Thoughts on D.O.C....

I'm going to start with the obvious -- what did the Parachutist mean when she said they found Oceanic 815 and there were no survivors? One possibility is that the Others collected the wreckage and staged a fake crash scene elsewhere to protect the Island. But so many people survived the crash -- where did they get all those replacement bodies? I think there's another answer that better fits the facts we know thus far. As I've argued previously, the presence of a second photo of Penny and Des implies that the latter's trip back in time created a causal paradox. Yet, if we have a second photo, why not a second plane -- one that crashed killing everyone onboard in the part of the multiverse that Penny and the Parachutist are from?

It's a brain fryer to be sure, but recall the image from In Gott We Trust of the universe with branching baby universes -- those various branches are dimensions of the multiverse. Each time someone special like Desmond creates a causal paradox in one of these dimensions, a new branch of the multiverse is created, thereby resolving the paradox. The Island appears to be a kind of interdimensional nexus of the multiverse, outside of spacetime and thus accessible from all branches equally. In the dimension where Des is originally from, Penny probably doesn't have a photo and isn't even looking for him. But because Des created a parallel dimension (or branch of the multiverse) by traveling back in time, there now is a Penny who does and is.

This is actually how some scientists, including Gott and noted string theorist Brian Greene think time travel might work. Fellow fans of the show Heroes should watch for an even more explicit (spoonfed?) take on this science in the upcoming episode String Theory. I'm not quite sure how course corrections figure into the equation, but here are some further signs to look for that the Island is an interdimensional nexus of the multiverse. One will be further inconsistencies between the Parachutist and our Losties over recollections of the past. She may remember meeting some of them, but they won't remember her, or vice versa. Another intriguing possibility is that they will use the Satellite phone to make contact with Penny, who will have no recollection of having sent the Parachutist.

* On another note, the Island boosts sperm production. (Way to go Apa Jin!) I'm not sure that kills the immuno-contraceptive idea, especially since the consensus seems to be that Swan was creating the effect electromagnetically. But his vigorous sperm count does rule out the specific kind of immuno-contraceptive used to control wildlife populations like the squirrels of Santa Monica, which tends to inhibit egg and sperm production. By that same token, the apparent boost to the immune system provided by the Island could still be caused by rTMS.

* Jin's uncertain parentage raises some interesting questions. Just who was his father? And could Jin have been born on the Island -- or conceived by someone who was? Perhaps as such, he can only reproduce on Craphole Island...

* Interesting how Sun's borrowing the money to payoff of Jin's mother appears to have been what prompted Mr. Paik to "promote" his son-in-law to enforcer...

* Funny how, the more we get to know Jin and Sun, the more sympathetic the former gets -- Jin's story arc is one of the most remarkable of the show. It's been said before but merits repeating the writers deserve major praise for handling his (and her) story so beautifully.

* Mikhail is back! But...how? Two possibilities occur to me, both of which involve Smokey. First, it's possible that Smokey can possess people, in which case Mikhail's trip through the sonic fence may have cleansed Smokey from his system. Alternatively, perhaps Mikhail died and the Smoke monster snatched his body like it apparently did Christian's and Yemi's...