What do Numbers represent?
A number is an arithmetical value, expressed by a word, symbol, or figure, representing a particular quantity and used in counting and making calculations and for showing order in a series or for identification. It is also a quantity or amount; such as several, in a group, company or order (such as a magazine issue to indicate a position in a series).
In the LOST mythology, the Numbers were the glue that bound many clues.
We really first learn of the power of the Numbers by Hurley hearing them while he was at the mental institution. The Numbers were supposed to have been heard by a patient, who said they were cursed. But despite the warning, Hurley used the Numbers on a lottery ticket. So, the Numbers were at first, lucky. But as Hurley started to embrace his new wealth and fame, the winning lottery ticket became his own curse (with family members being hurt, people dying, etc.)
We also found out that the Numbers were broadcast possibly as an island location beacon to the DHARMA group. Why the numbers were important to DHARMA has led to speculation that the main purpose of island research was to re-set the Valenzetti Equation, a large doomsday-predicting formula on the demise of mankind.
We also found the Numbers stamped on the Hatch cover. This apparent serial number freaks Hurley out as a bad omen. In some respects, that was true. The Hatch discovery led to Desmond and the internal workings of DHARMA, and more mysteries and clues (such as the blast door map). Desmond was a lost soul also imprisoned on the island to do unexplained work for an alleged higher purpose. (One new theory is that the Hatch and electromagnetic fields were being operated by human souls in order to regulate the gateways between life, death, heaven and hell. The operators were not told of their role, least they could interfere and destroy the natural world.)
Finally, the Numbers are the code in which needed to be placed into a computer control every 108 minutes or bad things would happen (an electromagnetic build up would create a lockdown, a purple flash, release of energy, to dangerous explosion-implosion events). Why human beings had to enter the code to regulate the release of an alleged energy build up is unclear, but may take homage to the soldiers who man defense missile silos - - - who have to manually enter launch codes in order to fire destructive nuclear warheads. The idea is that these men and women have the final say on their own fate; and as a check against a computer malfunction.
So the Numbers represented good luck, bad luck, a key, a curse, and tie that bound many different elements of the story together. But in the end, TPTB merely said that the Numbers were a red herring, with no real significance to the main story. That reveal was one of the major disappointments to serious fans.
Showing posts with label gate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gate. Show all posts
Thursday, January 8, 2015
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
GATEWAY
There may be a stairway to heaven, but there is a gateway to hell. Most ancient people around the globe believed in an underworld or hell. After a person died, their spirit or soul would have to traverse that underworld to be judged by gods or demons.
So universal was that notion, that key elements of the gateway to the underworld emerged:
1. Ancient cultures believed that erupting volcanoes were the openings to the underworld. this brought about the fire and brimstone picture of that place.
2. Ancient people believed that there were several gateways around the world, mostly on remote islands, including Helka north of Iceland.
3. Islands are created by the volcanic eruption and cooling of molten lava above the ocean's surface. Hawaii is the most famous U.S. volcanic island chain. It's native people had great respect for their fire god, Pele.
4. Volcanoes and their associated caves were found to sacred places by many ancient peoples. Some believed that the caves were closer to their dead ancestors, who may have needed their prayers or offerings in order to escape the punishment of hell.
5. Volcanoes, because of their violent explosive and destructive nature, were feared by natives. And this fear associated with an afterlife under ground in a pit of fire was enough to start the basis of all modern religions. What you did in life on earth would have consequences in the after life.
LOST's setting had many of these aspects. The main story is set on a Pacific volcanic island. Early in the story, Jack found a cave with fresh water (life) and death (Adam & Eve). The frozen donkey wheel was deep underground which had in hieroglyphs the words "Earth gates." The island rumbled like an earthquake or volcanic eruption during the time travel sequences. All of the candidates were put through tests to be judged as successor guardian. Everyone on the island feared some form of retribution or punishment for their past behavior. Michael ended up trapped on the island as a whisper (spirit) because he killed Ana Lucia and Libby. The island contained supernatural elements, including the element of movement and stealth.
The ancients believed that these gates were the nexus point between various dimensions. It is a place where humans could actually traverse to hell while still being alive. Likewise, the demons who controlled hell could leave and make it into the human world. Recall, MIB called Jacob "the Devil." Likewise, MIB/Flocke was called an evil incarnate. They could have been demons who foraged into the human world to purge, test and judge souls.
In The End, it is inferred that the island was some sort of gateway for the main characters to find their way into the sideways world (after life).
So universal was that notion, that key elements of the gateway to the underworld emerged:
1. Ancient cultures believed that erupting volcanoes were the openings to the underworld. this brought about the fire and brimstone picture of that place.
2. Ancient people believed that there were several gateways around the world, mostly on remote islands, including Helka north of Iceland.
3. Islands are created by the volcanic eruption and cooling of molten lava above the ocean's surface. Hawaii is the most famous U.S. volcanic island chain. It's native people had great respect for their fire god, Pele.
4. Volcanoes and their associated caves were found to sacred places by many ancient peoples. Some believed that the caves were closer to their dead ancestors, who may have needed their prayers or offerings in order to escape the punishment of hell.
5. Volcanoes, because of their violent explosive and destructive nature, were feared by natives. And this fear associated with an afterlife under ground in a pit of fire was enough to start the basis of all modern religions. What you did in life on earth would have consequences in the after life.
LOST's setting had many of these aspects. The main story is set on a Pacific volcanic island. Early in the story, Jack found a cave with fresh water (life) and death (Adam & Eve). The frozen donkey wheel was deep underground which had in hieroglyphs the words "Earth gates." The island rumbled like an earthquake or volcanic eruption during the time travel sequences. All of the candidates were put through tests to be judged as successor guardian. Everyone on the island feared some form of retribution or punishment for their past behavior. Michael ended up trapped on the island as a whisper (spirit) because he killed Ana Lucia and Libby. The island contained supernatural elements, including the element of movement and stealth.
The ancients believed that these gates were the nexus point between various dimensions. It is a place where humans could actually traverse to hell while still being alive. Likewise, the demons who controlled hell could leave and make it into the human world. Recall, MIB called Jacob "the Devil." Likewise, MIB/Flocke was called an evil incarnate. They could have been demons who foraged into the human world to purge, test and judge souls.
In The End, it is inferred that the island was some sort of gateway for the main characters to find their way into the sideways world (after life).
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
GATEWAYS
We
are all inventors, each sailing out on a voyage of discovery, guided
each by a private chart, of which there is no duplicate. The world is
all gates, all opportunities.
— Ralph Waldo Emerson
Many LOST fans were sent on their own personal voyages of discovery, pushed along by the tangential winds of the story clues, island mysteries and plot twists. Along my path, I learned much about ancient Egyptian culture to the point of interpreting hieroglyphs on background objects as part of fan discussions between episodes. I also learned that the Internet community can galvanize around a show to have intellectual to emotional discussions about fictional characters in fictional realities. It was a nostalgic return to the old college late night bull session.
The mysteries of the series opened gateways to research, plot dissection, speculation, theories and projections from die hard fans. It spawned a few cottage industries and writers publishing their own LOST manifestos. But from today's perspective, there is no avid Internet show discussion board anywhere close to the peak of the LOST years.
Just like minor skirmishes before major Civil War battles fade into the footnotes of history, so has the LOST communities and fan threads. But just as the fan base has moved on to other things, the main character actors have faded slowly into the background as well. One would have imagined at the height of LOST hysteria in six critically acclaimed seasons, the actors would have launched into more high profile careers. But that was not the case.
Matthew Fox (Jack Shephard): He went to do a play after the series shut down; he was no eager to get back into television roles. His claim to fame was a drunken altercation with a Cleveland bus driver during a film shoot.
Terry O'Quinn (John Locke): He was reportedly set to team up with Michael Emerson (a.k.a. evil genius Ben Linus) on a pilot called "Odd Jobs," which never made it into production. He also had a sci-fiction horror drama set in NYC which was cancelled after one season. Emerson plays a quieter version of Ben in a current television series.
Josh Holloway (James "Sawyer" Ford): He had a role in 'Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol.' He next project out this month is a movie about break dancing, which looks like an odd choice in viewing the trailer.
Evangeline Lilly (Kate Austen): She starred with Hugh Jackman in 'Real Steel.' And she is currently cast in the next Hobbit movie.
Jorge Garcia (Hugo "Hurley" Reyes): He has had a few guest appearances on TV, and was a cast member on Alcatraz, a sci-fi series that was cancelled in its first season.
Daniel Dae Kim (Jin Kwon): He is a cast member on CBS' reboot of "Hawaii Five-0."
Harold Perrineau (Michael Dawson): He appeared in various projects including the Nicolas Cage vigilante thriller 'The Hungry Rabbit Jumps' and Jim Parsons ("The Big Bang Theory") in the dark comedy "Cooler" and James Caviezel in the crime drama 'Transit.'
Dominic Monaghan (Charlie Pace): He hosts a adventure nature series for BBC America.
Henry Ian Cusick (Desmond Hume): He has made a few guest appearances on TV dramas.
Naveen Andrews (Sayid Jarrah): He appeared 2011 film drama 'Hullo.'
None of the main cast members of LOST has moved into the lead role in either a major film or ground breaking television/cable series. But that is the nature of the entertainment business. There are steady work as character actors and then more hit or miss work for those who believe they should headline. Headliners are only as good as their box office/ratings.
The LOST series probably did open up casting doors for the main actors for future projects. But fans of LOST seem not to have migrated with the actors to view their new ventures. In some respects, the LOST actors have been stereotyped in their LOST character roles. Some have speculated that the ending of the series may have soured fans and executives on them (classic blame the messenger situation). But this is not unusual for high profile television actors to find it difficult to find further high profile work in the industry.
Many LOST fans were sent on their own personal voyages of discovery, pushed along by the tangential winds of the story clues, island mysteries and plot twists. Along my path, I learned much about ancient Egyptian culture to the point of interpreting hieroglyphs on background objects as part of fan discussions between episodes. I also learned that the Internet community can galvanize around a show to have intellectual to emotional discussions about fictional characters in fictional realities. It was a nostalgic return to the old college late night bull session.
The mysteries of the series opened gateways to research, plot dissection, speculation, theories and projections from die hard fans. It spawned a few cottage industries and writers publishing their own LOST manifestos. But from today's perspective, there is no avid Internet show discussion board anywhere close to the peak of the LOST years.
Just like minor skirmishes before major Civil War battles fade into the footnotes of history, so has the LOST communities and fan threads. But just as the fan base has moved on to other things, the main character actors have faded slowly into the background as well. One would have imagined at the height of LOST hysteria in six critically acclaimed seasons, the actors would have launched into more high profile careers. But that was not the case.
Matthew Fox (Jack Shephard): He went to do a play after the series shut down; he was no eager to get back into television roles. His claim to fame was a drunken altercation with a Cleveland bus driver during a film shoot.
Terry O'Quinn (John Locke): He was reportedly set to team up with Michael Emerson (a.k.a. evil genius Ben Linus) on a pilot called "Odd Jobs," which never made it into production. He also had a sci-fiction horror drama set in NYC which was cancelled after one season. Emerson plays a quieter version of Ben in a current television series.
Josh Holloway (James "Sawyer" Ford): He had a role in 'Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol.' He next project out this month is a movie about break dancing, which looks like an odd choice in viewing the trailer.
Evangeline Lilly (Kate Austen): She starred with Hugh Jackman in 'Real Steel.' And she is currently cast in the next Hobbit movie.
Jorge Garcia (Hugo "Hurley" Reyes): He has had a few guest appearances on TV, and was a cast member on Alcatraz, a sci-fi series that was cancelled in its first season.
Daniel Dae Kim (Jin Kwon): He is a cast member on CBS' reboot of "Hawaii Five-0."
Harold Perrineau (Michael Dawson): He appeared in various projects including the Nicolas Cage vigilante thriller 'The Hungry Rabbit Jumps' and Jim Parsons ("The Big Bang Theory") in the dark comedy "Cooler" and James Caviezel in the crime drama 'Transit.'
Dominic Monaghan (Charlie Pace): He hosts a adventure nature series for BBC America.
Henry Ian Cusick (Desmond Hume): He has made a few guest appearances on TV dramas.
Naveen Andrews (Sayid Jarrah): He appeared 2011 film drama 'Hullo.'
None of the main cast members of LOST has moved into the lead role in either a major film or ground breaking television/cable series. But that is the nature of the entertainment business. There are steady work as character actors and then more hit or miss work for those who believe they should headline. Headliners are only as good as their box office/ratings.
The LOST series probably did open up casting doors for the main actors for future projects. But fans of LOST seem not to have migrated with the actors to view their new ventures. In some respects, the LOST actors have been stereotyped in their LOST character roles. Some have speculated that the ending of the series may have soured fans and executives on them (classic blame the messenger situation). But this is not unusual for high profile television actors to find it difficult to find further high profile work in the industry.
Monday, December 17, 2012
REBOOT EPISODES 85-88
POSTING NOTE: Due to work changes, I may not be able to post updates on Tuesdays after Monday night marathon G4 reruns, but updates will occur later in the week.
LOST REBOOT
Recap: Episodes 85-88 (Days 99 - - ????)
Now we begin the jumbled confusion of Lost’s time travel circus:
After the Season 4 finale, the Oceanic Six and those left on the Island are separated by both time and space. The three years apart were covered in various ways.
On-island time shifts from 1974-1977. Chronology of island events as experienced by time-jumping islanders, up to the sudden arrival of the Oceanic 6 in 1977. Depicted during the first part of Season 5.
Off island time shifts from 2005-2007. Chronology of events taking place off the island after the rescue of the Oceanic 6. Depicted variously in flash forwards, real-time events, and flashbacks.
The key events in this four episode arc:
Widmore’s soldiers continue to reign havoc on the island, until they are ambushed by the Others with the help of Sayid and Kate, who get a free copter ride off the island as a result. But in haste to get back to the freighter, Sawyer jumps out to save his friends. However, when Ben kills Keamy in the Orchid station for killing Alex, it activates a “dead man” detonation device on the freighter, which eventually blows up killing Michael and Jin. The copter tries to get back to the island, but Ben moves the frozen donkey wheel, making the island “disappear.” The copter crashes, Desmond is dead in the water until revived by Jack. Then Penny’s boat arrives to rescue the Oceanic 6. But as a result of the sky flashing and island moving; the island is “skipping” in time and Locke meets Alpert on two different years, one in which he knows what is happening and another when he does not. Off the island, Ben is trying to get all the 815 survivors, including dead Locke’s body, back to the island. He asks Eloise what would happen if he cannot get everyone back. She replies, “God help us all.”
Science:
Exotic materials were referenced as being part of the Orchid station chamber.
Exotic Materials can include plastics, superalloys, semiconductors, superconductors and ceramics.
Casimir Effect
The existence of a force between two polarizable atoms and between such an atom and a conducting plate in 1947, and, after a conversation with Niels Bohr who suggested it had something to do with zero-point energy, Casimir alone formulated the theory predicting a force between neutral conducting plates in 1948; the former is called the Casimir-Polder force while the latter is the Casimir effect in the narrow sense. When this field is instead studied using the QED Vacuum of quantum electrodynamics, it is seen that the plates do affect the virtual photons which constitute the field, and generate a net force —either an attraction or a repulsion depending on the specific arrangement of the two plates. Although the Casimir effect can be expressed in terms of virtual particles interacting with the objects, it is best described and more easily calculated in terms of the zero point energy of a quantized field in the intervening space between the objects.
Science theory, fiction application:
Exotic matter with negative energy density may be required to stabilize a wormhole. In quantum mechanics of the Casimir effect can be used to produce a locally mass-negative region of space-time, and suggested that negative effect could be used to stabilize a wormhole to allow faster than light travel.
In physics, a wormhole is a hypothetical topographical feature of spacetime that would be, fundamentally, a "shortcut" through spacetime. For a simple visual explanation of a wormhole, consider spacetime visualized as a two-dimensional (2D) surface. If this surface is folded along a third dimension, it allows one to picture a wormhole "bridge". This is merely a visualization displayed to convey an essentially unvisualisable structure existing in 4 or more dimensions. The parts of the wormhole could be higher-dimensional analogues for the parts of the curved 2D surface; for example, instead of mouths which are circular holes in a 2D plane, a real wormhole's mouths could be spheres in 3D space. A wormhole is, in theory, much like a tunnel with two ends each in separate points in spacetime.
Improbabilities:
The trigger mechanism on Keamy that detonates the ship explosives.
The idea of “cooling” the fuse/trigger aboard the ship. In the set up of the device, it is stated that if the battery is disconnected (no charge sent to the device) it would trigger a detonation, meaning that there is a redundant power source for the firing signal and the electric spark to detonate the C4. Cooling the battery makes no sense to stop the bomb from going off.
No one would have survived the C4 explosion. 500 grams of C4 can destroy a car; 500 pounds would have total destructive effect on the ship. When the chemical reaction begins, the C-4 decomposes to release a variety of gases (notably, nitrogen and carbon oxides). The gases initially expand at about 26,400 feet per second (8,050 meters per second), applying a huge amount of force to everything in the surrounding area. At this expansion rate, it is totally impossible to outrun the explosion like they do in dozens of action movies. To the observer, the explosion is nearly instantaneous -- one second, everything's normal, and the next it's totally destroyed.
Clues:
Hurley continues to interact with dead people in a physical manner. When Sayid breaks him out of the hospital, he leaves his chess game by saying “checkmate, Mr. Eko.” When Sayid is darted and Hurley is pulled over by the police, the cop who raps on his window is Anna Lucia, who yells at him to get his act together.
On numerous occasions, people ask Hurley if he is “crazy” because he is acting crazy.
Desmond wakes up three years after rescue from a dream of Daniel telling him to go to Oxford, but Desmond suddenly realizes “it was not a dream; it was a memory.”
Keamy tells Ben that Widmore will find him. Ben replies, "Not if I find him first." Despite Locke's best efforts to save him, Keamy dies. Locke tells Ben that he just killed everyone on the freighter, to which Ben coldly responds, "So?"
Discussion:
“ Life is a long lesson in humility. ”
— James M. Barrie
This is the most science-centric loop in the Lost series. In order to digest these meaty concepts without indigestion, let us slowly examine what was said and what is inconsistent with the show’s stated mythology.
In the video, Halliwax explains that The Orchid was designed to investigate 'unique properties' of the Island, it is these properties create a kind of Casimir Effect. He points to a white triangular door, calling it the vault. Halliwax explains that the vault was constructed adjacent to what they believe to be a pocket of negatively charged exotic matter. Halliwax then warns the viewer never to place any metal objects inside the vault. Halliwax then places a white rabbit inside the vault, closing the doors and stating that they will send it 100 milliseconds into the future.
From a science fiction standpoint, the theory of using negatively charged exotic matter to create a Casimir type effect means that the Frozen Donkey Wheel is in essence, a worm hole stabilizer. The video states that no non-organic materials, such as metal, should be placed in the vault. The vault was used to send bunnies milliseconds into the future. However, it was extremely dangerous for the time traveling bunny to interact with its real time self in the station.
When Ben blows a hole in the vault, all we see is a rocky tunnel down to the chamber. This begs the question: where are the exotic materials, the plates to which the island’s unique energy interacts to create a change in spacetime? Is the negative exotic material organics, such as humans? In the multiverse sideways realm, are positive exotic materials human souls?
The island’s EM energy creates the waves to make the Casimir effect to stabilize the wormhole between universes. the church’s “white light” energy waves must make a positive Casimir effect to stabilize the worm hole at the other end of the tunnel. The negative (evil) character traits and actions on the island are clearly balanced by the positive (good) character traits in the sideways world.
In physics, a Einstein-Rosen Bridge (or wormhole) is a hypothetical feature of spacetime theory that would be, fundamentally, a "shortcut" through space and time. A wormhole is, in theory, much like a tunnel with two ends each in separate points in spacetime. By crossing the event horizon of a Schwarzschild wormhole which bridges two different universes. the observer seeing light that has fallen into the black hole interior region from the other universe; however, this other universe is unreachable in the case of a Schwarzschild wormhole, as the bridge always collapses before the observer has time to cross it, and everything that has fallen through the event horizon of either universe is inevitably crushed in the singularity. A Schwarzschild wormhole is a bridge between areas of space that can be modeled as vacuum solutions to the Einstein Field Equations. Kip Thorne proposed that using "exotic matter" to hold open the throat of a Schwarzschild wormhole, one can create a transferable wormhole. This is called a Morris-Thorne Wormhole. By accelerating one end of a wormhole, it would allow the person entering it to travel to an exact location years in the past or future.
The Orchid must use a particle accelerator to open a wormhole that is used for time/space travel. This is the "frozen wheel" - particle accelerators need to be cooled to operate (they use superconducting magnets). As Ben turns the spokes of the embedded wheel, inside the rock the light changes and energy increases to a yellowish color to a flash of bright white light. (The white light that is the same as the final moment of The End, when Christian opens the church doors to “move on.”) The movement of the FDW creates the same failsafe Hatch denotation of Desmond’s; the island goes through a purple-white flash. But in this situation, there is a clear mechanical musical tone to the energy escaping the underground chamber.
Ben tells him that there is a price to pay to move the Island. The person that moves it must leave it and never return there. Locke is reluctant to let Ben leave but Ben offers a handshake, apologizing for all the misery he has inflicted on Locke. (This is the same statement told to Locke by Jacob after Locke falls 8 stories. Why does Ben say once someone “leaves” the island, they never can come back? That is not true as the O6, Locke and Ben return to the island later in the series. And it appears Ben has turned the wheel before, since he is familiar with Tunisia landing pad. At this point in the series, it is obvious that Ben has lied so much he is incapable of telling real truths. The Others and Ben have come to and from the island on the submarine in the past. When one turns the wheel, there is no literal or spiritual reason that they are forbidden from returning, they simply cannot, since they are sent to an unknown destination somewhere else on the planet, while the island is moved to another unknown point. The impact of this is that the person who turns the wheel can never know where the island is, since they move it but do not know where it moves in relation to them. There is nothing stopping Ben from getting to the island if he can manage to find it—the catch is that he cannot find it.
Meanwhile, Locke left the Orchid and heads to Richard and the Others, following Ben's instructions. At his arrival, all of the Others look surprised and Richard tells him "welcome home." The humility of Ben’s demise as the island leader must have made Locke feel like he was on top of the world.
The freighter explosion sequence which kills everyone on board (for now) was interrupted by another strange twist. After Michael yells at Jin to leave, he hears whispers After the whispers, Christian Shepard appears in the room containing the explosives, telling Michael, "You can go now...". The boat explodes, killing Michael and everyone else on board. From the helicopter, Sun cries out in desperation over the apparent loss of her husband.
Why does ghost Christian have to be on the boat? It is Christian that “allows” the explosion?
When did Christian get so much “power” over life and death of the characters? It makes the whole bomb explosion sequence surreal - - - that the dead are controlling the lives of the apparent living. It also puts into question “who” is really in charge - - - we are led to believe that the man behind the curtain is the mysterious Jacob, but in The End it is Christian who is the master of ceremonies at Eloise’s church.
The question is the Church - - - it is dark and foreboding with a basement pendulum to find the island with Eloise; but it is also light and cheerful in the End. But are there two churches? One with evil world and other with good world? Or is there just one “church” in the sideways world - - - that is the equivalent of the island in the real world. It is the nexus plates between both worlds. So when the O6 left the island, did they really “go back home” or did they go into an alternative reality (with all the medical legal errors and improbabilities)? The sideways purgatory limbo world had characters “living” alternative lives - - - basically good, calm and productive. It is when they “remember” the island time is when they realize the sideways world is fake (in the sense of being a repressed illusion). But that creates another issue: is the island an equal illusion?
When the island “disappeared” when Ben moved the FDW, there should have been a massive oceanic event. Displacement of the island would have created huge void; ocean rift like a sinkhole of 2.65 miles in depth. Such as displacement of land mass would have created a downward force vector, not little indentation on surface of water. A massive displacement of earth (volume) of a Pacific island, which are volcanic, arising from thousands of feet below to the ocean bed, would have created a massive suction as surrounding water would flood the void; a massive whirlpool event. But this was not depicted from the view of the helicopter. So from the visual evidence presented, several conclusions can be drawn: a) that the island is not real in the sense that it contains real volume of earth substances like soil and rock; b) that the island’s disappearance is an illusion (like a magician making an elephant disappear with mirrors) since the ocean’s surface did not dramatically shift with water displacement; c) the island did not disappear, but dove underwater like a submarine (USO); d) the island, as a construct, is not real in our normal view of reality (may be mental, or representative).
Magical/Supernatural/Elements:
The Frozen Donkey will which “moves” an island in time and in space.
Christian appears before Michael in the freighter. Christian then allows the C4 to explode, granting Michael's wish to die.
Last lines in episodes:
EP 85:
SUN: [Shrieking] Jin!
EP 86:
BEN: Jack... I said, all of you. We're gonna have to bring him, too.
[Jack, standing feet from Ben and facing him in the tiny mortuary, turns back and looks at the body in the coffin. Ben regards the body for a moment too. The well-dressed, peaceful-looking body in the coffin, the body of Jeremy Bentham, is the body of John Locke.]
EP 87:
DESMOND: Oxford.
EP 88:
MS. HAWKING: Then God help us all.
New Ideas/Tests of Theories:
If you can’t get lost souls back in their place on the Island, “God help us all?”
Is Christian the shepard who is supposed to herd these lost souls to
bridge mind and body back in one place so they can move on in the after life?
The Dharma science statements infer that the island is a bridge or “portal” between two universes. The island’s unique energy properties stabilizes a wormhole that connects space time and these two separate universes. The question is whether it is a bridge between earth and the afterlife, or more probable - - - between hell and heaven.
When Desmond “died” in the water after the helicopter crash, the island was in a state of time flux; and his mind may have crossed through the portal to the other universe, to a duplicate, parallel self. Now, complicating this assumption is that the other universe is the sideways world - - - one we will be told is where everyone is dead.
Under science fiction multiverse theory, for every action or decision in this world, it creates a parallel universe based upon alternative event choices. As a result, zillions of universes could be operating with the same “characters” but in different situations.
The frozen donkey wheel is the chamber where both Ben and Locke met their destiny moments of sacrificing part of themselves for the sake of a bigger purpose, protecting the Island by moving it in time and space. In a cold chamber is a wooden gear wheel is surrounded by Egyptian glyphs, translated to mean:
OPEN SIDE (EARTH) GATES TO ETERNITIES.
This has to be the best evidence of what the Island is: a nexus point between worlds. Since the Island has been built up by deference to ancient Egyptian beliefs, the phrase can easily be broken down to state that is device allows one to open an earth portal (a gate) to the afterlife. The pyramids and Sphinx were designed as part of Temples to make sure that rulers and leaders would be able to make their dangerous journey through the afterlife to paradise. The Temples were aligned with cosmic and heavenly objects and stars to make sure that the journey would match the myth of Ra's nightly cycle through the underworld.
In ancient Egyptian culture, departed souls would reach a pagan paradise where they would toil in the fields of the gods, while others would go into the underworld to have their heart weighed in the final judgment on whether they would pass onto eternal paradise. The Island could the the intersection of different, supernatural realms of good and evil. This could explain why our perception natural laws and physics seem not to apply to aspects of Island as a reason why there is no scientific or scientific theory explanation for the supernatural elements in the show. The Island is a different realm, a bridge between Earth (and its laws of physics) and a spirit world (where anything goes). Or better yet, the island is the Temple of the Dead who seek a bridge to the living after life (the sideways world).
If you fix the heart, you fix the mind. In island world, especially off-island, it is dark. Evil is center in the characters hearts. Quick to anger; quick to murder. But if one fixes the troubles in their heart, it heals their mental issues.
When we try to find a constant in the series, what are the most repeated lines by the characters?
“I’m sorry.”
“Are you crazy?”
“I am not crazy!”
“Trust me.”
What are the characters attributes in The End? Did any of them really change personality, beliefs? Did any really find redemption, forgiveness of past sins, or have any punishment for their evil ways? No, not really. The sideways church was not the judgment of the on-island events. In fact, there is no moral to the story of The End.
As such, can the series be better viewed as the bridge between lost souls on a journey of personal grief in the afterlife to find some relief with new souls in the next step towards heaven? One is a place of hell and the other a place of happiness.
LOST REBOOT
Recap: Episodes 85-88 (Days 99 - - ????)
Now we begin the jumbled confusion of Lost’s time travel circus:
After the Season 4 finale, the Oceanic Six and those left on the Island are separated by both time and space. The three years apart were covered in various ways.
On-island time shifts from 1974-1977. Chronology of island events as experienced by time-jumping islanders, up to the sudden arrival of the Oceanic 6 in 1977. Depicted during the first part of Season 5.
Off island time shifts from 2005-2007. Chronology of events taking place off the island after the rescue of the Oceanic 6. Depicted variously in flash forwards, real-time events, and flashbacks.
The key events in this four episode arc:
Widmore’s soldiers continue to reign havoc on the island, until they are ambushed by the Others with the help of Sayid and Kate, who get a free copter ride off the island as a result. But in haste to get back to the freighter, Sawyer jumps out to save his friends. However, when Ben kills Keamy in the Orchid station for killing Alex, it activates a “dead man” detonation device on the freighter, which eventually blows up killing Michael and Jin. The copter tries to get back to the island, but Ben moves the frozen donkey wheel, making the island “disappear.” The copter crashes, Desmond is dead in the water until revived by Jack. Then Penny’s boat arrives to rescue the Oceanic 6. But as a result of the sky flashing and island moving; the island is “skipping” in time and Locke meets Alpert on two different years, one in which he knows what is happening and another when he does not. Off the island, Ben is trying to get all the 815 survivors, including dead Locke’s body, back to the island. He asks Eloise what would happen if he cannot get everyone back. She replies, “God help us all.”
Science:
Exotic materials were referenced as being part of the Orchid station chamber.
Exotic Materials can include plastics, superalloys, semiconductors, superconductors and ceramics.
Casimir Effect
The existence of a force between two polarizable atoms and between such an atom and a conducting plate in 1947, and, after a conversation with Niels Bohr who suggested it had something to do with zero-point energy, Casimir alone formulated the theory predicting a force between neutral conducting plates in 1948; the former is called the Casimir-Polder force while the latter is the Casimir effect in the narrow sense. When this field is instead studied using the QED Vacuum of quantum electrodynamics, it is seen that the plates do affect the virtual photons which constitute the field, and generate a net force —either an attraction or a repulsion depending on the specific arrangement of the two plates. Although the Casimir effect can be expressed in terms of virtual particles interacting with the objects, it is best described and more easily calculated in terms of the zero point energy of a quantized field in the intervening space between the objects.
Science theory, fiction application:
Exotic matter with negative energy density may be required to stabilize a wormhole. In quantum mechanics of the Casimir effect can be used to produce a locally mass-negative region of space-time, and suggested that negative effect could be used to stabilize a wormhole to allow faster than light travel.
In physics, a wormhole is a hypothetical topographical feature of spacetime that would be, fundamentally, a "shortcut" through spacetime. For a simple visual explanation of a wormhole, consider spacetime visualized as a two-dimensional (2D) surface. If this surface is folded along a third dimension, it allows one to picture a wormhole "bridge". This is merely a visualization displayed to convey an essentially unvisualisable structure existing in 4 or more dimensions. The parts of the wormhole could be higher-dimensional analogues for the parts of the curved 2D surface; for example, instead of mouths which are circular holes in a 2D plane, a real wormhole's mouths could be spheres in 3D space. A wormhole is, in theory, much like a tunnel with two ends each in separate points in spacetime.
Improbabilities:
The trigger mechanism on Keamy that detonates the ship explosives.
The idea of “cooling” the fuse/trigger aboard the ship. In the set up of the device, it is stated that if the battery is disconnected (no charge sent to the device) it would trigger a detonation, meaning that there is a redundant power source for the firing signal and the electric spark to detonate the C4. Cooling the battery makes no sense to stop the bomb from going off.
No one would have survived the C4 explosion. 500 grams of C4 can destroy a car; 500 pounds would have total destructive effect on the ship. When the chemical reaction begins, the C-4 decomposes to release a variety of gases (notably, nitrogen and carbon oxides). The gases initially expand at about 26,400 feet per second (8,050 meters per second), applying a huge amount of force to everything in the surrounding area. At this expansion rate, it is totally impossible to outrun the explosion like they do in dozens of action movies. To the observer, the explosion is nearly instantaneous -- one second, everything's normal, and the next it's totally destroyed.
Clues:
Hurley continues to interact with dead people in a physical manner. When Sayid breaks him out of the hospital, he leaves his chess game by saying “checkmate, Mr. Eko.” When Sayid is darted and Hurley is pulled over by the police, the cop who raps on his window is Anna Lucia, who yells at him to get his act together.
On numerous occasions, people ask Hurley if he is “crazy” because he is acting crazy.
Desmond wakes up three years after rescue from a dream of Daniel telling him to go to Oxford, but Desmond suddenly realizes “it was not a dream; it was a memory.”
Keamy tells Ben that Widmore will find him. Ben replies, "Not if I find him first." Despite Locke's best efforts to save him, Keamy dies. Locke tells Ben that he just killed everyone on the freighter, to which Ben coldly responds, "So?"
Discussion:
“ Life is a long lesson in humility. ”
— James M. Barrie
This is the most science-centric loop in the Lost series. In order to digest these meaty concepts without indigestion, let us slowly examine what was said and what is inconsistent with the show’s stated mythology.
In the video, Halliwax explains that The Orchid was designed to investigate 'unique properties' of the Island, it is these properties create a kind of Casimir Effect. He points to a white triangular door, calling it the vault. Halliwax explains that the vault was constructed adjacent to what they believe to be a pocket of negatively charged exotic matter. Halliwax then warns the viewer never to place any metal objects inside the vault. Halliwax then places a white rabbit inside the vault, closing the doors and stating that they will send it 100 milliseconds into the future.
From a science fiction standpoint, the theory of using negatively charged exotic matter to create a Casimir type effect means that the Frozen Donkey Wheel is in essence, a worm hole stabilizer. The video states that no non-organic materials, such as metal, should be placed in the vault. The vault was used to send bunnies milliseconds into the future. However, it was extremely dangerous for the time traveling bunny to interact with its real time self in the station.
When Ben blows a hole in the vault, all we see is a rocky tunnel down to the chamber. This begs the question: where are the exotic materials, the plates to which the island’s unique energy interacts to create a change in spacetime? Is the negative exotic material organics, such as humans? In the multiverse sideways realm, are positive exotic materials human souls?
The island’s EM energy creates the waves to make the Casimir effect to stabilize the wormhole between universes. the church’s “white light” energy waves must make a positive Casimir effect to stabilize the worm hole at the other end of the tunnel. The negative (evil) character traits and actions on the island are clearly balanced by the positive (good) character traits in the sideways world.
In physics, a Einstein-Rosen Bridge (or wormhole) is a hypothetical feature of spacetime theory that would be, fundamentally, a "shortcut" through space and time. A wormhole is, in theory, much like a tunnel with two ends each in separate points in spacetime. By crossing the event horizon of a Schwarzschild wormhole which bridges two different universes. the observer seeing light that has fallen into the black hole interior region from the other universe; however, this other universe is unreachable in the case of a Schwarzschild wormhole, as the bridge always collapses before the observer has time to cross it, and everything that has fallen through the event horizon of either universe is inevitably crushed in the singularity. A Schwarzschild wormhole is a bridge between areas of space that can be modeled as vacuum solutions to the Einstein Field Equations. Kip Thorne proposed that using "exotic matter" to hold open the throat of a Schwarzschild wormhole, one can create a transferable wormhole. This is called a Morris-Thorne Wormhole. By accelerating one end of a wormhole, it would allow the person entering it to travel to an exact location years in the past or future.
The Orchid must use a particle accelerator to open a wormhole that is used for time/space travel. This is the "frozen wheel" - particle accelerators need to be cooled to operate (they use superconducting magnets). As Ben turns the spokes of the embedded wheel, inside the rock the light changes and energy increases to a yellowish color to a flash of bright white light. (The white light that is the same as the final moment of The End, when Christian opens the church doors to “move on.”) The movement of the FDW creates the same failsafe Hatch denotation of Desmond’s; the island goes through a purple-white flash. But in this situation, there is a clear mechanical musical tone to the energy escaping the underground chamber.
Ben tells him that there is a price to pay to move the Island. The person that moves it must leave it and never return there. Locke is reluctant to let Ben leave but Ben offers a handshake, apologizing for all the misery he has inflicted on Locke. (This is the same statement told to Locke by Jacob after Locke falls 8 stories. Why does Ben say once someone “leaves” the island, they never can come back? That is not true as the O6, Locke and Ben return to the island later in the series. And it appears Ben has turned the wheel before, since he is familiar with Tunisia landing pad. At this point in the series, it is obvious that Ben has lied so much he is incapable of telling real truths. The Others and Ben have come to and from the island on the submarine in the past. When one turns the wheel, there is no literal or spiritual reason that they are forbidden from returning, they simply cannot, since they are sent to an unknown destination somewhere else on the planet, while the island is moved to another unknown point. The impact of this is that the person who turns the wheel can never know where the island is, since they move it but do not know where it moves in relation to them. There is nothing stopping Ben from getting to the island if he can manage to find it—the catch is that he cannot find it.
Meanwhile, Locke left the Orchid and heads to Richard and the Others, following Ben's instructions. At his arrival, all of the Others look surprised and Richard tells him "welcome home." The humility of Ben’s demise as the island leader must have made Locke feel like he was on top of the world.
The freighter explosion sequence which kills everyone on board (for now) was interrupted by another strange twist. After Michael yells at Jin to leave, he hears whispers After the whispers, Christian Shepard appears in the room containing the explosives, telling Michael, "You can go now...". The boat explodes, killing Michael and everyone else on board. From the helicopter, Sun cries out in desperation over the apparent loss of her husband.
Why does ghost Christian have to be on the boat? It is Christian that “allows” the explosion?
When did Christian get so much “power” over life and death of the characters? It makes the whole bomb explosion sequence surreal - - - that the dead are controlling the lives of the apparent living. It also puts into question “who” is really in charge - - - we are led to believe that the man behind the curtain is the mysterious Jacob, but in The End it is Christian who is the master of ceremonies at Eloise’s church.
The question is the Church - - - it is dark and foreboding with a basement pendulum to find the island with Eloise; but it is also light and cheerful in the End. But are there two churches? One with evil world and other with good world? Or is there just one “church” in the sideways world - - - that is the equivalent of the island in the real world. It is the nexus plates between both worlds. So when the O6 left the island, did they really “go back home” or did they go into an alternative reality (with all the medical legal errors and improbabilities)? The sideways purgatory limbo world had characters “living” alternative lives - - - basically good, calm and productive. It is when they “remember” the island time is when they realize the sideways world is fake (in the sense of being a repressed illusion). But that creates another issue: is the island an equal illusion?
When the island “disappeared” when Ben moved the FDW, there should have been a massive oceanic event. Displacement of the island would have created huge void; ocean rift like a sinkhole of 2.65 miles in depth. Such as displacement of land mass would have created a downward force vector, not little indentation on surface of water. A massive displacement of earth (volume) of a Pacific island, which are volcanic, arising from thousands of feet below to the ocean bed, would have created a massive suction as surrounding water would flood the void; a massive whirlpool event. But this was not depicted from the view of the helicopter. So from the visual evidence presented, several conclusions can be drawn: a) that the island is not real in the sense that it contains real volume of earth substances like soil and rock; b) that the island’s disappearance is an illusion (like a magician making an elephant disappear with mirrors) since the ocean’s surface did not dramatically shift with water displacement; c) the island did not disappear, but dove underwater like a submarine (USO); d) the island, as a construct, is not real in our normal view of reality (may be mental, or representative).
Magical/Supernatural/Elements:
The Frozen Donkey will which “moves” an island in time and in space.
Christian appears before Michael in the freighter. Christian then allows the C4 to explode, granting Michael's wish to die.
Last lines in episodes:
EP 85:
SUN: [Shrieking] Jin!
EP 86:
BEN: Jack... I said, all of you. We're gonna have to bring him, too.
[Jack, standing feet from Ben and facing him in the tiny mortuary, turns back and looks at the body in the coffin. Ben regards the body for a moment too. The well-dressed, peaceful-looking body in the coffin, the body of Jeremy Bentham, is the body of John Locke.]
EP 87:
DESMOND: Oxford.
EP 88:
MS. HAWKING: Then God help us all.
New Ideas/Tests of Theories:
If you can’t get lost souls back in their place on the Island, “God help us all?”
Is Christian the shepard who is supposed to herd these lost souls to
bridge mind and body back in one place so they can move on in the after life?
The Dharma science statements infer that the island is a bridge or “portal” between two universes. The island’s unique energy properties stabilizes a wormhole that connects space time and these two separate universes. The question is whether it is a bridge between earth and the afterlife, or more probable - - - between hell and heaven.
When Desmond “died” in the water after the helicopter crash, the island was in a state of time flux; and his mind may have crossed through the portal to the other universe, to a duplicate, parallel self. Now, complicating this assumption is that the other universe is the sideways world - - - one we will be told is where everyone is dead.
Under science fiction multiverse theory, for every action or decision in this world, it creates a parallel universe based upon alternative event choices. As a result, zillions of universes could be operating with the same “characters” but in different situations.
The frozen donkey wheel is the chamber where both Ben and Locke met their destiny moments of sacrificing part of themselves for the sake of a bigger purpose, protecting the Island by moving it in time and space. In a cold chamber is a wooden gear wheel is surrounded by Egyptian glyphs, translated to mean:
OPEN SIDE (EARTH) GATES TO ETERNITIES.
This has to be the best evidence of what the Island is: a nexus point between worlds. Since the Island has been built up by deference to ancient Egyptian beliefs, the phrase can easily be broken down to state that is device allows one to open an earth portal (a gate) to the afterlife. The pyramids and Sphinx were designed as part of Temples to make sure that rulers and leaders would be able to make their dangerous journey through the afterlife to paradise. The Temples were aligned with cosmic and heavenly objects and stars to make sure that the journey would match the myth of Ra's nightly cycle through the underworld.
In ancient Egyptian culture, departed souls would reach a pagan paradise where they would toil in the fields of the gods, while others would go into the underworld to have their heart weighed in the final judgment on whether they would pass onto eternal paradise. The Island could the the intersection of different, supernatural realms of good and evil. This could explain why our perception natural laws and physics seem not to apply to aspects of Island as a reason why there is no scientific or scientific theory explanation for the supernatural elements in the show. The Island is a different realm, a bridge between Earth (and its laws of physics) and a spirit world (where anything goes). Or better yet, the island is the Temple of the Dead who seek a bridge to the living after life (the sideways world).
If you fix the heart, you fix the mind. In island world, especially off-island, it is dark. Evil is center in the characters hearts. Quick to anger; quick to murder. But if one fixes the troubles in their heart, it heals their mental issues.
When we try to find a constant in the series, what are the most repeated lines by the characters?
“I’m sorry.”
“Are you crazy?”
“I am not crazy!”
“Trust me.”
What are the characters attributes in The End? Did any of them really change personality, beliefs? Did any really find redemption, forgiveness of past sins, or have any punishment for their evil ways? No, not really. The sideways church was not the judgment of the on-island events. In fact, there is no moral to the story of The End.
As such, can the series be better viewed as the bridge between lost souls on a journey of personal grief in the afterlife to find some relief with new souls in the next step towards heaven? One is a place of hell and the other a place of happiness.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
XIBALBA
When cable diving last week, I came across a "double take" image on the History Channel. The illuminated green water at a cave entrance sure looked like the Light Source cave in Lost. The narrators were describing a global network of six ancient openings or gates that old civilizations believed were passageways into the underworld or Hell. The cave image above is from a Mayan location in Belize. Once the investigative team entered the cave, they found it a dangerous place, littered with human bones. They said the Mayans used this place to go to the underworld, and to make human sacrifices to their gods. By appeasing their gods, they could sustain life on the surface world. The Light Source cave was also littered with human skulls and bones.
The concept of gates to a different dimension were part of the Lost mythology. The FDW room had hieroglyphs that made mention of Earth gates. The countdown timer in the Swan could have been used to maintain closure of a gate (a place of death). And the Light Source cave contained a hieroglyphed plug that when removed, caused the light to vanish and the island quake. That mechanism caused the "immortal" Flocke to turn into mortal form (from death, to life, to death).
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