited and nervous. Luckily I have the questions printed on paper. While leaving, I thanked him a lot. First time meeting him and what a memorable event!! Undoubtedly one of the most humble and good-natured author I have met.

Edited December 1, 2016 by Herald

[Weltall]

3 hours ago, Ookla the figberts said:

Just coming home from the event! He was awesome! I asked two questions (I wanted more, but had no time). I asked Szeth is a Skybreaker, and why was Hoid drinking perfume that time he met Wax. They were BOTH RAFOed! I got my first card though, which was nice.

Hey, is they guy with the two awesome clear-bladed daggers on here?

I heard you ask those (I was waaaaay in the back past the cafe) and I love that you thought to ask about the perfume. And he said that's one he does plan on answering at some point. The mystery deepens...

1 hour ago, Herald said:

Asked for a dedication from a resident of Yolen. Got "May two worlds become one to you" He stressed that it's worlds not realms!!!

Oooh, nice. I love learning anything about Yolen.

 

For my own reactions:

Brandon is amazing. By the time I got to signing and asking questions, he'd been doing it for the best part of three hours (already past the time he said he expected to be there, during the Q&A) with probably sixty people after me and he was going like he could keep doing it until dawn. And he didn't even flinch when I brought out a stack of books. He said some people early on brought twenty, so I guess that relatively speaking, I wasn't too demanding. And apparently someone at a recent David Weber signing at Borderlands brought multiple carts worth of books, which just boggles the mind.  So, my questions:

- I asked if someone who had a lot of Breath would have it weaken collectively, in the same way that the single Breaths of children are more vibrant than others and move one slightly closer to a Heightening, then weaken as they grow older (and contribute slightly less towards a Heightening). He said that it wouldn't be noticeable once you accumulate enough Breath and, for example, Hoid wouldn't find himself suddenly losing perfect pitch as a function of time.

- I asked if Nazh's knife didn't glow to Kelsier's eyes because the metal wasn't from Scadrial generally or whether it was a metal with some particular property. I didn't even get to finish the second half of that before he got that smile and I knew what was coming next. Sure enough, I collected a shiny RAFO card. Incidentally, is that a recent thing? Because the last signing I went to was a bit over a year ago and he didn't have those then.

- On the less serious side, I asked what Hoid's favorite flavor of instant noodles is. At first I think he misheard me asking what his own favorite is ('spicy Korean ramen' apparently, though I don't remember the exact specifics) so I clarified. He said that Hoid is looking forward to instant noodles but they aren't Yolenese and he knows about them via the same method that he knows where he needs to be in the Cosmere.

- That gave me the opportunity to ask one last question, about feruchemical chromium and whether storing fortune would cause you to risk experiencing really improbable things, like the entropy curse in The Dresden Files. He said he wasn't going to answer questions about fortune, that the MAG shouldn't be taken as gospel on this point (I don't remember how it works there and didn't mention it, he brought it up on his own) and that he's planning something different than we might be thinking, for how that mechanic will function.

I left a couple other questions on the table, so the sixty or so people behind me could have their turn. Lots and lots of very dedicated (and patient) fans there.

Edited December 1, 2016 by Weltall

[emailanimal he/him]

1 hour ago, Herald said:

Ym is not an Edgedancer.

A-HA!

Truthwatcher then.

[Necarion]

4 hours ago, Ookla the figberts said:

Hey, is they guy with the two awesome clear-bladed daggers on here?

Hey! Thanks for calling them awesome! They were fun to make (laser cut acrylic, then beveled, polished, and leather-wrapped).  

46 minutes ago, Weltall said:

- On the less serious side, I asked what Hoid's favorite flavor of instant noodles is. At first I think he misheard me asking what his own favorite is ('spicy Korean ramen' apparently, though I don't remember the exact specifics) so I clarified. He said that Hoid is looking forward to instant noodles but they aren't Yolenese and he knows about them via the same method that he knows where he needs to be in the Cosmere.

This is vaguely related to one of the silly questions I haven't had a chance to ask: "What other Vessels have bought Hoid Drinks"

I got about 25 minutes of recording of the signing, but other than a couple minor questions (posted below) and my exchange, the questions were more focused on writing.  I will try to transcribe the discussions later, but for now I wanted to post the Cosmere-specific Q&A now.

Questions from others in line (Timestamps on my audio recording)
11:08:
Q: I really appreciate the fact that Steris is a character who is there.
Brandon: Steris is my favorite character of the new generation of mistborn. She is a delight to write about.

11:45:
Q: Is Lift going to be in the next book?
Brandon: Yes 
Q: Yay!

Q: What happened to Vivenna?
B: This will be answered very soon

Questions from my party:
[These were a series of questions in signed books (we bought a lot of books tonight!) as well as oral questions. I have transcribed the book questions as well]

Friend: As context, we’re physicists and love playing around with [the mechanics] of this universe.

Necarion: Do Vessels have any flexibility in expressing the intent of a Shard, particularly if the Intent is open to many interpretations? 
Brandon: Yes they do. So, the Vessel’s mind and how they perceive is going to have a large influence on how things are expressed and I think all of them have some wiggle room. But there are some deterministic things that are also going to push them.  You know, holding Ruin, Harmony may not go down the same path that happened to Ati.
Necarion: So Saddeas would express Honor differently than Tanavast?
Brandon: Yes he would.

Necarion: Would a soulstamp carved from a gemstone and infused with Stormlight be more likely to Take?
Brandon: No it would not

Necarion: Would a Mistborn have to worry about accidentally burning her copper IUD?
Brandon: Yes she would, absolutely (Laughs)
               [Necarion's note: this confirms that metal does not have to be in the stomach to be burned]

Friend: So my quick question: Can you use Identity (I love the speed bubbles!) to anchor speed bubbles to yourself?
Brandon: Uh, this is possible. That’s less a matter of Identity. What’s gonna happen there, like, the more someone uses the powers, the more familiar and intermingled with their soul the powers become, and they are able to accomplish things that others can’t. This would be like a mistborn learning to hover a coin, right, which they can do, but most think you can’t. That’s the sort of level we’re going with.
Necarion: So a savant could?
Brandon: A savant could totally do that.  The problem is, things moving in and out of a speed bubble, there’s a transference of energy. This is how we keep speed bubbles from irradiating people when light moves through them, right, red shift. And so there’s a transfer of energy directly from the spiritual realm, which means that moving with a speed bubble, you’re gonna run into that, and it’s gonna be, it’s gonna cause all kinds of problems, but it would be possible.
               [Necarion’s note: This might be a very interesting method of harnessing energy, much more efficient than my earlier Terris Wheel idea]

Friend: Now, do things actually move unpredictable at the edge [of a speed bubble] or do they refract out? Is it just that geometry is hard?
Brandon: No, I have a level of unpredictability, I mean we’re Chaos Theory. The idea being, you could predict if you had a perfect closed system and things like this, but it’s unfeasible for most technology and minds to be able to predict.
Friend: Thank you

Necarion: One other speed bubble question. Is the speed of light the same inside and outside a speed bubble?
Brandon: Um, yes. The speed of light is the same. Good question, you’re trying to figure out the FTL.
Necarion: Also, it would eliminate the redshift if the speed of light…
Brandon: If the speed of light were similar [Necarion’s note: there would be no redshift if the speed of light were directly proportional to the ‘speed of time’. Alas this theory doesn’t seem to be valid]. That’s one thing we considered, but it felt too unintuitive, plus it’s just not how I imagined things working. So, no it is not, but that’s a good question. It is something we considered.
Friend: I just want to setup a lab in a speed bubble and do fun things.

Necarion: Could a double-nicrosil Twinborn compound Breath or Stormlight?
Brandon: Uh, you’re getting a RAFO card on _that_. You’re getting SUCH a RAFO card on that!

Necarion: Is Taldain orbiting at a Lagrangian point?
Brandon: [Laughs]
Necarion: It would make the orbits work
Brandon: [Long pause] I’m not sure the implications, I have to think through implications before answering questions
Necarion: The situation I’m thinking of, it would orbit the big star but at the same period as the smaller star.
Brandon: Yeah, well, I’ll just say ‘yes’, but I want to make sure I’m not saying ‘yes’, without...well, yes that’s how it has to work
Necarion: Right
Brandon: Because [Taldain] I want to be not like Roshar where we have unstable orbits and things. Uh, but I… I’m saying yes, but I hope that doesn’t get me into trouble scientifically.
           [Necarion’s note 1: While the L1 Lagrange point is an equilibrium point in the three-body problem, it is technically an unstable one. However, this seems a system that could be corrected with a small input of Shardic intervention, far less than would be required by any other astronomical arrangement I can think of]
           [Necarion’s note 2: Note the comment about ‘unstable orbits’ in the Rosharan system. This might account for the rapid variation in seasons on the planet]

Necarion: The compounding trick that the Lord Ruler performed. When you’re storing investiture, are you storing your ‘mistborn-ness’ or all the powers individually?
Brandon: All of the powers individually
Necarion: [Surprised, because this dashed a favorite theory of mine] Oh okay!
Brandon: Yeah, the compounding trick. Really what’s happening is you’re fueling feruchemy with the power of allomancy, but you’re filtering it through you, and then you’re storing it.
Necarion: So it’s not that you’re a more powerful mistborn when you’ve tapped [investiture]
Brandon: No, good question.