SUSPENDED ANIMATION

While the concept of "suspended animation" is in the realm of science fiction,  some scientists are testing out a similar process in order to explore health care options to long space travel.

They prefer to call it “emergency preservation and resuscitation.” Basically, their goal is to suspend life to keep patients alive during dangerous operations through the use of internal cooling. A patient’s blood is completely removed and replaced with a cold saline solution, slowing down metabolism and reducing oxygen needs. The body cools to about 50ºF, basically inducing hypothermia. This will supposedly help buy time for important surgery for patients suffering from a massive heart attack or a shooting. A heart-lung bypass machine restores blood circulation and oxygenation for resuscitation

The trials are currently being tested on 10 patients expected to die from their injuries, with survival rates less than 7%. For now, this is only for those who have “suffered cardiac arrest after severe traumatic injury, with their chest cavity open and having lost at least half their blood already,” according to CNET’s Michelle Starr. The procedure has previously been tested on pigs successfully, though some pigs needed their heart jump-started.

If successful,  this procedure would benefit healthcare in the long run, but astronauts who want to travel through space for months at a time. For the biggest problem with deep space travel is fuel and food supplies for the crew. If one is in a state of suspended animation, the theory goes that you don't have to metabolize normal foods in order to sustain life. Your body slows down to the bare minimum of existence.

It may be a long way off to get an acceptable success rate. But at 7 percent, it seems too low to be a workable solution. Then, look at the LOST characters. Did even 7 percent of the characters survive the island?

What if the characters were really test subjects in a state of suspended animation, but the network of monitors and feedback loops cross connects everyone into a community consciousness?

What if the characters were actually deep space astronauts on a mission, but in their semi-coma state begin to die off during the journey. As such, a psychological barrier forms with the remaining souls - - - an idyllic island mental setting to process their fate: death.

Or it could be a similar journey of dead souls to the after life (sideways world).