Post by Adam Lazio on Jul 26, 2008 20:03:25 GMT -5
I’d just like to warn everyone that this is a very long theory, almost like a mini novel, but please bear with me, i guarantee you won't be dissapointed after having read it . It is a compellation of things that you all may have heard before, and also some new ideas or just plain observations.
Since the beginning of time, as the world formed and the universe expanded, many great things have come together to produce life here on earth. With a magnetic force field that protects us from the nuclear winds of the universe and an atmosphere that works as a fine tuned machine to support life, water, air and land. Even the precise distance from the sun that allows life to exist without freezing or burning from extreme temperatures. Since the formation of our planet there has existed an island, a special island that is the heart of earth and helps to drive the machine. The machine is precise and complicated, it is driven by the actions of many physical things, as well as intervention of the divine.
This island has been the home for many people and cultures throughout the ages. Its location on earth is mysterious in itself. The island possesses matter from several different universes all at once. This is the only place that contains light matter and dark matter, right handed and left handed matter, living and dead souls, angels and demons all at the same time in the same place. They are all here, now, and they are all the same. This island is part of an equilibrium system that helps drive the motion of earth and the universe. This place, much like everywhere else, contains a great deal of duality in its existence. For every light, there is a dark; for every positive, there is a negative; for every action, there is a reaction.
As cultures have existed throughout history, there have been many ancient cultures that have found themselves on this island as well. The living souls that exist on this island have reached it through one of the many portals on earth. These portals are known as Vile Vortices and there are 12 locations on earth, evenly distributed, where they can be accessed. Two of these vortices are well know for their mystery, the Devils triangle and the Bermuda triangle. Two other vile vortices locations are the north and south poles. Much like the rotation of the earth, the location of the island, as well as the access point to it, rotates in a cycle. If one is located at a particular vortex at a particular time, they will be sucked through a wormhole (personified as Maxwell’s demon) and they will end up on this island. Most of the living souls that have found their way on the island have never found their way out, for there is only one bearing that one can follow in order to get back. For the dead souls on the island, it is even harder to get back, but if they are special, they can use the island as a conduit to communicate to the living.
This island shares many properties with the rest of the earth, but every property acts slightly differently. As we experience magnetic fields on earth, the island experiences magnetic fields as well, but with different properties and higher concentration. Earth experiences gravitational forces and ultraviolet light, and the island experiences the same properties, but in different ways as well. There are also several unexplainable energies that we see on earth. Some people use religions and spirituality to explain strange coincidences that they see, but interpretation is in the eye of the beholder. The human body feels energies that we cannot explain; urges and feelings like lust, love, remorse and purpose. These special and unexplainable, intangible energies are also found on the island in higher concentration to what is felt on earth. There is a spirit that guards the island and works with it as a hand of judgment, this spirit is known as Cerberus and is formed of three clouds of black smoke.
Cerberus has a master, who is also a guardian of the island and an angel of the underworld; his name is Abaddon. Both of these spirits can project themselves as physical beings to speak living people in our world and on the island. These spirits will look into the soul of an individual that they encounter and they judge them on their ability to redeem themselves. If a soul is working toward betterment, the spirits will not attack. If a soul lives in fear or cannot find redemption, they will be killed.
The original Abaddon lived thousands of years before our time, but his physical tomb has since expired. When a meteor hit the island thousands of years ago, it caused a great force of energy that destroyed the inhabitants and spiritual leaders, as well as statues that honor them. Abaddon is reincarnated as Walt Lloyd. Young Walt does not know of the details of his former life, but he does know he is special. While growing up and living with his grandmother, young Walt was angry and confused about who he was, until he took a long walk in Australia, known as a Walkabout. On his walkabout, Walt learns a great deal about himself as he is tested by extreme conditions, physically and emotionally. At this time, the Island communicated to Walt, letting him know who he was. Walt learned what he was destined to do, and he found his way back to the island, assuming is true name…Abaddon. From the Island, he learns that he must go back in time, and influence the outcome of what we are seeing unfold today.
As people have found themselves on the island throughout history, they have been able to live in harmony with it. A simple life on the island is one that is harmonious with it. If any of the islands inhabitants wanted or needed anything, the island would provide, as long as they didn’t seek out new technologies or go against the Island’s will. The natives of the island have had a communion with it throughout the ages. They have built temples and statues and even made sacrifices for the island. Everything was fine with the island and the world and in 1882, when a slave ship called the Black Rock found itself shipwrecked on it. As the Black Rock was sailing from Africa to America, the Island was moved right under it, causing the ship to be located inland.
The captain of the ship, Magnus Hanso, discovered evidence of many cultures on this island and also found that it had many strange properties. As Magnus lived on the island, he created a journal of his findings with hints about its strange properties and even a small map. Magnus tried to find his way out of the island so he could be with his son, Tovart Hanso, whom he had left behind as he sailed on his voyage. Magnus was never able to get off of the island, but his journal did. His journal was lost at sea when Magnus was trying to find a way out, and it managed to wash out through a particular bearing, and made it back to our world in Tovart’s time. The journal was found and given to Magnus’ son, Tovart.
Several years passed and the island managed to live in harmony with several of the inhabitants who found their way to it. One of the famous people who made it to the island was one Amelia Earhart on her attempt to fly around the world. Amelia lived the island and lived in harmony with it, along with the other few natives who have found their way to the island over the years. All of the islands inhabitants had to get to the island through a Vile Vortex access point, and all cultures on the island are short lived.
Though men are 10 times more fertile on the island, woman cannot conceive and give birth on the island without dying. This is why no particular culture could grow and flourish on the island, because none of them could reproduce. One special thing about the island is that it is the location of lost dead souls. When people die, they exist on the island as a particular type of matter. Dead souls are known as “dark” souls and live souls are known as “light” souls. In order for a light soul to be seen by a dark soul, or visa versa, it must live a simple life in its own universe so it can be favored by the island and be granted special powers. Without special powers, these souls could only communicate to their anti-matter in the form of whispers. Since this island is the location of the underworld, it affects the living human body to a degree where it can reject any decease or ailment for those that are favored; however, this is so extreme that it causes the human body to also reject life that is growing inside of it, much like as if a developing fetus were a cancer.
As time went on, the journal of Magnus Hanso was passed down another generation from Tovart to Alvar Hanso, who was a weapons dealer in the Second World War. During his service with the armed forces, Alvar heard of a government funded program that paid the greatest scientist and mathematicians to help predict the fall of humanity. During this time there were also many government sponsored studies that involved researching several paranormal activities such as extra sensory perception, telekinesis and remote viewing. This research was funded to compete with Russia and China, who were also funding research in such fields. Though the participants of such studies believed in these paranormal activities to be real, the funding was ceased shortly. Several members of the government still believe that these programs should not have been shut down. The studies of the mathematicians have yielded an inconvenient truth; A mathematician by the name of Enzo Valenzetti computed what is known as the Valenzetti equation, which predicts when humanity will extinguish itself, through any means possible.
Alvar Hanso learned of the Valenzetti equation, and decided at that moment to do anything he could do change the core factors of it and save humanity as we know it. The 6 core factors of the Valenzetti equation can be described with the numbers: 4 8 15 16 23 and 42. These numbers not only represent the path of humanity and its destruction, but they also possess special powers of their own. These numbers and their powers should not be used for profit, or the one who misuses them will be cursed with bad luck until they can make their life right with the island and learn to respect its powers.
In an effort to change the core factors of the Valenzetti equation, Alvar Hanso recruited some very gifted and passionate scientists named Gerald and Karen DeGroot to help him assembled a team of scientists that will work toward altering the core values of the Valenzetti equation and saving humanity. In the journal passed down to him from his father, Alvar remembered a special island that was located in a special place with special properties where he and his scientist could conduct their experiments. So in early 1970s Alvar and the DeGroots assembled their team of scientists and created the DHARMA initiative on the special island. DHARMA was named as an acronym for Department of Heuristics And Research on Material Applications, and is also a concept in Hinduism that that values “the way of higher truths” and the “fundamental principles of justice and righteousness.” The name also has some hidden meaning when considering the concepts of dark matter, dhar-ma = dark matter.
The Dharma Initiative (or DI) consisted of many talented scientists in several different fields from places all over the world. Alvar provided funding to the DI to allow them to build anything that they needed. The Hanso foundation contracted work to Widmore Industries and Paik Industries to have special hatches, radio towers and sonar fences built around the island. The heads of these industries, Charles Widmore and Mr. Paik allowed their employees to come to work on the island and do their contracting work. Both tycoons heard word from their employees that there had been several strange occurrences on the island, like nothing ever seen before. Both men sent spies to the island to act as contractors and confirm the unusual properties of the it. The spies for each men reported several strange properties and now both men have become determined to find the island so they could utilize its powers for profit, but neither knew how to find it. The only people who knew exactly how to get to the island was Alvar Hanso and a few of his selected employees.
Through the 1970s, the DI lived on the island, though not harmoniously. Members of the DI treated the island like it was just another piece of land. They drilled holes in it, erected towers on it and forced the natives to live in a separate area, held off by the sonar fences. The scientists carelessly drilled into the island and at one point drilled too far. There was an incident in early 1980s in which the scientists decided to dig at a point where the island’s electromagnetic anomalies were great. As they dug further, the anomalies became stronger. They chased this rabbit too far down the hole. Once past a certain point, the electromagnetic waves got out of control and all metal and electronic equipment went haywire. As large pieces of equipment were sucked into the hole and the ground trembled, the folks from the DI scrambled to plug the hole with anything that was available. They filled it with trucks, generators, tools and cement until the chaos subsided.
As a result of this incident, Dharma took notice in a built up charge that would get very unstable after 108 minutes. This electromagnetic force needed to be discharged every 108 minutes, or the ground would begin to tremble and the force would become unstable. The DI decided to use their currently erecting station, The Swan, to discharge this accruing EM force to a very large capacitor, made up of several metallic plates buried on the island and the land between them as a dielectric. This capacitor could be used to fix the built-up charge that was created by the incident by turning the failsafe key and discharging this energy. It would only work to fix the problem if the capacitor has been charged up for enough years to discharge a force large enough to fix the problem created by the incident. The Casimir effect speaks of a force between two plates that are very close together, as a result of the particles that make up the plates. The island acts as a catalyst for this force and allows it accrue between the two metal plates over a greater distance. As the harmonic oscillations of the plates cause a force to grow exponentially, the magnitude of the oscillations get to a point of instability after a period of 108 minutes.
If anyone were to turn the failsafe key and release the energy in the capacitor, they would no doubt experience some side effects. This misuse of the island made it and its native inhabitants very unhappy, because the island is special and it is more than a piece of land, it has a soul of its own. The DI has now physically hurt the island, so it’s natives have set out to eliminate them.
On one fateful day in Portland, early 1970s, mathematician and scientist Horace Goodspeed and his wife Olivia were driving along a coastal highway in Portland and came across and man named Roger Linus holding his bloody wife Emily, who had just given birth to their son, Benjamin. Emily died after the premature birth of Benjamin and Horace and Olivia were there. With Ben being a motherless premature child of a woman named Emily, he fit the schema that had been predicted as the reincarnation of the islands leader. Horace lured Roger and Ben to the island with the premise that he had found work for Roger, when the real intention was to get Ben there as he was guided by a man named Richard Alpert, one of the island’s natives. Horace met Richard Alpert on one of his walks around the island, while trying to get a break from the DI. Horace, being a central and spiritual person, knew that Richard was right. Richard was told what to look for in a child that will be the reincarnation of the island’s leader in a dream when he was spoken to by Jacob, the spirit of the island; Richard told Horace what to look for from Jacob’s prediction. Ben was also being taught and observed by Olivia Goodspeed as he grew up.
As the DI and its scientists lived and studied on the island, they became more and more aware of its mystical and special properties. With the awareness of these powers and the fact that the scientists have the ailment of being human, they became greedy, and strayed away from their original intentions. Their focuses on studying these properties for the sake of saving humanity began to dwindle as the focus to harness these special powers for profit began to grow. The members of the Dharma initiative began to move away from the ideals of Alvar Hanso and were bought out by Charles Widmore one by one.
The first and most important man to sell out to Widmore was Dr. Thomas Werner Middlewerk, chief of technology for the Hanso foundation. Middlewerk continued to work for the Hanso foundation, but he had his own set of scientists doing their own work on the island. As instructed by Charles Widmore, Middlewerk and his scientist only studied the powers on the island that could be used for profit. They studied parapsychology, extra-sensory perception, remote viewing and the islands special healing properties. For a man like Charles Widmore, harnessing these abilities will give him a level of power that his money can not provide by itself. Widmore wants absolute power.
As Widmore and his team gradually take control of the island and the DI, he learns that the island does have its own spirit. Despite dreams that he should stop abusing the island, Charles Widmore continued to do so, making its spirits angry. In time, Widmore learned a great deal about the island and its history. This knowledge allowed Widmore and his team to continue abusing the island while suppressing the island’s attempts to stop them. They built houses and hatches around the islands ancient temples that keep the island in its cycle. The tomb of Abaddon had Ben’s house built on top of it. This tomb could be used to summon Abaddon’s pet, Cerberus. They also froze the ancient wheel that keeps the island moving from location to location. All of this brought instability to the island, but could be maintained under sets of rules. All Widmore had to do was follow these rules, and he could avoid immediate disaster for himself and his team. The island did, however, manage to haunt Charles in his dreams.
The DI, as a whole, had been presented a choice to use the island for good or for evil, and they began to choose evil as their scientists took Middlewerk’s money that Widmore provided. The island took it upon itself to judge the DI by using the help of one of their own, little Benjamin Linus. As a result of his genealogy, Ben has had a special connection with the island since he had been conceived. The island could speak to Ben, so it presented itself to him with the help of his mother’s soul and the peaceful native, Richard Alpert. The island lured Ben outside of the barracks and used Richard to help plant a seed in his head to grow up and help eliminate the DI completely. The island had chosen Ben to be the one, for the time being. Richard Alpert and the natives have never seen someone who could communicate to the island in the way that Ben could. The natives could always live in harmony with the island, and did so by the guidance of subtle hints presented to them in dreams, but never have they met someone who could see the spirits of the dead and talk to them the way that Ben can.
The greatest abilities that the natives have seen before Ben came along were those of Richard Alpert. The island had granted Richard with the ability to travel great distances and times, in a matter of seconds. It’s this time traveling that has worked to keep Richard young, for his biological equilibrium is not balanced the same way ours are. Richard does actually age, but only at a rate that is one-twentieth the speed of our aging process.
As Ben grew up, the island talked to him and trained him to harness its powers. Ben was already very special, even to the point that he could see Jacob, the personified spirit of the island. The island wanted Ben to protect it. The island gave many gifts and talents to Ben, that go beyond what many can even imagine. Ben learned all of the island’s secrets. The island blessed Ben with abilities and tools to alter time and space, and hoped that he could control these powers and use them for good. Jacob also spoke to the natives in their dreams and told them to follow Ben, for he would be the one to protect the island.
What the island didn’t anticipate about Ben Linus is that he has mommy issues and has a lot of hate built up inside of him from years of being abused and neglected by his father. When Ben was a child, he fell in love with a little girl named Annie. Annie was the only one who cared about Ben, and as they grew to be teens they fell in love. Annie became pregnant and died as a result of it because she had conceived on the island. Ben had now lost Annie during the act of childbirth, much like his mother, but not after she gave birth to their son Thomas. The natives kept Thomas away from Ben, under Jacob’s instruction, sending him to Australia. Thomas later became the father of Aaron Littleton.
Ben angrily pleaded with the Jacob to help him change the course of Annie and his mother’s deaths. Ben felt that Jacob had the ability to bring them both back, but he was not doing so to control Ben more. Jacob knew that it was Emily and Annie’s time to die, and that their souls are residing where they are fated to be. Even if Jacob could bring them back, fate will course correct and they will be dead. Ben would not accept this fate and he worked hard toward finding a cure to prevent pregnant women from dying so he could go back and resurrect Annie and his mother. Much like Anakin Skywalker, Ben thought he could harness the power to prevent his loved ones from dying, and tried to do so with the anger and pain of their deaths in his heart.
Ben’s first job as the leader of the natives was to carry out the purge. In doing so, Ben carries out the desires of Jacob to eliminate the DI and gains the trust of the natives. In the act of the purge, Ben managed to take the island from the control of Charles Widmore. Ben has also utilized a section of time where a supply drop was made. Either periodically or by command, this time loop will occur and a supply drop will be made. After the purge, Ben was also instructed by Jacob to move the island. Ben went out to the Orchid station and turned the frozen wheel, causing the island to move and hiding it from Charles Widmore.
The Orchid station was originally intended for botanical research, but the DI found that it had very special properties. As the island existed in the past, it would periodically move from one vile vortex to another. Widmore and the DI has managed to freeze the wheel to stop this process and control the location of the island.
Ben then continued to use his abilities to fulfill his own agenda. Widmore continuously worked toward tracking Ben and the location of the island. Ben used Richard’s Mittelos Bioscience to recruit the help of fertility specialist, Juliet Burke, to come to the island and help him with his fertility issue. Ben also acquired a great liking toward Juliet because she looked a great deal like his mother. Ben did anything he had to in order to recruit Juliet to the island, including killing her ex-husband and using her sister as leverage.
For 17 years Ben Linus remained the leader of the island’s inhabitants. He spent this time seeking out his own agenda to fix the issue of the pregnant women dying. Ben still felt that if he solved this problem, he could go back and save his mother and Annie. The remnants of the DI remained and some were used by Ben to help him to control his followers. The Flame station, used for communication, was manned by Mikhail, Ben’s information man. Whenever Ben wanted information on someone or something, Mikhail used the Flame station to find it. The Looking Glass station, manned (or wo-manned) by Bonnie and Greta, was uses to block RF signals that might be radiated by the island or RF technology used on the island in an effort to cloak it. All signals were blocked except a special frequency, roughly 4.8 GHz and precisely 4,815,162,342 Hz.
In 1987, right after the purge, Ben took control of the flame station, but there was a moment in which the station allowed signals to leave the island to be detected in the real world. At this time the signal coming from the radio tower built by the DI could be detected to the outside world. This signal, containing a loop of the numbers, was detected by a group of French scientists who were just out of Tahiti. These scientists crashed on the island. One of the scientists was a pregnant Danielle Rousseau. Danielle gave birth to her daughter, Alexandra, on the island, who was kidnapped by Ben so he could raise her as his own daughter. Danielle, the only living member of her team, remained in the jungle as her mind gradually deteriorated. She did, however, manage to stay safe from the islands inhabitants because her dead lover Robert Montand was killed by the island, and plead her case to the spirit of Jacob. Later, after Danielle and Alex were reunited, Montand requested that the island allow them to die, so he could be with them in the realm of the dead.
There were other stations on the island. The Hydra hatch is on a separate island of its own, originally used for zoological research by the DI and now used by Ben to hold people captive and act as a base on one of the islands small surrounding lands. The Pearl is an observing station, where one can see what is going on in all of the other stations. The Pearl was used by Dharma as a psychological evaluation station, where all other stations were watched and activities were recorded for psychological evaluation. The scientists inside the Pearl were actually the test subjects themselves. Ben used the Pearl to observe the other stations and their happenings. Ben could see that there was always someone inside the Swan station, pushing the button to discharge the EM forces and keep everyone alive. This person was Dharma’s own Radzinsky for a long time. Radzinsky was spared through the purge so he could continue to push the button. Eventually Kelvin Inman found his way to the island and he met Radzinsky. Inman helped Radzinsky and played along that he was part of the DI. It was Radzinsky and Inman pushing the button for a long time, until Radzinsky killed himself. Later, Desmond Hume showed up on the island while on a boat race. Desmond met Inman and was lured into helping him push the button. Eventually Kelvin died and it was only Desmond pushing the button.
September 22nd, 2004 comes along and Oceanic flight 815 comes to the island. This plane had been filled by many. Widmore had paid a great deal of money and had several years of research invested in this flight. The pilot of Oceanic flight 815 had been paid to bring the plane to a special location, our island. The management of Oceanic told their pilot for flight 815, Frank Lapidus, to stay home that day, as they had another pilot who was in Widmore’s pocket fly the plane instead. This plane was meant to land safely on the island and the pilot was supposed to leave these folks behind. Since, as fate would have it, Desmond didn’t press the button on the Swan station in time, he allowed the EM charge to build up enough to create a magnetic force large enough to rip the flight 815 Oceanic aircraft into pieces while in mid air, once discharged.
The plane ripped into three main pieces: the fuselage, the tail and the thingypit. This plane contained a selected bunch of people. Some of these people were put on the plane by Widmore, some people were put on the plane by Paik, and some of them made it on the plane with the help of a little fate. This plane contained special people from every side that is trying to control the island, some even brought by the island itself. Widmore sent these special people with hopes that they would help bring down Ben, and Widmore could study the island’s properties on his own. Widmore knew about Ben Linus and he knew that it would take someone special to shake him from his post as leader of the natives.
The special ability to communicate to the island on a higher level is either something that is associated with one’s genealogy or spirit. Some of our survivors are special and some of them just need to grow to a better understanding of life. The island will also work to help its inhabitants redeem themselves, and will talk to them in subtle ways. Ben Linus is related to someone who had a communion with the island long ago, but Richard Alpert thought that he may be the chosen one. Christian Sheppard’s father had a communion with the island. Charlie’s drug habit and lack of purpose is why fate brought him to the island; to accomplish unselfish acts and reflect on his life happily and sacrifice himself to protect Aaron. Aaron is very special; not only does he have a genealogical connection to the island, but he is also a reincarnation of one of the island’s great spiritual leaders who was killed by the meteor.
Christian Sheppard’s special abilities were passed down to his children, Jack and Claire, as well as his grandson, Aaron. Locke is the most special of all. Locke is the reincarnation of Maharaj-ji, the island’s protector from centuries ago, and mentor to Richard Alpert, who survived the meteor. When Maharaj-ji died, Richard began a search for the tomb which his spirit energy has resided. Jacob told Richard that the boy would be premature and born to a young redheaded Emily. It took time for Locke to realize who he was, but he is learning now that he is on his Walkabout to the island. When Walt realized that he was truly Abaddon, he had to go back in time and inspire John Locke to go on his walkabout. This is what brings Locke to the island, and Locke was also responsible for helping young Walt see a spark of his own potential. Locke didn’t even realize that he was paying Walt/Abaddon back because he owed him one.
Hugo “Hurley” Reyes was chosen by the island to help and learn. Hugo has special things that he needs to do to help our survivors, and he has a lot of personal growth to do. The island has helped him overcome so much, but his past is still something that he cannot let go. Hugo is seeing apparitions of the island because he is a reincarnation of one of the islands loyalist followers, who also had a very large pet bird that survived the meteor. The bird has been searching for his master ever since. The problem with Hugo is that he has a huge ego (hugo – HUge eGO) and does not believe the things that he sees. Hugo needs to learn that there is more than what others tell him is real, and he needs to trust himself and listen to the island.
All of our survivors are on the island for a reason. Kate Austin has to come to terms with herself and learn that she cannot run away prom problems. She has 2 sides to her; she is a sweet and innocent person who wants stability in her life, but she is also a rebel who cannot settle down. This is why one side of her is drawn to Jack and another side is drawn to Sawyer. Sawyer is also on the island to grow by addressing his past. Sawyer is learning from the island and his interactions with the survivors that he can be a good person. He has faced and overcome many of his demons, but still has more to learn. Another survivor, Sayid Jarrah, has many demons that he must face from years of torturing people after working in the republican guard.
Widmore managed to approximately locate the island and arrange it so that most of the passengers of Oceanic flight 815 would be comprised of people whom he thought was special. Widmore spent a great deal of finances trying to find people whom he thought might have a communion with the island. He managed to give tickets to these passengers in very creative ways. With all of his money and power, Widmore has been able to buy many people to help him with his plans. Widmore paid a supposed psychic, Richard Malkin, to get Claire and Eko on the plane. The government agents that gave Sayid his ticket were all working for Widmore.
The remaining passengers of flight 815 made it on to the plane just by circumstance. These people could just be in the wrong place at the wrong time, or they were somehow guided to take the flight by the island. There is one couple, the Kwon’s, who were put on the plane for a different reason. Jin was given a watch by his boss, Mr.Paik (Sun’s father), to deliver to someone in L.A. This watch was actually a global location device. Mr.Paik had corporate spies that gathered intelligence about Widmore and his plans for Oceanic flight 815. Knowing that his daughter was unhappy in her marriage to Jin, Mr.Paik arranged to have Jin sent to the island along with the rest of the flight 815 passengers, so that he could find the island and his daughter could also get away. Sun was supposed to leave Jin at the airport and he was supposed to take the watch to the island by himself, but she decided to go with him at the last moment.
Widmore also paid Libby to give Desmond the boat that he used that got him lost on the island. Since Desmond had shown interest in competing in his boat race, Widmore found this as a golden opportunity to get rid of him and get closer to locating the island by sending him to it. Libby is an employee of Widmore’s who was also sent to the island to provide him with updates and feedback as to what was going on with the survivors. She did some spying on Hurley at the ward to check his progress as a prospected special person who could communicate to it. Widmore bought the journal of Magnus Hanso in 1996 at a private auction, knowing that the Hanso family had lost a great deal of money and power after the purge. If anyone else were to purchase this journal, they could find the island and potentially become competition for Widmore. The journal also provided Widmore with information for locating the island.
Since the arrival of flight 815, Ben learned that there were several “special” people on board. This made Ben suspicious and he eventually realized that it was Charles Widmore who sent the plane. Widmore knows a lot about Ben and Ben knows a lot about Widmore. As a first resort to keep Widmore from finding the island, Ben plotted to have all possibilities of communication to the island wiped out. Ben knew that turning the failsafe key would cause all of the communication equipment on the island to stop working, making the island nearly invisible to Widmore.
Ben manipulated Locke while he was held captive and eventually used him as a tool to stop pressing the button inside the Swan, forcing Desmond to turn the failsafe key. This was Ben’s first line of defense against hiding the island from Widmore, but it didn’t work. Ben was reluctant to use the emergency escape protocol (EEP), which involved chipping the ice away from the wheel in the Orchid station and moving it. After the island had not moved in such a long time, allowing it to move could be unpredictable, as the charge that built up in the island was associated with the fact that the wheel was not moving.
When the failsafe key was turned and the sky turned purple, the island’s large capacitor was discharged and there was a large pulse of electro-magnetic energy. This energy killed all of the communication equipment, just as Ben had suspected. The energy release also caused a side effect for Desmond, causing him to separate his consciousness to be ripped from the fabric of time. None of Ben’s follower suspected Ben to be responsible because he was at the Pala Ferry dock when the failsafe key was turned. Ben also used Locke as a tool to blow up the submarine, sealing the people in the snow-globe that is the island. Once again, no one could point their finger at Ben because he had manipulated Locke to do his dirty work.
Now, with his communication to the island shut down, Widmore sent a freighter out to find the island and take it over. This freighter was full of scientists, who were assigned to study the islands paranormal characteristics. Some other people on the freighter were sent to capture Ben Linus and exterminate the rest of the survivors. This was Widmore’s attempt at a purge. Some people on this freighter were special, and it was their fate to be on the island; some people were just filling Widmore’s orders; one of the freighter’s passengers was Michael. Michael was sent to the freighter to do work for Ben, but he really had his own agenda for redemption. Michael got off the island, but his life was riddled with the guilt of what he had done to get off. When people spend some time on the island and leave, life in the real world just isn’t right. There is a yearning to get back to the island which one cannot escape. If the island has plans for someone, it will not allow them to be at peace unless those plans are carried out.
All of the children and Vincent had special powers because there is something special about children and pets. They can sense things and see into the true nature of people better than adult humans can, and this sense carries over to the island. Whenever Ben gets word of a child that had made it to the island, Ben kidnaps them and brainwashes them to rid them of their powers. Ben will lock the children in room 23 and subject them to brainwashing videos that will scramble their brains and cause their special powers to be un-focused. This brainwashing has not worked on Walt, so Ben was willing to let Michael take him home. Ben would not want Walt growing up to learn how special he is, because Abaddon would usurp his position for his manipulating ways. Ben made sure he used Michael to do his bidding before he released them.
Locke is learning that he is very special and he has been since he landed on the island. The island immediately healed his paralysis after allowing him to survive the crash. Locke has been a man of faith and has trusted the word of the island since the beginning. The island had spoken to Locke in his dreams as it guided him to the hatch and has helped him to focus his energy. Locke understands the island and knows that he should stay and protect it and its simple ways, but he does not yet know who he truly is.
Ben also knows that Locke is very special after getting his information packet from Mikhail, revealing that the island healed his paralysis. Ben had always thought that he was the chosen one, the reincarnation of Maharaj-ji, but he always knew deep down that he wasn’t, and that the true chosen one would someday come.
Ben knew he could not just kidnap Locke and brainwash him in room 23, he had to manipulate him and con him in order to remove him as an obstacle. Ben knew that his followers doubted him and his priorities, so he tried to humiliate Locke by showing that he was too much of a coward to kill his own father. Locke however got some help, and showed his leadership by bringing his father’s dead body to Ben and beating up Mikhail in front of Ben and his followers. This helped to convince Ben to bring Locke to see Jacob. Ben was also curious just how special Locke is. If Locke could see Jacob, then we would most assuredly be the chosen one.
When Ben took Locke to the cabin where Jacob was held captive, Locke was able to hear Jacob. Jacob asked Locke to help him, because the island needs to be moved before Widmore’s men come and take over. This confirmed Ben’s fears that Locke was the true Maharaj-ji, and so Ben took this chance to shoot Locke and leave him for dead. The island did not want to let Locke die, so he spoke to him in the form of Walt to convince him not to lose faith. Locke survived, thanks to his missing kidney. Now Locke had more faith than ever. He can talk to Jacob, he can walk, his father is dead and his missing kidney turned out to be a good thing. Locke truly had been given a clean slate (Tabula rasa) on this island and is set out to protect it.
Jacob told Locke that the people on the freighter have been sent by a man who wants to exploit the island, much like the DI. Locke thought this meant that he should eliminate these people. Locke then made the mistake of throwing a knife in the back of Naomi, who had been recruited by Abaddon to infiltrate Widmores freighter and help bring some more “special” people to the island. After doing this, Locke also tried to bring his whole camp to see Jacob. This made Jacob mad, so he did not want to speak to Locke until he learned how special of a privilege it was to do so.
Jacob was limited in his ability to communicate to people, so he did so with visions and by granting special abilities. Jacob thought he might be able to talk to Hurley. Hurley had gained a great deal of faith on the island and has overcome a lot, so he might be ready and willing to talk to Jacob. Jacob has been trying to speak to Hurley, but he is not having luck getting Hurley to believe. Hurley forces himself to not believe visions presented to him, and he doesn’t realize his special abilities, even if they are just helping him with horseshoes. Hurley has had issues in the past where he thought he was seeing something (or someone) that wasn’t actually there. Hurley has learned to suppress these visions, which has resulted in a lack of ability to see and hear Jacob. His huge ego is still getting in the way.
Jack is also very special, but he is fighting an internal battle. Since he is a doctor, Jack has studied medical journals for years. He has found a scientific explanation for everything that he has seen. Every time Jack starts to believe that there is something beyond science and that miracles do occur, something happens that destroys his faith. Jack is strictly a man of science. He feels special powers deep down inside of him, but he fights them and denies them because he has no way to explain them. Jack has abandoned faith because he feels that faith has abandoned him. Jack wants to get off of the island because he doesn’t know how to appreciate the island for what it is. This will eventually be his downfall.
warning: lots of spoilerish info after this point
After Locke speaks to Horace in his dream, he finds the cabin and is told by Christian Sheppard, speaking for Jacob, that the island must be moved. After hearing this, Ben knows that the emergency escape protocol must be carried out. Ben, now realizing that Locke is the true reincarnation of Marahaj-ji, leads Locke and Hurley to the Orchid to move the wheel. Knowing that Widmore has likely already sent Keamy and Co. to the Orchid, Ben stops near the temple on the way and instructs Richard and the natives to come and help. Richard and the natives find Kate and Sayid on their way to the Orchid. Ben tells Locke about the Orchid and some history of the island. Locke’s beliefs are now confirmed that the island must remain a secret from the common man, for its powers would be abused and the world would be destroyed.
Jack still does not believe and is hell bent on getting people off of the island. Locke tells Jack that he may go, but he must never tell anyone about the island. Jack agrees to never tell of its existence, also feeling that if he were to tell people of it, no one would believe him because he could not provide proof. Hurley, Kate, Jack, Sawyer and Sayid get in the helicopter with Franks Lapidus and they fly out to the freighter. Once on the freighter, they learn that the C4 will soon explode, as it was attached to a heart monitor that Keamy had on. Jack tells the people on the freighter that Keamy had been killed and they must get off of it. The helicopter can only hold so much weight, so Jack makes the decision to bring only Aaron and the pregnant Sun on board. While trying to take off, the helicopter continued to have issues due to too much weight. Sawyer gives Kate one last kiss and jumps off of the helicopter, while simultaneously Locke turns the wheel in the Orchid, moving the island to another time and place.
THE END…(for now)
Since the beginning of time, as the world formed and the universe expanded, many great things have come together to produce life here on earth. With a magnetic force field that protects us from the nuclear winds of the universe and an atmosphere that works as a fine tuned machine to support life, water, air and land. Even the precise distance from the sun that allows life to exist without freezing or burning from extreme temperatures. Since the formation of our planet there has existed an island, a special island that is the heart of earth and helps to drive the machine. The machine is precise and complicated, it is driven by the actions of many physical things, as well as intervention of the divine.
This island has been the home for many people and cultures throughout the ages. Its location on earth is mysterious in itself. The island possesses matter from several different universes all at once. This is the only place that contains light matter and dark matter, right handed and left handed matter, living and dead souls, angels and demons all at the same time in the same place. They are all here, now, and they are all the same. This island is part of an equilibrium system that helps drive the motion of earth and the universe. This place, much like everywhere else, contains a great deal of duality in its existence. For every light, there is a dark; for every positive, there is a negative; for every action, there is a reaction.
As cultures have existed throughout history, there have been many ancient cultures that have found themselves on this island as well. The living souls that exist on this island have reached it through one of the many portals on earth. These portals are known as Vile Vortices and there are 12 locations on earth, evenly distributed, where they can be accessed. Two of these vortices are well know for their mystery, the Devils triangle and the Bermuda triangle. Two other vile vortices locations are the north and south poles. Much like the rotation of the earth, the location of the island, as well as the access point to it, rotates in a cycle. If one is located at a particular vortex at a particular time, they will be sucked through a wormhole (personified as Maxwell’s demon) and they will end up on this island. Most of the living souls that have found their way on the island have never found their way out, for there is only one bearing that one can follow in order to get back. For the dead souls on the island, it is even harder to get back, but if they are special, they can use the island as a conduit to communicate to the living.
This island shares many properties with the rest of the earth, but every property acts slightly differently. As we experience magnetic fields on earth, the island experiences magnetic fields as well, but with different properties and higher concentration. Earth experiences gravitational forces and ultraviolet light, and the island experiences the same properties, but in different ways as well. There are also several unexplainable energies that we see on earth. Some people use religions and spirituality to explain strange coincidences that they see, but interpretation is in the eye of the beholder. The human body feels energies that we cannot explain; urges and feelings like lust, love, remorse and purpose. These special and unexplainable, intangible energies are also found on the island in higher concentration to what is felt on earth. There is a spirit that guards the island and works with it as a hand of judgment, this spirit is known as Cerberus and is formed of three clouds of black smoke.
Cerberus has a master, who is also a guardian of the island and an angel of the underworld; his name is Abaddon. Both of these spirits can project themselves as physical beings to speak living people in our world and on the island. These spirits will look into the soul of an individual that they encounter and they judge them on their ability to redeem themselves. If a soul is working toward betterment, the spirits will not attack. If a soul lives in fear or cannot find redemption, they will be killed.
The original Abaddon lived thousands of years before our time, but his physical tomb has since expired. When a meteor hit the island thousands of years ago, it caused a great force of energy that destroyed the inhabitants and spiritual leaders, as well as statues that honor them. Abaddon is reincarnated as Walt Lloyd. Young Walt does not know of the details of his former life, but he does know he is special. While growing up and living with his grandmother, young Walt was angry and confused about who he was, until he took a long walk in Australia, known as a Walkabout. On his walkabout, Walt learns a great deal about himself as he is tested by extreme conditions, physically and emotionally. At this time, the Island communicated to Walt, letting him know who he was. Walt learned what he was destined to do, and he found his way back to the island, assuming is true name…Abaddon. From the Island, he learns that he must go back in time, and influence the outcome of what we are seeing unfold today.
As people have found themselves on the island throughout history, they have been able to live in harmony with it. A simple life on the island is one that is harmonious with it. If any of the islands inhabitants wanted or needed anything, the island would provide, as long as they didn’t seek out new technologies or go against the Island’s will. The natives of the island have had a communion with it throughout the ages. They have built temples and statues and even made sacrifices for the island. Everything was fine with the island and the world and in 1882, when a slave ship called the Black Rock found itself shipwrecked on it. As the Black Rock was sailing from Africa to America, the Island was moved right under it, causing the ship to be located inland.
The captain of the ship, Magnus Hanso, discovered evidence of many cultures on this island and also found that it had many strange properties. As Magnus lived on the island, he created a journal of his findings with hints about its strange properties and even a small map. Magnus tried to find his way out of the island so he could be with his son, Tovart Hanso, whom he had left behind as he sailed on his voyage. Magnus was never able to get off of the island, but his journal did. His journal was lost at sea when Magnus was trying to find a way out, and it managed to wash out through a particular bearing, and made it back to our world in Tovart’s time. The journal was found and given to Magnus’ son, Tovart.
Several years passed and the island managed to live in harmony with several of the inhabitants who found their way to it. One of the famous people who made it to the island was one Amelia Earhart on her attempt to fly around the world. Amelia lived the island and lived in harmony with it, along with the other few natives who have found their way to the island over the years. All of the islands inhabitants had to get to the island through a Vile Vortex access point, and all cultures on the island are short lived.
Though men are 10 times more fertile on the island, woman cannot conceive and give birth on the island without dying. This is why no particular culture could grow and flourish on the island, because none of them could reproduce. One special thing about the island is that it is the location of lost dead souls. When people die, they exist on the island as a particular type of matter. Dead souls are known as “dark” souls and live souls are known as “light” souls. In order for a light soul to be seen by a dark soul, or visa versa, it must live a simple life in its own universe so it can be favored by the island and be granted special powers. Without special powers, these souls could only communicate to their anti-matter in the form of whispers. Since this island is the location of the underworld, it affects the living human body to a degree where it can reject any decease or ailment for those that are favored; however, this is so extreme that it causes the human body to also reject life that is growing inside of it, much like as if a developing fetus were a cancer.
As time went on, the journal of Magnus Hanso was passed down another generation from Tovart to Alvar Hanso, who was a weapons dealer in the Second World War. During his service with the armed forces, Alvar heard of a government funded program that paid the greatest scientist and mathematicians to help predict the fall of humanity. During this time there were also many government sponsored studies that involved researching several paranormal activities such as extra sensory perception, telekinesis and remote viewing. This research was funded to compete with Russia and China, who were also funding research in such fields. Though the participants of such studies believed in these paranormal activities to be real, the funding was ceased shortly. Several members of the government still believe that these programs should not have been shut down. The studies of the mathematicians have yielded an inconvenient truth; A mathematician by the name of Enzo Valenzetti computed what is known as the Valenzetti equation, which predicts when humanity will extinguish itself, through any means possible.
Alvar Hanso learned of the Valenzetti equation, and decided at that moment to do anything he could do change the core factors of it and save humanity as we know it. The 6 core factors of the Valenzetti equation can be described with the numbers: 4 8 15 16 23 and 42. These numbers not only represent the path of humanity and its destruction, but they also possess special powers of their own. These numbers and their powers should not be used for profit, or the one who misuses them will be cursed with bad luck until they can make their life right with the island and learn to respect its powers.
In an effort to change the core factors of the Valenzetti equation, Alvar Hanso recruited some very gifted and passionate scientists named Gerald and Karen DeGroot to help him assembled a team of scientists that will work toward altering the core values of the Valenzetti equation and saving humanity. In the journal passed down to him from his father, Alvar remembered a special island that was located in a special place with special properties where he and his scientist could conduct their experiments. So in early 1970s Alvar and the DeGroots assembled their team of scientists and created the DHARMA initiative on the special island. DHARMA was named as an acronym for Department of Heuristics And Research on Material Applications, and is also a concept in Hinduism that that values “the way of higher truths” and the “fundamental principles of justice and righteousness.” The name also has some hidden meaning when considering the concepts of dark matter, dhar-ma = dark matter.
The Dharma Initiative (or DI) consisted of many talented scientists in several different fields from places all over the world. Alvar provided funding to the DI to allow them to build anything that they needed. The Hanso foundation contracted work to Widmore Industries and Paik Industries to have special hatches, radio towers and sonar fences built around the island. The heads of these industries, Charles Widmore and Mr. Paik allowed their employees to come to work on the island and do their contracting work. Both tycoons heard word from their employees that there had been several strange occurrences on the island, like nothing ever seen before. Both men sent spies to the island to act as contractors and confirm the unusual properties of the it. The spies for each men reported several strange properties and now both men have become determined to find the island so they could utilize its powers for profit, but neither knew how to find it. The only people who knew exactly how to get to the island was Alvar Hanso and a few of his selected employees.
Through the 1970s, the DI lived on the island, though not harmoniously. Members of the DI treated the island like it was just another piece of land. They drilled holes in it, erected towers on it and forced the natives to live in a separate area, held off by the sonar fences. The scientists carelessly drilled into the island and at one point drilled too far. There was an incident in early 1980s in which the scientists decided to dig at a point where the island’s electromagnetic anomalies were great. As they dug further, the anomalies became stronger. They chased this rabbit too far down the hole. Once past a certain point, the electromagnetic waves got out of control and all metal and electronic equipment went haywire. As large pieces of equipment were sucked into the hole and the ground trembled, the folks from the DI scrambled to plug the hole with anything that was available. They filled it with trucks, generators, tools and cement until the chaos subsided.
As a result of this incident, Dharma took notice in a built up charge that would get very unstable after 108 minutes. This electromagnetic force needed to be discharged every 108 minutes, or the ground would begin to tremble and the force would become unstable. The DI decided to use their currently erecting station, The Swan, to discharge this accruing EM force to a very large capacitor, made up of several metallic plates buried on the island and the land between them as a dielectric. This capacitor could be used to fix the built-up charge that was created by the incident by turning the failsafe key and discharging this energy. It would only work to fix the problem if the capacitor has been charged up for enough years to discharge a force large enough to fix the problem created by the incident. The Casimir effect speaks of a force between two plates that are very close together, as a result of the particles that make up the plates. The island acts as a catalyst for this force and allows it accrue between the two metal plates over a greater distance. As the harmonic oscillations of the plates cause a force to grow exponentially, the magnitude of the oscillations get to a point of instability after a period of 108 minutes.
If anyone were to turn the failsafe key and release the energy in the capacitor, they would no doubt experience some side effects. This misuse of the island made it and its native inhabitants very unhappy, because the island is special and it is more than a piece of land, it has a soul of its own. The DI has now physically hurt the island, so it’s natives have set out to eliminate them.
On one fateful day in Portland, early 1970s, mathematician and scientist Horace Goodspeed and his wife Olivia were driving along a coastal highway in Portland and came across and man named Roger Linus holding his bloody wife Emily, who had just given birth to their son, Benjamin. Emily died after the premature birth of Benjamin and Horace and Olivia were there. With Ben being a motherless premature child of a woman named Emily, he fit the schema that had been predicted as the reincarnation of the islands leader. Horace lured Roger and Ben to the island with the premise that he had found work for Roger, when the real intention was to get Ben there as he was guided by a man named Richard Alpert, one of the island’s natives. Horace met Richard Alpert on one of his walks around the island, while trying to get a break from the DI. Horace, being a central and spiritual person, knew that Richard was right. Richard was told what to look for in a child that will be the reincarnation of the island’s leader in a dream when he was spoken to by Jacob, the spirit of the island; Richard told Horace what to look for from Jacob’s prediction. Ben was also being taught and observed by Olivia Goodspeed as he grew up.
As the DI and its scientists lived and studied on the island, they became more and more aware of its mystical and special properties. With the awareness of these powers and the fact that the scientists have the ailment of being human, they became greedy, and strayed away from their original intentions. Their focuses on studying these properties for the sake of saving humanity began to dwindle as the focus to harness these special powers for profit began to grow. The members of the Dharma initiative began to move away from the ideals of Alvar Hanso and were bought out by Charles Widmore one by one.
The first and most important man to sell out to Widmore was Dr. Thomas Werner Middlewerk, chief of technology for the Hanso foundation. Middlewerk continued to work for the Hanso foundation, but he had his own set of scientists doing their own work on the island. As instructed by Charles Widmore, Middlewerk and his scientist only studied the powers on the island that could be used for profit. They studied parapsychology, extra-sensory perception, remote viewing and the islands special healing properties. For a man like Charles Widmore, harnessing these abilities will give him a level of power that his money can not provide by itself. Widmore wants absolute power.
As Widmore and his team gradually take control of the island and the DI, he learns that the island does have its own spirit. Despite dreams that he should stop abusing the island, Charles Widmore continued to do so, making its spirits angry. In time, Widmore learned a great deal about the island and its history. This knowledge allowed Widmore and his team to continue abusing the island while suppressing the island’s attempts to stop them. They built houses and hatches around the islands ancient temples that keep the island in its cycle. The tomb of Abaddon had Ben’s house built on top of it. This tomb could be used to summon Abaddon’s pet, Cerberus. They also froze the ancient wheel that keeps the island moving from location to location. All of this brought instability to the island, but could be maintained under sets of rules. All Widmore had to do was follow these rules, and he could avoid immediate disaster for himself and his team. The island did, however, manage to haunt Charles in his dreams.
The DI, as a whole, had been presented a choice to use the island for good or for evil, and they began to choose evil as their scientists took Middlewerk’s money that Widmore provided. The island took it upon itself to judge the DI by using the help of one of their own, little Benjamin Linus. As a result of his genealogy, Ben has had a special connection with the island since he had been conceived. The island could speak to Ben, so it presented itself to him with the help of his mother’s soul and the peaceful native, Richard Alpert. The island lured Ben outside of the barracks and used Richard to help plant a seed in his head to grow up and help eliminate the DI completely. The island had chosen Ben to be the one, for the time being. Richard Alpert and the natives have never seen someone who could communicate to the island in the way that Ben could. The natives could always live in harmony with the island, and did so by the guidance of subtle hints presented to them in dreams, but never have they met someone who could see the spirits of the dead and talk to them the way that Ben can.
The greatest abilities that the natives have seen before Ben came along were those of Richard Alpert. The island had granted Richard with the ability to travel great distances and times, in a matter of seconds. It’s this time traveling that has worked to keep Richard young, for his biological equilibrium is not balanced the same way ours are. Richard does actually age, but only at a rate that is one-twentieth the speed of our aging process.
As Ben grew up, the island talked to him and trained him to harness its powers. Ben was already very special, even to the point that he could see Jacob, the personified spirit of the island. The island wanted Ben to protect it. The island gave many gifts and talents to Ben, that go beyond what many can even imagine. Ben learned all of the island’s secrets. The island blessed Ben with abilities and tools to alter time and space, and hoped that he could control these powers and use them for good. Jacob also spoke to the natives in their dreams and told them to follow Ben, for he would be the one to protect the island.
What the island didn’t anticipate about Ben Linus is that he has mommy issues and has a lot of hate built up inside of him from years of being abused and neglected by his father. When Ben was a child, he fell in love with a little girl named Annie. Annie was the only one who cared about Ben, and as they grew to be teens they fell in love. Annie became pregnant and died as a result of it because she had conceived on the island. Ben had now lost Annie during the act of childbirth, much like his mother, but not after she gave birth to their son Thomas. The natives kept Thomas away from Ben, under Jacob’s instruction, sending him to Australia. Thomas later became the father of Aaron Littleton.
Ben angrily pleaded with the Jacob to help him change the course of Annie and his mother’s deaths. Ben felt that Jacob had the ability to bring them both back, but he was not doing so to control Ben more. Jacob knew that it was Emily and Annie’s time to die, and that their souls are residing where they are fated to be. Even if Jacob could bring them back, fate will course correct and they will be dead. Ben would not accept this fate and he worked hard toward finding a cure to prevent pregnant women from dying so he could go back and resurrect Annie and his mother. Much like Anakin Skywalker, Ben thought he could harness the power to prevent his loved ones from dying, and tried to do so with the anger and pain of their deaths in his heart.
Ben’s first job as the leader of the natives was to carry out the purge. In doing so, Ben carries out the desires of Jacob to eliminate the DI and gains the trust of the natives. In the act of the purge, Ben managed to take the island from the control of Charles Widmore. Ben has also utilized a section of time where a supply drop was made. Either periodically or by command, this time loop will occur and a supply drop will be made. After the purge, Ben was also instructed by Jacob to move the island. Ben went out to the Orchid station and turned the frozen wheel, causing the island to move and hiding it from Charles Widmore.
The Orchid station was originally intended for botanical research, but the DI found that it had very special properties. As the island existed in the past, it would periodically move from one vile vortex to another. Widmore and the DI has managed to freeze the wheel to stop this process and control the location of the island.
Ben then continued to use his abilities to fulfill his own agenda. Widmore continuously worked toward tracking Ben and the location of the island. Ben used Richard’s Mittelos Bioscience to recruit the help of fertility specialist, Juliet Burke, to come to the island and help him with his fertility issue. Ben also acquired a great liking toward Juliet because she looked a great deal like his mother. Ben did anything he had to in order to recruit Juliet to the island, including killing her ex-husband and using her sister as leverage.
For 17 years Ben Linus remained the leader of the island’s inhabitants. He spent this time seeking out his own agenda to fix the issue of the pregnant women dying. Ben still felt that if he solved this problem, he could go back and save his mother and Annie. The remnants of the DI remained and some were used by Ben to help him to control his followers. The Flame station, used for communication, was manned by Mikhail, Ben’s information man. Whenever Ben wanted information on someone or something, Mikhail used the Flame station to find it. The Looking Glass station, manned (or wo-manned) by Bonnie and Greta, was uses to block RF signals that might be radiated by the island or RF technology used on the island in an effort to cloak it. All signals were blocked except a special frequency, roughly 4.8 GHz and precisely 4,815,162,342 Hz.
In 1987, right after the purge, Ben took control of the flame station, but there was a moment in which the station allowed signals to leave the island to be detected in the real world. At this time the signal coming from the radio tower built by the DI could be detected to the outside world. This signal, containing a loop of the numbers, was detected by a group of French scientists who were just out of Tahiti. These scientists crashed on the island. One of the scientists was a pregnant Danielle Rousseau. Danielle gave birth to her daughter, Alexandra, on the island, who was kidnapped by Ben so he could raise her as his own daughter. Danielle, the only living member of her team, remained in the jungle as her mind gradually deteriorated. She did, however, manage to stay safe from the islands inhabitants because her dead lover Robert Montand was killed by the island, and plead her case to the spirit of Jacob. Later, after Danielle and Alex were reunited, Montand requested that the island allow them to die, so he could be with them in the realm of the dead.
There were other stations on the island. The Hydra hatch is on a separate island of its own, originally used for zoological research by the DI and now used by Ben to hold people captive and act as a base on one of the islands small surrounding lands. The Pearl is an observing station, where one can see what is going on in all of the other stations. The Pearl was used by Dharma as a psychological evaluation station, where all other stations were watched and activities were recorded for psychological evaluation. The scientists inside the Pearl were actually the test subjects themselves. Ben used the Pearl to observe the other stations and their happenings. Ben could see that there was always someone inside the Swan station, pushing the button to discharge the EM forces and keep everyone alive. This person was Dharma’s own Radzinsky for a long time. Radzinsky was spared through the purge so he could continue to push the button. Eventually Kelvin Inman found his way to the island and he met Radzinsky. Inman helped Radzinsky and played along that he was part of the DI. It was Radzinsky and Inman pushing the button for a long time, until Radzinsky killed himself. Later, Desmond Hume showed up on the island while on a boat race. Desmond met Inman and was lured into helping him push the button. Eventually Kelvin died and it was only Desmond pushing the button.
September 22nd, 2004 comes along and Oceanic flight 815 comes to the island. This plane had been filled by many. Widmore had paid a great deal of money and had several years of research invested in this flight. The pilot of Oceanic flight 815 had been paid to bring the plane to a special location, our island. The management of Oceanic told their pilot for flight 815, Frank Lapidus, to stay home that day, as they had another pilot who was in Widmore’s pocket fly the plane instead. This plane was meant to land safely on the island and the pilot was supposed to leave these folks behind. Since, as fate would have it, Desmond didn’t press the button on the Swan station in time, he allowed the EM charge to build up enough to create a magnetic force large enough to rip the flight 815 Oceanic aircraft into pieces while in mid air, once discharged.
The plane ripped into three main pieces: the fuselage, the tail and the thingypit. This plane contained a selected bunch of people. Some of these people were put on the plane by Widmore, some people were put on the plane by Paik, and some of them made it on the plane with the help of a little fate. This plane contained special people from every side that is trying to control the island, some even brought by the island itself. Widmore sent these special people with hopes that they would help bring down Ben, and Widmore could study the island’s properties on his own. Widmore knew about Ben Linus and he knew that it would take someone special to shake him from his post as leader of the natives.
The special ability to communicate to the island on a higher level is either something that is associated with one’s genealogy or spirit. Some of our survivors are special and some of them just need to grow to a better understanding of life. The island will also work to help its inhabitants redeem themselves, and will talk to them in subtle ways. Ben Linus is related to someone who had a communion with the island long ago, but Richard Alpert thought that he may be the chosen one. Christian Sheppard’s father had a communion with the island. Charlie’s drug habit and lack of purpose is why fate brought him to the island; to accomplish unselfish acts and reflect on his life happily and sacrifice himself to protect Aaron. Aaron is very special; not only does he have a genealogical connection to the island, but he is also a reincarnation of one of the island’s great spiritual leaders who was killed by the meteor.
Christian Sheppard’s special abilities were passed down to his children, Jack and Claire, as well as his grandson, Aaron. Locke is the most special of all. Locke is the reincarnation of Maharaj-ji, the island’s protector from centuries ago, and mentor to Richard Alpert, who survived the meteor. When Maharaj-ji died, Richard began a search for the tomb which his spirit energy has resided. Jacob told Richard that the boy would be premature and born to a young redheaded Emily. It took time for Locke to realize who he was, but he is learning now that he is on his Walkabout to the island. When Walt realized that he was truly Abaddon, he had to go back in time and inspire John Locke to go on his walkabout. This is what brings Locke to the island, and Locke was also responsible for helping young Walt see a spark of his own potential. Locke didn’t even realize that he was paying Walt/Abaddon back because he owed him one.
Hugo “Hurley” Reyes was chosen by the island to help and learn. Hugo has special things that he needs to do to help our survivors, and he has a lot of personal growth to do. The island has helped him overcome so much, but his past is still something that he cannot let go. Hugo is seeing apparitions of the island because he is a reincarnation of one of the islands loyalist followers, who also had a very large pet bird that survived the meteor. The bird has been searching for his master ever since. The problem with Hugo is that he has a huge ego (hugo – HUge eGO) and does not believe the things that he sees. Hugo needs to learn that there is more than what others tell him is real, and he needs to trust himself and listen to the island.
All of our survivors are on the island for a reason. Kate Austin has to come to terms with herself and learn that she cannot run away prom problems. She has 2 sides to her; she is a sweet and innocent person who wants stability in her life, but she is also a rebel who cannot settle down. This is why one side of her is drawn to Jack and another side is drawn to Sawyer. Sawyer is also on the island to grow by addressing his past. Sawyer is learning from the island and his interactions with the survivors that he can be a good person. He has faced and overcome many of his demons, but still has more to learn. Another survivor, Sayid Jarrah, has many demons that he must face from years of torturing people after working in the republican guard.
Widmore managed to approximately locate the island and arrange it so that most of the passengers of Oceanic flight 815 would be comprised of people whom he thought was special. Widmore spent a great deal of finances trying to find people whom he thought might have a communion with the island. He managed to give tickets to these passengers in very creative ways. With all of his money and power, Widmore has been able to buy many people to help him with his plans. Widmore paid a supposed psychic, Richard Malkin, to get Claire and Eko on the plane. The government agents that gave Sayid his ticket were all working for Widmore.
The remaining passengers of flight 815 made it on to the plane just by circumstance. These people could just be in the wrong place at the wrong time, or they were somehow guided to take the flight by the island. There is one couple, the Kwon’s, who were put on the plane for a different reason. Jin was given a watch by his boss, Mr.Paik (Sun’s father), to deliver to someone in L.A. This watch was actually a global location device. Mr.Paik had corporate spies that gathered intelligence about Widmore and his plans for Oceanic flight 815. Knowing that his daughter was unhappy in her marriage to Jin, Mr.Paik arranged to have Jin sent to the island along with the rest of the flight 815 passengers, so that he could find the island and his daughter could also get away. Sun was supposed to leave Jin at the airport and he was supposed to take the watch to the island by himself, but she decided to go with him at the last moment.
Widmore also paid Libby to give Desmond the boat that he used that got him lost on the island. Since Desmond had shown interest in competing in his boat race, Widmore found this as a golden opportunity to get rid of him and get closer to locating the island by sending him to it. Libby is an employee of Widmore’s who was also sent to the island to provide him with updates and feedback as to what was going on with the survivors. She did some spying on Hurley at the ward to check his progress as a prospected special person who could communicate to it. Widmore bought the journal of Magnus Hanso in 1996 at a private auction, knowing that the Hanso family had lost a great deal of money and power after the purge. If anyone else were to purchase this journal, they could find the island and potentially become competition for Widmore. The journal also provided Widmore with information for locating the island.
Since the arrival of flight 815, Ben learned that there were several “special” people on board. This made Ben suspicious and he eventually realized that it was Charles Widmore who sent the plane. Widmore knows a lot about Ben and Ben knows a lot about Widmore. As a first resort to keep Widmore from finding the island, Ben plotted to have all possibilities of communication to the island wiped out. Ben knew that turning the failsafe key would cause all of the communication equipment on the island to stop working, making the island nearly invisible to Widmore.
Ben manipulated Locke while he was held captive and eventually used him as a tool to stop pressing the button inside the Swan, forcing Desmond to turn the failsafe key. This was Ben’s first line of defense against hiding the island from Widmore, but it didn’t work. Ben was reluctant to use the emergency escape protocol (EEP), which involved chipping the ice away from the wheel in the Orchid station and moving it. After the island had not moved in such a long time, allowing it to move could be unpredictable, as the charge that built up in the island was associated with the fact that the wheel was not moving.
When the failsafe key was turned and the sky turned purple, the island’s large capacitor was discharged and there was a large pulse of electro-magnetic energy. This energy killed all of the communication equipment, just as Ben had suspected. The energy release also caused a side effect for Desmond, causing him to separate his consciousness to be ripped from the fabric of time. None of Ben’s follower suspected Ben to be responsible because he was at the Pala Ferry dock when the failsafe key was turned. Ben also used Locke as a tool to blow up the submarine, sealing the people in the snow-globe that is the island. Once again, no one could point their finger at Ben because he had manipulated Locke to do his dirty work.
Now, with his communication to the island shut down, Widmore sent a freighter out to find the island and take it over. This freighter was full of scientists, who were assigned to study the islands paranormal characteristics. Some other people on the freighter were sent to capture Ben Linus and exterminate the rest of the survivors. This was Widmore’s attempt at a purge. Some people on this freighter were special, and it was their fate to be on the island; some people were just filling Widmore’s orders; one of the freighter’s passengers was Michael. Michael was sent to the freighter to do work for Ben, but he really had his own agenda for redemption. Michael got off the island, but his life was riddled with the guilt of what he had done to get off. When people spend some time on the island and leave, life in the real world just isn’t right. There is a yearning to get back to the island which one cannot escape. If the island has plans for someone, it will not allow them to be at peace unless those plans are carried out.
All of the children and Vincent had special powers because there is something special about children and pets. They can sense things and see into the true nature of people better than adult humans can, and this sense carries over to the island. Whenever Ben gets word of a child that had made it to the island, Ben kidnaps them and brainwashes them to rid them of their powers. Ben will lock the children in room 23 and subject them to brainwashing videos that will scramble their brains and cause their special powers to be un-focused. This brainwashing has not worked on Walt, so Ben was willing to let Michael take him home. Ben would not want Walt growing up to learn how special he is, because Abaddon would usurp his position for his manipulating ways. Ben made sure he used Michael to do his bidding before he released them.
Locke is learning that he is very special and he has been since he landed on the island. The island immediately healed his paralysis after allowing him to survive the crash. Locke has been a man of faith and has trusted the word of the island since the beginning. The island had spoken to Locke in his dreams as it guided him to the hatch and has helped him to focus his energy. Locke understands the island and knows that he should stay and protect it and its simple ways, but he does not yet know who he truly is.
Ben also knows that Locke is very special after getting his information packet from Mikhail, revealing that the island healed his paralysis. Ben had always thought that he was the chosen one, the reincarnation of Maharaj-ji, but he always knew deep down that he wasn’t, and that the true chosen one would someday come.
Ben knew he could not just kidnap Locke and brainwash him in room 23, he had to manipulate him and con him in order to remove him as an obstacle. Ben knew that his followers doubted him and his priorities, so he tried to humiliate Locke by showing that he was too much of a coward to kill his own father. Locke however got some help, and showed his leadership by bringing his father’s dead body to Ben and beating up Mikhail in front of Ben and his followers. This helped to convince Ben to bring Locke to see Jacob. Ben was also curious just how special Locke is. If Locke could see Jacob, then we would most assuredly be the chosen one.
When Ben took Locke to the cabin where Jacob was held captive, Locke was able to hear Jacob. Jacob asked Locke to help him, because the island needs to be moved before Widmore’s men come and take over. This confirmed Ben’s fears that Locke was the true Maharaj-ji, and so Ben took this chance to shoot Locke and leave him for dead. The island did not want to let Locke die, so he spoke to him in the form of Walt to convince him not to lose faith. Locke survived, thanks to his missing kidney. Now Locke had more faith than ever. He can talk to Jacob, he can walk, his father is dead and his missing kidney turned out to be a good thing. Locke truly had been given a clean slate (Tabula rasa) on this island and is set out to protect it.
Jacob told Locke that the people on the freighter have been sent by a man who wants to exploit the island, much like the DI. Locke thought this meant that he should eliminate these people. Locke then made the mistake of throwing a knife in the back of Naomi, who had been recruited by Abaddon to infiltrate Widmores freighter and help bring some more “special” people to the island. After doing this, Locke also tried to bring his whole camp to see Jacob. This made Jacob mad, so he did not want to speak to Locke until he learned how special of a privilege it was to do so.
Jacob was limited in his ability to communicate to people, so he did so with visions and by granting special abilities. Jacob thought he might be able to talk to Hurley. Hurley had gained a great deal of faith on the island and has overcome a lot, so he might be ready and willing to talk to Jacob. Jacob has been trying to speak to Hurley, but he is not having luck getting Hurley to believe. Hurley forces himself to not believe visions presented to him, and he doesn’t realize his special abilities, even if they are just helping him with horseshoes. Hurley has had issues in the past where he thought he was seeing something (or someone) that wasn’t actually there. Hurley has learned to suppress these visions, which has resulted in a lack of ability to see and hear Jacob. His huge ego is still getting in the way.
Jack is also very special, but he is fighting an internal battle. Since he is a doctor, Jack has studied medical journals for years. He has found a scientific explanation for everything that he has seen. Every time Jack starts to believe that there is something beyond science and that miracles do occur, something happens that destroys his faith. Jack is strictly a man of science. He feels special powers deep down inside of him, but he fights them and denies them because he has no way to explain them. Jack has abandoned faith because he feels that faith has abandoned him. Jack wants to get off of the island because he doesn’t know how to appreciate the island for what it is. This will eventually be his downfall.
warning: lots of spoilerish info after this point
After Locke speaks to Horace in his dream, he finds the cabin and is told by Christian Sheppard, speaking for Jacob, that the island must be moved. After hearing this, Ben knows that the emergency escape protocol must be carried out. Ben, now realizing that Locke is the true reincarnation of Marahaj-ji, leads Locke and Hurley to the Orchid to move the wheel. Knowing that Widmore has likely already sent Keamy and Co. to the Orchid, Ben stops near the temple on the way and instructs Richard and the natives to come and help. Richard and the natives find Kate and Sayid on their way to the Orchid. Ben tells Locke about the Orchid and some history of the island. Locke’s beliefs are now confirmed that the island must remain a secret from the common man, for its powers would be abused and the world would be destroyed.
Jack still does not believe and is hell bent on getting people off of the island. Locke tells Jack that he may go, but he must never tell anyone about the island. Jack agrees to never tell of its existence, also feeling that if he were to tell people of it, no one would believe him because he could not provide proof. Hurley, Kate, Jack, Sawyer and Sayid get in the helicopter with Franks Lapidus and they fly out to the freighter. Once on the freighter, they learn that the C4 will soon explode, as it was attached to a heart monitor that Keamy had on. Jack tells the people on the freighter that Keamy had been killed and they must get off of it. The helicopter can only hold so much weight, so Jack makes the decision to bring only Aaron and the pregnant Sun on board. While trying to take off, the helicopter continued to have issues due to too much weight. Sawyer gives Kate one last kiss and jumps off of the helicopter, while simultaneously Locke turns the wheel in the Orchid, moving the island to another time and place.
THE END…(for now)
