Vanishd!

While looking at the pilot once again and after reading a couple of theories of hearing how Jacob and the man in black represented the fight between good and evil, I suddenly struck upon the answer.

The two guys are/were playing backgammon albeit on a worldy scale. This easily explains the fight between white and black. The numbers are mostly solved thanks to this article

Each player begins with 15 checkers (in some versions of the game) and the doubling cube used has the numbers 4, 8, 16 as also 32 and 64 and then 2. which if read in a particular way give the nos of the series.

Now, i know what you are thinking, ok thats just a partial explanation or a plausible theory but it cant explain all of the mysteries of LOST. But hang on, I have got more…

In a game backgammon, which is btw featured in the lost pilot, there are two sides who are challenged with losing all the checkers on the board. See backgammon on wiki The player who removes all his checkers off wins. Additionaly each player tries to block the other players from getting his checkers out by restricting their movement.

If once any player has lost some checkers but he needs them again in order to push the other checkers he can summon them, however all the gone checkers have to be summoned back! this is similar to what happens to the people who leave the island. In addition, some older versions of backgammon requires that this addition and removal of checkers be done in steps of 6. Which is always the case, remember 48 survivors, oceanic 6, and even Daniele tells that she arrived in a ship in a group of 6.

In addition, there are turns of the players which seems to coincide with the strategy points. In LAX the new John Locke says that he wants to go home. Now the two players can go home only when one player has removed all of his checkers. There exists a rule called The Jacoby rule which allows gammons and backgammons to count for their respective double and triple values only if the cube has already been offered and accepted. This encourages a player with a large lead to double, possibly ending the game, rather than to play it to conclusion hoping for a gammon or backgammon.  Getting the similarity?

Now, for the Egyptian link, theres an ancient game of Senet (passing) on the lines of Backgammon, and another which has been named the Royal Game of Ur (this is the one showed in the series).

Peter Piccione discusses here what the game of Senet meant to the Egyptians and I quote “the stratagems of the game reflect nothing less than the stratagems of the gods, and that senet, when properly understood, can reveal essential Egyptian religious beliefs about the afterlife. …. At the least, senet shows that, while still living, Egyptians felt they could actively influence the inevitable afterlife judgment of their souls”. He also goes on to say that “The Egyptians believed that in death they would join the sun god on his bark as it set in the western horizon at dusk.” Similar to the bearing that the people need to follow to leave the island. He also gives importance to the last five squares on the game which are quite a good read. In another one of his writings, he describes it as a bridge between the living and the dead.

In addition, these games are known to have certain good and bad squares. One type is of bad spot Rosettes. A quick look here and one realises the octagonal nature of the rosette symbol and that of the Dharma initiative. Now I dont have an answer for the Dharma initiative right now, but one thing is for sure, they were not meant to be a part of it. And I cant explain how the time travel works either and why its there. But hey its just a beginning.

I am convinced that lost has been in some way woven over this central theme. And I am liking it. LOST rules!!!