Lightsworn Panda he/him Posted March 28, 2014 Report Share Posted March 28, 2014 Hello everyone. This is my first post, so please correct me on beginner's mistakes. Also, please notify me if this topic has already been done. Anyway, lets get onto the topic. After reading Calamity (multiple times), I've started to wonder what Calamity is. It has the qualities of a Shard, but it isn't in the Shardworld system. So what is it? That's the topic of this discussion. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
name_here Posted March 28, 2014 Report Share Posted March 28, 2014 Well, it's the thing which gives Epics their powers. It is also mysterious and red. I'm personally convinced it's spatially anomalous in some form. It's visible even through the shroud above Newcago and maintains an apparently fixed position. However, Epics appear to show up everywhere, which would require it to either send its effects through the entire planet or follow an orbit, and under our current understanding of physics anything that can pass through the planet would have an exceedingly low probability of interacting with humans. Plus, wavelengths not included in sunlight are exceedingly rare, so it is highly unlikely it just happens to glow on a wavelength not blocked by a shroud that completely obscures the visible and UV portions of sunlight. My theory is that it doesn't really have a position in three-dimensional space, and appears to be directly overhead from anywhere on Earth. Nightwielder's shroud can't block it because it's not actually above the shroud. However, it apparently manifests high enough that buildings can block it, since we see no evidence it lights interiors. I also thought about it maybe being a mental effect that causes people to perceive it as being present when outdoors, but no one ever comments that it doesn't show up on cameras. Although it theoretically could be complex enough to alter people's perception of photographs, that's a pretty big stretch. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kobold King he/him Posted August 13, 2014 Report Share Posted August 13, 2014 My strategy is to guess absolutely everything in the hope that one random guess will turn out to be accurate. So without further ado-- Calamity is an Epic, and the Epic phenomenon is caused by something unrelated. Calamity is man-made. Calamity is not man-made. Calamity was built by aliens. Calamity is an ascended A.I. Calamity is ultimately attempting to make humanity stronger. Calamity is one of the Shards of Adonalsium. Calamity is the Flying Spaghetti Monster (credit to TwiLyghtSansSparkles). Calamity was caused by one of the earliest Epics, and the real cause is hidden. Calamity is magic. Calamity is scientific. Calamity is a metaphor. A very bad metaphor. Calamity is a giant glowing trollface. Calamity is more awesome than we currently understand. Calamity is actually kind of lame up close. Calamity is made of fairy dust. Calamity is important. Calamity is unimportant. Calamity is bees. Calamity is Jane. Calamity is a window into the future: specifically into the third book, Calamity. Well, I'm out of ideas now. Anyone else? 16 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her Posted August 13, 2014 Report Share Posted August 13, 2014 Fun fact: When I shared my espoused theory (Calamity is an Epic) my sister mocked me with a modified Horton Hears a Who! quote: Calamity is a giant Epic in the sky! Don't bother looking; he's invisible. To which I said Ha! And also Hahaha, because I found that remark hilarious. Also, the Flying Spaghetti Monster theory isn't entirely mine. Well, it is, but I wrote it for a character who is supposed to be insane, so I'm not sure how much I believe it. It does hold a certain amount of water, though…. Calamity could very well be a bad metaphor. Like all bad metaphors, it taints the entire story world and turns characters into powerful caricatures of themselves who proceed to destroy the story from the inside out. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edgedancer he/him Posted August 14, 2014 Report Share Posted August 14, 2014 Calamity is a metaphor. A very bad metaphor. Does that mean that David created Calamity? Will he realize his true powers and ascend to god like power levels in Calamity? 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voidus Posted August 14, 2014 Report Share Posted August 14, 2014 Calamity is a giant glowing bowler hat.That is all that need be said on the matter. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pathfinder Posted August 15, 2014 Report Share Posted August 15, 2014 (edited) I'm personally convinced it's spatially anomalous in some form. It's visible even through the shroud above Newcago and maintains an apparently fixed position. However, Epics appear to show up everywhere, which would require it to either send its effects through the entire planet or follow an orbit, and under our current understanding of physics anything that can pass through the planet would have an exceedingly low probability of interacting with humans. Plus, wavelengths not included in sunlight are exceedingly rare, so it is highly unlikely it just happens to glow on a wavelength not blocked by a shroud that completely obscures the visible and UV portions of sunlight. The only problem with this line of reasoning, is it is stated on numerous occasions that epics break or plain and simple ignore the laws of physics constantly. So it would stand to reason that Calamity itself, the very cause of epics, would do the same. So I would not count out the possibility that Calamity could just sit in space, locked in one location, and still affect the entire planet despite all laws of reality stating otherwise. Tends to make it rather difficult to logically deduce anything about it Edited August 15, 2014 by Pathfinder 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her Posted August 15, 2014 Report Share Posted August 15, 2014 The only problem with this line of reasoning, is it is stated on numerous occasions that epics break or plain and simple ignore the laws of physics constantly. So it would stand to reason that Calamity itself, the very cause of epics, would do the same. So I would not count out the possibility that Calamity could just sit in space, locked in one location, and still affect the entire planet despite all laws of reality stating otherwise. Tends to make it rather difficult to logically deduce anything about it Well, since it grants Epics the power to break the laws of physics (weaponizing shadows, destroying mass) it follows that Calamity would be able to break the laws of physics, too. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pathfinder Posted August 15, 2014 Report Share Posted August 15, 2014 Well, since it grants Epics the power to break the laws of physics (weaponizing shadows, destroying mass) it follows that Calamity would be able to break the laws of physics, too. I'm confused.....I thought that's what I said? lol 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edgedancer he/him Posted August 16, 2014 Report Share Posted August 16, 2014 I'm confused.....I thought that's what I said? lol You did. However, when discussed Calamity destroys the causality of argumentation and causes people to miss-read and repeat others. It´s just a troll like that. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kobold King he/him Posted August 16, 2014 Report Share Posted August 16, 2014 You did. However, when discussed Calamity destroys the causality of argumentation and causes people to miss-read and repeat others. It´s just a troll like that. Calamity the novel is going to be one pain in the neck to read then. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
potatopicker he/him Posted September 2, 2014 Report Share Posted September 2, 2014 As I read Steelheart, my mind went immediately to this Writing Excuses podcast from 2011: http://www.writingexcuses.com/2011/12/04/writing-excuses-6-27-fantasy-setting-yard-sale/ where the crew brainstorms a world where people are given magical powers based on a passing astrological phenomenon (dust from meteors or a passing comet) that only comes every couple of hundred or thousand of years. Granted, the podcast takes the idea to different places, but the appearance of Calamity and the coinciding appearance of magical abilities in people seemed incredibly familiar. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kobold King he/him Posted September 3, 2014 Report Share Posted September 3, 2014 Here's what I want to ask Brandon Sanderson-- "If there were multiple sapient races on Earth, would Calamity grant powers to all of them, or only to humans?" This question might shed some light as to whether Calamity is extraterrestrial in nature, or whether it has a special connection to the human race. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pathfinder Posted September 4, 2014 Report Share Posted September 4, 2014 Here's what I want to ask Brandon Sanderson-- "If there were multiple sapient races on Earth, would Calamity grant powers to all of them, or only to humans?" This question might shed some light as to whether Calamity is extraterrestrial in nature, or whether it has a special connection to the human race. I am leaning towards only humans, otherwise dolphins would kill us all...... 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Kobold King he/him Posted November 11, 2014 Popular Post Report Share Posted November 11, 2014 Guys, I think I know what--or who--Calamity is. It's big and red. It gives gifts. It exists in a far away, hard-to-reach location. It is capable of defying the laws of physics. It sees you when you're sleeping. It influences whether you're naughty or nice. If we can just confirm December 25th as the publication date of Calamity, this will be entirely confirmed. 18 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RawToast225 he/him Posted November 12, 2014 Report Share Posted November 12, 2014 What if Calamity was a spontaneous gathering of Dark Matter that had an inverse effect on the human race? I don't know. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redbird he/him Posted November 13, 2014 Report Share Posted November 13, 2014 What exactly do you mean by inverse effect? And isn't dark matter incorporeal? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voidus Posted November 13, 2014 Report Share Posted November 13, 2014 What exactly do you mean by inverse effect? And isn't dark matter incorporeal? Possibly, if it's composed of WIMPs (Weakly Interaacting Massive Particles) but no one has tried touching Calamity yet so it could still work. (Although a glowing thing can't really be made of dark matter ) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RawToast225 he/him Posted November 13, 2014 Report Share Posted November 13, 2014 Anti matter, then? I don't know. I'm just playing with ideas. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edgedancer he/him Posted November 13, 2014 Report Share Posted November 13, 2014 If the game Bastion has taught me anything it is that Calamity is an attempt at a superweapon gone wrong. Although, I like the Santa theory better. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pathfinder Posted November 13, 2014 Report Share Posted November 13, 2014 If Calamity is a bad metaphor gone wrong, then maybe David IS Calamity. This could also tie in your theory edgedancer. basically calamity was whole once, but when it was used something went wrong and separated into the entity we know and david. Which would explain david's hatred and yet also fascination with the epics. indirectly they were created by him. totally pulling this outta my but, and not serious at all, but would be REALLY funny if i was right lolol 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RawToast225 he/him Posted November 13, 2014 Report Share Posted November 13, 2014 Lol, yep. That's how it happened. His fascination had nothing to do with the fact that one of the Epics killed his father and he is in love with one of them. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her Posted November 14, 2014 Report Share Posted November 14, 2014 I don't know, guys. That Santa theory will be tough to beat. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoidhunter he/him Posted November 15, 2014 Report Share Posted November 15, 2014 I have no firm evidence to support this...but I kindof hope that earth from steelheart ends up being a cosmere coreworld. You have to admit that there are some similarities to earth amongst the coreworlds. 1. Calamity (it sounds like a shard of infinity) ever since it showed up...only certain people...have started displaying supernatural powers. 2. All of the cosmere worlds have some earthlike animals...horses...chickens...HUMANS...and some of them have legeds and far distant histories about rabbits (Hoid briefly mentions rabbits to Shallan and Vin mentions artistic depictions of rabbits in a lords keep) and other earthlike life. 3. On Scadrial...knowledge of things like gunpowder...steam engines...and other technology was known...but suppressed by the lord ruler for a very...very long time. 4. The title of steelheart book 3 is calamity...possibly because this is where the big reveal of calamity as a shard happens? Maybe...in all of the known cosmere worlds we have seen so far...the shattering of Adonalsium and the resulting shards taking up residence there...was something that happened a long time ago...but in the steelheart series...this is something that JUST happened. Sanderson gives us little hints that suggest that each of the cosmere worlds used to be earthlike a long time ago...giving them ample time to become these strange alien terrains as a result of the supernatural forces acting upon them over epochs...but Dave from earth is living through the first days of living on a world with a shard..........................????????????????????????????????? Feel free to argue................ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Joe in the Bush Posted November 15, 2014 Report Share Posted November 15, 2014 All the YA books (Alcatraz, Rithamist, Steelheart) Are set in AlternateUniverses of Earth, and are confirmed by Brandon to not be Cosmere. Upvotes to whoever finds that WoB, I'm too lazy right now. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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