We, The Gifted: A "Magic Box" of Gifts

[D-Roc]

WE, THE GIFTED: 'A "Magic Box" of Gifts'

The premise of this theory borrows from the idea that there are people in this world who truly are gifted.

The island is the backdrop to the 'possible'..it's a place where dreams can come true and where enough will and imagination can manifest all kinds of 'miracles'. The problem with mircales is that in the outside world we often overlook the small miracules or those which seemingly cannot be explained.

I would like to use 3 characters for the initial basis of this theory:

Juliet Burke. A fertility scientist - nothing special about her... except there was - she "created life were there wasn't any". A miracle, one might argue. Infact, in recruiting for Mittelos, Rochard Alpert himself told her that she had a "gift". Very specific words. He alluded to the idea that her "gift" would be multiplied..enhanced..heightened on the island.

Juliet headhunted by The Others..

Alpert knows exactly what gifts the island can heighten..

John Locke. An ordinary man - "meat and potatoes" - nothing special about him, except there was. He survived an 100ft fall and lived..a miracle. Despite being paralysed, he still survived. No mean feat. One could argue that for him to survive such a devasting fall must indicate that he was gifted..that he was destined for greater things. He said it himself - "Don't tell me what I can't do!". And so it turned out, whilst on the island he regained his ability to walk. Consider this - his gift was enhanced..not granted..but enhanced.

Certain death..

But this is no ordinary man. Although he believes crashing on the island was his rebirth, infact, THIS was his rebirth. His gift now apparent by the fact he survived.

Jack Shephard. An ordinary Spinal surgeon - "committment makes him tick" - nothing special about him, except there was. He fixed a womans spine..a woman who scientifically had no right to ever consider walking again. Except he fixed her..he couldn't believe it himself, yet he did it..a miracle. His gift..his natural intangible ability to heal..to fix.

Sarah will never walk again..her spine is crushed..so is her hope.

Jack heals her..it cannot be explained..

That is not important because the man of science, has now become the man of faith. Would his gift translate to the island..would it be enhanced?..

On the island that ability becomes both his gift and his curse - miraculously healing Charlie and saving everyone on that opening day - but leading them to rescue, which appears not to be all it promised.

Jack's gift to heal is amplified on the island..miraculously saving Charlie when he was already dead. In doing so, did Jack course-correct Charlie's fate before Desmond?

What i'm suggesting is that these people had a natural gift which produced small miracules in the outside world..gifts which are capable of achieving even bigger miracules on this island..this generator of dreams and possibility.

I believe that Richard gave alot away when he recruited Juliet - he spoke to her as if they specifically were looking for someone who had achieved mircales in the field of fertility..it's almost as if finding someone with that prowess would make that persons prowess enhanced on the island, thus giving her gift a boost and making their chances of achieving mircales even better.

Jules doubts herself, but Alpert knows what she is capable of given the right time and place...

Juliet created life inside her sister - a real world mircale which the Others hoped would translate to "bigger things" on the island..

Unfortunately this has not been the case with Juliet - women still cannot successfully conceive on the island.

However, I believe that this is due to one of 2 reasons:
1. She's not committed enough. Ben once told Jack "I want you to want to help me". This indicates that a person, gifted or not, must be committed to the cause in order for the island to enhance their ability. Ben maes similar reference to committment in when he speas of his people not being prepared to make the final step in being one with the island.
Is Juliets lack of success due to her not wanting to be on the island?

2. Another possibility is that there is an even greater will (be it conscious or unconscious) blocking her own will to succeed. I have suggested in another theory that Ben could himself be the cause of the islands fertility problems - perhaps relating to his guilt ridden memory of his deceased mother, who died during giving birth to him. This would make sense..especially when we consider the "Magic box" is still in play.

Which brings me back to Locke - he is certainly committed and his will is as driven as anyones. The results can be seen not only in his continued ability to walk but in his communion with the island and the islands spirits (whispers, visions, dreams, Jacob):

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Amazingly, Locke is instantaneously healed upon landing on the island - his gift is amplified and his is able to walk once more..

However, Locke's gift appears not to only be limited to himself. As Ben knows, Locke's sheer presence can also heal others....

..A few days after being in a wheelchair, Locke heals Ben, who now only needs a walking stick to aid him - Benjamin himself admits it..proof indeed that Locke is special.

This would suggest to me that his natural gift is being supplemented by the island on a large scale - the island, which needs "help" appeared to recognise Locke's gift immediately. Locke himself believes that the island "summond" him..and Jack.

"The island brought us here"

So, the island would have known about each of their gifts beforehand.
If I was the island and I needed somesort of help, I would specifically target certain gifts which I needed to help me. This is exactly what Alpert seemed to do when recruiting Juliet - he wanted someone who had created break throughs in fertility. It didn't seem to matter that her break-throughs were only fully successful on a doormouse (at that stage) - all that seemed to be important was that she had "the gift".

To conclude, I believe that minor miracules in this world stand a good chance of being amplified on the island. The gifted are only limited by their own doubts or lack of belief. Alpert says it better:

"I want you to find your purpose".

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I hope to come back to this and update it as and when I watch the S4 episodes..perhaps this angle will be quashed, or maybe it can be strengthened.

[Matt Gogi]

Oh my

Basically that makes a hell of a lot of sense and I will try to reply in more detail another time.

[D-Roc]

Look forward to your thoughts!
I also need to update this after last weeks eppy.

[D-Roc]

Right, I plan to update this with the latest nuggets of information. Particularly the fact that we now have 'special' people with 'specific' "gifts" who have just arrived on the island.

Miles - 'medium'
Charlotte -
Frank - pilot
Feraday - Empath?

I'll tidy this up later.

[D-Roc]

In continuation from my original post, I think that the past two episodes "The Beginning of the End" and "Confirmed Dead", have both provided yet more ammo in relation to this theory. The theory that those drawn to the island, those 'chosen', like our Losties and other island inhabitants, are truly gifted..special.

This idea operates on the basis that there are special people in this world (i.e. the 'real' world) who have gifts and abilities that are quite remarkable..gifts which when tapped into on the island (either consciously or sub consciously) are heightened (made more powerful, apparent).

I have a few more examples in addition to those that I've already mentioned above:

Hurley
In 4.01 we see that Hurley is able to SEE Jacob. For this to happen he must be special. He also SAW Christian Shepherd sitting in Jacob's chair. I believe that this is evidence that Hurley is also able to see dead people - Christian being one of those dead people.

Proof of the idea that Hurley is 'truely' special comes from when he is off the island in his forward flash scene in which he sees a 'dead' Charlie.


I should point out that I do believe that this is Charlie and not a manifestation of the smoke monster, or Hugo's imagination (etc). Because he is able to communicate with Hugo in the real world, it indicates that his ability is not dependant on the island or being on the island..but that he is truely special. Some people have pointed to the fact that Hugo's friend in the institution also saw Charlie - I believe this can be answered by my "Come into the Light" theory, which states that Hugo is a beacon for the dead..facilitating their short visit back into our world.

The arrival of the Freighties has also revealed some more evidence for this theory - in particular Miles Straume, who appears to be a medium of sorts. Someone who is able to channel and communicate with the deceased.

Many have argued that one of his objectives whilst on the island is to speak to Jacob - they could well be right.

I believe that Miles' "ghost whispering" is more evidence for there being people in this world, who have abilities - abilities which have drawn them to the island for a very specific purpose. We know that the island has a "magic box" (metaphor), I believe that if people with natural gifts were to open this metaphorical box, then their abilities would be severely increased. We have perhaps already seen this with Miles, since he did not need his spirit machine to communicate with Naomi's spirit, however we are yet to discover whether that device was really integral to his channeling.

[D-Roc]

I'm thinking that the big cheese (Ben) in his own right, can also be added to this - "The Other Woman" pretty much confirmed that Ben has special abilities. Abilities which he might have had prior to coming to the island, which the island enhanced and made more apparant. Of course we know that Ben had to execute 'patience' before he came into his own, but even that first meeting with Alpert suggested that he immediately knew that Ben was gifted. The fact that he saw his dead mom was evidence of this, but moreso was the fact that his mom died 'off' the island - making Ben incredibly special..

We also have his seeming 'possession' over Jacob (my theory is tat Jacob exists partly due to ben's subconscious - a mind which at it's root is quite child-like and possessive), and of course his seeming communication to the island's dead (the whispers). Of course i'm assuming that Harper was dead - she might not be, but even so, Ben got the message to her somehow (unless it was pre-mediatated prior to him getting caught by Jack?) and the appearance of the whispers seem to further allude to their relationship (be it willing, unwilling or unknowing) to Ben and his gift.

So, we have quite a buch of gifted souls on this island don't we - souls who were in their own way gifted BEFORE coming to the island, but who have managed to excel their gifts via the island's conduit of enlightenment.

One has to wonder however, how powerful Ben's ability is back in the real world - whilst we saw a snippet of a powerful real-world Ben in the Economist, I believe the suggestion is that Ben has had to compensate his 'normalness' in a real world setting by becoming a powerful businessman, someone who maintains hierachy (and island protection) through anexing competition and threats. On the island his power is driven by his gift, but off island i'm assuming his power is driven by a business-like outlook, facilitated by his 'magic box' whenever he needs to be that extra yard ahead of the game.

To be updated.

[monster-eats-pilot]

I knew Ben would be on here somewhere.
But yeah your first post makes a lot of sense to me. Cant be bothered reading the rest yet [] but yeah...
Will post better thoughts when I'm not as tired.

[D-Roc]

Thanks MEP - and fear not, it will be updated soon

[D-Roc]

**Please note - from here on in this thread may be updated at ABC (US) viewing pace, and spoilers might existed for 'UK Pace' viewers at least until the finale**

[D-Roc]

I would like to use recent events from 3.19 Man Behind The Curtain and 4.11 - Cabin Fever to update this theory, which I still firmly believe in.

Ben's Recruitment:

As mentioned already, it is apparent that Alpert (Mittelos/Jacob) look for specific criteria when recruiting 'chosen ones'..however there is a merked difference in their recruitment of young Ben and their recruitment of young Locke. Let's anaylyse young ben's tapping up first:



At first glance it would appear that their discovery of young Ben was more 'accidental' than their discovery of young Locke - Ben comes to the island some years after his mom dies giving birth to him. Horace Goodspeed convinces Roger to come to the island for work - was Horace aligned with Jacob/Alpert at this point? Did he believe that Ben might be special, and so invited his father to the island so they/Jacob could 'check him out'? Eitherway Alpert appeared to accidentally stumble upon Ben after he had ran away from home. Alpert asks Ben specific questions relating to what he saw - his dead mom. Alpert seems excited by the fact that young Ben was able to see his dead mom who died 'off' the island. This seems to be the crucial aspect in Alperts ascertion that young Ben was "special":

Alpert:"Did she die here, on the island?"Ben "No. When I was a baby."Alpert"Did you see her Ben, out here, in the jungle?"Ben "She talked to me."Alpert"What did she say?"Ben "That I couldn't come with her. She said it wasn't time yet."[Richard looks intrigued]




Also important seemed to be young Ben's willingness to come with Alpert..compare this to young Locke's rather passive attitude. Young Ben is so desperate to come with Alpert, to 'find his purpose'..

Alpert is pleased, but tells young Ben to be patient:

Alpert: "You should go home now. Your people will be looking for you"

Ben: "I don't want to go back there! I hate it there! Take me with you."

Alpert: "Maybe that can happen. Maybe. But if that's what you really want Ben...if that's what you want. I want you to really think about that. And you're gonna have to be very, very patient."


Locke's Recruitment:

Locke recruitment is similar in that Locke grows up without a loving mother. Unlike Emily Linus, Emily Locke gives him up (- she later tells Locke that he was imaculately conceived - there might be some truth to that). Like with Ben's recruitment, Alpert is looking for specific qualities..he wants young Locke to make the right choices with the items he places in front of him..he wants young Locke to give him some indication that he is the one..that he is truely special..that he is able to find his 'purpose'. Alpert immediately notices a positive indication that Locke is the one, when he sees Locke's drawing of a pillar of Smoke and a man who looks very much like an adult Locke - has young Locke retained some subconscious memory of a past life? Perhaps young Locke was able to interpret the future?



Alpert seems further excited when Locke considers the 'book of Laws' (this is seemingly the item that Alpert 'wanted' Locke to choose). Alpert's excitement soon turns to disappointment when young Locke opts for the hunting knife as his weapon of choice - Locke's choice and passive attitude tells Alpert that young Locke is not ready..and perhaps that he is not the one:



So whilst Alpert leaves his meeting with young Ben 'happy'..he leaves his meeting with young Locke's in utter disappointment, despite some positive indications young Locke failed to impress Alpert.

Interestingly Alpert was present at the birth of Locke..



Does this allude to the idea that Locke was infact pre-destined as Emily Locke once told him (1.19)?


Emily Locke: "I want to tell you that you're special... very special. You're part of a design. You do realize that don't you? That our meeting... me finding you... this is a sign of things to come. Great things. "

Locke: "My father, is he still alive?"

Emily Locke: "Still alive? Oh John? Don't you understand? You don't have a father. You were immaculately conceived."




Indeed..could it be that Richard Alpert is John Locke's father? Emily was under the impression that she didn't have sexual relations with her boyfriend - who may well have been Alpert ("he's twice your age") and no Cooper. Did Alpert not only recruit Locke..but create Locke?



I've always believed that Emily Locke had told Locke the truth (1.19), and now it seems even more likely that she did. This also begs the question - if Locke is Alpert's son..is this why he is seemingly pre-destined..Alpert is ageless..which could explained why Locke is self professed 'everyman - meat and potatoes'. Perhaps he has some of Alpert's memories in his DNA..something must have been passed down?

I'm also interested in Alpert's preparedness to wait for Locke - keeping tabs on him at different intervals in his life. Alpert's patience is inkeeping with the patience that he asked young Ben to have.

Next up: "The difference in-dreams.."