Saving the World (theory)

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1 Theory
2 The Constants
3 The Radio Tower
4 The Stations
5 Station 1: Unknown
6 Station ?: The Staff
7 Station 3: The Swan
8 Station 4: The Flame
9 Nuclear States in the the late 1970's

Theory

The Dharma Initiative has set out to save the world, no matter what the costs. We learned about the Valenzetti Equation from the Sri Lanka Video. The equation has yet to be revealed, but it is known that within the world of Lost it accurately depicts the end of civilization due to nuclear war, biological war, chemical warfare, over population, disease, climate, or other causes. The Dharma Initiative has set out to attempt to change one or more of the variables in the equation, therby averting doomsday, or pushing it further into the future.

The variables in the equation are similar to the ones in the Drake Equation. Each of the Lost "numbers" corresponds to one of these variables. It is not known what each number means at this point. There are six numbers and there are six stations (and possibly some substations). Each station studied and attempted to influence the variables until the program was seemingly abandoned at a point after the incident.

The island had to be placed in complete isolation to avoid any disruption of this very important work of saving the world.

The Constants

The numbers (4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42) are at least six of the constants used in the Valenzetti Equation. There are probably more numbers in the equation, but these six are the most important. They may represent potential doomsday causes such as over popluation, deadly diseases, etc. These numbers are from around 1980 and may have changed since then. 4 may be the world population of the time (see Station 1 notes), and 16 may be the number of countries with nuclear power (see notes on Station 4). Another of the numbers might represent the number of "class 4" diseases known by 1980.

The Radio Tower

The radio tower communicates the current variables to the outside world. The string of numbers is constant and due to encryption and other security measures, this radio transmission cannot be altered by those on the island. Since the program was most likely abandoned, the tower stills sends out variables that may be out of date.

Rousseau altered the broadcast, changing the numbers to her distress call
Evidence: Sam Toomey and Danielle Rousseau's crew heard the numbers emanating from the island's location.

The Stations

Each of the stations attempted to influence one of the variables. The names of the stations reflect the station's respective uses and what variable the station was attempting to change.

Station 1: Unknown

Station 1 may have to do with population control. The number 4 (the first number in the numbers sequence), may represent the world population in 1980, which was 4.4 billion. This may be rounded down to the nearest billion and expressed as 4b.

Station ?: The Staff

The staff station is probally releated to disease studies. The efforts here may have been to collect samples from various subjects and develop immunities to many threatening diseases (both known and as of yet unknown). This may relate to the vaccine, the quarantine, etc.

Station 3: The Swan

Station 3, "The Swan" was most likely studying the weather.In the 1980's a thunderstorm strikes 4 counties in July 15 and in 1979 a freak storm results in death of 15 sailors.Also: Desmond came to the island in a boat that crashed during a storm and Kelvin brought Desmond to The Swan. Or The Swan is just what we thought at the beginning, they're just pushing the button and Saving the world, which doesn't explain the variable of the numbers.

Station 4: The Flame

Station 4, "The Flame" was most likely studying nuclear technology. The variable in the fourth place of the equation is 16. In the early 1980's when the program was running and the orientation films were made, there were 16 countries around the world that either possessed or were attempting to gain nuclear weapons. This variable has changed since the abandonment of the programs on the island, but at the time of the transmission, 16 represented the number of nuclear states. The station is "The Flame" signifying a connection to explosives, energy, and war.

Nuclear States in the the late 1970's

The following states had tested nuclear weapons by 1980. The year of the first test follows the country name:
- United States - 1945
- Russia (former Soviet Union) - 1949
- United Kingdom - 1953
- France - 1960
- China - 1964
- India - 1974
- Israel (may or may not have nuclear weapons and may have tested one in 1979)

The following states had nuclear weapons programs running by 1980. Some have since abandoned their research, others are now in possession of nuclear weapons. The year that follows indicates when the programs were in progress.
- Pakistan - 1970's
- Argentina - 1978 through the 1980's
- Brazil - began in 1978
- Iraq - 1970 through 1980's
- Poland - 1960's through 1980's
- Taiwan - 1964 through 1988
- Yugoslavia - various points thorough-out the cold war

In addition to these, the following countries may have had programs or weapons by 1980.
- Libya (wasn't public until 2000's, but since the government may have been involved in the Dharma Initiative and since the group was well funded, they may have had access to this information prior to 1980)
- South Africa (had six nuclear weapons in the 1980s and may have tested one in 1979)