Richard Alpert's items. ("Cabin Fever")

In 1961 or 1962, Richard Alpert presented a five-year-old John Locke with a test involving six items. Alpert placed a compass on a table with five other items, asking Locke to identify which "already belong to him". A time-traveling Locke had previously given Richard a compass, a compass that Richard would return him to Locke years later, in 2007.

Young John selected a container of granules and the compass before settling upon a knife. Disappointed, Richard collected the items and left, leaving a dejected Locke with his angry foster mother.

ItemsEdit

The comic book and knife. ("Cabin Fever")

• A brass compass ("Because You Left")  ("Jughead")  ("Follow the Leader")
• A baseball glove. In "What Kate Does", Jack walked into Dogen's area of the Temple and found him tossing a baseball into the air.
• An old book whose cover bore the title, "Book of Laws". In "What Kate Did" Eko told Locke a story about the "Book of Law", i.e., the Old Testament.
• A vial of granules
• A comic book, Mystery Tales issue 40 from April 1956 (right before Locke's birth), bearing the subtitle, "What was the secret of the mysterious 'HIDDEN LAND!'"
• A wood-handled knife

Cultural references Edit

Richard Alpert's compass.

• The test given to young Locke by Richard Alpert resembled the Tibetan Buddhist ritual used to confirm a reincarnated tulku (the Dalai Lama being the most widely known). (Religion and ideologies)
  • In the Season 3 DVD commentary for "The Man Behind the Curtain", Richard Alpert was described as someone who was not interested in leading the Others but was very influential in finding and selecting a leader. In the commentary for "The Man Behind the Curtain", he was described as being similar to a Panchen Lama choosing the next Dalai Lama. He and Ben kept each other in "check" by having the power to pick/veto each other's replacement on the Island. Ben's role would be to pick the next Panchen, should the need arise. This kept the two in a sort of balanced power relationship. They were allies, yet they had some measure of control over the other should one get out of hand.

v • d • e John Locke Portrayed by Terry O'Quinn, Charles Henry Wyson and Caleb Steinmeyer Centric episodes "Walkabout" • "Deus Ex Machina" • "Orientation" • "Lockdown" • "Further Instructions" • "The Man from Tallahassee" • "The Brig" • "Cabin Fever" • "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham" • "The Substitute" Shared and non-centric flashes "Exodus, Part 2" "LA X, Part 1" • "LA X, Part 2" • "The Last Recruit" • "The Candidate" • "The End" • "Everybody Loves Hugo" • "The Incident, Part 1" • "The Incident, Part 2" Flashback characters Matthew Abaddon • Adam • Richard Alpert • Kate Austen • Autumn • Ayesha • Jimmy Bane • Bobby • Cindy Chandler • Father Chuck • Eddie Colburn • Construction foreman • Anthony Cooper • Crystal • Eddie • Emma • ER doctor • ER nurse • Florence • Frainey • Francine • Gellert • Government worker • Hajer • Helen • Jacob • Jan • Sayid Jarrah • Noor "Nadia" Abed Jazeem • Jeannie • Bea Jones • JD • Kid • Kim • William Kincaid • Jin-Soo Kwon • Benjamin Linus • Aaron Littleton • Lizzie • Walt Lloyd • Emily Locke • Mrs. Locke • Locke's nurse • Detective Mason • Melissa • Michelle • Mike • Moderator • Randy Nations • Helen Norwood • Nurse Margaret • Charlie Pace • Physical therapist • Detective Reed • Rick Romer • Shannon Rutherford • Security guard • Jack Shephard • Sister Consuela • Mrs. Talbot • Peter Talbot • Tom • Waiter • Warren • Charles Widmore • Sheriff Williams • Zach Flash-sideways characters Boone Carlyle • Anthony Cooper • Courier • Ken Fisher • Desmond Hume • Lynn Karnoff • Jin-Soo Kwon • Benjamin Linus • Rose Nadler • Randy Nations • Helen Norwood • Orderly • Hugo Reyes • School kid • Jack Shephard • Student Items Backgammon • Body release form • Coffin • Compass • Crossword puzzles • Drawing • Knives • Bentham's passport • Suicide note • Trebuchet • Wheelchair • Whistle Other Locke's test