Re: A few things that drew my attention... (this is long and rambling...spoilers) - Edit 1
Before modification by redhand at 07/09/2009 05:10:22 AM
Eh, he went even further than I take it. I don't think Egwene would gentle him before Tarmon Gai'don. But if he survived TG, I don't think she'd hesitate to gentle him and put him to trial for his "atrocities" against the Aes Sedai so she could get all the nations under her thumb completely.
Hence the value of Elayne. For ego reasons if nothing else, she cannot let the Prince-Consort of Andor and father of the Daughter-heir be subjected to a foreign authority. And with all these conveniently located Asha'man who are specifically trained in One Power combat, and tend to look for excuses to prove their equality or superiority to Aes Sedai, and who probably crave acceptance in society on the level Aes Sedai enjoy...well, any overt action on Egwene's part against Rand would be to the cause of the nations freeing themselves from White Tower hegemony as the expedition to seize the powder at Lexington and Concord was to the American cause of independence. I think that is the purpose of Egwene - however she might agree with the idea, she will prevent the Tower from doing this sort of thing, and preserve it from overreaching. And she'll get the credit from her fans here for her moral stance, when in truth it is simply recognition that she can't get away with it. Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not really out to get you.
That's what my pastor used to say. What difference does it make if he's ignoring his pain or if he does the Aiel thing and "sings" while he's hacked into itty bitty pieces? He's dead either way. He suffers either way. So who cares whether he "feels" the pain or not? This whole thing is like refusing a terminal patient morphine because you want him to "feel" his last few moments of life and think he should suck it up and "love" the pain.
Except Rand is not a terminal patient on a hospital bed, he is the only one who can bring the plane in for a safe landing, and he is becoming hooked on morphine, and has moved on to seeking stronger drugs which will distort his reflexes, perceptions and bodily functions, and cause him to do something stupid, crazy or indifferent to collateral damage. Like maybe cause a loss of cabin pressure, because he's so high he misses the warning lights, and as a result, safely lands a plane full of bodies. and accepts that he's going to have even more pain before it's over with. At the end of the chapter, it's obvious that he's ready to get on with it and die already. I think it's a bit asinine to expect, much less want, someone to do a happy dance at the fact that he's getting hacked apart and dying to save a bunch of thankless jerks who either get off on him suffering, want to leash him like an animal so they can stab him to death themselves in order to "win", or want to see him dead and gone. That he's willing, and ready, to do it should be good enough. To want more than that is just inhumane and mean - to me, it'd be no different than telling a woman she's about to be gang raped and gutted alive
Except she's crossing her legs as tightly as she can, rather than taking up arms to defend herself, and incidentally the next victim of the gang. Rand isn't offering a noble sacrifice, he's looking for an easy way out. He has to confront that Dark One to prevent him from destroying the world, and he has shown more interest in getting it over with than actually protecting the world. His whole attitude that everyone can go f*** themselves once he's dead is completely against the spirit of what he has to do. Aridhol might have turned themselves into a rabid beast to fight the Shadow, but Rand is simply going to let the Shadow kill him for the same reason - neither can stand the price that is needed to keep up the fight. Do you think the men of Manetheren marched to the bank of the Tarendrelle thinking "Thank the Light! We can finally get killed and give up all of this marching and fighting and eating crappy food and taking injuries and losing friends and doing strenuous physical labor and living in squallor to protect people who mock us for going out of our way to do what is right instead of what is most advantageous for us!" You cite the problem - Rand's life is a burden. Giving up a burden is not a sacrifice, and he cannot sacrifice what he does not value. You can't buy the salvation of the world with a bad check. Cadsuane & Sorilea want to put something into his account before it bounces.
I agree with cannoli in general here. The Asha'man will achieve parity with AS sooner or later. It is like a powder keg, and any excuse to start the process can result in huge fighting.
It is only possible to threaten someone if they have something to loss to begin with. So far, the motivation for Ashaman to fight for the Light has been purely moral, and that is really weak when they face true danger. To counter Taim influence, the Black Tower needs to have the smae kind of political and economical power as the White Tower, and the stand on its own, instead of at the grace of the Dragon Reborn.
An army is never cheap, nuclear army especially so. Trying to build an army on the cheap will surely result in the army defect at the worst possible time.