Someone mentioned Kelvin in another thread, and it reminded me of the theory that the Dharma higher ups/financiers still think the initiative is going on. Evidence:

-Mikhail wearing their uniforms and manning a station
-Them living in the compound
-Food drops continuing

I'm not sure if this is actually important (heh), but it may give us some inkling of something that is going to happen down the road, with people like Widmore/Paik/etc showing up on the island to get their little project back.

I don't think the natives/Others/hostiles are going to be able to cover for what happened for much longer, what with Naomi's people around and the giant EM blast going off.

Richard Alpert represented Mittelos in the US after the Purge. I have my doubts that they're fooling people into thinking Dharma is operational.

i agree with the theory. . . whoever's it is.

Don't know what to think about this one... on one hand we have Richard representing Mittelos when in the U.S. (as Don pointed out) But on the other hand, what Jennylee's saying seems very feasible.

Also, remember that Richard said "Ben's been wasting our time with these... fertility experiments and such". Perhaps Ben is doing this so he has something to send back to the Dharma higher ups while really he *wants* to focus on other things, but can't because he's lost his connection with Jacob. *shrugs*

Oh yeah, ever since the first time we saw Patchy I figured he was dressing in Dharma gear to fool somebody on the outside - probably someone he has to communicate with by video. In fact, it's possible he might not even need the eye patch - maybe he's pretending to be someone else. Maybe Patchy came into the flame, killed a dude with one eye and stole his outfit and eye patch to keep up appearances that the original Dharma guy is still manning the flame.

One should also consider that maybe Ben wasn't the only Dharma employee who cast their lot with the "natives"? I think maybe Mikhail wasn't lying about "the deal" he'd made with these people: he believed what they did, but liked being alone. So he kept communications open, Dharma/Hanso thought things were going swimmingly, food drops continued. Oh, and when certain other folks were "selected" to be brought to the Island for THEIR purposes, they were able to go get them. (Using the same methods Dharma had? After all, we saw Roger & Ben leaving the sub, on the dock, when arriving on the Island.)

My consideration of this matter-- could this be related to the "longest con" often speculated about on the boards? What if what is happening is a huge con (or blackmail) job on the part of the others/hostiles. Ben and Mikhail and them have either been convincing Hanso that the DHARMA initiative is still operating, or else they have been blackmailing them under the pretense that if they stop supporting the island, the end of the world is at hand.

Just a thought.

Richard Alpert represented Mittelos in the US after the Purge. I have my doubts that they're fooling people into thinking Dharma is operational.


What if Alpert represented Mittelos in the US before the Purge as well? I kind of got
the feeling that Alpert was former Dharma also, or at the least that he was not
native to the Island. Maybe Dharma still exists, but there are people inside of it working
as double agents.

I'm just having a little problem with the Dharma people (back home... the people monitoring the experiments going on at Craphole Island) believing that their experimental community is going on after 30-odd years while they are getting NO DATA from experiments, etc. Heck! Their people are DEAD! They didn't notice? I guess Ben and company could be feeding them crap data as a blind, but 30 years is a long, long time to be sending food drops, etc. to an island without dropping by for an audit or social visit. Well, actually, I'm having a little problem believing that Dharma even exists after three decades. I don't care how much money Alvar Hanso has. He didn't make it by being an idiot. Do you really thing he's hosing out millions of bucks all these years later with not so much as a little visit and cocktail party on his island?

Isn't it a little odd that privately-labeled foodstuffs continue to arrive three decades later? (Except Apollo Bars.) Everything... even canned beer needs the Dharma label. Why not the chocolate treats???????)

There are no Dharma higher-ups.

Something else is going on.

Something else is going on.

Who's feeding the "others"? Where are they getting fresh strawberries and chicken? We've seen a recent episode where an "other" was firing up the bar-b-que. Fresh meat? From where, please? (I know Patchy had a couple of cows. That's not going to do it for me, sorry.)

Sayid, Charley, Sun, etc. are LOST.

Ben, Tom, Juliet... know EXACTLY where they are.

I'm just having a little problem with the Dharma people (back home... the people monitoring the experiments going on at Craphole Island) believing that their experimental community is going on after 30-odd years while they are getting NO DATA from experiments, etc. Heck! Their people are DEAD!

That's assuming that both groups weren't part of the experiment in the first place. One group taking over the other could just be part of the natural order of things. Grim. but possible.

Isn't it a little odd that privately-labeled foodstuffs continue to arrive three decades later? (Except Apollo Bars.) Everything... even canned beer needs the Dharma label. Why not the chocolate treats???????)

Because the Apollo bars are from a Hanso subsidiary. The Lost Experience explains some of that. Not sure what they were really being used for.

There are no Dharma higher-ups.

Something else is going on.

Something else is going on.



I think there are still plenty of Dharma higher ups, Hanso, Paik, Widmore, I'm sure there are more. One theory has them as being part of the island's native inhabitants at one point. Ok, so what if the inhabitants of the island, in a bid to save humanity, use their power (both natural power and supernatural) to become powerful in the business world so they can move their plan forward. Hence Paik and Widmore and Hanso becoming rich and powerful, probably more than that, but at least those three. Now they have the resources to set up the research on the island, create and bring in Dharma. Then watch Dharma be destroyed and continue running things as planned. The purge of Dharma could be part of the natural order of things to them. Maybe it's happened before?
The crew of the Black Rock for example, maybe the native purged them and took a few of the 'good ones'. Same thing with Dharma, with Danielle's researchers (she probably was Dharma at one point), and now with the Losties. (guess that's a prediction that a purge is coming, in approx. 50 eps, if my math is right.....)

This is exactly what I now believe as well. Ben has hatched a plan that allows Dharma to continue on as a ruse. Dharma provides lucrative resources. If you can pull it off, why not keep it coming.

Despite Mikhail's claim that he lied about being original Dharma, I question the assertion. I like the idea that those who may not have been gassed in Dharma-ville that fateful day (those out and about, in hatches, whatever) either assimilated or faced certain death.

I think there could be a number of rogue characters running around in that jungle, all with varying degrees of understanding what the truth really is. Rousseau comes to mind for sure. As do Alex and Karl.

At any rate, I like the theory of a functioning Dharma as a ruse. In that vein then, I also think that with the communications going down, Locke entering 77, etc., the jig may be up. The implications of that though are something I can only imagine.

Great episode.

Despite Mikhail's claim that he lied about being original Dharma, I question the assertion. I like the idea that those who may not have been gassed in Dharma-ville that fateful day (those out and about, in hatches, whatever) either assimilated or faced certain death.
Yeah, Mikhail and Richard both seem to have far too much traditional higher education to have lived their whole lives on the island. I know the kids had school there, but advanced science and technology? I don't know, seems fishy.

That's assuming that both groups weren't part of the experiment in the first place. One group taking over the other could just be part of the natural order of things. Grim. but possible.
Hmmm. Like a super high stakes version of the Stanford Prison Experiment (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_prison_experiment)?

This is exactly what I now believe as well. Ben has hatched a plan that allows Dharma to continue on as a ruse. Dharma provides lucrative resources. If you can pull it off, why not keep it coming.

Despite Mikhail's claim that he lied about being original Dharma, I question the assertion. I like the idea that those who may not have been gassed in Dharma-ville that fateful day (those out and about, in hatches, whatever) either assimilated or faced certain death.

I think there could be a number of rogue characters running around in that jungle, all with varying degrees of understanding what the truth really is. Rousseau comes to mind for sure. As do Alex and Karl.

At any rate, I like the theory of a functioning Dharma as a ruse. In that vein then, I also think that with the communications going down, Locke entering 77, etc., the jig may be up. The implications of that though are something I can only imagine.

Great episode.

I've suspected a ruse for awhile, as well. Since it's likely that more Dharma turncoats were involved in the purge other than Ben, I could see it continuing or there being some blackmail involved. I think there's still some info to come on the real "powers" of the island and why some wouldn't want the truth to get out.

As for Mikhail lying about being Dharma, I've always thought he meant he lied about being the "only surviving member." Another words, other Dharma survived, as well, not just him. He just twisted the truth to make it seem like a lie abut him. This makes sense if you consider Ben was Dharma and that the Hostiles probably recruited (via Ben?) other Dharma folk for the purge.

... Everything... even canned beer needs the Dharma label. Why not the chocolate treats???????)...



And about those Apollo Bars... You're right, Tom Chaney, why are Apollo bars labeled and nothing else. Remember the Apollo Bar ad on the bus that got Juliet's ex? What is truly suspicious is when little Annie told Benry that "we can have as many of these as we want" as she hands him an Apollo Bar. WHAT is IN those CANDY BARS????

But back on the subject, I think yes, the higher ups are stilling being led to believe their experiments are running. And quite frankly, until recently, the button experiment was still being run back at the swan. They guy with the Dharma suit was still communicating with HQ back home. Perhaps they convinced the Dharma folks to do these new experiments (psychic kids, fertility, aging, etc.).

And by they way, we'll be needing a few good doctors (Goodwin, Eathan, Juliette). We know how Juliette got there, but were Eathan and Goodwin original black rock prison ers/slaves turned doctors? Were they Dharmites? Or were they later recruits like Juliet (but before Juliet?) Or, if you never aged and lived forever, I guess you'd have time study up and become a doctor.

Anyway, there are plenty of ways they could be fooling the Dharmites back home. Its not like they make it easy to actually land a plane on the island for a surprise inspection.

This is exactly what I now believe as well. Ben has hatched a plan that allows Dharma to continue on as a ruse. Dharma provides lucrative resources. If you can pull it off, why not keep it coming.

Despite Mikhail's claim that he lied about being original Dharma, I question the assertion. I like the idea that those who may not have been gassed in Dharma-ville that fateful day (those out and about, in hatches, whatever) either assimilated or faced certain death.

I think there could be a number of rogue characters running around in that jungle, all with varying degrees of understanding what the truth really is. Rousseau comes to mind for sure. As do Alex and Karl.

At any rate, I like the theory of a functioning Dharma as a ruse. In that vein then, I also think that with the communications going down, Locke entering 77, etc., the jig may be up. The implications of that though are something I can only imagine.

Great episode.

The only thing I'm wondering about is Inman. It didn't seem like he thought there was any other Dharma people with him on the island after Radzinsky. The only people he mentions are the hostiles, if I remember correctly.

It could be that Ben lied and said that a virus or sometime killed most everyone but that there are enough people to continue the experiments, he just left out that the remaining people where in fact the hostiles. thus the others were born they assimilated with the dharma higher ups in order to continue the supply drops. Alpert established contacts with hanso/widmore/mittelos and became the others rep/recruiter. They may maintain there privacy by saying that the island is contaminated but they are immune or something to that effect.