Lost 5.14: "The Variable" (Part II)

Daniel's story, and his apparently futile efforts to change history, demonstrate the strict rules of time travel in the "Lost" universe. Whatever happened, happened. That's why the series is like a puzzle; the pieces all eventually fit together because events are effectively set in stone. It's a universe where predestination trumps free will every time. Yet, at the very same time, events tend to depend on the choices made by individuals.

That's not contradictory. The characters see time through the perspective of their collective experience. History, for them, is a matter of memory. Anything that happens in their personal future is impossible to know, and therefore they make choices based on what they know and experience. It is unknown because, for human beings, time is a variable dimension.

On the other hand, for human beings, the familiar three dimensions (length, width, depth) are fixed. The coordinate system is what it is; distances are what they are. A foot is always a foot, a meter is always a meter. One can take a map and go, with confidence, from point A to point B, because the physical locations will always be fixed.

History is just the convenient word for a period of "time" that is, in essence, fixed from human perspective. The events between time A and time B have already happened, and the cause and effect can be clearly understood. To the individuals living during that period, of course, it didn't feel set in stone. The future, for them, was unknown and variable. Logically speaking, events in human lives right now, in this very moment, are just "history" from a future perspective. At some point, others will look back and say, without question, "Whatever happened, happened". There will be no changing it.

The introduction of time travel, at least in the "Lost" universe, doesn't change that fundamental truth. All that changes is how the individuals living through the "history" are perceiving and experiencing it. It still boils down to a deterministic cause and effect.

None of which, unfortunately, explains how the Oceanic Tribe is supposed to return to the "present" of 2007, where the impending war is still brewing. Could the "incident" take everyone who is outside of their proper time and shift them back (or ahead) to where they belong? Given some of the more insane things that happen on the island, it wouldn't be particularly hard to swallow.

In the meantime, things look to get pretty violent as the Oceanic Tribe struggles to stay alive. The shootout was surprising, and it's hard to imagine how things will go well for Sawyer and Juliet. With only two episodes left (episodes 16 and 17 comprise the season finale), things are certainly escalating.