Bubbles of Evil

[dwn]

I posted this to an early thread about the Big Unnamed Thing but it was completely buried in the landslide of replies on that thread.

 

I've had a vague theory percolating for a while now, that the bubbles of evil, switching corridors, ghosts, and odd deaths might be a kind of "leaking" between the real world and tel'aran'rhiod. (This is different than the food spoilage and infertility of the land, which are clearly a Fisher King tie-in to Rand.)

 

1) All these things are centred around the human world (people, objects, buildings), not the natural/wild world. The natural world, aside from dead wolves, doesn't seem to have a very significant reflection in T'A'R.

 

2) The bubbles of evil are very similar to the bubbles of nightmare encountered by dreamers. Consider the first three bubbles of evil: Rand's mirrors (Rand doesn't know who he is); Perrin's axe attack (an ongoing theme with him); Mat's card's attacking him (fear of the supernatural i.e. his newfound luck).

 

3) The switching corridors and ghosts are very much like the transient nature of many aspects of T'A'R. Consider a Brown sister afraid of being demoted to novice and what sort of nightmare she could have.

 

4) Catching on fire, coughing up insects, seeing dead people are obvious nightmare themes.

 

5) Being lost, especially in familiar surroundings, is a very common dream element.

 

6) In the hands of the Forsaken, perhaps the sleepweaver ter'angreal might serve a more nefarious purpose than just giving access to T'A'R.

 

 

-- dwn

[Val Mickey]

A better theory would be that vacuoles are being manipulated by SH or the DO.

 

Can it explain the village of the dead that appeared on Mat's hiatus with Tuon? That was historically accurate, down to the roof tiles. And I doubt that Mat has subconscious fears of cards or nobles trying to kill him. There is no evidence of good dreams leaking out, or real stuff going into TAR. It's a good idea, I'll give you that.

[Majsju]

The first bubble of evil was the wind that nearly made Rand impale himself on Lans sword in TGH.

[dwn]

A better theory would be that vacuoles are being manipulated by SH or the DO.

 

Can it explain the village of the dead that appeared on Mat's hiatus with Tuon? That was historically accurate, down to the roof tiles. And I doubt that Mat has subconscious fears of cards or nobles trying to kill him. There is no evidence of good dreams leaking out, or real stuff going into TAR. It's a good idea, I'll give you that.

 

Yes, because that village would once have had a reflection in T'A'R, and that lost reflection is somehow briefly leaking into the real world. Even Hinderstap (sp?) from TGS can be seen as a living nightmare.

 

Granted, I can't see any concrete evidence to support the theory. Yet the similarities between T'A'R and the weirdness affecting the real world is striking.

 

(I stand corrected on the first evil bubble; it was the one that Rand experienced in TGH. At that time Rand is greatly concerned with being pushed around by Moiraine, so the wind could be seen as a physical manifestation of his fear.)

 

-- dwn