The Wheel and the Bore

[socom-delta]

**So in another thread, I got bored and made a list of the social themes that Robert Jordan explores throughout this book series. This was one of the many points I identified:

 

"...the idea that history will inevitably repeat itself. RJ's interpretation of the idea of a Wheel of Time implies that this repetition is almost literal, owing to reincarnation and a repetition of some events (i.e. Artur Hawkwing conquering the world in a short span, and his empire crumbling rapidly on hearing of his demise. This is exactly what happened to Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, Atilla the Hun, and Hitler, just under slightly different circumstances). Even the Illianer Companions are a throwback to Lews Therin's Hundred Companions, themselves a throwback to Alexander the Great's Companion Cavalry (comprised of a squadron of elite cavalrymen, composed of noblemen and people of power who he trusted with his lfie). Herid Fel implies this repetition is literal, also; he suggests the Bore will eventually be opened again (what a terrible thought!) although Rand states near the end of TGS that he will "do it right this time", implying that he will seal the Bore properly. But he remembers his past lifetimes, all of his past failings. Does this mean he can seal the Bore permanently, preventing it from EVER being opened again, or at least leaving a warning or traps or another hindrance from opening?"

 

Which leads me to believe that, no, the Bore will probably not be open. In Randland, I don't think the ages literally repeat themselves. Even though there's no memory of the first age, it's highly unlikely that the Age of Legends began with objects of power already in their grasp... which is how the Third Age began, and new ones will probably have emerged by the time the Fourth Age starts.

 

So there should be obvious reminders of what dangers there are in creating the Bore, proof of the danger and the lessons learned in doing so - the vain and arrogant who seek power will ultimately be dominated by the evil they unleash. Even though they will be lead to believe they have eternal life and power, the Dark Lord will only destroy Creation. Nevermind that multiple members of the Forsaken have been burned out of the Pattern forever by Balefire. If the Age of Legends were to happen again, wouldn't the Forsaken need to be reborn as well?

 

I'm thinking the Age of Legends is more like a depiction of early Creation as depicted in the Bible. The Male and Female Aes Sedai are more like Adam and Eve. Eve is more literally depicted as Lanfear; she plucks the forbidden fruit (opens the bore, seeking power), and in doing so is cast out of Eden (Paaren Disen - Eden, or Paradise) along with Adam. The two have sinned, and must atone for this sin (the end of the Age of Legends - like the end of the Golden Age - and the taint of saidin, not to mention the Breaking) until the end of Eternity (eternal war against the Shadow, by serving and suffering* for the Light; incidentally, Zoroastrianism is similar to this).

 

The Third Age is more like our own time, taking place after the Golden Age. The slow technological advancement, with the sudden leaps at the very end, is a startling parallel to our own time. With the invention of the steam engine and the discovery of gunpowder, technology advanced dramatically. The last 300 - 500 years saw more technological advancement than the preceding 2,000, in our time, IMHO.

 

So would Randland then be merely a parallel universe, or is our Age still very much the First age... just taking place several spinnings of the Wheel before the time period in the WoT? If it does in fact take place many spinnings before, countless Aeons, perhaps it truly would be enough time for the universe to begin and end enough to actually HAVE an Age of Legends over and over, and thus provide more openings of the Bore? Maybe latching onto the Big Bang and Big Crush theory, for the universe to ultimately be destroyed and remade many times over, 'time without end'? If that's true, then it would be impossible to leave behind physical reminders of the dangers of opening the Bore (books, statues, ter'angreal).

 

But if Rand can leave an impression on the PATTERN or even the One Power itself that prevents the opening of the Bore or leaves a warning or traps, maybe a weave that inverts whatever weave is applied to it...what happens? Will this disrupt the pattern, or will the Dark One be sealed away forever, and another metaphor for the Dark One (some other form of invasion on mankind) take his place?

 

And maybe our time wouldn't be the First Age... maybe our time would be the beginning of the Second Age, perhaps begun with the industrial revolution or the use of the first atomic bomb? Start a new age with a bang....... such things as Aligning the Matrix actually exist today. Aligning the chemical compounds of a given metal - into a lattice structure - can give it unique properties, including strengthening it, depending on the precise shape each 'cell' of the lattice takes. A checkerboard and a ladder are good examples of simple lattices. Lattices are actually a very recent discovery, only within the last decade or two (maybe only the last couple of years). Also, cuendillar - being a dark, extremely strong metal - could actually be a reference to Boron carbide. The difference between Aligning the Matrix and cuendillar and what we have now is that the former are wrought with the Power; the latter are not.

 

*By suffering, I mean living and dying by the sword, the need to be ever-vigilant and be prepared to stand against the Shadow

 

**This is the kind of stuff you do when you're way too bored at work LOL

 

-edit-

 

I plan on editing this post later cuz it's kind of a ramble......basically the point is that I question whether the Bore will really ever be opened or not, and put forth some possible explanations and how the rest of the timeline fits in.

[Exy]

Well, uh, I'm not sure exactly what all you're getting at, but just to touch on one thing: I've always assumed our age was meant to be the Seventh Age, and what we're seeing happens several thousand years in the future. I doubt we live in the First Age, since all we know about the First Age is that it's when the Portal Stones were made, and there's nothing like that in our world. We couldn't be much earlier than the Seventh Age, though, because there are still traces of our history reflected in their stories (Lenn who flew to the moon in the belly of an eagle, the giants Mosk and Merk whose lances of fire reached all the way around the world, etc.) And I figure the story depicts the Third Age that's nearest to us in the future, since even if the broad outlines of every instance of a given Age are the same, I doubt they'd be so close that names would be identical every time an Age comes around again.

 

My assumption is that the Bore has been opened in the Second Age and then somehow completely resealed in the Third on every turning of the Wheel. The entire history of the Third Age is so heavily influenced by the effects of the Breaking and the Dark One's influence that the Age could hardly repeat without that. Although if Rand somehow does succeed at sealing away the Dark One for good, obviously that will have the result of pretty much ending the Wheel, since history won't be able to repeat itself along the same lines.

[socom-delta]

by extension, then, that would mean that the dark one would ALWAYS end up being sealed

[Exy]

by extension, then, that would mean that the dark one would ALWAYS end up being sealed

That has always been my assumption. If not, his power in the world would grow greater and greater until he could destroy it, and that hasn't happened.

[socom-delta]

But the Wheel doesn't actually weave the Dark One's thread because the Dark One doesn't HAVE a thread. He is a cosmic entity that can destroy threads in the same sense that the creator can make them.

 

This means the Dark One isn't part of the pattern so when his prison is weakened or opened he is free to influence the pattern as he wishes. Is it not plausible, then, that when this happens the Dark One can change the pattern however he sees fit which is precisely what the forces for the Light are questing AGAINST? What, then, would prevent the Pattern from eventually being destroyed when a cycle of the Breaking comes?

[Tokkenn]

I always assumed our Age occurred before the events of the books due to the symbol Egwene comes across in the museum in the Shadow Rising. If the Ages always repeat (ie the 1st Age is a repeat of the previous 1st Age, 2nd Age . . . next 2nd Age, and so on and so on) then the Bore must be completely sealed up again, to the extent that in the next 7th Age after the events of the books there is no knowledge of the existence of the Dark One or the Bore.

It has been consitently pointed out throughout the series that the ultimate goal of the Dark One is to break the wheel and remake it in his own image. Therefore, as an agent of the light, I do not believe it is possible for Rand to seal the Dark One away permanently. This would just be another form of 'breaking the wheel'. I have always thought this would be the best ending of the series since it would be the very thing we have been repeatedly told there are none of, an ending.

[raolan]

If we are assuming that our world is a part of the WoT world, I believe this time would come long before the age depicted in the books. Still, the single largest reason WoT will be my favourite series ever is because there is no real beginning or end to the overall story. Even more of a reason is that after the series has ended there will be an unstoppable flood of fan fiction about other ages etc. Technically, if RJ had wanted to, he could have kept this series going for as long as he lived. Finish the third age, begin the next one. That would of course ruin the series.