Viewer Mail #1: Do I Know You, Me?

Happy Monday Dharma Blog! And Happy Viewer Mail week! For the next five days, we’ll be staving off LOST’s one-week hiatus by addressing some of the questions posed in the comments section of our recent posts. On Friday, we discussed time travel and memories. Today, we’ll answer this question

Can post-crash gang (circa 2008) travel to the pre-crash time(1977) and remain on the island until the crash (2005) when the same gang (albeit the pre-crash gang) arrives on the island for the first time?
Somehow lost in the whirlwind episodes that brought Ajira 316 (along with the Oceanic Six, John Locke’s rotting corpse, Ben Linus and a few new strangers) back to the Island was the fact that some of our survivors landed on Alcatraz, the sidekick to our mystery-laden main Island. Think back to Season 3, and Jack, Kate and Sawyer’s captivity at the Hydra station. This is where our Ajira folk seem to be, as evidenced by Ceasar’s thumbing through old Dharma files with the Hydra logo on them:

Also, based on the antiquated nature of the files, the apparent desertion of the station and, oh yeah, the absence of any Others, we’ll assume that our Ajira people aren’t in 1977 like those on the main Island are. I believe they haven’t time traveled at all, and are existing in 2008.

This phenomenon has gone somewhat un-discussed, amid the craziness of John Locke’s reanimated corpse, Jack, Kate and Hurley’s reunion with Jin and Sawyer, and the mystery of who accompanied pilot Frank Lapidus on the outrigger hijacking mission (my guess: Sun. Obviously).

We do know that Caesar told Locke, “On the plane, I was sitting across the aisle from that really big guy with curly hair. When the plane started shaking--really shaking--there was a big noise and a bright light. And this really big guy with curly hair... was gone, man. I mean, literally gone. And it wasn't only him. Some of us saw it happen to other people, too. So, Mr. John Locke, do you have an idea about what happened?”

So we’ve got a little puzzle, and several pieces: Ajira hit turbulence, at which point a bright light enveloped the plane and sucked out several people. The plane landed on Alcatraz (presumably on the runway that Kate and Sawyer were helping to build), Frank and “someone” took one of the boats in the middle of the night, and they appear to have not time traveled. So what the hell gives?

Here’s what I think: the two islands are operating on different timelines. I believe that venturing over to the main Island means venturing back through time the necessary 31 years. This is what Frank and (oh hell, I’ll just say it) Sun were intending to do when they took the boats back over there. I think Frank may have known about this pseudoscientific phenomenon. Either that, or Sun assumed Jin was on the main Island and put a gun to the ever-suggestible Frank Lapidus’ head.

Why are they on different timelines? Stick with me for a second here. Remember Daniel Faraday’s science lesson to Desmond about the need for a constant? Maybe Alcatraz is the Island’s constant, anchoring it down and helping it maintain all of its supernatural powers while it shifts violently through time.

Consider, Hydra was a mythical multi-headed beast that battled Hercules by regenerating its own heads when the hero tried to cut them off (sick, huh?). This regenerative power has even been referenced as a metaphor for modern-day terrorist organizations, where power and control is so greatly decentralized, that cutting off one head only causes another to grow. Maybe Alcatraz, like the Hydra monster, constantly regenerates course-correcting actions that serve as a backup battery that allows the main Island to fluctuate wildly through time and space. For instance: the Oceanic Six weren’t supposed to leave, so Alcatraz brought them back by sucking in Ajira 316 and, ta-dah, course correction.

But wait. Not everyone landed on Alcatraz. Kate, Sawyer and Hurley beamed out and landed right back in paradise. Can we read anything into the breakdown of those who landed on Alcatraz and those who didn’t? On Alcatraz: Locke, Ben, Sun (initially). On the main Island: Jack, Kate, Hurley. Unknown: Sayid. I’m drawing a blank here.

But now to answer the original question (about damn time, right?). Can the Ajira folk go to the main Island and stay there until the Oceanic 815 crash (for which they’ll have to wait 27 years)? Yes. I’m pretty sure they can. Now that Locke has stabilized the Island from its whacked-out quantum leaps, I believe the timeline will remain stable (this according to Faraday, per the LaFleur episode). And yes, I think time travelers could come across themselves. Remember when Sawyer stumbled upon Kate getting her midwife on for Claire? He could’ve just as easily stumbled upon himself and Kate playing ten fingers, back in season one. Or think of Locke, who could’ve walked a little ways over to his past self, banging on the hatch door in a fit of frustration.

So can they meet themselves? Yes. Will they? I think so. Should they? Maybe, but would it jeopardize Faraday’s mantra that, “Whatever happened, happened?” Remember when Locke wouldn’t go visit himself at that hatch scene earlier this year? Sawyer asked Locke why he didn’t go warn himself about all he was about to face, and Locke said, “I needed that pain.” So even if you can, would you want to?

Here's another little whacked out theory: what if the Island prevented you from aging if it was possible that you would soon reunite with a time-traveling version of yourself? Perhaps we'll see Sawyer, Jack, et al. not age until they're Oceanic 815 selves arrive, as a way for the Island to prevent alternate versions of the same person from existing. And maybe this is what's happening with Richard. Say he visited the Island in 2007 for the very first time. Then he somehow traveld WAY the hell back, and has been living on the Island for centuries, agelessly, while waiting to reunite with himself when he gets to 2007. Oh, who am I kidding? I've lost it.

And that’s the best I can answer that question: yes, they probably can go and visit their past/future selves. But doing so may rob themselves of valuable life experiences. And I’d wager that this debate will be the proving ground for Ms. Hawking’s theory of course-correction. Sure, Locke could’ve gone and tried to prevent himself from making all of those mistakes. But according to Ms. Hawking, the universe would just course correct and make sure Locke experienced the necessary mistakes any way.

And thus, we’re back to free will vs. predetermination, though now it’s set against a very heady, metaphysical backdrop: time travel. And the question becomes: Can you make decision that alter the course of history once you're aware of the future? Or are you a slave to “whatever happens”? I think we already know the answer to that one (see: Desmond, unable to save Charlie).

This is a tough series of questions, and my thanks to reader Katie for positing the noodle-scratcher. Weigh in on the comments section. Could Alcatraz be the Island’s constant? Will something happen to prevent everyone from sticking around long enough to see themselves crash on the Island in 2004? If not, will they interact with and alter the courses of their past selves? Or would that cause catastrophic harm? Andddddd…..go.


Namaste.
Charlie.