if the nanobots from the cloud ever went into Locke's body and restored his ability to walk.

I wasn't clear if they tried to take him, or they were trying to take someone else & he attacked them. However, I now recall the discussion of "taking the strong ones."

So my theory is, they want to kill the strong (fear of them taking control & defeating The Others) and take the children.

So then why try to kill Locke, but not kill Eko. Maybe since he sucessfully killed some of the Others, the Others are now interested in him as having the potential for their bad deeds. So they sent the Monster scanner out after him to see if there indeed was the potential, based on his past, for ilicit activities.

So, will The Others try to recruit Eko somehow?

Far fetched, perhaps.

I’ve always suspected that there are ‘other’ Others. More civilized, in control of the island perhaps. Not sure why...but with four other bunkers out there I think the odds are decent that one of them is manned/womanned. I like the theory someone suggested that there might be a 'bunker' in the water (based on the insignia seen on the shark).

All that to ask: is there any evidence that the black smoke/nanobots and the Others are on the same side? Given the appearance of the Others, it seems strange that they’d be in control of some super-high-tech ‘security system’. Again, hinting at more undisclosed personnel IMO.

My biggest concern is this:

If the "monster" is indeed this swirly black cloud (God, that sounds lame), then what was knocking the trees over in the pilot episode? A cloud of smoke? I doubt it...

That’s why I support the theory of nanobots. Small, swarming mechanisms that can be quiet and even contemplative (as with Eko), or representing a beast with mechanical overtones. Someone at some point said it is the security system for the island. And one that seems to have some level of artificial intelligence (dare I add telepathic ability) to boot…of course there could always be a master control room somewhere with a person behind its behavior.

Discussed before when someone recalled nanobots in Crichton’s book Prey.

In a lab in Nevada, microscopic robots called nanobots are the focus of a technological scientific experiment run by the Xymos Company. Nanobots are equipped with artificial intelligence and programmed to learn and evolve.

Having escaped the lab, a swarm of these predator nano-bots develop and multiply unchecked with humans are their prey. It's up to Jack, a recently unemployed husband of a Xymos worker, to save the world from a corrupt organization and dangerous little robots.

Hmmm…Jack had to save the world eh?

Sounds like a good theory...seems believable.

And it wouldn't result in a really far-out ending, it'd just be like "you were drawn here as part of a scientific experiment" or some crap.

whatever you do, don't let that sneaky catt try and tell you it was her theory...

What.ev.er.

Here are the screen caps from when the camera drifts through the "monster."

The first few are as seen in the episode. The rest are lightened to reveal the images inside the monster (seems as though it was reading Eko's mind).

http://lost.cubit.net/pics/2x10/

My apologies if this has already been posted.

Half man, half amazing, all DAW

Thanks Meemo, I've been waiting for some screen shots to appear.

Who's the woman? Next Eko flash back contestant.

My best friend and I were talking about the monster (she knows I post here but doesn't herself) and I mentioned that I saw the screen caps and how they had pics of Eco as a kid, etc. She had a good idea. What if the flashbacks that we see aren't only just to fill in the viewer's info on the back stories of the castaways, but also the monster gathering info that s/he/it can use against the castaways?

Three is the perfect number.

LAST EDITED ON 01-18-06 AT 04:24 PM (EST)

*Gasp*

Your friend's a genius.