anyhow, that ben’s weapon is actually what’s lying next to jack in the pilot seems highly questionable to me. its probably just a branch.

I think, that the 70 hours is how long the “event window” the computer determined stays open (just like the time slot space shuttles have for launching in order to successfully get to the correct orbit). To return within this window makes it possible to reach the island from a certain point on the globe. Maybe they will travel the way back from Tunesia thru the center of the planet to the point where the island will be again (I believe in the “antipodes theory”). You must consider that there are apparently several possible locations of the island. And they have to arrive at a time in the past in order to correct or change things or whatever before they go wrong. This is what Mrs. Hawking (and hey, for sure she’s Daniel’s mother) is figuring out at the chalkboard. So if the O6 + Ben don’t make it now, it could last years for the next event window.

I like the idea that the island needs a constant. Though there’s a difference to Desmond – he used to jump only between something we considered as “now” (around Christmas 2004) and a certain slot in the past. According to Daniel, the island is jumping around between past, future an what else there might be.

One more thing: Am I the only one who recognized Daniel not only as a worker at the orchid station, but also as the guy behind the camera (with grey hair, around 50) during the film shoot?

I reckon she means they have 70 hours until the island moves to a place where they can get to it, i.e. in their timezone. They all have to be together by then so they can go back to the island. Also, I think Hawkins is Faraday’s mother, and there are two bens now walking around (watch the dvds deleted scene of ben getting his money and passports, that proves there are two bens), one in L.A. and another in Manchester, England. He walks into Simon’s butchery (Simon of course being Charlie’s father, the butcher), then goes to see Mrs Hawkins, who met Desmond in England, and I believe is now at Oxford University.

Imagine if you would your computer’s has just turned off do to a poweroutage. When the power is restored your computer turns back on but will not boot to your operating system. It turns out some files on your hardrive are corrupt and missing from the computer’s memory. What do you do to fix the problem? You do a restore to a previous date when you know the files were around and if that doesn’t work you reinstall the entire operating system to get your computer working again. In much the same way, maybe when the wheel was turned it was a way to turn off the power of the island and when it turned itself back on it was missing files (ie those who left the island) and the only way for the Island to recover is to have all of these missing files returned to their proper place. But if this is the case, why not need Walt to join too? He technically has left the Island and could be a missing file. I think that since he exited the Island on the right cordinates he basically sent himself to the Island’s “recycle bin” and is thus free from the Island’s hold. So what did Mrs. Hawkins mean when she said Ben only has 70 hours? Maybe Ben only has 70 hours until the Island does a total system wipe and reinstall… thus killing everyone and everything on it. Or maybe not?”

That’s a great analogy.

Also, who’s to say that the Oceanic Six are the only ones who have to go back. Ben said that all of them have to go back. That leaves room for Walt, Lapidus, and Desmond, too. I don’t think getting the Oceanic Six together will be the only complication in Ben’s plan — the writers are too smart for that. And definitely smarter than my theory as well.

First, I think your definitely on the right track, but I wouldn’t limit it to just the island being destroyed. Many of the “in-the-know” characters have spoken of what happens as much more serious in nature, perhaps a world ending event of some sort.

Second, working a possible “island constant” out at this point would be kind of tough considering the mysterious necessity of the 6 coming back. Why them, and not others? I think, and hope, there is something much more intricate regarding the back story of why certain people need to be on that island at a certain time, than merely them being a constant. But hey, your guess at this point is as good as any!

If you think of the the bearing they had to travel as a pipe to get to and from the island they were in the middle of the pipe when Ben turned the wheel. They had landed on the boat and were headed back to the island when it happened. As long as they were in the pipe they would not have the ill effects of moving back and forth but the problem was created because the end of the pipe (the island) was no longer there.

Them not being there is a creating a rift in time and the only way to fix it is to be back on the island.

numbersarebad: I’ve been wondering this very same thing. How can moving through time make the island actually disappear to those who aren’t on/near the island? Someone please explain!