Why Richard Doesn't Age? by Momaphly

I’ve been kicking this idea around for a while and it is compiled from ideas that I have read in other theories. I am lazy and that may account for anything that I am about to write that may or may not be floating around in similar theories.

Jacob has been on the island for a very long time. Let’s assume during all of that time, MIB has been attempting to kill him. By examining what we think we know about MIB, it is safe to assume that he is able to take the form of persons deceased, while not being able to imitate living people. I am quite sure that this would account for the elaborate funeral the Other’s practice upon disposing of their own. Burning the body ensures that the corpse cannot be used by MIB in order to infiltrate the Others. If my theory is correct, Jacob would have passed this down to his followers.

The problem is, if there is no witness to someone’s demise, the MIB could be in the form of that person and continue to plot within the Other’s to take down Jacob. This could be true of their “Leader” such as the case with John Locke. With that possibility, there would be no one on the island that Jacob could trust. Unless of course there was someone who could not die on the island. I believe that Richard was made immortal for this very reason. No matter what else happened, Richard would always be someone who could be trusted because the MIB could never imitate him.

Thoughts?