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
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