Actually, my pet theory...one of many out there, I know...is that Ben doesn't just know OF the timeshifting. My theory is that he's either been to the future and back again via shifts...or that Ben is in fact currently undergoing a long timeshift, in which his future self is "occupying" his past body.
I think his apparent omniscience stems from the fact that -he's done all of this before-. He REMEMBERS the Losties. Their stories. All of it. He remembers, "Oh yeah, they're gonna lock me up. I'd better tell what's his face to do this," in advance. That's not to say he never slips up, and never makes mistakes. In fact, it's pretty clear that things have gone pretty catastrophically wrong for Ben by now.
I'm just thinking about Desmond though. Suppose his time shift, instead of being traumatic and accidental and unexplained, had been accomplished with a guide and mentor? Someone who could tell him the whos and whys and whats...who could cushion his mind against the shock and horror. Someone who...well, who loved him. As Jacob does.
He would have been in a position to redefine his life...not just predicting the future to keep Charlie alive long enough for him to use his death "productively." If he'd understood the process, its dangers and its possibilities, he could have made notes. Jotted things down. Created a sort of map for the vital "nodes" where things had to be a certain way...and others where things might be altered so as to create a more favorable outcome.
I think Ben has had that kind of guided tour of the future...somehow. And yes, I think Jacob's involved in that. I think when he joined the Others, Jacob somehow arranged for him to see what was to come...and in enough detail, and with enough context, so that he could make decisions based on that. For example, suppose Dharma's involvement on the island brings about the destruction of Earth, or humanity? Suppose Ben is shown, in vignettes of the future, step by step, not only THAT this happens, but HOW? So, in response, he gasses the colony, eradicating the immediate threat...and creates a sort of enduring guardian cult, who will make sure that no one else ever finds the island. Their purpose is to sit and wait for the occasional shipwreck or airplane crash. Jacob, with his knowledge of the future, determines who is "safe" (good) and who is not (bad). Safe meaning...they won't betray the island's secret. They keep the button pushing thing going, because letting the anomaly build up can reveal the island's location (as we've seen).
I'm sure there's a lot of holes in it, and I may yet scrap it in the face of what the show tells us...but so far, it seems to encompass the mystery of the Others pretty well I think.
I think his apparent omniscience stems from the fact that -he's done all of this before-. He REMEMBERS the Losties. Their stories. All of it. He remembers, "Oh yeah, they're gonna lock me up. I'd better tell what's his face to do this," in advance. That's not to say he never slips up, and never makes mistakes. In fact, it's pretty clear that things have gone pretty catastrophically wrong for Ben by now.
I'm just thinking about Desmond though. Suppose his time shift, instead of being traumatic and accidental and unexplained, had been accomplished with a guide and mentor? Someone who could tell him the whos and whys and whats...who could cushion his mind against the shock and horror. Someone who...well, who loved him. As Jacob does.
He would have been in a position to redefine his life...not just predicting the future to keep Charlie alive long enough for him to use his death "productively." If he'd understood the process, its dangers and its possibilities, he could have made notes. Jotted things down. Created a sort of map for the vital "nodes" where things had to be a certain way...and others where things might be altered so as to create a more favorable outcome.
I think Ben has had that kind of guided tour of the future...somehow. And yes, I think Jacob's involved in that. I think when he joined the Others, Jacob somehow arranged for him to see what was to come...and in enough detail, and with enough context, so that he could make decisions based on that. For example, suppose Dharma's involvement on the island brings about the destruction of Earth, or humanity? Suppose Ben is shown, in vignettes of the future, step by step, not only THAT this happens, but HOW? So, in response, he gasses the colony, eradicating the immediate threat...and creates a sort of enduring guardian cult, who will make sure that no one else ever finds the island. Their purpose is to sit and wait for the occasional shipwreck or airplane crash. Jacob, with his knowledge of the future, determines who is "safe" (good) and who is not (bad). Safe meaning...they won't betray the island's secret. They keep the button pushing thing going, because letting the anomaly build up can reveal the island's location (as we've seen).
I'm sure there's a lot of holes in it, and I may yet scrap it in the face of what the show tells us...but so far, it seems to encompass the mystery of the Others pretty well I think.
