LT327: I Am Richard

RICHARD TIDBIT

USA Weekend magazine had a brief bit about Richard Alpert. The actor tells the magazine, “The producers have never shared Richard’s background, so I make it up every week. I do a back story for myself, and just when I think I’ve figured the character out, I’ll open up the script for the next week’s episode and be like, ‘I was so off base.’”

Don’t worry, Richard, we feel the same way!


ESSAY: The Resurrection

The Bible story says that after Jesus was crucified he was resurrected three days later. I can’t help but notice how the number “3” has taken center stage on LOST lately. Then again, nearly every digit has had some role it seems. Still…

Anyone wonder why God waited three days to resurrect His son? What is so important about those three days anyway?

Protestant faiths will answer that question by pointing out its uniqueness. They say, “Hey who would pick three days if it wasn’t true?” In the world of academia that uniqueness holds a lot of weight. Then in 2008 a manuscript was discovered dating BEFORE Jesus. It said that Simon would be resurrected in three days. Could the later religion have borrowed from the previous?

My research took me to a character called Mirtha. It is always embarrassing and thrilling to learn something new as this Mirtha was brand new information to me. Leaving the details behind, the similarities between Mirtha and Jesus are so striking that it would make one think there was déjà vu going on!

I kept digging and discovered there are plenty of pre-Jesus stories about resurrection. One in particular caught my eye. It is from Egyptian mythology about a god who died and was resurrected THREE DAYS LATER. The god’s name is Horus. Ring any bells?

More research and it seems that back at the time of these writings that “3” was used to mean “small number”. Time and details were not kept like they are today. It is akin to us say we had “a couple” of beers – we don’t literally mean “two” but we do mean to say it wasn’t just “one”. So for the resurrection to be “three days” really means “a short while”. It could have been “some time later”, maybe even minutes.

FYI – likewise large numbers were meant just that, big. For example the 144,000 mentioned in the Bible could just mean “a lot”. The writers may simply have thought they were saying “infinity” by using a number with that many zero’s in that period of history.

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Imagine then John Locke’s life was destined to be what the flashbacks have indicated. He was meant to be a lonely cripple living out military fantasies, having arranged friends and conforming to whatever drug growing activities that happen to surround the people who he sought out for acceptance.

Above all, John Locke is selfish. Suicide has been called the most selfish act a person could do. John has tried to kill himself twice – at the Dharma pit and in the hotel room by hanging.

Notice also Locke has had numerous bandages on his legs from Ethan’s shooting to a shard from a failed attempt to open the Swan hatch. These leg events are God’s, Fate’s, the Universe’s, Whatever’s attempt to return John to his normal life course.

And then it is like Jacob looked down from Heaven and determined John Locke would become his servant.

Jacob allowed John the horror of having his kidney stolen by his own father. But Jacob knew he would have to have that kidney removed to survive the shooting at the Dharma Pit. Of course, that altered the fabric of the future because to lose the kidney it meant bringing Cooper into John’s life which in turn caused him to plunge out a high-rise window.

Jacob then healed John and kept him from dying on the grass after the fall.

Jacob course corrected John again at the Dharma Pit by sending a message and Walt to change his mind.

Jacob was delaying the original plan for John’s life until his death could serve a higher purpose (destiny). When ready, Ben was allowed to kill him in order to serve a higher goal of the killing of Jacob. John had to die in order for Jacob to die: that is Christ-like sacrifice.

If the comparison stays true, John will be resurrected. In three days. Just like Jesus and Horus and Mirtha. Maybe this time we will learn the real reason for that resurrection!

By the way, the Bible says that during those three days that Jesus preached victory over the fallen demons and unbelievers. Sort of what John Locke the Second seems to be gloating over. Hmm…


MORE ON RICHARD

Someone notice how unsure Richard seemed in Season 5. He appears completely unaware of time travel – as if he has lived his life but one time in chronological order. Yet he clearly doesn’t age.

It seems as if Richard IS just an advisor. That led me to wonder what character in literature closely resembles him. The thought that entered my mind and wouldn’t leave is that Richard represents humanity. Much in how we use Adam from the Bible to represent humanity. It has been claimed that Adam’s decision wasn’t my decision to eat the apple, so why am I being punished for his actions? The comeback is often, “He represents all of mankind which means that had you been the guy in the garden you would have made the same decision.” Oh.

So, in the same way, Richard is Humanity. Of course it doesn’t age as our single lifespan is but a blip on the history of time and Richard is representing us for a very long time. If he aged accordingly it looks like personkind is about 40 years old with a good 30 years left to go! Did I just say 30? LOL!


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Enjoy,
KC