New here so be gentle.
I 've been listening to Sledge's podcast and reading the site for over a year now, thought I would contribute a theory I have now after watching "Flashes Before Your Eyes". It's long and I did post it on abc.com but thought some here might appreciate it. It's long so bear with me. My theory involves Multiple Parallel Universes.(MPU's)
Multiple Parallel Universes.There are actually multiple 'threads of time' all going on in parallel universes all at the same time, we are just not aware of them. While there may be an infinite number of threads- for our purposes, think of 3 strings, all of them seperate threads of time, all side by side. Events are taking place in each of the "strings" or threads, in parallel but not exactly in the same way. You as a person exist in multiple threads of time, but you are conducting and influencing events somewhat different in each. You are only 'self aware' in the event that you are currently in. In other words, you aren't aware - in normal conditions- of what is going on in your life in the other parallel universes or strings of time. Desmond has encountered something fantastic that has not only made him self aware of the multiple threads of time, but to exist in them and possibly influence all of them with slightly different occurences and outcomes.
Somehow Desmond was able to 'live' in another string of time, if for but a short period- after being exposed to the huge EMP discharge combined with either being struck on the head or because Smokie took him there, I'm not certain. In this way, Desmond gets transported to 'one' of his parallel universes, the one in which he DOES buy the ring, and DOES leave Penny in the end- he also doesn't join the military, and DOESN'T give Penny the picture. As you will recall, Desmond DOES join the military, leave Penny, and keeps the picture to himself in another 'thread' in time- the one we saw initially. In still another, it appears Desmond gave PENNY the photograph. So we may be looking at at least 3 different threads of time here, 3 multiple parallel universes- all coexisting without our awareness. Our intrepid hero, however, has now become aware of the other MPU's, and this changes the game considerably.
As further proof, remember the jewelry shop lady Ms. Hawkings said "NO! you aren't supposed to buy the ring, you are supposed to walk out that door! (note the words 'supposed to' because he DID do this action in another parallel universe, in a simultaneous thread of time that was happening at the EXACT same time, only in another time, another universe.)
Charlie's DeadAnother example is Charlie's death. In one thread of time, Charlie drowns. Desmond told him so- "Charlie it was you who drowned". Note he used past tense. He didn't say "you will drown". He said you drowned already. Now did Des save him, or did he die? In another, Charlie is struck by the lightning, in still another, he is saved (he MUST have been saved, because there he is on the beach talking to Desmond about saving CLAIRE, not himself- so we must assume he is still alive in OUR thread, the one we are watching) In the thread that we saw, CLAIRE is saved, not Charlie. So Desmond saved Charlie by saving Claire. So Charlie is really dead in various other threads of time, but not in the particle thread of time that we are just NOW watching on the island. However, Charlie's destiny is TO DIE ("cause to die" from the glyphs in the hatch), so Charlie WILL DIE no matter what Des tries to do to alter the thread of time (or will he?). He will die in ALL OF the threads of time, because no matter what Des does, the universe will 'course correct' and kill Charlie somehow. If it fails once it will try and try again. Can Desmond do anything to save him?
The hatch implosion 'caused' Desmond to be aware of the multiple threads of time (either through Smokey or through EMP discharge or whatever)- ripped the fabric of time, and allowed him to 'travel'- not his body but his mind, back to a time BEFORE when he was on the island (Nov. 2004) to circa 1997 London. He was in another thread of time, however, he was 'self aware' that he had been on the island at one time 'in another life'- another thread of time. ("See you in another life").
Time Travel or MPU's?It's one thing to 'time travel' but quite another to be 'alive' in mulitple threads of time. The kicker is that if you are self aware of the multiple threads. That's because you then know that you can 'influence events' (or not) by your actions (Mr. Eko saying "don't confuse coincidence for fate"). This awareness would create, in my opinion, a mental illness that would ultimately drive the person crazy. Sorta like knowing what was going to happen to you before it happened and being able to predict your own demise, etc. You could try to change it and you might do things differently in multiple threads of time, but your ultimate destiny would be the same (push the button, etc.). Look for Desmond to start going crazy in future episodes.
One other thought- when Desmond leaves Widmore Industries and sees Charlie it triggers a flood of memories (flashbacks or flash'forwards'?) of actions he took in exactly that same spot in another 'time'. Was Desmond remember before or after the island? Or both? Des said:
- He told me I was not worthy of his daughter
- I took off my tie
- I threw my tie on the ground
-
Penny said "what happened to your tie" (all flashbacks)
-I saw you (Charlie) standing here and recognized you (flash forward)
- and then it began to rain (flash forward)
Note that Penny was no where in the sequence of events that we saw on the street corner. But in 'another sequence' of events in a parallel universe, in another thread of time, Penny did say this. Des was aware of the multiple instances of time and the different sequences of events, and in his confusion, got them mixed up together. The sequence was slightly altered but it didn't have any effect on the outcome, Des still went to the island, pushed the button, and met our Losties. Perhaps at that time he was not 'self aware' of the MPU's and therefore did not try to do anything major to affect them.
Time Loop?A 'time loop' would imply only one reality, in which one set of 'tasks' are lived and re-lived day in and day out until the magic task is completed or changed in order to break the loop- A "Daybreak" sort of loop if you will.
This isn't what Desmond described. He has actually seen several versions of Charlie dying, and Ms. Hawkings described a different version of Desmond's reaction to the ring. Since Desmond had his own reaction, that makes 2 versions of the ring incident. Desmond also described a different version of encountering Charlie on the street corner, one which involved Penny (see above). But Penny was not present in the reality that we witnessed. To me this implies several versions of reality, several universes, or several 'threads of time'. I suppose a loop would involve only one thread of time that keeps repeating over and over, until some sequence of events is changed. But the events would all have to happen (loop) in exactly the same way over and over again for it to qualify as "a loop". Only you can change the loop by changing the events. However, we see different instances of loops going on here, different realities, different time threads.
The "Game-changer":TPTB described in their podcast that this episode was a 'game-changer', "either the audience is going to buy into it or they are going to leave in droves". MPU's are a game-changer, if there ever was one. There can be no other reason to describe the episode this way by the writers. A dream is not a game changer, nor is a mental patient having delusions. These have all been done ad nauseum in a TV series or movie before.
"Suspension of reality":MPU's obviously require a healthy suspension of reality, and are definitely pseudo-science, maybe even science fiction. This game changer is going to delight all of the 'geek' watchers of Lost, but will alienate all of the casual viewers who want Kate and Sawyer to kiss, and are worried about who Sun's baby daddy is, and other sorts of PG-13 nonsense. These events are nothing more than distractions. I would even go out on a limb and say DHARMA is also a distraction to what is really going on in island time. Just a vehicle in which to weave a story, but not the real story. The secret of the island lies in its mystical powers, not the DHARMA Initiative or the Others. The true secret to the show is "what is going on with that weird island?"
The WhispersIt could be surmised that Ms. Hawkings and the whispers are somewhat the same. I saw another post that said the whispers are simply people in another dimension (maybe trapped in between dimensions) of time, who, via the rip in the fabric of time are speaking and who's voices are heard in our dimension, the one we are witnessing, on the island.
Ms. Hawkings comes through loud and clear however. Or maybe it's Desmond himself who is coming in loud and clear, with the ability to mind travel in between the two different threads of time, to see and speak with people, with the self awareness that he has been in another time thread. It seems the Losties aren't able to clear the hurdles to get to other time threads, other MPU's, and therefore can only pick up bits and pieces (the whispers) of people in other dimensions.
What will be interesting to see will be that now that the walls have been broken down, the barriers to entry lowered -(due to the EMP discharge and implosion of the hatch)- will the Losties (other than Desmond) be able to reach out to these other universes where the whispers are, or are they limited because they aren't "special"- like Walt and Desmond? Will the whispers get louder now or go away that the EMP discharge is complete? No more pushing buttons that cause small releases of magnetism- the full blast happened, ripped open the fabric of time, and now we wait for the consequences.
Course CorrectionsAs it stands right now- I believe that it matters not what they try to do to 'course correct' themselves, the end result will always be the same. Ms. Hawkings told us that. (or is she bluffing?) However, if Desmond can "course correct", can he change the course of events, the ones that do spell out "the end of times"?
The way it is explained by Ms. Hawkings (a take on physicist Steven Hawkings by the way) is that while Desmond may try to alter events by for instance, saving Charlie over and over again, eventually the universe will course correct and kill Charlie. It's not about the process, but the results. All events in all threads of time will eventually lead to Charlies death utlimately, but with slightly different scenarios. It's not about them 'completing the tasks until they get it right' as much as it is about them allowing fate to control their destiny, and allowing the events to play out as they are supposed to. Only Desmond so far has been able to "look behind the curtain" and see what is going to happen- but he still can't change the ultimate outcome-
at least that's what we are lead to believe.
Another example as mentioned before is Desmonds encounter at Widmore Industries and then again at the pier:
- he gives Penny the photograph
(we KNOW this because we see it on her nightstand in the present, and we know there is only one copy)- and yet still another (which is the time thread that we witness) we see Desmond keep the photograph and it's in the hatch
In both of these scenarios, he still ends up on the island pushing the button. It's his destiny.
The NumbersWe know that the numbers are the makeup of the Valenzetti Equation, the numerical predictor of the end of time. Only one number in the sequence of numbers needs to be changed in order to alter the equation and 'save the world'. If Desmond or one of the Losties can 'change their fate', perhaps this affects the equation and saves the world. The question is, can he?
Destiny vs. Fate vs. Free WillBut if what Ms. Hawkings says is true, Desmond must push the button or 'they will all die'. Which is true? Fate vs. free will...which is the right choice? If they allow fate to happen w/o changing events, does this ensure the safety of the world? Or if our Losties (can) use free will to change their fate (and hence change the numbers) does this alter the course of world destruction and "save us all". (Locke said destroying the computer "just saved us all", while Desmond said "no, you just killed us all".)
Perhaps the island is the "consciousness of the universe" and wants to be destroyed, maybe it is the 'destiny' of the universe to destroy itself. Perhaps ol' Smokey is the protector of that consciousness, trying to influence events and keep man from intervening on this path of destruction. But what if man can alter events and intervene, thus saving the world? Only one number in the equation needs to be changed to make this happen, and perhaps Alvar Hanso and even DHARMA are on to this, but just don't have the right technology (mind power?) to pull it off.
Only by seeing the other 'threads of time' and observing what happened in them, can man attempt to change them, and thus change the final outcome (the numbers) and perhaps save the world.
