Talk:Richard Alpert/Theories

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Contents 1 Aging 2 Alpert...ghost? 3 Other 4 Cleanup 5 In the "Is Locke's father" section 6 Richard is Magnus Hanso? 7 A Link of Several Theories 8 Moved from Theory page 8.1 Is a Medieval European 8.2 Richard is the Historical Rychaldus 8.3 Richard is One Entity of the Smoke Monster 8.4 RA 9 Part of the Black Rock 10 richard is egyptian

Aging

• The presence of Jason in the Orchid in "the Variable" throws a wrench into the whole idea that Richard is unique in his non-aging. Jason does NOT look 30 years younger, so we can conclude that whatever works on Richard works on him as well. Perhaps aging is only something that happens to Others who spend extended periods of time off island (Widmore). Otherwise all Others can live on the island indefinitely. Children age to adulthood, then stop. This could also explain the pregnancy issues since the mother's body will no longer grow.

Richard is from thousands of years in the future. Richard moved the island to a point in time in the distant past, possibly around the time of the Black Rock. Richard protected the island by moving it into the past. Richard cannot age because his timeline is suspended having moved into the past before he existed. His timeline will not take effect until he reaches the point in time when he moved the island. He does not age because he technically does not exist yet. Time cannot effect what it has no influence on. Time is relative.

• Death of the old Richard in the past would not prevent young Richard from growing up - unless (as with Daniel/Eloise) his old-self CAUSES his life path to start. In that case yes, his presence would be necessary (Incidentally i think this reasoning explains Locke's "chosen-ness" - he has yet to do something really causally important in the island's distant past.

How are we sure that the man was Alpert? Judging by how it's unanimously taken as fact, I'm sure there must be an explaination; but as far as I can see, it's not 100%.

• He clearly is the same actor.. maybe you should watch the episode again.. higher quality maybe?. It clearly is him right after the purge (the scene where he takes the mask off), and then Ben was older but not as old as he is now (take the reference of the bodies, they are all decomposed by now...)

Maybe he's an alien. Count his toes! Boloboffin 03:06, 14 May 2007 (PDT)

Ok here are some responses to the idea that Richard 'doesn't age':

"Richard and Ben are roughly the same age now, Ben is a little older, so when Ben was a child, Richard would have been an even younger child."

We haven't been given Richard's age. We know Ben's but not Richard's, and it hasn't been stated that Ben is older than Richard. This also doesn't make sense in that if Ben was older, then in the 70s when he met Richard, Ben would have been eleven or however old he was, and Richard, although looking twenty or so, would actually be younger than eleven?

To clarify, I meant that Richard and Ben look like they are of similar age now (2004). Richard is obviously older because he clearly looks older than Ben when Ben is ten or so. Richard ages differently.

"Richard's appearance to young Ben was obviously supposed to come as a shock to the audience, and now Ben is clearly older than Richard (in real life, actor Michael Emerson, who plays Ben, is 12 years older than Nestor Carbonell, who plays Richard)"

It's presented as a 'shock' moment because it's surprising to find that Richard wasn't part of the DHARMA Initiative, but living in the forest beforehand. The age of the actor's is irrelevant. As an actor myself, I have on many occasions played alongside people younger than myself who were portraying people much older than my character. It simply isn't an issue.

The age of the actor, in this case, is an issue. Richard appears to be a 30 something man in the 1970's and in 2004. That span of time is simply to long to shrug off. That's 30 years. People look different after 30 years. They have used child actors to portray Jack, Charlie, Sawyer, Ben, and Sun. The fact that they didn't with Richard means that there is something different about the way he ages. It is ridiculous to claim that there is nothing going on with him.

"A concerted effort was made in making Roger Linus look a lot older during the purge. The Fact that Richard only gets a haircut is surely no mistake."

It's a lot easier to make someone looks older than younger. They clearly have tried to make Richard look younger, but things like bone structure (especially the nose) and voice make it very difficult without plastic surgery. If they had wanted to show that he was the same 'age', they would have made him look the same as now to make it super clear. There's also the case, as stated before, that they hadn't anticipated this direction for the character until after he'd been in the show once already. They could have put make up on him to look older in the present time, but to be honest that would be expensive and stupid.

"His odd clothing"

I don't see what's unusual about his clothing to imply lack of aging.

"His very old gun"

He could have found it, or been given it.

"You do remember birthdays don't you" Spoken by Ben

All this means is that The Others don't celebrate Birthdays. Jehovah's Witnesses don't celebrate them either, but they age just like other people.

"no matter how much time you spend on the island, you never get tired of this view" Spoken by Richard

We know, regardless of aging, that Richard has been on the Island since the 70s, thirty years is long enough to be able to make a comment like the above. Again, it says nothing about his aging.

"you're gonna be amazed at how time flies once you're there" Spoken by Richard

This could mean anything, it's too vague to be evidence of Richard not aging.

Unless something in the show specifically makes it clear that he does not age, or the producers confirm that there's something odd going on, I do not believe there is anything afoot.Liquidcow 07:53, 23 May 2007 (PDT)

Richard has also said to Locke that no matter how long you've been on the island you never grow tired of the view. This could be hinting at not aging or aging slowly. Or we are going to be lead to believe this only to find out we are wrong. But typically if you which shows over again you get a hint as to the losties life's before the episode that shows their flashbacks. Ex. Claire being interested in if Kate is a Gemini hints to why she ended up on the island, via trusting a psychic.[rosesrred 10:45 pacific coast time June 5th, 2007]

People say things like 'you never get tired of the view' all the time. It would be reasonable to say it after a year or so of living somewhere. It says nothing about his age, nor is it in any way related to the idea that he 'does not age'. I don't see how it supports that theory. And while we're on it, neither does the comment about 'you do remember birthdays?' - it just means they don't celebrate them. Jehovah's Witnesses don't celebrate birthdays and I'm pretty sure they age normally.Liquidcow 03:00, 14 June 2007 (PDT)

"You do remember birthdays don't you" Spoken by Ben

We can't ignore this, I think this is exceptionally important. Not celebrating birthdays is one thing, but to suggest that he's *forgotten* the concept of birthdays is quite another. It implies that Richard at one time did recognize birthdays. Nickypoo

I'm sure it was just a figure of speech, I don't think Ben seriously thought Richard had forgotten birthdays. The fact that they obviously did recognise birthdays but don't now just means they stopped celebrating them at some point. Most likely they've set up a society that doesn't put any importance into celebrating birthdays.Liquidcow 06:40, 15 June 2007 (PDT)

May I put across my theory? I think Richard is from the very far future, he was ordered by Jacob, Eloise or a far-future Other's Leader to read up on The Other's history and knows exactly how the 20th-21st Century events of the Island are supposed to transpire. He was then sent back in time to act as a Temporal Policeman for the Island itself, ensuring that all the people who are supposed to lead the Others were chosen. Not only would this explain how he knows Locke and Ben were important to the Others (past event knowledge) but it would also it explain how he knew Locke would have to die (relative future knowledge). The reason he doesn't age is because he needs to catch up to his future timeline first, at the moment he is unstuck in time. Last bits a little far fetched, but I think my theory will gain more credibility in the next couple of episodes: if we see Jin, Sawyer, Jack, Kate, Hurley etc un-aged in the 2007 story arc despite having lived through the 70s and 80s in the DHARMA Initiative. I'd appreciate it if you could pick holes in my theory. Andrew1990M 22:10, 1 March 2009 (UTC)

• • I think you are right on on the aging part. I am not convinced he knows how everything is supposed to transpire. He's just a guy that has an intimate knowledge of the island and is very well connected after spending eons there. The temporal policemen give him info as they get it.Annarboral 20:00, 31 March 2009 (UTC)

Alpert...ghost?

Just throwing this out there: have we seen Richard directly interact with anyone aside from Ben, John and Juliet? I guess ethan too, off the island. I can't think of an instance. Either way, is it perhaps maybe possible Alpert is a ghost? It explains the not aging, and maybe he appears off island using ghost powers? Come to think of it he talked to Juliet's sister. Regardless, my point still stands, is that concievable?

He's not a ghost. That's just /silly/. --Shodan1138 21:22, 10 June 2007 (PDT)

He has directly interacted with at least four characters in the show, so it seems highly unlikely that he's a ghost, or not real. If he'd only interacted with one person (as per Dave) you might have a point, but four makes it clear that he's real.Liquidcow 02:53, 14 June 2007 (PDT)

Not necesarily. The cabin's existance is still debatable right? But Ben, Locke and Hurley have all seen it. Why can't Richard be the same way? I think he could even be like Charlie. After Charlie's death, he visited Hurley while Hurley was in the institution claiming he was dead but still "there" and it was one of Hurley's pals that pointed out Charlie in the first place, meaning that multiple people (especially one that had no connection with the island) saw Charlie's "ghost". It could be reasonable to guess that Richard is dead but still "there" much in the way Charlie is and that could be key to why Richard doesn't age.—The preceding unsigned comment was added by Whitewhispers (talk • contribs) .

• I don't think the cabin's existence is debatable. Horace planned and built it. Its location seems to be "flexible."--Jim in Georgia Contribs Talk 23:48, 26 March 2009 (UTC)

Other

The statement made to explain away Richard saying he and Ben not being formally introduced, "In fairness, meeting the adult version of a child many years later is effectively the same thing as meeting for the first time (as adults)" is completely nonsensical. Meeting someone is meeting someone, no matter how old or young either party is. When Richard sat down in front of a young John Locke to show him items that he "already owns" he clearly said, "I'm Richard, John." Which I think qualifies as, at the very least, a general introduction. A true formal introduction goes like this:

A: Bob, I’d like to introduce you to Roger Lee. Roger is our new marketing manager. Roger, this is Bob Greenfield, head of our legal department.

B: Hi, Roger. It’s a pleasure to meet you.

C: Nice to meet you, too.

One of two things happened when Richard said he hasn't been formally introduced to Locke. The keyword in that sentence is formal. He either meant the word formal in its true sense as stated above, and that means there was only a general introduction between the two. Or he threw in the word formal accidentally, not realizing its true meaning and instead meant a general introducton, this would then mean that he lied when he said he wasn't formally introduced to Locke. --Bad crc 15:21, 10 January 2009 (UTC)

The statement that no human knows more about the island than Ben "period"; is this based on a quote from the show? If it isn't, then the entire theory, especially with regards Eliie, hinges on something entirely made up, and should be deleted from the page.

Cleanup

I did some cleanup on this article. The text can be more consolidated if redundant theories are removed. I am going to stop here for now. Maybe someone else can continue where I left off.--Messenger 16:12, 26 May 2008 (PDT)

In the "Is Locke's father" section

That section mentions that Locke was expected to pick up the compass but picked up the knife instead. In that scene though, he did pick up the compass, as well as the jar of sand. Then, Richard obviously hoped Locke would pick up the book, but he chose the knife at that point. I just wondered if anyone wanted to re-word this.JesusFreak89 05:17, 28 January 2009 (UTC)JesusFreak89

• Delete it. It's allowed. What object young Locke picked up has nothing to do with his parentage.

Alpert is a spy from Charles Widmore, that's why he always try to find the island. 1. Henry gale (deceased) 2. The kahana. (destroyed) 3. Maybe the science expedition from Danielle. (deceased)

But why he shoot than Keamy? Keamy was mad at the orchid about he's shooting, but he can do it's, not what we think it is. It's a crazy theory, I know.

Robert H 14:25, 26 March

Richard is Magnus Hanso?

I have a problem with the richard is magnus hanso theory that i didnt want to directly change til i got someones input. the blast door map has a spot marked "here lies magnus hanso," most likely referring to a grave. if so, how could richard be him? --Beanpolekt 10:51, 11 May 2007 (PDT)

A Link of Several Theories

Richard is an immortal island native (the natives were Egyptian, or least that type of culture) who was there when they built the statue, he may have been the leader, and is the only survivor from that era, all others are from later on. At some after the statue was constructed (during the Romanisation of Egypt, they found the Island's location and headed for it), Richard left the island (through moving it? the ultimate sacrifice for his people), and was transported to Tunisia and 'slowly' made his way to England, where he become Captain of the Black rock (when he realises he can get home), and then while sailing, the island moves to their location. In the chaos the rest of the crew (and the slaves) are killed (by the smoke monster/islanders) but Richard is unharmed, due to his high level of knowledge about the Island's ancient history, and his insistence that he doesn't want to lead again, they make him the Higher power, who answers directly to Jacob (this ability could strengthen his 'legend'. This means he has ultimate control over the running of the island, and picks (and moulds) the new leaders, like Charles and Ben.

Moved from Theory page

This section was removed from Theory page due to only evidence is the name Ricardus. See LP:TP for more reasoning

Is a Medieval European

In the season finale, it was revealed that Richard's true name is Ricardus. Given the fact that the Others communicate in Latin, and Ricardus is a Latinized version of the Germanic name Richard, this would indicate that Richard was originally a medieval European who lived when Latin was still commonly spoken as either a native language, lingua franca, or liturgical language.

He is perhaps the first Other, and the original Others may have also spoken in Richard's native or adopted language of Latin, and future Others may have adopted it on his/their example. The name Richard is derived from the Germanic elements "ric" which means ruler, leader, or king and "hard" which means strong or brave, therefore meaning "powerful leader", indicating he may have been the original leader of the Others. In the historical chronicles of medieval Europe, any local variant of the name "Richard" (e.g. Ricardo, Rickard, Rijkert) would have been recorded in Latin as "Ricardus". The nature of his Latinized Germanic name can therefore rule out other theories such as the immortal Egyptian origin theory.

Though the architecture and hieroglyphs of the ancient buildings on the island such as the temple indicate an Egyptian presence, it seems likely that Richard (either originally or along with other medieval Europeans) discovered an abandoned island that had been previously occupied by ancient Egyptians, or replaced them, but did not originate among them, due to the strong evidence of a non-Egyptian origin.

Though Richard is a Germanic name, it became extremely common throughout Western Europe due to the fact that virtually all of the successor kingdoms to the Roman Empire were Germanic (i.e. the Franks in Gaul, the Lombards in Italy, Goths in Hispania, Anglo-Saxons in Brittania). Therefore it is possible that Richard could be from any of these regions.

If he was born in the early medieval period (500-1000), he could have possibly originated among any upper class educated portion of society. If born in the late medieval period (1000-1500), it becomes increasingly likely that he may have been a priest, monk, or other clergy in the Roman Catholic Church, as the use of Latin decreased considerably in this time period in favor of native languages, with the exception of in the Church.

It should also be noted that in the beginning of the season five finale, Jacob is at work weaving a tapestry that contains illustrations and what appears to be Latin text. Weaving tapestries with illustrations and Latin text to commemorate historical events was a very prevalent practice in medieval Europe, and Jacob may share the same post-Roman medieval European origin as Richard.

• All above info written by —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Wicke038 (talk • contribs) .

I think that the above theory is a valid theory, with substantial evidence to support it, although that evidence is only circumstantially connected to canon. However, much of the information here (i.g. etymology of the name "Richard") is completely unnecessary and doesn't belong in the theory article. The paragraph starting "If he was born in" is speculative (and is written so), and should be removed. Also, the tapestry containing Latin text does not support this theory, it more refutes it, as the tapestry contained mostly Egyptian imagery and writing. The tapestry would better support a theory that Jacob (not Richard), the creator of the tapestry, is from Roman controlled Egypt, or something along those lines.

And please, if someone (especially someone with as many edits as NEVERGIVEUP) deletes information you've posted, don't just put it back up. Talk to them find out what was wrong with it, edit it accordingly, then repost it appropriately. -- Roobydo  talk  contribs  20:54, 15 May 2009 (UTC)

Richard is the Historical Rychaldus

Richard Alpert is the 13th century European ambassador to the Mongols and Latin translator known as Rychaldus, who was also called Richardus, or Ricardus, the name Ilana addressed him as. No one knows the ultimate fate of the historical Rychaldus. At some point, Jacob took notice of his diplomatic skills and enticed him to come to the island to work for him, and he essentially vanished from the outside world.

This would explain Richard's status as an emissary between Jacob, the Others, and other groups. He was specifically chosen to live on the island because of his skills and career. It would also explain his fluency in Latin, and eventually it will be revealed that he is proficient in East Asian languages, just like the real Rychaldus.

Richard is One Entity of the Smoke Monster

• If the smoke monster is indeed connected to the mythological Cerberus (the three headed guarg dog of Hades), then the three heads/entities of Cerberus on the island are Jacob, Jacob's Enemy and Richard.
  • If the smoke monster can possess dead bodies, then this would explain why neither Jacob nor Richard appear to age. They are possessing dead people who died at a particular age, therefore their age remains static.
  • It would also explain why both Jacob and Jacob's Enemy can also take the form of people we know to be dead (i.e. Jacob into Christian, Jacob's Enemy into Locke).

RA

• In keeping with the ancient Egyptian references everywhere on the island, and the fact that Richard Alpert's initials are RA; he never ages, he is never seen to be hurt, and he does not take direct action to cause harm to anyone, but is always there to advise or help: he represents either God, Zeus, or the Egyptian RA. His exact identity is impossible to discern because the producers are mixing ideas of Egyptian, Roman, Greek, Catholic, and Christian ideas. (probably others I missed) He is observing a feud between Jacob (a type of Christ figure) and Nemesis (a type of Lucifer), in which the island is the court and time itself is the clock. (It only ends once, everything else is progress.) Fswalt 13:32, 20 June 2009 (UTC) (Richard's initial's equaling the god(little 'g') RA is not enought evidence to be a theory. If anything, Ilana's reference to Richard as 'Ricardus' shows him as something other than egyptian. But that is just my opinion, as this is opinion and not theory. Also theory page edits are not to be signed.)
• Egyptian religious ideas predate Christian religious ideas significantly, yet conversely Jacob clearly is older than Richard, Richard stating Jacob as the source of his powers.

Part of the Black Rock

• "Albert Richardson" was the name of the real life first mate on the Mary Celeste. The Mary Celeste was a merchant ship famously discovered in 1872 in the Atlantic Ocean unmanned and apparently abandoned, in spite of the fact that the weather was fine and all crew had been experienced and able seamen. The Black Rock seemed to have a similar mysterious reputation in history in the lost universe. (This is moved from Theory page) —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Ricordea (talk • contribs) .

richard is egyptian

richard is obviously egyptian possibly RA. that explains his waterproof eyeliner. he led in the construction of the statue. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Juliet Is The Bomb (talk • contribs) .