Connection Hacking

[Kramerfarve]

First off, shoutout to @RShara for the Cosmere history Doc, it led to this crackpot theory.

 

Gist of it is this, could someone like Dalinar create connection of a different type than we’ve seen already, and in so doing hack into other magic systems that require it? We’ve seen him forge connection to speak another language by touching a person while they are speaking, could he do the same by touching someone using a different system? If it were Awakening, would this allow a stormlight fuel hack?

 

thanks all, and thanks again to @RShara

[Chromium Compounder]

I don’t think Awakening requires connection.  It seems to me like the only systems that do are Selish.  For Allomancy and Feruchemy it takes the right bloodlines (barring any Lerasium).  For Awakening it’s all about how many breaths you have, and everyone there is born with one.  For surgebinding it requires either a Nahel bond or an Honorblade.  It feels like of those the Nahel bond is the most similar to connection.  I’ve theorized that Bondsmiths might have a resonance that encourages others to become squires to other orders, but I think that’s the closest we’ll see to this.

On another note, what you said about doing a stormlight fuel hack, I don’t think it could work. I don’t think an Awakener can use stormlight for actual Awakening.  Stormlight is a very active form of investiture, and doesn’t like to stay in one place, while Breaths are sticky.  When you put them somewhere they stay there until you take them back.  There’s also that Breath is literally a piece of a person’s soul, which is why it has the intelligence it needs to understand the commands.  For stormlight you’d have to take some investiture with intelligence (like a spren) and put it into the thing you wanted to ‘awaken’.  That may be possible, but not just with regular stormlight.  

The only stormlight fuel hacks we’ve seen are Zahel using stormlight instead of breath to survive and Nightblood consuming it when drawn, both of which are very non-specific about the type of investiture they need.

[RShara]

It would take so much power to hack Connection that way that it's practically impossible. This WoB is about Forgery but the same idea should apply:

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rani

Any kind of Investiture to make a Shardblade?

Brandon Sanderson

Not any but there are multiple methods.  Some work better than others.

rani

Can you Forge a Shardblade?

Brandon Sanderson

To Forge a Shardblade, meaning make a regular sword through Forgery into a shardblade, would require so much Investiture it’s like asking if we can make lead into gold using a particle accelerator.  Yes but it's horribly, horribly, horribly inefficient.

Calamity Seattle signing (Feb. 17, 2016)

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MavenSoul

I'm wondering if Shai could create a stamp that would turn someone into an Allomancer. Or, alternatively, create a stamp that would break a bond between a Radiant and their Spren?

Brandon Sanderson

This is possible--but likely beyond Shai's ability. It would require large amounts of investiture. The second would be easier.

Skyward Pre-Release AMA (Oct. 15, 2018)

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Questioner (paraphrased)

Could Shai Soul Forge herself into becoming an Elantrian?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

That would be really hard. First of all, she'd have to change where she's born, then Soul Forge the fact that she became an Elantrian. Even then, she'd probably look like an Elantrian, but not have any powers. There would probably need to be some kind of bridge, or she would need some kind of super push from AonDor to make it work.

Orem signing 2014 (Dec. 6, 2014)

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Questioner

Could a Forger re-write their history to adjust the kind of metal they burn as an Allomancer?

Brandon Sanderson

They could, but it actually wouldn't do anything, because the magic would not be able to replicate the other magic.

Questioner

So they would not be able to re-write history in the necessary way?

Brandon Sanderson

They would not be able to. I mean they could, but it wouldn’t have an effect, does that make sense? It would do nothing, it would be like you can create the stamp, the stamp would look like it was working but you just wouldn't end up with Allomancy.

Holiday signing (Dec. 12, 2015)

 

[Calderis]

I agree with @RShara.

Considering I think that forgery works purely via altering Connections, I think those WoBs are the perfect example. 

[Blightsong]

7 hours ago, Chromium Compounder said:

I don’t think Awakening requires connection.  It seems to me like the only systems that do are Selish.  For Allomancy and Feruchemy it takes the right bloodlines (barring any Lerasium).  For Awakening it’s all about how many breaths you have, and everyone there is born with one.  For surgebinding it requires either a Nahel bond or an Honorblade.  It feels like of those the Nahel bond is the most similar to connection.  I’ve theorized that Bondsmiths might have a resonance that encourages others to become squires to other orders, but I think that’s the closest we’ll see to this.

Im curious what you mean by connection here because we know that at least some of these definitely require Connection while a case can certainly be made for all the others. For example we know that Nahel Bonds are, if not a type of Connection itself, at least completely dependent on the Connection between the spren (which are pieces of a Shard's power) and the Radiant. Notice how the Stormfather completely conflates Connection with the Nahel Bond here.

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A direct conduit to the Spiritual Realm, the Stormfather said. You renew spheres, Dalinar? “We are Connected.” I was bonded to men before. This never happened then. “Honor was alive then. We are something different. His remnants, your soul, my will.”

The other main ones I see you miss is Allomancy and Feruchemy. You're right that they require a bloodline but this is because the Connection needed to use the magic is hereditary on Scadrial. The below WoB, as well as contextual clues in the books, makes it it quite clear that Connection is definitely at play here.

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Blightsong

Would it be harder for Jasnah to Soulcast a Knight Radiant?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes.

Questioner

Would it be harder for her to Soulcast a Mistborn?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes, investiture resists investiture. It's harder for her to even Soulcast a person than a rock, right?

Questioner

Is a Mistborn invested?

Brandon Sanderson

The Mistborn, how their burning the metal, you're right. They are not specifically invested when they are not burning. When the investiture becomes active, the yes. Before, no, you're right on that.

Blightsong

So Kelsier, he stayed around longer, not because he was invested, but because he had the potential to use investiture?

Brandon Sanderson

Over time using the magic will invest you, on Scadrial. Most of the power is not coming from, on Roshar the power isn't coming from the person either [he cut himself off, so I assume this is how it works on Scadrial even though he didn't finish his thought] so I'm going to have to back up on that one and say, yes, the Mistborn are as invested as a Knight Radiant, because in both cases the majority, bulk, of the power is coming from somewhere else, but there is the spirit web. Investing the wrong term, but you have all these connections in the spiritual realm, so yanking you away from them, or rewriting them is harder.

Questioner

Would they be harder with more Stormlight or metals burning?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes, yes. That would increase the difficulty ratio. For instance, wearing Shardplate is gonna be a great barrier, right, and things like that so yea. The problem is like, Invested is the wrong term for that, their Spiritweb is connected in different ways.

As for Awakening, I am of the opinion that Connection is needed here too. Breaths are literally pieces of Endowment's soul/power. By having one meld with your soul wouldn't you be Connecting yourself to Endowment? Consider that in the context of the below WoB and it makes it pretty clear that by holding even one breath you are being Connected to Endowment.

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Questioner [PENDING REVIEW]

About how many Breaths do you need to become Invested enough to be influenced by Endowment's intent?

Brandon Sanderson [PENDING REVIEW]

On the small scale, not very many... One could argue that even someone with one is influenced a little bit. 

Questioner [PENDING REVIEW]

Significantly influenced?

Brandon Sanderson [PENDING REVIEW]

No. But the more you get the more likely that is.

 

[Kramerfarve]

8 hours ago, Calderis said:

Considering I think that forgery works purely via altering Connections, I think those WoBs are the perfect example.

But doesn’t Dalinar’s ability work a little differently? Instead of trying to rewrite his past to change himself, isn’t he more copying and pasting someone else’s spiritual/cognitive attributes and splicing them into his own? Also, Bondsmiths tend to be pretty investiture rich don’t they?

 

For clarity’s sake, I concede huge ignorance, and these are genuine questions written out of a desire to learn more about Connection and abilities.

[Calderis]

45 minutes ago, Kramerfarve said:

But doesn’t Dalinar’s ability work a little differently? Instead of trying to rewrite his past to change himself, isn’t he more copying and pasting someone else’s spiritual/cognitive attributes and splicing them into his own? Also, Bondsmiths tend to be pretty investiture rich don’t they?

That's fair. Dalinar's abilities don't care about plausibility and do seem to just copy. And Bondsmiths in general do seem to just kind of bend the rules on output... Like Dalinar's use of Adhesion to blanket an entire practice ground... 

So who knows. I was probably too hasty there. It just seems wild that they could seemingly gain an ability for such a relatively low expenditure. Even temporarily. 

[Scion of the Mists]

Even if Dalinar could temporarily acquire Awakening via touch, he wouldn't have any Breath to use.  

[Kramerfarve]

5 hours ago, Scion of the Mists said:

Even if Dalinar could temporarily acquire Awakening via touch, he wouldn't have any Breath to use.  

Which kinda led to my last question, would this be a fuel hack? Would connection to both magic systems (surgebinding and awakening) allow for a fuel hack to power awakening with stormlight?