Weaving of time by adammr

All right. This is less of a well-defined theory, and more along the lines of speculation.

1) I don't think this show is going to be pure analogy to Egyptian mythology, to Atlantis, to Greek mythology, or to what many consider Christian "mythology." That is, the show will NOT end with Jack or Hurley or Locke being sacrificed for the greater good of the world. That's just too much of a rip-off of Christianity. Instead, I think Darlton are creating new mythology here. Instead of being about sacrifice, it's about atonement. This is a tale not of gods, but of men. This show won't end with Ben (or someone else) being killed to save humanity. (But I think it could end with the decisions of the Losties to leave the events as they are, or to change them and live with the consequences they know will happen.)

2) 1977, 2004, and 2007 are critical points of time.

1977 - Sawyer et al. appear here after time flashes on-island. When Ajira 316 crashes, miraculously, they appear in 1977 even though they took off in 2007. This is a merging of time.

2004 - This is when the original crash occurred. Strangely, Desmond's misfortunes did NOT cause time travel here. Instead, they end up in 2004. This is also where the ALT begins.

2007 - When Ajira 316 crashes, Sun et al. appear in 2007 - no time changes. Jack et al. appear here after time flashes on-island (initiated by da bomb or maybe a time flash just before da bomb - perhaps the island saving itself?). So 1977 and 2007 are now merged.

Now the only loose end is how we deal with two Jacks existing in 2004's ALT and in 2007. Never before have we had to deal with time actually SPLITTING.

How do we deal with that? My idea is that the folks on the plane in the 2004 "ALT" who DON'T remember anything are the people who die on the Island at some point in the previous seasons or in the upcoming 2007 main time line. Those who DO remember things are the people who didn't die on the Island at some point. Meaning... at some point in 2007, someone does something that sinks the Island and causes all of their 2004-2007 souls to be re-inserted into their 2004 bodies, and the plane goes on.

Eh, maybe.