Item from Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson
Devices built from living Epic tissue that replicate superpowers — the bleeding edge of human technology in a world where the gods walk.
Motivators are Knighthawk's masterwork: a way to give humans access to Epic abilities without being Epics. They're built from DNA harvested from dead Epics, kept alive in specialized containers, and activated electrically. Each motivator replicates one Epic's power set. The most important motivator in the series is built from Prof's tissue — a device that gives the user access to tensors, force fields, and healing. David uses this against Limelight in the climax of Calamity. Motivators represent the series' technological theme: humans fighting gods by turning the gods' own biology into weapons. It's grave-robbing as a military strategy, and it works.
Small, sophisticated devices containing a carefully maintained living tissue sample from an Epic. When the correct voltage is applied, the tissue activates and the host Epic's power can be channeled through the device. They require careful maintenance — the tissue must be kept alive.
Also known as: Motivator Devices, Motivators