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General Theories

Theory 1: Items from Locke's future

• Unlike the test of the Dalai Lama, the items Richard shows Locke are not from the past (which might imply reincarnation), but from his future on the island. Like his drawing of the monster on the wall, these items indicate that young Locke has glimpsed the future. In particular, the items are from Locke's future show to him by Richard are:

Evidence:

• Locke gets the Book of Laws (from Eko).
  • Locke gets a black, leather-bound copy of "The Holy Bible" from Mr. Eko
• Locke uses the compass on the island.
• The comic refers to a "Mystery Island".
• The other items may play a major role yet, or being from the island, he may simply be attracted to them.

• Ben chose the knife, which according to Richard's reaction was the wrong choice. However, on the island we see that Locke is actually a knife collector/enthusiast and that in fact these items did become a part of his future on the island.

• The items, though many of them looked old, may be key elements Locke recognized from his dreams or however he was accessing future information from his life. This would imply that "special" people are able to glimpse the future and are not reincarnations. This could also explain why Daniel is mysteriously crying when he sees the crash of Flight 815, though he isn't yet involved in the mission.

Counter-evidence:

• The compass is different in appearance to the one Locke uses, and later gives to Sayid.
  • The compass may simply imply that he will be a good tracker, or tracking will be important to him or a trait.
    • Richard does not ask "which of these things do you recognize," or "which of these things seem familiar?" He asks "Which of these things belong to you already?" The "thing" (compass on the table) must have belonged to Locke.
• Locke did not choose the comic book. He never has a comic book in his life as far as we know.
  • He crashed on a mysterious island which is the topic of the comic book.
• While certain books of the Old Testament portion of the Bible are considered books of law, and the Old testament is sometimes referred to as "The Law," the book Mr. Eko finds and later hands to Locke is "The Holy Bible." The book that Richard Alpert presents has a very different appearance and is titled "Book of Laws."
  • Only the first five books, the Torah, are referred to as the law, with Deuteronomy being specifically referred to as 'the Book of the Law.'

Theory 2: Symbolic meaning of the Items

• More in line with one of the show's stated themes, Locke has been lost his entire life. Previous flashbacks have shown that he has been looking for meaning in his life, some of his efforts less ignominious than others, but when the Island reached out to him, he refused to grab hold & find his way.
• It is significant that Locke was almost a "man of science" like Jack, rather than a "man of faith."
  • Locke still grapples with being a "man of faith": he let the counter run down in the Swan and caused the electromagnetic event after seeing the Pearl and having his faith challenged. He was irritated that Claire was in the cabin and he wasn't the only special Oceanic survivor. Locke is still not a perfect character and his flaws add to his unpredictability and allure.

Counter-evidence:

• If the test is purely symbolic, then why does Richard ask him to pick the items that are already his?

Theory 3: Items are used as a signal to discriminate between possible candidates for leader of the island

• A "prophecy" or whatever was heard by both the Others and the Dharma Initiative at some point in time. The prophecy was something to the effect that a woman named Emily L. would prematurely have a child (possibly on the west coast) who was to be the "chosen one" to win the "war" on the island between the Others and Dharma. Both sides somehow heard this prophecy and looked for this Emily in both space and time (likely Dharma searching in space and the Others in time, as only Others have been shown time traveling thus far). Dharma found Emily Linus, as evidenced by Horace being present at Ben's birth. The Others found Emily Locke, as shown by Richard being present at John's birth.
  • Matthew Abaddon also found Locke, but at this point in time, appears to work for Widmore/Dharma. Strangely, Abaddon encouraged Locke to go to Australia (i.e. toward the island).
  • Following this line, Ben was chosen by Dharma and betrayed them for the Others. Locke is also recruited by the the Others. But why does Widmore/Dharma need a Ben/Locke character, and how would they know they need one?
  • Perhaps someone in Dharma was exposed to electromagnetic radiation like Desmond and had a premonition of Ben, and that's how Goodspeed found him.

• Richard soon encounters Ben and rationalizes that he was mistaken about John being "the one" - a feeling he already had since John had failed so many tests. Richard tells Ben that the time is not right, eventually adopts Ben as the "Chosen" and lets him lead the Others over Dharma. Richard finally meets John on the island and comes to realize that John is the TRUE "Chosen one," telling him so and encouraging him to take over from Ben. (This seems more plausible than Ben being John's "back-up." As an example, if Jesus had not accepted his destiny, did God have another son - a lesser one - who was going to take up the slack? Same with Neo on the Matrix and with countless other examples. You either ARE the "Chosen one" or you are NOT.)

Misc. theories

• Richard was asking Locke for guidance. He wanted to know what the "hostiles" should do to solve their current situation. Locke chose the knife, which represented the violent solution.

Counter-evidence:

• Then why does Richard ask his to chose the items that belong to him? This theory is not supported by evidence.

• Richard's test of Locke as a child is very similar to how the new Dalai Lama is selected. Locke is a reincarnate of someone Richard once knew, or he is in a similar loop as a reincarnation.

Counter-evidence:

• The items given to the Dalai Lama belong to the previous Lama. The items presented to Locke belong to him in the future (see Theory 1 above).

• Locke is the present day reincarnation of Jacob, which is why the compass and sand/ash in the bottle looked really old. They belonged to Jacob once upon a time.

Counter-evidence:

• How can Locke be a reincarnation of Jacob if Jacob still exists on the island?

• Each of the six objects represents one of the Oceanic Six.

Evidence:

• Sayid is the compass based on his use of the compass in the series and his ability to make a compass.
  • Kate is the Book of Law based on her legal troubles.
  • Sun is the knife because she is severed from her husband, or Jack is the knife based on the fact that he is a surgeon.
  • Aaron is the sand from the Island, where he was born.
  • Hurley is the comic book, possessing a comic book in the Season 1.
  • Jack is the baseball glove based on his love of the Red Sox.

Counter-evidence:

• None of these objects belong to Sun, Aaron, Jack or Kate, or Sayid, though he used the compass.
• Alpert specifically asks Locke to choose items that belong to him, not items that simply hold any kind of impersonal significance.
• This theory does not explain WHY Locke is being asked to chose.

• Locke (and Ben, and others like Walt) have always been "special," but the item they pick indicates the time or situation for when they are needed.

Counter-evidence:

• Again, then why does Richard ask his to chose the items that belong to him? This theory is not supported by evidence.

• Locke choosing the items is similar to Daniel and Charlotte conducting a memory experiment with DHARMA playing cards. Daniel only gets 2 of the 3 cards correct. Locke also chooses only 2 of the 3 items correctly.
• Richard is traveling back to Locke, knowing what he will pick in the future. Locke's inability to get it right means he lacks the prescience or that he cannot remember that he has already done this.

Counter-evidence:

• If Locke picks these items in the future, then how can Locke pick wrong?
• Also, what is the point of Richard time traveling to give this test? What is the point of the test? This theory does not make sense.

• The selected items would appeal to someone dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge (the compass, sand, and possibly comic), deep spirituality (the Book of Laws), and both worldly and metaphysical justice (again, the Book of Laws). The knife and/or baseball glove, for purposes of this "test," would appeal to someone less interested in intellectual/spiritual pursuits and more concerned with physicality, competition, etc. Locke chose the knife intentionally because he was trying to develop a "macho" self image.

Counter-evidence:

• The "personality test" theory does not explain why Richard is traveling the world giving personality tests to children. Why Locke? Why ask him to identify the items that belong to him?

Locke's Choice

Per Theory 1

• Locke's choice implied that he couldn't see the future. But given the scary picture of the island's monster he had drawn of his future, he might have actually chosen "wrong" because he didn't want to have anything to do with the island.

• Due to choosing the knife instead of whatever Richard had hoped he would choose, Richard knew that Locke was still resisting his destiny in favor of sports, boxing, and hunting and not yet prepared to do the Island's will. This is supported by Richard's presence at the hospital when Locke was a baby, and later efforts on behalf of Mittelos Laboratories to recruit Locke for science camp. Throughout Locke's life, Richard reappears to coax John into accepting his destiny. This fails, and the Island draws him to itself by force.

The Knife

Chosen / Wrong

• As evidenced by Locke's drawing, and his choice of the sand and the compass, Locke clearly has somehow seen his future on the island Per Theory 1. This is why Richard was so disappointed, but obviously did not give up on Locke and continued trying to recruit him. Given the scary picture of the island's monster he had drawn of his future, Locke chose "wrong" because he was afraid the island and his premonitions.

Chosen / Right?

• John chooses the knife because he has "future memories" of owning many professional hunting knives as an adult. The first time we see Locke with knives was in the first season episode "Walkabout" when he opens his metal suitcase filled with hunting knives. It wasn't the wrong choice, just not the one Richard had in mind.
  • They symbolize the choices Locke would make in life and how they pertain to his destiny. John considers the compass and vial, and then chooses the knife, similar to how he chooses sports and cars after interest in science. His abilities already belonged to him and come naturally to him. His father teaches him later to use the knives, but his talent for this comes naturally to him.

The Bottle

Chosen / Correct

• The bottle contains sand from the island.
• If Locke has had a premonition of the island (as implied by his drawing and choice of the compass), he should recognize sand as related to the island in his vision.

The Compass

Chosen / Correct

• Locke brings two compasses to the island; he gives one to Sayid.
• This is why Richard asks young Locke which of the items belong to him. The compass is one of them.
• Generally, a compass represents the ability to move about without becoming lost. Specifically, the compass is symbolic of the ability to move the Island. The technical aspects of this concept are still to be explained. The disconnect in this is that the person who moved the Island (Ben) ended up lost (friom the Island) while the person seen to have selected the compass (Locke) was not involved in the move.

The Comic Book

• The comic book is a coded reference to the island, a "hidden land" - this is something young Locke would recognize if he had already had a vision of his future on the island (see Theory 1 under General theories about the items above).
• The cover depicts an island floating in the air above the water, and the writers chose this comic book because of this.
• It could also be a reference to the comics that belonged to Hurley and Walt.
• The "right" item was the comic.
• The comic book is one of the "red herring" wrong items. It represents a trite and superficial fascination with the island, which is much like how Locke is so interested in and distracted by the ultimately unimportant and misleading Dharma Initiative videos and stations. The comic book representation is something a scientist from the Dharma Initiative would choose, hence is wrong.

The Book of Laws

• Eko gives Locke The Book of Laws in "The 23rd Psalm" after finding it on the island and tells him the story of how a king used the book to rebuild a society.
• This is why Richard asks young Locke which of the items belong to him. The book of laws may be considered to belong to Locke since Eko gives it to him, though arguably it belongs to and relates to Eko's past and involvement as a fake priest (the book is hollow and contained missing film from a DHARMA initiative orientation film video, which was about not using the computers to contact the outside world.).
• The Book of Laws was the "correct" item.
• The book could also be just a symbol Alpert is using that stands for a concept - though that is inconsistent with Richard's instructions to Locke to chose the items that belong to him.

The Baseball Glove

• The baseball glove is a red herring--the item that would appeal most to a young boy; if John chose it, it would be a clear indication that he is certainly not the 'right' boy.
  • The baseball glove as red herring also reflects Locke's stubborn statements that he is interested in "sports" as opposed to the Mittelos Laboratories Science Camp.

How did Richard get to the 1950s?

Theory 1: Time travel

• Richard (and the group referred to as "The Hostiles") have the ability to travel to and from the Island, which is unrelated to the DHARMA stations. The fact that Richard was in the US when Locke was born in 1950 and the DHARMA initiative began later (Alvar Hanso's film indicates that only after the Cuban Missile Crisis the Valenzetti Equation was formulated, and DHARMA followed that in the 70s/80s) supports that.
  • If you can travel throughout time and the Dharma Initiative discovered time travel in the 70's/80's, Richard could easily travel back to 1950.
  • This is related to the time issues surrounding the Island.
    • It's a common belief among physicists that if time travel were invented, it would be impossible to travel back to a time before the equipment were created. Hence, to the above statement, if the DHARMA Initiative "discovered" time travel in the 70s/80s, travel to the 1950s would be impossible.
      • The common belief among physicists is that time travel is fantasy. No self respecting physicist would talk about actual time travel (but only theoretical). So the above statement is not an evidence.

Theory 2: No time travel required

Richard did not "get" to the 1950s. He was already there, living on the Island. Richard is an extremely long-lived person; he is nearly immortal as long as he stays on the Island.