Wednesday, September 17, 2008

LT128: There Goes Peter Cottontail

PARADOX

A paradox is when you have conflict that may actually be true.

If you recall the leaked Comic Con video with the two #15 rabbits, then you know the good doctor was concerned about the two rabbits being near each other.

This lead one viewer to suggest that maybe Ben was transported to the desert, but that a copy of him stayed behind on the island. The part about “can never go back” would seem to compliment this idea.

However, it falls apart in that we aren’t likely to see Ben on the island when we return to Season 5. My bet is that the one - and only Ben - was sent to Tunisia. We have already had that fact confirmed when he killed a couple of guys, checked into a hotel and tracked down Sayid and the other Oceanic 6. While a copy COULD still exist on the island, we would have to put him into that ghost category. Then would that mean he would become part of the Whispering Group?

One theory is that the rabbits could not touch each other without something bad happening. However, they can share the same room as we witnessed. Unless something went bad and I missed it. For example, what if a black-hole-like-bad-thing did get created with two #15 rabbits in the room. And what if that black hole thing transported Dr. Candle’s/Halliwax’s left arm into the future. That would explain his false arm we see later. But then that means his left arm suddenly shows up in another time and place and that can lead to people being surprised, “Is that your leg?”

None of these ideas seem to fit all the time traveling clues we have been given.


YOU SILLY RABBIT

Our rabbit paradox is that we have two #15 rabbits. That just don’t seem right. A paradox though means that it is true! So-o-o-o-o…there ARE two #15 rabbits?

Maybe not. Consider Ayn Rand’s (author of the book “Atlas Shrugged” and indirectly referenced on the show) advice for contradictions. She says to recheck our premise, one of them is wrong.

The premise is that we have two #15 rabbits. We can correct the contradiction by stating that while we have two #15 rabbits, they are not the same rabbit.

This then removes the concept of parallel universes. It kills off the idea that we have 1,000 Jack’s and Locke’s in 1,000 different universes…the only difference being time. Instead, we have CLONES of Jack and Locke. We are left with copies instead of “multiple originals”.


DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE

The producers attempt to assist us by stating for the record that they are “paradox adverse”. They go on to point out that noting a character does in the past can change what we have already seen as the present or future. This is in stark contrast to the concepts in the movie, “Back to the Future”, where Marty could change events he already lived once.

It also contracts with the TV show, “Heroes”. That show says its characters can also travel backward in time, but they can change already lived events. Not so with LOST.

This means that the flash forwards we have seen can not and will not change due to some time travel back in time (either physical or mental). It also means we won’t see a Jack pop up somewhere and it not be the Jack we know and love.

Now this is all strange because it appears in flashbacks, Desmond most definitely has a different experience then when he first lived it – whether he buys the ring or not.

Let’s think this through.

Loop One: Desmond doesn’t buy the ring, he breaks up with Penny and he crashes on island
Loop Two: Desmond DOES buy the ring, he breaks up with Penny and he crashes on island

This is what the producers are telling us. Now what if Loop Two went like this:

Loop Two: Desmond DOES by the ring

Yeah, that’s all he does. What this implies is that Desmond is visiting history but so what because it doesn’t matter. Say he remembers the score from that soccer game in the bar and goes back and bets a bundle on the winner. When is returns, he is still poor as he is now.
It is just a visit in time…not much different then daydreaming about past “what if’s” or even a dream. Oh, he really goes back (mentally only as far as Desmond goes), but it really is just a walk down memory lane. Nothing more and nothing less.

The producers finish their clarification by pointing us to Mrs. Hawking (the jewelry store clerk).


HARE TODAY, GONE TOMORROW

To review…Mrs. Hawking knew Desmond’s name and tried to stop him from buying the ring this time. This strongly suggests that forces exist even when re-visiting the past to keep you from altering history. Oh, it is your dream, but even the dream police want you to replay the past the way it was first experienced.

Mrs. Hawking’s explanation begins by pointing out a man wearing bold red shoes. Moments later he dies and Desmond realizes this crazy lady KNEW it was going to happen. She confirms that she knew. Desmond asks why she didn’t stop it and her response is:

“Because it wouldn't matter. Had I warned him about the scaffolding tomorrow he'd be hit by a taxi. If I warned him about the taxi, he'd fall in the shower and break his neck. The universe, unfortunately, has a way of course correcting. That man was supposed to die. That was his path just as it's your path to go to the island. You don't do it because you choose to, Desmond. You do it because you're supposed to.”

Now this reinforces the producers claim that you can’t change the future by visiting the past. Notice that she throws free will out the window. Let’s face it, free will and religion are two doctrines attached at the hip! She instead proposes that “fate” is the reason things happen and like a scientific fact, you can’t change things just by wishing they were different.

Doesn’t point to the conclusion that Fate/Science triumphs over Faith/Religion?


HIPPITY HOP

How then can we reconcile what we see in the #15 bunny video with the rules of time that Mrs. Hawking explains?

It leads us back to duplicates or clones. It is the same DNA, but very different people. Instead of thinking “Back to the Future” we should think “Pet Cemetery”. In that film after the boy died he came back a mirror image of himself. The more I think about it the more this film does apply.

The idea is that death is the singularity of each “side” of a person. The resurrected boy in Pet Cemetery was in essence anti-matter. Does this mean that after Ben transported he too is now anti-matter? This might also explain his banishment from the island explained by the high exposure to whatever gets released when the Wheel turns…or when you turn a Fail Safe key in the tunnels under a hatch.

CONCLUSION

I just polished off my six-pack and I still don’t have a clue what is going on. LOL!

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Enjoy,
KC




Sunday, September 14, 2008

LT127: Wheels, What-If and Whispers

TIME MACHINE THEORY



If that doesn’t remind you of Back to the Future’s flux capacitor…we saw this in the Orchid hatch. The idea is that Dharma had learned to skip around time and probably used animals. We see the polar bear in the desert and the #15 rabbit in the leaked video.

There are schools of thought out there that are a couple of ways to control the time jumps – one with the machine and the other with the Dharma wheel.

Eventually, Dharma begins to use real human test subjects. Perhaps they didn’t intend to, but another research project – probably involving some virus – goes wrong and infect some of the Dharma scientists. With little prospect of a future, the infected most likely volunteer to go back in time. My theory is that they are cured because “back then” they weren’t sick…yet.

One important rule concerning this stuff is that one can never travel back further than when the Time Machine was first invented – probably the 1960’s or so. Maybe it was around the time Locke was born. Hmmm….


JEREMY BENTHAM

The producers have said the obit for Mr. Bentham was only a prop. However, it did include his name and it did detail how he died – both facts confirmed on the show So, I re-read Locke’s/Bentham’s obit and it states he has one surviving son.


SUMMER GAME UPDATE

The most common word used is “anti-climatic”. We are on Test #4 and other than a few hidden messages in the web pages, we don’t have really know where this is going. How is that any different than the TV show?

The last clue in Test #4 was “Mittlewerk” as in Thomas Mittlewerk, our friend from the Lost Experience game. Ok, he’s no friend of mine and is the new head of the Hanso Foundation.


APOLLO CANDY BARS

These chocolate delights have been seen on a BBC show called Primeval. Man, people don’t miss much out there.


WHISPERS FROM IZI

In case you missed the posted comment, Izi (a fan of Lost Tidbits and fellow blogger), writes to say he has some ideas on the Whispers. You can find his analysis here:
http://ncjl.wordpress.com/current-theories/the-whispers/

Thanks for the link, Izi.

Enjoy,
KC