What if Alpert wasn't checking whether Locke was "the Chosen One", but checking for some trace of lingering memory that indicated that Locke had "flashed back" to that early age.
If so, in addition to the possibility, raised by others, that Alpert may have been dissembling (e.g. so young Locke would have no reason to remember the test, as he might if Alpert's reaction marked him as special), we have the possibility that Alpert simply didn't like the result -- [i]whatever[/i] it was, yeah or nay!
If Young Locke chose correctly, the fact that he had flashed back to that age may have posed a problem for Alpert's plans/hopes [by, e.g. making it harder for him to the timeline, since he can't know *exactly* what transpired during, or was subconsciously remembered from, that flashback]
Perhaps Alpert was hoping Locke *had* flashed back that far. The fact he hadn't might indicate that (e.g) someone else flashed/traveled back and messed with the timeline, just as Desmond's flashback messed with Faraday's timeline, along with his own. [hence possibly (e.g.) a Hawkinsian "self correction" causing Faraday's amnesia.
One interesting consequence of this possibility is that we may be able to interpret the objects of the test more directly: as events progress, we may directly see the significance of each object. For example, Locke chose a knife, and the suitcase of knives he brought on the Island played a major role after the crash. Perhaps some causal/memory feedback led him to bring more knives than he could ever have had any rational reason to bring on his walkabout. (Would he really lug a suitcase of knives on his wheelchair in the outback?)
I've also been toying with the (improbable) notion that it may be possible to flash back not just to one's own life, but one's recent ancestors, but I really don't believe that. That idea as heavily influenced by the several Old Testament passages saying that the responsibility for the acts of a father may be visited upon the "sons [or daughters?] unto the third and fourth generations" -- a notion that has always bothered me, even as a child. It is only worth mentioning because Lost is full of "daddy issues", and we have many children entering the scene, such as Aaron, Ji Yeon, and if my suspicions [a separate theory] bear out possibly Penny's child)
Theory by Orpheus
If so, in addition to the possibility, raised by others, that Alpert may have been dissembling (e.g. so young Locke would have no reason to remember the test, as he might if Alpert's reaction marked him as special), we have the possibility that Alpert simply didn't like the result -- [i]whatever[/i] it was, yeah or nay!
If Young Locke chose correctly, the fact that he had flashed back to that age may have posed a problem for Alpert's plans/hopes [by, e.g. making it harder for him to the timeline, since he can't know *exactly* what transpired during, or was subconsciously remembered from, that flashback]
Perhaps Alpert was hoping Locke *had* flashed back that far. The fact he hadn't might indicate that (e.g) someone else flashed/traveled back and messed with the timeline, just as Desmond's flashback messed with Faraday's timeline, along with his own. [hence possibly (e.g.) a Hawkinsian "self correction" causing Faraday's amnesia.
One interesting consequence of this possibility is that we may be able to interpret the objects of the test more directly: as events progress, we may directly see the significance of each object. For example, Locke chose a knife, and the suitcase of knives he brought on the Island played a major role after the crash. Perhaps some causal/memory feedback led him to bring more knives than he could ever have had any rational reason to bring on his walkabout. (Would he really lug a suitcase of knives on his wheelchair in the outback?)
I've also been toying with the (improbable) notion that it may be possible to flash back not just to one's own life, but one's recent ancestors, but I really don't believe that. That idea as heavily influenced by the several Old Testament passages saying that the responsibility for the acts of a father may be visited upon the "sons [or daughters?] unto the third and fourth generations" -- a notion that has always bothered me, even as a child. It is only worth mentioning because Lost is full of "daddy issues", and we have many children entering the scene, such as Aaron, Ji Yeon, and if my suspicions [a separate theory] bear out possibly Penny's child)
Theory by Orpheus
