Friday, September 19, 2008

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.

13 comments:

lost2010 said...

I guess the island just knew that anyone who made it to the freighter was doomed anyway so it didn't bother to stop them. :)

That kind of stuff bugs the heck out of me too.

memphish said...

Hmm, but Sun and Aaron took the Zodiac and they managed to leave. So that doesn't completely work as a theory. And of course Daniel and his merry band of Zodiac riders are still out there. Somewhere.

lost2010 said...

So, do you only get the storm if you miss the bearing?

If you get the bearing right do you go through the eye of the storm?

memphish said...

That's what I'm thinking. The bearing equals the eye. Doesn't explain why Michael and Daniel's was different though. Nor does it explain the time difference with the rocket. But the biggest problem to me is Desmond's inability to leave the Island's pull with the Freighter folks abilities to go back and forth with relative ease, especially Dr. Ray's body.

lost2010 said...

I think they have to be implying that the freighter came in closer than the 'wall' of the storm by the time all the easy travel started up. And the chopper never really left the pull of the island so much as the island left the chopper.

The chopper was actually headed back to the island when it crashed, right?

memphish said...

The blown up freighter was pretty close to the Island, but I think that wasn't the case until close to the end. When Frank first takes Desmond and Sayid there I think it's roughly 40 miles away per Daniel. As for the helicopter, I assume it was outside the sphere of Island influence when the Island disappeared or like Daniel it would have gone with it.

I want to know where the wreckage of the freighter went. Surely they cruised the area in Penny's boat after they were picked up. I would assume they found no trace of Island, freighter or zodiac or else they would have brought it with them.

Capcom said...

All these pieces of logic are swirling around my head to no avail, and I have never been able to fit all the "facts" together because it all seems contradictory. Sometimes a storm, other times not. And how did whomever rode the zodiak know that they were on the correct bearing? I didn't see any noticable fancy instrumentation onboard, just the motor.

And if the Kerr time-shells are involved, how indeed, to you get from one shell to the other? :-p TPTB have got to shed some light on this, or else I'll be pretty disappointed.

memphish said...

I'll be getting to time shells or spirals pretty soon Capcom. I'm reading the last Wrinkle in Time book to Kiddo and it deals with that. When I finish it will generate a few posts.

As for navigation on the Zodiac, doesn't Sayid give Daniel a compass, the compass Locke gave him? I seem to vaguely recall that. I suppose at some point I should re-watch S4, but I haven't gotten to that point yet.

Capcom said...

Oh good. We could use a little theoretical illustration, even if it comes from another source!

Yeah, I'm sure they have compasses, but it just seems a stretch to me that the slow floating ship, and helo, would need electronic guideance, but you can get there fine manually on the squirelly bouncy zodiak. :o)

Capcom said...

One more thought....way back when, I used to think that the island created the storms to keep people out. So maybe on the times that there are no storms, the island is OK with whatever they are trying to do (going in or out). I dunno, I bet at close scrutiny though, that wouldn't pass evaluation and would still turn up inconsistancies.

Ellen said...

do you think that perhaps the reef is a boundary? not only a physical boundary, but a type of
"energy shell" too? just a thought...
xxoo

memphish said...

I want that to be the case Ellen. I want some sort of explanation other than heading (since there's been 2 of those) that explains Desmond circling, but S4s seemingly easy passages back and forth.

Capcom said...

I always figured that Des just didn't know the bearing passage location(s), so he just went round and round the inside perimeter of the barrier/shell. And I'm assuming (that's a LOT of assuming) that either he accidentally hit it when entering the barrier, or that the island wanted him to enter.

It's so weird how I don't believe for a minute that the island is sentient, but I'm always talking about what it does and doesn't want. :-o