Origin of the Protectors, Island Theory, and Mother by Crabshack

This is an attempt to explain the Island following the information revealed in the latest episode. I apologize if this has already been written. **Warning this is long.

Introduction:

Jacob and MIB's Mother (henceforth known as Mother), is just one protector in an extremely long line of protectors the Island has had since the dawn of human civilization. Like all protectors, she knows it is her duty to protect the Light, but due to the obligatory immortality that ensues, she gets so tired of the job that she actively seeks a replacement (she at one time was a young woman groomed to be a replacement).

Claudia presents this out: a clean and untainted baby she could train.


Island History, and the very first protector:

Since the beginning of time, the Island has existed somewhere on the ocean alongside the continents, containing the Light, which is the physical manifestation of all that is good, evil, and everything in between. At this time, there was no protector as there was no external source to threaten it (humans). The dawn of human civilization brought about a species that could eventually threaten the Island and her Light for one reason: technology.

I believe the very first protector might simply have been a shipwreck survivor, at a time when human civilization had just began developing the technology required to travel the seas. This sole survivor had no means off the Island, and no means to communicate off the Island; this person was effectively LOST. The longer someone stays on the Island, the more they become saturated by the intense Light (becoming one with the Island, developing a commune). This young sailor was to live out the rest of his life on the Island, thus it follows he would be heavily saturated.

The Island knows that eventually human technology would advance to the point where humans could exploit the Island's Light (e.g. Dharma Initiative), so the Island decided it needed protection, and chose this survivor to be the protector (without giving him the choice, btw). It guided this person to the Light's location, this person acknowledged the necessity of the job, and so on and so forth. Still, this person is human, and eventually grew tired of his immortality and task. As more people crashed/discovered the Island (improved ships, better technology), he had more opportunities to groom ONE successor, and so on and so forth, the cycle would repeat.

This is the origin of the protectors. As time elapsed, more sailors crashed/discovered the Island. Human technology developed further, and the Island became increasingly threatened.


Back to Mother:

The Mother is no different than all previous protectors. She knows what she must do: protect the Light. SHe is very old, and thus her commune with the Island is very strong. However, as with all previous protectors, she grows very, very tired of immortality and seeks a replacement.

Claudia presents this out: a clean and untainted baby she could train. Unfortunately, Claudia has a second child. The prudent course of action, insofar as the Island is concerned, would have been to kill both MIB and Claudia. But Mother wanted something more in her life besides being a protector. She has Jacob to act as a replacement, and MIB to act as her son, thus giving her some other sense of purpose in her life and some long overdue happiness. The problem is simply that MIB is a bad seed. In the end, she thanks MIB for killing her, as this relieves her of her duty, of her curse.

Our Losties:

Now it's Jacob's turn. He's protected the Island for some time, but his need for a replacement is slightly different in that it is the result of necessity, not desire. He knows he can be killed by MIB's influence. Up until now, the Island has always had one protector: there was never any internal Island strife.
Claudia screwed all this up. There are now two players in the game.

Jacob must quickly scramble to find a suitable replacement. There is no time to groom an untainted baby, so he grabs many people, hundreds, maybe thousands of candidates to choose from. This is where we are today in the show.

Technology:

Technology is the Island's enemy. It can simultaneously bring humans to the Island (via ship, aircraft, etc...) and extract the Light. The Light source is hidden and can only be found by the protector, someone who has intense commune with the Island. Technology bypasses this natural fortification, creating artificial entry points leading to the Light. MIB's people did this, Dharma did this, perhaps Widemore is as well.

This is why Jacob is said to hate technology, and why in S4 Ben was told to move the Island. Moving it backwards in time effectively eliminates all advances in human technology.


Anyway, that is how I liked to explain the Island. I believe Desmond is the answer to all of this. Everything comes full circle in this show. Whereas the Island hates evolution, as it brings about human interference, it will ironically be saved by Desmond, a human who represents the height of human evolution (impervious to the Light, can readily defeat the Smoke Monster).