How Does Time Work in Lost?
The two basic LOST rules are: (1) Whatever happened, happened or, more accurately, whatever you have done you cannot change and (2) you have free will in your present (otherwise, what is the point of experiencing time – it would be a roller-coaster ride). Variables (people in their present) have free will and make decisions. For this construct to work, you have to think of time as unraveling like a roll of string (i.e., time has not elapsed past a certain point – call it a universal present). Or think of the universal present as the end of a record (an image often used in LOST) for all of humanity - ever. Also, time is usually experienced at the same rate for everyone, just like a record (i.e., if you were to go back to 2007, one day spent there equals one day spent in 2009).
Two methods of time travel have been used so far: (A) the Island or people on it go through wormholes and take their present time with them (so Sawyer went back to at time in his youth but kept his time and aged from say 35-38) and (B) Daniel has discovered how to make a being’s present mind inhabit its past body (the rat experiment, Desmond in the Constant) so that, despite Rule (1) above, your past self with your present mind can affect events. A third way, gravitational time dilation, will be used in the Dharma time-travel experiment described later.
We have seen examples of variables taking an action in the past that affected the present. The writers pointed one out in the Variable - Daniel, in Daniel’s present, speaks to Desmond, in Desmond’s past, at the Hatch. It changes Desmond’s present (he ‘downloads’ a memory and then visits Widmore and Eloise). The big lessons in the Variable episode are in the hospital scenes. First, Eloise says Dan’s actions got Desmond shot. Then she and Widmore speak of sacrifice. What they are implicitly saying is that as long as someone acts in their ‘present’ they could still affect events. Or, put another way, just as Daniel could visit them and change their lives, they could have acted in a manner that would ensure that Daniel never visited them. Eloise chose to raise Daniel the way she did – even though she spoke to Daniel of destiny, she actually sacrificed her son.
Why would she do it? Daniel’s notebook taught Eloise and Widmore these rules and they decided that, armed with this knowledge, they wanted to live their lives and take actions in a manner consistent with what they already experienced (Daniel’s visit in the 1950s and his death). But they did so with the hope that at some point another’s actions could change things and their son could be reincarnated (see below). If they did not, they risk losing Daniel’s knowledge forever. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy
[Note: This explains a lot of past coincidences and actions in Lost. To create events as they knew them, Hawking had to raise Dan to be a scientist. Also, Desmond had to meet Penny and reach the Island so he could meet Faraday. So Widmore and Hawking introduced Desmond to Penny. (Remember, Desmond was to be married and then mysteriously wound up in a street and then at a monastery with a monk who was pictured with Eloise. He later met Penny at the monastery). Then Widmore had to separate Desmond from Penny in order to make sure that Desmond is there to push, and not push, the button. When Desmond returns to visit Widmore in the Constant, Widmore uncharacteristically gives him Penny’s contact information – knowing it will eventually reunite them. Finally, when Desmond seeks out Hawking, Widmore strongly discourages it because Desmond and Penny have already played their roles and no longer need to be involved to make events transpire as they had to.]
So Hawking and Widmore have spent their lives ensuring that one timeline, the one they knew would bring Faraday to the 1970’s, played out in the correct manner. They hope someone on the Island in his or her present, can now fix it. But now Eloise and Charles have passed the moment in time when Jack and Kate returned to the 1970’s. Now they have no idea how events could unfold.
Reincarnation
Reincarnation is a theme in LOST (even in the show’s Easter Eggs). Locke was reincarnated when Jack, Hurley and Kate returned to 1974. Their return set into motion events that would eliminate Locke’s death. We have not seen those events yet. Other dead people may be lingering around the Island with the prospect of being reincarnated (Christian, Charlie). Miles developed an ability to communicate with them as a child, particularly about the circumstances of their deaths. The dead could be trying to tell Miles how events would need to change so that their deaths could be avoided.
The Island
My best guess is the Island is a time machine or time capsule created by a group in the future. (Note: If the Island is created 20 years in the future then the universal present is 2029 but the Losties are in their present at 2007 or so).
The Island was created to enable a time-traveler to move the Island to different places and times in the past by turning a wheel. But there was a danger of losing control of the Island to people from the past. The Island is invaluable because, as we have seen, an action taken by a variable in the past can shape the present. The biggest risk is that events would change so that the Island would be under the control of someone other than its creators after the time of its creation. If that were to happen, then the Island’s creators would have run out of opportunities to send someone (Richard) back to affect/correct the timeline and there would be a fight for control.
So, to ensure that the time traveler was not overwhelmed, the Island was equipped with a security system (as Rousseau calls it), the smoke monster. Smokey uses futuristic methods (reading minds, creating avatars) to evaluate people and manipulate them into loyalty to the Island. The result is the Others/Hostiles. Smokey ‘judges’ if someone is a risk or can be used to control the Island.
Jacob
We know that the Others think Jacob is a great man and that he is the closest thing to Richard’s real boss.
The person who is really lost is Jacob, who is probably the Island’s creator. Jacob’s existence is in danger. Jacob has died, or is descended from someone who died, due to events that occurred on the Island. Jacob needs events to be changed so that he no longer dies or so his ancestor is reincarnated.
He was lost at some point between the 1950s and 2007. The only way to reach Jacob now are through his creations - the Island and Smokey, which are still in contact with variables that can change the timeline. Richard has been sent from the future to save Jacob and the Island. (this sound very Terminator)
Richard arrives in the 1950’s and is working to alter the timeline. He is piecing together what happened with the help of the Island and anyone who can see the cabin. Richard seeks out people who can connect with the Island, usually kids, through special talents (Ben, Walt) or rapid healing (Locke) and uses them to communicate with Jacob (Ben abused this ability).
For the sake of the story, I would guess that the person who must do things differently or be reincarnated was among the passengers on 815. Also, the only storyline involving multiple generations is the Shephard family. Claire and Christian are seen in the cabin and Claire warned Kate not to bring Aaron back. And Kate has returned to the Island to find Claire. So for this theory to work, the simplest scenario it that Jacob is Aaron and Aaron’s continued existence is dependent on the success of Jack and Kate. Maybe the event that must be changed probably occurs at Horace’s cabin. Or maybe Aaron is given up for adoption and named Jacob.
What’s happened in the Past?
The Hieroglyphics - When the Island is discovered in the ancient times, one civilization marveled at what could occur there. There may even have been a reincarnation like Locke’s in the past. That civilization’s explanation was that there was some sort of an underworld, a place where the dead continue to exist. Hence, the statue and the Temple.
The Soldiers - Then came the 1950’s and solders took the Island. The first indication that Richard is altering the timeline is that he quickly found Locke when Ethan shot him in the ‘90s. Richard made sure Locke was OK and that Locke went to the 1950’s with the compass. Richard knew he did not trust Locke when he should have (in the 1950’s) so then-present Richard corrected. Richard also tried and failed to bring Locke to the Island earlier.
The Dharma Initiative - A scientific group discovered the Island and began to experiment with it. They fight the Others to a standstill and build a fence that Smokey can not penetrate. The Others ultimately win nearly total control in the Purge but they cannot find the Swan/Hatch, even though they can see the insides from the observation station. Ben and the Others eliminate use the remaining Dharma stations for their own use.
Before the time experiment begins, Ellie kills Daniel. However, while in the 1970’s Daniel resumed his mind-shifting experiments and visited his own body in the 2000’s. That is what is caused his memory loss in the 2000s. While visiting himself, he collected all the data on what happened to the Island, which is why he is so informed during the Variable episode. He understands the nature of the Island and leaves instructions for his mother and Pierre Chang on how to set up a protocol for a time experiment. Daniel knew he would be killed (maybe not by his mother) but he may have put things into motion in order to be able to save himself and others.
The time experiment will start. It will alter the Island’s experience of time through gravitational time dilation. The effects are not apparent to Island inhabitants. Time feels normal and they appear young. Except their reproductive organs and the gestation cycle are affected. Ben had Richard get Juliet to work to fix this. Over time Richard realizes it is not related to helping Jacob and so he works to oust Ben and replace him with Locke.
Radzinsky, Kelvin and then Desmond continue the time dilation experiment. Desmond fails to hit the button and crashes the plane but still the experiment continues. Finally, Desmond turns the failsafe and ends the experiment. Now the Island is slowing down and will experience time at the same rate as the rest of Earth.
What Does the Experiment Do?
This is tricky. To change events in LOST, Faraday/Chang will ‘make time’ (think of what Daniel says in the Piano scene) through gravitational time dilation. They will make the Island experience time faster relative to Earth while maintaining instantaneous telecommunications contact with the rest of earth (think of the Rocket experiment and time traveling twin theories). In a way their ‘string has been stretched’. Think of a longer, curving string laid across a straight one. They are giving themselves more time to affect events.
An Island inhabitant with instant communication with the real world could know that something will occur in the ‘real world’ and physically move to that point via the sub and change it before it transpires (like Juliet’s husband being suddenly hit by a bus).
The two basic LOST rules are: (1) Whatever happened, happened or, more accurately, whatever you have done you cannot change and (2) you have free will in your present (otherwise, what is the point of experiencing time – it would be a roller-coaster ride). Variables (people in their present) have free will and make decisions. For this construct to work, you have to think of time as unraveling like a roll of string (i.e., time has not elapsed past a certain point – call it a universal present). Or think of the universal present as the end of a record (an image often used in LOST) for all of humanity - ever. Also, time is usually experienced at the same rate for everyone, just like a record (i.e., if you were to go back to 2007, one day spent there equals one day spent in 2009).
Two methods of time travel have been used so far: (A) the Island or people on it go through wormholes and take their present time with them (so Sawyer went back to at time in his youth but kept his time and aged from say 35-38) and (B) Daniel has discovered how to make a being’s present mind inhabit its past body (the rat experiment, Desmond in the Constant) so that, despite Rule (1) above, your past self with your present mind can affect events. A third way, gravitational time dilation, will be used in the Dharma time-travel experiment described later.
We have seen examples of variables taking an action in the past that affected the present. The writers pointed one out in the Variable - Daniel, in Daniel’s present, speaks to Desmond, in Desmond’s past, at the Hatch. It changes Desmond’s present (he ‘downloads’ a memory and then visits Widmore and Eloise). The big lessons in the Variable episode are in the hospital scenes. First, Eloise says Dan’s actions got Desmond shot. Then she and Widmore speak of sacrifice. What they are implicitly saying is that as long as someone acts in their ‘present’ they could still affect events. Or, put another way, just as Daniel could visit them and change their lives, they could have acted in a manner that would ensure that Daniel never visited them. Eloise chose to raise Daniel the way she did – even though she spoke to Daniel of destiny, she actually sacrificed her son.
Why would she do it? Daniel’s notebook taught Eloise and Widmore these rules and they decided that, armed with this knowledge, they wanted to live their lives and take actions in a manner consistent with what they already experienced (Daniel’s visit in the 1950s and his death). But they did so with the hope that at some point another’s actions could change things and their son could be reincarnated (see below). If they did not, they risk losing Daniel’s knowledge forever. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy
[Note: This explains a lot of past coincidences and actions in Lost. To create events as they knew them, Hawking had to raise Dan to be a scientist. Also, Desmond had to meet Penny and reach the Island so he could meet Faraday. So Widmore and Hawking introduced Desmond to Penny. (Remember, Desmond was to be married and then mysteriously wound up in a street and then at a monastery with a monk who was pictured with Eloise. He later met Penny at the monastery). Then Widmore had to separate Desmond from Penny in order to make sure that Desmond is there to push, and not push, the button. When Desmond returns to visit Widmore in the Constant, Widmore uncharacteristically gives him Penny’s contact information – knowing it will eventually reunite them. Finally, when Desmond seeks out Hawking, Widmore strongly discourages it because Desmond and Penny have already played their roles and no longer need to be involved to make events transpire as they had to.]
So Hawking and Widmore have spent their lives ensuring that one timeline, the one they knew would bring Faraday to the 1970’s, played out in the correct manner. They hope someone on the Island in his or her present, can now fix it. But now Eloise and Charles have passed the moment in time when Jack and Kate returned to the 1970’s. Now they have no idea how events could unfold.
Reincarnation
Reincarnation is a theme in LOST (even in the show’s Easter Eggs). Locke was reincarnated when Jack, Hurley and Kate returned to 1974. Their return set into motion events that would eliminate Locke’s death. We have not seen those events yet. Other dead people may be lingering around the Island with the prospect of being reincarnated (Christian, Charlie). Miles developed an ability to communicate with them as a child, particularly about the circumstances of their deaths. The dead could be trying to tell Miles how events would need to change so that their deaths could be avoided.
The Island
My best guess is the Island is a time machine or time capsule created by a group in the future. (Note: If the Island is created 20 years in the future then the universal present is 2029 but the Losties are in their present at 2007 or so).
The Island was created to enable a time-traveler to move the Island to different places and times in the past by turning a wheel. But there was a danger of losing control of the Island to people from the past. The Island is invaluable because, as we have seen, an action taken by a variable in the past can shape the present. The biggest risk is that events would change so that the Island would be under the control of someone other than its creators after the time of its creation. If that were to happen, then the Island’s creators would have run out of opportunities to send someone (Richard) back to affect/correct the timeline and there would be a fight for control.
So, to ensure that the time traveler was not overwhelmed, the Island was equipped with a security system (as Rousseau calls it), the smoke monster. Smokey uses futuristic methods (reading minds, creating avatars) to evaluate people and manipulate them into loyalty to the Island. The result is the Others/Hostiles. Smokey ‘judges’ if someone is a risk or can be used to control the Island.
Jacob
We know that the Others think Jacob is a great man and that he is the closest thing to Richard’s real boss.
The person who is really lost is Jacob, who is probably the Island’s creator. Jacob’s existence is in danger. Jacob has died, or is descended from someone who died, due to events that occurred on the Island. Jacob needs events to be changed so that he no longer dies or so his ancestor is reincarnated.
He was lost at some point between the 1950s and 2007. The only way to reach Jacob now are through his creations - the Island and Smokey, which are still in contact with variables that can change the timeline. Richard has been sent from the future to save Jacob and the Island. (this sound very Terminator)
Richard arrives in the 1950’s and is working to alter the timeline. He is piecing together what happened with the help of the Island and anyone who can see the cabin. Richard seeks out people who can connect with the Island, usually kids, through special talents (Ben, Walt) or rapid healing (Locke) and uses them to communicate with Jacob (Ben abused this ability).
For the sake of the story, I would guess that the person who must do things differently or be reincarnated was among the passengers on 815. Also, the only storyline involving multiple generations is the Shephard family. Claire and Christian are seen in the cabin and Claire warned Kate not to bring Aaron back. And Kate has returned to the Island to find Claire. So for this theory to work, the simplest scenario it that Jacob is Aaron and Aaron’s continued existence is dependent on the success of Jack and Kate. Maybe the event that must be changed probably occurs at Horace’s cabin. Or maybe Aaron is given up for adoption and named Jacob.
What’s happened in the Past?
The Hieroglyphics - When the Island is discovered in the ancient times, one civilization marveled at what could occur there. There may even have been a reincarnation like Locke’s in the past. That civilization’s explanation was that there was some sort of an underworld, a place where the dead continue to exist. Hence, the statue and the Temple.
The Soldiers - Then came the 1950’s and solders took the Island. The first indication that Richard is altering the timeline is that he quickly found Locke when Ethan shot him in the ‘90s. Richard made sure Locke was OK and that Locke went to the 1950’s with the compass. Richard knew he did not trust Locke when he should have (in the 1950’s) so then-present Richard corrected. Richard also tried and failed to bring Locke to the Island earlier.
The Dharma Initiative - A scientific group discovered the Island and began to experiment with it. They fight the Others to a standstill and build a fence that Smokey can not penetrate. The Others ultimately win nearly total control in the Purge but they cannot find the Swan/Hatch, even though they can see the insides from the observation station. Ben and the Others eliminate use the remaining Dharma stations for their own use.
Before the time experiment begins, Ellie kills Daniel. However, while in the 1970’s Daniel resumed his mind-shifting experiments and visited his own body in the 2000’s. That is what is caused his memory loss in the 2000s. While visiting himself, he collected all the data on what happened to the Island, which is why he is so informed during the Variable episode. He understands the nature of the Island and leaves instructions for his mother and Pierre Chang on how to set up a protocol for a time experiment. Daniel knew he would be killed (maybe not by his mother) but he may have put things into motion in order to be able to save himself and others.
The time experiment will start. It will alter the Island’s experience of time through gravitational time dilation. The effects are not apparent to Island inhabitants. Time feels normal and they appear young. Except their reproductive organs and the gestation cycle are affected. Ben had Richard get Juliet to work to fix this. Over time Richard realizes it is not related to helping Jacob and so he works to oust Ben and replace him with Locke.
Radzinsky, Kelvin and then Desmond continue the time dilation experiment. Desmond fails to hit the button and crashes the plane but still the experiment continues. Finally, Desmond turns the failsafe and ends the experiment. Now the Island is slowing down and will experience time at the same rate as the rest of Earth.
What Does the Experiment Do?
This is tricky. To change events in LOST, Faraday/Chang will ‘make time’ (think of what Daniel says in the Piano scene) through gravitational time dilation. They will make the Island experience time faster relative to Earth while maintaining instantaneous telecommunications contact with the rest of earth (think of the Rocket experiment and time traveling twin theories). In a way their ‘string has been stretched’. Think of a longer, curving string laid across a straight one. They are giving themselves more time to affect events.
An Island inhabitant with instant communication with the real world could know that something will occur in the ‘real world’ and physically move to that point via the sub and change it before it transpires (like Juliet’s husband being suddenly hit by a bus).
