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Questioner

Did we see any possible Phone Company?

Brandon Sanderson

You haven't seen them yet, but they are still around.

Janci Patterson

I found it! This is what was in my notes for the colors of the miasma: iodine, bromine, acytylene, ammonium hydrosulphide

Questioner

I read Skyward, like, two weeks ago, I finished it in two nights. It was honestly one of my favorite books I've ever read, and I can't wait to see where it goes. 

Brandon Sanderson

Thank you! Book two is done. 

Questioner

I'm excited to see what-- I need to read, uh, about the "Defense of Elysium"?

Brandon Sanderson

Yeah, yeah, Defending Elysium, it's free on my website. It'll tie-in in ways that you'll find interesting. One of my very first short stories.

Questioner

I'm super, super excited to see it. I loved the whole idea of when they're peering into the stars, it's like they're looking back with hatred. It's awesome.

Matthew Tidman

I just finished an ARC of Skyward. Is the world connected to Defending Elysium? There are some vague similarities between the two.

Peter Ahlstrom

The connection is probably as you think.

thegatorgirl00

Do you have a name for the Skyward universe that we can use on the Coppermind and in discussion beyond just calling it the Skyward universe?

Brandon Sanderson

I kind of think Skyward Universe is probably the best, for now. I'll ponder this.

thegatorgirl00

If you haven't considered it already, I'd like to bring the term Skyworld or Skyworlds to your attention.

Brandon Sanderson

Ha! That's not bad, though it could get a little confusing if I ever write one of the books I've been planning that literally take place in a world with no ground...

ryzvonusef

How much of [Defending Elysium] is canon for Skyward?

Brandon Sanderson

I consider it to be canon, though it's been some time in-world, and a lot has happened. Also, DE doesn't contain the full story, just what those characters knew at that time.

Questioner

Why is Spensa's dad a coward? Why does everyone make fun of Spensa?

Brandon Sanderson

He's not actually a coward. Read the book and you'll find out. Everyone makes fun of Spensa because their society focuses too much on a false version of what is a hero. They focus too much on the idea of if you're a hero, then you're good; if you're not a hero, then you're bad. They're basically kind of building themselves up by tearing her down which is a bad way to do it and don't follow their example.

Questioner

I was wondering if there were any more Doomslugs or if it's the last of its kind.

Brandon Sanderson

There are more Doomslugs. Read more and you'll find out about them.

Questioner

Is Skyward in the same universe as Defending Elysium?

Brandon Sanderson

It is.

Questioner

Are you planning on doing anything else in that universe other than sequels to Skyward?

Brandon Sanderson

We'll start with sequels to Skyward, and then we'll see. The idea of biological FTL is so interesting to me that there are a lot of things I can do with that.

Questioner

Does Detritus have a sun or a moon or something?

Brandon Sanderson

It does have a sun but it has no moon.

Questioner

<Can I please have you tell me> what the Eyes are?

Brandon Sanderson

The Eyes are... extra-dimensional beings.

Questioner

Is Skyward going to be part of the cosmere at all?

Brandon Sanderson

It is unrelated to the cosmere - since Earth is part of its history, and because certain elements of space travel are done differently.

vanahian

After finishing Skyward trilogy, do you have in mind to write more about this universe?

Brandon Sanderson

I have no current plans for more Skyward, but you know me. I always know where a story would go in the future--and sometimes I find places to put them. (This story, for example, is a continuation of something from years ago.)

R'Shara

Hey, is Brandon willing to tell us which universe Skyward is in yet? He said a while aback that it was in a universe (not cosmere) that he'd written before.

Brandon Sanderson

So, here's the thing--it's a pretty big spoiler. Meaning if you know the novella this is tied to (and it's one of the ones mentioned in this thread) you'll know a moderately large plot point in the book.

It's not the type of spoiler that will ruin a story--I do think some readers would enjoy watching how I lace them together. But do be warned that if you haven't read my science fiction novellas, and you hate spoilers, you might want to wait until Skyward is out to read them.

That said, if you know the terminology of the novellas in question, you'll find your answer in chapter seventeen.

Adam Horne

This next one is from Paleo. They want to know what's your opinion on the term Cytoverse for the Skyward universe? 

Brandon Sanderson

Oh, I like that.

Adam Horne

They were hoping to have a dedicated term for it, and I thought that was a pretty good one.

Brandon Sanderson

I'll go with it. Thumbs up. Cytoverse I'm on board. Good job. I can totally buy that.

Sullivan Wenger

Is Skyward connected to the Cosmere? If so, is it connected to anything in Arcanum Unbounded?

Brandon Sanderson

It is connected to a different story I've published. I'm keeping quiet about it, since it's kind of spoilers--but you will probably figure it out by middle of the book if you've read them all.

Questioner

Is Skyward in the Cosmere?

Brandon Sanderson

No, Skyward is not in the Cosmere. It started out there, and I pulled it out for continuity reasons. It is related to something else I’ve written in the past, though.

Questioner

Does the "M" in M-Bot stand for mushroom?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes. To me it does. I'm not sure how I will canonize it in the books, but that's what I intend it to be.

Rasarr

Oh, Janci, if I can bother you with a question. Is a "season" on ReDawn the planetary year?

Janci Patterson

I'd need the context. I'd assume a season is a season, but I don't remember how it was used.

jemand2001

Alanik mentions seasons as a measure of age.

Rasarr

Alanik says Quilan is a few seasons older than her, I wonder if it means a few years or less than one.

Janci Patterson

Oh, yeah! Probably a planetary year then.

simon_thekillerewok

I just finished my copy of Skyward (I got it at launch, but I've been finishing up your other books) - did the story of The Eyes (Fermi's Paradox space opera novella) end up being rolled into Skyward?

Brandon Sanderson

Yup, it did. I actually still imagine The Eyes mostly being in continuity, with tweaks.

simon_thekillerewok

Is this to say we should expect a tweaked The Eyes novella to come out in the Skyward universe sometime in the future? Or were you just saying that The Eyes was basically the first draft of Skyward?

Brandon Sanderson

I imagine the characters from The Eyes are still around. (You'll see the alien race from the story in the second Skyward book.) It requires a few tweaks because of how humans are regarded, but otherwise, the story could have happened--so maybe I'll eventually finish it and release it.

Questioner

Question for you about Skyward. How many years in the universe has passed between the short story and the novel?

Brandon Sanderson

Centuries.

Michael M. Jones

Something noteworthy about your work is the massive interconnectivity. Is Skyward connected to any of your universes or continuities?

Brandon Sanderson

It's connected to a novella I wrote, which explored an interesting premise in faster-than-light travel. I prefer not to publicize which one, because the spoiler at the end of that story related to a twist near the end of Skyward. This isn't connected to my big epic fantasy universe, the Cosmere, for several reasons. First, the way space travel is possible here doesn't work with that setting. Also, this incorporates lore from Earth, and I try to keep Earth and the Cosmere very distinct and separated.

Questioner

Can cytonic people potentially use all the abilities from Defending Elysium?

Brandon Sanderson

Potentially, yes. So mindblades and things like that. Mostly, I'm kind of pushing people into specialties a little bit more, like I've done with something like Mistborn where you're generally better at one thing than another. So you may see some divisions of powers, but they're all capable of it.

Greg Bradford

Is Skyward a new book or part of a current series?

Brandon Sanderson

It is connected to a novella I've written, but is many years later, and so the connection is loose. It's not in the cosmere.

Eric Peters

Which universe is [Skyward]?

Peter Ahlstrom

It IS connected to something else Brandon has written. You'll figure it out when you read it.

Questioner

What is the single most interesting thing in the debris field around Detritus? Either in the ground or in the shells.

Brandon Sanderson

In the shells? Probably the slugs.

simon_thekillerewok

What are the official Brandon-approved names of the Skyward and Legion universes and the Reckoners multiverse?

Brandon Sanderson

Hm. I do need a name for, at least, the Skyward universe. Let me think on that.

Questioner

I was reading Starsight and then I remembered you wrote the novelette Defending Elysium a while ago.

Brandon Sanderson

I did.

Questioner

So when you wrote that, were you expecting to make a series based off it?

Brandon Sanderson

I had plans for where it would go with the series. It did not involve Spensa in them. It involved some of the evolutions that ended up in this book. Particularly early in my career, everything I wrote, I planned, if it was the thing that took off, where I would go with it if I were doing sequels. So I had a whole bunch of ideas but it's been 15, almost 20 years since I wrote that. So when I sat down to do Starsight, there were something that were from those original plans and some things that weren't.

Questioner

With Jason, he was blind and stuff?

Brandon Sanderson

Yeah.

Questioner

Is Spensa going to develop those powers?

Brandon Sanderson

So what I've been kind of doing is, I'm kind of taking a lot of the different powers that Jason had and I'm kind of moving them into specialties that different people could have. So you could theorize that someone could learn them all but more likely you're going to see people specializing.

Questioner

So, like her grandmother has like the sensing power.

Brandon Sanderson

Mhm. Just read the new book and see what happens there.