Chorus of the Dead

In the celebrated graphic novel Watchmen, one of the main characters is a superman named Dr. Manhattan. A scientist, he is reduced by a freak accident (the incident?) to pure energy. His physical body is obliterated but his electromagnetic “soul” persists.

With this transformation in mind, check out this quote from the whispers Sawyer hears on the beach in Outlaws:*

Oh my god there's a guy out there
Dennis (?) find out what's going on
Did he see us?
Maybe
Open it
Did you see what direction he went?
Right through those trees
Go and get him
There is an explanation (resolution?) and I bet you haven't thought of it
What is it?
He's been in a plane crash
Are you sure?
I know what it's like for a plane to crash
Complain, complain, complain
I want to get closer
I know what you said, but he's looking around
What if he shoots us or something
------
There may be something, but it may be slack (?)
Let's go
Has he seen us?
(Alarms go off)
I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry
(faint...could be echo from alarm)
Intruder, Intruder
Hide against the bushes
Open the door
I know what it's like for a plane to crash
Complain, complain, complain
I know what you said, but...

As others have noted, the foregoing sounds eerily like the dialogue of ghosts – ones who may not know they’re dead. Now check out this quote from the whispers in the jungle when Shannon gets shot:

Shannon
She likes the guy, she likes the guy
Shannon
Your life and time is up
Help me
(Screaming in the background)
Shannon, meet me on the other side
Her song
Hi sis
(Gun shot)

Note how at least one of the whispers apparently refers to Shannon as "sis" when she's shot. Recall as well that Vincent led Shannon to Boone's grave right before she died.

Is it possible the whispers are the electromagnetic remains of everyone who's ever died on the island? Could this explain the island's strange electromagnetic forces? Perhaps, nothing, not even our electromagnetic souls can escape the Island's magnetic embrace.

Could the whispers be a chorus of the dead?

*Transcripts of the whispers courtesy of rvturnage, penyours, and the other incredible folks of the Whispers Thread at the fuselage.

Edit: May 10, 2007: I think Ben is holding Jacob's electromagnetic "ghost" prisoner in that remote house. Maybe He was once the leader of the Others and got killed during the hostilities. For a long time, Ben was the only one who could "hear" Jacob and thus tap his powerful psychic mind. But now Locke can too, which threatens Ben immensely. And what did Jacob say to Locke? "Help me..."

I once argued that the Lost Experience is a metaphor for what's happening on the show. Recall that the main plot line involved a dude of dubious origins (i.e., Mittelwerk) taking control of the Hanso Foundation and imprisoning old Alvar himself. That's basically what's happening on the Island now. Ben has seized control of Jacob's foundation, holding Him prisoner and speaking in His name.

Why Jack Pressed the Button...

The most recent repeat went to great lengths to portray Jack as making a grudging and dramatic leap of faith to keep pressing the button. Occurs to me, however, that what Jack did was completely rational. In fact, I'd submit that any true man of reason would do the same.

It all has to do with Pascal's Wager. Pascal once posited that it made rational sense to believe in god (i.e., be a man of faith) because the expected value of belief is always greater than the expected value from non-belief. In other words, the cost of not believing is so great if god exists (you go to hell) that it overwhelms any competing considerations.

This same dilemma gets played in all sorts of debates over how to assess risk in the face of catastrophe. Basic rational choice theory posits that the cost of a negative outcome should be discounted by the probability of occurrence. For example, if I have a 50%chance of getting a $100 ticket when I speed, my expected cost each time I speed is only $50 (meaning I'll continue to speed as long as I obtain more than $50 in value from doing so).

Some outcomes, however, are so costly (e.g., nuclear annihalation) that they skew the risk analysis irrespective of their probability of occurrence (infinity discounted by even a miniscule probability is still infinity). That's basically what we have on the island, where the possible cost of not pushing the button (i.e., the end of the world) is so great, it makes rational sense to keep right on pushing, almost irrespective of whether we believe Desmond.

In a way, therefore, our man of science really had no (rational) choice.

The Pineal Gland, Melatonin, and the Sickness

It was recently suggested that Demond's use of the spotlight might indicate that the Others are sensitive to light, and that this sensitivity might be due to their illness. I now believe I've found further pseudo-scientific support for this theory--support that may also help illuminate (multiple puns intended) the "sickness."

Many have noted before that the pineal gland is also referred to as the "mind's eye"--a central metaphor in the show. The pineal gland secretes melatonin, a hormone known to affect our sensitivity to sunlight:

Only in very recent times have medical scientists identified the hormonal secretion of the pineal gland, finally isolating it in 1968. The essence was called melatonin, which means 'night worker' (from the Greek, melos, meaning 'black', and tosos, meaning 'labour'). Those with a high melatonin output react strongly against sunlight because it affects their mental capability; they are essentially night operatives. Melatonin is called the 'hormone of darkness' as it is produced only at night or in the dark.

Also, those afflicted with overactive pineal glands tend to be very spiritually aware:

Exposure to an excess of sunlight actually makes the pineal gland smaller and lessens spiritual awareness, whereas darkness and high pineal activity enhance the keen intuitive knowledge of the subtle mind while reducing the stress factor.

(Full text here.) What if those with the "sickness" have overactive pineal glands? I'm drawn to this speculation because it dove-tails neatly with my theory that the "sickness" is basically a cult of the island (or whatever controls it). It also connects well with the Lovecraft speculations. As anyone who has read Call of Cthulhu knows, the creature therein communicates with artists via vivid and disturbing dreams not unlike the mural. Lovecraft attributes these visions to the pineal gland.

Aaron is the Messiah

I was poking around on google a while back, and stumbled on something that might well be relevant to the mythology of the show. Apparently, the dead sea scrolls predict the coming of a "Messiah of Aaron and Israel" who will cleanse the world of sin and suffering. The scrolls also predict this Messiah will lead the "children of light" into an apocalyptic battle against the "children of dakrness." Messiah, moreover, means "anointed one," and Aaron and his descendants were anointed by god in the old testament.

Anyone else think Aaron is the Messiah?