Yeah ,I understand what you mean. It would be very hard nowadays to find a theory which is completely original with so many people theorizing about the same things. And as far as the origin of the hostiles, I have 3 options:

1) escaped test subjects from early Dharma.
2) leftovers from a pre-dharma organization.
3) descendants of an ancient civilization (related or not to the BR)

I vote for #3, your exact wording in fact, despite its apparent ridiculousness. ;)

Richard was a hostile. It seems like he was an original inhabitant of the island. He doesn't seem like a bad guy, why would the hostiles be so violent against the Dharma group.

Because the Dharma group were doing human experiments on the island inhabitants. I think that Richard is a product of a Dharma/Hanso Life extension experiment. He once was a normal island inhabitant, but now his aging has been dramatically slowed. I don't think he is from the 1800's or before, he was probably born around 1950 -1955. Dharma performed the LE experiment on him in c1980 (when he was about 25-30). He escapes from Dharma, then meets Ben around 1985 or so.

So now he is really about 50 years old, but still looks about 30 as he is aging slowly.

Just a thought.Good possibility except for his clothes. They're from the 1860 & I doubt he got them off a corpse in the Black Rock as they'd have surely rotted being in there with no care for that long. Maybe because of the Hostiles (if they don't age as quickly as normal) DHARMA came to the island to seek out the cause and tested on them not to make them ageless but to find out how they do it. Now that I like better. :biggrin:

I'm now leaning more to the theory of the hostiles (including Richard) being test subjects for early Dharma. I don't know what kind of tests (could be related to infertility and life-extension), but they certainly went wrong. These people escaped the facilities and started roaming the island. For some reason, they were dangerous to Dharma's expansion so they had to be get rid of. So they (Dharma) decided to 'fumigate' the whole island with some kind of gas (like the one the hostlies used later on) or some virus or something. This could explain the Quarantine signs on the inside of the stations. But the hostiles didn't die. They may have hidden somewhere safe, like underground. There they may have learned about the island's mysteries and probably Jacob and the ancient history of the island.
I now also think that perhaps no baby has ever been conceived and born on the island. The hostiles might have also found out about an ancient prophecy foretelling the birth of the first real Islander. This person would be the only one able to communicate with Jacob and spread his will. When Richard met Ben, he may have thought he was the one. Now my question is: does Richard think Ben was conceived and born on the island? Did Ben tell him that? Why would a 11 yo lie about it? Was Ben told that when he was a child?

Anyways, Ben continued with this con throughout his whole life. I don't think that he had ever talked, heard or seen Jacob. He just pretended to. He knows he IS real, though.
But now, he is been threaten by Locke' s presence on the island. The Others thought Locke could be another chosen one because of his miraculous healing. And I really think he is the one and that he might have even been conceived and born ON the island. And this is why Ben wanted to get rid of him.I do like that bit about the fumigation of the island because there had to be something outside for the Quarantine to be on the inside ... unless it was simply to keep them inside and away from the Hostiles or away from seeing other things that DHARMA was up to. I think both are very possible reasons for that on the hatch lid.

yes
the only meaning behind that is that the "Purge" took place on Ben's birthday.

Glad to see everyone has stolen my "escaped test subjects" theory for the Hostiles...Uh, no he could also be alluding to Richard's not aging.

I'll take your word for it. I just meant in this thread/episode forum -- didn't think people had thought about that since before now. I didn't see anybody else say that until after I posted it in a couple threads. They were all busy postulating on the ridiculous idea that he is from the Black Rock or something.I'm sure you didn't mean anything by your comment but it's rude to call someone else's theory or idea "ridiculous" and here it's also reason to get in trouble with the mods. If you don't agree with someone, that's cool but it's not cool to say their ideas are ridiculous. Thanks.

I had a thought that the Hostiles could've been a bunch of Eco-terrorists who wanted to stop the Dharma research, but then they aparently continued the research in their stead, so that went out the window.

\Here's some pix to consider:
http://gallery.lost-media.com/displayimage-1287-6.html (http://gallery.lost-media.com/displayimage-1287-6.html)
Ben’s Dad, the day Ben was Born

http://gallery.lost-media.com/displayimage-1287-73.html (http://gallery.lost-media.com/displayimage-1287-73.html)
Ben’d Dad arriving on the island

http://gallery.lost-media.com/displayimage-1287-596.html (http://gallery.lost-media.com/displayimage-1287-596.html)
Ben’s Dad last day

http://gallery.lost-media.com/displayimage-1287-460.html (http://gallery.lost-media.com/displayimage-1287-460.html)
Ben meets Richard for the first time

http://gallery.lost-media.com/displayimage-1287-646.html (http://gallery.lost-media.com/displayimage-1287-646.html)
Richard on the day of the purge

http://gallery.lost-media.com/displayimage-1287-33.html (http://gallery.lost-media.com/displayimage-1287-33.html)
Richard talking to Ben in the tent

If I did the links correctly you can pull up the 3 pix of Richard and compare to the aging process that Roger went through.

I'd also like to note that Richard's clothing is different in the screenshots. The "pirate" or "hippie" clothing he is wearing may be home made or he may have taken them from the Black Rock. I do not think he is from the Black Rock. The Black Rock is not special, the island is. The clothes from the Dharma pit and those of Roger work man (preserved within a van) as well as the priest clothes from the plane have all greatly worn down and away. No cloth could withstand over a hundred years of wet hot island weather and still look good. I think at this point we are looking too far into his clothes when the age process is what's important.

since the "Richard is not a pirate" thread got closed:

I posted my reasons why [Richard being from Black Rock, or an ancient native] was impossible in another thread, so I don't really want to repeat myself, but I think people need to stop resorting to Richard's clothing when he met Ben as evidence of him being from the 18th century. His clothing is not indicative of that whatsoever. Furthermore, why would he still be wearing the same clothing from 200 years ago? Even if he doesn't age, any clothing from then would've long since disintegrated.

edit: just noticed the guy above me said a similar thing. At least someone agrees! :-)

Well I still disagree. :) http://www.michaelsimens.com/Civil_War_Guns_Pistols_Revolvers.asp?offset=25 If you go to item #266 it is the same holster. It is curved as this one is. And as far as buldges go ... it depends on a few things. 1] He has the right gun in it, 2] he has any gun in it and 3] the caps really aren't that clear to be certain on a point this detailed.

As I said <b>it</b> apparently <b>does not matter at all about the precise age of the gun</b>, but I do know that it is not a gun like the one in #266 that is a gun that is huge, it was no where near as tiny as the gun Richard was wearing, #266 and guns of that age usually had long barrels, due to poor early revolver designs.The gun you are refrencing is at least 10" long with well over 6" of barrel, huge by modern standards, and was not mass manufactured on levels like the Luger. The Luger is 8.75 in. long with a 4" barrel.


All I can say, and I think we are agreeing is that Richard is wearing very old clothing, and is carrying a 1800's gun, and hasn't aged since we have known him. So it is not a stretch to say he is likely not aging as a normal person, and is likely to be from the 1800's. I am dropping this argument because it is silly because <b>they were apparently given a box of 'era' guns and asked to pick one out</b>. I am still betting it was a Luger, because of the size and design of the holster, grab a copy of the show and watch it again, the budge I speak of is very obvious, but I had to watch the HDTV version again to see exactly what the thing on the front of the holster was.

(sorry if I sound like a jerk, I assure you I am not really. I am getting tired of people seeing things or hearing things wrong, like that it is really Vincent in Jacob's painting, or that the woman in the painting on the wall at Ben's house is his mother with a gerbil in her lap. Someone said that Ben's dad had returned from the 'plane' when he argued with Horace. Your argument is considerably better than these I might add)
100%
since the "Richard is not a pirate" thread got closed:

I posted my reasons why [Richard being from Black Rock, or an ancient native] was impossible in another thread, so I don't really want to repeat myself, but I think people need to stop resorting to Richard's clothing when he met Ben as evidence of him being from the 18th century. His clothing is not indicative of that whatsoever. Furthermore, why would he still be wearing the same clothing from 200 years ago? Even if he doesn't age, any clothing from then would've long since disintegrated.

edit: just noticed the guy above me said a similar thing. At least someone agrees! :-)

2 things, its just over 100 years, and I don't think anyone said he is wearing the exact same clothing. You also missed the 1800 century gun, and the snarkey statement from Ben about Richard not celebrating birthdays anymore. The sail of the boat could have supplied cloth (would be hemp a rough cloth but amazingly durable) to make the rough clothing, and since the people of the island would not be familiar with 1970's clothing designs, they would likely make clothing that they knew. hence keeping an old style, like a short back jacket and a collar less shirt. The cotton clothing of the other dead people would be lucky to last 10 years exposed to the elements, Hemp is much much stronger though I have not worn a piece of hemp clothing out so I have no clue how long it could age before giving up the ghost.

...so the theory is plausible. I am sorry you don't like it.

What I want to know is why TPTB added those four plot points if he is not very very old.

1. No aging in the 3 times we saw him (just a haircut)
2. His odd clothing
3. His very old gun
4. Bens snide comment about birthdays

Edit: Added 2 more quotes to back up the theory:

5. "no matter how much time you spend on the island, you never get tired of this view" - Richard to Locke on the hill.
6. "you're gonna be amazed at how time flies once you're there" - Richard to Juilette

since the "Richard is not a pirate" thread got closed:

I posted my reasons why [Richard being from Black Rock, or an ancient native] was impossible in another thread, so I don't really want to repeat myself, but I think people need to stop resorting to Richard's clothing when he met Ben as evidence of him being from the 18th century. His clothing is not indicative of that whatsoever. Furthermore, why would he still be wearing the same clothing from 200 years ago? Even if he doesn't age, any clothing from then would've long since disintegrated.

edit: just noticed the guy above me said a similar thing. At least someone agrees! :-)You may stop resorting to Richard's clothes as a reason to prove how old he is but please, don't tell others to. We are all allowed our own ideas here and if someone's idea rubs you the wrong way, please just skip it but please don't try to tell us to stop. You present your evidence and I'll present mine and we may switch sides or we may not but that's just how it goes.

I have found that the clothes he's wearing are indicative of the 1860s and of India (where the Black Rock went on it's travels) and the color of the outfit, Indigo blue, is also indicative to India as it comes from a plant that grows there and was very popular in the 1800s for clothing dye. These things, I think, cannot be mere coincidences since the background on the Black Rock was provided by the Lost Experience and the color choice, as well as the detailing of the shirt and vest, is Indian from the same period of the ship. As for pirate ... I did say it once but only because I felt that pirates would be dealing in slaves but non-pirates also dealt in this trade illegally when the slave trade was done away with in the early 1800s and outlawed by England.

So, that's my theory with my facts (check out lospedia for the black rock history) and I'm sticking to it until I see reason not to. :biggrin:

As I said <b>it</b> apparently <b>does not matter at all about the precise age of the gun</b>, but I do know that it is not a gun like the one in #266 that is a gun that is huge, it was no where near as tiny as the gun Richard was wearing, #266 and guns of that age usually had long barrels, due to poor early revolver designs.The gun you are refrencing is at least 10" long with well over 6" of barrel, huge by modern standards, and was not mass manufactured on levels like the Luger. The Luger is 8.75 in. long with a 4" barrel.

All I can say, and I think we are agreeing is that Richard is wearing very old clothing, and is carrying a 1800's gun, and hasn't aged since we have known him. So it is not a stretch to say he is likely not aging as a normal person, and is likely to be from the 1800's. I am dropping this argument because it is silly because <b>they were apparently given a box of 'era' guns and asked to pick one out</b>. I am still betting it was a Luger, because of the size and design of the holster, grab a copy of the show and watch it again, the budge I speak of is very obvious, but I had to watch the HDTV version again to see exactly what the thing on the front of the holster was.

(sorry if I sound like a jerk, I assure you I am not really. I am getting tired of people seeing things or hearing things wrong, like that it is really Vincent in Jacob's painting, or that the woman in the painting on the wall at Ben's house is his mother with a gerbil in her lap. Someone said that Ben's dad had returned from the 'plane' when he argued with Horace. Your argument is considerably better than these I might add)That one was for a long barrel, I agree. I'll try to find the one I saw for a shorter barrel. But to me it does make a difference as to when he got the holster because if it's from one 20 years after the ship got there then how did he get it? Perhaps there is another vessel or something that came later that we haven't seen yet but I can't go with "maybes." But please, share your links and I'll share mind. :biggrin:

But I'm starting to think more and more that Richard is from the Black Rock, does not age (or ages very, very slowly) and that he is a test subject of DHARMA escaped and bent on destroying them. But I believe he was tested on to find out why he doesn't age and not to make him stop aging. I think DHARMA found out about these non-aging people and came to the island to research it. And like most scientists, captured test subjects to experiment on and I think Richard was one of them and that's why the Hostiles went rambo on them.

I had a thought that the Hostiles could've been a bunch of Eco-terrorists who wanted to stop the Dharma research, but then they aparently continued the research in their stead, so that went out the window.
I don't know about the hostiles, but I'm sure Smokie IS an Ecko-terrorist!!!



Sorry, couldn't help it....

But I'm starting to think more and more that Richard is from the Black Rock, does not age (or ages very, very slowly) and that he is a test subject of DHARMA escaped and bent on destroying them. But I believe he was tested on to find out why he doesn't age and not to make him stop aging. I think DHARMA found out about these non-aging people and came to the island to research it. And like most scientists, captured test subjects to experiment on and I think Richard was one of them and that's why the Hostiles went rambo on them.

There is a rumor about how the guns on this show are handled, and I believe it, because it is how many shows are handled. The guns are only separated on a superficial level by age, the guns in the Raid were mostly from the 1950's but the Beretta 92 that we saw a few shots of did not fit very well either, the model used was first produced in 1984, so it was a very modern gun for the day (assuming the raid was 1985ish). The sad fact is that there is no Weapons person who is saying you should hold this gun, it was made in 1850 and would fit perfectly, instead it seems they have taken the approach that "these guns are from the late 1800's pick one". So the exact model doesn't matter, and the age of the gun cannot be determined on the show, I originally though you could, but there are too many gun errors.

So the important thing is that he was shown with a gun from the 1800's which would imply something, at a minimum that that is the best gun that was available to him at that time (when he met young Ben). That in addition to the other interesting Richard facts would (following Ockham's razor, to be heuristic) lead one to believe that it is highly possible that Richard is from the Black Rock and has been on the island for more than 100 years. I might add that Joop is over 100 years old as well, so it is not out of the realm of possibility that there is a 100 year old man that is not aging on the show.

It is possible there is another explanation, its just not likely.

(BTW I hope Des is one of the survivors, he is one of my favorites, along with Mikhail and Locke)

I was online doing some research about Magnus Hanso ( thinking he might be Jacob ). Well I came across a website that has information about the black rock that show Alpert as one of its original crew members??? The website links back to a geneology site. This is a rather strange find and I am hoping it will intrigue others as well. Wow... the others are from the Black Rock......

Here is the link. Looking forward to your responses.

http://www.onentofl.com/magnushanso.html:undecide:

Looks like a fansite

I was online doing some research about Magnus Hanso ( thinking he might be Jacob ). Well I came across a website that has information about the black rock that show Alpert as one of its original crew members??? The website links back to a geneology site. This is a rather strange find and I am hoping it will intrigue others as well. Wow... the others are from the Black Rock......

Here is the link. Looking forward to your responses.

http://www.onentofl.com/magnushanso.html:undecide:

In my best Hurley voice "Dude! thats Fanfic!"

Sorry, that is totally bogus and has nothing to do with the show.

Domain Name.......... onentofl.com
Creation Date........ 2005-04-07
Registration Date.... 2005-04-07
Expiry Date.......... 2011-04-07
Organisation Name.... Adrian Brisee
Organisation Address. XXXXXXXXXXXXX
Organisation Address. XXXXXXXXXXXXX
Organisation Address. XXXXXXXXXXXXX
Organisation Address. XXXXXXXXXXXXX
Organisation Address. IA
Organisation Address. UNITED STATES

There is a rumor about how the guns on this show are handled, and I believe it, because it is how many shows are handled. The guns are only separated on a superficial level by age, the guns in the Raid were mostly from the 1950's but the Beretta 92 that we saw a few shots of did not fit very well either, the model used was first produced in 1984, so it was a very modern gun for the day (assuming the raid was 1985ish). The sad fact is that there is no Weapons person who is saying you should hold this gun, it was made in 1850 and would fit perfectly, instead it seems they have taken the approach that "these guns are from the late 1800's pick one". So the exact model doesn't matter, and the age of the gun cannot be determined on the show, I originally though you could, but there are too many gun errors.

So the important thing is that he was shown with a gun from the 1800's which would imply something, at a minimum that that is the best gun that was available to him at that time (when he met young Ben). That in addition to the other interesting Richard facts would (following Ockham's razor, to be heuristic) lead one to believe that it is highly possible that Richard is from the Black Rock and has been on the island for more than 100 years. I might add that Joop is over 100 years old as well, so it is not out of the realm of possibility that there is a 100 year old man that is not aging on the show.

It is possible there is another explanation, its just not likely.

(BTW I hope Des is one of the survivors, he is one of my favorites, along with Mikhail and Locke)Well thank you for that insight! I really appreciate it. I guess guns have been an issue on this show before. I think there was something about the gun Sawyer had on the raft was not the one he had in the pit of the Talies ... or some such incident like that ... might have been back in S01. They were both black. LOL but not the same make.

Thanks for that about Des. I am feeling pretty confident that he will make it to S04. I refuse to think otherwise. I still remember how shattered I was when we thought he died when he turned that failsafe key! I cannot go through that again!

I was online doing some research about Magnus Hanso ( thinking he might be Jacob ). Well I came across a website that has information about the black rock that show Alpert as one of its original crew members??? The website links back to a geneology site. This is a rather strange find and I am hoping it will intrigue others as well. Wow... the others are from the Black Rock......

Here is the link. Looking forward to your responses.

http://www.onentofl.com/magnushanso.html:undecide:It's just a fan site. Owned by some guy in Iowa. Can't put any stock in it. Sorry.:frown:

ETA: You guys beat me to it! I was typing while you were posting! LOL

Thank you so much for your fast feedback. I don't even look at another board since I found this one. I was kinda wishing I could be the one for once with the "insight" LOL!!!

Oh well, maybe next time.

Thank you all so much for your help. :)

I agree that the link Kansasgal gave us is a fan site. After Black Rock appeared in the show, I did a lot of research trying to find out any information about it, and this site is one I never saw.

In one of the screen caps of Richard Alpert, where he meets Ben for the first time, in the jungle, you can see Richard wearing a side arm, it's in a holster on his hip.

I am no expert, but the holster looks old to me. It has a brass half-ring hook lock, which is old to me. I've never seen one like that,...not recently, and my hubby is a cop. I should have asked him,...oh well,...

I think Richard Alpert is a pirate. I thought that from the first time I saw him in the jungle with Ben. The shirt he was wearing looked just like the shirt that we see on Jacob, for an instant,....maybe they're both pirates a/k/a Hostiles, who don't age much due to the island's abilities.

I agree that the link Kansasgal gave us is a fan site. After Black Rock appeared in the show, I did a lot of research trying to find out any information about it, and this site is one I never saw.

In one of the screen caps of Richard Alpert, where he meets Ben for the first time, in the jungle, you can see Richard wearing a side arm, it's in a holster on his hip.

I am no expert, but the holster looks old to me. It has a brass half-ring hook lock, which is old to me. I've never seen one like that,...not recently, and my hubby is a cop. I should have asked him,...oh well,...

I think Richard Alpert is a pirate. I thought that from the first time I saw him in the jungle with Ben. The shirt he was wearing looked just like the shirt that we see on Jacob, for an instant,....maybe they're both pirates a/k/a Hostiles, who don't age much due to the island's abilities.

On the last page we discussed the type of gun, which I am 95% sure is a Luger p-08, which is unimportant, but what is important is that it is a gun made in the 1800's and he is wearing it in the 1970's. I don't think they are pirates, but I do think that would make the story better, Alvar Hanso was a merchant, not a pirate captian. Though they could be, it just fails Occum's razor. I am sure we will all know next year or 3 years from now.

On the last page we discussed the type of gun, which I am 95% sure is a Luger p-08, which is unimportant, but what is important is that it is a gun made in the 1800's and he is wearing it in the 1970's. I don't think they are pirates, but I do think that would make the story better, Alvar Hanso was a merchant, not a pirate captian. Though they could be, it just fails Occum's razor. I am sure we will all know next year or 3 years from now.Yea, after I did research on the Black Rock at lostpedia I found that out, too. Forgot my English history ... when slavery was outlawed in (I think) 1801 slave trading became black market and a lot of people (sad to say) went into the business and they weren't pirates at all.

I've been reading the threads about Alpert since last week's episode and have re-watched it twice. First, even the attempts to make Ben look younger at the time of the purge were limited to just a different hairstyle. Second, Alpert has a young face anyway. Third, they used the same change-the-hair technique on alpert for the encounter with the young Ben in the jungle. If Alpert was perhaps 20 when he met young Ben, and that was what, maybe 25-30 years ago, then Albert would be 45-50 now, and 40-45 at the time of the Purge. I know plenty of people (not myself, sad to say!) who look negligibly different in their late 40's than they did when younger. I think Alpert is - get this - played by an actor!!! I think the director and make-up people did what they could with his hair, but short of an Oscar-contending 8 hour make-up job for just one scene, they decided to go with longer hair and trust the actor to portray a younger demeanor. There is just no evidence that the island keeps people from aging. After all, the four-toed people and the survivors of the Black Rock are not around - and, sorry, I don't believe for a second that Alpert is a Black Rock survivor, and I'll bet he has all 5 toes...
Of course, I'm probably wrong - but for now, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Regarding the eyeliner.... I've seen men with that look - without adding the eyeliner. Isn't that a mediterranean thing... or greek? I'm wondering if it is a clue to his origins, and if it is to mean he is ancient greek or something - I'd like to know if he has 4 toes. ;)

Regarding the eyeliner.... I've seen men with that look - without adding the eyeliner. Isn't that a mediterranean thing... or greek? I'm wondering if it is a clue to his origins, and if it is to mean he is ancient greek or something - I'd like to know if he has 4 toes. ;)

Or gills...

;)

Odd how Ben always talks about how special he is because he was born on the island but all the other others were brought there, but at least Richard was there longer than him. Seems to me like Richard has been there a heck of a lot longer, but seems to treat Ben like the leader? Who else was with the "Hostiles"?

Like the parallel between the fusies calling them "others" and the Dharma folks calling them "hostiles". Just an aside.

Richard has obviously been there longer than Ben, and has a whole history we don't know about yet. He undoubtedly has connections to Jacob and I'm wondering if he and the hostiles have been looking for a prophecied leader or something like that to come deliver them..... hang with me here...

I'm wondering if they (the hostiles) are looking for a "savior" type figure and thought Ben was 'him.' The requirement seems to be to have to be willing to kill your dad - which Alpert got Ben to do. Because now people seem to wonder if Locke is this guy they are looking for. Ben took Locke out to the pole where his dad was and told him he had to kill his dad....almost like to show everyone that Locke isn't "him" and that he (ben) is. And he said if you're not willing to come back with the body of your dad, don't bother. (as in, you're not the one we're looking for) I think Ben has 'savior envy', because he was always the leader until Locke showed up, and Locke seems to have communion with the island...

Wild and crazy theory about Alpert. Haven't seen it anywhere yet, just throwing it out there. Most people (including Gregg) agree that Richard appears to be the same age over significant spans of time. Is it at all possible that the "incident" at the swan station happened befor the purge? If it did, is it then possible that the "hostiles" are the survivng crew of the Swan station? We saw Desmond figuratively or literally transported through time as a result of an incident. Perhaps what happened to Desmond happened to Alpert and others, but, since they are on such a small island, their appearances through time are more easily noted by other island inhabitants. Again this theory is wild speculation, and I think of it only to connect with Desmond and our Losties. I personally still hold to the fact that Alpert and his crew are "native" to the island and may in fact have four toes and other unknown abilities.

Is it at all possible that the "incident" at the swan station happened befor the purge?

I think the incident def. happened before the purge, the video from the swan had a copyright of 1980 which would put the incident pre 1980.

I've been reading the threads about Alpert since last week's episode and have re-watched it twice. First, even the attempts to make Ben look younger at the time of the purge were limited to just a different hairstyle. Second, Alpert has a young face anyway. Third, they used the same change-the-hair technique on alpert for the encounter with the young Ben in the jungle. If Alpert was perhaps 20 when he met young Ben, and that was what, maybe 25-30 years ago, then Albert would be 45-50 now, and 40-45 at the time of the Purge. I know plenty of people (not myself, sad to say!) who look negligibly different in their late 40's than they did when younger. I think Alpert is - get this - played by an actor!!! I think the director and make-up people did what they could with his hair, but short of an Oscar-contending 8 hour make-up job for just one scene, they decided to go with longer hair and trust the actor to portray a younger demeanor. There is just no evidence that the island keeps people from aging. After all, the four-toed people and the survivors of the Black Rock are not around - and, sorry, I don't believe for a second that Alpert is a Black Rock survivor, and I'll bet he has all 5 toes...

Of course, I'm probably wrong - but for now, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.And his clothes? There the wardrobe dept could have given us more than a hint (and they did) that he was from a time long ago. His shirt and vest are from the 19th Century, most likely India (due to the design on the shirt and the buttons on the vest and the indigo blue color of his whole outfit and that the Black Rock sailed to India as one of its ports of call) and his gun holster is also from the 1800s. Very doubtful that he'd come along in the 1970s and find these items in anywhere near as good a condition as they were on Richard seeing how they'd have set in the dank and musty Black Rock for around 100 years. Without personal upkeep, those clothes would be just dust. So someone was taking care of them .... and since they were worn by Richard, my guess would be him.

And if they really wanted Richard to appear younger, sans the period clothes, why not have made today's Richard look older all along? They knew this was coming for the character and yet they kept him the same, except for longer hair. When Gregg Nations comments that he looks younger, it's a fact. Gregg's word is gospel.

Wild and crazy theory about Alpert. Haven't seen it anywhere yet, just throwing it out there. Most people (including Gregg) agree that Richard appears to be the same age over significant spans of time. Is it at all possible that the "incident" at the swan station happened befor the purge? If it did, is it then possible that the "hostiles" are the surviving crew of the Swan station? We saw Desmond figuratively or literally transported through time as a result of an incident. Perhaps what happened to Desmond happened to Alpert and others, but, since they are on such a small island, their appearances through time are more easily noted by other island inhabitants. Again this theory is wild speculation, and I think of it only to connect with Desmond and our Losties. I personally still hold to the fact that Alpert and his crew are "native" to the island and may in fact have four toes and other unknown abilities.While it did happen in a time frame that was before the SWAN's orientation film (dated 1980), I doubt they are the surviving crew of the SWAN. There were only two bunks ... so no more than two worked the SWAN at a time. There were several Hostiles. Also Kelvin told Desmond about the Hostiles (using that very word) so they were around during Kelvin so there was someone manning the SWAN when they were about.

I think the incident def. happened before the purge, the video from the swan had a copyright of 1980 which would put the incident pre 1980.Yes, you're right because with Ben born in 1963, he was in at least his 20s when the purge happened and that would make it 1983 at the earliest. So the purge happened at [I]least 3 years after that DHARMA Orientation film was made.