The Tail Section

Your Voice: Comprehensive Theory for the End of ‘Lost’ - Part 1

Lost Theories — March 27, 2008 at 10:48 am by admin

Submitted by Tailhook

I undertook coming up with an explanation for Adam and Eve, and the answer I came to is one I have not seen elsewhere, so I will propose it here.
 
First allow me to detail my biases.  I’m not a big time loop guy.  I don’t like getting bogged down in Casimir effects and cloning and whatever techno-crap they like to wrap their science in.  It’s nice fluff, a decent distraction, but it can’t be the root of the story.  It certainly gives the writers decent Nerd Cred, but really, the story has to be approachable to the casual viewer.  The handwaving has to be kept to a minimum.


Second, I’d like to examine something that often doesn’t get thought through.  That’s the Valenzetti equation.  What was it meant to show?  The definition from Lostpedia says the following:  "The equation was secretly commissioned through the UN Security Council and is used to predict the time of human extinction."

So, let’s digress a bit and say you’re an astronomer.  You find out that 50,000 years from now, a rock that will kill everyone is going to collide with Earth.  Is that likely to get anyone upset?  I don’t think so.  Now, imagine you find out in 30 years that that same rock will kill everyone.  What I’m getting at is that whatever the answer to the Valenzetti equation is, the time of human extinction is going to happen, and it’s going to happen soon.  I would even postulate that it is going to happen during this series, and is the main reason they have to get back to the island.

Now, here is an interesting question:  has a mass extinction ever happened before?  I believe the answer is yes.  The purpose of the island, which in my mind is an actual entity that exists outside of the normal space-time continuum in a fold of space, is to examine, and in some cases manipulate, the downfall of man.  I believe it draws those people who deserve to be saved, or who can help in this effort, to the island.  It cannot change the outcome — we are predestined to kill ourselves — but it can save a small amount of people from that outcome in order to repopulate the planet.  To what end?  I don’t think we’ll find out.  It is what it is.

The next logical question is:  how will this extinction happen?  I think there is sufficient evidence in the show that it will be by Ice.  Something will occur to freeze the entirety of the Earth.  This is why polar bears were introduced early on in the show.  This is why it was a Polar Station that picked up the signal from the island in “Live Together, Die Alone”.  This is also why Hurley, in the mental institution, draws a picture of an igloo. These were all subtle clues to how man will die.  By ice.  It’s also why there have been plenty of references to Kurt Vonnegut.  One of his yet to be mentioned novels, “Cat’s Cradle,” ends with man killing himself through the development of a technology called Ice-Nine.

So, you have the discovery of this island along with a UN Security Council Valenzetti equation that states that the whole world is going to end soon.  Whats the next logical step?  You need a safe haven.  Enter Alvar Hanso, who arrives with a convenient solution.  His family discovered an island that can survive the coming extinction.  In combination with scientists Karen and Gerald Degroot, they propose a program that will A) examine the technology and effects of the island with the hopes of prolonging man’s extinction, while B) they attempt to build a society on the island that can thrive while the Earth is a big ice cube.  That program is The Dharma Initiative.

Now, bear in mind that all of this is part of a manipulation by the island itself.  Magnus Hanso and the Black Rock didn’t arrive there by accident.  They were drawn there.  Desmond didn’t arrive on the island by accident.  He was drawn there.  And Oceanic Flight 815 didn’t arrive by accident, it was manipulated by the island to crash there.  Also, since we now know the island can prevent you from dying, even if you hit a wall at 60 mph, we also know how so many people survived the crash with relatively minor injuries.  All of these things are the island’s attempt to draw people there, and help secure good people to restock the planet with once the extinction passes and the Earth heals.

It’s also why the island provides relative immortality, as it will be a good long time before people can go back.  It’s also why there is a limitation on child birth.  It isn’t the immune system of the mothers that are killing them during pregnancy — it’s the island.  It’s a self-defense mechanism against over-population.  If on-island conception to birth was allowed in any way, shape, or form, it would inevitably lead to all the resources being overrun and the eventual death of anybody on it, as they have nowhere else to go.

It’s also why Ben is so interested in getting kids who make it to the island.  First, they don’t have built-in prejudices and can be taught.  Second, they will provide the core of the society that repopulates the Earth.  It is also why Ben does not kill indiscriminately.  People don’t end up on or at the island too often, and when they do it’s always for a reason.  If they are innocent and are willing to mesh with the society and overcome their hangups, they get taken in because they need a healthy population.  If they aren’t, they won’t be.  This is why he always gets lists of people — to separate the wheat from the chaff.  We can already see some people are being drawn to the island, which led the captain to give his big speech while pummeling the guy in "Meet Kevin Johnson."

Check back tomorrow for the remainder of Tailhook’s theory.  He’ll explain the purpose of Jacob and the smoke monster, how Charles Widmore ties into everything, and how it all goes back to Adam and Eve.  He’ll also lay out his theory for how the remaining two and a half seasons of the show will play out.

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"Your Voice" is a new TTS series in which Tail Section fans submit their articles, theories or reviews to be published on The Tail Section for all their fellow fans to read. Have you spent far too much time pondering the origins of the DHARMA Initiative? Have you alienated your co-workers by rambling about Daniel Faraday’s wacky time anomaly experiment? If so, we want to hear from you. Send your own Lost theories, reviews, or general thoughts to Editor(at)TheTailSection.com. Please keep all submissions between 300 and 1,000 words. We will read through all submissions and contact you if we publish your entry. You will also receive byline credit on our site.

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