On my regular Lost blog Wayne and I were talking tunnels, and it inspired me to finally do some research on my lava tube theory for the island. It's not a complicated or important theory, just one built on the thought that since there is a network of tunnels, how did these tunnels get dug out? Not only do the Others/Hostiles always pop up everywhere on the island, as well as Ethan and Goodwin getting to the crash sites fast enough from Otherton to be considered survivors, but Richard sashayed into DI-ville without any determent from the sonic fence at all. And indeed, many of the maps and diagrams that we've been shown have indicators of tunnels. Our previous guesses that vast access tunnels must exist were confirmed in Season 5 and we got to see some of them. So given that it might be near to impossible to create a network of tunnels through a volcanic rock island, I thought that maybe lava tubes might be a natural geographic feature that would aid the indigenous islanders in creating their subterranean network. Wiki of course offered up some nice examples of lava tubes and caves. 
Looking down the axis of a classic lava tube passage, Lava Beds National Monument, California.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lava_tube
4 comments:
Back around S2, when I started thinking that Paik wasn't a Widmore or a Ben, I thought that his company, Paik Heavy Equipment, was responsible for the tunnels. I still say that his equipment would be a neat never-asked-never-answered response to where the DI got their cranes, drills, etc. Widmore bought the equip. from Paik HI. (Assumedly, Henry Gale & his balloon were examples of Widmore trying to re-find the Island, since his company logo was on the balloon itself. Just another never-answered thing involving Widmore...)
The lava tunnels on the surface (no pun intended) do not seem to conform with the envelope shape connecting the DI stations, at least as shown on the BDM. But there's no reason not to believe that the DI knew of the tunnels and then built their stations in relation to their intersections, etc. When Ethan & Goodwin go running off, I'd bet that each of them were in tunnels that took them towards the Swan station and the Arrow, respectively.
Good points! Yes, I'd guess that the envelope shaped tunnels were done by the DI with their equipment to connect the stations.
I've always liked the idea that Widmore was helping Henry Gale with his trip. If not directly being hired by Wid, perhaps indirectly as an offer for sponsorship. What person with an expensive hobby would turn down a sponsor with bucks like that?! Not many.
Re: Gale, I was thinking more along the lines of, well, Widmore was running out of ways to find the Island, so he tried to get someone to inadvertently fly over it. Granted, that doesn't help much if the Island kept moving, but we didn't know this when the balloon was first found. That was my first thought, though.
It does make sense that he'd fund the balloon ride as much as the round the world boat race. Just seems strange that in both cases, each person ended up on the Island.
I agree too, that would be a way for Wid to look for the island. Like Penny said to Des, if you have enough money you can find anything, or something close to that.
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