To begin with the name, Richard Alpert, is also the original name of Babba Ram Das, the author of Be Here Now. So, there is a connection between Richard and the Now, which I have long called Zerotime. But, that aside. Even living in the Now does not account for the agelessness of Richard. He has often left the island's time frame of the Now on several occasions and entered mainland real time. His travels may have been limited, but the impression was that he has spent considerable time there.
But, why an android and where is the time discrepancy?
If you live in real time there is aging. It is the natural occurrence of the environment, even if you originate in Zerotime.
If you travel back in time, there is still an aging process. At whatever point in time you arrive, the process begins. You cannot live in the now and in time and remain unaffected by both. Even if the island has time, other than the Now, how can Richard travel backwards from a point in island time to another point and remain... timeless?
Are you all familiar with the movie The Questor Tapes? Its about a long line of Earth guardians, androids. One android every ten thousand years watches over planetary affairs until mankind is ready to govern itself. He has state of the art, unimagined technology to watch over and guide humanity. The android in the movie has incomplete programming, because of an possible accident in the download, and has to rely on a human to compensate for this inadequacy. Previous androids had no such problem. They looked and acted entirely like humans. There was nothing robotic about them. I bring this up because Richard appeared to have an emotional response when young Locke chose the knife. So, displays of emotions are of no consequence in determining androidal status.
But, why do I think Richard is an Android? I might have suggested clone or a twin or a paradoxical cross-time self(Desmond). But, time would still affect these types. Desmond perfectly illustrates this. He was a different self in the past. There were signs of evolution in his present self and de-evolution in his past self to define the two. My secondary reason for suggesting android is in reference to the "guardian" aspect of Questor in the Questor Tapes. The Antique Lady was a guardian of time, who guided Desmond in matters of time consequence. Richard guided young Ben and acted to some degree as his guardian. (Cerberus is also the Guardian of hell in myth and perhaps assuming a version of guardianship at present.) But, like in Questor, there was a symbiotic relationship. The guardian learned to entrust humanity with their own fate and the human, which I see here as Ben, is learning how to be entrusted. And look at the technology Ben and Richard have to perform guardianship duties, just like Questor!
The four-toed statue maybe the original designer of the Androids. Before it died it passed on its knowledge and duties to his mechanical progeny. Doesn't it seem like Richard is some kind of guardian? He also seems to have duties above and beyond the island. So, is it possible that he is a planetary guardian?
The question now becomes, that is if Richard is an android, "Who built him?" Perhaps an ancient four-toed alien race. But, what is alien? If they were the (fictional) authors of mankind, would they still be considered alien? (I state it this way because the writers have said no aliens. But, we know they skirt such issues ad infinitum.)
Finally, the author of The Questor Tapes is also the creator of Star Trek. Yes, Gene Roddenberry, wrote both and is idolized by the writers of Lost.
Theory by PsychedelicRelic
But, why an android and where is the time discrepancy?
If you live in real time there is aging. It is the natural occurrence of the environment, even if you originate in Zerotime.
If you travel back in time, there is still an aging process. At whatever point in time you arrive, the process begins. You cannot live in the now and in time and remain unaffected by both. Even if the island has time, other than the Now, how can Richard travel backwards from a point in island time to another point and remain... timeless?
Are you all familiar with the movie The Questor Tapes? Its about a long line of Earth guardians, androids. One android every ten thousand years watches over planetary affairs until mankind is ready to govern itself. He has state of the art, unimagined technology to watch over and guide humanity. The android in the movie has incomplete programming, because of an possible accident in the download, and has to rely on a human to compensate for this inadequacy. Previous androids had no such problem. They looked and acted entirely like humans. There was nothing robotic about them. I bring this up because Richard appeared to have an emotional response when young Locke chose the knife. So, displays of emotions are of no consequence in determining androidal status.
But, why do I think Richard is an Android? I might have suggested clone or a twin or a paradoxical cross-time self(Desmond). But, time would still affect these types. Desmond perfectly illustrates this. He was a different self in the past. There were signs of evolution in his present self and de-evolution in his past self to define the two. My secondary reason for suggesting android is in reference to the "guardian" aspect of Questor in the Questor Tapes. The Antique Lady was a guardian of time, who guided Desmond in matters of time consequence. Richard guided young Ben and acted to some degree as his guardian. (Cerberus is also the Guardian of hell in myth and perhaps assuming a version of guardianship at present.) But, like in Questor, there was a symbiotic relationship. The guardian learned to entrust humanity with their own fate and the human, which I see here as Ben, is learning how to be entrusted. And look at the technology Ben and Richard have to perform guardianship duties, just like Questor!
The four-toed statue maybe the original designer of the Androids. Before it died it passed on its knowledge and duties to his mechanical progeny. Doesn't it seem like Richard is some kind of guardian? He also seems to have duties above and beyond the island. So, is it possible that he is a planetary guardian?
The question now becomes, that is if Richard is an android, "Who built him?" Perhaps an ancient four-toed alien race. But, what is alien? If they were the (fictional) authors of mankind, would they still be considered alien? (I state it this way because the writers have said no aliens. But, we know they skirt such issues ad infinitum.)
Finally, the author of The Questor Tapes is also the creator of Star Trek. Yes, Gene Roddenberry, wrote both and is idolized by the writers of Lost.
Theory by PsychedelicRelic
