Swimmingly he/him Posted June 9, 2014 Report Share Posted June 9, 2014 I realised something, today. Hemalurgy is an entire magic system that boils down to stabbing people then stabbing yourself, as quickly as possible, in pre-germ theory eras. How does everyone that uses this not have a hundred blood-born illnesses? Inquisitors, for example: they can have up to 22 pieces of bloody metal shoved through their vital organs. If they have anything like a circulatory system anymore, they're infected. Even Spook, upon receiving his Hemalurgic upgrade, was at risk, though he had just the one, and was burning pewter afterwards. I can see how Vin would be OK - her earring was on her for years. Still, people! Come on! Let's just call this art "Magic Needle Sharing" and be done with it! Let me tell you, next time I steal part of the soul of a child, I'm washing the thing with soap and water then putting it in an oven for an hour before I spike myself. HIV is not for me. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lightsworn Panda he/him Posted June 9, 2014 Report Share Posted June 9, 2014 I think I died laughing from the thought of Marsh suffering from AIDs or syphilis and having to explain how he got it to Ruin. (btw, I can't precisely remember, but did Marsh die in the end of Hero of Ages? I don't think he did) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiver he/him Posted June 9, 2014 Report Share Posted June 9, 2014 They have foot-long spikes rammed through their eyes and brains. I think I'd be more concerned about that than I would catching something else. Though I'm so ridiculously OCD, I'll just worry about both. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Left he/him Posted June 9, 2014 Report Share Posted June 9, 2014 I guess I just find it so funny that out of all the things about Hemalurgy, THIS is the one you guys suddenly panic about. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmurfAquamarineBodies he/him Posted June 9, 2014 Report Share Posted June 9, 2014 @Lightsworn Panda He is still alive as of AoL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cstryon he/him Posted June 11, 2014 Report Share Posted June 11, 2014 Maybe investiture sterilized the spikes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baine he/him Posted June 11, 2014 Report Share Posted June 11, 2014 They probably use Feruchemical gold. You horrible sick person you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lightsworn Panda he/him Posted June 11, 2014 Report Share Posted June 11, 2014 If I had a choice to die from AIDS or get controlled by Ruin, then AIDS loses be many, many miles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swimmingly he/him Posted June 11, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2014 A form of quasi-life with no purpose but destruction through vectors associated with life at its richest - Ruin probably regards the HIV virus like a piece of fine art. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaos he/him Posted June 12, 2014 Report Share Posted June 12, 2014 You have to realize that the essence of Preservation, combined with the warping of the body, is sustaining themselves. That's why they don't die from these. Interesting thought: if someone were able to steal attributes from another planet, maybe because they weren't charged with some power of Preservation, this could be an issue. Huh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Joe in the Bush Posted June 12, 2014 Report Share Posted June 12, 2014 Do we know if the Atium Alloys can steal different things? What if you could steal current Health? Like you Spike someone with the Flu, this immunizes them to the Flu, and if you give that Spike to someone else, they get the Flu? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darkarma he/him Posted June 12, 2014 Report Share Posted June 12, 2014 (edited) Do we know if the Atium Alloys can steal different things? What if you could steal current Health? Like you Spike someone with the Flu, this immunizes them to the Flu, and if you give that Spike to someone else, they get the Flu? Well we know Atium is a temporal metal. I imagine that its alloys could generate things like stealing someone's destiny (since luck does exist as a force of the universe) but as of yet we only know of Atium!Gold as an alloy. The others? I think questions on those are RAFO'd. But something strikes me that stealing diseases through the spikes might involve non-standard metals/alloys. We know from the Lord Survivor that you can burn them, but the results generally aren't pleasant. But for alloys and metals that are allomantically sound for disease? I'm not seeing it. Also developing those alloys are a pain, like how do you make a Harmony metal that won't just turn you into an Atium Misting? Edited June 12, 2014 by Darkarma Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatebreaker he/him Posted June 13, 2014 Report Share Posted June 13, 2014 Thinking about hemalurgy for too long makes my face hurt. Another serious concern is how you'd often you would set off metal detectors, or how you would "ruin" any pillow you tried to use. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baine he/him Posted June 13, 2014 Report Share Posted June 13, 2014 Thinking about hemalurgy for too long makes my face hurt. Another serious concern is how you'd often you would set off metal detectors, or how you would "ruin" any pillow you tried to use. Only if you sleep on your back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swimmingly he/him Posted June 13, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2014 To be fair, you could probably explode any metal detector you got even slightly close to with a duralumin-steelpush. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moogle Posted June 13, 2014 Report Share Posted June 13, 2014 MRIs would be a pain. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baine he/him Posted June 13, 2014 Report Share Posted June 13, 2014 "Sir, your X-rays came in and we're pretty sure you have multiple spikes embedded throughout your body. I don't know if that's connected to your stomach cramps, but I don't think it's very healthy." 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NutiketAiel he/him Posted June 13, 2014 Report Share Posted June 13, 2014 You'll put your eye out! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swimmingly he/him Posted June 13, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2014 "Sir, your X-rays came in and we're pretty sure you have multiple spikes embedded throughout your body. I don't know if that's connected to your stomach cramps, but I don't think it's very healthy."Nah, it's good. I just have them there so I can control emotions and speak to my dark god of destruction. Schizophrenia? What schizophrenia? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shardmancer he/him Posted June 13, 2014 Report Share Posted June 13, 2014 This is Hilarious- Props they are pre-acsention so much bacteria and posioning.. And they talk about metal posining in drinking too many unpure ones- you would think they would be aware of diseases and infections from transfering all that blood with dirty metal spikes Maybe thier super clean- and everyones immune system in the cosmere is uber Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaggai Posted June 14, 2014 Report Share Posted June 14, 2014 (edited) I expect that the spiking seals up the area around the spike, thus preventing any sort of blood-borne infection. Some sort of sealing would probably be required for the "not having people die when a gigantic spike is shoved through their face" bit of Hemalurgy. Edited June 14, 2014 by Shaggai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NutiketAiel he/him Posted June 14, 2014 Report Share Posted June 14, 2014 (edited) I expect that the spiking seals up the area around the spike, thus preventing any sort of blood-borne infection. Some sort of sealing would probably be required for the "not having people die when a gigantic spike is shoved through their face" bit of Hemalurgy. It's not just a matter of "sealing." Those spikes go most of the way through where the Inquisitors' brains should be. They may look more human, but the Inquisitors are every bit as alien as the Kandra and Koloss. They aren't just getting new powers- the Hemalurgy is altering their anatomy. They're a new species, no longer human. I quote Hero of Ages Epigraph 41: Hemalurgic spikes change people physically, depending on which powers are granted, where the spike is placed, and how many spikes someone has. Inquisitors, for instance, are changed drastically from the humans they used to be. Their hearts are in different places from those of humans, and their brains rearrange to accommodate the lengths of metal jabbed through their eyes. Koloss are changed in even more drastic ways. And Epigraph 44: It is a little-known fact that the Inquisitors' torture chambers were actually Hemalurgic laboratories. The Lord Ruler was constantly trying to develop new breeds of servant. It is a testament to Hemalurgy's complexity that, despite a thousand years of trying, he never managed to create anything with it beyond the three kinds of creatures he developed during those few brief moments holding the power. An individual with just a single spike, like Vin, Spook, Zane or Penrod, is obviously less extensively changed. However, Penrod's case gives us particular insight into the issue- the single spike literally pierced his heart. He was physically fine when it was in place, but began to die when the surgeons tried to remove it. Obviously the hemalurgic spike was either changing his anatomy to accommodate itself while it was present in his body (as with the Inquisitors, but on a much smaller scale), or it was actively preventing him from suffering the harmful effects of its presence while it was in his body. Given that we already know that hemalurgic spikes can work in such a manner (and in accordance with Sanderson's Third Law), I suspect the former is the correct explanation. In other words, while the spike is in a person's body, it makes whatever physiological changes are necessary to keep the person alive and healthy with the spike in its current position, whether that is as dramatic as rearranging organs, or as simple as warding off infection at the wound site. ...But you'll STILL put your eye out. :-P Edited June 14, 2014 by NutiketAiel 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swimmingly he/him Posted June 14, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2014 Maybe that's where Ruin's Investiture is doing the heavy lifting? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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