There are many time travel theories out there. LOST has decided to use the theory commonly known as “Pretzel Theory”. The way it works is this:

Time is a string running in a linear fashion. However, imagine many circles intersecting the string of time. Events of time can be viewed as linear along the string, but the “traveling” can be viewed as circles cutting through the string, having no beginning and no end.

A good LOST example to use is the existence of John and Richard’s compass. Looking at this object carefully, you realize the compass has no inception, nor destruction. Richard is given the compass by Locke in 1954, Locke is given the compass by Richard some time in the future. The compass exists in this circle that Locke travels on intersecting the linear string of time.

Another good example is the rope stuck in the ground that Sawyer was holding on to. Sawyer discovers the well and is holding the rope. When the “flash” occurs, the rope gets stuck in the ground. But, Sawyer’s holding of the rope and leading to it being stuck in the ground is what will eventually lead to people building that well in the first place. therefore, the well was built because of Saywer holding the rope, an event which hadn’t occured yet in the linear string of time.

The bottom line is the circles created by “time traveling” cause future events to effect the past, and past events to effect the future simultaneously. Richard wouldn’t know John in the future, if John didn’t introduce himself in the past, but he wouldn’t have done that if he didn’t know Richard from the future (never-ending pretzel).

Therefore, there is only one version of time, nothing can be changed. Whatever has happened, happened. This is what Faraday meant: it doesn’t matter what you do because the linear string of time has already determined what you have done. What the oceanic 6 and the people left-behind do in the Dharma time now had already taken place when they orginally crashed on the Island.

What will be interesting to see is the unique properties Desmond holds. What I stated above are the “rules” that Faraday was talking about, but for some reason these rules do not apply to Desmond. Potentially he can alter the timeline, which is where “Course-correction” comes into play. Charlie was supposed to die from the lightening bolt, that’s how time was supposed to go, but he changed that somehow. The “rules” don’t apply to him.

I know it’s confusing as hell, but let me know what you think.[/quote]

EXACTLY! Your point about the compass and rope make my head hurt. I had previously given thought to the rope, but the compass…. how did said compass come to be? Has it exsisted forever… someone had to have physically made it right?

However, if it turns out I’m wrong and history is changed, I’ll feel quite foolish for being gullible enough to buy into Daniel’s theories so completely. And depending on how the rest of the story plays out, I’ll be a bit disappointed in D&C for misleading us like that.[/quote]

Widmore changed the rules, are you dissapointed in him? Why couldn’t Alex die? Daniel is in 1977 for some reason, and NOW I say, because he followed the losties there, knowing they would go to ’77. As big as time travel has become, I seriously think that the hatch was the very beggining of it- and what we saw happen in a matter of days, had already effected YEARS otherwise. All you have to do is go back and follow Desmond to Faraday. Everything that we know NOW, is what all of our Hawkings, Widmores, Bens, Alperts etc. know to be true. Via Daniel Faraday, who most likely has his own agenda… it would only be right.

Obviously I’m missing one huge ingredient and some of this can be easily scrutinized, but I think I’m somewhere on the right path…[/quote]

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Yup. I like it.
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However, if it turns out I’m wrong and history is changed, I’ll feel quite foolish for being gullible enough to buy into Daniel’s theories so completely. And depending on how the rest of the story plays out, I’ll be a bit disappointed in D&C for misleading us like that.

@Rita

Think about it like this, when they push that button, which suppresses the electromagnetic energy, they are rebooting 1996 in 108 minute increments over and over again (I think it’s 96 if I’m not mistaken)…It’s not that the events are repeating it’s that the TIME is repeating (which is why I believe if Ben Linus finds a way for mamas to have babies he can just stall time to where it never reaches the endgame), but like I said I’m not quite sure if the events in the loop are repeating as much as the time is repeating…So when the eventual TTing begins and you travel back into looped timed the YOU that exists within this same timespace EVERWHERE can interact either subconsciously or consciously with the TT YOU…So to me the loop is more about the SPACE existing over and over again than the events…So it’s like you’re looping ’96 so you never get to ’97, but if you TT from ’97 to ’96, EVERYTHING YOU HAVE EXPERIENCED WITHIN THIS SPACE will be apart of your conscious or subconscious mind (Seeing the beechcraft originally crash, seeing Boone die, being healthy without paralysis–All of this is apart of your mental being the minute you land in the loop)…

Desmond being exposed to quantum levels of electromagnatism though (@ ground zero no doubt) has given him an uber-consciousness because he experiences like 9 years in a matter of seconds…So unlike Locke and company who might gradually see weird things, or have weird experiences, Desmond has a far more heightened sense of time and events that have already took place…He probably has a $hitload of unlocked memories in his head, but just can’t recall them all…

Obviously I’m missing one huge ingredient and some of this can be easily scrutinized, but I think I’m somewhere on the right path…