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Interviews: ACOS Signing Report - Erica Sadun
Summary:
Entries
47
Date
Oct 9th, 1996
Type
Paraphrased
Location
Dunwoody, GA
TourCon
A Crown of Swords Book Tour
Bookstore
Perimeter Media Play
Reporter
Erica Sadun
Links
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1
Question
Upcoming News?Robert Jordan
He will be Guest of Honor at the BYU Convention: "Life, the Universe & Everything".Footnote
Footnote: Brandon was in Korea when RJ was at BYU. -
2
Question
Tell us about the Blight.Robert Jordan
You can not enter it from Tel'aran'rhiod because it is apart from NORMAL UNIVERSE and can not be touched. The Blight is not part of the normal universe.QUESTION
Ask about the Blight. If it is not reflected in Tel'aran'rhiod, why does the Great Lord of the Dark have so much power over Tel'aran'rhiod, the Wheel and reincarnation?ERICA SADUN
See above.Footnote
The Dark One doesn't have power over Tel'aran'rhiod as far as we know, but it's easy to see how one might have come to this conclusion after reading A Crown of Swords, since Moghedien noted that the properties of Tel'aran'rhiod and the area around Shayol Ghul were so similar that she could only differentiate by 'feel'. He also doesn't have any power over reincarnation beyond being able (with certain limitations) to 'catch' a soul while it is on its way to the afterlife (at which point the soul is out of his reach). RJ explained this further in the TOR Questions of the Week. There's no indication that he has any power at all over the Wheel, either, though he does seem to be able to corrupt the Pattern in a way with his touch.Tags
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3
Question
Have any Aes Sedai ever been refused admittance to any Ajah?Robert Jordan
No. (see below)QUESTION
Can an Accepted be raised to Aes Sedai and not choose an Ajah? What happens if they are raised ask for acceptance and are refused?ROBERT JORDAN
This never happens. They are chosen in advance and vetted.Tags
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4
Question
What do members of the White Ajah actually do on a day-to-day basis?Robert Jordan
Think. Study philosophy.Tags
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5
Question
What are the actual requirements for being raised to the shawl?Robert Jordan
RAFO.Tags
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6
Question
Who was the one who is no more? The innkeeper or the guy on the barrel?Robert Jordan
[an amused look] RAFO.QUESTION
Is the innkeeper an ex-Aes Sedai?ROBERT JORDAN
RAFO.Footnote
This refers to a dream shared by Amys, Melaine, and Bair referenced in Lord of Chaos. We get a clue in The Path of Daggers that Setalle Anan was Martine Janata—an Aes Sedai who burned out while studying ter'angreal—and it's near-confirmed in Knife of Dreams when Setalle takes a particular interest in Mat's medallion. Thus she was 'the one who is no longer [Aes Sedai]', and she was the key to finding the Bowl. The guy on the barrel was Jain Farstrider (Noal Charin).Tags
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7
Question
Once and for all end the ageless look thing. Is it obvious that it is tied to the Oath Rod?Robert Jordan
RAFO.Tags
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8
Question
Who killed Asmodean? (Right. Like he'll tell us). Anyway ask if the clues to figure it out are all included up to The Fires of Heaven.Robert Jordan
RAFO. All clues are included up to The Fires of Heaven.Tags
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9
Question
Will Gawyn get a brain transplant?Robert Jordan
[evil look] (laugh)Tags
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10
Question
Was Else always Lanfear?Robert Jordan
No. Else did exist as a separate human but was played by Lanfear after Else was expelled.FOOTNOTE—TEREZ
Since Lanfear as Else doesn't make much sense to me (Mesaana seeming more likely for a few reasons, not least that the 'trap' was supposedly all her plan, and personality), I asked Erica if maybe RJ didn't actually say exactly that. (Sometimes fan assumptions work their way into the wording, if no alternative is being considered.) Unfortunately, I asked her 17 years after she made the report, so she couldn't remember, but she did say it wasn't her phrasing (indicating that she apparently just wrote down what was said).Tags
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11
Question
New Dreadlords? Via True Power? What are limits of True Power? When did we see it used before?Robert Jordan
Access to the True Power is a matter of wanting it and the Dark One letting you. NOT black cords. In the Prologue to The Eye of the World we saw True Power used to heal insanity. The One Power cannot be used to heal insanity. True Power used at Shayol Ghul will fry you instantly.Tags
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12
Question
How dangerous and how ambitious is Faile?Robert Jordan
Exceedingly dangerous, not particularly ambitious. Perrin is due his due as lord of the Two Rivers. She has been raised as a noble with noblesse oblige. Perrin has been pushed into lording and she doesn't like him ducking out of what she sees as his obligations. She doesn't understand why he doesn't understand this in his blood like she does in hers.Tags
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13
Question
Is "Ogier" from "to sing Ogier"?Robert Jordan
No. It's to sound like Ogre but not be exactly the same. Name of family in Charleston.Footnote
It's also a small street not far from where RJ lived with Harriet in the historic district of Charleston.Tags
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14
Greebs
Ask what the deal is with Nynaeve being able to hold half the power as ten sisters with a sa'angreal but not being able to handle two pussy little Black Ajah by herself.Robert Jordan
Some people have shielding talents.QUESTION (LATER)
This is similar to Greebs' question, but from a slightly different angle: How much stronger do you have to be to forcibly shield someone else who is already holding the One Power? Is it different for men than for women, or for heterosexual shielding? If the answer is only a little stronger, then ask him how come Nynaeve couldn't shield Elayne in A Crown of Swords, Chapter 21 (Swovan Night)? Also, how much weaker can you be and still be able to hold a shield on someone, Berowin excepted?ROBERT JORDAN
He did not use a "real scale" for One Power stuff. You just have to be stronger. Mostly handwaving. Consider the Kin. The woman who is very weak but has a real Talent for shielding.FOOTNOTE—TEREZ
On the second answer: RJ indicated in Sweden in 1995 that he does use a 21-graded scale to keep track of channeler strength.
The first answer appears to be an Aes Sedai answer (avoiding the question). The real answer (at least, the answer that is consistent with the rest of the books) is that RJ probably used a bit of hyperbole in the scene where Mat was Healed in The Dragon Reborn (or rather, Nynaeve did, and she even caught herself...but RJ wrote it in such a way that left room for doubt whether she was amazed at her arrogance or at her potential strength).
The woman with the shielding talent, at least as far as we were shown in A Crown of Swords, was in the Kin (Berowin), and not one of those holding Nynaeve when they went after the Bowl (Falion, who got away, and Ispan, whom they captured). They were linked, and they waited until Elayne went upstairs with most of the Kin, then caught Nynaeve off-guard while she wasn't already holding the Power, and they (rightly) believed the remaining Kin wouldn't interfere. (Erica noted when I interrogated her about this report that these were all quick questions which he answered while signing books, so he was probably too distracted to explain properly—all indications are that he truly enjoyed explaining such things when he had the leisure to do so, and that he also would have gladly admitted to the hyperbole so long as he had time to address the rest.)
I think one of RJ's main points in that scene was that Mat, not being able to see the weaves, wouldn't have any idea what was going on, and therefore neither should we, really. RJ even called our attention to this phenomenon in the battle between Moghedien and Nynaeve at the end of The Shadow Rising:
"A man who came in then, or any woman unable to channel, would have seen only two women facing each other across the white silk rope from a distance of less than ten feet. Two women staring at one another in a vast hall full of strange things. They would have seen nothing to say it was a duel. No leaping about and hacking with swords as men would do, nothing smashed or broken. Just two women standing there. But a duel all the same, and maybe to the death."
The scene in A Crown of Swords was a way of exploring that phenomenon. Presumably Nynaeve was strong enough to break the shield, but it was close enough that it came to a fight much like the Moghedien fight. Meanwhile, Nynaeve says aloud that Falion and Ispan are linked, and she chastises the Kin for not helping her. That tells us all we need to know.
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15
Question
Ask how it was that Moghedien got to Shayol Ghul instantly...was it the Dark One using his twisty powers or was it a function of being all a dream?Robert Jordan
It was a dream. Moghedien, by the way, used to be an investments councilor until the FTC got on her case.Tags
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16
Question
Ask about the three White Black Aes Sedai in Liandrin's group when there should only be two. [Joiya Byir (killed at Tear), Rianna Andomeran, Falion Bhoda.]Robert Jordan
[Complete surprise.] Really? [Mutter mutter.] Have to check that out.Footnote
This error was corrected in The Shadow Rising. Joiya is now Gray Ajah.Tags
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17
Question
And for fun ask whether Ogier can be Friends of the Dark.Robert Jordan
[strange look] RAFO.Footnote
RJ said elsewhere that they can.Tags
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18
Question
Could a second person have "needed" the Bowl and found it?Robert Jordan
Maybe. [They] didn't think of it.QUESTION
Could they have "needed" the box enclosing the Bowl?ROBERT JORDAN
Probably not. They wouldn't be able to convince themselves to "need" it.Tags
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19
Question
What happens when two people balefire each other simultaneously?Robert Jordan
[disgusted look] A lot of confusion.Tags
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20
Erica Sadun
What was going on in Aelfland when Mat went round and round and round the same location? Were they traveling in time?Robert Jordan
Not traveling in time. The physical laws of nature differ. Mentioning the Dark One [in Randland] is bad luck. In Aelfland, it is *REALLY* bad. You cannot go to Aelfland in Tel'aran'rhiod (similar to stedding).Tags
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21
Question
How do you get your ideas?Robert Jordan
I opened the closet one day and found three young women, diaphanously clad who had made themselves at home. They had hung up needle point embroidery and otherwise furnished the closet. I had a discipline stick available and beat them. Now, every day, they hand me a list of ten ideas.Question
Have you been arrested for muse abuse?Robert Jordan
They refuse to testify.Tags
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22
Question
Tell us about those Sea Folk rituals during the wedding...Robert Jordan
How old are you?Question
Over the age of consent.Robert Jordan
You're too young!Tags
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23
Question
Are the Aiel already a Remnant?Robert Jordan
[smile] RAFO.Tags
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24
Erica Sadun
Why doesn't Egwene just Travel her troops to Tar Valon?Robert Jordan
She needs the time to be in control. Otherwise she'd just be a puppet to others' needs.Tags
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25
Question
When Birgitte says she remembers a tale of a female Warder after being bonded to Elayne, does she remember herself?Robert Jordan
RAFO.Tags
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26
Question
You might also want to ask him about the sexual preferences of Galina, Bain and Chiad. :-)Robert Jordan
*chuckle* RAFO.Tags
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27
Question
Are shocklances guns, or energy discharge weapons?Robert Jordan
Energy discharge weapons.Tags
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28
Question
Do you have a name for book 8 yet, if so what?Robert Jordan
No.Tags
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29
Question
Is channeling ability strictly, or partly genetically based?Robert Jordan
Partially. [I] worked it a bit with some friends but just left it mostly hanging.Footnote
Erica clarified that RJ said all of that, so apparently RJ sometimes worked out plot elements with his friends. [Which seems odd, considering other things he has said about his creative process.]Tags
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30
Question
Have we seen Osan'gar anywhere else since his first appearance? (No doubt a RAFO)Robert Jordan
RAFO.Tags
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31
Question
Can weaves be inverted in a way that prevents them being detected even while they are being woven, i.e. so you could draw and weave with saidin, and no one would detect it, or can the weaves only be hidden after they have been tied off?Robert Jordan
No answer. [Stupid woman and "how do you get your ideas" question.]Footnote
RJ addressed this in the text at the Cleansing, when Demandred 'reversed' his gateways so as to avoid being detected. (Cadsuane's ter'angreal, which can apparently detect reversed/inverted weaves, foiled his plan.)Tags
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32
Question
Is Thom Elayne and Gawyn's real father?Robert Jordan
No. Absolutely no. No question about it. No. No. No. Thom is exactly who he says he is.Footnote
RJ was apparently very disturbed by this question, possibly because it implied he had ventured into incest territory in The Fires of Heaven when Elayne decided to flirt with Thom.Tags
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33
Question
How many crescent moons are on Mat's funky new ring?Robert Jordan
You guess.Tags
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34
Question
Is Dashiva Osan'gar?Robert Jordan
RAFO.Tags
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35
Question
Why doesn't somebody just balefire the Dark One?Robert Jordan
The quantity necessary would destroy the world.Tags
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36
Question
What are those black threads on the male Forsaken?Robert Jordan
RAFO.Tags
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37
Question
What are the requirements for being raised from Accepted to Aes Sedai?Robert Jordan
Ability to channel under extreme stress.Tags
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38
Question
How are the Ajahs funded?Robert Jordan
Too complex to answer. Joint funding and contributions from Ajahs to full Tower.Tags
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39
Question
Is Moiraine's eyes-and-ears network independent of the Blue or does it overlap? How do they report?—i.e. does Moraine have someone who collects messages for her?Robert Jordan
All eyes-and-ears networks overlap a little, but hers was pretty independent.Tags
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40
Question
Do all Darkfriends have the equivalent of the black threads seen in Tel'aran'rhiod attached to Ishamael and Asmodean? (I have a theory that Fades may use these threads to travel on, you could ask about that.)Robert Jordan
No. Fades travel where light and darkness meet. [handwaving]Tags
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41
Question
What age number was the Age of Legends?Robert Jordan
The age before the Third Age. The Breaking of the World brought on the Third Age. The Trolloc and Hundred Years Wars were only punctuations in local history.Tags
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42
Question
Info re: Ajahs?Robert Jordan
In the illustrated guide will be information revealed about how they came about that affects the books not at all.Tags
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43
Question
Can you use the True Power in the stedding?Robert Jordan
Ye....er...RAFO. You must be a stone cold fanatic to want to use the True Power. Moghedien is terrified of it. Avoids it.Footnote
In 2005 he said no, and this is backed up by a report from Thus Spake.Tags
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44
Question
If the True Power were used on you, would there be negative effects with reference to the Dark One?Robert Jordan
RAFO. Of course, if you die, the answer is obvious.Tags
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45
Question
What is Fain?Robert Jordan
Mordeth + person. Mordeth is a human-made evil. The Black Wind gets along with Mordeth because of professional courtesy. Fain is anti-Forsaken as well as anti-Rand. He has a lot of skills and abilities outside of channeling. He can not channel.
QUESTION
Is this the "Another Power"?ROBERT JORDAN
[laugh] I don't know.Tags
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46
Question
If you die, will Piers Anthony finish the series?Robert Jordan
No. No one will finish the series. The hard disks will be reformatted four times in succession.Tags
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47
Robert Jordan (10 October 1996)
RJ said specifically:
• no channeling necessary to become Dreadlord
• True Power independent of One Power
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