Full fathom five thy father lies;
Of his bones are coral made;
Those are pearls that were his eyes:
Nothing of him that doth fade
But doth suffer a sea-change
Into something rich and strange.
The Tempest. Act i. Sc. 2
I would like to thank the following people for their theories and threads which have helped me to form my own. Thank you to Pinnerman for the Philadelphia Experiment. Chance for the Castaways Disconnect and everyone who contributed to it with info on Tesla's experimentation. To KillBuckner for thinking the island wants people to stay. I could not have done this without all of you. If I've forgotten others, please don't think it's intentional.
I've broken my theory into the main categories of the show. The island, the scientists/others, the numbers, the castaways and the animals
THE ISLAND I believe the Black Rock is a lava flow. But not just any lava flow. For some reason, this lava has a high density of iron in it (which would cause Sayid's compass to be off from true north) and due to some unknown agent at this point, formed a highly magnetic crystalline lattice structure. This structure can affect the physical structure of reality, in effect sending out waves of force that can pull a ship onto the rocks of the island. Or send out waves that tear apart an airliner in flight yet bring those pieces to ground with much less force than would normally occur. This helps explain why so many people survived the crash. Its impact with the ground was not as strong a force as would usually be. I think no other government group has found the island since because the high levels of nuclear run off from previous testing in the area mask the waves the island sends out.
THE SCIENTISTS (THE HATCH) Back in the late 40's some government operation (USA or other) chose a remote island in the south pacific to secretly work on a military offense/defense strategy of some kind or other. They sent a team to the island to set up a base camp and experimentation lab. They built their lab underground deep in the jungle so that any ship or plane that traveled past the island would think it was deserted. The hatch is an entry into this lab. The cable that the survivors followed to find Danielle, powers the lab via a power grid in the ocean. This team of scientist operates under a top secret hood like a CIA NOC would. The government will not admit they exist nor will they send a search team for them if something goes wrong. They will in essence cover up the entire operation. I think something went wrong at some point and all of the scientists were killed. Possibly by the lab animals they brought with them or from an accident caused by their work.
THE OTHERS Over time other people have crashed on the island. I think the others are people who have been stranded on the island. I think they have been changed by the black rock and can't see that they could leave the island. Like the French woman, they see new people as threats. Perhaps they have found a way into part of the science team's labs, perhaps not. I think Ethan is part of this group of people. They must believe that having a baby among them will be a good thing.
THE ANIMALS The animals can be explained in three ways. The scientists brought a variety of test animals with them that have mutated from the experimentation done to them. The large amounts of geomagnetic waves have slowly mutated animals that naturally existed there since the beginning of time. A cargo ship carrying zoo animals from Australia to San Diego crashed on the island where they have since mutated from the affects of the black rock and the added power from the science team.
THE CASTAWAYS How they got there: The combination of the black rock and the government scientist team's power generation can affect the physical structure of reality, in effect sending out waves of force that can pull a ship onto the rocks of the island. Or send out waves that tear apart an airliner in flight yet bring those pieces to ground with much less force than would normally occur. Because the power depends on the Earth's energy, depending on differing variables the black rock's power waves pulse. It is during these heavy pulses that the planes and vessels were brought to the island throughout time.
Why they act the way they do: Additionally, somehow the black rock affects people's perceptions/mind in some manner. One side effect could be increased tendencies towards paranoia and violence. In effect, heightening those aspects of a person but in differing amounts (since people are different). However, some people are affected more than others are as well, depending on how the waves affect their physiology. This could explain what happened to Danielle's group and why she thought they were sick. Also because of the combination of the black rock, lab and everyone's PTSD and will to live, people are able allow their desires, hopes, fears, dream, and if strong enough, thoughts warp reality in such a way as to have those things become real. So, Locke wants to walk so strongly that once he is within range of the field effect generated by the black rock and lab, he can walk. It also can explain his losing the ability: he was in an area where the waves for some reason were weaker, thereby weakening his ability to walk. This would also serve as the reason why Jack was able to bring Charlie back: he did will Charlie to live.
What they have in common: Six degrees of separation says that we are all connected. However it is true that some people have stronger psycho-emotional mental patterns, so it's plausible for these people to naturally flock together. This could also explain why there were so many survivors; the presence of so many people having such similar backgrounds and connections created a synchronicity of events that allowed the plane to crash without killing everyone. Is the connection of the castaways coincidence or destiny? Personally I believe in destiny. The island was their destiny. What happened in their lives to get them on the plane may not be predetermined, but it happened to get them on the plane. Many of them have negative baggage - lost/bent parents, issues with trust. Many of them have been affected by cons in some way - Kate, Sawyer, Locke, Claire, Michael, Jin,
Who they are: Adam & Eve-I think they may have been two crash survivors who didn't go to the black rock. They set up camp by the cave and lived and died there. Danielle-I believe her story. I take her at her word. Drug Runners-I think the Nigerian money, priest and maps are a rouse. They used those things to cover the fact they were smuggling drugs. They were not even from Africa. When the plane was going down the ÒpriestÓ jumped from the plane. His partner survived the crash and shot him. His partner was then eaten by the Òmonster?Ó Ethan-His plane crashed recently and he was becoming ÒsickÓ from the black rock.
THE NUMBERS I don't believe the numbers are cursed. I believe they are a code. Which came first, the code or the etchings in the hatch? Who knows? Since the scientist team is a covert operation, they must communicate with the government through code. The numbers are a part of this code. They might have been trying to communicate some specific message when they were killed so the numbers ended up playing over and over. When Danielle changed the signal she in essence stopped the scientists from communicating with the main government. Since the communication stopped, the government thinks they are dead and covers up the work. I think that the six degrees of separation theory explains why all the castaways have these numbers in common. If we looked into our own lives we could find all of these numbers as well. Think about how if you ask someone to pick a number between 1 and 10, they will most likely choose 7. This seems random, but as we've seen in the show Numb3rs, it may not be. My address is 815 Pecan Grove. My mom died when she was 42.
Am I missing something? Probably. Please fill in the holes.
sunnyelou
Sunnye - Not that my opinion matters in the voting, but I am suitably impressed. You're obviously a fan of the show and think about it on a regular basis.
As far as the challenge goes, you actually did homework, thought about things and put it all together quite nicely. You gleaned information from some of the best theories we have on the boards so it proves you've read a lot of things even if you haven't actively participated in some of the idea formulation. That's what this board is about - sharing ideas and coming up with your own.
As far as theories go, some of what you've said actually has the potential to mean something.
JacksGirlfriend
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or from an accident caused by their work.------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hmmmm. Never thought of that. Very interesting. You're entire theory is great too.Bloom Fan77
Good read, Sunnye. This isn't generally my favourite type of theory, since I lean more towards the fantastic rather than the mundane, but as far as the "explanations within modern simple reality" theories go, yours is very good and very well written.
SelfProjectRealized
I love your idea about power/sound waves coming from the black rock and downing the plane. It's already been said that "turbulance" could no way have caused the plane to crash so your theory makes sense. Great read!
mellis012
Yes, I think this thoery goes a long way toward tying together what we know. And I think the more mundane, the more believable, therefore the more potentially fulfilling and dramatic, as it is easier to suspend one's disbelief.
drabauer
Sunnyelou! We should go bowling some time. I like it. Your theory corresponds with my initial take on the 'island' and the 'experiment'. Just one note. I was thinking that maybe the research was biological in nature or when the special properties of the island were discovered opened many avenues for the researchers which included a number of experiments. A crystalline based solid (possibly lithium) extending from the lava flow would have two receptacles for energy, your electromagnetic power from the earth and also energy absorbed from the sun (creating a dual/polar oppositional or complimentary output). Or its a one way flow, extending a light field into the atmosphere that carries with it a code, the light then beams down onto the island changing the various living organisms and elements therein. Anyway thanks for your input.
Jays tao
Jay, I get the part about the light being absorbed but I'm not quite sure what you mean by this:
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Or its a one way flow, extending a light field into the atmosphere that carries with it a code, the light then beams down onto the island changing the various living organisms and elements therein------------------------------------------------------------------------
Are you saying that the black rock gives off light that carries some kind of bioenergy that causes mutations?ChanceGardener
In a nut shell, yes..... I was thinking more of an invisible prism of some sort shooting upward over the island from the black rock/crystal. Perhaps it stores this energy during the day and disperses it in ultraviolet radiation of some sort during the night (or continuously). Light from the sun then interacts with this field and is absorbed by way of photosynthesis and other natural absorption on the island. I was thinking the crystal also resonates with some kind of ultrasonic harmonic which also might be another way of dispersing energy gathered from geo- thermal deposits or solar energy......
o.k, I'm not a scientist and most of this is talking out of my Ase, but this was the gist of what I think a possible scenario 'might' resemble for Sunnyelou's experiment. If the Polar bears were used as test subjects then their unique qualities (light absorption, adaptation, nomadic wondering, intelligence) would be a reason 'why' they were chosen and for the type of experiment conducted. I was just wondering what kind of natural or continuous energy might be used if the experiment were in some way still active. This is all to much, I'm going to have a lie down (though I'm at work so I'll have to be discreet).
Jays tao
Ok then, would that mean that the Black Rock is living? Or that the process is strictly reactionary? Cause if its like photosynthesis, that's a process used by living things, but if strictly reactionary, that'd be like when crystals give off electrical currents when physically stressed (or vice versa).
And with it giving off mutating rays, would that have something to do with the stobor then?
Or is all this getting off track from the original premise?
ChanceGardener
er,.... no. I think. I'm big on the black rock being primarily neutral in substance (though the black rock might be simply a location for whatever this crystal idea or whatever to exist). That is to say it acts as a catalyst for more socially inclined0 elements of the lost island. So it is 'reactionary' as you put it, however those elements it effects (plants?, polar bears? People? Air, water.....) may have agenda's that have developed as a result of this (especially if there were a living hive like symbiosis of some sort on the island). But I think resonance is important since the idea of sound plays a great part on LOST. Locke seems to be able to hear things people can't *(like the dog can hear the whistle). I also think water might act as a final deposit for this energy (hence the sea absorbs the energy of this effect stopping it from extenuating past the boundary of the island or something like that or it might reflect the energy upward causing distortions around the island).
Sunnyelou's talks about magnetism, this perhaps could act in the same way maybe? But it couldn't be a constant could it? Other wise watches and knives would go flying of toward whatever this thing was. How does magnetism work? That large metal objects could be substantially effected but not smaller objects? Could water act as an enhancer of this magnetic effect?
*Chance I'm not sure what you mean by Stobor.
Jays tao
Well, I've always liked the sound theory as an explanation for some of the things happening (the crash, the whispers) so maybe this crystal lattice in the black rock could be the generator of that effect. A natural side effect of some kind.
Magnetic field strength is affected by distance, proximity of magnetic masses (large iron ore deposits could affect the magnetic fields in that location), and by shielding effects (ie mountains, buidings, Faraday cages, etc.) Water has minimal impact on magnetic field strengths as far as I know, so I doubt water is affecting things that way. Now as a carrier for chemical runoff, yes. Also, I don't know if you can effectively focus magnetic fields; I'm pretty sure you can't have magnetic beams for instance that pull iron from one direction but not from anywhere else. You make a magnet, it pulls from all directions equally, barring any impediments that would block the field.
Stobor is how I reference the monster; I feel its a more accurate term.
ChanceGardener
Thanks for the low down on magnetism. Frankly I think it might simply be one possible property of the black rock/crystal type catalyst. I'll have to look into it at some point. My thinking is that there is some element in the air, a chemical or a living bacteria/organism that is effected by the resonance of the crystal harmonic that allows for certain phenomena to take place. It is accessed by way of open wounds and breathing. However it may be neutralized by other elements also affected by either the resonants of the crystal or some other related phenomenon.
A government experiment does seem to ring true of the islands mechanical properties (control tower/hatch), but the idea that they tried to cover it up for this long and with very limited results (all sorts of people now inhabit the island), seems far fetched. I think it was more a lone gun type operation either by an isolated group of people (probably fanatics) or by a top secret facility that went AWOL and did their own thing and are now lost. The island is definitely displaced somehow, either physically from the castaways plane of existence, or through some conspirital activity occurring in the outer world (that is either no longer controlled but still operating out of its own dogmatic mechanics or is still actively enacted by some agency).
Jays tao
Yea, lots of folks keep mentioning the island can't be hidden as its too big and would be inhabited by now in the day and age. I like the idea that the affects reality in some fashion. Maybe the magnetic fields do something with various spots around the globe, pulling in things or people from all over. And maybe it shifts the island into a different reality, so that they aren't really in THIS world but other worlds and that is how Boone got a radio transmission; he contacted an alternate version of Flight 815 survivors - maybe even ones from the same flight who slipped into a different reality. Rose's husband maybe?
And I agree with you that things seem to be uncontrolled, as if the experiment was on idle or test mode. I suppose we'll have to see if they show any more about the hatch next episode, or if it will only focus on Claire and Boone.
ChanceGardener
I'll be honest and tell you what influences me directly that the crystal is responsible for some kind of multi-dimensional effect. For me it's literary connection is from marvel comics, where there was this cosmic crystal like relic that was the center piece for all possible/multiple worlds (crystals generally have appeared a number of times in various multiple world scenarios).
This dimensional literary mythology probably stems from the multiple facets of a crystal particularly in the way it bends light and resonates. Anyway the multi-dimensional story works for me as well. I hadn't fleshed it out but I had this idea that the original experimenters were from another parallel dimension (or a possible tangent of the castaways own world) but were now deceased or 'changed' and something went wrong and the project was never completed. I think there are several forces on the island, some wanting the project completed and others wanting the islands 'limbo' to continue existing.
The experimenters from this other dimension were either the castaways themselves 'or' their parents and it is this genetic strand which is vital to solving the mystery of the island and completing the project. Perhaps some paradox is at work here where physical matter can't suddenly exist in a reality that it never existed though theoretical matter might be carried across (hence the numbers are being used to create the appropriate cause and effect situations needed for the island entity's (ies) escape/salvation). The island is stealing the genetic material from other dimensions (that is to say the original experimenters or their prodigy). Maybe theres a two way paradox existing that involves some kind of destiny (though I'd like to think its' a destiny of choice) as a product of linear time/multi-dimentional logistics (this happened in this future/reality so this 'must' happen in this past/reality and vice versa). Probabilities and possibilities that revolve and are controlled around a single nexus point 'the island' la, la, la.
Lastly if the island's quasi existents is in someway responsible for some of the castaways existents, maybe they have an instinctual relationship with the island. Just as turtles 'instinctively' know what beach they originated. The numbers and the consequences of using them eventually draw these 'turtle' gene pools back to their original source.
Jays tao
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Why they act the way they do------------------------------------------------------------------------
Haven't you heard that they act the way they do because of bad writers?Warthawg1
I've also heard some people say the Earth is flat, that the Moon landings were faked, and that size doesn't really matter.
ChanceGardener
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Yea, lots of folks keep mentioning the island can't be hidden as its too big and would be inhabited by now in the day and age.------------------------------------------------------------------------
For what it's worth, I've considered 3 different theories -- which do not rely on the island having special properties -- to explain why it is hidden.1. The Lower Elbonia theory. Let's say one of the passengers of the doomed flight 815 brought an atlas of the world with them on this trip, and Sayid that has it, & has also determined the precise location of the island. He turns to the proper page in the atlas, sees that Shannon is right: there actually is a Craphole Island some hundreds of miles to the east of Fiji. In other words, it exists & is documented in the fictional universe of Lost -- but not ours.
I named this theory for the fictional land in the comic strip Dilbert, but the name of any fictional locale works just a well.
The drawback of this theory is that it starts to bend the rules of what's permitted. What's next? Do we learn that Shannon was born in West Wyoming? That one of the red shirts has a doctorate in the geography of the South Pacific & did his thesis on Craphole island?
2. Slid thru the cracks theory. As Sayid pointed out in one of the first episodes, while the PTB watches the earth with sattelite-mounted cameras, someone has to point those cameras. This theory presumes that over the last 200 years of exploration, this island eluded discovery thru a combination of luck & human error.
If the island is far enough away from the usual shipping lanes & occupied islands, it is conceivable that no ship in either the 19th or 20th centuries stumbled across it; as far as anyone knows, this island is nothing more than another few square miles of open sea.
If that condition can be accepted, then it becomes conceivable that study of the various satellites photographing the earth have failed to furnish proof of Craphole Island's existence. Much of the ocean surface is covered by clouds at any given time, so a technician studying the accumulated photos of the South Pacific may not see land where it exists. As for the times when the island is not covered by clouds, its presence may missed by technicians due to human error: if you are a bored office worker, whose job entails staring at photos all day of clouds & open water, the chances are good that you could miss seeing a sizable island -- especially if you aren't looking for any islands.
This theory could be linked to another theory that something is making Craphole Island hard to detect.
There are 3 problems with this theory. First is the "bright young intern" factor: that despite decades of bored technicians somehow overlooking the existence of Craphole Island, an enthusiastic individual who takes this boring chore seriously does notice the Island, & thereby gains fame for discovering a new piece of land, which the US (or the responsible government) promptly places a claim on.
The second problem is that, as I'm sure Jay's Tao (& others) will point out, much of the Pacific was explored in an unsystematic but thorough manner by Polynesian sailors. These sailors were not necessarily looking for a specific place to land; many were on the losing side of a civil war, & offered the choice of several canoes, provisions, & the chance to sail as far away as they could go -- or death. Thus, these peoples would have been more than happy with any reasonable amount of dry land they could find, build homes on, & make a living. So it's hard to accept that even if Western explorers missed finding Craphole Island over the last 200 years, that the Polynesians missed finding it over about a thousand years of sailing. And so far we have not seen any evidence of Polynesian settlement.
Which brings me to the final objection to this theory: if this island has not been discovered, where did the hatch Boone & Locke discover come from? If we argue a non-terrestrial source, then there is the problem of the Civil Defense equipment that Coyote has identified in Danielle's hut. All of this argues that the island is known to someone -- most likely with ties to the US government.
3. The under the radar theory. This theory admits that the island was discovered & its existence is recorded somewhere, but asserts that at some point in the last several decades its existence has been quietly suppressed. In other words, if PhD student researched her/his thesis on the geography of the South Pacific, this student might notice that although Craphole Island was described & charted once or several times by whalers, explorers or other sailors, for some unknown reason all mention ends at a specific point; it's as if the island vanished.
This theory is plausible, to a degree. Travellers' accounts do contain errors & mistakes in identification, so a researcher decades later might conclude that what a sailor called Craphole Island was either some misidentified clouds or a known island. And during WWII, there was a fair amount of secrecy, so if a poorly-known island in the South Pacific vanished from the reference books, no one might notice.
The problem is how to explain that this island remained secret. After all, explorers' accounts are scattered in archives across the world, not all of which have been cataloged, let alone are under the control of a groups of spooks eager to suppress all knowledge of this place. Eventually a researcher will notice that Craphole Island vanished around 1940, a peculiarity that can't help but draw attention to itself. Unless we assume that there is a black ops team working to keep it under the radar of public knowledge, knowledge of this island will eventually leak into public knowledge. (Consider Area 51, the world's most famous secret base.)
And if Craphole Island if still actively kept a secret, then our Survivor's safety will not end once they get off of the island.
llywrch
Thanks Chance and Jay for the big brain conversations. My head still hurts. But I do appreciate you diving into my theory more and coming up with some more answers and/or questions. I am in no way sciency. I majored in social work and never took physics or chemistry so I personally can't really dive into what I think is going on with the black rock. I can only imagine through my simple brain. And this is where my theory was formed.
While all the in-depth physics and heavy math and such theories are great (I applaud the people who spend so much time researching them and deciphering them for us simple brained folks) I try to remember that this is a TV show on a major network. It has to appeal to millions of people. And as we can see week after week, millions of people like shows about people trying to become singers, or people speed dating to find a spouse or crime labs who solve every case with just the exact evidence needed. So while I think the writers do spend a lot of time thinking up the back stories for the characters and the island, I don't think they are headed off into outer space or Einsteins's theories for why things are the way they are.
And yes Hawg, I do think the writing can be inconsistent, causing the characters to act off sorts, but I don't think that is the sole reason behind it. And I can't wait to every week watch and find out if I'm right.
sunnyelou
Well even if it is a major network show they can make use heavy math science, what we probably won't have is a professor Frink to come up and explain the physics to us.
They can just say, hello meet the time machine, and that's that. No quantum mechanics involved, just a few springs , a couple of bulbs, a bunch of loose screws and pinbal machine parts.
THe brainiacs are trying to explain us what shred of science could be behind the plot. ANd I thank them a lot. It's both entertaining and formative.
It's the old Horatian motto, "prodesse et delectare"
lacenaire
llywrch, great observations. This was why I thought that it must be some kind of physical displacement of some sort rather then conspiracy or human error (though it's displacement may have been a result of this). There is one problem in regards to the isolation of the island as has been noted by way of the Hawaiki thread. There are large mammals/pigs on the island (not to mention Polar bears but for now lets just ignore that tangent). Whether it is just an error on behalf of the writers, who knows but this could offer a big clue in regards to the history of the island.
According to the creators no one has ever escaped from 'the island'. But the pigs were brought here by some outside agency (they don't occur naturally on isolated islands). So Polynesian or some sea fearing people came to the island centuries before (presumably Polynesians though it could be some later exploration such as the Spanish). Presumably who ever tried to colonize the island died there (because no one has ever escaped the island). So the weird properties of the island travel far back into human history (giving credit to the Noah's arc/Hawaiki/Bermuda triangle theories).
Or, the original experimenters brought the pigs to the island with them (Philadelphia /genetic manipulation type experiment theory). Why? Maybe because they realized that the island was possibly going to be an arduous one way trip, so, like some kind of weird exploration expedition they brought the pigs so they could 'survive' of the island. Under this short term premise what the creators really mean by 'the island' perhaps is the island as a result of the 'phenomenon/ displacement'.
No one has escaped the island as worm hole vortex. So the creators are distinguishing between people leaving the island before this effect and people not escaping/leaving after once this effect took place. This brings me to an idea based on a 'sliders' type scenario. The island is one big exploration vassal, sliding in between dimensional states of existence. If this were the case maybe there is no 'time' on the island as we define it. Time is sliding through various other states of linear time.
The island has a history before its weird quasi-displacement effect took place but ultimately its sliding between dimensions creates a sort of horizontal linear time (that might slowly progress through normal linear time in stages). This could ultimately be proved if some evidence was found that any one of the French expedition/capsule-hatch/Nigerian priest-plane/Ethan/Adam and Eve tangents originated from a more recent date then what was predicted from the evidence of their captivity/deterioration. But I'm not betting that that will come soon.
lastly, the pigs have been manifested by some force on the island and are not natural (but that opens all sorts of other doors).
Jays tao
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