 Someone who wasn't Aiel could wander through those spires forever and never see a thing except the spires. He or she might think it was a monument, or maybe a work of art.  So that at least suggests the pillars are capable of recognising someone based on genes/lineage. If the genetic memory thing from TEOTW is still in play then this strengthens my theory a little, I think.  So, we're working with blood for SURE. I guess my sticking point is that we have no reason to think that Aviendha could affect ter'angreal before, so why do we think she did now? Maybe this ter'angreal was tuned to her blood and changed when she touched it, as opposed to changing because of something she did unconsciously? It's HER line (well, hers and Rand's and Min's) that screws things up for ALL the Aiel...maybe she's the only one this would have worked for? Maybe they're just dead to her now, although I'll say that her thought process about the uselessness of them is actually a good one. What's the point of them anymore, even if they do work the old way for someone else - or the new way?  T