Did The Others Use Time Travel To Compile Their Dossiers?


From another listener on Lost Unlocked: The listener theorizes that the Others use time travel to travel to the time and places of the LOSTies pre-flight 815 in order to compile their files on them. This explains how they know that Sawyer killed a man before leaving Australia, something the Australian authorities did not know at the time of the flight. It also explains how they know that Sawyer's "Sawyer" is actually Anthony Cooper. The theory also led to a real chicken and egg conundrum as they further theorized that the Others or perhaps someone else like Widmore manipulated the 815ers onto that plane on that date, an interesting variation on a theory that's been out there from the beginning.

I kind of like the idea of time travel being used to determine who the 815ers really are. There are certainly those who believe that explains Richard Alpert's appearance in young Locke's life. It could also explain the speed with which they compiled the information if you can leave time x on the Island and return to it with no time passing. I like that it restores some of the mystical and mysterious nature of the Others. But I suppose it could equally be a network of PIs Off Island.

Does Life On Island Keep You Alive Off?


I heard this theory from a listener on Lost Unlocked. He theorized that the Island exists in the future and for that reason you can't die in the past off Island. And this explains why Michael, Jack and possibly Widmore can't die off Island because of the paradox it would create given that they were already alive in the future on Island.

I would guess at some point your timelines would cross and you could die off Island which makes Widmore's case particularly interesting. And it also raises the question about the Freighter's timeline with Michael on it. Is it now back on Island time thus he can die? It's an interesting theory, but I think all in all, it's not so much an avoidance of paradox but the Island's need of you that protects you.

Do You Have To Create A Tornado In A Bottle To Get To The Island?

I know this is grasping at straws, but it still really bugs me how Desmond couldn't leave the Island on The Elizabeth and Juliet said that others on The Elizabeth couldn't either, but all of a sudden in Season 4 (well from Naomi's arrival in Season 3) the Island is reachable. The idea of Daniel going blithely back and forth in the Zodiac just about sends me over the edge.

So how's this for an explanation. My son created a tornado in a bottle.



With all the water in one bottle if you merely turn the bottles over very little water escapes from the top bottle to the bottom one. But if you swirl the bottle you create a vortex pushing the water to the sides of the bottle leaving an air pocket in the middle for the water to escape through into the bottom bottle. It also produces a visible tornado in the bottle.

As you recall at least when Frank's helicopter comes and goes from the Island in the first instance and taking Sayid and Desmond to the freighter, they passed through a storm. Now no cows or witches on broomsticks flew by, but it was stormy. So my theory is roughly that there needs to be a storm to create a vortex to pass from the bottle of the Island to the bottle of the rest of the world. Furthermore the discreet headings, 325 and 305 either a) take you through what is creating that vortex or b) is that place where just the little bit of water passes through.

This is probably bunk and I'm not sure we'll ever get an explanation for this question, but playing with my son's tornado in a bottle at least made me think of LOST -- surprise, surprise.

What Kind of "Timers" Inhabit The Island?

More from Insomnia. Normal living human beings are known as Short-Timers. They (we) can only perceive our world with our five senses. There are 3 Long-Timers in the book who can perceive much more in the same physical space for example our auras which give a sense of our health and emotions and also when our end is near. Long-Timers experience time differently than we do. They live much, much longer and age differently. Then there are All-Timers who are immortal.

Additionally those who live longer have the ability to manipulate those who live shorter. The three main Long-Timers end the lives of Short-Timers and are also said to manipulate 3 Short-Timers in particular as if they were chess pieces on a board. Sound familiar? Additionally these Long-Timers are sent to perform these manipulations by others more higher ranking than they.

So I wonder -- Is Richard a Long-Timer? Ben? Widmore? In Insomnia these Long-Timers can't lie though they don't always answer questions and try to answer only what and to the extent that they desire. They also have to keep promises. This sounds a bit like Ben's ethos. They also can't interfere with each other directly, but need to use Short-Timer agents. Again this sounds like Richard, Ben and Widmore who seem to keep their hands technically clean. (Okay, not so much Ben, but the other 2.)

It also makes me wonder about Christian and Jacob and their manipulations of Short-Timers on the Island. Are they trying to get in on the chess game as well?

Does Time Move Faster On the Island
When Its Inhabitants Go Up?

On my road to the Dark Tower I've detoured once again to Derry, Maine where Stephen King's novels It and now Insomnia take place. Characters in Insomnia are moving between levels of the Dark Tower, a building that somehow controls time and worlds and how time moves in worlds. When these humans move up the levels of the Tower allowing them to perceive more than is normally available to our five senses time begins to move at a significantly faster rate.

So I wonder if what's going on in terms of Island time and its failure to quite add up is movement by the Island or those on it through levels of time resulting in the rate at which time passes failing to be constant. I especially wonder this with Daniel's experiment. The rocket literally went up (and so do characters in Insomnia at least once) and then had a different time from Daniel's watch. Ben went somewhere when he turned the wheel and 10 months passed. Did he go up?

Can Alpert Time Travel?

There are theories out there that Alpert and his appearances in Locke's young life are attributable to time travel. His lack of aging plays into that theory. But here's what I can't understand. How does Alpert control his time travel? The only physical time travel that we know we've seen so far is Ben post-donkey wheel turning. And I think it was pretty clear that Ben didn't know where or when he was going when that happened.

Has Alpert perfected the pinhole opening we see in the latest Marvin Candle video? And if so, why aren't others (like Ben) using it on Island as well? Or are they?

So what do you think?

Can Richard Alpert Talk to Jacob?



We've been told that Richard is not the Island leader, he's the Island's No. 2



but how does he know that he's supposed to be looking for a new Number 1? Who sends Alpert after the baby Locke and the young Locke? Who tells him to co-opt Ben?  And to get rid of Ben?

Love Lives of The Others



I was thinking about how Juliet was recruited to the Island by Richard and Ethan and I wonder do The Others recruit only single people or do they recruit married couples? In other words

How Was Alex's Death Ben's Fault?



I was listening to the showdown between Ben and Widmore in Widmore's bedroom and Widmore claimed Alex's death was Ben's fault.

WIDMORE: Don't stand there, looking at me with those horrible eyes of yours and lay the blame for the death of that poor girl on me, when we both know very well I didn't murder her at all, Benjamin. You did.

How's that? One argument is Ben's disavowal of Alex led to Keamy killing her, but how would Widmore know about that given the death of everyone who witnessed that?

Here's my new argument. I think Ben taking Alex from Rousseau was his attempt to course correct. Ben had been pulling a Desmond thwarting Alex's death right and left for 16 years. And the universe finally caught up with him. Alex's death at age 16 is Ben's fault because she was supposed to die as an infant when Rousseau went nuts again. I further predict we'll see this during Rousseau's story in Season 5.