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Flash ANYways…

There is obvious conscious flashing on Lost from the 2007 timeline into the 2004 off island flash sideways.
It has also been obvious that people can connect with their on island conscious through death, or what I percieve to be the opposite, life at its best moment…love.
It seems that touch is a great way to connect one with ‘another life’. Desmond, Jacob, and Libby all show how touch can be a vital part of connecting one with their other life/timeline/self.
We have seen Charlie and Sun make connections through near death experiences, Sun recognizing Locke as ‘Him’ when being taken into the hospital being the first we have seen of someone seemingly remembering the monster.

So the question is, if they can flash from the island to the flash sideways…then can MIB flash through Locke…and is that what he is ultimately trying to accomplish…not escaping on the plane?

What if the monster can flash in the way that others can, meaning that if MIB looks and FEELS what John Locke did, then the monster could escape into the world through Locke…meaning Jack should NOT save him on the operating table…
And by not saving him, it could bring out John Locke on the island through the monster…
This is sort of trivial when looking at the main point of my theory so far…which is simply that Locke does carry at least a few memories or thoughts somehow of the monster most likely through the islands properties and through Losts system of reincarnation BEFORE he arrives on the island.

So… I think there is more to it. I think that because of the time traveling and the timelines, there has somehow been a connection between Locke and the Monster for all of Lockes life as we know it. The first sign of his being a part of Locke comes while Locke is a boy…drawing a picture of a bald stick figure being engulfed in a puff of black smoke…regardless of the art skills of young Locke…the connection between he and the Monster is there. Thats what I think the picture signifies…the connection between Locke and Smokey…

Certain things John knows such as drastic rain/stoppage of rain, or just simply what to do or where to go sometimes shows us again that there is some kind of connection. That along with what is or isnt supposed to happen to him sometimes shows us that there is more than just faith there…there is knowledge. Normal children dont draw pictures of themselves being attacked by large pillars of smoke on an island that eventually happens, and grown men cant predict the weather…John has faith in knowledge that is embedded in his conscious, soul, and destiny… whether he wants it there or not.

SO…
Then we have to stop and ask ourselves…if there was a part of the monster in John Locke the entire time, does that connect the monster with another who he acted as…?

Does that connect him to the man who John Locke had to play proxy to…?

Was there a real world connection between the Monster and Christian Shephard as there was between it and John Locke?

It makes sense of you think about it. Not that the monster necessarily controlled the two off island, but that it could possibly see what they see…know what they know. We know that he knows what John knows.
John believed in himself being special, and Christian believed in Jack being special as well…and by knowing this, maybe tried and curbed his specialness in an effort to stop his son from having to deal with what was to come. Possibly fighting off the dark side that is the monster within…

He tried to hold Jack back so that he didnt become a great man, because just as John Locke seemed to know the island very well, and almost remembered things that the monster knew…I believe Christian Shephard shared that very same connection.

I think because the monster almost ‘shares’ consciousness with these people, they have the ability to harness what the monster knows as well (for example the picture), its just a matter of realizing what they are seeing. Christian, unlike John may have been capable of this to a higher level. Although he made frequent trips to and from Australia because of Claire, I cant help but feel that that it began with the island being the reason he went to Australia to begin with. Destiny effecting the Shephard family on a level that only Christian Shephard knows.

Christian may have know that he was to go to the island…he may have had visions or memories about it much like Locke. But these memories, again much like Locke, may have been someone elses…they may have been MIBs/The Monsters from another life where that person died and was ‘consumed’ and ‘used’ by The Monster. You have to think of time being anything but linear…

I believe Christian was well aware of the path his son was on…and somehow through reincarnation, conscious flashing, or island time travel/separate timelines, he knew this because of MIBs future/past use of his body, and was either pushing him along the way to ‘greatness’… or trying desperately to save his son, even if it meant self destruction as a father and man along the way.

Lost has pushed ‘time’ to its very limit…divided space as if they were cutting a birthday cake.
By doing so, it has enabled the impossible…possible, and allowed miracles to happen.
People have been given gifts of not just seemingly magical abilities, but gifts of second chances.

There is obvious opposites on Lost…light/dark, good/evil, life/death…and what seems to be the next ‘polar’ opposite…physical/’non-physical’ existence…
Dont call foul on Christians appearances on the freighter and in the hospital just yet. As John Locke told Jack…his fathers body and his father are two very different things…and as Isabella will always be with Ricardo…Christian will most likely always be with Jack…so lets not forget…Jack was on the freighter just before it blew as well.

But with an entity like the Smoke Monster running around, Jack has to know the difference between his father and his body…and I think that will be the hardest decision Jack will ever have to make.
The physical body/memories may be used by MIB, and the soul/conscious may be governed/used/helped by Jacob.

I believe that life and death mean everything and nothing on Lost, and as Achallis latest theory “May I borrow A Cup Of Consciousness” points to… no matter what happens, as long as a part of you, in my opinion…even if not physical, but only the conscious or soul exists, you cant ever really die…because even if you do, Lost has created a scenario in which you can always just ‘flash anyways’…and live another (“an other”? hmm…) life…
What you do with that other life…with that second chance…is what will define your existence as a person forever.

That is about the best I can do right now relating Christian, his appearances, Jacob, MIB/The Smoke Monster, Locke and Jack to make any sense of what is going on…I tried my best…I hope it makes some sort of stupid sense.

Thank you very much for your time…

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Written by

A.E.S.

Abbot Enheduanna Schwarzschild Name meaning: -Abbot: Father defined by or in religious connotation/definition. From the beginning, Lost was riddled with religious tone and it was obvious it would play some sort of role. Seemed fitting to start here. -Enheduanna: Mesopotamian High Priestess and the modern civilization’s first recorded poet. I created the name after season 1. John explaining backgammon history to Walt spawned the idea that the island may have a link yo the beginning of civilization and maybe even time itself. It was “poetic” and important to add this to my pseudonym. I needed the mother of poetry in modern civilization to match the religious “Father” in my first name. -Schwarzschild: Reference to Karl Schwarzschild and Schwarzschild Black Holes. Smoke monsters, hatches, and curing paralysis doesn’t point to black holes…but the sci-fi elements ran deep and obvious. The wheel moving the island and transporting Ben felt like it got plucked from my imagination. A.E.S.

27 thoughts on “Flash ANYways…

  1. Very interesting ideas A.E.S, i like it. regarding MIB wanting to get off the island, i can’t believe that what’s going on at the moment is the only way MIB can get off the island (ie flying).

    all this about him helping and needing the losties to assist him to get off the island is in my eyes, rubbish. if the plane is MIB’s apparant method of escape, why has no one killed Lapidus, the only pilot on the Island??? Or why didn’t MIB just take Libby/Desmond’s boat to leave?

    We are 3 episode away from the the finale and i don’t think we actually know what’s really going on. MIB does seem intent of escaping the Island but that’s the only thing that seems true and if his method of escape is via flashing to the alt universe, that would be a very interesting twist.

    Regarding the point about if people’s souls or conscience still exist in some form, i don’t think we’ve seen the last of the whispers. Maybe Hurley will be able to use the soul’s of people who haven’t passed on (like Michael) in fighting MIB, i don’t know, just a wild guess!!

  2. Yeah, I don`t really think he`s actually planning on leaving on that plane. A hint that the plane is really useless from last episode was when Sawyers gang was getting in the boat and he mentioned the only way anyone from the dharma initiative got off the island was in a sub (i.e desmond`s boat would simply not be able to leave, the island would stop it and the plane wouldn`t cut it either) And presumably MIB knows the plane is useless as well and was only using it too lure the losties together for his devious scheme to unfold.

  3. AES,

    Interesting stuff (I always look forward to reading whatever you post)…. I can definitely relate to some of the stuff you talk about here, especially tat relating to Locke and his “ultimate” relationship with the island, and specifically with Smokey. As I posted recently, I think there is so much more to this story relating back to that drawing of him when he was just a boy. His link with the island is as deep as it gets, no wonder he plays such an important role in the show…

    …just like Jack, whose father plays another key part in LOST as I’m sure we’re about to find out. The Shephard family, just like the Widmore/Hawking/Faraday faimly, are key to the whole story – and Christian will emerge as a major player before the end of the show. Granted.

    I have to admit I have trouble buying/believing all the time-travel stuff going on in the show – for me it’s an easy escape in terms of explaining “unexaplainable” things, and an easy way for the writers to confuse us all as they are playing with all the cards and we’re only seeing some of them…. it really is like a game of Texas hold’em before the flop!!!! LOL

  4. Well, you CAN get off the ISland by boat – as Michael and Walt did.
    However, as we all know – leaving the Island
    requires a specific bearing(Although I can’t remember why – if it was dangerous without – or just impossible – Faraday explained it)

    The DI’s however(and the after them – the Others) method of transportation was by sub(why I have no idea, nor why people on the subs are always drugged to sleep)

    However, as for by air, we know it can be done in order to get TO the Island(Oceanic, Ajira, Henry Gale’s Balloon(the real Henry Gale – what DID happen to him anyway..?)and an Helicopter(During the Freighter-incident. though it’s still a little uncertain about the vicinity it had to the Island, and how the radius around it is affected – we know both Islands move together, that’s for sure)

    Anyways, I think he probably COULD leave with the plane – but I don’t think that’s his plan.. If it was – which Widmore is aware of – why wouldn’t Widmore simply bust the plane up? And if I were Nemesis – I’d expect him to..wouldn’t you?

    But Nemesis don’t have any interest in the plane and I think Widmore knows that.

    Nor do I actually think he means to kill the Losties if he doesn’t have too..
    His ungerncy is probably more about getting them all off the Island simply BEFORE Jacobs Replacement is chosen(or has he/her already been)or revealed..

    He seems to genuinly feel that the Losties – the same as he – have been used by Jacob.
    the biggest “in your face!” to Jacob(and Nemesis most likely is aware that he’s still around watching) would not be to kill the Losties, but rather set them “free” to live a life of their own, that Jacob has no control over..

    I feel still that it’s far too early to say who’s definitely good or evil
    – truth be Told I still feel we don’t know
    enough about either Jacob or Nemesis..

    Much about lost have revolved around the theme of Black and White, Light and Darkness.. But I’m starting to believe more and more that they’re both – both..!
    Neither black nor white – but rather a strange shade of grey.. Jacob doesn’t always seem like such a great guy – while Nemesis doesn’t always feel like a….monster..?

  5. I really dont think the plane was ever Smokey’s plan either. When Ben and Locke went to talk to Jacob in the cabin (it was a farce obviously) Ben tells Locke to not take something into the cabin because “Jacob” hates technology. We know Jacob doesnt, since we see him riding in taxies and getting candy out of machines and such. But since it was most likely Smokey in that cabin, I think its him that dislikes technology being the “hunter” and jungle dweller that he is. I think Ben may have heard this from someone who had learned it while Smokey may or may not have been leading the Others. You saw the way he looked at that walkie talkie.

  6. AES, great theory. I’ll give you something to think about. Smokey promised Sayid that Natalia would be alive again. Sayid assumes that Smokey means that she will be brought back from the dead. But perhaps Smokey really meant that he would just make Sayid aware of her and her life in the alt universe.

  7. You are so right about second chances. I’ve felt that was the strongest theme of the show. Having Michael come back and visit Hurley and tell him he’s sorry for Libby’s murder underscores this point. I believe Jack’s surgery on Locke will be another example of a second chance for both of them. It seems that Jack is having a second chance with his son. Sawyer may have a second chance with a certain woman Dr. who will deliver Clair’s child. Sun & Jin, Hurley & Libby second chance romances.

  8. The whole leaving on the plane is just silly to me.
    But I cant deny that looking back to building the runway sort of scares me. I cant help but feel that the stake in the heart is the branch that killed the co-pilot penetrating the cockpit…
    (damn, I wish I had an ex pilot, maybe of an F16 to ask what the chances are being realistic in the scenario where that could be repaired…)…so maybe I will have one gripe in the long run if that happens.

    Any pilots, engineers, or ex-military men who could answer a question like that?

  9. I appreciate everyones comments. Obviously I am anti leaving on the plane…
    ANd I definitely feel that it is apparent thaht there is conscious flashing…but what about Christian?

    I really wanted that to be the focal point.
    Christian having sort of flashbacks/forewards of the island while raising jack, maybe before, and through his death.

    I think it could really explain a lot of what Christians motive could have been before his death…and possibly, like with Locke, a chicken or the egg type of question of which came first…the island…or visions of the island…Did time travel and alternate universes create the characters destiny…or did the characters choose their destiny based on what they could have seen through the monsters eyes…such as Locke drawing the picture of himself and the smoke.

    I think that is why Locke is special…he knows what the monster knows.
    Christian may have had access to its thoughts as well, and vise versa obviously…

    I really think even more now that learning Christians backstory, and what he went through to get to the island has to do with anything.

    So do you think Christian could actually have had memories of the island while alive?

  10. Even though Smokey claims credit for the Christian apparitions I don’t think he is responsible for all of them.

    As to your question of if Christian had memories of the Island I think it is quite possible, but not necessarily due to influence from Smokey. If it turns out that Christian does have a past Island connection I believe it would be some thing similar to Cindy’s or Widmore’s situation; he was on the Island before. We’ve seen many examples of Others who live and work off Island.

  11. I guess I m looking at a different angle to where Locke fits into that scenario with Cindy and Widmore in terms of connection with the island this much?

    Cindy and Charles connections come from them being physically part of both timelines while living. Christians role so far has been mostly from after his death, much like Locke on island the past two seasons.

    I definitely agree that unless the monster is actually somehow Christian Shephard (very unlikely, but possible), then he has been both the monster and ‘himself’ on the island.

    I take the line from Islabella to Ricardus to heart…”I will always be with you”…and the thought of the monster assuming the form of the dead, and with the understanding that he lies…hearing him say it…

    2 sides…maybe a good and a bad twin in a way, much like the thought of Locke and the monster.

    I agree Christian may have an on island back story…but after thinking about this story with Locke…this is both of their on island backstories playing out AFTER their possible memory of it occurred.
    John had no island back story except for what we have seen…but he still knew things, and I think the same may be said about Christian in the end.
    Charles knowledge comes from his physically being on the island in the past, and actually being a part of that timeline… unlike John who was part of the timeline through time travel.

  12. Great thoughts AES. This made absolute sense. I think it would be SO nice if it plays out in the finale like you say. Jack facing the ultimate decision about his father…and maybe facing a similar decision in the Sideline; fixing Locke or not.

    I like it!

  13. so your saying if jack “lets go” of locke on the operating table maybe after remembering the island himself…MIB cant escape the island using lockes alt body and locke takes baack his consciousnous on the island? would be a way for everyone to be happy and locke to have what he wants….the island

    Could it actually be that locke is “the candidate” to replace jacob? and has been prematurely crossed out

  14. AES –

    Another quality post. I agree that something HAS to be up with John in the early episodes. You don’t crash on an island and automatically know everything about it. Here’s another example of what you’re saying…. After they blow the hatch door, John’s about to go down until Kate shows up.

    Kate: “What are you doing.”
    John: (again with a crazy smile) “Waiting for you, Kate.”

    That means one of two things. (1) John literally, without question, knows what’s supposed to/going to happen next(which coincides with your theory here) and is simply waiting for Kate to appear. (2) John knows the only way to get Jack to enter the hatch is if Kate’s in it. I like this one better, but the importance of Jack entering the hatch is above my paygrade.

    …..Funny you should ask about F-16’s. I was never a pilot, but I was a “crew CHIEF”/head mechanic (also a lower paygrade). I can tell you that when there are weeds and branches sticking out of jet engines, the aircraft isn’t going anywhere without an extremely thorough inspection. If an engine blade, which there are MANY, has a minor dent/crack on it, it could cause the entire engine to shut down, or worse, during start up.

    They need to turn the plane around too if they plan on having room for take-off. There’s no runway left. That’s not going to happen without a tractor of some kind, and room to do it. Even F-16’s (much smaller than this Ajira commercial aircraft) require plenty of force to move forward without aircraft power, and even more force to turn on an axis.

    So without a tractor, the losties will need to somehow turn the front landing gear wheels using hydraulic pressure. They’ll need 3,000 PSI. I see no hydraulic equipment around. I especially don’t see any that can’t hook up to an aircraft hydraulic system (they’ll need a pressure and return line).

    So long story short, they’re not using the plane, and I’m flattered you asked.

  15. Interesting idea AES, but since we’re talking about consciousness-jumping from your own body to your own body, I don’t see how MIB can jump into Locke’s sideways body…he’s not REALLY in Locke’s body on the island, he’s just mimicking Locke. Locke’s body is buried on the beach.

    Also it seems that there is only one way traffic with regards to characters becoming aware of their other lives. No one on the Island(Desmond aside) has had a near-death experience or experienced love and suddenly become aware of their alt-selves.

    I do, however, think that MIBs ultimate goal is to survive the island events and make it to the ALT. Unfortunately for him, I’m thinking that’s impossible.

  16. First off AES, a suprisingly short post from you. Don’t get lazy on us now…

    Risebysin makes some good points rooted in the events of the show, and perhaps locke’s body can be resurrected on the island. Since Smokie only takes the form of dead people, and he is stuck in Locke’s form, I wonder what that will mean?

    I also don’t think they can take the plane, but if they truly needed to turn it around, I’m pretty sure Flocke could turn into smokie and move it. He’s been lifting, I’ve seen it.

  17. Long time reader, first time poster. I think the biggest questions we should be asking are:

    1. What exactly was Richard trying to find out with Locke as a child?
    2. Does this relate at all to Juliet’s recruitment by Richard?

    The ‘experiments’ with trying to have a female actually conceive and deliver a healthy baby have never set well with me. Either there is some specific reason for conducting these experiments on THIS island (maybe waste time?) or there is something else going on, that only Richard knows. Richard is hell bent on blowing up that plane. Richard most likely commissioned the runway to be built but now wants to blow the plane up, b/c MIB found the loophole.

  18. Chief…it is I who am flattered you answered…and the answer I was looking for as well…
    Good thought on Locke waiting for Kate after blowing the hatch. I always thought that scene was strange, but for a different reason.

    Riseby…good to see you …
    I get your point completely about it not actually being John, but I cannot help but feel that the words from John to jack in the premier have a hidden meaning, and may have something to do with MIB resembling Christian and Locke.

    The main reason I am thinking about buying into this thought fully is simply because I still have a little faith of John Locke returning to the island…and I am hoping that it is not through Hurley.

    Eko…I still have 8 more days before the next episode, and another month before the ‘big bang’…I still have a few cross eyed, “is this over yet”, make your head hurt so bad that you curse me on the site theories before its all said and done…

    I cant deny risebysins comment makes sense…but as you said, MIB is stuck looking like John…and after the little episode of MIB being frustrated at the bloody handed boy in the jungle telling him “You cant kill him”…
    “Dont tell John what he cant do…”

    When he said those words to the child…I got chills and feel that there has to be something more between the two…

  19. Hi AES, I also entertained the ideas you mention, regarding John Locke and reached the same conclusion as Risebysin.

    No matter which way you cut it, the real John Locke is dead on ‘the island’ and Nemesis would not be able to take over John Locke’s body in the ‘alternate’.

    What will prove interesting is, what John Locke’s memories are, when and if he regains consciousness. We still have to consider what ‘conscious’ island memories Jack might have regarding John/Nemesis, and if they will be similar to Sun’s.

    I couldn’t help being reminded of the circumstances, that seem eerily similar to Jack’s operation on Ben. That is where the mystery seems to be headed.

    How they will use the knowledge of their ‘conscious’ memories from ‘the island’, to connect with the ‘regular time-line’, still has to be reconciled.

  20. I think that maybe when the smoke monster scans someone he takes a little piece of their soul to hold on to, at least that is what I want to believe because I want the real John Locke back and that could be plausible enough for a Lost audience. So here’s to hoping.

  21. Dabsi!
    Good to see you here!

    “I have to disagree with something…and that is that “no matter which way you cut it, the real John Locke is dead on the island.”

    His body is dead…thats it.

    They purposely placed the conversation between Jack and Locke in the airport at the beginning of this season for one reason…to begin the explanation process.

    He can, die, they can say hes dead, they can put him in a coffin, bury him, and the monster can take his form…but he is no more dead than Christian or Isabella.

    If John is DEAD on island, then that would mean the only way he can return on island would be through Hurley…its too easy for me…unless we learn that he has been secretly talking to him all season…and I dont think we will.
    And I do think that one way or another the REAL Locke will inhabit the island again.

    My main issue on the island comes when the BBHB (Bloody Blonde Haired Boy) tells him that he cannot kill ‘him’…

    Call it a whim…or even worse coincidence…but the words that follow connect MIB with John Locke in a way that even death couldnt stop…
    “Dont tell me what I cant do”…

    Maybe he steals the line from Johns memory, but they are Johns words…NOT MIBs…

    He could have said “Dont tell me I cant kill him” or “Yes I can”…but he chose the special words that we all know very well…and although nobody other than possibly Des has come through to the alt…(something I disagree with…), I feel that we have seen a little John Locke leak through…or at the very least MIB leak through to John off island…

    One way or another, those words mean something, and this is one I may adapt over the next couple of weeks in terms of ‘how’…but I plan to stand strong on the thought.

    Honestly, the more people say John is dead, the more I will fight this fight…

    I know it sounds far fetched, and I know nobody else has broken through, but I feel John will, and possibly already has a little…

    Your thoughts on Jack operating on Ben crossed my mind too…and other than Jack wanting to save John, I couldnt come up with any other connections…

    Good comments in rebuttal from everyone who disagreed…I just really think that we have already seen a little Locke in MIB, and that we will see a lot more before its all said and done.

  22. Eko…missed your last line earlier…

    On Smokie lifting the plane…(I swear to Jacob Ill turn the show off if he literally picks the plane up and turns it around)…

    I actually thought that maybe his plan was to get everyone on the plane ‘together’…and then possibly destroy it, killing them all in the process…that was my first thought on the plane idea…

    I just cannot buy them taking off in it. I can barely buy the idea of it to be honest.

    I guess if I have to have a gripe about the show, then mine is that…not too bad if you ask me.
    Hopefully this will not happen, and we can all rest easy…

  23. AES, as you point out, Nemesis has the ability to know of John Locke’s ‘conscious’ memories. Nemesis has demonstrated this with other characters.

    That is not to say that when and if John Locke awakens in the ‘alternate’ time-line that he will have any connection to Nemesis and his ‘conscious’ mind, being that they are seperate beings. Nemesis is only using the body of John Locke.

    Yes, some of John Locke’s ‘conscious’ memories have surfaced through Nemesis, and that is understandable considering he is utilizing the body of John Locke and knowledge of his ‘conscious’ mind.

    I’m not certain we can determine this might be a similar case with John Locke’s ‘conscious’ recollection of ‘the island’, unless we believe that Nemesis and Locke have always shared the same ‘conscious’ memories since John’s birth.

    For that very reason, I can certainly understand why this idea would be entertained.

    I totally believe there is a logical reason and explanation for this and wait on further background from the next few episodes.

  24. I think we are going to get that background in Christian Shephard.

    With the understanding that it may be simply my own hope…I believe that somewhere in these last five hours…there is a Christian Shephard flashback…possibly after his death, but I feel that we will get something connecting him to the monster before his death as well…if we havent already.

  25. This idea of Locke and Nemesis being connected the whole time is one of the more believable scenarios going forward. After reading this, I could totally picture the final image being Locke’s eye waking up in the the sideways timeline, however there would be enough clues for us to know that it is Nemesis that is actually waking up in Locke’s body.

  26. I dont think you can truly go backwards. I think even Einstein and friends stated that traveling backwards in time doesnt look promising without some strange gateway, but conceded that ‘future viewing’ is fundamentally possible, although it would have limitations based on how fast your are moving, and how far away the light source you are attempting to view is. Imagine having a spaceship that was many times faster than light. It could zoom out to the target at 10x lightspeed, record that light and return home to share the data long before it actually arived. This doesn’t seem like real future viewing to me though, as I like to believe the state of matter and energy in the universe is a a bunch of variable that undoubtedly added up to a single sum. Thus, nothing is ever created or destroyed in the universe….it just takes on different forms. How would you even attempt to ‘erase’ a drop of water from the universe? Antimatter seems like a good idea, but no one knows for sure and I doubt they’d get that scientific.

    However, we’re already living in a flash ANYway in the forward direction in real life (as any possible future exists and is not pre-determined), as long as you’re not the type to believe god already planned every step of your life out for you. Remember, whatever happened, happened.

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