Spike of Mourning?

[Halyo_Alex]

So I've been thinking about Hemalurgy a lot recently. One of my latest questions is about a multi-metal spike (like how the Bands of Mourning are a multi-metalmind). If you made a spike of all 16 metals (or, 15; adding aluminum would be kinda dumb), would it work? would the spike steal all of the things that its metals would steal at once? or would just the metal on the tip of the spike get charged, and the rest be inert? But then, what if the metals were radially arranged, such that all 15 spanned from tip to spike-head?

Assuming that it DOES work and steals EVERYTHING that hemalurgy can from the donor... What now? You have this super spike, where do you... put it? What the heck kind of bind point does a spike like this even have? ...The heart? Maybe where the steel Linchpin of the Inquisitors goes?

Moreover, could you do this with the Kandra Blessings (assuming you had the knowledge and means to turn the spikes into actual Blessings)?

A simpler version of this might be a Lerasium/Atium multispike, since that would steal all the human aspects and all the powers (allomancy/feruchemy). But you'd miss stuff like Chromium and Duralumin's hemalurgic effects, right?

[Calderis]

I think that there's multiple issues here that could all potentially be overcome on the theft side of things... And would be much much harder to overcome on the implantation side.

Hemalurgy requires three things. Intent to make the spike, the proper metal to hold the charge, and knowledge of the proper bindpoints. And for what your proposing, I think it's that last one that's going to be an issue. 

The heart, despite what it seems like, is not a universal bindpoint. 

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Brandon Sanderson

So, since I was doing other things.  Hemalurgy-when you spike, you place the spike in a place that determines which charge the spike gets.  

Kythis

Through the heart seems to pick up universally.

Brandon Sanderson

It depends on where in the heart. It's like acupuncture. This was designed from acupuncture and you get very specific on which nerve you're hitting and things like that

Kythis

So the spike will never pick up more than one power.

Brandon Sanderson

Well, the way they know how to do it.

Footnote: This clarifies two previous questions.
Words of Radiance Omaha signing (March 13, 2014)

So each segment of the spike would need to contact the corresponding bindpoint for its applicable power. 

There may also be Intent issues here, requiring you to be wanting to make a spike of the proper type, as the inquisitors had lef themselves to believe that atium stole temporal allomancy powers when in truth it can steal. Anything... 

But, assuming that you could visualize the things you wish to take properly and the metals were oriented properly to hit the correct bindpoints, yes it probably could steal multiple things. 

What happens with implantation though? I'd have to assume that each segment of the spike would count as a separate spike, which would then immediately open a person to external control. You may need to place this spike in your own heart to make it work though to begin with, which then creates a preety nasty vulnerability because removing the spike would mean instant death (and it may be enough spikes in itself to require the lynch pin spike that inquisitors needed to keep themselves alive). 

Anywhere else though, and you run into the issue of the majority of this spike not contacting a corresponding bindpoint with which to grant its power. 

[Halyo_Alex]

46 minutes ago, Calderis said:

I think that there's multiple issues here that could all potentially be overcome on the theft side of things... And would be much much harder to overcome on the implantation side.

Hemalurgy requires three things. Intent to make the spike, the proper metal to hold the charge, and knowledge of the proper bindpoints. And for what your proposing, I think it's that last one that's going to be an issue. 

The heart, despite what it seems like, is not a universal bindpoint. 

So each segment of the spike would need to contact the corresponding bindpoint for its applicable power. 

There may also be Intent issues here, requiring you to be wanting to make a spike of the proper type, as the inquisitors had lef themselves to believe that atium stole temporal allomancy powers when in truth it can steal. Anything... 

But, assuming that you could visualize the things you wish to take properly and the metals were oriented properly to hit the correct bindpoints, yes it probably could steal multiple things. 

What happens with implantation though? I'd have to assume that each segment of the spike would count as a separate spike, which would then immediately open a person to external control. You may need to place this spike in your own heart to make it work though to begin with, which then creates a preety nasty vulnerability because removing the spike would mean instant death (and it may be enough spikes in itself to require the lynch pin spike that inquisitors needed to keep themselves alive). 

Anywhere else though, and you run into the issue of the majority of this spike not contacting a corresponding bindpoint with which to grant its power. 

Alright, I figured as much. Still, I'm glad I asked. It was still insightful to some hemalurgic stuff I was a little hazy on.

[Bigmikey357]

The key phrase to that WOB is the way they know how to do it. That kinda tells me that a method for a Spike of Mourning exists to be discovered by some megalomaniac tyrant with Cosmere knowledge and a dream. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on your preference) we likely won't get to see any alternate methods of Hemalurgy either implied or on screen.