Senet by robotslayer

Someone probably already had a theory similar to this one, and if so I apologize. This is my first one so go easy... or not.

I was just thinking about how TPTB mentioned that they put something in Season 1 that would prove they knew where the show was headed. I think it was the Backgammon scene with Locke and Walt. Backgammon is a form of the ancient Egyptian game, Senet. Not much is known about the exact rules or game play, but I did find it interesting that (per Wikipedia) there are two sets of five pawns, especially after this week's episode with the names and numbers corresponding to five of the remaining losties.

The markings on the side of this Senet board look extremely familiar to me, http://www.talkingpyramids.com/images/senet.jpg. Kind of like the hieroglyphs from the hatch.

This text is from the Brooklyn Museum's label of a Senet board:
"Painted on some Middle Kingdom coffins were texts to guide the deceased through the underworld, where lurked demons who would deny entrance to gateways through which he needed to pass. The game of Senet reflects similar thinking, as the Egyptian word senet, meaning "passing," implies. The game board represents the spheres through which the deceased had to travel to reach the place of judgment. A New Kingdom text suggests that the game was played between the deceased and an unnamed opponent, the stakes being the deceased continued existence. But there is also evidence that Senet was popular with the living."

This is eerily reminiscent of several elements of Lost: judgment, redemption, the blurring of lines between life and death (apparitions, Hurley and Miles abilities, smokey, etc.)

Here is some additional information I found on another site:
"For purposes of communication and to promote the motility of their ba [spirit], the living played with the ba's of other dead or with their own living ba. Commensurately, the dead played with the living. However, for the specific purpose of enacting the netherworld passage to effect union with Ra, the opponent in the senet ritual was understood as an inimical unnamed spiritual enemy who was assimilated to the enemies of Ra, and who was eventually destroyed at the end of the game--denied union and eternal life with or as the sun god."

"The living person could perform this ritual probably to ensure a safe passage after he ultimately died. However, he also performed it to experience the netherworld journey without having to die first."
http://spinner.cofc.edu/~piccione/senet_web.html?referrer=webcluster&

I think that Jacob and MIB have been playing a game of Senet using various people as pawns. MIB is tired of the game. Jacob still believes that something can change before the game is finally completed and has chosen special pawns for this purpose. MIB wants to destroy or subvert Jacob's pawns. MIB is the "unnamed spiritual enemy". He is trapped between this world and the netherworld and wants to go home, back into the world. I think he may represent Osiris and Jacob may represent Ra.

I would love to hear some other people's thoughts on how this might relate to Lost.