(2/7/08, 11:34pm, CST)
THE RING OF TRUTH:
MULTIVERSE THEORY, THUS SETH RINGWORLDS!
In last week's (2/1) piece, "Beginning/End", I proposed a theory I had been working on this past summer, namely that others proposing that the Lost TOE (Theory of Everything) would point to String Theory were overlooking some problems in String Theory's current state of proof (namely, a lack thereof.) Instead, I focused on David Deutsch's Multiverse Theory and proposed a scenario showing how two Flight 815's (and multiple Charlie's) are not a problem, from that theoretical perspective.
A hearty thank you goes out to the Lost producers/writers for providing us with a huge clue supporting the Multiverse Theory: Seth's ring(less) left hand. You'll recall that Frank saw the underwater footage of the Flight 815 wreckage, and the left hand of the pilot did NOT have a wedding ring on it. Frank frantically called in, to let them know it was not Seth, as Seth always wore a wedding ring. Of course, the first thing I did was go back through the series pilot episode and, lo and behold, around the 33:33 mark, you'll notice Seth putting his left hand to his head, after receiving some water from Jack, with a gold ring distinctly visible on that hand!
Seth's ring supports the Multiverse Theory through showing a key difference between the two Flight 815's and their complements of passengers, one Flight 815 which split apart and fell to the island, and the other which now rests in pieces on the ocean floor. So now we know that the Flight 815 which Naomi referred to, the one that is resting on the bottom of the ocean, is NOT the version that came from her 'mainland' world (Earth A.)
Earth A is what Naomi, Frank, Daniel, Miles, Charlotte, etc. know as the 'mainland' of their life experiences/existence. Seth's ring confirms that the Earth A version of Flight 815 is the one that split apart and landed on the island, stranding the castaway survivors. Consistent with Deutsch's Multiverse Theory, an Earth B version of Flight 815 is resting on the bottom of the ocean, with a 'ringless' Seth aboard. On Earth B, apparently Seth either did not get married or he got divorced. (Just as Elvis still lives on some other parallel world, ala Multiverse Theory.)
In addition to helping contain wormholes, another aspect of the Casimir Effect is attraction among mirror twins, and in my 2/1 piece I implicated that aspect of the effect as a means by which a second, Earth B, version of Flight 815 was pulled from Earth B, into Earth A. In my 2/1 piece, I thought it would be the Earth A version on the bottom of the ocean, but as we now know, courtesy of Seth's ring, it is the Earth B Flight 815 on the bottom of the ocean. (Please see that piece for my thoughts regarding how Charlie fits into this whole Multiverse view.)
Seth's ring provides further insight by pointing us to Larry Niven's (1970) classic science fiction novel, RINGWORLD. It is interesting to ponder some of the intriguing similarities between Ringworld and Lost, including the possiblity of instant teleportation:
"In the year 2855, four adventurers (two humans and two aliens) explore a mysterious "ringworld": an enormous, artificial, ring-shaped structure that surrounds a star. The story is set in an extremely technologically advanced universe, where instant teleportation and nigh-indestructible spacecraft hulls are commonplace." (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ringworld.)
Other similarities include a reference to a character who is not altogether unlike Richard Alpert:
"The main protagonist is Louis Wu, a genius celebrating his 200th birthday. Despite his age, he is in perfect physical condition due to a combination of superior genetic makeup, advanced medical technology and boosterspice, a drug that extends human life. He prolongs his birthday by teleporting ahead of the terminator from party to party across Earth, but as periodically happens, he is bored and eager for new challenges, so Nessus has little difficulty recruiting him." (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ringworld.)
And how interesting to note the similarities between the novel and Lost, especially regarding what happened to the ship in the novel, and the plane (Flight 815) in Lost, and what happened to their respective passengers:
"When their ship is hit by the powerful, automated meteor defense system and then strikes one of the near-invisible shadow-square wires, the adventurers crash land on the Ringworld. They set out to find a way to get back into space. They cross vast distances, witness strangely evolved ecosystems, and interact with some of the Ringworld's varied primitive civilizations. They attempt to discover what caused the Ringworld's inhabitants to lose their technology, and puzzle over who created the Ringworld and why." (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ringworld.)
Others have proposed that DHARMA was working on a means of leveraging the island's unique electromagnetic properties to save the Earth from impending destruction at the hand of a meteor or asteroid.... Was the Swan hatch research exploring a means for blasting apart such a threat, through an amplified EMP blast? (A version of which, unfortunately, caught Earth A Flight 815 in its path, breaking it apart....)
And note the eerie parallels between the stranded adventurers on Ringworld and on the Lost island, both encountering 'strangely evolved ecosystems' (with weirdly scattered light--Faraday!), puzzling over who created the island/Ringworld, why, and what its true nature is....
Per my prediction last year, will we see a third new structural storytelling device in future Lost episodes/seasons-- 'deep flashbacks'-- in which we observe expeditionary parties from past civilizations landing on, exploring, and exploiting the island, with its unique electromagnetic properties (Lemurians? Atlanteans? Egyptians? etc.) Like Ringworld, in future Lost episodes we may even catch glimpses of 'lost' ancient tech/devices, designed and built to leverage the island's energetic properties for as-yet unknown, but surely interesting effects/results! (Wait until the 'Temple' episode!)
And, as I proposed in several of my postings last year, I suspect we will learn that some of these ancient devices are still in operation on the island and are partly to blame for some of the more interesting effects we've seen, to date, perhaps even the Krell-like HEMAtics, as well as the good 'ol Smokey Monster, itself!
Well, time to head out for some rest.... Back to cover more of tonight's episode, later tomorrow!
Copyright 2/7/08
by Dr. Todd J. Hostager
Email: thostager@losthematheory.com