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Quantus

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Everything posted by Quantus

  1. There was a WOB about it being possible at one point, but Im having trouble finding it now. Lightweaving has power over all kinds of frequency effects. In terms of actual physics it's not actually all that hard to accomplish in terms of raw energy requirements, it has more to do with getting the correct oscillators to reach the high-frequencies (though there are ways to cheat, like making x-rays via the natural resonance of certain metals when hit with electrons). The real catch with the higher energy electromagnetic radiations is the that many of them (like gamma rays, for example) are actually accelerated particles with real mass. But then we've already seen that it's possible for lightweavers to fake that, Shallan can make solid holograms.
  2. I second the "...What?" I cant find any WOB even close to that.
  3. We wandered into this recently in another topic. Im confident that Gravitation isnt going to be particularly useful for most weapon purposes (short of orbital ballistics) because the number of bindings necessary to move it into the realm of most firearms (let alone Railguns, which was the topic in that other thread) would be in the tens of thousands and an inefficient use of Stormlight for effect gained. The Best Bang for your Buck that I can see is Soulcasting as the surge, leveraged in firearm designs to provide the chemical fuel (and even the ballistic slugs) infinitely. We are limited in the chemical we can use because they have to be volatile enough to give the sudden volume expansion needed to accelerate the slug, without being so volatile that they will explode in our pockets. A soulcaster would entirely bypass that and be able to skip to maximum chemical energy. I imagine a rifle (or hollow staff if you want to stick with Sword&Board fantasy designs) that is loaded with a layered rod that has alternating layers of a slug material and a different donor material to be soulcast. A soulcaster is arranged on an incrementing slider beside it. The Soulcaster is restricted to transforming just the non-slug material when it comes in contact to an extremely volatile explosive. So by indexing the thing down the rod, you fire each layer of the slug-rod by transforming and instantly firing off the top-most slug, then index down and fire the next one. If you want to get fancy you can add a Fabrial to the end of the barrel that reshapes it into a more ballistically useful spinning bullet shape as it leaves, use Abrasion to reduce friction losses, etc. Alternatively you could use far more stormlight to just dynamically Soulcast both the slug and the fuel simultaneously from the air into a gun barrel, making an infinite ammo automatic weapon. You'd probably need a multibarrel setup like a classic mini-gun to mitigate all the thermal effects it would see (just like said mini-guns) however the fact that soulcasting from air would actively cool the thing while firing the fuel would heat it might just balance out, though I assume it would be finicky. EDIT: Other surge possibilities include high-energy beam weapons via Lightweaving, actual nukes utilizing gravitation to create the necessary Implosion (loooots of lashings, using explosives like we do would probably be easier), antimatter via Soulcasting, and lots of wonky mechanical devices via cyclic Tension.
  4. Now this is an interesting thing to find on a Monday Morning! I think I followed most that, or at least the surface level of it. You mentioned a plurality of Universes in this model, where do they fit in? Also, in the hyperloop paragraph, what you describe sounds a lot like a description of mechanical resonance within the hypercrystal structure, does that fit? Can you elaborate on the nature of the Metaphysical Force you are envisioning in that part of the structure? Is it the same force as the " moral-magical force" mentioned later?
  5. Ya, last time I enjoyed a Watch Dude Smack Stuff anime it turned out to be Fist of the North Star from the Villains POV
  6. The chasmfiend comparison was specifically referring to the second, following thing, the "Alien and Sleek" thing which had "leg after leg". That sounds like it could be something Chasmfiend-esk that is following it's "inhuman" shaped master. But @equinox's WOB's confirm that it's a Spren, not something native to the physical realm, which rules out anything in the Chasmfiend life-cycle unless it includes a Cognitive Shadow stage.
  7. Ya, Im guessing Spren (maybe one of the ancient ones Syl mentioned that are more Singer influenced, though the Sleek thing following sounds more like a glowing chasmfiend of some kind, almost like a pet hound of the spren? They're a lot more Invested than the rosharans were giving them credit for, so glowing in the storms would make some sense, and we know their life cycle has been interrupted by being killed off before pupating.
  8. I'd have to go back and find the passage you're talking about (what chapter is it in?) but offhand I think my first guess would either be Chasm-fiends from afar, or else some of the higher spren like Phendorana, the big one Rock saw while Bridge Four was trying to gain stormlight and attract their own spren.
  9. My hero Academy yes, a little less so with One Punch Man, she loves it but it's a little more of a Deep-Fired Twinky for me (enjoyable on but only in small, well spaced doses), mostly because at the end of the day the main character himself is pretty bland.
  10. Honestly I think we've see Shallan do this to people more than once, and I dont think it even has any real Investiture involved, but several times she's drawn a picture of somebody that was almost them, but really it's a version of themselves they'd rather be, and in so doing I think she (or really They) have changed their Self Image, altering their Cognitive and Spiritual Aspects accordingly. We saw her do this with several of her men, and even with Elhokar.
  11. Generally looking for something in the sci-fi/fantasy side of things. Action is always good, though we've enjoyed things that cerebral and/or thrillers, and comedy shows. She particularly enjoys things that take what she calls a Hard Right Turn that subverts expectations (Evangelion or more recently or Akame ga Kill are her examples of that). At the same time it doesnt have to be dark: Food Wars, One Punch Man, and Devil Is A Part Timer are are all so stupid that they manage to become awesome.
  12. Anyone have any recommendations for something recent? I've been trying to find something new to pick up, but everything Ive found available on the various streaming services is either a Mech Anime (a genre my girlfriend just wont do), something to mundane/slice-of-life to be interesting, or quickly turns into an awkward harem anime. The original anime was, IMO, very good as well, though each had their strengths. What happened was the manga was still being released when the first Anime was coming out, so once the story overtook the source material, they chose to just run with it on their own rather than insert Filler Arcs like so many other did in those days. Consequently the first 10-20 episodes are very similar, but a lot of the secrets and hidden mythology hadnt been revealed yet, so the endings are wildly different tons of ways and ended on completely different notes. But, at least as somebody who hadnt been spoiled by the manga, I thought both did a great job with it. I would probably recommend waiting some time between them so the other one doesnt seem to redundant at the start.
  13. Welcome! Which Sanderson works have you read so far, and what's your favorite?
  14. Actual Conversation in college: Sitting down to watch Cowboy Bebop with friends: Friend that's new to anime: "This is really cool, Ive never seen it before." Proper Friend: "Oh, this is your first time? Awesome! Glad you said something, so we dont say anything to spoil the ending." Idiot "Friend": "Oh, you mean that [Redacted]?" Me: "..." New Friend: "..." Four other people: "..." All of us in near unison: "You. cremhole. That's exactly what we DIDNT WANT ANYONE TO SAY!"
  15. Agreed. The nature and power of Lies is a common Cosmere theme, it's even at the heart of Forgery (one of the more potent powers around) which is described as crafting a believable Lie about the target.
  16. Sooo, I have a almost entirely unsupported theory that extends of a similarly unsupported theory of Fortune in general, and how Hoid is able to Show Up where and when he needs to be, without being aware of the Why of it. Take from it what you will: My current wild and unsupported guess on Fortune is based almost entirely on two Hoid datapoints: Hoid uses Fortune to apparently pop up at Comsere-significant moments without actually being consciously aware of Why; Hoid cannot cause Physical Harm to himself or others, and per WoB even considering the idea would cause an incapacitating physical nausea response. Fortune Theory: I think Fortune in the Realmic Sense is a person's (or planet or Shard, etc) Alignment to their own Perfect Platonic Ideal that exists in the Spiritual Realm. Somewhere out in space and time there is a winding series of moments, movements, and choices that will take you closer toward that Perfect Self (which is itself paradoxically based on your own self-image, but whatever). Good Luck is a step closer to that Perfection, Bad Luck is a step away. Hoid Theory: Hoid is a being that has somehow managed to pull the ol' Ender's Game trick, and reorient himself so that his Spiritual Perfection is Down; he now exists in a perpetual state of Falling toward his Goal and own personal Idealized State of the Cosmere. He cannot Cause harm to himself or others because Physical Harm is itself an act that pushes the target (self or others) further away from their own Perfect Self. Think of it as Hoid having Lashed Fate in a new direction, rather than Gravity. Per WOB we know that Atium is an example of a Fortune Effect, so I think this works more as an Awareness of the Golden Path rather than a Force pushing the subject in that direction. Atium flaring gives you a vision of the Ultimate Outcome/Culmination of your actions, which always bothered me a little bit because of my own default Branching Multiverse image of Precognition (not cosmere specific or anything), because why is it necessarily /that/ future? Shouldnt other, later Choices be able to change things? Hell, as powerful as it is Atium cannot predict the future of an Aluminum object, which temporally speaking is a pretty big blind spot. But if that future is a more self-determined thing just like your Perfect Self in the Spiritual Realm, or even literally dictated by your Perfect Self in the spiritual realm, then the Flare vision is just a much deeper glimpse of the Path (as in philosophical Life-path) that you are currently on. And that would fit with the general idea that Fortune Ferrings are increasing or decreasing a more vague Intuition-esk awareness of this Path.
  17. That would be interesting, it would mean his spirit foudn some way (and/or had some help) in sticking around, even if he wasnt a radiant there are a number of ways it might have worked given the spren population and worldhopping caravans in Shadesmar. It would definitely be out of character for Odium directly, who at least so far hasnt engaged in a whole lot of direct subterfuge (at least as far as I can tell). One of the intelligent Unmade would be a more likely option if it was from Odium's camp. Cultivation (or various spren on her side) would make sense, or maaaybe some sort of Heraldic shenanigans (mostly by virtue of being some of the few that are long-lived and Invested enough to pull such things off). I doubt Nohadon was a Returned (if that's what you are implying?) but I would be very excited by that as I entirely expect there to be more Roshar/Nalthis interaction than we've see so far (for mostly Doylistic reasons).
  18. Hopping back to the Aon Edo mobility issue, it specifically draws an increasing amount of Dor to resist whatever is pushing on it equal&opposite, in a reactive sort of way. If I were trying to accomplish this sort of thing in a circuit or programming domain, Id try to key off that function and add some sort of activation threshold, such that smaller forces (in the range of movement and non-damaging contact) wouldnt trigger the reactive forces. The result would be similar to the personal shields of the Dune series, though shaping it to be something other than a wall or maybe spherical bubble would be a whole other hurdle. That or perhaps try to see if you can restrict it's reaction to forces from without the bubble and ignore those originating within, though without experimentation it's hard to say if that would let you move the Aon itself or just leave you with an immobile, one-directional wall. A simpler implementation would probably be a basic activation switch on the back of a roman-style shield, which would would be amazing for shield-wall tactics where you want it to be immobile in all but short burst of advancement for the phalanx. EDIT: This is of course making a lot of assumptions on the nature and limitations of Aon modifiers, but I think it would be within the realm of know modifer functions (linking, chaining, power modulation, range modulation)
  19. What are you referring to? I was under the impression she'd stopped aging, specifically (and not coincidentally) at age Ten:
  20. Ya, that's fair. Sad (I wanted to see Rocks reaction to her chowing down on it) but not unexpected.
  21. You are most likely correct, though she is different in enough realmic ways (the aging bit, how she can hijack visions and touch spren) that Im curious if there's a cognitive/perception component involved. If, for example, she showed up and swiped some of Rock's cooking (made for his family, not the air-sick lowlanders) might she be able to metabolize it simply because she assumes she can, since it's still "Food"?
  22. As others have said, this is a specific topic that Brandon has said he doesnt ever really want to pin down, preferring to leave it in the realm of in-world philosophers and theologians, and each reader's own interpretation. Closest Ive found is this WOB, that's fairly old and pre-Secret History, but does leave the possibility open that a Shard might be able to figure something out, even while saying it's all up to reader head-cannon:
  23. That picture will haunt my dreams... Lift has all kinds of fun potential. For her own survival she really needs to start putting effort into getting as fat as possible, even Wyndle mentions that she tends to burn through her excess nutrition and doesnt have much in the way of reserves. I personally would pay good money to see her with a Southern Scadrial Bendalloy Medallion, she's become unstoppable. And Im curious if she can eat Horneater food, given that they are genetically different (singer heritage) and can metabolize things other sub-races cannot.
  24. I too have reads many of those listed that he likes. It might all be personal preference, Id call it "Coming Together" rather than being overly convenient, myself, and a hallmark of Brandon's writing for me has always been subverting expectations to accomplish it, which is one of the reasons I really enjoy his work. But of all his works, Mistborn was one of the ones that I thought wrapped everything up the least in many ways: I was left with tons of Questions that were only hinted at, hell it needed a Secret History to explained some of them. Id suggest seeing if you can convince him to keep at it with Alloy of Law, it's might show him how much story there is left to tell on Scadrial, and it's probably one of the most in-the-moment Fun of them all (Because Wayne)
  25. I think it's entirely possible. I'd have to say the jury is still out on if it's Odium, I dont personally think so but the possibility remains that it could be Odium or an Unmade easily enough.
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