(NOTE: The Aaron/Entity page (see below) is not an integral or necessary component of the core HEMA Theory, but instead uses that core theory to conjecture about a potential basis for explaining the 'magical' occurrences on the island which appear to be caused by external agents-- i.e., occurrences that do not appear to be generated by the involved parties, themselves. For more information in this regard, please read on....) Aaron/Entity Theory Since psychic powers play an important role in Lost, one natural line of surmise is whether the seemingly 'magical' occurrences on the island that appear to be caused by an external force or agent are actually the product of some naughty but playful 'child' or entity, toying with our favorite Lost characters.... Ever since Claire apparently pulled the name of Aaron out of thin air, for her son, some have speculated about the stimulus for this 'suggestion.' The basic notion is that some external, unseen entity with HEMAtic powers may be roaming the island, wreaking havoc and mischief on the islanders, and this entity may, in a previous life, have been called "Aaron." (Please see the Endnote, in this regard.) Let the fun begin.... Life on a Post-Rift Island: Aaron's HEMAtic Playhouse? It all begins with the Swan hatch experiments.... By materially influencing the nature and power of the island monolith, and the energy field associated with it, the initial Swan hatch rift-incident (referred to by Dr. Marvin Candle, in the Orientation film) increased the strength and radioactivity of the magnetite deposit located near the hatch. Post-rift, the DHARMA folks observed an increased frequency and strength in the occurrence of HEMA, in animals, regular humans, and psychics. Simply put, after the incident it was easier to produce changes in the physical world (Material Applications) through focused attention (Heuristics) applied in and through the island's now more powerful Energy field. (One unresolved question is whether more HEMAtic phenomena, or more easily achieved or more potent HEMAtic phenomena, are observed the closer the clock clicks down to the end of the 108-minute period, since the energy is building up as this time approaches.) In addition to finding an increase in the rate and intensity of 'magical' experiences on the island, DHARMA observed the genesis of a new class of HEMAtic phenomena: Material applications driven by an external agent or entity, drawing on and focusing the psychic contents of others.... Examples of this in the series include the materialization of Kate's horse, Sayid's cat, Jack's father, Hurley's friend Dave, etc. What is happening is that an external party is pulling these images and experiences from other's minds, and materializing them through HEMA. Who might this party be? Could it be the super-psychic son of Karen and Gerald de Groot... Aaron de Groot? Is Aaron the psychic who, during a stint as a test subject in HEMAtic experiments conducted near the monolith, produced the burst that caused the rift incident? (Remember that I am referring to the first island 'incident', mentioned in the 1980 Swan hatch tape, not the 1985 AH/MDG incident cited on the blast door map....) Aside from the 'magical' experiences of material applications produced by Locke, Rose, Charlie and others (Jack's focused attentional burst bringing Charlie back to life, for example), how are we to explain the other 'magical' experiences on the island... Could it be that the big secret is that the island is one big Skinner Box playset for a child, namely Aaron de Groot? Aaron may just well be the super-psychic source of fourth-level Heuristics (see above), able to leverage the island's energy field to effect magical material applications in ways beyond Walt and other 'regular' psychics. Did the rift incident materially affect Aaron by locking him into perpetual childhood, yet able to perform great feats of HEMAtic 'magic'? It's all about the confluence of focused attention (H) impacting energy (E) producing material changes in the world (MA). Consider the level and nature of heuristics available for use by a child... Consider the mental, emotional, and psychical contents accessible to a child.... Accordingly, consider the kinds of things a child is likely to materialize, when furnished with this ability through access to the island's energy field.... Is Aaron de Groot operating as an HEMAtic force on the island? Considering the Heuristics of a child as a driving force in producing Material Applications-- the motivations, hopes, fears, and perspective of a child-- is it not surprising that we 'find' the following 'magical' occurrences, on the island: 1. The "Jurassic Park" snatching of the pilot out of the cockpit. 2. The scary 'dinosaurian' sounds of the monster, accompanied by clunking robot-like noises, reminiscent of kids' toys.... ----> Yes, I know it does sound like the sound the "Rover" security system from the great British TV show, "The Prisoner", but I'm hoping we're in store for more than a mere updating of that concept, when we finally learn what's behind the island "Monster"! 3. Trees popping out of the ground, and people getting swallowed up by holes. ----> By the way, is anyone else wondering about the inherent limitations of the 'one-time-use' tree popping feature of this security system? Would this feature of the system not eventually be exhausted, hampering the overall effectiveness of the system over the long term? (What happens when all the trees are popped out of the ground?) ----> Re: Points 2 and 3... Is this not the kind of "security system" we might expect a child to envision, a scary and HEMAtically materialized means to protect oneself from others? Is Aaron or some other entity utilizing DHARMA conduits and tunnels as part of the 'playset'? 4. Animals and pets, typically adored by kids, are pulled from people's minds and materialized (Kate's horse, Sayid's cat.) 5. Parents and friends pulled from people's minds and materialized (Jack's father, Hurley's friend "Dave"). (Note: This is different from Walt leveraging the island's energy field to materially apply himself elsewhere, materializing in front of Shannon and Sayid; Someone other than the person who is the source of these thoughts/images is concentrating on them, and materializing them, to have fun and observe what happens....) 6. The overall feeling that someone is 'playing' with people on the island, in what appears to be a child-like manner... Having fun scaring them, and being a bit naughty... Once you move beyond the level of instances in which regular people (Locke, Jack, Charlie) and psychics (Walt, Rose, Desmond!) have been shown to produce material effects through focused attentional bursts (Heuristics), the other 'magical' materializations have the feeling of being directed by the motivations, feelings, themes, and perceptions of a child. Is Aaron de Groot that child, a child who inadvertently caused the rift incident during HEMAtic testing, a child who is now an entity having fun and being a bit naughty, playing on his island Skinner Box playset? Do bits and pieces of the DHARMA Initiative remain in his consciousness, including a desire to play and observe, and an attraction to the numbers? Are the skeletons in the cave Karen and Gerald de Groot, placed there like forgotten toys, decaying, by their psychic son Aaron, post-rift? Did Aaron kill them in a fit of rage, or was he simply unaware of the extent to which his focused thoughts/attentions (Heuristics) could produce lethal results? Yes, the Aaron scenario, embedded within the broader HEMA theory, does bring to mind that old Twilight Zone episode with Billy Mumy, super-powered, playing with adults, effecting material changes in the world through focused attention, and sending them to the corn field if need be. And yes, it also reminds us of the old Star Trek episode with Clint Howard as the advanced-race child, toying with the crew of the Enterprise.... Copyright 2/8/07 and 2/16/07 by Dr. Todd J. Hostager ENDNOTE: |