Culling Channeling from the World?

[Dianna Melear]

On this week's TarValon Talks episode, hosts Brycc, Casar, and Dorian discussed whether or not different cultures in Randland were culling channeling from the world. We'd love to hear what other people think, either in the thread for that podcast episode (found here) or in this thread dedicated to spoilers.

 

[Aduiavas Ida]

For me, the main evidence that the ability is not being culled away, is the vast number of channellers the Salidar Tower finds on their travel. They suddenly have hundreds of new Novices. So the channellers are there, they're just not found because the Tower isn't bothering to look for them. And it doesn't help that they had such a tight restriction on the age which you were allowed to join the Tower either. A lower age limit makes sense, but not the upper one.

 

[Dorian Har'Locke]

For me, the main evidence that the ability is not being culled away, is the vast number of channellers the Salidar Tower finds on their travel. They suddenly have hundreds of new Novices. So the channellers are there, they're just not found because the Tower isn't bothering to look for them. And it doesn't help that they had such a tight restriction on the age which you were allowed to join the Tower either. A lower age limit makes sense, but not the upper one.

They do at that! And I think it's also that suddenly it's opened up to anyone who happens to be around, not just anyone who can afford to get to Tar Valon.

 

[Murdock Mao]

I don't recall the exact sources of the details currently swimming in the smooth brain of mine but I believe/read/believe to have read somewhere that the Reds gentling male channellers over time decreased the population of potential channellers - so there were fewer, and weaker, ladies available to train. The stringent requirements for entry in the White Tower did not help matters in terms of actual trained channellers, but the abstinence and male-free environment may have contributed to preventing these women from having families.

I want to say that theory was thrown around by the Blues somewhere but I can't claim a source outside of RJ's somewhat tired Red vs Blue dynamic. "I read it in a book" isn't helpful when there's so many out there.

I view the onslaught of strong ladies of all ages suddenly appearing ready to train as similar to how all these men who wanted to learn to channel turned up at the Black Tower - the Wheel providing the Ta'veren with what they needed at the time. Rand is Ta'veren and these Soldiers came to him; I know there's some discussion about Egwene's pull on the pattern, or the lack of it, but I like to think similarly for Team Egwene as well. (That said, I 100% agree that the White Tower did itself no favours by not going out and finding enough girls, and being too strict with the ones they did have. I like to think the Black Ajah is responsible for this in some way, keeping the Tower from reaching its potential.)

The Aiel sending their male channellers to their ultimate demise (well) in the north of the Three-Fold Land probably has a similar effect.

I think the exceptional cultures in this question might be the Sharans using their male channellers as breeding stock, or those in the Isle of Madmen who are all as insane as each other regardless of gender. But otherwise I think everywhere else reduced their channellers because they don't know what DNA is.

Anyway I should listen to the episode to see if I'm just repeating what someone else has said!

 

[Dorian Har'Locke]

I don't recall the exact sources of the details currently swimming in the smooth brain of mine but I believe/read/believe to have read somewhere that the Reds gentling male channellers over time decreased the population of potential channellers - so there were fewer, and weaker, ladies available to train. The stringent requirements for entry in the White Tower did not help matters in terms of actual trained channellers, but the abstinence and male-free environment may have contributed to preventing these women from having families.

I want to say that theory was thrown around by the Blues somewhere but I can't claim a source outside of RJ's somewhat tired Red vs Blue dynamic. "I read it in a book" isn't helpful when there's so many out there.

I view the onslaught of strong ladies of all ages suddenly appearing ready to train as similar to how all these men who wanted to learn to channel turned up at the Black Tower - the Wheel providing the Ta'veren with what they needed at the time. Rand is Ta'veren and these Soldiers came to him; I know there's some discussion about Egwene's pull on the pattern, or the lack of it, but I like to think similarly for Team Egwene as well. (That said, I 100% agree that the White Tower did itself no favours by not going out and finding enough girls, and being too strict with the ones they did have. I like to think the Black Ajah is responsible for this in some way, keeping the Tower from reaching its potential.)

The Aiel sending their male channellers to their ultimate demise (well) in the north of the Three-Fold Land probably has a similar effect.

I think the exceptional cultures in this question might be the Sharans using their male channellers as breeding stock, or those in the Isle of Madmen who are all as insane as each other regardless of gender. But otherwise I think everywhere else reduced their channellers because they don't know what DNA is.

Anyway I should listen to the episode to see if I'm just repeating what someone else has said!

@Casar Somadi discusses that theory being raised by a Blue and repeated by a Brown sister in the books, but this is one case where I think they had no way of knowing. For one thing, even Sheriam admits it runs contrary to what they have seen recruiting novices once the Tower is broken. It smacks of the kind of rationalizing which the Aes Sedai of late in the third age are prone too; especially with the Reds being so self-congratulatory.

For one thing, we have no idea that Channelining is hereditary. It certainly doesn't seem to be, and @Brycc al'Thyran raised an answer to a question posed to Robert Jordan at one point: if a person is a channeler in one life, are they a channeler in all their lives? Still gotta track down the full quote, but it was a qualified 'yes'.

I don't think there is a 'channeling' gene at all. I think it truly is a matter of need and the Pattern, and that is what the Black Ajah and Ishamael in particular have been working against since the Trolloc Wars.