Volcanic Taoism by Xhin

Hi all, long time reader, first time poster. After thinking a lot about the finale and the mysteries of the show in general, I think I came up with something that can explain a bunch of both major and minor mysteries within the show.

This theory is by no means perfect. It doesn't explain everything, and trying to extend the current version of it too far will only stretch it where it can't go.

== The Actual "Source"

The actual source of the island is its volcanic core, not the light. The volcanic core is the source of both the light and the smoke monster. Bear with me here!

Throughout the "underworld" of the island are places that are very close to this Source. If they are filled with water, they are sections of "The Light". Otherwise, they are sections where dark volcanic smoke can escape, which I will call "Cerberus Vents".

The Light has a kind of "pushing out" or "exploding" energy, while the dark has a "pulling in" or "imploding" energy. Light is all about life, Dark is all about death. The two are in balance, and while neither is good or evil, they both have a metaphysical connection to "the soul" and are judges of it.

== The Smoke Monster

The smoke monster is both a physical being and a spiritual one.

Physically, it dark volcanic smoke. When it moves out, it is literally wafting out of a Cerberus Vent. When it is moving out, it's like smoke, it can split into multiple streams, it's mostly insubstantial, etc. However, since it is the embodiment of this "dark implosion" energy, it can also "return to the source", increasing its density and dragging whatever is in it with it.

In short, the mechanical noises the smoke monster makes are the sound of the smoke returning to the source magnetically.

Spiritually, the smoke monster is made up of the souls of people who have been judged by the source. Their souls aren't necessarily missing, I liken it more towards taking a piece of their souls.The key distinction between this and other theories is that people don't have to be dead in order for the smoke monster to "claim" their souls.

People who are "special" give the smoke monster more abilities. I think originally the smoke monster couldn't travel very far away from Cerberus vents until the MIB came along, which is why it veritably exploded out of the heart of the island. Also that claiming John Locke's "soul" gave the smoke monster the loophole to kill Jacob, not necessarily just Ben.

If you want to take it a step further (and I'll admit this is a stretch), MIB's ambitions to leave were what allowed the smoke monster to travel further than it could before, and John Locke's central motivation of "Don't tell me what I can't do!" were what allowed the smoke monster to break a major rule (killing Jacob).

== Ben, Claire, and Sayid

These were the three people that the smoke monster was allied the most with throughout season 6 (and events that happened between season 4 and season 6, in the case of Claire). I don't think it's a coincidence that these were also the other three people who were "Claimed" by the smoke monster.

The smoke monster actually seemed protective of Ben and Claire, who were not candidates, and even beyond a "I need you" sense. I think it's because he had a piece of their souls so had a kind of affinity with them.

On to Sayid.. Losing a piece of your soul makes you seem like a "zombie" in sayid's and claire's case.. and it probably affected Ben long-term, turning him into the mastermind he became. Also when smokey claimed Sayid, he gained his abilities, which is why, when he neared the plane, he used sayid's characteristic neck-breaking on the widmore people who were there, and also had the ability to rig C4 very quickly despite not leaving the island for thousands of years.

== "Implosive" energy in general

The wells around the island where places were light and dark were balanced. They contained The Light (like the place where the FDW was built) but also strong electromagnetism (When MIB threw the knife, it stuck to the side of the well)

Both the hatch/incident area and the heart of the island are "corking" that implosive energy which, incidentally, is what is responsible for the island sinking -- pieces of the island literally imploding towards the volcanic Source.

One thing I noticed on rewatching the finale is that when the water was drained out of the Light Pool, the shape of the light that was left was the exact shape of a black hole. I think that's yet another hint they left.

== The Light

The light counterbalances the dark implosive energy. It is formed whenever water runs across places close to the Source. Draining it out makes the light go out briefly, thus upsetting the balance and releasing implosive energy.

Light in the form of water heals people at the temple, drinking something in water form seems crucial towards a candidate taking over, and the wine that richard drank gave him immortality. Water seems to transfer that "source energy", even on a person-by-person basis.

The heart of the island released the very "Lets make the entire island implode" energy, while smaller drains like the one in ben's closet summon a smaller form of implosive energy (the smoke monster in this case). My guess is that the button in the hatch redirected underground water over the source area every 108 minutes, and the failsafe released a giant pool of underground water into the area. The resulting light generated from that was enough to make the entire island light up.

With that in mind.. imagine if the entire island sank. Then the water that covered the source would be the ocean itself and the resulting light from that would literally be enough to destroy the world.

== The light moves things

There is a loooooot of evidence for this. Both of the people who went into the heart of the island came out at a random spot in the jungle. The FDW moves whoever/whatever moves it into Tunisia (Ben, the Polar Bear, John Locke) as well as moves the island in general through space and time.

Jughead's explosion moved the losties back to their original time (although this is probably a stretch, and there's still a lot about that plotline that I'm not clear about). The failsafe released a bunch of water into the Source area, and the light that came from that teleported the losties who were in the hatch throughout the jungle (Poor Eko landed in a Polar Bear's cave).

== The island is like a giant pseudo-magnet

Aside from certain bearings (which I'll get to in a moment), the light can move things out of different planes of reality/alternate timelines/times. Desmond and Minkowski both had their consciousnesses from other times implanted into their body.

I think this explains ALL of desmond's abilities.. from being able to "see the future" to having his consciousness from eight years ago planted in his current body to being able to see the ALT.

Furthermore, the episode "The Constant" offers a *MAJOR CLUE* towards what the ALT is.. an actual alternate dimension where the consciousnesses of dead losties got moved to after they died. I might expand this in another theory at some point, because I don't want to stress it too much here.

== The island isn't itself purgatory, but the light can move dead people OUT of purgatory to itself

Which explains all of the apparations of dead people aside from the ones the smoke monster impersonated. Emily, Isabella, Jacob, Christian (I think the smoke monster picked up on the fact that he was showing up a lot so decided to impersonate him, or he was simply lying), jacob/mib's mother, the boy jacob, Kate's horse?, etc.

The whispers are like the Light's version of the smoke monster.. a bunch of dead people who are stuck in limbo, and the light gives them some access to the island. They aren't trapped on the island, they're *actually* in limbo, but the light moves their souls to and from the island.

The cabin contains the ghost of Horace as seen from Locke's vision.. he may in fact be that "other person" who was in the cabin the time Hurley stumbled upon it. I predict that because the ghost is tied to ghost Horace, or it may even be a "ghost cabin", it can move around like the rest of the ghosts on the island can.

== Back to the pseudo-magnet... bearings, numbers, and the lighthouse

Here is where the pieces come together. The lighthouse gives a major clue towards what bearings and the numbers are. It's also, according to my theory, a pun almost as horrible as the cork of the island being an actual "cork".

The light can move away from the island on certain "bearings" which are direct lines from the island to people on the mainland. Since everything is in balance, the "implosive" energy also runs on those lines, which is why those people are literally "drawn" to the island. If the island is a circle (going back to the original name of LOST here), then each candidate is a line drawn away from the island on the degree that corresponds to their "number".

Because of that line, whoever operates the lighthouse can see that person's life by setting the giant compass to the right bearing, since the connection is two-way.

Furthermore, if you knew the current numbers, you'd know which bearings you'd be able to leave the island by, instead of inadvertently going in a circle like Desmond did when he tried to leave in season 2. Presumably the others got this knowledge through the lists they got from Jacob.

The theory fails somewhat when you consider that the bearings given in the show (325, 305, 108) don't match the bearings of the candidates, except that they may have been oriented from something like magnetic north instead of the compass rose's 0, and as we know from sayid, magnets act funny around the island. It's also possible that 0 degrees changes depending on where the island is in time (Daniel was the one who mentioned the time shifts causing the island to "spin around" like a top, as well as the one who said that he'd have to calculate a new bearing based on where they were in time)

ANYWAY..

The light is able to project things along these lines, which is how christian appeared on the freighter (bearing 305), to his son (lighthouse bearing 23), and how jacob can seemingly move off the island (project himself through whichever lighthouse bearing corresponds to a candidate). Explains hurley's visions of dead people off island too, the light would just project the dead person's image through bearing 8.

== Conclusion

Again, this theory doesn't answer everything, but it goes a long way towards connecting seemingly unrelated mysteries, which is exactly the kind of thing the writers would have done.

Also Mr. Clucks serves fried hurley bird :P