The island is a natural phenomenon, and one that we as residents of this reality are never supposed to know about. It is the secret place where everything is sorted out. Normally, the universe works very well and everything makes sense. Our laws of physics work the same every time, and this keeps all the matter and energy in the universe in a serene, rational order. But nobody's perfect, and sometimes the universe has to "course correct" itself when there's a bug in the system or when one of those pesky little monkeys tries to build a time machine and start messing with destiny. Therefore, our planet was equipped with an island, one that we're supposed to not notice. This island is the solution to every time paradox or other such hiccups in reality. When something goes horribly horribly wrong, it is a natural quality of our universe that the right people in the right place at the right time will end up on this island through whatever means, and fix the problem. Every coincidence and supernatural phenomenon that leads people to the island "just happens" because it has to in order for all the meddling to make sense. Paradoxes aren't allowed to happen, or else the universe will end and "every single one of us is dead." This is why impossible things happen on the island. One important thing to understand is that the island naturally exists in a state of constant flux, and it is not a permanent resident of any one timeline, rather, it exists on all possible Earths simultaneously. It is in the "in-between place" or "the underworld", a place "god can't see".
For some extra help, the island also employs some of us to protect it. It lends powers to those worthy, and employs their services only for the sake of protecting the island. Therefore, everything the island causes to happen is to prevent its power from being corrupted. The original residents of the island probably understood the magnitude of their responsibility, but since no one was causing any temporal trouble in ye ancient times, they had a lot of time on their hands, hence all the statue and temple building. They went on about their days, wandering through the jungle, up until the industrial revolution, when man went down the path to his own self destruction. With technology, humanity turns against nature, "masters the elements", and goes against the natural order. This put the Island on high alert mode, and it began to pull individuals from the outside world(s) who would either be loyal to the island (Locke), or whose presence would be necessary on the island in order for everything to happen right (Eko's brother). This was achieved by altering the course of events such that the necessary people will just happen to crash their boat or plane on the island right when they need to. No matter how unlikely the coincidences, they have to happen in order for the timeline to be protected. This is known as the Grandfather Paradox, meaning you can't go back in time and kill your grandfather, even if you plan the perfect murder, you'll get struck by lightning on the way to his house or something. This is the same mechanism that brings people to the island. No individual is choosing them, they get on the plane simply because they have to. It's their destiny. Magnus Hanso was one of the early arrivers, along with Richard Alpert and the other "Hostiles".
The Hostiles were doing fine until the Dharma Initiative was formed after the discovery of the numbers. The numbers are like pi, in that they are a mathematic constant in our universe. They represent certain values of numbers corresponding to the outcome of world affairs. For example, if you live in a universe where the numbers are 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, and 42, humanity could be destined to produce a massive climate crisis and eventually destroy the entire ecosystem. Perhaps there is another universe where the numbers are 5, 9, 16, 17, 24, and 43, and in that timeline, someone accidentally starts a global nuclear war. There are infinite possible Earths with infinite possible timelines, and their own values for the numbers, yet each version of planet Earth has the exact same island hidden undetectable in the middle of the Pacific. Valenzetti discovered an equation, and if you plugged in all kinds of statistics to that equation and filled up chalkboards full of math and everything, it would reveal your Earth's timeline's numbers and you would learn the destiny of your entire civilization. The Dharma Initiative is an effort to find some way to change the values of our universe, which is a very, very bad thing to do, because we are not supposed to change these numbers. So they tried to figure out how to fix human civilization, hence the hippie attitude. This obviously did not work, so they chose instead to defeat the numbers by brute force. The hatch is their way of harnessing the island's power. Every time the button is pushed, the hatch warps the island to a new timeline, and the Dharma scientists were supposed to check if the world they were visiting was one in which the numbers were different. The reason the numbers are typed over and over every 108 minutes is to keep the island cycling through the timelines, trying to find one that ends in world peace and humanity realizing it's full potential and everyone becomes enlightened etc, as a result of Dharma's experiments. When the numbers aren't entered, it is assumed that we found the right timeline so the system destroys itself. The radio tower is an integral aspect of this process, in that it broadcasts the numbers to the Dharma listening posts off the island, letting them know either "yes, we did it, these are the new numbers", or "no, not yet, keep sending care packages please".
The failsafe is just that, a way to ensure the success of the hatch and its ultimate purpose, which largely concerns Desmond, since he was the one to use it. Turning the key was a do-over. He was sent back to the day on which it would be ultimately decided wether or not he would end up in the sailing race, and thus, the island. Notice how he instantly began to forget everything about the island, and how he had to struggle to remember. This is because he's not supposed to remember and needs to just go along with it, just like Ms. Hawking (a Hostile field agent) told him. Luckily, Desmond gets absolutely destroyed by a cricket bat, and wakes up remembering nothing about the island. He recovers, joins the army, goes to prison, gets out, joins the sailing race, crashes on the island, pushes the button for 3 years, accidentally causes the plane to crash and turns the key, all things he absolutely has to do. However, now that he remembers his journey, Desmond has become a more prominent instrument of the island. This is why he has visions of the future, of Charlie's death. This is only because his continual saving of Charlie's life will postpone his death until the situation they're in will save the island. Charlie dying in the Looking Glass instead of from saving Claire or getting arrowed in the neck is necessary because he will warn Desmond that it's "not Penny's boat", a key bit of knowledge that will keep Desmond on the island, so that he may continue to be a player in the events and eventually work with Locke/other losties to stop Ben and save the world. This is exactly what the island needs to make happen in order to prevent a universe-ending paradox.
Ben began his time among the Hostiles as a recruit, but due to his powerful connection to the island, quickly rose through the ranks. In this time, he learned a trick. Turns out you can kidnap a powerful Hostile, bind him in a cabin in the middle of the woods, convince everyone else that he's Jacob, a semi-divine being with infallible judgement who only talks to you. Building a religion around Jacob allows Ben to manipulate the rest of the Hostiles into going along with whatever plan he comes up with. This is the point at which the Hostiles become the Others, with Ben in charge. Ben takes advantage of his position, and forms his own delusional plan that he's the one that's going to save the world. Luckily, at least Alpert, Juliet, and Alex haven't fallen entirely into Ben's scheme. Though he genuinely thinks he's doing everything right, Ben has only made things worse, and the island has taken drastic measures to stop him. The culmination of the islands efforts is the crash of flight 815. As we are seeing, Locke and the other survivors are all working towards eventually putting a stop to Ben. All events have led to this eventuality.
The smoke monster, the "security system", or Cerebus is the ultimate paradox corrector. It seeks out those that need to be killed because they're going to cause a paradox. It finds them, brings up their "destiny file" and concludes wether or not they're supposed to be alive or not. Locke is supposed to live, so he sees a beautiful bright light and is convinced Cerebus won't hurt him. Eko is determined to still play a part, so he is spared until he is of no more necessity to the salvation of the island. Juliet and Kate are important enough to be left alone, hence the flashing white light. Obviously the pilot was only necessary to inform the losties that they weren't getting rescued any time soon, a piece of knowledge that will encourage them to settle down and begin to explore the island (see how everything ends up working in the island's favor?). What is it made of? Well it's obviously not man-made. Dark energy/dark matter are good candidates because Lost is all about light/dark. What it's made of is not as important as it's purpose, much in the way that how someone gets to the island is less important than the fact that they need to be there.
Naomi's people are either the remnants of the Dharma initiative, or a rogue party. They were sent to capture the island by force. Jack and Kate ended up going home, but found themselves in whatever random universe the island spit them back out on. In this timeline, everyone else on flight 815 died, Jack's father isn't dead and apparently neither is Kate's, as she isn't in prison. There's insufficient evidence on who's in the coffin, but Locke is a good contender, since it's the Locke who never went to the island in the first place. The "original" Locke, along with Desmond and any number of the survivors/others who evaded Naomi's landing party are still on the island, and will still try to make things right in the end.
This is by no means complete. I just wanted to get an early version out for critique while I work on it.
Theory by Brian D
For some extra help, the island also employs some of us to protect it. It lends powers to those worthy, and employs their services only for the sake of protecting the island. Therefore, everything the island causes to happen is to prevent its power from being corrupted. The original residents of the island probably understood the magnitude of their responsibility, but since no one was causing any temporal trouble in ye ancient times, they had a lot of time on their hands, hence all the statue and temple building. They went on about their days, wandering through the jungle, up until the industrial revolution, when man went down the path to his own self destruction. With technology, humanity turns against nature, "masters the elements", and goes against the natural order. This put the Island on high alert mode, and it began to pull individuals from the outside world(s) who would either be loyal to the island (Locke), or whose presence would be necessary on the island in order for everything to happen right (Eko's brother). This was achieved by altering the course of events such that the necessary people will just happen to crash their boat or plane on the island right when they need to. No matter how unlikely the coincidences, they have to happen in order for the timeline to be protected. This is known as the Grandfather Paradox, meaning you can't go back in time and kill your grandfather, even if you plan the perfect murder, you'll get struck by lightning on the way to his house or something. This is the same mechanism that brings people to the island. No individual is choosing them, they get on the plane simply because they have to. It's their destiny. Magnus Hanso was one of the early arrivers, along with Richard Alpert and the other "Hostiles".
The Hostiles were doing fine until the Dharma Initiative was formed after the discovery of the numbers. The numbers are like pi, in that they are a mathematic constant in our universe. They represent certain values of numbers corresponding to the outcome of world affairs. For example, if you live in a universe where the numbers are 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, and 42, humanity could be destined to produce a massive climate crisis and eventually destroy the entire ecosystem. Perhaps there is another universe where the numbers are 5, 9, 16, 17, 24, and 43, and in that timeline, someone accidentally starts a global nuclear war. There are infinite possible Earths with infinite possible timelines, and their own values for the numbers, yet each version of planet Earth has the exact same island hidden undetectable in the middle of the Pacific. Valenzetti discovered an equation, and if you plugged in all kinds of statistics to that equation and filled up chalkboards full of math and everything, it would reveal your Earth's timeline's numbers and you would learn the destiny of your entire civilization. The Dharma Initiative is an effort to find some way to change the values of our universe, which is a very, very bad thing to do, because we are not supposed to change these numbers. So they tried to figure out how to fix human civilization, hence the hippie attitude. This obviously did not work, so they chose instead to defeat the numbers by brute force. The hatch is their way of harnessing the island's power. Every time the button is pushed, the hatch warps the island to a new timeline, and the Dharma scientists were supposed to check if the world they were visiting was one in which the numbers were different. The reason the numbers are typed over and over every 108 minutes is to keep the island cycling through the timelines, trying to find one that ends in world peace and humanity realizing it's full potential and everyone becomes enlightened etc, as a result of Dharma's experiments. When the numbers aren't entered, it is assumed that we found the right timeline so the system destroys itself. The radio tower is an integral aspect of this process, in that it broadcasts the numbers to the Dharma listening posts off the island, letting them know either "yes, we did it, these are the new numbers", or "no, not yet, keep sending care packages please".
The failsafe is just that, a way to ensure the success of the hatch and its ultimate purpose, which largely concerns Desmond, since he was the one to use it. Turning the key was a do-over. He was sent back to the day on which it would be ultimately decided wether or not he would end up in the sailing race, and thus, the island. Notice how he instantly began to forget everything about the island, and how he had to struggle to remember. This is because he's not supposed to remember and needs to just go along with it, just like Ms. Hawking (a Hostile field agent) told him. Luckily, Desmond gets absolutely destroyed by a cricket bat, and wakes up remembering nothing about the island. He recovers, joins the army, goes to prison, gets out, joins the sailing race, crashes on the island, pushes the button for 3 years, accidentally causes the plane to crash and turns the key, all things he absolutely has to do. However, now that he remembers his journey, Desmond has become a more prominent instrument of the island. This is why he has visions of the future, of Charlie's death. This is only because his continual saving of Charlie's life will postpone his death until the situation they're in will save the island. Charlie dying in the Looking Glass instead of from saving Claire or getting arrowed in the neck is necessary because he will warn Desmond that it's "not Penny's boat", a key bit of knowledge that will keep Desmond on the island, so that he may continue to be a player in the events and eventually work with Locke/other losties to stop Ben and save the world. This is exactly what the island needs to make happen in order to prevent a universe-ending paradox.
Ben began his time among the Hostiles as a recruit, but due to his powerful connection to the island, quickly rose through the ranks. In this time, he learned a trick. Turns out you can kidnap a powerful Hostile, bind him in a cabin in the middle of the woods, convince everyone else that he's Jacob, a semi-divine being with infallible judgement who only talks to you. Building a religion around Jacob allows Ben to manipulate the rest of the Hostiles into going along with whatever plan he comes up with. This is the point at which the Hostiles become the Others, with Ben in charge. Ben takes advantage of his position, and forms his own delusional plan that he's the one that's going to save the world. Luckily, at least Alpert, Juliet, and Alex haven't fallen entirely into Ben's scheme. Though he genuinely thinks he's doing everything right, Ben has only made things worse, and the island has taken drastic measures to stop him. The culmination of the islands efforts is the crash of flight 815. As we are seeing, Locke and the other survivors are all working towards eventually putting a stop to Ben. All events have led to this eventuality.
The smoke monster, the "security system", or Cerebus is the ultimate paradox corrector. It seeks out those that need to be killed because they're going to cause a paradox. It finds them, brings up their "destiny file" and concludes wether or not they're supposed to be alive or not. Locke is supposed to live, so he sees a beautiful bright light and is convinced Cerebus won't hurt him. Eko is determined to still play a part, so he is spared until he is of no more necessity to the salvation of the island. Juliet and Kate are important enough to be left alone, hence the flashing white light. Obviously the pilot was only necessary to inform the losties that they weren't getting rescued any time soon, a piece of knowledge that will encourage them to settle down and begin to explore the island (see how everything ends up working in the island's favor?). What is it made of? Well it's obviously not man-made. Dark energy/dark matter are good candidates because Lost is all about light/dark. What it's made of is not as important as it's purpose, much in the way that how someone gets to the island is less important than the fact that they need to be there.
Naomi's people are either the remnants of the Dharma initiative, or a rogue party. They were sent to capture the island by force. Jack and Kate ended up going home, but found themselves in whatever random universe the island spit them back out on. In this timeline, everyone else on flight 815 died, Jack's father isn't dead and apparently neither is Kate's, as she isn't in prison. There's insufficient evidence on who's in the coffin, but Locke is a good contender, since it's the Locke who never went to the island in the first place. The "original" Locke, along with Desmond and any number of the survivors/others who evaded Naomi's landing party are still on the island, and will still try to make things right in the end.
This is by no means complete. I just wanted to get an early version out for critique while I work on it.
Theory by Brian D
