It has long been a puzzle to me exactly how RJ meant to use the Portal Stones and other "real" worlds again after TGH when they seemed to disappear (narratively) in favor of the Finns. Maybe he just wanted to introduce them early or maybe they were concepts he hoped to minimize or abandon later on. I am not sure, but my guess is that something very important is going to happen in regards to the multi-dimensional aspects of the WOT worlds.

The Book of Translation has recently been introduced, strongly suggesting that the Finns were not the only race bridging dimensions.

The in-between-dream-space that Egwene explored also clearly links between dimensions very different from that of the main world. We have also from Verin that TAR is a constant along with the Creator (the TS) and the DO (the TP). 3 become one? Could be.

WOT is filled with patterns of three:
- TAR, DO, Creator
- Humans, Ogier, Finns
- Male AS, Female AS, Dai'shain
- Rand, Mat, Perrin
- Elayne, Min, Avi

I am sure there are more, but one that just occurred to me was the fact that there are really only 3 races that we know of unless we consider Snakes and Foxes two different races as opposed to the internal divisions of two that RJ likes to create (men-women, saidin-saidar, OP-TP, Shadar Logoth Evil-Shai'tan Evil, etc). Anywho, I have no idea if any of this matters, but I am curious what you all think of these trinities, especially given the ambiguous "three shall become one" stuff.

On another note, I have seen it suggested that not only were the Finns responsible for building the inter-dimensional transport system (Portal Stones, ToG) that they may also have been the power behind the Ogier migration to this world. Furthermore, all this transdimensional travel and connection may also have caused serious problems in the pattern, ultimately leading to the "thinness." I really like this idea but I am still not sure if it matches or clashes with RJ's larger themes of cooperation and difference. He seems to suggest that the greatest feats are achieved cooperatively, but while still maintaining difference. The True Power was an attempt to transcend difference and that ended disastrously. Does having inter-dimensional contact necessarily lead to problems or is it the manner and extent that is at issue? Are the Finns and Ogier both implicated in the Thinness or was it really just one of them? What role did humans play in bridging worlds? Were we unwitting victims or active participants or something in between?

As for further evidence that the epicenter of the thinness may be in Finnland, we do have some clues. We know that touching on the shadow in Finnland has very very dangerous consequences. We also know that Lanfear (driller of the bore) was familiar with the Finns prior to her capture based on the way she thinks about them and her apparent escape. Perhaps the thinness is most pronounced at the center of the inter-dimensional infrastructure (the Tower of Ghenjei).

My instinct is that the Finns are allegory for science gone too far, the science fiction trope of flying to close to the sun and initiating a cascade of unforeseen destructive forces. The Ogier, however, are nearly the exact opposite. If anything, they are the caution against those who fear any change, who are too stable, who retreat too much from the world (much like the Tinkers). So I also think it likely that the stedding are not bad for the pattern in the same way that the Portal Stones and the Tower of Ghenjei may be. What implications this might have for the Book of Translation and the larger role for the Ogier I can only guess.

Any thoughts??

LoialT