Ben and Charlotte in the Desert

[erikau]

Originally Posted by lost_grrl

We saw her previously checking out the polar bear in Tunisia, but didn't really know who she was working for and what she was doing.

Judging from the scene where Ben is suddenly in the Tunisian desert, going all ninja and such, I'd say we are supposed to realize that she is, and has been, tracking Ben. Maybe Ben can't travel ANYWHERE. Maybe there are certain areas where the electromagnetic whatever is just right, like Tunisia, those places in Australia, the Sunda Trench, etc. Perhaps Charlotte was checking up on these suspected spots, to find evidence for Widmore or whoever before the Freighter trip.

[lost_grrl]

Originally Posted by erikau

Judging from the scene where Ben is suddenly in the Tunisian desert, going all ninja and such, I'd say we are supposed to realize that she is, and has been, tracking Ben.

I disagree. It is fairly clear (though not certain) that the scene where Charlotte finds the bear with the Dharma logo is prior to her visiting the island. So while Charlotte may indeed track Ben sometime in the future, I don't think the polar bear scene has anything to do with it.

[Talontbo]

hey Lost grl

here is your quote..


I disagree. It is fairly clear (though not certain) that the scene where Charlotte finds the bear with the Dharma logo is prior to her visiting the island. So while Charlotte may indeed track Ben sometime in the future, I don't think the polar bear scene has anything to do with it.


I think you may have forgotten... she is looking at a Newspaper.. one that could only have been printed sometime between.. 9-22-2004 and mid Dec. 2004

this is not a long distance Flashback.. this is very very recent... If we are to believe what we have been shown... Widmore has people in Antarctica waiting for a rather large Electromagnetic Anomaly.. only to Call Penny when they detect it...


Charlotte Lewis.. is in the Desert at Medenine Tunisia, sometime after the Christiane locates the fake 815...

so.. though we do not have to particulars of her quest to find the Polar Bear... I think it is safe to assume she has been searching for the Island... Perhaps along with Faraday.. her being the first Team member considered would be smart if she has personal advanced reasons to further her Dharma interests... as she may have been in the employ of Widmore, Piak or one of their subsidiaries,,, with her Anthropology Background.. her interest in the Human Studies of a Group like Dharma doesn't seem to be all that unusual... we no she isn't an archaeologist or an animal biologist... so the Polar Bear is nothing more than a side note at best... she was there for Dharma....

though it must be noted at least.. this in no way confirms her advanced knowledge of Ben and the happenings on the island.... or that she even knows about the island.. this must be conceded... but she does know about Dharma...

as the Dharma Initiative... and all its facets... and the ability on Island to video record every station.. it could be argued... That it wasn't the individual aspect of study being studied.. but the participants doing the experiments were the actual study... Anthropology... the Study of Humans... the philosophies of Dharma.. PRE ISLAND.. and those of DeGroot could be the driving force behind Charlottes search...

could this be the trigger that got Charlotte involved prior to any event we have seen??? is her real reason for joining the Team.. more about Dharma and less about what all has happened on an island she may never have known about previously???

[erikau]

Originally Posted by lost_grrl

I disagree. It is fairly clear (though not certain) that the scene where Charlotte finds the bear with the Dharma logo is prior to her visiting the island. So while Charlotte may indeed track Ben sometime in the future, I don't think the polar bear scene has anything to do with it.

When did I say Charlotte tracks Ben in the future? I agree that it is obvious that the polar bear scene happens before she got to the Island...why does that mean she couldn't have been tracking Ben? She is a researcher, an anthropologist...she found the polar bear while she was looking for evidence of Dharma, the Island, and Ben. I highly doubt we are supposed to see it as a mere coincidence that Ben pops up in the Tunisian desert...the same place Charlotte comes across the Dharma polar bear. She is on his trail, before she ever gets to the Island.

[erikau]

Originally Posted by Talontbo

Ben in Tozeur...Polar Bear in Medenine... have you looked at a map????

if we are to believe the Polar Bear was somehow SENT to Tunisia is the same manner we are to believe Ben arrived in Tunisia...

would YOU RISK a distance discrepancy of hundreds or perhaps a thousand miles??? I know I wouldn't...

Are either Ben or the polar bear incapable of moving their legs? No. We have no idea where the polar bear initially came through, just that its remains were found in Medenine.

On top of that, Ben seemed a little confused in that scene in the desert, and that coupled with his unusual wardrobe choice (I would never wear a parka in the desert) leads me to believe he came out somewhere unexpected that time. Whether this is because Ben cannot control it, or something went wrong, or someone else interfered I do not know, but something is there. I would be really surprised though if there were no connections between the two incidents in Tunisia.

[Talontbo]

hey Erikua,

it is not really the same place exactly.. no more so than if Ben had pop in at say Tulsa OK... and the Polar Bear was found in N.Y. City...

look at a map.. Medenine vs. Tozeur... very distant...

especially if we are to believe Ben POPPED in and the polar bear was SENT.... by means we have yet to be informed of...

that said.. I agree... Charlotte was in Medenine sometime after the Team sercjing for the Black Rock located the fake wreckage of Flight 815.. this would have to be between.. 9-22-2004 and the time the Freighter arrived at the Island... approx.. mid Dec.... this would tend to support Charlotte having been searching for Dharma/Ben.. but maybe just Dharma.. before she was selected as a member of Abaddon's Team...

[Talontbo]

gain.. look at map.... the distance... think logically... do you really think a Polar Bear... could traverse hundreds of miles of desert????? this is a Polar Bear we are considering here... not a camel....

Ben was fortunate enough to have been found by Desert bandits.. and as such was able to secure himself a horse... and still if you look... did you happen to see several gallons of water??? for him and his horse???? it wasn't their.. this would seem to indicate his was rather close to Tozeur.. a place he has been to before and was a preferred guest at their Hotel... the Polar Bear found in Medenine.. was dead.... think the heat and lack of water in the desert could have been the cause???


I mentioned this before.. you say Ben come out somewhere unexpected.. why..

consider he left from some place colder... some place one would expect to find a polar bear.... the arctic.. or... Hydra...and the effects of whatever device require a colder surroundings.. Like a Freezer Room... Bend did not have on Thermal Pants or Gloves... just the parka... somehting someone may wear in a cold enviroment...

admittedly I am not an expert on Polar Bears in non arctic Desert Regions... but I think I can make a fairly good guess... They Wouldn't Like It Very Much.....

[erikau]

Originally Posted by Talontbo

Ben was fortunate enough to have been found by Desert bandits.. and as such was able to secure himself a horse... and still if you look... did you happen to see several gallons of water??? for him and his horse???? it wasn't their.. this would seem to indicate his was rather close to Tozeur.. a place he has been to before and was a preferred guest at their Hotel... the Polar Bear found in Medenine.. was dead.... think the heat and lack of water in the desert could have been the cause???

admittedly I am not an expert on Polar Bears in non arctic Desert Regions... but I think I can make a fairly good guess... They Wouldn't Like It Very Much.....

I don't know much about polar bears or the desert or Tunisia, and I don't think the producers of Lost expect me to. Rather, I think they expect the average careful viewer to see two references to the Tunisian desert, and to realize that they go together somehow. Do I think a polar bear could traverse hundreds of miles of desert? I have no clue. I imagine though, that if a polar bear suddenly woke up in the desert, it wouldn't lay down and die but like any animal would try to survive. It would travel as far as it could, and eventually just drop dead somewhere in the middle of the desert, perhaps to be dug up by some scientists.

Like I said, using the scene with Ben is the desert to assert something about the nature of his travel would seem dumb to me, because I think it was clear the producers were showing us that something went wrong. Not only did Ben not have water, HE WAS WEARING A PARKA. Since the Island weather thus far hasn't seemed to require parkas, they are telling us that Ben was expecting to come out someplace cold. So no, to me this does not indicate that he was close to anywhere, because it was a mistake. He took a wrong coordinate, and ended up not where he expected to be. Luckily, he ended up at another one of his usual portals, and since he is apparently ninja-warrior Ben Linus in the real world, he trekked his butt to the closest friendly hotel.

Speaking of those bandits...why were they there in the middle of the desert, just when Ben was there? They were waiting for him, and the error in his travel was caused by the same person that sent those thugs (Widmore perhaps).

[Talontbo]

ahhh.. see I do not see the bandits as waiting there.. I think they noticed something and then came to investigate... I wonder what effect on the surrounding area a Mysterios Jump would cause...

as for where Ben ended up... I don't see the parka as a factor in Where The Trip Ended.. I see it was Where The Trip Started...

Otherwise I would also expect a dolphin or shark to be laying somewhere near the Polar Bear... or maybe the Kate's Dharma Horse...

That we even had rogue Polar Bears on LOST ISLAND we a bit to much to even considered.. I would give a polar bear 7 days on a tropical Island before the heat alone killed it...

even Zoos... in warmer climates provide near freezing water pools for the bears to cool themselves...

Polar Bear stay warm in Arctic climates 2 ways... Fat and Dark Skin.... Their fur transfers thermal energy down to the skin... and the fat insulates them...

Polar bear fur consists of a layer of dense underfur and an outer layer of guard hairs, which appear white to tan but are actually translucent.^[32] The guard hair is 5–15 cm (2–6 in) over most of the body.^[36] Polar bears are superbly insulated by their 10 cm (4 in) of blubber,^[32] their hide and their fur; they overheat at temperatures above 10 °C (50 °F), and are nearly invisible under infrared photography.<sup>[17]


so again I say... Life span of a Polar Bear in the Sahara Desert... less than 2 days.... even running for 48 hours straight at 30 mile an hour... is only 60 miles... a far cry fron Bens deposit point and Medenine...</sup>

[erikau]

Originally Posted by Talontbo

as for where Ben ended up... I don't see the parka as a factor in Where The Trip Ended.. I see it was Where The Trip Started...

Otherwise I would also expect a dolphin or shark to be laying somewhere near the Polar Bear... or maybe the Kate's Dharma Horse...

That's a good point. Perhaps Ben arrived at Tunisia from some other spot, in the Arctic...don't start on Evil Penny haha.

You wouldn't necessarily need to see those other animals though, if only a polar bear was being used as a test subject.

And we will have to disagree on the bandits. They were totally expecting him there, and even more, he was expecting someone to be expecting him, as evidenced by his sudden ninja baton smack down.