So after watching the Losties-left-behind bounce around time, I was left wondering why the Others and Richard Alpert weren't skipping as well. I though perhaps they were not skipping or skipping on a seperate 'wave length'. But after doing some thinking (and a bit of rewatching), I believe that the Others are not skipping at all, but for a specified reason. They're just as stable as the island itself, and I believe this is due to Room 23. If you can't recall Room 23 I don't blame you - it had all of 4 minutes screen time on TV, and another 2 on a webisode. The low down is that you get sat in a chair with an IV drip, get to put on some kool glasses any rave kid would kill for, and then watch this video that flashes all sorts of lovely Dharma stuff while blasting some seriously loud trance music (that probably overloads your consciousness and allows access to the deeper subconsciousness). Anywho, running at a somew! hat lower volume than everything else was an audio track, that when played backwards said "Only fools are enslaved by time and space". Given this and the rest of the video's content I am lead to believe that if you spend enough time in this room you will somehow be immune to the effects of time-skipping and the whole Minkowski/Constant problem. If all of the Others had undergone this then it would explain why they are unaffected by the time jumps. How exactly that works out is iffy - I'd say via some post-hypnotic suggestion buried deep in the subconscious, but I'm no psychiatrist. However, once you undergo this process you cannot go back - you'll lose whatever "time travel potential" you had.
Now Walt had also spent some time in Room 23 (as we found out in the webisode 'Room 23') yet we've seen him pop up numerous times where he should not, debunking my theory. Initially this leads me to think that perhaps he had not spent the necessary time in the room to have the desired effect, but then I remembered the birds. He 'summoned' them both off-island and while actually in Room 23. Thus we can believe that Walt may have some variety of power. Now I think that the Others may have initially came for Walt with a desire to either use him to their own ends or put him in Room 23 to qwell his power. I think that when they got him and 'ran tests' on him they found that his power was far greater than they had thought. Enough so that even Room 23 was unable to 'keep him down' (Ben, Juliet, Bea, nor Tom would step into Room 23 at this point). I think they then 'feared' Walt's potential and wanted to get rid of him - which became a rather convenient option when they manipulated ! Michael via Walt to get Ben (and 4 Losties) brought to them and also get Walt off the island and out of their way.
Now for everyone else... Desmond wouldn't have been in the room because he crashed on the island, and the same goes for everyone on 814 (minus Walt). We can also say that Juliet hasn't been in the room, though I am unclear on why she wouldn't have been put through it. Ben, Widmore, and Hawkings (all of whom I think have been on the island) also have not undergone the room. Essentially anyone who has not been in the room is subject to time-travel and consciousness swaps (such as Desmond and Minkowshi, and maybe soon Charlotte). The trick being that some are aware of this phenomenon and are able to use it to their advantage - such as Ben, Widmore, and Hawkings - and others are totally unprepared for it and to some degree freak out - such as Desmond, Minkowski, Sawyer, Juliet, etc etc. This would explain why some go through the room (such as the workmen and lower tier folks) and others don't (the higher tiers and top players).
Then there is one other catagory - call it the "powers" catagory if you wil. It includes 3 people that we are aware of - Locke, Walt, and Desmond. Desmond gained some variety of immunity to time paradoxes (which would make you an uber time traveler) due to turning the fail safe. Walt and Locke's power source has yet to be indentified - maybe they're just special, maybe they were chosen, maybe they were changed at some point yet known to us. Either way these 3 have the potential to become more than Ben or Widmore (evolving into something akin to Jacob?) perhaps being able to change the rules we've heard so little about. If they were given the ability to ignore or create paradoxes then they'd be able to do whatever they want, whenever they want. Kill their fathers, tell their past selves the future, stop something from happening that already happened... see why these people would be both revered and feared? Thus Room 23. Can't have everyone running around time now can we?
*Whew* It sure takes a moment to get all my theories straight and written down. Feel free to comment and pick it apart or adopt it and shape it to your own theories.
Theory by Scranton
Now Walt had also spent some time in Room 23 (as we found out in the webisode 'Room 23') yet we've seen him pop up numerous times where he should not, debunking my theory. Initially this leads me to think that perhaps he had not spent the necessary time in the room to have the desired effect, but then I remembered the birds. He 'summoned' them both off-island and while actually in Room 23. Thus we can believe that Walt may have some variety of power. Now I think that the Others may have initially came for Walt with a desire to either use him to their own ends or put him in Room 23 to qwell his power. I think that when they got him and 'ran tests' on him they found that his power was far greater than they had thought. Enough so that even Room 23 was unable to 'keep him down' (Ben, Juliet, Bea, nor Tom would step into Room 23 at this point). I think they then 'feared' Walt's potential and wanted to get rid of him - which became a rather convenient option when they manipulated ! Michael via Walt to get Ben (and 4 Losties) brought to them and also get Walt off the island and out of their way.
Now for everyone else... Desmond wouldn't have been in the room because he crashed on the island, and the same goes for everyone on 814 (minus Walt). We can also say that Juliet hasn't been in the room, though I am unclear on why she wouldn't have been put through it. Ben, Widmore, and Hawkings (all of whom I think have been on the island) also have not undergone the room. Essentially anyone who has not been in the room is subject to time-travel and consciousness swaps (such as Desmond and Minkowshi, and maybe soon Charlotte). The trick being that some are aware of this phenomenon and are able to use it to their advantage - such as Ben, Widmore, and Hawkings - and others are totally unprepared for it and to some degree freak out - such as Desmond, Minkowski, Sawyer, Juliet, etc etc. This would explain why some go through the room (such as the workmen and lower tier folks) and others don't (the higher tiers and top players).
Then there is one other catagory - call it the "powers" catagory if you wil. It includes 3 people that we are aware of - Locke, Walt, and Desmond. Desmond gained some variety of immunity to time paradoxes (which would make you an uber time traveler) due to turning the fail safe. Walt and Locke's power source has yet to be indentified - maybe they're just special, maybe they were chosen, maybe they were changed at some point yet known to us. Either way these 3 have the potential to become more than Ben or Widmore (evolving into something akin to Jacob?) perhaps being able to change the rules we've heard so little about. If they were given the ability to ignore or create paradoxes then they'd be able to do whatever they want, whenever they want. Kill their fathers, tell their past selves the future, stop something from happening that already happened... see why these people would be both revered and feared? Thus Room 23. Can't have everyone running around time now can we?
*Whew* It sure takes a moment to get all my theories straight and written down. Feel free to comment and pick it apart or adopt it and shape it to your own theories.
Theory by Scranton
