The Vile Vortices Theory
I’ve been doing some reading up on the "Vile Vortices" theory that has recently been circulating around Lost fandom, and I wanted to present it to you guys to hear your thoughts. "Vile Vortices" is a fancy term to describe the supposed gaps to other dimensions that are present in the world, such as the Bermuda Triangle and the Devil’s Sea. There are thought to be 12 Vile Vortices scattered around the globe. Five are near the Tropic of Cancer, five are near the Tropic of Capricorn, and there’s one at each Pole. You can read more about these possibly real anomalies by visiting Wikipedia.
Now, I don’t consider myself a science guy, so whether these dimensional portals actually exist is beyond me. However, whether they exist or not, they could still be the basis for everything that happens on Lost.
The island on Lost would likely be located near the Fiji Vortex in the Pacific Ocean, albeit in another dimension, and the theory is that it may be a dumping ground for all of the other Vortices. Something gets sucked into the vortex in the Mozambique Channel, such as The Black Rock, and it ends up getting dropped right on to the island. Because we know that The Black Rock probably set off from the eastern coast of Africa, this is not out of the realm of possibility. Vortex travel could also explain how a small airplane originating in Nigeria ended up thousands of miles off course. There just happens to be a vortex near the Sahara, which is where the Nigerian plane was likely headed.
Does this theory sound plausible? Could the island actually be a dumping ground for other vessels, people, and objects that have been sucked through Vortices around the globe? I don’t see any reason why not. Of course, if the Vile Vortices theory is correct, you’d think there’d be a lot more vehicles and people scattered around the island. However, it could be that the dumping area is much larger than the island itself, so maybe all the other long lost ships and airplanes are elsewhere.
If this theory is correct, then I think that Juliet’s friend Amelia could easily be Amelia Earhart, as has long been speculated. This could also explain how a polar bear would end up in the desert of Tunisia. When you have a dozen Vortices scattered around the globe, this theory could be used to explain many of Lost’s mysteries.
Of course, the big question is how do people manage to travel safely through these Vortices? We already know that somebody drops food on the island, and we can assume for now that Michael and Walt escaped without harm. Somebody obviously knows how to navigate through some of these Vortices without having their planes crashed and boats destroyed. How do they do it?
As with anything involving Lost, all of this crazy speculation could be completely incorrect. Still, it’s something interesting to ponder over the coming weeks.
That is one of the best possibilities I have heard so far!
It all makes sense!
Comment by Tao — February 12, 2008 @ 12:48 pm
That’s a definite maybe, for sure. By the way… when does everyone expect Michael to return? I hope he actually comes back to the island and NOT just flash forwards.
Comment by steeeeve — February 12, 2008 @ 1:10 pm
well steeeve if you look at the credits at the start of an episode in season 4 harolds (michael) name appears as does dominic (charlie) so i think that michael and walt never left the island i think they have survived on either the boat they were in or theyve survived on the hydra/alkatraz island and will return soon.
Comment by craig — February 12, 2008 @ 2:28 pm
A very good explanation of this theory is here: http://www.docarzt.com/lost-theories/theory-vile-vortices.php
Check it out. And, Don, it is a good theory.
Comment by originaltheories — February 12, 2008 @ 2:46 pm
If I may, as Don mentions above, “Vile Vortices” are exciting and have been discussed within LOST fandom, and in particular on our TTS Board, for quite some time. If interested, I posted some speculative thoughts on our “Forbidden Planet” theory thread on June 10th. More recently we speculated the the Hydra-collared polar bear skeleton possibly the result of being intentionally exchanged from the Hydra Island with Eko’s brother Yemi’s plane thru the Sahara Vortex, using Dharma technology.
Much fun! Namaste - RichPundit
Comment by RichPundit — February 12, 2008 @ 3:15 pm
then how do u explain desmond getting to the island?? did he know how to navigate these vortices??
Comment by michael — February 12, 2008 @ 10:57 pm
Michael: we can only speculate at this point.
Some speculate that each Vile Vortex opens when a specific location is entered, and then it perhaps either cyclically or randomly opens. For our LOST adventure, many including me speculate that our Island is a sentient entity that manifests the opening and closing of the Vile Vortices, plus Dharma innovated Island technology to also manifest them. Perhaps some combination of these three.
Desmond crashed and was stranded onto our Island after Penny and her Bad Dad motivated him to enter a sailboat race on a specific course, and even gave him the boat. Perhaps Penny, her Dad, the Freighter, and others generally know the general location of Vile Vortices, and perhaps have some knowledge of the means of entering.
Namaste - RichPundit
Comment by RichPundit — February 13, 2008 @ 3:25 am
this is a good theory, i like it. would the original hatch have anything to do with keeping these portals open? is this why desmond had to keep pushing the button and why according to darhma it was vital to be done?
Comment by rob corcoran — February 13, 2008 @ 10:15 am
Actually if you go to find815.com and click on the laptop it will give you the story of the Black Rock. On it’s final voyage it was collecting Gold from mines in Papa New Guinea and Indonesia and was supposed head to Africa from there but it sailed East instead of West like it was supposed to.
It’s still not a bad theory but people really should do research on the web of official sites like find815.com and the Hanso site rather than using specalution just because the info hasn’t been in the show yet. I still see new theories all the time saying they are dead and in purgatory when that has been debunct by the producers ages ago.
Comment by seeweda — February 13, 2008 @ 11:52 am
I like this theory too. How about when Juliett was brought to the island from Portland, they drugged her and strapped her down in the submarine. Ethan explained to her it was a rough trip.
Comment by cdb — February 13, 2008 @ 2:12 pm
Can someone please remind me when we have seen Juliet’s friend Amelia and who she is? I’m not the best at noticing everything and I dont’ remember an Amelia
Comment by Jean — February 14, 2008 @ 9:00 am
Also since most vile vorticles lie on the tropics they lie along 23.5 N and S latitude. 23 is a lost number
Comment by SethB — February 14, 2008 @ 3:27 pm
Well, if you keep in accordance with both Science and Philosophy, the surest explanation is usually the simplest. With that being said, it’s pretty obvious to me that the Time Anomaly can be contributed to a (traversable) wormhole. Frankly, I am quite surprised that I have yet to read any other posts on any other Lost fan sites that has suggested it. A wormhole, which is a valid solution in Physics although it has not been observable yet, would explain most of the strange physical behavior on the Island. Wormholes can interrupt the Time-Space continuum as we know it and they could also worry electro-magnetic fields. It’s been obvious to me that this is the phenomena that has been “plaguing” the Island since day one. It could also explain why Ben’s mysterious Metal Box is able to work, allowing a sort of time-machine effect. I think the introduction of Daniel’s character will do much to explain that aspect of the show. Now, as for the Religion in the series, I think we should look to Charlotte’s character to give us a little more insight. The reference to C.S. Lewis can’t be “lost” on us.
Comment by Cheri — February 15, 2008 @ 12:11 am
Jean: I only first noticed Juliet’s friend Amelia during one of the recent Juliet Mobis … think called “The Envelope”. In it, Juliet is getting ready for her book club meeting with her friend Amelia and shows Juliet revealing an envelope which she says is very bad for everyone. Also, you can easily search Lostpedia and/or our TTS Forums for “Amelia”, maybe “Book Club”, as well as several other canon sources for any background info that may interest you.
“Wormhole” can be similarly searched - RichPundit
Comment by RichPundit — February 15, 2008 @ 3:33 am
I think the “cosmic dumping ground” theory is close to the truth, but it may or may not be related to the “actual” vile vortices. i.e., I think there are “portals” or whatever around the world that deposit things on the island, but there may be a lot more or a lot less than 12 of them, they may shift around between different locations, etc.
Comment by Tony — February 15, 2008 @ 10:39 pm
I was reading about the Time Anomaly that was posted here earlier. Now, if you have watched episode three, you will have noticed the payload scene with Daniel Faraday (name is important!) and the payload arriving a total of 31 minutes later than the estimated arrival time calculated on the boat by Regina (if im not mistaken). If you try to calculate the time difference between boat and island, you will notice that a day on the island equals to almost 2.5 on the boat (calculations may be flawful, would recommend for you to give it a try). If you change the distance aswell, e.g. calculating time differences from other parts of the globe, the average day on the island is much longer in actual time.
This theory is so far only been proven in outer space, where actual ‘time’ does not exist - a second in one moving body may not correspond to a second in another moving body, thus creating a time anomaly between two bodies. This theory could prove the ‘time travel’ ideas that were previously flooding the forums.
It would certainly be helpful, if a person with more physics knowledge would calculate the time anomalies of the island.
cheers,
C.S.
Comment by CanScheer — February 17, 2008 @ 4:27 pm