I did't see anything like this so i apologize if someone already posted it. Also, this turned out to be MUCH LONGER than i thought it would be. Sorry. This is a theory that attempts to surmise what Rand's fate really is in the general sense. I'm not trying to prove it in "CLUE" style; (i.e. Rand is killed by Fain in the Pit of Doom with the Dagger) but that he was never suppose to live in the first place. Now, RJ has been telling us for about 12 books now that Rand is fated to die. Some people choose not to believe citing a mountain of hints from characters suggesting there might be another possible fate. Now, aside from waiting, there are a few ways we can come up with a likely answer: 1. Ask RJ. I don't think this is possible anymore but if someone wants to try let me know how it goes. 2. Ask the people who have his literary notes. While i'm pretty sure Brian and Harriet have the answer i don't believe they will tell us so as to not spoil it for everyone. 3. Research and Understand the author and make and educated guess. This seems like our only option so lets give it a try. WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT ROBERT JORDAN. First off, we know that RJ likes to leave a clue. I've found very few writer outside the mystery genre that like to be this subtle. I believe the phrase "a riddle wrapped in a mystery surrounded by an enigma" aptly describes these books. It's not that he's not blunt at times; Its just that if he is he probably left you 3 clues to 3 different events while being blunt. Secondly, are there any similarities between Rand and RJ? Since we are trying to determine the likely hood of Rand's survival knowing how RJ views Rand is very important. Here's a quote from and interview. <blockquote><p>Brian: Are some characters easier to write than others? As I write I find that to be the case. RJ: In general, female characters are harder to write. I have a tough time getting into their skin. Obviously I've never been a woman. It's also hard to get into the skins of really evil characters. Rand is the easiest.</p></blockquote> Alright, Rand is easiest character for RJ to write. His writing style is to think like them and write it down. That makes Rand the closest character in the book to how RJ views himself or how he (RJ) wants to be. The next important question is; "Who is Robert Jordan?" So i think he left us a clue in his name. "Robert Jordan". This is his pen name. He was born James Oliver Rigney, Jr. So why choose Robert Jordan? Why not James Smith or John Doe? I think a look at his past can help us out here. Here is an interview Quote i think that has some value. He is talking about writers that inspired him to take up writing and where they lived. <blockquote><p>Q: What inspired you to write? RJ: I decided that I would write one day when I was five. I had finished From the Earth to the Moon, Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, and I stood them up on a table and sat staring at them with my chin on my knees – I was rather more limber, back then! – and decided that one day I would make stories like that. But by age seven or eight, it seemed to me that writers who made a living from writing all lived in CUBA or ITALY or FRANCE, and at that age, I wasn’t sure about that big a move. I followed my second love, science and math, got my degree in physics and mathematics, and became an engineer. I didn’t try writing at fifteen or twenty, because I didn’t think I had enough experience; I had nothing to say. At thirty, I was injured, spent a month in the hospital, nearly died, and took four months to recuperate enough to return to my office. I decided it was time to put up or shut up about writing one day, and the rest followed.</p></blockquote> Ok, so i know where the writers a young impressionable RJ liked the most lived. I also we know he was 5 at the time. So i'm on the hunt to find out who they are. Here's another Quote. <blockquote><p>Q: Have any writers influences you? RJ: Yes, I think so. I believe that the major influences on my writing are Jane Austen, John D. MacDonald, Mark Twain, Louis L’Amour and Charles Dickens.</p></blockquote> Ok, so these are SOME of his most influential authors. Which ones lived where so i can get a clue on this. Jane Austen is an English author and never left the isle. John D. MacDonald lived in Florida and died in Wisconsin. Other than an army stint never left the States. Mark Twain is known for his travels (if you ignore the books he wrote) but never LIVED overseas. He did tour the the countries around the MED. and i'm sure he made it France and Italy. Don't think he made it to Cuba though. Also he was dead long before RJ turned 5. Louis L’Amour was born in the states and other than his WWII service which did take him to Europe he stayed in the States. Didn't really live overseas. Time frame is right, geography is wrong. Ok, that leaves Charles Dickens. Who died to early and is an English Author. Ok, who the heck is Rj talking about living in Cuba, Italy, or France and was alive around the time he was 5?!?!?!?! This would have to be an author of stature for a 5 or 6 yr old to know of him. How many 5 yrs old's know who Dr. Seuss is much less an author who would be inspire a career in literature. Well, i propose it was Ernest Hemingway. This will all become very relevant in a moment or one hundred. Ernest Hemingway lived in Florida or Cuba (bounced back and forth) from 1930 till 1959 when he moved to Idaho. He worked in ITALY as an ambulance driver during WWI. He also lived and worked in Paris as foreign correspondent for the Toronto Star from 1921 - 1928. More importantly, In October 1954 Hemingway received the Nobel Prize in Literature!!!!!! RJ would have been 5-6 and I bet that would have made all of radio/tv/newspapers available. Also both RJ and Hemingway served during war time in some fashion. RJ was in Vietnam. Hemingway, WWI and Spanish American War. If that's not enough to convince you Hemingway has an influence on RJ, how about this. One of Hemingway's best known books is "For Whom the Bell Tolls"; and the Main Character in that book: ROBERT JORDAN!!!!!!!!!!. Written 1940. Ohh, and spoiler alert. Hemingway kills him in the end in an act of self sacrifice to complete his mission and save his friends during the Spanish American war. Sound Familiar? Robert Jordan feels closest to Rand. Robert Jordan is a war hero who self sacrifices himself to complete his mission and save his friends. If i am correct, from day 1, in bold print on the front cover RJ has been telling us this is a story in the Hemingway Style. It's about war, death, what it means to be a hero, ohh and that . . . . Rand is toast!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!