Solaris by Monika

Solaris is a Polish science fiction novel by Stanislaw Lem.

Description:

The novel is about the ultimately futile attempt to communicate with an alien life-form on a distant planet. The planet, called Solaris, is covered with a so-called "ocean" that seems to really be a single organism covering the entire surface. The ocean shows signs of a vast but strange intelligence, which can create physical phenomena in a way that science has difficulty explaining. The alien mind of Solaris is so inconceivably different from human consciousness that all attempts at communication are doomed.

The novel begins with the arrival of the protagonist, Kris Kelvin, at a scientific research station, suspended near the surface of Solaris by means of anti-gravity generators. Research has been ongoing for years, but scientists have been unable to do more than observe the highly complex phenomena on the surface of the ocean, all the while classifying them into an elaborate nomenclature without understanding what they actually mean. When the protagonist and his colleagues become more aggressive in trying to force contact with Solaris, the experiment becomes psychologically traumatic for the researchers themselves. The ocean's response, such as it is, lays bare their own personalities, while revealing nothing of the ocean's. To the extent that the ocean's actions can be understood, the ocean begins experimenting with the researchers' minds by confronting them with their most painful and repressed thoughts and memories through the materialization of complex human constructs: th! e protagonist is confronted with memories of his deceased lover and his guilt over her suicide. What torments the other researchers is only hinted at (as they are careful to conceal it) but it appears to be much worse.

So, we have the main protagonist Kris Kelvin whose wife, Harey, committed suicide 10 years before his arrival to Solaris. He carries a guilt over her suicide ever since, although he was not directly involved in this incident...however they had a fight and he left her. She couldn't bare being parted from him so she killed herself.
Upon his arrival he sees his dead wife. He is well aware she is a form of hallucination, but nonetheless she is there. He could touch her. They could talk. But none of the other members could see her up until one point when she became stronger as a being..and with each day she would grow stronger and stronger so the others eventually could see her as well.
This being, called Harey, was not human. But it looked like human. It talked like human. It felt. It had memories. It was also confused about its own existence.
Harey was his wife in every sense but she was not his wife at the same time because his wife died 10 years ago.
Harey cannot be killed. The new Hari kills herself again outside of Kelvin quarters by drinking liquid oxygen, only to painfully, spasmodically return to life a few minutes later. The surface of Solaris has become agitated. Kelvin falls into a fevered sleep, dreaming of his mother and many Haries walking around his room. When he recovers she is gone, and Snaut (scientist) reads him a note she left, in which she explains that she herself asked the scientists to destroy her.
Snaut informs Kelvin that since they broadcast Kelvin's brainwaves at Solaris, islands have begun forming on its surface.
Harey is a memory. As long as she stays as a memory in his brain she exists.
His brain is emitting brainwaves that are being used by Solaris against him. So as long as he is thinking or dreaming about his wife she exists. The only way to stop it is to commit suicide.
Or if scientist destroy her via specially created machine, what they did eventually.


How this ties with Lost?

Nicely. :)

Jack

Jack is all about his relationship with Christian. All cowboys have daddy issues. Jack has plenty. And every issue is connected to Christian. So what was the first thing Jack sees in the bamboo forest? Christians white shoe. Those shoes, if it may sound so ridiculous to many of you, were something that Jack couldn't get over with..he even said that..his father didn't deserve nice pair of shoes. Who he sees on the island next? His dead father. He hunts him. He is driving him crazy. But it is the island using his memories and his guilt against him.
And at first none could see Christian..but with time he grew stronger as a memory and became its own entity. So Locke, Claire, Sun, Frank..all of these people were able to see him. At first he couldn't touch anything...but later on he was able to hold Aaron, photo of recruits..he became stronger and an entity.

Locke
What was it that Locke wanted the most? When I think about it many things..but 3 the most.
1. To be able to walk again
2. To be a hunter
3. Revenge against Anthony Cooper
John Locke against any odds was granted all of these things upon arrival.
The island made his wishes come true via his memories and dreams. But unlike Jack Locke embraced these strange new events.

Sawyer
Sawyer wanted two things. But one the most. Sawyer wanted Sawyer. And Sawyer got Sawyer. This was almost impossible. He searched for him for over 30 years..he used everyone and everything and he couldn't get to him. Not even close. He killed the wrong man. But via John Lockes memories and wishes his wish came true..on the island..The Box. The island is the Box. It is a metaphor. The island is the island. But it provides you everything you ever wanted and that is why it is called "magic box".

Kate
Kate wanted to escape. Kate is always on the run. So what she sees? She sees horse. Horse is a metaphor too. She knows what this horse means. It means escape. The island is using her memories (especially events showed to us via flashbacks in the same episode)..she saw horse twice. But second time Sawyer could see it too, because the island is like Solaris. Smoke Monster doesn't use horses body because horse exist outside this island...MiB is not using it either. The island is using it. Similar to Bens mother which brings me to the next character.

Ben
Ben never met his mother. Ben always felt guilty for her death. Ben had f*cked up father who couldn't show his affection. Roger loved Ben, we saw that in season 5. But Roger was lost. He wasn't ready to play dad. He wasn't ready and he took it out on Ben.
What Ben wanted?
Like any kid living with one parent or never meeting an other, Ben wanted his mother back. He wanted to be loved..knowing his mom is dead he knew he has to look somewhere else. By growing up with Roger he knew that Roger is not what he wants and living among DI he soon learned they are not alone..there are other people living on this island. The only thing he knows about them is that they are called "hostiles". Not knowing something is giving you the false emotions. Something unfamiliar is always better then familiar. So all he wanted was his mom and to get as far as he could..far from DI.
The island used his memories, memories about his mom (memories from photos, and just pay attention how Emily looked when Ben saw her-she was dressed like Alice, Alice in Wonderland..blue-white dress with a headband in her blond hair. But the most important thing is this - She was dress exactly the same like on the day when that photo was taken, the photo on Bens nightstand). He doesn't remember her. All he remembers is an image of his mom from that photograph and the island used that image. It lured Ben out. Towards the woods. And it told him via his mom to be patient. It gave him just enough.
Next thing he sees is a hostile. His image of a hostile.
(I am not too sure about this one but it is possible..hm)

Hurley
Hurley is obsessed with numbers, right? Maybe these numbers are important but maybe they are not important at all. Maybe they are just numbers. However he sees them. He is constantly under impression he is being cursed or crazy so that's exactly what the island provides for him. The numbers. He sees them everywhere. Lets look at the hatch for example. Everyone involved in "blowing up the hatch" mission saw the numbers. Jack, Locke, Kate, Sayid..they saw the hatch, they saw the numbers carved on its surface but none really payed any attention except for Hurley who were yelling "the numbers are bad! the numbers are bad!". I mean Jack was seat 23 but he couldnt care less. If it was Hurley sitting in 23 he would freak out. Because this is something that matters. If he saw Christian he wouldn't be as nearly upset as Jack because Christian doesn't matter to Hurley. Emily Locke doesn't matter just like numbers don't matter to any other survivor. To them they are just numbers.

I could go on and on about each character but I think you get the picture. Claire-Aaron, Rose-Bernard-Cancer, Eko-Yemi etc.

The island
So what I am trying to say is that this island exists as an entity, a being of some sort. I am not implying it is an alien planet like Solaris but it function on this principle. I believe the island was either created by humans in distant future as some sort of an experiment that got out of hand and was sent in time and space. Why? Because it must never fall in the wrong hands. Or it is something that came from outer space to the Earth ages ago and it simply exists. I would like it to be the future experiment that went wrong. Psychological military experiment of some sort.
The producers said this show is about people. It is about characters. I claim the same.
"We are causes of our own suffering"
The island is some sort of simulation. Whatever they think about simply happens. By using EM from the Swan or via Temple their memories become real. We have an example in Desmond. Yes he time traveled but maybe he didn't.
Just think about it..he is always going back to the same year. The breaking point of his life. Penny. The happy days and the biggest mistake he made, leaving her. That's the Box.

Have you noticed how story unfolded?

One is light. One is dark.

This is not about Jacob and MiB. This is not about good or bad. This is about people. Each and every single one of us have light and dark side. Thin line is between these sides. Its a psychological/philosophical discussion.
Lets take Sawyer for example..He is born good. Light. But events that happened pushed him to the other side. All he wanted to revenge death of his parents. So he just crossed over to the dark side of his being. And he stayed on that side ever since..up until he came to the island. The good in him hunted him. It wanted to get out so day by day he was transforming into the beautiful human being like he was before his breaking point. It takes ages to cross from dark to white side of your being but only seconds other way around.

So if all of these things I am talking about are applicable..then Jacob exist and MiB doesn't. MiB is Jacobs memory. But this memory exists so long now that it grew stronger and stronger and it is its own entity, able to think, feel, exist..but it cannot die. Unless Jacob is dead. That is why he badly wants to kill him. And that is why Jacob knows this. And that is why he is so calm. Or maybe its other way around. So maybe MiB became a prisoner of its own memories. And the only way to get his freedom is to kill Jacob. But being a memory you cannot interact with humans. Sorry you can but you cannot take their own life. So this is why he needed to find a human that will be willing to kill Jacob.
He is sick and tired of Jacob...he wants out. And as a memory he needs to kill the source.

Remember conversation between Jacob and Hurley in the cab?
Hurley said that he is cursed-he talks to death friends.
Jacob told him that it is not a curse but blessing because he is able to talk to people who are gone. You see?
Jacob encourages this..he needs people..more and more because people have memories and dreams so the island could live. But MiB is tired because most of the things people think of are deception, adultery, they feel anger, they are week, corrupted, flawed, scared etc. The exact same things Mikhail used. So the Others are the people who guard this island (whatever the island is, a being, or artificial intelligence...) and they collect "good people" with healthy thoughts, thoughts and dreams which lead to progress. Smoke Monster course corrects events.

So at the end we have combination of time, time traveling, psychology, people, their brains and its waves, exotic matter that allows time traveling.. and so on.

This is long enough...tell me what you think.