Deus Ex Biotica

I've been wondering about this, actually. Can a Compounder use Duralumin? We know (by way of the Lord Ruler's fate, as well as Wax's inner monologue) that once you've started Compounding, it is dangerous to stop. And Duralumin consumes your entire reserve of every metal you are currently burning. So, in theory, if the Lord Ruler (who is burning Atium constantly, and probably Gold and the full range of physical metals, too) burned Duralumin, all of his Atium vanishes (with extra-potent effects... would he turn into a baby?), and now he's out, and ages to death in a few moments. If this were accompanied by his cellular regeneration, senses, etc. shutting down, it would be even worse, though when you're about to die anyway, I guess that doesn't matter as much. In theory, maybe he could have an extra Atiummind on his person (but not in his body*) somewhere, and pull it out to swallow it, or stab himself, or something in the few seconds before he dies of old age. In practice, if he'd had one of those, he would have pulled it out when Vin tore his bracers off, and he did not (though it would not have mattered if he had - anyone could push a simple ring out of his hand before it had his blood to protect it). So, that is both a very risky strategy, and one we have evidence of him not using. It might even be impossible, if Atium has the same kind of delay between uses that Bendalloy does. I suppose that, viewed in the proper light, this question might explain what was happening in his meditation chamber - he would occasionally flare Duralumin and consume his Atiumminds, thereby de-ageing to, say, 150 years old (an age that is ancient, but which he could survive by burning a Goldmind as soon as the Duralumin flare ends), then putting on a spare set of Atiumminds he prepared in advance to get young again. If the accumulation of age eventually outstrips the power of Compounding, and Duralumin/Double Atium reduces "permanent" age, this would make a kind of sense, though I do not honestly think is what happened. I have always assumed he became weak in that chamber as a way of remembering the man he once was, if only rarely. Besides, if Duralumin (or, worse, Aluminum itself) is suicide for the Lord Ruler, that explains a minor itch I've had since the end of Hero Of Ages. We know that Bendalloy and Cadmium had vanished from the world while Atium was there, and returned afterwards. But that still leaves the issue of Chromium and Nicrosil, which must have existed, and must have been known to the Lord Ruler (from the time when he was the Sliver Of Infinity), but were nowhere to be found, even in the storage caverns. If I am correct, then he would not have revealed them, even in the most secret of places, because either one of them could have allowed any Mistborn to kill him with a touch. And that's the sort of thing Rashek would never risk, not even if doing so is also a potential weapon for people to use against the Inquisitors. -- Deus Ex Biotica * I absolutely do not think he could Duralumin out one bracer while not tapping the other, and have the other bracer stay intact. Most Allomancers use a bunch of metal flakes spread through their internal organs, and if those all go up at once, I see no reason to assume why a bracer in a different arm is immune.

Hello, everyone! I recently discovered Brandon Sanderson, and have read all his books (aside from the Alcatraz series, which is on order, and the Wheel of Time novel, which is too daunting) within the past month. Thus simultaneously dizzied and fortified, I seek a community in which to vent my incessant musing on those books. If I don't, I will probably drive all my friends insane. I really like speculating on developments in advance, though I am a bit worried that I am not equal to long-range ideas I've seen sticking my nose in here today. I'm the sort of person who correctly sorted out the motivations of everyone in Warbreaker within the first third of the book (except that, for the longest time, I thought Lightsong was a reborn Arsteel), but didn't even notice Hoid's existence until I read the annotations - great with the elements in front of me, but no master of collating larger amounts of information. I look forward to ranting, and hearing you all rant! -- Deus Ex Biotica P.S. Oh, I promised free cookies, didn't I? Here you go: