I suspect TPTB did not lie when they indicated awhile back that the Survivors are not dead and are not in some kind of Purgatory. I further suspect that the issue of temporal cloning is involved. In the brief film with Dr. Halliwax/Candle, a second rabbit appeared, causing him great alarm. This leads me to believe that while the Survivors are not dead, they are copies/temporal clones/whatever of the original Survivors who are, in fact, dead at the bottom of the ocean. The people we watch each episode are in fact the result of whatever the spatial/temporal/mystical forces of the Island were released when Desmond didn't punch in the numbers - the resulting forces not only caused the Oceanic airliner to split and crash, it somehow created a temporal split and those individuals created by this cataclysm, though real, simply do not belong to the time stream outside the island. As a product/creation of the Island, they must stay and cannot "fit in" in the outside world. They may try (the O6) but they will fail. When we learn more about that station and the rabbit and all, it will be more apparent. Perhaps the "Hostiles" are the temporal clones of the people who actually died aboard the Black Rock. So all of these people are not precisely dead, but their originals are. I think that's why Claire survived the hut being blown to bits around her, and yet Danielle and others died in their time - Claire is a creation of the Island, but Danielle and the Dharma folks and the Others are not. No wonder Hurley's going out if his mind - it's confusing enough, but he may have an inkling of the truth.

That is exactly what I've been thinking since the finale of season 3, except that you've worded it much better than I ever could!

Excellent theory. This would explain how so many people "survived" that crash. I personally have thought that this Casmir Affect is what allowed some of them ("special ones") to get from the plane in the air to the groud without dying. It could also explain why the fake is so far off course.

But just to have fun, here are a couple of challenges
1) Lupidus identified the "fake" Captain (no wedding ring).
2) Pictures of the tombs in Thailand. (Granted, Tom Friendly could have lied about that easily enough) It seems like either Widmore or Ben staged the plane crash.
3) The call on the Freighter from Des to Penny was real time, so apparently island time and real world time are in sync, maybe?

Nice post.

Anyone remember this exchange from the pilot episode?

SAWYER: Yeah ... I've been with girls like you.
KATE: No girl's exactly like me.

I've thought this was a curious exchange from the very beginning. I really like your theory -- have you considered placing it in the theories section?

To Roger Work Man,

The points you bring up are indeed on point. I don't have an answer for them, and you are right, they are clearly challenges to the theory. I've been skeptical of the "fake" Oceanic plane at the bottom of the sea, but then again, it could truly be a Widmore or Ben job. But I've been thinking it's the old double fake, hence it is real - but so is the plane that went down on the island, and neither Widmore nor Ben want anyone in the world to know about that. The Lapidus observation of the ringless pilot is a far more difficult issue, especially since Lapidus seems like a genuine nice guy with no ulterior agenda, and I'll confess I can't explain that little twist. Oh well, more to ponder...

I really like your theory! I definitely think you could be on to something here. I've also been skeptical of the story behind the "fake" plane and while I can't yet put my finger on it, this is something to ponder...

The theory sounds intriguing enough, but if the plane that crashed is a double, then it would stand to reason that everyone on it was a double as well. And if the other part of your theory is true, that they can "exist" on the island but not off (with that being the reason for Claire surviving the house explosion), then why have so many of our survivors already died? Charlie is a great example, but even if you believe he gave his life and is somehow exempt, then what about Ana Lucia? Eko? Libby? Shannon and Boone?

Believe me, I'm not here to shoot your theory down, just to try to make sense of it.