Ben is already Jacob's replacement by d00p

This struck me after reading Vozzek69's recap of this episode: There's a possibility Jacob has already chosen his successor and that person is Ben.

Stay with me a moment.

I think many assume that when Sayid was told to kill MIB before he spoke, Dogen meant that literally: MIB can't be killed once you let him speak. Sayid stabs MIB in the chest and it does nothing.

Assuming that is correct, based on MIB's instructions to Ricardo in Ab Aeterno, the same is true for Jacob. You can't kill him once he has spoken.

Here's the rub: Ben killed Jacob AFTER Jacob spoke. Note, however, Jacob's words to Ben:

"What about you?"

You can take that as a snide or cold reply to Ben's plea. Listen carefully to the rise and fall of Jacob's words when he says this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxCe0biKq8E

OR, you can take that as Jacob choosing Ben as his replacement. The way Jacob says the word "you" doesn't sound snide to me. As in, "I'm looking for a good replacement. What about you?"

So Ben was somehow able to kill Jacob, despite the fact that Jacob spoke first. Why is this? Add "What about you" to what happens immediately after Jacob is stabbed: He touches Ben. Not only touches, he GRASPS Ben, even embraces him, I would say.

We've already seen what happens to people's lives when Jacob simply touches someone. What happens when he grasps someone?

Perhaps that explains how Ben "killed" Jacob. Perhaps Jacob let himself die so he could transfer power over the island to Ben. Perhaps that explains why MIB is so interested in getting Ben on team smokey.

Ben is likely candidate #117, "Linus", and though he's crossed out, we see that Kate is crossed out in the cave, but not the lighthouse. He's done perhaps the most in this show to protect the island (at least in his mind), acting solely upon... wait for it... faith. He even let Alex die because he thought he was protecting the island.

He's not a bad replacement, if you ask me.