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What's up with male-female a'dam linkages? Why do they die screaming?

In TGH: 40, 573, Damane, 484, Egwene's sul'dam describes how the Empress will sometimes make a man wear the bracelet of the a'dam. Sometimes nothing happens, and sometimes "both die, screaming." We see something similar happen in TFoH: 32, 522, A Short Spear, 370 when Rand tries to free the damane in Seanchan. What's happening here? Well, it seems as if the men who are affected by the a'dam are those who can channel, or who have the ability to learn. According to Elayne's study of the a'dam, it works by creating an uneven link between channelers, in which the bracelet holder has complete control.

So possible explanations for the "die screaming" effect are:

• a male and a female are linked, with the man in control. A female must control such a link due to the nature of the OP. So the a'dam link is backwards, which could have a bad effect.
• Possibly, they find themselves each touching the wrong half of the Source, and cannot stand to do this, and consequently experience immense pain and have their pitiful lives snuffed out by the overbearing power of the wrong half of the OP pouring through their frail bodies.
• Putting a male in the a'dam link somehow creates a "short circuit" in the One Power, frying both participants in the link unless they break it pronto.