There's a book called Hyperion, and in it is an interesting idea. It is not original to Hyperion but its the best example I've read.

So... here goes. My first official thread. There are a group of people in the above mentioned book who regenerate when they are killed. They die... a couple days pass, and they come back to life. The reason for it is a "cruciform" or thats what they call it anyway. It's a living thing that grows on the walls inside the caves where they live. I don't need to get into the whole thing, but basically they attach it to themselves, and it grows to be a part of them. So when they die, the cruciform goes into action, regenerates their body, and brings them back to "life". the cost for this is that each time a person dies and comes back, they lose more and more of what makes them human. In the book this means them becoming less and less intelligent, losing their sexual differences, etc. BUT. Here's my thought for LOST.

I suspect strongly that the Others are genetically enhanced, etc. thus the bad *** fighting moves, they all seem to be pretty bright, and there's something that's just... OFF about all of them. Bit creepy and not "human" Even Juliet most of the time. What if one of the advances is that their bodies can regenerate from extreme damage (which Mikhail basically says outright) very quickly b/c of the island (cruciform). i'm not thinking maybe... from the DEAD... but. maybe so too. And that each time this happens they gain some things, but also gain more of that odd Others quality. the creepy thing. Less emotions, less feelings of empathy, etc. In short, less "human."

I dunno. Just a thought. And it's late, and I haven't slept since watching the ep. but. This crossed my mind the second he came on the screen so i thought I'd throw it out there. Mikhail does say straight up that healing is very fast on the island. so if there was a spark of life left in him, then maybe he just regenerated right there where they left him? But... then you have issues like Boone... or the federal marshall. If healing is that quick then why didnt' it help them? My answer. cause they aren't others. Mikhail is. etc. And this would be why it's so weird Ben isn't healed yet. And would also lead me to believe the woman from the sky is an Other also. Except you could also argue that Locke WAS instantly healed, and Rose, etc. So who the hell knows.

Wasn't Hyperion the name of the company that published Gary Troup's book Bad Twin?

Now I'm going to have to check that out. I found it interesting that Mikhail said healing is fast on the island, but that does not explain Locke after the door slammed on him, Boone, federal marshal, etc. Maybe the island is selective in who it heals quickly. But then, why not heal Locke quickly.

Ow, my head. This show can make you go round and round.

Wasn't Hyperion the name of the company that published Gary Troup's book Bad Twin?


It is also a book company owned by Disney

I can go with it not healing Boone/Marshall because not an Other and it does make you wonder about healing Jin, Locke and Rose. But Sawyer has been shot, stabbed, blown up and seems to bounce back. It is interesting idea of regeneration effect of the island. Does that mean we will see Ethan again? Or is 6 bullet wounds to the chest to much to overcome? Or a giant stick through the chest? Maybe as the Australian faith healer told Rose, the island is healing place, just not for everyone.

Now I'm going to have to check that out. I found it interesting that Mikhail said healing is fast on the island, but that does not explain Locke after the door slammed on him, Boone, federal marshal, etc. Maybe the island is selective in who it heals quickly. But then, why not heal Locke quickly.

Ow, my head. This show can make you go round and round.

Locke did heal quickly. He was only on the crutches for a day or two, Jack said it would be two weeks.

Remember Rose said; "We both know it won't be that long"...

Mikhail coming back only can mean 2 things: that the Others are conning the Losties with that forcefield working just to keep them out or that he died but came back to life and if this is true, I do not believe that Jack's father Christian is dead and he is running the whole thing

Or Dharma is or was into Cloning.

Mikhail coming back only can mean 2 things: that the Others are conning the Losties with that forcefield working just to keep them out or that he died but came back to life and if this is true, I do not believe that Jack's father Christian is dead and he is running the whole thing

There's a book called Hyperion, and in it is an interesting idea. It is not original to Hyperion but its the best example I've read.

So... here goes. My first official thread. There are a group of people in the above mentioned book who regenerate when they are killed. They die... a couple days pass, and they come back to life. The reason for it is a "cruciform" or thats what they call it anyway. It's a living thing that grows on the walls inside the caves where they live. I don't need to get into the whole thing, but basically they attach it to themselves, and it grows to be a part of them. So when they die, the cruciform goes into action, regenerates their body, and brings them back to "life". the cost for this is that each time a person dies and comes back, they lose more and more of what makes them human. In the book this means them becoming less and less intelligent, losing their sexual differences, etc. BUT. Here's my thought for LOST.

I suspect strongly that the Others are genetically enhanced, etc. thus the bad *** fighting moves, they all seem to be pretty bright, and there's something that's just... OFF about all of them. Bit creepy and not "human" Even Juliet most of the time. What if one of the advances is that their bodies can regenerate from extreme damage (which Mikhail basically says outright) very quickly b/c of the island (cruciform). i'm not thinking maybe... from the DEAD... but. maybe so too. And that each time this happens they gain some things, but also gain more of that odd Others quality. the creepy thing. Less emotions, less feelings of empathy, etc. In short, less "human."

I dunno. Just a thought. And it's late, and I haven't slept since watching the ep. but. This crossed my mind the second he came on the screen so i thought I'd throw it out there. Mikhail does say straight up that healing is very fast on the island. so if there was a spark of life left in him, then maybe he just regenerated right there where they left him? But... then you have issues like Boone... or the federal marshall. If healing is that quick then why didnt' it help them? My answer. cause they aren't others. Mikhail is. etc. And this would be why it's so weird Ben isn't healed yet. And would also lead me to believe the woman from the sky is an Other also. Except you could also argue that Locke WAS instantly healed, and Rose, etc. So who the hell knows.

I absolutely loved the Hyperion series and that's an interesting connection you've made. I agree with you that the Others are in some way genetically enhanced. I think the island causes it but only for certain people, ie: Locke and Rose. Why the island selects certain people to heal? I have no idea..

Mikhail coming back only can mean 2 things: that the Others are conning the Losties with that forcefield working just to keep them out or that he died but came back to life and if this is true, I do not believe that Jack's father Christian is dead and he is running the whole thing
Damon and Carlton reinforced again in this week's podcast that Christian is dead, dead, dead, dead, dead.
About the theory, it's not a bad one-- the general concept that the Others are genetically enhanced and have some kind of regenerative capabilities. I do question Ethan and Goowin, though perhaps their wounds were too severe. But is a few bullets more severe than what appears to have been a cerebral hemorrage?

I still think that either the timeline altered to a reality where Mikhail was not killed, or he faked it with cosmetics and caps.

I believe Mikhail was "near death" but not dead when the sonic fence got him. I think the island somehow allows people to heal, and heal quickly, from even the most severe injury (like a punctured lung?), but NOT to recover from *death*. If you're dead, you're dead . . .

In another thread, someone mentioned rapid regeneration of cells, and possibly a correlation to why pregnant women's bodies "react" to the "foreign" body that is a fetus. They also mention a possible "fountain of youth" angle, since, after all, aging is mainly a cell-regeneration issue. I believe all three things (injury healing--incl Locke's paralysis and Rose's cancer, pregnancy issues--a terrible side effect, and reduced aging--possibly explaining the three-toed statue, etc. with very-long-living inhabitants?) are going to be related and intertwined.

I believe Mikhail was "near death" but not dead when the sonic fence got him. I think the island somehow allows people to heal, and heal quickly, from even the most severe injury (like a punctured lung?), but NOT to recover from *death*. If you're dead, you're dead . . .

In another thread, someone mentioned rapid regeneration of cells, and possibly a correlation to why pregnant women's bodies "react" to the "foreign" body that is a fetus. They also mention a possible "fountain of youth" angle, since, after all, aging is mainly a cell-regeneration issue. I believe all three things (injury healing--incl Locke's paralysis and Rose's cancer, pregnancy issues--a terrible side effect, and reduced aging--possibly explaining the three-toed statue, etc. with very-long-living inhabitants?) are going to be related and intertwined.

That's an interesting point about women's bodies reacting to the fetus in terms of rapid cell regeneration. I'm certainly no doctor so laugh if you will but perhaps the fetus is growing far too quickly and the woman's body simply can't handle the growth..

I absolutely loved the Hyperion series and that's an interesting connection you've made. I agree with you that the Others are in some way genetically enhanced. I think the island causes it but only for certain people, ie: Locke and Rose. Why the island selects certain people to heal? I have no idea..

Who says it selects certain people? The Marshall's wound was only cleared out for a little while before Sawyer added to his problems. Maybe he just didn't have time to get fixed up.
Or the island can only heal wounds of a certain severity. So the Marshall and Boone were too far gone to be saved in time.

I agree the Others are genetically enhanced in some way. Desmond received some of that enhancement in his daily dose of antidote that he injected for 3 years. For him that awoke his precognition, in others it had different effects. In most of the Others you can see the increase in strength, like Ethan during his fight with Jack, Juliet in her reflexes and strength when she took down Kate in the game room (of couse Kate still totally kicked her butt in the jungle). It would make sense that Mikhail was recruited for some special latent ability that the island/gene therapy enhanced. Language skills for one possibly, which is why he's the communicator.

My thought, which I've seen before in some form, is that the island awakens latent abilities in people, and the Others are using genetic modification to push that along. Which is why Bea says they got more than they bargained for with Walt. Since he already had some ability the island would have just magnified it, and if they tried genetically to enhance it further..... it was probably more than they've dealt with before.

Interesting theory but I feel it's much simpler than that. Mikhail told the "campers" that wounds are different on the island. We know that people can and do die and they haven't regenerated. We also know that several people have healed "miraculously."

- Jin
- Locke (not only could he walk but his crushed legs healed quickly)
- Rose

My explanation is that Mikhail sustained ruptured eardrums and the froth was probably just sonic induced. So when Kate declared him dead he really wasn't dead just in serious shock. After all there's a reason why medical examiners are called to all scenes involving potential fatalities -- because a lay person can make mistakes in deciding if someone is dead or not.

Also lets not forget that Pikki were declared dead even though they weren't.

Isn't there some connection between magnetisim and it's effect on health? If the magnetic forces on the island are strong enough or tuned just right, could it cause regeneration or whatever it is that is allowing them to heal quickly?

Isn't there some connection between magnetisim and it's effect on health? If the magnetic forces on the island are strong enough or tuned just right, could it cause regeneration or whatever it is that is allowing them to heal quickly?

In the real world, generally speaking, I don't think magnets really do anything as far as health goes, unless you include having a super-duper-strong magnet rip all of the iron out of your blood lol :rolleyes: Though there are a lot of hokey products on the market that claim putting a magnet here or there on your body will take pain away, stop nausea, etc. And of course, this is a tv show after all, so for all I know, that might be what they're going for ;)

also...i wonder how the so called "box" plays into this. Perhaps the Others needed Mikhail and simply "wished" him back to life via the box. That falls apart slightly because i imagine they would also wish Ethan and Goodwin back as well. Either way, having that "box" in the scenario makes all things possible and tears away at any point in theorizing.

There's a book called Hyperion, and in it is an interesting idea. It is not original to Hyperion but its the best example I've read.
Hyperion! I read that book (and Fall of Hyperion) earlier this year. It actually struck me how similar it was to Lost in style and structure. Particularly the first book - a group of people, strangers to one another, isolated from the outside world for an unknown purpose, whose individual stories we, the readers, learn through the flashback device.

Your thoughts on the cruciform parallel are very interesting - and when reading Father Dure's journal in Hyperion, I couldn't turn the pages fast enough, what a creepy story - and if you recall what the cruciform turned out to be for....are the Others being used in some way, with or without their knowledge?

also...i wonder how the so called "box" plays into this. Perhaps the Others needed Mikhail and simply "wished" him back to life via the box. That falls apart slightly because i imagine they would also wish Ethan and Goodwin back as well. Either way, having that "box" in the scenario makes all things possible and tears away at any point in theorizing.

Except the "box" is smokey and it doesn't give you what you wish for -- IT GIVES YOU WHAT YOU DESERVE. Smokey is karma incarnate. At least that's my theory and thus far it hasn't been disproven or contradicted by anyone.

How about this one people:

First- let’s go back to the "death" of Mikhail. Locke pushed him into what we though was an electrified fence, he says thank you, white stuff comes out of his mouth and he falls over. The rest of the crew assumes he is dead and crawls over the fence to avoid electrocution. They get stuck in Otherville for a while and then Kate and Juliette are handcuffed together in the jungle. They walk along, hear the monster and run, they come to a part of the electrified fence and Juliette runs through to a post with a panel, Kate stars in disbelief and doesn’t move but Juliette says “come on don’t worry they aren’t even on” and Kate runs through, Juliette pushes buttons on the panel AND NOW THE FENCE IS LIVE!
People- Mikhail was NEVER dead.

He had a device implanted in him like Claire's. Similar symptoms. And he did not die

I'm of the opinion that Mikhail didn't die. There was a loud noise, however, the same one that jacked Smokey. I think it probably doesn't hurt humans, or not nearly enough to kill them. Mikhail did look worked, still had blood on him, etc. I don't know the real deal with him. He's older, like Tom, and obviously didn't regenerate an eye! I think perhaps the island giveth and the island taketh away. Ones that have died on the island are ones that the island wants dead.

I think the most magnificant display of Island healing loyalty to a survivor is exemplified in Sawyer. Sawyer should have been dead long, long, long, ago.

Mikhail is an interesting character because he's pretty much a renegade, like Rousso. He wears that Dharma jumpsuit, and has his own "house," and even Ben was like, dude, don't shoot us. Did Mikhail crash on the island in the sub? I can't recall if there was ever an explanation for the sub.

Hyperion! I read that book (and Fall of Hyperion) earlier this year. It actually struck me how similar it was to Lost in style and structure. Particularly the first book - a group of people, strangers to one another, isolated from the outside world for an unknown purpose, whose individual stories we, the readers, learn through the flashback device.

Your thoughts on the cruciform parallel are very interesting - and when reading Father Dure's journal in Hyperion, I couldn't turn the pages fast enough, what a creepy story - and if you recall what the cruciform turned out to be for....are the Others being used in some way, with or without their knowledge?

HEY! I'm glad to see a few folks on this thread that have read Hyperion. And yes, the point of what they were being made FOR definitely crossed my mind. I'm not sure what I think, but the Hyperion series is very interesting, and the original is set up very similarly to LOST. I do'nt think there's a lot of crossover. But I think the first two books of the Hyperion series are a definite great example of how to throw all these strangely connected unexplained mysteries against a wall, and get an amazing, mind blowing, completely believable and amazingly detailed answer at the end. When they figured IT out at the end of book two i was like HOLY SHIT. :biggrin: I hope I'm feeling that way at the end of LOST.

But. After watching the epi again. I'm thinking it probably is just that the island heals you faster. Dead is dead. So... he looked dead, but laid there and healeld. Still, it's interesting, and thanks for all the responses on my very first thread.

Patchy was never dead. He didn't fake it. The sonic barrier burst his eardrums (bleeding ears) and induced a grand mal seizure (foaming at the mouth, convulsions followed by an immediate deep sleep state). This is what a sonic or infrasound weapon can do. They have been studied and in use since the late 1950's. See this post for a detailed medical explanation. (http://www.thefuselage.com/Threaded/...&postcount=135)

And what's with the speedy healing? And why does the island heal some people or injuries and not others? I don't think that the island has 'magical healing' properties at all. I believe healing takes place absolutely normally. I think it is the perceived TIME the healing takes that is at play. We have no proof anyone who has been legitimately and officially counted as dead, is now alive. So fatal wounds are fatal. Non-fatal wounds heal. Wounds that would normally heal, such as perforated eardrums would heal. Growing back a missing limb or eyeball would not. See my full post: Healing, Time & What the hell did I stumble on to? (http://www.thefuselage.com/Threaded/showthread.php?t=77577) for my detailed theory.

Smokey=Lions, Tigers and Bears :)

It's really unlikely that when Mikhail was pushed into the fence the whole thing was an act. I'm pretty sure that the fence would kill most people, but Mikhails just a tough guy, and if this wasn't the island, he would of eventually died. But like he said, you heal faster on the island.

If the barrier is sonic then I have no problem believing that Mikhail's death was a con or maybe he just passed out in pain as currently in real life the US is using sonic weapons in Afghanistan which are non lethal. If that's right it still doesn't exclude the possibility of Smokey being affected as the vibration could do something to any delicate technological parts, or if it's Biological then it might just be painful to it as it is to people and Smokey has previously found this out the hard way since it ran away pretty quick.

I have to say - I was SO sure Mikhail was dead, and as soon as we saw him in D.O.C, I actually paused the DVR, turned to my husband, and said, "Oh dear. There'll be no living with them after this," in my best Captain Jack Sparrow imitation. I then had to explain how a bunch of you folks called it weeks ago, and how I was wrong. So, congrats on the Mikhail-wasn't-dead folks that I disagreed with vehemently, and maybe I'll actually be right about something next time.

That said - I think it makes logical sense that since those who have DIED-died have not been brought back, but those who have had longer-term serious wounds seem to be doing okay, that there's some kind of healing going on - though, that raises the question of when during your dying you can be healed, and when you just die. Or, heck, Mikhail could have faked it. I'm up for either theory.

In the real world, generally speaking, I don't think magnets really do anything as far as health goes, unless you include having a super-duper-strong magnet rip all of the iron out of your blood lol :rolleyes: Though there are a lot of hokey products on the market that claim putting a magnet here or there on your body will take pain away, stop nausea, etc. And of course, this is a tv show after all, so for all I know, that might be what they're going for ;)


I used to have a mate who's dogs had to wear magnetic collars, never really looked into it, he may been pulling my leg. He said it was to help with arthritis.