"Time-it's like a street. We can move forward on that street,
we can move in reverse, but we cannot ever create a new street.
If we try to do anything different, we will fail every time.
Whatever happened, happened."
-Daniel Faraday-
Daniel tenses immediately after seeing the bomb hanging inside the wooden tower. He volunteered to disarm the bomb believing it was accessible from ground level and laying on its side. Unfortunately, a bomb tower is used strictly for the purpose of detonation. It's quite possible its timer is already set and ticking down. Daniel's first instinct is to grab his young mother and run for the other side of the mountain; but his logical mind quickly takes over, allowing him to act rationally.
"Whatever happened, happened," he whispers to himself, closing his eyes and inhaling through his nostrils.
Firstly, fifty years from now the Island is still intact; so logically, the bomb never detonates. Even if the timer is set, he's either able to disarm it in time or the bomb itself malfunctions. Fate can be fickle as Ben Linus once said, but in this case, foreknowledge of the future can be comforting. The worst case scenario is the bomb explodes with a malfunction; a first stage explosion which isn't enough to cause the full scale nuclear chain reaction, but could certainly kill anyone standing within a thousand feet. But even this minor explosion couldn't possibly happen, because it would kill his young mother standing beside him; and logically, his mother has to live, because he's alive.
This is all true of course, assuming the woman holding the gun actually is his mother. Daniel looks at her one last time before approaching the bomb; he's beginning to doubt his conclusions about her. Right now it would really help if he knew for sure.
"So," Daniel nervously mutters, his voice cracks like a teenage boy. "Your name's Elli, right?"
The ridge of her nose wrinkles showing frustration. "Richard told you, didn't he?" she asks, annoyed that Richard can be so trusting with strangers.
"Nope," he replies, walking away, amused by the mystery in her head he just created.
She follows him curiously with her rifle still aimed into his back. "What kind of scientist are you anyway?"
"A physicist. I study…you know…energy, time, electromagnetism…"
She prods him with the rifle barrel, irritated with his vague response. "I see. You think you're an Einstein?"
"More of a Faraday, actually," he replies with a smug grin.
She looks up to the swaying bomb and wisely points the rifle away from its vicinity. "Ok, then…let's see if you can disarm it, Mr. Faraday."
"Please," he pauses before climbing the ladder up the tower. "Call me Daniel."
He reaches the platform and examines the bomb's exterior, checking for open panels and loose rivets. A hydrogen bomb detonates in four distinct stages; stop the first one and you stop them all. He locates the trigger control panel, but before reaching inside it's best to continue checking for breaches. The man he saw in the camp with burns to his hands was somehow exposed to radiation; if none of the panels are open, he must have been exposed some other way. Daniel's suspicion is right; he leans over and spots a line of corrosion along a seam. He steps away and descends the ladder in a hurry.
"Back up!" he warns while approaching Elli. "It's unsafe and we need to move."
She takes a couple steps back then raises her rifle. "I swear, if you try anything."
"If I try anything? What? You're going to shoot me?" Daniel pleads with her, raising his hands to show he means no harm. "Yeah, that would be perfect…because of course…rifle fire right next to…what would you call this? Hydrogen bomb. Yes fantastic idea. Really inspired."
She keeps her rifle lifted, still not convinced.
Daniel continues to instruct her realizing the urgency. The bomb may never explode, but if radiation continues to leak from it for years to come, the Island will certainly have a less visible, more underlying problem. "Ok, listen to me. Do you people have any access to lead or concrete?"
"For what?" she asks.
"There's a crack in the casing. It needs to be filled with lead. Then you need to take it off this platform, carefully." He gives the OK hand signal with his index and thumb then points down to the ground. "Then bury it."
She grits her teeth, quickly losing patience. "You brought me all the way out here to tell us we have to bury it? You told Alpert you could disarm that thing!"
"You don't need to worry. You do what I say and it won't go off," Daniel tries to assure her.
She questions his logic immediately. "How do you know that?"
"I need you to trust me."
"I don't trust you."
"Just bury it," he says, more as a challenge to prove he's right. "Bury it and everything will be fine. Remember your superiors…."
"How can you be so sure?" she interrupts.
"You want to take care of this bomb?" Daniel's losing patience as he struggles to explain himself. "You bury it!"
"But how do you know that?"
He mistakenly lets down his guard and reveals the entire truth. "Because fifty years from now this Island is still here!"
An awkward pause of silence. She reengages the bolt of her rifle. "What did you just say?"
"Woah, take it easy," Daniel pleads, both hands raised, keeping firm eye contact. "I can explain myself a little better. I know how it sounds. Believe me. It's hard to explain. Fifty years from now, me and my friends, that's where we're from, OK? And, here's the key; everything's fine. I'm not saying it's perfectly fine, but's there hasn't been any atomic blast, alright?"
Sawyer suddenly exits the jungle behind her. "Drop the gun, blondie!"
"It's OK, she's OK. You can put your gun down," Daniel tells Sawyer, hoping not to lose the little trust he gained with her.
Sawyer remains firm. "She puts hers down first."
Juliet strolls out of the jungle next with machete in hand. "Why don't we all put our guns down?"
Sawyer senses the girl holding Daniel hostage is considering options. He acts quickly before she can make a move. "I said drop it!" he commands, centering his aim to her chest.
She drops the rifle and raises her hands in surrender.
Sawyer looks down into the valley at the bomb swaying in the Island breeze. "Son of a bitch."
Elli turns to Daniel and divulges the ridiculous story of time travel. "Are they from the future too?"
"You told her?" Sawyer replies with a sneering stare. When it comes to science, Daniel's the master at problem solving; but dealing with people he's not nearly as sharp. Fortunately, street smart Sawyer arrives at the right time to come up with a plan.
"Ok, I'm taking charge here. Blondie you're coming back with us to your camp," Sawyer explains, shifting his bangs back from his eyes.
"Well, are you?" she asks, demanding an explanation.
"From the future? Yeah, so…what's it matter? Even if you're stupid enough to believe it, you think the rest of your people will?" Sawyer flings the rifle over his shoulder, confident she won't make another move. "Locke's probably telling Richard the same thing, which means we need to get down there fast before he gets himself killed."
Elli places her hands to her hips, refusing to walk any further. "I'm not going anywhere until you people can prove to me who you are."
Juliet eyes Sawyer with her typical long judgmental stare. She turns to Ellie with an artificial smile, blinking her eyes like an animatronic Disney mannequin. "Quinquaginta annis Ricardus deducet me ad insulam explorasset," she explains.
Elli raises her eyebrows, impressed. "So you're one of us, eh?" She looks to Daniel and Sawyer, disappointed in their silence, realizing they didn't understand a word Juliet just said. "But obviously they're not. Maybe you're a traitor."
"Elli, please. There's nothing any of us can say to prove to you who we are. We know details from the future, which nobody can substantiate because…the future hasn't happened yet," Daniels explains, full of expression, flailing his hands with every word. "You have to believe me. Because if you do," he says, centering his hands to his chest. "You may be able to help us."
"Help you? But how?" she asks.
"Fifty three years from now, the year 2007, a man named Desmond Hume will come and visit you. This is extremely important OK?" He emphasizes with an index finger pointing up. "Desmond is uniquely special. The rules of time travel don't apply to him. You'll need to convince him to go with you to Ann Arbor Michigan, to an organization called the Dharma Initiative."
"Michigan? I'm not going there with anyone! It's too bloody cold! You people are strange!"
Sawyer points to the trail back to the camp. "Alright genius. Fun's over. You had your chance. It's time to hustle back to camp and rescue Locke before it's too late."
Suddenly, Daniel pulls a pistol from his backpack and holds it to Elli's stomach. "You want me to prove to you we're from the future. Well, this is the only way."
Juliet steps closer, begging him to consider. "Daniel, think about what you're doing. These people don't understand how we got here."
Daniel closes his eyes, inhaling deep breaths through his nostrils. "Whatever happened, happened," he whispers to himself. He tightens his finger to the trigger until…
**BANG!**
Hope everyone is enjoying! More to come! -bobt