Matt's Memories

[Gaidzag]

I've read now a few times that Matt's memories are the memories of those people who have gone into the Tower of Ghenjei and had their memories riffled by the Finn. Has this actually been confirmed by RJ/BS? I have searched this and haven't been able to find a definite answer.

 

Seems like there are a couple of problems with this. Seems like it would require that all or most notable military minds of the Third Age have gone to Finnland. But if it was that common I'd think we would have heard more about it. But there's nothing like that. In fact, the doorway leading to the Foxes, the ones that gave Matt his memories, was in Rhuidean (or in Aiel possession) since the Breaking. No Third Age person from the Westlands--military genius or otherwise--could have gone into it while it was there, so the Foxes couldn't have gotten their memories that way. The door to the Snakes was available, but hasn't that been locked in a basement in Tear for a long time?

 

Even more damning are the memories Matt has of getting killed and dying. So what, he got those memories from people who died AND THEN went to Finnland to have their memories sucked out? Doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.

[Sid]

I tried to write out an explanation, but I think this page from the old FaQ does a better job of it.

 

http://www.steelypip...mat-memory.html

[Agitel]

I've read now a few times that Matt's memories are the memories of those people who have gone into the Tower of Ghenjei and had their memories riffled by the Finn. Has this actually been confirmed by RJ/BS? I have searched this and haven't been able to find a definite answer.

 

Seems like there are a couple of problems with this. Seems like it would require that all or most notable military minds of the Third Age have gone to Finnland. But if it was that common I'd think we would have heard more about it. But there's nothing like that. In fact, the doorway leading to the Foxes, the ones that gave Matt his memories, was in Rhuidean (or in Aiel possession) since the Breaking. No Third Age person from the Westlands--military genius or otherwise--could have gone into it while it was there, so the Foxes couldn't have gotten their memories that way. The door to the Snakes was available, but hasn't that been locked in a basement in Tear for a long time?

 

Even more damning are the memories Matt has of getting killed and dying. So what, he got those memories from people who died AND THEN went to Finnland to have their memories sucked out? Doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.

 

The abundance of general and soldier memories Mat has is due to that being the type of person most likely to seek out and survive such a dangerous mission. The visitors to Finnland didn't use the red archway in the waste, but the Tower of Ghenjei. It's also possible that the Snakes also record memories and that the Foxes got some from them. The Finns don't start recording a person's memories until AFTER the person has visited. That's why Mat has no implanted memories of other people's childhoods. It's from just after they visited to their death.

 

And it's been confirmed.

 

Q: Are all of Mat's memories from his past lives?

 

RJ: No, Mat's "old" memories are not from his past lives at all. The "sickness" he got from the Shadar Logoth dagger resulted in holes in his memory. He found whole stretches of his life that seemed to be missing. When he passed through the "doorframe" ter'angreal in Rhuidean, one of the things he said - not knowing that the rules here were different than in the other ter'angreal he had used - was that he wanted the holes in his memory filled up, meaning that he wanted to recover his own memories. In this place, however, it was not a matter of asking questions and receiving answers, but of striking bargains for what you want. What he received for that particular demand was memories gathered by the people on that side of theter'angreal, memories from many men, all long dead, from many cultures. And since not everyone passing by has the nerve to journey through a ter'angreal to some other world, the memories he receieved were those of adventurers and soldiers and men of daring.

 

http://linuxmafia.co...mat-memory.html

[FarShainMael]

Gaidal Cain and Birgitte (as Jethari Moondancer) died in the Tower of Ghenjei (ToM22). I wonder if Mat has any of GC's memories? Possibly not, as those two didn't enter via a doorway, but it's interesting!

[TristanWebb]

I doubt it as they never got to the centre to make the bargain. Since the link is only for future memories, any Mat would have would be of a brain damaged man wandering around or being dragged through dark corridors, assuming that they can establish the link as soon as you enter the tower.

[Morden]

Gaidal Cain and Birgitte (as Jethari Moondancer) died in the Tower of Ghenjei (ToM22). I wonder if Mat has any of GC's memories? Possibly not, as those two didn't enter via a doorway, but it's interesting!

 

Dont think so because they didnt make it out and do much else except die inside the tower. If they'd struck a bargain and gotten out however...

[FarShainMael]

Thinking about it further, I have no doubt at all that they've visited the 'finns in the past and survived.

[Danjaman]

(1. Can we start calling it Sindhol instead of Finnland? It seems more fitting, since we now have a name for it. (Hope that's not a big spoiler)

 

(2. Time and Space don't make sense in Sindhol, why would their gifts? Mat himself reasoned out that there must be some bug in his mind that reported everything he experienced, just as it did for the others. How that bug would travel dimensions after the host's death is beyond me.

 

(3. It's certainly possible that he has Gaidal's memories, but they would be insignificant, as he would only remember the time between obtaining memories and death, which would've been a very short time in the ToG.

 

(4. Mat*

[Finnssss22]

Should also be noted that not ALL of Mat's memories of past lives were given to him by the Finn's, just the vast majority of them.

Just like Mat's ability to speak and understand the Old tongue fluently was not a gift from the Finn's either.

They gave him a much more conscious understanding that he could speak it fluently but the fluency was already there.

[csarmi]

Mat