Polar Bears and Black Smoke

[Dave]

Okay, what are your theories?

I just watched 'Lost Uncovered' on Sky One and waited for them to uncover something, but they said very little. They had a wildlife expert who said that the only way Polar Bears could exist on a tropical island was if someone was feeding them. Well, we know the Others let them escape from the cages where they are keeping Sawyer and Kate. They called them 'bear cages' and the equipment in the DHARMA psychology test gives fish biscuits. Or did they? Just like a guitar appeared when Charlie thought about one, the first Polar Bear appeared after Hurley had been reading his comic book with the Polar Bear on the cover. So do they come from Hurley's imagination?

As for the Black Smoke, they had no explanation. I've read online that it is a swarm of nanites/nanobots. If you read Michael Crichton's 'Prey' he describes something remarkably similar. In 'Prey' the swarm can actually take the shape of something else, eventually even taking the place of his spoiler> wife. So, might this not be yet another explanation for the Polar Bears?

Any other theories? I'd love to hear them.

[HoopyFrood]

I've heard something alog the lines of the Black Smoke is something called..."Smart Dust" (?) It supposedly has links to electromagnetism, which is what all that fuss was about at the end of series two I think...with the two guys out in the snow and they detected a large surge of electromagnetism, because the hatch blew up. The reason they had to keep pressing the buttons, I think, was to keep the electromagnetism in balance...that's why, when they didn't press it, the hatch started to crumble and buckle and everything metal was attracted to it.

Here's an article about Smart Dust. I've only glanced through it, but it looks like these things haven't advanced a great amount yet, so perhaps Lost is a bit of poetic licence. But as you'll note, each one is as big as a grain of sand. And also, the people funding the research is known as DARPA....

Smart Dust

I could just be saying stuff here that people already know and are bored of, but I'd thought I'd say it nonethless!

[Dave]

Originally Posted by HoopyFrood

I could just be saying stuff here that people already know and are bored of, but I'd thought I'd say it nonethless!

Not all all, that is exactly the kind of thing I wanted. I have never heard of smart dust before, but it does seem like the writers of Lost did.

[sez25]

Was Walt not looking at that comic book as well? I thought it was him that had caused the bear to appear. He does seem to have some psychic kinda powers, he did seem to manage to project himself to Sayid and Shannon.

[Steve Jordan]

Funny thing about Walt's comic with the polar bear: He found it after they crashed. We already know Ben planted infiltrators into the Survivors' group. Maybe the comic was also a plant, designed to make Walt appear "psychic" or "magic" to the Survivors. Why? I don't know... maybe to attempt to tie Walt's future to the island somehow... to suggest he had a "connection" that shouldn't be broken.

This fits the idea that Ben as the allegorical leader of the Other Side, leading a Cold War against the Survivors using lies and deceit to confuse his enemy (and often, his own people).

About the smoke: Everyone is deathly afraid of it, but it does not kill everybody, and some (like Locke) believe it is special, or that they are somehow immune to its effects. It comes and goes, it is visible but ethereal, and somehow, when people see it up close, it reflects themselves within it.

I see the smoke as representing either some strange technological threat, possibly unleashed by the workings of the Others (maybe even unwittingly unleashed by the arrival of the Survivors). Or, it could be a natural threat, similar to "pollution," or the "ozone hole," etc, also unleashed by the actions of the Others or Survivors. Its "reflecting" aspect suggests that examining it directly provides the proof that it is created of our own doing, something we can't deny when presented with the facts.

The smoke killed Eko: Perhaps the damage done to Eko's "environment" was so bad that the smoke, the result of that environmental damage, killed him regardless of how sorry, or how strong, he was. The damage being done to much of the African continent--through unsustainable farming, denial of resources and adequate health care--and its mortal impact on its own population--drought, disease, famine--mirrors this.

The smoke didn't kill Locke: He sees the smoke as a symbol of the island, as Americans see technology as part of what makes our country great, and view pollution as an unfortunate but ultimately harmless byproduct. He sees himself reflected in the smoke, but he's too convinced of his own righteousness to believe that the smoke is a threat... it's part of the good he does, and he believes it will not harm him, or his followers. This mirrors the U.S. devotion to technology, and its denial that the resultant pollution is really a danger to its survival.

[Teresa Edgerton]

I like all of these theories; it's hard to choose between them. You've all obviously given this a lot more thought than I have.

I only hope that the final revelation of the final episode will be nearly as clever.

[Atlantean]

I don't know what to think but I am counting the days till it returns hopefully with some answers.

[Steve Jordan]

Originally Posted by Teresa Edgerton

I like all of these theories; it's hard to choose between them. You've all obviously given this a lot more thought than I have.

I only hope that the final revelation of the final episode will be nearly as clever.

I hate to say it, but as I believe we're watching an allegory of the Cold War here, I suspect that the only "ending" we're going to get will be a sudden cessation of hostilities, and a realization that a lot of heartache could have been spared if the characters hadn't acted so paranoid and emotional, and worked together to find a common goal.

[Steve Jordan]

Well, last night's revelation of the Black Smoke... that Ben can actually control it... was almost as frightening as seeing that smoke pouring out of the forest, roaring like a runaway freight train! I know that if I'd been out there and seen that thing, I probably would have soiled myself... and assuming I lived, would probably be too in-shock to notice I'd soiled myself for at least an hour afterward!

A-hem...

I still see the smoke as a technological threat, but as we've now seen that it is under Ben's control, it might also be thought of as a "secret weapon," like an A bomb that might be referred to in order to keep people frightened and cowed, or even used in times of extreme emergency or emotional outrage.

It also brings forth questions about the previous times it has been seen: Was Ben controlling it then... when it confronted Locke, or killed Eko? Does it return to its "cage" after use, or does it roam free until summoned?

The biggest question, I think, is this: How do you know you can really control something that incredibly powerful?