The Island's Energy, Time Travel, and a New Theory of Who's Who by ListentotheWhispers

The Island’s Energy, Time Travel, and a New Theory of Who’s Who

After re-watching S5E1, I think I have a new idea on what the time travel is all about. This will lead into an idea of who’s against who and why.

First, re-watch what Dr. Chang says about the energy as the construction workers get nearer the hidden wheel chamber and the energy source. He says it is almost limitless energy that can cause time-travel. BUT, he is adamant that it must be used properly and he orders the workers to NOT drill any deeper. He says this even though there are images of the wheel and the secret chamber on the workman’s sonar image. He also says that improper drilling could release the energy and cause a “disaster”. I don’t think that the possible disaster is “the incident” though.

Now, think of how Radzinsky approaches this same problem. He WANTS to keep drilling when Swan station builders encounter this SAME substance. He is not as cautious as Dr. Chang.

In BOTH cases though, workmen end up unconscious or dead, and they seem to have suffered the same types of consciousness flashbacks that killed the freighter guy, Eloise the rat, and others. Desmond miraculously survived this though. Thus, he is as special as Daniel claims.

SO, the material encountered at BOTH sites (Swan-to-be and Orchid-to-be) is the same thing. It has “limitless energy” and causes time travel. The different types of time-travel occur due to the amount of energy released and the manner in which it is released. That’s why Chang says he doesn’t want to drill deeper until they can figure out how to use the energy appropriately.

So, I think there are “good” and “bad” sides to all those seeking to find out what this stuff can do, and it’s what everyone is fighting over. The “coming war” is simply access to this miraculous material and the possibilities it allows. Some intentions are better than others. DHARMA may want to use it for good, but some elements seem to have become a fringe DI (e.g. Radzinsky) group and want to use it for other purposes. [Maybe, but not necessarily, the fringe DI people are working for Widmore]. The Others, however, are a different story.

The war, in a way, has been going on for a very long time. So it would seem. The reason DI teaches hieroglyphs to their students is because they don’t yet know how to use the energy source correctly. They think there could be info on this in the hieroglyphs. This DOES NOT mean that the first successful users of the energy were Egyptians. But at some point, Egyptians are clearly building things and leaving records in the glyphs which DI thinks could be useful.

Whoever built the Wheel and its special chamber did succeed in manipulating the energy somewhat. What time they come from is anyone’s guess. But how does this wheel work then? What are these “rules” that everyone keeps talking about, including Chang in S5E1?
Well, from S5 we see that all people who were on the island at the time the wheel is moved (or within a radius, as Daniel and co. were in the raft on the water) start to skip through time [like the record skipping at beginning of S5 alludes to]. All people (and maybe animals???) who were on the island (or radius thereof) when the wheel is turned start to move.

Another rule, the wheel turner gets transported to the Sahara in a different time period as well. Is it always the same time? No. The polar bear that Charlotte finds was found earlier than when Ben and Locke arrive. Also, Ben and Locke would have arrived at the exact same time somehow if that were the case. As an aside, I think the 2 Bens in the Sahara, from that deleted scene, were Ben seeing himself dead after having pushed the wheel again sometime in the future. He doesn’t yet know why he would move the wheel again, but he can see the result. This must scare the hell out of him, but he may think he can change things. I don’t think it copies people. There are just multiple people around at certain times because of the time travel.

So, all we know for sure is:
-there is ONE, energy source in this island which can cause time-travel
-the manner of time travel this stuff causes is related to the method it is “tapped”, when workers drill into it, it messes with their consciousness (not bodies) and they usually die
-various groups want in on this stuff: DI, fringe DI, Widmore, Paik?, Mittelos
-“Others” know how to use it to some extent, but they don’t seem to be working on any projects. They’re more like guardians. Early on, S1 S2, they inhabit the wreckage of the DI, but they don’t seem hell-bent on using this stuff. Instead, Others defer to: Jacob, a Leader, and Richard. They know some things, but not all. They are less interested in studying the hieroglyphs, the DI equipment, polar bears, etc. and they are MORE interested in the new arrivals, like the 815 Survivors, children, etc. This means they MUST ALREADY KNOW a great deal about the island, including the Wheel that was built and some (but not all) things about the Temple.
SO…the Others are like an outer circle, low-men (and women) on the totem pole for the group that knows all about the properties of the mysterious substance, the wheel builders. They are told some secrets in exchange for guarding the island. Everyone else, until initiated into this group to which the Others belong, is either naïve (815’ers when they first arrive) or scheming to use the mysterious substance WITHOUT the okay of the group that already knows how to use it. This includes DI, Widmore, etc. Widmore, by the way, is a fallen member of the Others (which we know) and has come to want the island’s powers for himself. Hawking, on the other hand, is STILL a member of the Others, but is maybe now a member of the innermost circle (see below) and still seeks to help them.
Unsolved Mysteries: (1) Do the members of the group that is in-the-know (e.g. Richard) time-skip when the Losties do? Can they prevent themselves from skipping if the Wheel is turned? Was Richard time-skipping, with the Others, just as Locke and Sawyer and co. were? (2) Is Jacob one of the central figures of the group that built the wheel? (3) Can the miracle substance cause other things (non-aging, healing) if used correctly?

One last Idea: What or Who are Jacob and MiB?
I think they are real people who may represent groups that have a truce (like Hostiles and DI). That’s why MiB can’t kill Jacob. Jacob leads one group, MiB leads another. We don’t yet know, of all the people we have come across, who else is in these two groups. When young Ben is healed by Richard and the Others witness this, he loses innocence because he has seen too much and must become one of the Others/Hostiles. He is now a member of the group-in-the-know, but is on the outer fringes of this group. He does become the leader, eventually, but the entire Others people are still fringe members of this larger group. Richard is a go-between for the Others (including their leader) and the higher-ups of the group-in-the-know. That’s why Richard has agelessness and can leave the island (like Jacob). Jacob, then, is a member of the group that knows, possibly their leader. Both Jacob and Richard can leave the island and don’t age. Richard speaks on Jacob’s behalf because! he is the go-between and closer to the inner-circle than any of the Others, including their leader. The Others help the inner-circle because they are “good” people and believe they have chosen the right path. This doesn’t mean they are really good in an ethical sense, but they are surely committed to a higher purpose, believe they are on the right side, and can do some crazy things because of their alliance with the inner-circle.

Who else is in the inner-circle? Maybe some of the deceased. That would explain the whispers. If you haven’t yet, look at the transcription efforts accumulated at Lostpedia. The deceased can somehow observe (whispers), and in some cases contact (Christian, Ben’s mother, Yemi), those on the island. But, it is only the “good” deceased (as judged by the inner-circle) who can observe and contact the living. I think. But why would the deceased be involved with this mysterious inner-circle? Are they guardians of the Underworld? Is Jacob the good guardian and MiB the bad guardian? Even though the mysterious substance that causes time travel has a scientific storyline, I think the reason that it is so mysterious may become relevant to a more supernatural storyline. That is, the island actually is a gateway to the Underworld.

The inner-circle (including Jacob) guards it. The Others are recruited to protect it. It is incidental that the mysterious substance that is also there causes time travel. One idea is that this stuff can unstick you from time completely (is that why Jacob and Richard don’t age?). That may also be because it is part of the eternal and timeless underworld. No children of Others can be born because they have somehow become marked by the touch of the underworld. But, the Others aren’t completely aware of this (not in the inner-circle), so they bring Juliette into town to try and change things.

Problems: Why does Locke want to kill Jacob?!? Is smokey protecting the inner-circle or MiB?

I think MiB CAN manipulate the image or body of the dead. I believe some version of those theories is true. I think the smoke monster is either MiB himself or at least on his team. So S5 Locke is MiB or FLocke. Locke in the coffin is real Locke and will somehow save the day when revived. Illana and co. are members of the inner-circle, that’s why Jacob is recruiting them. Once Locke is revived, he will become an official Other, maybe get into the inner-circle as well by defeating MiB. I think the cabin was a place for Jacob and inner-circle reps to meet with the living/human peoples, but the protective ash being broken meant that MiB somehow entered.
In conclusion, as cool as time travel may be, it is only part of the story. A lot of people want this island for its magic/energy substance, but may not realize that it is a gateway to the Underworld as well. Only Jacob, the dead who reside with him, and inner-circle people (Eloise, Richard) know that it is the Underworld gateway. The Others know more than most people, but they are not the inner-circle. They serve the inner-circle and are themselves prone to falls from grace. That’s why Widmore becomes selfish and why Ben (after being F’ed around with by MiB) turns on Jacob.

Chart:
Good Grey Area Bad

Jacob Undecided Losties MiB
Inner circle New Arrivals Selfish Plotters(Fringe DI)Richard Smoke Monster
Others’ leader deceased used by MiB Others Fallen Others (Widmore, Ben)
Good deceased