Lost: The Sequel

So, after watching the finale of "Lost", I couldn't help but ponder... "What's going to happen some day when ABC inevitably releases 'Lost: The Next Generation'?"  In fact, I stressed over the idea for most of Monday and Tuesday while I was bored at work.  As a result, I concocted the following set of ideas for what I call "The Chandler Treatment" of a Lost sequel series.  ABC, get your checkbooks ready.  We're about to pay a visit to...

"THE ISLAND"

Story:  Picks up roughly 25 years after the events depicted in “Lost” finale, “The End”. The descendants of those who came to the island on Oceanic 815 are asked by Benjamin Linus and Hugo Reyes to return to the island to witness the onset of a 153-year cycle described in ruins located at the temple. Among the team assembled, is a bestselling author, a med-school student, an archeologist, a religious scholar, a historian, an industrialist, and a girl looking for answers regarding the death of her parents, as well as others.  Emphasis would be placed on the 153-year event, the island's history, and the island's eventual exposure in the international limelight--the largest catalyst in the sequel series.

Characters (The Children):

Walter “Walt” Lloyd – Walter Lloyd is an internationally-renowned author of a series of books familiarly called “Lost”. His global bestseller “Walkabout”, the second book in the series about survivors of a plane crash on a mysterious island, instantly earned him worldwide intrigue as he focused on a man named “Bentham”, who was in a wheelchair prior to the accident, but can suddenly walk once on the island. Mysteries that include a mysterious monster, polar bears, and strange natives are only a few of the aspects that have riveted audiences from around the world.

But Walt Lloyd is tormented by his past—never knowing what became of his father, Michael Dawson, while being stalked by a relentless detective who claims Walter Lloyd was among those on the manifest of Oceanic 815. And yet, Walter Lloyd, was not one of the infamous “Oceanic Six”—five of whom went missing after the loss of Ajira 316 many years earlier. Walt insists publically that he missed the flight on that fateful day and that Oceanic’s inclusion of him on the manifest was a corporate error, while only his father perished in the flight.

Walt agrees to return to the island as an advisor, on the condition that they won’t fly there and that Hurley is truly in charge of things. He doesn’t trust Ben Linus. More on Walt’s special abilities, including his supposed ability to unconsciously astral-project himself and acute promotions regarding the island, would be addressed.

Aaron Austen-Littleton – Raised by several women, including his grandmother and his mother, Claire, Aaron is a gifted young man who lacks direction. He constantly feels that his life is leading him away from his true calling. Following in his uncle’s (Jack Shepherd) footsteps as a med school student, he is visited one day by a strange man who calls himself Mr. Linus, shortly after the death of his godmother, Kate Austen. Mr. Linus tells Aaron that he is assembling a group of specific people for a mission to an uncharted island of great importance and explains that Aaron has a particular gift that is essential to his needs.

Regarding the “Gift”: Aaron, like the Man in Black, knows things about the island that no one else knows, including how to fix the mysterious wheel at the heart of the island, because he is “special”. More on this would be revealed throughout the series.

Note on Kate Austen: Kate Austen is relentlessly tailed by journalists and conspiracy theorists for the remainder of her life, once returning on the salvaged Ajira 316 with “The Ajira Six” (Richard Alpert, James Ford, Miles Straume, Claire Littleton, and Frank Lapidus). Many believe that she is the sole link connecting that flight with Oceanic 815 and her criminal record is a matter of wide debate. Nevertheless, Aaron Austen recalls that on the day his “other mother” died (in her late 50s of breast cancer), she was the happiest that he had ever seen her, almost as if she were traveling to “a perfect place, bathed in light.”

Note on “Mr. Linus”: Benjamin Linus has not aged either in the last 25 years. Hurley makes him (in essence) the new Richard Alpert. Mr. Linus returns to the mainland bearing a list of people that Hurley has staked out using a renovated version of the island’s lighthouse.

Charles “Charlie” Hume: The heir to the Widmore fortune, Charlie is a wealthy young man in Britain whose life is a contradiction—extremely public while also an enigma. He is reckless and passionate, not unlike his father. He is recruited by Aaron Austen and Mr. Linus because he shares his father’s (Desmond Hume) unique resistance to electromagnetism. The mystery of whatever became of his wealthy grandfather (Charles Widmore) is also a lure used to make him join the mission, strictly against the wishes of his parents.
- Through him, we discover that Desmond eventually left the island using the same boat by which he had arrived.

Note: There is debate as to whether or not Charlie is named after Charlie Pace or his late grandfather, who was never seen again after his last voyage to the island.

Isabella Alpert: Named for his lost wife, Isabella is the daughter of Richard Alpert, who did start to age after leaving the island, but at a somewhat slower rate than expected. He remarried and settled in Los Angeles, determined to live his own life after more than a century of service to others. Isabella is considered a top archeology and history student, and is working on her PHD when she is visited by Mr. Linus, who discovers that the girl already holds some strange opinions about her father’s strange and cryptic past.

Sgt. Clementine “Jamie” Monroe: Is an FBI agent who is brought into the team for security purposes. It is later revealed that she is the daughter of James “Sawyer” Ford, with whom she was reunited after the return of Ajira 316. Sawyer and her “Uncle Miles” taught her everything she knows. Although deeply religious, she takes after her father when it comes to personality.

Ji Yeon Kwon: Would round out the cast of children, joining Aaron’s mission as a volunteer. Mr. Linus is initially reluctant to let her join the quest, because she is not on the list of individuals that Hurley instructed him to receive. However, upon learning of her heritage, he agrees to let her come along. She is on a personal mission to discover whatever became of her parents, Jin and Sun Kwon.

Terrence Spurrier: A European industrialist who blackmails his way into the mission, by connecting all the dots between Benjamin Linus, the Oceanic survivors, and the island. We discover that some of the same men who have been hunting Walt and Aaron and Kate Austen were financed by him. He later reveals himself to be none other than Wilhelm Hanso, the grandson of Alvar Hanso. His primary interest is in unearthing what became of the DHARMA initiative and holding Benjamin Linus accountable for all the people he murdered.

Characters (Returning)

Hugo “Hurley” Reyes: Has been the primary protector of the deserted island for more than twenty-five years. Largely, his time there has been uneventful, although he has returned to the temple and solved several revelations about the island with Ben’s help. For example, he discovers that the nameless Man in Black was not the first smoke monster. He also learns that the light at the heart of the island was not always as divine as others have insinuated. Indeed, the light seems capable of granting to all those who enter it their most profound wish. In the case of dark or evil desires (such as power and greed), the light has a way of consuming individuals and turning them into creatures of smoke.

- However, the light is susceptible to rules and these “rules” form the basis for this series.
- Hurley also delights in considering himself “like Yoda, stuck on Dagobah”.

Note: With regard to the dead souls trapped on the island, we discover that Hurley released many of them, including the spirit of Michael Dawson. Upon learning of Michael’s sacrifice on the freighter, as well as who awaits him in the afterlife (Libby), Hurley frees Michael.

Mr. Linus: Hurley’s personal and professional assistant/mentor. Since Hurley cannot leave the island, Mr. Linus travels on his behalf, amassing a considerable fortune through his front organization Mittelos Bioscience, as well as Hurley’s leftover lottery winnings, which Hurley no longer considers “cursed”.

Characters (New)

Dr. Murtaza “Taz” Qasim: An Egyptian and Muslim scholar who has discovered an ancient myth linked to documents salvaged from the library of Alexandria that connects archaic Egypt to the strange island. He has searched his whole life in vain for the island, believing it to be somewhere in the Mediterranean (where it was located eons ago when Egyptians discovered it and built the statue of Tawaret, which is also the name by which ancient Egyptians had referred to the island in lost scriptures). He comments in his notes that it is almost as if the island were moving—not knowing how correct he is about the theory. When he is offered an opportunity by Mr. Linus to study the island firsthand, he leaps at the opportunity.

Dr. Jasmin Gupta: An Indian Hindu living in London, she is brought onto the mission as its primary religious scholar. Malik is selected also because of her language skills, which include fluent English, German, Arabic, Hindi, and ancient Latin. She is widely considered a genius in her field and has been published in numerous magazines and scholarly journals.

Alo: Known almost exclusively as “Alo”, which is a Hopi word for “spiritual guide”, this Native American serves as the only medium among the crew. The intellectuals on the mission would mock his so-called ability if they weren’t so damned afraid of him. Little do they know that he does more than communicate with ghosts—he is also running from them.

Peter Noble: The captain of the freighter which takes them all back to the island.

Plot

We discover that Hurley was brought to the island, not only as a candidate to replace Jacob, but because of his lifelong encounters with the strange series of numbers (4,8,15,16,23,42). He determines that the numbers have many meanings across the island.

- They denote a number attached to each of the six wells on the island. The wells indicate the six most concentrated energy pockets on the island and the number of years in between “high volatility interims”. For instance, the Swan Station was built on top of “The Four-Year Well”, otherwise known as the most erratic of the electromagnetism pockets across the island. The wells were constructed as venting mechanisms for the island’s energy, based on yearly cycles:

Well #1: 4 Years
Well #2: 8 Years
Well #3 and 4: Alternating 15 and 16 year cycles
Well #5: 23 Years
Well #6: 42 Years

- The Swan Station’s construction, however, left “The Four-Year Well” even more chaotic. This is why they initiated a containment protocol to vent its energy more frequently and prevent a meltdown on a global scale.
-  The numbers can also be read as 4,815,162,342 seconds, which Hurley and Ben pinpoint as being roughly 153 years, as they lack a frame of reference to determine precisely when the second-based countdown began. These seconds countdown to a specific event that takes place on the island every 153 years—one that is referenced inside the temple and appears to have been recurring through much of the island’s history.

Mr. Linus begins assembling a team to return to the island in anticipation of the event’s next arrival. In keeping with what made “Lost” so spectacular, it is essential that this team be a culturally and religiously diverse team. They will arrive at the island via a new freighter, and we discover that Walt has not stepped foot on an airplane since leaving the island.

The Event

-  As they soon discover, the event is an episode that occurs every 153 years in which the island is catapulted backwards hundreds and hundreds of years to its origins. However, this event requires so much electromagnetic energy that it threatens to unleash immense energy signatures throughout the world. Preventing this “leech effect” is one of the main reasons for assembling the team.  Jacob lived through at least 2 of these cycles, but the impact of the energy leech was less eventful due to the lack of global industrialization and technology.

-  Unfortunately, they are unsuccessful and the island leaps back in time, while also sending electromagnetic shockwaves around the world that cause havoc for several major cities… (more on this in just a bit) 

History of the Island

-  In the past, we discover that the island is inhabited by a tribe of people who mostly came there while fleeing religious persecution. Some arrived by boat, some were stranded at sea and swam there, while others wandered onto the island, indicating that it had been attached to land for certain brief periods. All of these “natives” believe that they, too, were brought to the island for a purpose and echo some of the very same sentiments addressed in “Lost” that the island serves as an eternal battleground between good and evil. Before delving deeper into the nature of these inhabitants, however, it is important to address a few other important matters.

The Light and The Smoke Monsters: As we discovered in “Lost”, there is a mysterious light at the heart of the island—one which exerts a particular electromagnetic signature akin to nothing else on Earth, and one which has been devoutly defended by chosen protectors since ancient times. This light is less divine, however, than some have been led to believe. In truth, the light corresponds with an idea pervasive in the early seasons of “Lost”—that the island sometimes grants to its inhabitants those things which their hearts most desire. The light is the mechanism through which this takes place.

-  For those who are worthy and noble, the light grants those “chosen” that one desire.
-  For those who are deemed of evil and selfish character, the light traps them within a dark and corrupted stream of ash and smoke which serves as the lens for them to examine (and be tortured by) their own vile nature, as well as the character of those whom the smoke encounters. These “reflections” sometimes appear as flashes within the smoke itself and smoke monsters are often driven to seek out those who they can easily manipulate (John Locke, Ben Linus) or those who could potentially be turned into smoke monsters, also (Mr. Eko, before his spiritual redemption). The Man in Black was one of these smoke monsters but he was far from the first. Indeed, there have been moments in time when several smoke monsters roamed the island at once.
-  The light is nigh infallible, however, and if a smoke monster were to leave the island, it would nullify the light’s offerings and corrupt it forever. Fortunately, when Jack Shepherd was consumed by the light, his sacrifice served to reinforce the mechanisms that would imprison any future smoke monsters. Note: The protectors of the island, chosen to protect the light at its heart, serve the purpose of keeping away all those who may be corrupted into smoke monsters in the future.

History of the Island (Cont.): For the island’s natives, the 153-year cycle is less precise. Sometimes the cycle’s duration amounts to only weeks or months. At other times, the cycle is experienced as a year or several years (but never more than the longest cycle of four-years). The reasons for this are complicated. Eventually, the original inhabitants discovered the light and began to suspect its abilities. What they could not guess, however, was what it would do to the corrupted among them. Soon, they were bombarded with smoke monsters who would assume the guises of their dead and terrorize them without end.

Indeed, the only means by which they could impeded the smoke monsters was to scatter the ashes of their dead through the jungle—forming an impassable partition through the middle of the island that would protect the light and the natives from the smoke creatures.

One worthy native, whose name was John, went into the cave and entered into the light source wishing for an end to the smoke monsters. The light source replied to him in an ethereal voice that he could hear only his mind. His wish to end the smoke monsters could not be fulfilled, however, because the smoke monsters were deemed necessary punishments for the sins of trespassers into the light. He would discover, also, that one must be willing to claim his own life in order to have his wish desired—in order to prove that it is his innermost want. John stabbed himself in the chest and wished once more that an answer might come to his people, in time.

As a result, the island returns to roughly that point in time every 153 years along with anyone trapped on the island during each cycle, in hopes that future inhabitants of the island may have solved the smoke monster dilemma. Even Jacob met with these inhabitants once long ago, although only briefly and he never saw them again once they discovered he had no solution for their dilemma.

Thus, Jack Shepherd is the first person to ever successfully kill a smoke monster and Hurley was a witness to how he did it. However, Hurley and Benjamin Linus do not know that this is why the island has been traveling backwards in time intermittently in specific cycles. They are only aware that the island will travel back in time and that messing with the wheel embedded into the source will cause this time travel mechanism to skip. Thus, the team is assembled primarily with the hope that they may be able to learn more about the island’s past. They have no idea the scope of the adventure they are about to endure.

By the time that the mission team arrives, the natives they encounter already speak Latin and English, having learned it from the time travelers they have encountered in their quest to defeat “The Smoke”. There are some who still speak their native tongues, also, but Latin and English is fairly common among them. This explains why the woman who murdered Jacob and MIB’s mother already spoke both languages fluent. In a way, these two languages come to embody a sort of code amongst keepers of the island—a rite of passage.

While in the past, the mission team learns untold secrets about the island and helps the natives combat the smoke monsters isolated on the other half of the island. When they return, however, they are met with the realization that they were unable to prevent the “electromagnetic leech effect” and that several major cities around the world were directly affected by their failure. Suddenly, many nations around the world—including some with nefarious purposes—are able to pinpoint the island’s location, just as Penny and Charles Widmore’s teams had. The wheel finally breaks and the people on the island are left knowing that governments and media from around the world are coming for them. Hurley feels like he has failed as the island’s protector, but Ben assures him that they’ll be ready.

With Regard to “The End”

It is also Hurley who elaborates on Jack Shepherd’s experience in the pool of light located in the heart of the island. In the 25 years that Hurley spends on the island, he reveals that he has the unexpected opportunity to speak with Jack’s ghost. We discover that Hurley and Ben eventually found Jack’s body and buried him on that exact spot in the bamboo grove. When Walt asks whatever became of his dog, Vincent, Hurley reveals that their favorite pet lived for five more years after the events depicted in “The End” before also dying peacefully beside Jack’s grave.

- During the conversation with Jack, the ghost reveals to Hurley that the island spoke to him while he was in the light (the same voice that had spoken to the mysterious John, eons earlier). It vowed to fulfill Jack’s innermost desire, although he won’t say what it is. This desire, typical of Jack, was to save everyone he had lost—to create a place where none of the unspeakable things that took place on the island ever occurred. However, Jack confesses that he has not yet made it to that “place”. He is waiting for all the others to arrive first.

- At some point, we would bear witness to Richard Alpert’s death. He would suddenly awaken in a Spanish pasture, looking the way he did all those years on the island. When he opens his eyes, there is a horse standing over him. He smiles and climbs onto its back. The stallion quickly races through the field and over the hillsides, until it arrives at a tiny cottage overlooking cliffs and the sea, where Isabella (his wife) is there waiting for him.

How “The Island” Would Begin

• In the opening sequence, we see a man running in a terrified frenzy through the jungle—a fairly typical “Lost” setup. As the camera pans up, we find that it is an African-American man who looks to be in his mid-30s. Soon, we hear the familiar roar of the island’s “monster” bulldozing the trees behind him as the chase takes the unnamed human past a familiar shoe dangling in the jungle, through a shallow stream, and back into the trees. Suddenly, we see what is chasing him—three violent clouds of smoke are winding their ways through the jungle at his back, closing in on him quickly. In an instant, their shadows engulf him.

• In an instant, we glimpse a close-up of the man’s eye blinking. He is now in a luxurious hotel room, awakening in a bedroom and looking around—seemingly unfamiliar with his surroundings. As he leaves the bed, he wanders around the room and inspects the many amenities that the hotel affords. He is not accustomed to the high-life and can’t help but smile at the absurdity of what fortune his adulthood has granted him. Next, he is well-dressed and ducking into a limousine on his way to a book-release at the largest bookstore in the city.

• He is introduced as author Walter Lloyd by a woman on a loudspeaker as he sits behind a table surrounded by fans of his series—“Losties”. They ask him such questions as “Why polar bears?” and “How is it that the character Bentham can suddenly walk on the island?” and “Is any of this really going anywhere??” Walt answers their questions with a kind but allusive smile, while signing their autographs.

• Soon, he is confronted by a strange man in a business suit who dangles a microphone in front of Walt’s face. He is interrogated about his role in the crash of Oceanic 815 and asked to corroborate his story one last time with the testimonies of “The Oceanic Six” years earlier. This frustrates Walt, but he (just barely) manages to keep his cool. Soon, the man is asked to leave.

(Elsewhere)

• A blonde man of about 28 years is dressing himself in a suit and tie in front of a mirror. He combs his hair and there is deep sadness in his stare. Before long, there is a knock on his door and Claire Littleton (his mother) is welcomed into the room. She addresses him as Aaron and asks if he is ready. Silently, he nods and they exit.

• They are in a car in Los Angeles and we gather that they are driving to a funeral. Claire attempts to cheer Aaron up by asking him how he did on a recent med-school test. He “aced it” even though he barely studied, being too preoccupied with the matter of the death of the person to whose funeral they are in transit. Claire tells him that his uncle would be proud. This does little to cheer him up as he never knew his uncle.

• When they arrive at the funeral, we discover that it is for none other than Kate Austen, who died young from breast cancer. The irony that Kate would die of such a disease after all the times she dodged death on the island is written only in Claire Littleton’s face. Aaron stands beside the casket and there is the faint glisten of a tear in his eye as he weeps for his “other mother”. We learn that Claire and Kate helped raise him together and the three were very close.

• As they stand there, they both recall how happy she was when she died. Her face had glowed with contentment for the first time in months.

• Later, several men arrive who Aaron does not recognize. One seems more shaken by Kate Austen’s death than the others and Aaron confronts him. He introduces himself as James and remarks on how much “the Gerber baby” grew up, but leaves shortly thereafter with Miles Straume. Desmond Hume is also in attendance for the funeral.

• Finally, Benjamin Linus enters, although he stays near the back of the room so that none of the others would see him. Unlike them, he has not aged a single day.

...That's as far as I got with planning the first episode.  It's not like I'm writing the thing...yet.  But that's my pitch in a nutshell.  Holy Balls, how long was that?  I feel like I just blacked out for the last hour.  God knows if any of it even makes sense.  Anyway, enjoy, Bloggers, and let me know how far I missed the mark.  I'm sure some of you will anyway.  But at least I'm offering answers to some of your questions about the island, which is more than "Lost" did at the end of the day.  In the meantime, I'll hope that one day this version of the story is told at length.  How would you all continue the series?  (I'm aware that as I'm posing this question, I only have one follower, but hopefully more of you will show up in response to this).  How about it?