Link StructureIn the process of linking, the fundamental difference between men and women is that women can link (to a point) without men, while men cannot link without a woman involved. Why is that?It seems that the act of linking is to build a structure out of the channelers' abilities. Women apparently provide the adhesive capability, since they can link (up to a circle of thirteen) without the presence of a man. This also fits with the fact that women are usually more dexterous with the Power than men. On the other hand, the addition of men to a circle provides a large boost of power, so much so that a circle of men and women together could create the great works of the Age of Legends. Men also enable a circle to be expanded beyond the basic thirteen. For these reasons, men could be considered to be the "building blocks" of the linking structure, which fits with the fact that men are usually stronger with the Power than women. Women to Men RatioOne of the rules (with three exceptions, which will be considered later) is that there must be at least one more woman than the number of men in a circle. Consider the following chain:Note: The symbols beside "Woman" indicate the woman's connection ability, and the capital "Man" indicates the man's solidity and strength. In that chain, there is one more woman than the number of men, which is the minimum of women for that number of men. This allows for a woman to connect each man together, and connect to something on each end. What are the ends connected to? There are a number of possibilities: 1) Without one of those "end" women, a full circle can be formed of alternating men and women. The last remaining woman is then free to connect to something else, and that "something else" could be the two halves of the Source, tapped through the abilities of all the members of the circle. 2) The "circle" could in fact be a line, with one end connected to the Source, and the other end grounding the circle in the earth. This explanation only makes any sense if the One Power is similar to electricity, in that it needs somewhere to flow out. Either way, it makes sense that there would need to be more women than men. Circle PowerThe two things that contribute to a circle's power--the number of members and the ratio between men and women--also make sense. More members obviously make a circle stronger, since their additional abilities are tapped by the circle. At the same time, the optimal ratio between the men and women is approximately fifty-fifty. This is probably because the more men there are, the more strength and solidity is inherited by the circle, yet the number of men cannot exceed the number of women. Close to equal is the best that a circle can do.Circle GeometrySince the precise circle sizes and compositions can be determined (see the chart on the previous page), we can hypothesize quite a bit about the geometry of the circle. Linking seems to be very similar to covalent bonding, for those who know chemistry, but that won't be discussed in any depth here. Suffice to say that in covalent bonding, the numbers are fairly flexible within a certain framework, certain compositions are far more stable than others (these are "noble gases"), and when the chemical structure becomes too large it is unstable.We know that a circle can have up to 72 members, and that the composition is fairly flexible, once a certain number of men are involved. Why do there have to be men, if the women are the adhesion and can connect to each other? Too much glue, without a solid foundation somewhere, simply becomes "goop" and falls apart; we believe this applies equally to linking. Women alone are enough only to a point. As a point of interest, consider the circles that can be formed by the minimum number of men. Without a man, the maximum circle is 13 women. Add a man, and another 13 women can be added, for a total of 26 women. A second man allows for the addition of 8 women, to total 34 women. This pattern continues, with each additional man allowing for 8 more women, until the circle reaches 72 members, when there are 6 men. After the first two men, the maximum number of additional women for each man is 8, as we've said. Eight is a good number, geometrically speaking. It is easily divisible (once by 4, or three times by 2), and it could coincide with the 8 corners of a cube. (Picture the requisite man for those 8 women in the centre of the cube, providing solidity to the structure, if this is helpful.) In fact, the numbers work out well, if the circle of 72 is divided into 8 units of 8-women-and-1-man, each. The circle "geometry" could be a greater cube, composed of lesser cubes at each corner. This appears to be a stable arrangement for a circle. But that's not the way a circle works. The first two numbers of women are both 13. Thirteen is a terrible number from a geometric point of view. It's a large prime number (it can't be divided by any other number), and any shapes with 13 corners would be weak and warped looking. As well, this makes the overall structure inconsistent. So why are the first couple of structures made up of 13 women? Perhaps it wasn't always this way, and the "greater cube - lesser cube" idea was the original formation. A simple theory is that the structure of linking has been modified by the Dark One. We know that he has been known to make use of the circle of 13 women before. As well, and it may be a coincidence, but under this system the maximum circle with the minimum number of men consists of 6 men and 66 women, or 666. Modifications of the circle structure may also explain the inconsistencies in the male/female ratio rule. The three exceptions to the rule (1 man, 1 woman; 2 men, 1 woman; and 2 men, 2 women) could be side effects of these changes. All are small circles, where the most modification of the linking structure seems to have taken place. The unpleasant number 13, the structural instability, and the inconsistency are all reminiscent of something the Dark One would arrange. Why would the Dark One do this, beyond the unpleasant numerology? Perhaps he knew he would need a circle of 13 to turn channelers to the Shadow, in a time when trained male channelers would not be easily available, so he expanded the number of female channelers who could link without a man. Or, if circle structures are truly dependent on the composition, perhaps he is just trying to weaken the channeling structure. Age of Legends wisdom was that 72 was the largest possible circle, but perhaps in a past turning of the Wheel much larger circles were possible. Lanfear said that the Choedan Kal would be enough to challenge the Dark One, but maybe a circle of thousands could have done the same and been a threat to the Dark One. It could be that the present structure of channeling is a clue as to how close the Dark One is to disrupting the Wheel of Time entirely and claiming ultimate victory. ~ Written by Arthaine Sedai of the White Ajah |