[Note: This was posted at 3:58pm CST on 4/2/09.]
WHAT HAPPENED, HAPPENED:
STARGATE SARCOPHAGUS, N.I.C.E. DREAMS,
SERPENTINE BLOODLINES, AND BACK TO THE PAST
Kudos to the entire Lost crew, especially Darlton, for one of the best episodes to date! I especially appreciated the lucid, accessible, and brilliant explanation of temporal dynamics provided in the exchange between Miles and Hurley.... And how interesting to see how 'What happens' really 'happens', when Jack unwittingly serves up yet another link in the 'Ben Gone Bad' predestination loop; I wonder how Jack will react once he learns of the important role he has played in creating the very monster he so despises....
(Spacetime) Walk Like An Egyptian: Stargate Connections, Part Deux-
Yes, the pieces do appear to be falling into place quite nicely, indeed.... Per my Stargate-inspired 3/5/09 "LaFleur" posting, we will soon be serving witness to the regenerative powers of the island, as Alpert carries young Ben into the Temple, down to a 'ceremonial' structure/sarcophagus providing ready access to the 'magical' healing and reanimating powers of the island:
"....somewhere in the recesses of the island, within its yet-to-be-fully-revealed catacombs, is a veritable, literal 'fountain of youth' comprised of a glowing pool of energetically-charged liquid, casimirically-infused, able to take the island's demonstrated healing powers to the nth level, through.... regenerating the Others and quite possibly even reanimating dead bodies. How interesting to consider, in this context, the links among the ankh and special forms of water.... Do Richard Alpert and the others periodically bathe in the eternally-regenerative waters of some functional equivalent to the Stargate sarcophagus, to ensure their continued Methuselaic health?"
I would not be surprised at all to see these and other Stargate-based connections in my 3/5/09 posting play out in the remainder of Season 5, mutatis mutandis, as they are adapted by Darlton and crew to their vision for the show....
Of course, one of the very intriguing Stargate themes examined in my 3/5/09 posting is the notion of 'superior' and 'inferior' races, with Alpert and the others representing the former, viewing us 'regular' humans as lower forms to be used for their purposes, including the use of us 'regular' folks as hosts for other more 'superior' souls/minds.... This may indeed turn out to be part of the huge and irrevocable price that is paid to become one of the others....
On a figurative level, Ben's impending salvation through a loss of innocence mirrors the the Original Sin in the Garden of Eden, the First Fall of Humanity. And how interesting that this theme plays a central role in Perelandra, part of C.S. Lewis' celebrated Space Trilogy-- Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, That Hideous Strength-- with the plotline of Perelandra explicitly exploring the dynamics and ramifications of a Second Fall of Humanity.
On a literal level, Ben's salvation and loss of innocence-- he will not be the same again-- fits right into my developing Brotherhood of the Snake theory that exposes many of the themes, motives, and factional dynamics which will likely play out in Season 6. Even if they do not use the term fallen angel, the parallels between Alpert and the others and the Lucifer and his fallen band of angels are striking, as I've noted in my postings from 3/5/09 to date.
Call him what you will-- Lucifer, fallen angel, sorceror, nagual, an eternal-- but Richard Alpert surely has extra-human qualities marking him as a superior form of being compared to us 'regular' humans. Hence his query to LaFleur/Sawyer in episode 5.9: WHAT are you?
Alpert's connection to Egyptian views of the underworld and the afterlife are coming into greater relief as the series progresses.... Given his comments at the end of last night's episode-- he does not answer to Ellie (Hawking) or Charles (Widmore)-- Alpert is indeed emerging as the Lost equivalent to the god ANUBIS:
"Anubis was the god to protect the dead and bring them to the afterlife....The critical weighing of the heart scene in
Book of the Dead also show Anubis performing the measurement that determined the worthiness of the deceased to enter the realm of the dead (the
underworld)....Since he was more associated with beliefs concerning the weighing of the heart than had Osiris, Anubis retained this aspect, and became considered more the gatekeeper and ruler of the underworld, the "Guardian of the veil" (of "death"). Consequently, he was said to protect souls as they journeyed there, and thus be the patron of lost souls (and consequently
orphans). Anubis was frequently depicted in editions of the Book of Dead as performing the "Opening of the Mouth" ceremony on the mummy and statues of the deceased, as well as escorting the spirit of the deceased into the presence of Osiris in the underworld. Subsequently, the god is often shown weighing the heart of the deceased against the feather of truth (
Ma'at) in the presence of
Thoth (as scribe, writing down the recordings) and Osiris (as judge).....However, as lesser of the two gods of the underworld, he gradually became considered the son of Osiris."
If Alpert is ANUBIS, the lesser god of the island underworld, then who is OSIRIS? JACOB is OSIRIS discarnate, a higher-order, energy-enabled sentience who is Lord of the underworld island. And while he does not answer to Ellie Hawking or Charles Widmore, Richard Alpert/Anubis (and all others) do indeed answer to Jacob/Osiris:
"Osiris was not only a merciful judge of the dead in the afterlife, but also the
underworld agency that granted all life, including sprouting vegetation and the fertile flooding of the Nile River. The Kings of Egypt were associated with Osiris in death — as Osiris rose from the dead they would, in union with him, inherit eternal life through a process of imitative magic. By the
New Kingdom all people, not just pharaohs, were believed to be associated with Osiris at death if they incurred the costs of the assimilation rituals... The cult of Osiris (who
was a god chiefly of regeneration and re-birth) had a particularly strong interest toward the concept of immortality."
So Ben is carried by Alpert/Anubis into the Temple, down to the location of the island's regenerative/reanimative powers. While the exact form of this site remains for us to see in a future episode, I would not be surprised to witness Ben being placed into some sort of sarcophagus-like structure, bathed in a glowing liquid or energy-infused plasma. Per my "LaFleur" posting, given the historical link between the anhk and special forms of water, it is most certainly not outside the realm of possibility to see some form of unique, glowing liquid/plasma either being poured onto Ben's wound (nod to Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade) or serving as a 'regenerative bath' into which his entire body is immersed....
Jacob/Osiris is the Lord of the island underworld discarnate, and we may later learn more about some of the eerie parallels between Jacob and the Oyarses-- angelic, superior beings charged with overseeing the planets-- as described in C.S. Lewis' Space Trilogy. In a future episode, one of Jacob's various forms of material manifestation-- The Smoke Monster-- will likely emerge out of the jungle when older, ungentle BEN submits himself to judgment for breaking the island's rules. In this sense, then, we will serve witness to Jacob's/Osiris's role as judge and final arbiter:
"In the underworld, Osiris sits on a great throne, where he is praised by the souls of the just. All those who pass the tests of the underworld become worthy to enter The Blessed Land, that part of the underworld that is like the land of the living, but without sorrow or pain. In some texts, in addition to the
Judging of the Heart, Osiris passes final judgment over the dead, acting in this capacity as an Egyptian version of Radamanthus."
Is the island the equivalent of The Blessed Land, and are Alpert and the others the lesser gods and guardians of the underworld, helping Jacob/Osiris perform his functions as judge and as font of immortal regeneration/rebirth? Hmmm.... just ask Locke.... Welcome back to the land of the living, indeed....!
The island giveth and taketh away.... And so we have learned from Alpert that Ben must 'sacrifice' his innocence in order to be saved through the regenerative powers of the Jacobian/Osirusian/Underworld island.... We are told he will not be the same again.... And who would be.... after 'drinking in' a regenerative life force associated with the dark underworld?
On the positive side, the scales of 'innocent ignorance' will have fallen from Ben's eyes.... He will become one of them, learning the dark secrets of the island and its legacy as host and sanctuary for the myriad incarnations of the Brotherhood of the Snake, a line of secret sects leveraging magical powers for dark purposes, spanning from the very first serpentine seduction of Original Sin in the Garden of Eden, to ancient Egypt, to the Illuminati, to the Nazis, to the Hanso Group, and now, finally to the DHARMA Initiative.... and Widmore Industries!
N.I.C.E. Dreams, Courtesy Of Clive Staples Lewis-
As noted in my 2/26/09 "Bentham" posting, episode 5.7 found Locke visiting a series of 'heavenly waypoints' on Earth-- Santo Domingo, Santa Rosa, Santa Clara, Santa Monica, Los Angeles-- in an attempt to convince the Oceanic 6 'Lost saints/angels' to return with him to the island. In the 3/5/09 "LaFleur" posting I began to work through this 'angelic' theme by noting some striking parallels among: (1) ageless Richard Alpert and the band of island natives; and (2) fallen angels who are interbreeding with humans (The Nephilim).
In my 3/19/09 "Namaste" posting, I continued to build on this foundation by invoking the Brotherhood of the Snake as a means of understanding how the unique energy properties of the island may have been used by a number of related sects throughout history, starting with the Fall of Humanity in the Garden of Eden as Eve was tempted by the snake. As noted above, according to this view, Brotherhood-based sects have flourished in the dark recesses of human history throughout time, from Eden to ancient Egypt, from the Illuminati to the Nazis, and so on, including a more recent incarnation as the DHARMA Initiative.
My 3/26/09 "He's Our You" posting further developed this foundation by leveraging concepts from the C°ntinuum time-traveling role playing game as a means of exploring potential Season 6 factional dynamics rooted in a 'fate vs. free will' conflict. From this perspective, DHARMA's expressed purpose in exploring ways to circumvent the cataclysms predicted in the Valenzetti Equation reflects a deeper and darker Luciferian/Fallen Angel/Brotherhood of the Snake/ Narcissistic agenda to thwart destiny by delaying the destruction of our fallen, sinful, lost existence on this island Earth, thus preventing the fated return of the Messiah and preserving Satan's reign....
One of the key next logical steps in the development of this foundation for understanding the factional conflicts undergirding Lost, bridges to the richly relevant works of Clive Staples Lewis. To be sure, a wealth of insights have already been mined by a number of pundits from C.S. Lewis' justly acclaimed Chronicles of Narnia series. However, in order to gain a deeper appreciation for the nature and contents of the factional dynamics rising to the surface in Season 6, we must now turn our attention to Lewis' Space Trilogy.
Out of the Silent Planet (1938) chronicles the adventures of Dr. Elwin Ransom, who is drugged and transported to another world in a spherical spacecraft. Oh well... at least it was not a submarine! On this new world:
"While hunting, Ransom is told by an
eldil, an almost invisible creature reminiscent of a spirit or ghost, that he must meet
Oyarsa, the eldil who is ruler of the planet.... On his journey, Ransom finally meets a sorn, as he long feared he might. He finds, however, that the séroni are peaceful and kind. Augray (the sorn) explains to him the nature of Oyarsa's body, and that of all eldils." [
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Out_of_the_Silent_Planet]
As these passages suggest, some aspects of Locke's experience on the island parallel those of Lewis' protagonist Ransom.... Hunting, hearing from a nearly invisible entity, meeting Jacob/Oyarsa, and meeting the Others/Sorn, with Alpert/Augray most likely divulging the full nature of Jacob/Oyarsa and the Others/Eldil to Locke in a future Lost episode (and to Ben, no doubt....)
"The eldila, who work for Oyarsa as messengers and maintainers of the planet, evidently are meant to supply the role of
angels. Oyarsa is a more powerful angel, perhaps an
archangel, and Oyarsa's superior, Maleldil the Young, represents
Jesus. The 'Old one', the creator of
Mars, is
God the Father. Part of the background in
Out of the Silent Planet is that Earth's Oyarsa (who is obviously
Lucifer) became "bent" (corrupt), destroyed most of the life on Mars, and was forcibly imprisoned inside the Moon's orbit, having induced (as comes up later in the series) the creatures living under the Lunar surface to adopt evil ways and deliberately destroy all the life which once existed on their surface. Because the eldila, who fill space (or "the heavens," which are depicted as warm and bright under the influence of the Sun) know nothing about what goes on inside those boundaries, Earth is called Thulcandra, "the silent planet". While Earth has fallen into evil, Mars has not. This represented one of Lewis's concerns about space travel: that fallen humanity would have nothing to offer other life in space other than depravity."
The crucial role of the eldila/angels in C.S. Lewis' Out of the Silent Planet-- especially that played by the fallen head eldila/angel on Earth, Oyarsa/Lucifer--provide further strength to the growing explanatory foundation contained in my Brotherhood of the Snake theory of factional dynamics, dynamics which will quite naturally grow in prominence as Lost moves ever so closer to Season 6.
Perelandra (1943) is the second book in Lewis' Space Trilogy. Here the protagonist Ransom continues his adventures by traveling to Venus:
"Ransom arrives in Venus, which he finds to be an oceanic paradise.... Strange, mythical creatures roam the planetary sweet-water ocean, which is dotted with floating rafts of vegetation. These rafts look like small islands, and actually have plant life growing on them and animals living on them; however, having no tectonic foundations, they are in a constant state of motion.... [
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perelandra]
To be sure, this is one of the more eerie and telling Space Trilogy parallels to Lost: an oceanic paradise with small continuously moving islands! But wait, there's more....
"Ransom hears in the night what he gradually realises is a Divine voice, commanding him to physically attack the Tempter. Ransom is highly reluctant, and debates with the divine (inner) voice for the entire duration of the night. A curious twist is introduced here; whereas the name "Ransom" is said to be derived from the title "Ranolf's Son", it can also refer to a reward given in exchange for a treasured life. Recalling this, and recalling that his God would (and has) sacrifice Himself in a similar situation, Ransom decides to confront the Tempter outright" [
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perelandra]
So as in Lost, in Perelandra we witness Ransom (Locke) hearing a 'Divine' voice (Jacob) and we see the importance of sacrifice (the island requires a sacrifice....) A final prominent thematic connection concerns the fundamental struggle between good and evil played out on the blank canvas of choice, provided to an as-yet-unfallen being:
As the series progresses to its conclusion in 2010, I suspect we'll learn that one of the critical subtexts throughout the series is the inevitable and perennial struggle replayed with each new soul born and bred into this world, revealed to us as a basic fractal/recursive form of human existence, growing as we do from childish innocence to fallen sinfulness, personally portraying and mirroring the First Fateful Fall in the Garden of Eden? And is Ben's story not the story of us all-- writ in a more condensed and dramatic fashion-- as we struggle with our own loss of innocence and fallen sinfulness....?
That Hideous Strength: A Modern Fairy-Tale For Grown-Ups (1945) is the third book in Lewis' Space Trilogy. How interesting to consider my Brotherhood of the Snake theory in the context of key plot elements contained in this intriguing and relevant novel:
"This final novel in the "Space Trilogy" is set in
post-war England in a small
university town, in which the National Institute of Coordinated Experiments (acronym "N.I.C.E."), a fictional scientific agency led by fallen
eldila, attempts to alter the true nature of mankind through an exploitation of its members'
pride and
greed. The goal, if mankind continues down its current path, is the conquest of human nature, making true man a lost memory."
Of course, N.I.C.E. is a 'not-so-nice' equivalent to the DHARMA Initiative, with striking parallels in the deployment of a benign surface appearance aimed at hiding the deeper truth of the organization's darker roots and nefarious agenda. Indeed, N.I.C.E. and DHARMA fit quite nicely into the mold of a Brotherhood of the Snake sect.
While Ransom does appear in this book, the more prominent protagonist this time around is Mark Studdock who is recruited along with his clairvoyant(!) wife by N.I.C.E. Later on Mark becomes involved in a situation with eerie parallels to the 'Clockwork Orange' programming Karl less-willingly received in Room 23:
"Mark shows some resistance to the N.I.C.E., who have murdered a scientist who left them, and now frame Mark for the murder. He is confined to a cell and expects to be killed; as he now understands the evil of the N.I.C.E. and the disgusting qualities of its leaders, he determines to oppose them. However, he cannot defy them openly, so he cooperates with a plan to strip him of his human emotions by surrounding him with meaninglessly broken patterns, showing him horrible and blasphemous sights (including
surrealistic art), and forcing him to perform disgusting actions."
More telling and to-the-point regarding likely disclosures as Season 5 concludes, setting up the key factional conflicts playing out in the more grounded and character-driven Season 6:
"Both Ransom and the N.I.C.E. know that Merlin is buried in suspended animation on land that the N.I.C.E. has recently bought from Mark's college (with Mark's connivance). The N.I.C.E. is seeking him with an intention and expectation to make malevolent use of his magic. Because Weston and Devine have traveled through space in the previous two volumes and thus broken God's law against contact between the heavens and Earth, Ransom plans to call down the Oyéresu or angels that rule the planets (whose characters are conceived according to
astrology). Because he must use a mortal as a conduit for their power, and because modern people are unsuitable, he wants to recruit Merlin, an older and more ambiguous agent, who has previously dealt with supernatural powers."
Yes, it is Merlin here who will ultimately serve in the role of a Messiah figure, and I would not at all be surprised to see Desmond assume this role in Lost. However, don't count the LOST CHILDREN out so quickly, as Darlton and crew may (per my prior surmises) opt for a 'next generation' approach. In that case, I would not be surprised to witness Aaron or Charlie (Hume) play the Messiah....
"The leaders of the N.I.C.E. have comically mistaken the tramp for Merlin, a mistake whereof the tramp takes advantage by pretending not to understand English. Merlin infiltrates the N.I.C.E. by pretending to be able to interpret between the tramp and N.I.C.E. He accompanies the supposed Merlin to an Institute banquet, where he locks the doors, visits those present with the
confusion of tongues, and releases the Institute's experimental animals (a tiger, an elephant, a wolf, and others) into the hall. A few of the leaders of N.I.C.E. find a way out of the hall; the false eldila take advantage of their subjugation by forcing them to sacrifice themselves to the Head. A bear that had lived at St. Anne's, Mr. Bultitude, finishes off the Head. Merlin helps Mark and the tramp escape and directs Mark to St. Anne's, then destroys the town with an earthquake,...Merlin has spent himself and is presumably no longer alive, but the members of St. Anne's celebrate their victory." [
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/That_Hideous_Strength]
In the end, the evil ,Satanic, fallen-angel-infested, Brotherhood of the Snake-like N.I.C.E. suffers defeat at the hands of the forces of good, led by a Messiah (Merlin) who, in Christ-like manner, ends up making the ultimate sacrifice....
O' Brotherhood, Where Art Thou? Serpentine Bloodlines And Season 6 Factions-
References to Lost Children sprinkled throughout last night's episode-- Sawyer's darling Clementine, Aaron looking 'lost' in the grocery store, etc.-- provide additional strength to the Brotherhood of the Snake/Fallen Angel theory by pointing us to the increasingly prominent role that BLOODLINES are playing in Lost. Indeed, one of the central themes emerging in the course of the series is the fundamental interconnectedness among Lost characters, on a genetic level.... Brothers and sisters of the serpent.... And here we must remember one of the telling attributes of these serpentine sects:
"The Illuminati are the top players on the International playground, basically belonging to the thirteen of the wealthiest families in the world, and they are the men who really rule the world from behind the scenes (yes, they are mostly men, with a few exceptions). They are the REAL Decision Makers, who make up the rules for presidents and governments to follow, and they are often held from public scrutiny, as their action can't stand being scrutinized. They are connected by bloodlines going back thousands and thousands of years in time, and they are very careful with keeping those bloodlines as pure as possible from generation to generation. The only way to do so is by interbreeding. That is why you so often see royalties marry royalties, for example. Their parents decide whom to marry.... Their power lies in the occult, (magic) and in economy - money creates power. The Illuminati own all the International banks, the oil-businesses, the most powerful businesses of industry and trade, they infiltrate politics and education and they own most governments - or at the very least control them."
So no, it is not at all surprising to learn how more and more of our cherished (and not quite so cherished) characters on Lost are biologically-related through actual blood ties.... In addition to factional lines drawn in the sand along the good vs. evil and fate vs. free will dualities, I strongly suspect that an important source of additional factional complexity and intrigue playing out during Season 6 will be grounded in fundamental tensions arising from familial ties among the characters. Here is a partial list of my current suspicions regarding the true extent of the 'serpentine bloodties' that will ultimately be revealed on the island...
Christian Shephard- Father of Jack and Claire; grandfather of Aaron.
Charles Widmore- Father of Penny, Daniel Faraday, and John Locke; grandfather of Charlie Hume; dark horse pick= Widmore is Aaron's father!
Eloise Hawking- Mother of Daniel Faraday and Penny Widmore; grandmother of Charlie Hume.
Why such a concern for preserving the puritiy of the Lost/Brotherhood bloodlines? In addition to reasons suggested in the above quote, recall the distinct interest displayed by the others (esp. Bea Klugh) regarding psychic abilities, DNA testing, and biological relationships.... Like N.I.C.E., DHARMA and the other incarnations of Brotherhood sects have a vibrant and vital self-interest in tracking and preserving their ability to leverage the unique energy profile of the island, all in the name of sustaining their existence and fulfilling their dark raison d'etre....
So yes, it does look like the N.I.C.E/DHARMA experiments on animals may not have been limited to non-human species.... Look no further than Aaron for likely evidence that the Brotherhood was engaged in experiments to create and sustain an improved 'superior' form of being on the island, one which was capable of more fully utilizing the island's powers in the service of the Brotherhood. Hmmm... What exactly was in that syringe, Ethan? Genetic engineering, viruses, drugs, selective breeding, psychological conditioning, and more, have all been used as means of exploring how the Brotherhood can improve and sustain its bloodlines, through the ages.... How did you get that superhuman strength again, Ethan?
And who will head the factions struggling for dominance over the island's powers (and the fate of the world and the universe) during Season 6? In addition to throwing some spacetime curves at us in Season 5, one of the plot twist 'curves' I suspect they'll throw at us in Season 6 will focus on the 'reveal' that the most important behind-the-scenes factional conflict is not the 'spy vs. spy' battles between Ben and Widmore; instead, per my 3/26/09 "He's Our You" posting, we will learn that the true battle will emerge between forces of fate, focused on preserving the timeline, and champions of change, seeking to exploit time for their own gain:
Charles Widmore will be revealed as the head of a split or faction among the Brotherhood comprised of those who wish to use the island's unique energy properties for power, wealth, and other self-interested motives (The Narcissists). Widmore's selfish desires led to his downfall and expulsion from the island, as leader of the others, whereupon he took up residence on the mainland and grew the empire known as Widmore Industries. I strongly suspect that the initial startup costs of establishing thie Earthly empire were covered through material gains realized by using the island's spacetime powers to 'create value', perhaps by gaining future knowledge of the marketplace and traveling back in time to exploit this knowledge. Acts of this kind are known as 'frag' and frag is not at all well-tolerated by champions of fate (The C0ntinuum) their timecops (see my 3/26/09 piece, in this regard).
Eloise Hawking will be revealed as the head of the faction focused on fate (The C0ntinuum). Ms. Hawking is an acknowledged timecop, and her stature among the others has only been hinted at, to date. In no small bit of irony, Widmore and Hawking's progeny-- Daniel Faraday-- embodies and personifies the dualistic temporal rift that no doubt contributed to their fated separation, viz., the clash between those who seek to preserve the integrity of the timeline, and those who wish to change it for their own selfish purposes. We have only witnessed a fraction of the available timecop arsenal and powers to date. Smokey on the island is one thing, but those jamming guns pointed at Michael on the freighter and the mainland are another thing altogether... Consider the formidable nature and power required to police spacetime and achieve those targeted results, to help ensure that for Michael, what happened, happened....
So how might this shed some additional light on the nature and contents of The Incident at the close of Season 5? In addition to growing disclosures regarding the true nature and power of the island, and the true nature and bases for the factional conflicts emerging in Season 6, I'm now wondering if the latter might be revealed in a more personalized approach, with Faraday at the Swan Hatch site, in the Incident Room, pondering the temporal conundrum captured in that decidedly and delightfully self-referential phrase, What happened, happened....
Picture Faraday's brain working on overdrive, as he furiously ponders his options, faced with blaring sirens and flashing lights, signaling an impending reactor meltdown.... What to do... What to do.... What did I do? What did happen? Enter Widmore, for a classic homage to that fateful scene near the end of The Empire Strikes Back.... Widmore: "Daniel, I'm your father...." Faraday: "Nooo...!" Cue the entrance of Ms. Hawking.... A Faraday's Choice showdown, to be sure....
And so of course he does what he always does, and ends up making the supreme sacrifice in dying for fate and the island, and by so doing.....
* Faraday's sentience achieves the William Gibson dream of discarnate, energy-enabled immortality through transmuting onto/into the JACOB islandmind....
* Faraday's actions throw the island back to the past, with a huge Season 5-ending reveal in the form of us finally getting to see whose face it is, on the 'four-toed' statue....
* Those who were on the island at the time of The Incident and were thrown back into the past are not thrown back in time wearing their 'modern' clothes; instead, they are transported back into the guise of their prior, ancient selves, garbed in those proto-Egyptian/Atlantean outfies, replete with shiny gilded accoutrements, sporting funky Egyptian hairstyles and adornments..... Can't you just see Sawyer walking like an Egyptian?!
* And don't be surprised when we see that the person whose face is on the statue is now standing at an altar with arm held high and ceremonial dagger in hand, poised ready to strike deep into the heart of one of our cherished (now gagged and bound) Lost characters, urged onward by an increasingly loud chorus of chants from the surrounding worshipers....
Hmmm.... How do they get out of that bind... How, indeed, will they now get back to the future....!
Time will tell,
Dr. Todd J. Hostager