Past or Future?

Dnae Ila

Gaidin
Joined
Jun 12, 2014
Messages
12,210
Age
37
Location
New York
Pronouns
  1. Any - All
I didn't immediately see a thread about this, so I hope I'm not hashing over something that's been done.

Wheel of Time clearly implies that the happenings in that series occur somewhere along the same timeline that we are living in, and the Wheel just keeps on spinning the Ages over again. The question then is: do the events in the book happen in an Age before or after the one we're in?

I can make arguments for either side, but I want to know what you guys think first.
 

Ashlyn Sindal

Aes Sedai
Joined
Dec 8, 2011
Messages
4,305
Age
45
Location
Seattle, WA
Pronouns
  1. They - Them
  2. She - Her
Given that time is a wheel, the events in the books would necessarily occur both before and after our Age. I've always gotten the impression, though, that our Age is supposed to be the one immediately before the Age of Legends.
 

Toral Delvar

Gaidin
Archivist
Joined
Oct 28, 2002
Messages
5,629
Location
Ann Arbor, MI, US
Both, though in terms of number of ages, it is probably closer to after
It isn't made clear if the entire universe is re-made in one of the ages (a new big bang), or if something else happens
 

Dnae Ila

Gaidin
Joined
Jun 12, 2014
Messages
12,210
Age
37
Location
New York
Pronouns
  1. Any - All
  • Thread starter
  • Moderator
  • #4
I always felt while reading that our age is one or two after and that
despite the ceansing of saidin and the rise of the Black Tower,
our ability to channel died out while our technological knowledge increased.
 

Ryu Shadowborn

Resident Citizen
Joined
Apr 15, 2014
Messages
1,164
I always felt while reading that our age is one or two after and that
despite the ceansing of saidin and the rise of the Black Tower,
our ability to channel died out while our technological knowledge increased.

I disagree, I think ours is a little before the AoL.

1. Our age
2. Age in which channeling is discovered, lots of upheaval due to it
3. Age of Legends

the reason I think this is due to the small bit in Book 4

"Did Mosk and Merk really fight with spears of fire, and were they even giants?

Mosk(Moskow) and Merk(America, or Murika) two super powers, that had Nuclear Weapons.
 

Leira Galene

Aes Sedai
Moderator
Joined
Nov 28, 2013
Messages
13,457
Location
Kiruna, Sweden
Pronouns
  1. They - Them
  2. She - Her
Also Lenn flying to the moon in the belly of an eagle made of fire could be a reference to the US space program-- John Glenn was the first man to orbit the earth, the Eagle was the Apollo 11 lander.
 

Ashlyn Sindal

Aes Sedai
Joined
Dec 8, 2011
Messages
4,305
Age
45
Location
Seattle, WA
Pronouns
  1. They - Them
  2. She - Her
Thinking about stories like that, I wonder if the Third Age and our Age are supposed to be directly opposite each other on the Wheel. Because they have all of these not-quite-right stories about our Age, but then we have similar stories about theirs (all of the Arthurian and Norse legend parallels, for instance).
 

Dnae Ila

Gaidin
Joined
Jun 12, 2014
Messages
12,210
Age
37
Location
New York
Pronouns
  1. Any - All
  • Thread starter
  • Moderator
  • #8
That's a fair point.
I've just reread a portion that supports the we are the past theory.
When Rand looks at the heroes of the horn, his head fills with names (implied to be names from their past lives) including "Michael instead of Mikel, Patrick instead of Paedrig, Oscar instead of Otarin."
 

Toral Delvar

Gaidin
Archivist
Joined
Oct 28, 2002
Messages
5,629
Location
Ann Arbor, MI, US
There are a few of Thom's stories that seem based on our world, which suggests we are the Age before the Age of Legends.
 

Polegnyn Nemeara

Aes Sedai
Joined
May 6, 2014
Messages
10,567
Location
Kansas, USA
Pronouns
  1. She - Her
And you have the Tower of Ghenji being constructed out of metal. Skyscraper, anyone?

our ability to channel died out while our technological knowledge increased.

I tend to think our ability is still there. Not that I believe people can literally see weaves or perform visible magic. The ability to create something new from seemingly nothing happens every day. It's just our definition of what is considered magic/miracles has changed.
 
Joined
Sep 16, 2012
Messages
392
Age
36
Location
Vancouver Island
I disagree, I think ours is a little before the AoL.

1. Our age
2. Age in which channeling is discovered, lots of upheaval due to it
3. Age of Legends

I think this is probably the best answer. There would need to be an age between ours and the AoL. A time period when channeling is new and it's discovery throws everything we know into a weird place.
 
Joined
Aug 10, 2010
Messages
6,012
Age
38
Location
Louisiana, USA
Pronouns
  1. She - Her
The Wheel is always represented as having 7 spokes, one for each age, so if that is the case, what are the other four ages? And I know that there is an order for the ages, i.e. that Randland is the third age, but since it is a wheel, I figure I can start where ever. This is also just speculation on my part, so if I am wrong about something beyond the actual numbering of the ages, forgive me.

First age ~ Ours. Technologically advanced, but no channeling, no magic. Probably ends in a cataclysm of some kind that destroys technology, and most of society, forcing people back to zero, so to speak.

Second Age ~ Rebuilding. Society reforms, but without the technology, they are forced to essentially start from scratch and figure out new ways to survive. This rebuilding age would be bringing people from a post apocalyptic setting, to probably something more advanced, but still vastly inferior to what it had been. This age ends when people discover channeling. From a genetic standpoint, I am going to say that it is like the gene for redheads, in that it may be rare and recessive, but it can show up at any time, even hundreds of years later.

Third age ~ Channeling becomes bigger and bigger and it begins to replace technology, the lost technology, and begins to power new technology. Society rebuilds and becomes pacifistic. It is possible that there was a war that was averted that brought groups to that, or it might even be that they remember enough of what ended our age that they are not willing to go down that road again. This age ends quietly, and seamlessly joins with the next age. The Dark one is Forgotten by the end of this age.

Fourth age ~ The age of legends. Society is at another high point in the cycle. Ends with the Sealing of the Bore by Lews Therin and the Hundred Companions.

Fifth age ~ The time from the Breaking to the Last Battle.

Sixth age ~ After the last battle, the world has a lot of adjusting to do. The Taint was cleansed, peace has been made, and everything begins advancing again. This is another rebuilding age. Channeling is strong and the world takes a breath. Something has to happen in this age or to end it, however. Something big. Fewer people who can wield the One Power are born, thanks to 3000 years of culling. Technology that has been built on channeling fails due to this, and the world gets harder, darker, and the peace doesn't last. The age ends with the death of the last channeler.

Seventh age ~ People now have to figure out how to live in a world without magic. Over time the one power is forgotten and the channeling gene is dormant. We still remember things and they form the core of our mythologies and early religions. This age is essentially the first age's ancient world, and it also seems to blend with the next age.

At least that is my take on it.
 
Joined
Sep 16, 2012
Messages
392
Age
36
Location
Vancouver Island
Okay, actually, I like having two ages between ours and the Age of Legends. Analiese's theory is awesome. Although I feel saddened by the fact that the age after the last battle is the end of channeling (until it comes again ;) ) in this theory...
 

Almira ni'Caldazare

Resident Citizen
Joined
Mar 13, 2013
Messages
1,309
Location
OFallon, MO
I thought our age was near the Age of Legends. Technology let's us do amazing things. Rand's vision in Ruidean (spelling?) show him cars. I think the world of Wheel of Time is supposed to be the future.
 
Joined
Aug 10, 2010
Messages
6,012
Age
38
Location
Louisiana, USA
Pronouns
  1. She - Her
Those cars and the technology of the AoL were powered or driven by the one power. It was essentially technology built on magic. Our age does not have magic. I see these two ages as the two peak ages in the pattern. One with magic, and one without, and both end in cataclysm and a resetting of sorts. There is a rise and fall between them, kind of like the waxing and waning of the moon.
 
Joined
Apr 26, 2013
Messages
23
IMHO, the cyclic nature of the Ages is nicely expressed, with references like Lenn (as pointed out by Leira) and his daughter (Sally Ride - Salya).

But I thought it was pretty established that the WoT books happen in the Third Age: "The Wheel of Time turns and Ages come and pass ... &c. ... In one Age, called the Third Age by some, an Age yet to come, an Age long past, a wind rose..."
 
Joined
Aug 10, 2010
Messages
6,012
Age
38
Location
Louisiana, USA
Pronouns
  1. She - Her
And I know that there is an order for the ages, i.e. that Randland is the third age, but since it is a wheel, I figure I can start where ever. This is also just speculation on my part, so if I am wrong about something beyond the actual numbering of the ages, forgive me.

I know my actual numbering was wrong, and it was part of my disclaimer. I just wanted to start at a certain point.
 
Joined
Apr 26, 2013
Messages
23
My apologies - I don't have a great internet signal and sometimes I don't notice when my page 'jumps'. I didn't see the top bit. (I also wondered why you didn't seem to have a first age... this explains it :embarassed: )
 
Joined
Aug 10, 2010
Messages
6,012
Age
38
Location
Louisiana, USA
Pronouns
  1. She - Her
No problem. It happens to me too sometimes :)
 
Top