The Island is a character; so sayeth the gods of Lost. This is how I believe it to be so:

When the Black Cloud reversed course through itself after examining Eko, I jumped to the conclusion that the Black Cloud was the result of artificial intelligence. But, what if the Black Cloud was the result of plant intelligence?!!!!!!!!!!!!

We know that plants are nurtured by the soil that they grow in and can be modified by that soil. Lostia soil has an unusual composition. It is rich in a substance that is highly magnetic. Is it therefore possible that the plants have absorbed the properties of this substance and have learned to manipulate the magnetic fields, which naturally occurs on the island?
Consider this:

During that period in the islands history when "QUARANTINE" was written on the inside of the Swan Hatch; this could have been a time when the plants on the island were undergoing a base change, were introduced to gene therapy and DNA manipulation. We know that such things were being introduced to animal life. The blastdoor reads "Stated goal, (?) accellerated deterritorialization of ursus maritimus(polar bear) through gene therapy and extreme climate change." So, we know genetic experiments are part of the Dharma agenda. Perhaps the scientists attempted to directly affect the plant life as well or maybe it was inadvertant, the result of experiments on animals. It doesn't matter which. But, I do think there is a high percentage that the plants were modified as a direct result of Dharma experiments. The "incident" might, therefore, be defined as an evolution, artificially induced, which unified the island's plant life and raised it to a more threatening intelligence level.



Re: The Island Mind

reply Posted: Oct 27 @ 04:26 PM
by: PsychedelicRelic1 (65 Posts in the last 90 days) Registered: Oct 07, 2005
Through the manipulation of matter, by means of magnetic control, the island plants can adapt and communicate and immitate any person, animal or thing dwelling or having dwelt on the island. They can project images within a magnetic field as a matter of survival. The plants have even learned how to hide from the outer world. The entire island has become invisible to potential predators beyond the shore.

Think about the fundamental nature of evolutionary adaptation. Some plants look like animals to fend off predators. In the ocean some plants look like animals and some animals look like plants. On land some animals, like parrots, take on the characteristics of other animals in order to survive. How does this relate to the Lostians? "They are not the Survivors they thought they were."

In my mind this new theory limits many of the variables, lessens the quantity of seemingly unconnected enigmatic events. Think about Locke's psychedelic peanut butter now. It has all the elements of a shamanistic drug plus the added effect of truly becoming one with the island.

Desmond just turned down a fruit salad. Hmmm. Is this something related to my new theory? How has the native food effected the people on the island? Is this why Dharma has an automated food drop system in place?