Rewatching LOST: As The Wheel Turns

QUESTION: HOW DOES BEN MOVE THE ISLAND?

Hm. Dunno. Let's ask J.J. Abrams.


[FYI: I'm about to chat up what could be considered spoilers for the show FRINGE, if you care about such things. For the record, I don't think knowing a few things ahead of time spoils a show like Fringe, but that's your call.]


Are ya'll watching Fringe? Cuz if you're not, lovely LOST readers, you need to be. FRINGE is FULL of huge clues about LOST, especially Season 3. And God bless J.J. & Team LOST for those clues, without which we'd've NEVER figured out ANYTHING about the ISLAND!


To catch you up: On Fringe, there are two universes of existence. Our story begins in Universe 1. Our Fringe team, led by Special Agent Olivia Dunham, investigates X-Files-like weirdo things happening in and about town.  Long about the end of Season 1, Olivia meets up with a guy named William Bell [Ep. 1.20 - "There's More Than One of Everything"]. She meets him at his company, Massive Dynamic, under VERY strange circumstances.


Olivia is pulled from Universe 1 ("Over Here") to an ALTERNATE universe ("Over There") where uber-scientist William Bell gives her the scoop on the Alt-Universe problem. These two PARALLEL universes are, for all intensive purposes, ONE world in duplicate. However, there are differences. For example, Over Here, the twin towers of the World Trade Center fell after the attacks on 9/11, and the plane headed the White House never made it. Over There, the Twin Towers avoided attack, but the White House had to be rebuilt. 9/11 still happened, see, but the results of the attacks are different in each Universe.


We're not gonna veer off into specifics, but it's important to note TWO things about this universe shifting:

1. There's a rotating WHITE FLASH, like the light of a very bright LIGHTHOUSE that tells US when the shift between universes is taking place.  We've seen it happening on Fringe all along, but the effect is explicitly explained  to us in "Entrada" [3.08]. One sweep reveals Over Here. Another reveals Over There. The light originates from a fixed point in the sky OVER New York, and is not visible any other time. AND the light is ALWAYS MOVING.
2. These sweeps do NOT change the forward progression of TIME. Both universes move forward in time at the SAME RATE. These are PARALLEL universes. However, they are not exactly in sync time-wise. According to a book Walter found on the subject, Over There is a bit ahead of Over Here. When Olivia shifts between universes, she's got no problems going from Here to There, but coming back she always has some kind of seizure and is out cold for a while. It's almost like her brain has JET LAG.

Entrada - Over Here flash to Over There from Amy Monroe on Vimeo.
[Notice the sweeps occur in slow steady circular patterns, just like a lighthouse as seen from the open sea----- REMEMBER THIS FOR LATER.]
When we see the FLASH sweep across our screen for the first time in "Entrada" [CLIP HERE], three things happen:

1. The Statue of Liberty changes color -- from green to copper.
2. A pair of birds appear in the sky, in mid-flight. Then a MIRROR set of birds (OBVIOUSLY) pops out of where the light originated and flies off in a different direction -- the OPPOSITE direction. [Don't worry. We'll get back to the birds later, too.]
3. The TWIN TOWERS APPEAR.

Let's say we keep watching until the light swings around again, and we switch from Over There back to Over Here. After the switch, the Twin Towers are gone. They DISAPPEAR.

Question:  Since the light seems to be the agent of change here, did the Twin Towers MOVE?

(Screencaps courtesy of Fringepedia.)

Think of the Over There universe as a phase shifted or "mirror" version of "Over Here." It's the SAME universe in another dimension -- the OTHER SIDE of the LOOKING GLASS.  These TWO universes CO-EXIST simultaneously -- they occupy the same SPACE -- but they are each invisible to the other. That literally means they exist on top of each other.

If WE shift from one universe to the other, then the TOWERS do NOT move. That means WE must be moving, right?

WRONG. When we shift, we remain in the same geographic location relative to the EARTH and both universes. That means WE are NOT moving AT ALL. However, since our location does NOT change when we shift between the two universes and since these universes occupy the same space at the same time, we are ALWAYS located in BOTH universes simultaneously regardless of our geographic location.

[Wh0a.]


The key to the puzzle is PERCEPTION.  In the case of FRINGE, we are only able to SEE one universe at a time. If we could see BOTH at the same time, they would overlap each other. It would kinda be like if you got two channels on screen at the same time on your television.


When you turn on your television, ONE signal for ALL channels is feeding into your TV, yes?   That's why, when the cable "goes out," you can't see ANY channels. Your television accepts the FULL TRANSMISSION, but has a built in filter that only allows ONE UNIT of that signal to reach your TV screen at a time.  One unit equals one CHANNEL.


YOU control that filter.  If you're watching the football game on ESPN and want to watch The Walking Dead on AMC, you CHANGE the CHANNEL. What you've just done is adjust the TV's filter so the ESPN part of the signal is BLOCKED and the AMC channel is UNBLOCKED.  Ta-da! AMC is visible on your TV screen.


If you follow the metaphor and think of each universe as a "channel" or "frequency" of existence, then the only thing CHANGING when we "move" between universes is WHICH UNIVERSE/channel/frequency we are able to SEE at any point in time. If we "are" Over Here, it only means that we are able to SEE the Over Here universe.  The Over There universe still exists [on TOP of Over Here].


Walter (the "mad scientist" of our little group) discovered this very thing 20 years before our FRINGE story begins. Walter creates a WINDOW into the other universe that allowed him to SEE what was going on on the other side. He couldn't interact --- they couldn't see him and had no idea he was watching. This "window" worked like like a TV SCREEN.


Walter ends up creating a DOOR to the other universe. It allows him to cross over and to bring someone else back with him. [Walter's journey, btw, seems to be "The Incident" that caused these alt-universe problem.]


Over Here Olivia is "special" is because she can exist in either universe at will, but she can still only SEE or EXPERIENCE ONE universe at a time. Guess what folks! The only way to SEE both universes simultaneously, is if you are a HYBRID of both universes or you are OUTSIDE the SYSTEM and can see both universes from a third perspective [which would make you an OBSERVER].


Confusing isn't it? Welcome to physics. Try not to let it bother you too much. Focus on the end result: The answer is NO. The LIGHT didn't move the Twin Towers BECAUSE the Twin Towers didn't move. WE didn't move in relation to the Two Towers either.


The ONLY thing that MOVED is the LIGHT.  The only thing that CHANGED is what we are ABLE to see. OUR PERCEPTION of the world around us. All the light did was alter which universe WE can see, just like changing the channel on the TV.


So, what does all this FRINGE universe business have to do with LOST?


Well. . . In order for that to make sense, we need to track down the HISTORY of the island as separate from the MYTH of the island. [See: Team LOST's #1 Sneakiest Trick Ever: Making History for more on history v. myth).


WHAT'S THE FREQUENCY, JACOB?


Let's pretend that you and I find a very weird island in the South Pacific. Due to the "unique properties" of the island [and, perhaps, after effects of nuclear testing on said island 50 years ago], there's an invisible FIELD around it, like a bubble. Anything inside that field is subject to the field's effects, including anyone on the island. We are CURIOUS, so we decide to investigate.


Fairly quickly, we figure out there's only two ways of safely/successfully crossing that field. The field is neutralized (partially) by the OCEAN. Therefore, traveling to and from the island underwater, via submarine, will work. However, we need an underwater beacon to work as a lighthouse for the submarine. Drugging passengers keeps them from experiencing any possible side effects of crossing the field.


We note the field also has a limited boundary. With the proper equipment, FLYING away from the island, passing through that boundary, puts you out of that field.


We decide to hunt down the source of this field. We discover that we're not the first people to poke around on this island. We discover these FIRST PEOPLE located a SOURCE for that field [deep down in the Earth], and looks like they decided to create a mechanism giving them the ability to TAP INTO that source and manipulate the field.


Based on what these "native" people did, we bring in "modern technology" and create a BETTER mechanism to TAP INTO the source.


Once that mechanism is in place, we start experimenting with it. What exactly are the field's effects? What can we do with it? What are its limits, and how far can we push them? And, most importantly, how can we use this technology as a weapon/to better mankind/to make lots of money?


[Uh-oh.]


Turns out, those First People, they're still around! Hm. We decide to experiment on them too. Hopefully, we'll be able to do this without them knowing. Wouldn't it suck if they found out what we were up to and decided to PURGE us?


EEK!


[Remember: Just because the story of our losties isn't taking place in a physical world DOESN'T MEAN that the ISLAND and the peeps on it never physically existed!! Check out: Rewatching LOST: Myths and Mommy Issues]


If you recall, we discussed the "bubble/field" concept when we covered how Ben "moved" the island in Chapter 2: Amy's Handy-Dandy Guide for LOST Rewatch.  When Ben turned the wheel ["There's No Place Like Home, Part 3"] and created a HUGE, LOUD, bright flash, complete with purple sky, the Oceanic 6, in Frank's helicopter, were OUTSIDE of the island's FIELD.


Ben didn't MOVE the island. He CHANGED the CHANNEL of the field AROUND the island. Anyone outside that field remained on their previous channel -- UNTIL they hit the WATER on the other side. Once that happened, they were completely CUT OFF from the island's "channels."


Check out the following excerpt from: Chapter 2: Amy's Handy-Dandy Guide for LOST Rewatch:


THE GREEN SCREEN


Remember in Chapter 1 where I described our losties existence as linear? Our losties are all together on a zipcord, and they can only go forward in their linear existence.  They are not time traveling because they can't. They can only move forward on the zipcord. And they are all together at the same point on the same zipcord.


Their zipcord is surrounded by a green screen. The green screen can be the island, LA, a flashback, a flash forward, 1977 etc.  When they "time travel," our losties do not leave their spot on their zip cord. Rather, the green screen around them changes to a different "time." That's why our losties all experience time at the same rate no matter where they "are." [It's three years for the Oceanic Six and three years for Sawyer and Juliet.]


This is our characters' existence on LOST.


Miles explains what Team LOST is up to when he and Hurley argue about paradoxes in "Whatever Happened, Happened."

• We can't change the past.
• This is our present.
• Our experiences, both in the past and in the future have already happened TO US.

Daniel furthers this explanation to Jack: "When I met you, did I have a scar on my neck? No. That's because I hadn't been shot yet." This is Daniel's existence:  Before he was shot and after he was shot -- in a straight line.

If you can't change the past, and you can't change the future, and you can't change yourself (this "universe" will course correct to keep your identity/ghost intact), but you can skip back and forth "in time" on this island when the Frozen Donkey Wheel is turned, then what gives?


What's making the green screen change?


[Remember, the worlds of LOST (island and flash) are REAL, but they are not PHYSICAL worlds.]

AMY'S THEORY, MEET "THE CONSTANT." "THE CONSTANT?" AMY'S THEORY.


I got this idea from a show called FRINGE. In the pilot, FBI agent Olivia Dunham needs information from her dying, comatose boyfriend.  Her kooky scientist pal hooks her and her boyfriend up to a machine that will synchronize the frequencies of their brain function.  He dopes her up and puts her in a sensory deprivation tank.  When the monitor shows the two brains syncing to the same frequency, the agent and her boyfriend connect in a mutual dream world, an environment created using memories from both of them.  They talk (mostly he's like um, what's going on, sweetie?), and she gets him to "show her" the guy who tried to kill them both.  He shows her by thinking about it. They both experience his memory of the bad guy.  The kooky scientist wakes her up, and she jets off to save the day.


Think back to what Christian tells Jack in "The End":

• Jack:  Where are we, Dad?
• Christian: This is a place that you – that you all made together so you could find one another. The most important part of your life – was the time that you spent with these people. That’s why all of you are here. Nobody does it alone, Jack. You needed all of them, and they needed you.

Remember, NOTHING we've seen on LOST is taking place in a physical world -- not the sideways, not the island, not the FB or FF, not LA (off island).  None of that is PHYSICAL.  However, as Christian says: "it is all real. Everything that's happened to you is real."  The sideways does not have to be a physical world to be a real world. ["The End"]


The only way that that the sideways world can be "real" and "made together" by "you all," meaning our losties, is if it is made by their "real" minds -- just like our girl and her comatose boyfriend did on FRINGE.  The only way it can be made together is if their minds are somehow connected -- if they are all on the same page.  If they are in sync.


If they are all on the same FREQUENCY.


We'll explore more of this concept in Chapter 3 when we discuss how identity works on LOST, so let's just stick to the basics:  location.  Remember, our losties are all on a zipcord, and they are all in the same exact SPOT on the zipcord.  As they zip down their zipcord of linear existence, the green screen around them changes:  island, flashback, flashforward, L.A. etc.


Our question remains: how does the green screen change?


The answer is:  I think whatever's lighting up Scooby-Doo Cave is generating an electromagnetic field [EMF]. A stable EMF.  The frequency of the EMF determines what the green screen is for our losties within range.   I think the island's EMF cycles frequencies naturally, and I think that process was "corrupted" by whatever Jacob did to the CAVE EMF and/or whatever the Dharma Initiative did at the Orchid and/or the Swan Station.


So I think the green screen is changed by the "heart" of the island.  The frequency of the island's EMF determines what's on the green screen, including all the flashes (back, forward and sideways) for all the peeps ON the island.


Still balking? That's okay. I totally understand.  However, ask yourself how did Ben move the island? If our losties' minds are synched to the island's frequency (our losties are on Island Channel 4), then that's their reality.  That's their green screen.  However, if Ben changes the Island to Channel 8, and you stay on Island Channel 4, oh, I dunno, because you are in a helicopter in the air and don't have physical contact with the island as it changes channels, guess what happens?


The island disappears right before your eyes.


Ben didn't "move" the island. He changed the green screen channel!  That's why the peeps on the island get "jet lag" when they are "skipping through time." They are unable to adjust to the changing frequencies before the island changes again.  Result? Brain bleed and frequency crossover  [Not good].


That's also why Hurley and KIB (kid in black) can see the dead. Their minds are able to tap into their "dead" frequency.


End Excerpt


Remember:

• To the peeps on the heliocopter, the island and everything on it "disappeared."
• However, to the peeps on the island, the FREIGHTER "disappeared."
• As much as you can argue Ben PHYSICALLY moved the island, you can only make that argument from the point of view of our losties on the helicopter.
• You can make that SAME argument about the FREIGHTER from the point of view of our losties left behind. To them, Ben moved the FREIGHTER.

PERSPECTIVE, my lovely LOST readers, is where storytelling draws the line. Cross it -- Don't cross it. It's up to US.


FINAL THOUGHTS


Here's a good question:

• IF we look at the island as a "green screen" [like a TV screen], and
• IF we look at the different "times" our losties skip through as different "channels" of existence,

THEN

• WHERE does the CONTENT for each channel COME FROM?

Think that one over for next time!