Author's notes: Thanks again Zombie Kitty, and as promised, I put in some Sayid and Shannon in this chapter. If you're only up to "Solitary," this story will make a lot more sense in 4-5 weeks, once you've seen "Special."
Locke teaches Michael knife throwing, and Jack makes a request of Sayid, who discovers he may have met Shannon before the flight.
Locke was surprised at Michael's request to teach him knife throwing. After some thought, Locke asked, "Are you really sure you want to do this?"
"Look man, I've got to be prepared in any way possible. There's no telling what I may face when I meet those bastards who took Walt. And half my boy's genes came from me, so if he can do it, so should I."
"All right, just be sure you know what you're getting into. My case with the knives is in a corner of my room in the caves. Hurley can help you find it."
"Thanks man, you're doing me and Walt a big favor. Will you be all right out here?" Michael wasn't sure he should leave the wheelchair-bound man alone, even if it would be for just a few minutes.
"I'll be fine, just go and do what you have to." Locke reasoned that Michael meant well, but still disliked being treated like a helpless invalid.
When Michael returned to the caves he was met by a gloomy looking Jack. Apparently Sawyer was not recovering as quickly as Jack anticipated. Michael asked if there was something he could do, but Jack said there wasn't, and continued to mutter to himself. Michael found Hurley, who showed him Locke's knife case, and Michael headed back up the trail to where Locke was.
Back at the caves, Jack was griping that he couldn't do his job as well as he should due to the lack of equipment on the island. If only he could get a close look at Sawyer's blood, he could probably make an accurate diagnosis and have a chance at an effective treatment. The piece of equipment he really needed the most was …
"Where's Sayid?" Jack asked suddenly. He learned that Sayid was most likely at the beach campsite, rebuilding the settlement there. Sayid was not giving up on the idea that one of their best chances at rescue lay in the continuous burning of a signal fire, and enough people would have to be around in order to keep it going. Heavy monsoon rains could return again at any time, and he didn't want to miss an opportunity.
Once Jack located Sayid, he strode up to him and asked, "Sayid, can you build us a microscope?"
This was not a request Sayid expected, but after a moment's thought it made sense that this was something the doctor would like very much. "You mean, from whatever materials we can find here, from scratch?"
"Sure, someone must have done it the first time. You're bright; you can figure it out. Isn't glass made of sand? The eyeglasses we collected aren't suitable as magnifying lenses."
"Well, yes, you can make glass by melting sand, but it might not be especially pure or smooth. Then you would have to grind the lenses, and connect them to a device where you could adjust the distance between the lenses and the sample. There will be a lot of trial and error involved. I suppose you'd like a glass slide also?"
"Sounds like you have it all figured out. This is rather urgent, so I'd greatly appreciate it if you got started on it right away."
Sayid thought for a moment. The challenge was intriguing, and he liked showing off what he could do, but would not make a big deal out of it. Of course the person for whom Jack would most likely want the microscope was Sawyer. That was fine with Sayid. The two of them certainly hadn't gotten along well, especially after that torture incident regarding Shannon's inhalers. But Sayid considered it part of his penance to do right by Sawyer, such as when Sayid made those funky-looking eyeglasses for him. So Sayid quickly agreed, and Jack returned to the caves.
There was certainly an ample supply of sand on the beach. Sayid collected some, and thought about how best to melt it, putting it on a dish over the fire? While he was pondering how best to accomplish these tasks, Shannon came over, after having taken Vincent for a walk.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"Believe it or not, I am trying to make a microscope for the good doctor."
"Like what they have in biology class? You can do that?"
"It won't be as good as one you would find in a school or a hospital, but I might be able to make one that will work well enough."
"That's amazing. Why are you so smart?"
"That's hard to answer. I guess I was just always a good student."
Shannon draped her arms around Sayid's shoulders and said, "You're wonderful, to be able to do all these great things for everybody. You're more than I deserve."
"Don't talk like that about yourself. You just probably haven't been meeting the right men."
"No really, I have been awful in the past. Why, once I turned in an Arab-looking guy who left his bag with me in an airport for no good reason. I was mad at Boone, and just wanted to show him that I could be mean."
"Now that's a coincidence. I left a bag with some spaced-out blonde in an airport once, and within minutes I'm being interrogated by the CIA."
They looked at each other. This couldn't be possible, could it?
"Any chance it was the Sydney airport?" asked Sayid. "Right before our flight?"
Shannon had to think. "Let's see, Boone was there, so yes it had to be … ".
They both started to laugh. And then,
"Oh, no, I'm so sorry," declared Shannon. "What happened to you?"
"Don't be sorry, it was entirely my fault. I knew the CIA had been watching me, and never should have left my bag with a stranger, especially in these days of terrorist threats. I should have taken it into the washroom with me. The truth is, I was distracted over the death of a close friend, and wasn't thinking clearly. To say that bag got searched is an understatement. They turned it inside out and examined every piece of my luggage, but there was nothing improper in there. Drug- and bomb-sniffing dogs were even called in to examine it. It came close to making me miss the flight, but those officials seemed determined to get me out of the country."
"You really are wonderful," Shannon repeated, hugging Sayid, and then letting him get back to his task.
Back at the caves, Jack sought out Sun, and told her about the microscope idea. "I'll also need some kind of stain, to make the cell samples more visible. Do you know of any plants on the island that might work?"
Sun thought for a little while, and replied, "Perhaps a plant that emits a colored fluid when you crush its leaves or stems?"
"Yes, something like that sounds right."
"There are many different plants on this island. I will collect them and bring the most promising samples to you."
Sun went to her garden, and began testing various plants. Farther away, Locke was instructing Michael on the fine art of knife throwing.
"First find a knife that feels good in your hand," Locke said to Michael.
"Do I hold the handle or the tip?"
"Most experienced knife throwers hold the tip, but what is more important is how the knife feels to you."
Michael held several of the knives in his hand, and eventually selected one.
"Now pick out a target," instructed Locke. "Like that knot on that tree. Visualize the trajectory of the knife."
Michael drew back his arm, and let the knife fly. It missed the tree, and was far too low.
"Man, that was pathetic!" commented Michael on his effort.
"Take it easy, this takes lots of practice. Now try it again. Visualize the flight in your mind's eye."
The second effort was better, hitting the tree, but this time two feet high and nearly a foot to the right.
Michael was still seething, but Locke merely said, "Concentrate. Take your time."
The third toss was perhaps three inches low and to the left. Michael started feeling much better. The knife flew through the air many more times, until Michael was consistently getting within two inches of the target, though never hitting it dead center.
Locke congratulated Michael. "You are reasonably competent now, but really need more practice, and with different knives. You might wish to take more than one with you. Help yourself to whatever you need. But you still need to come back tomorrow to see if what you have learned has stuck. I know you want to set off on this rescue mission quickly, but it won't do much good if you are not fully prepared."
Michael was indeed impatient. He wanted to build his canoe, in addition to this knife throwing stuff. But there was something else he wanted to do. As the sun was setting, he wheeled Locke back to the caves, where Sayid was showing off to Jack two crude glass lenses he had made that day. When they were done talking, Michael pulled Sayid aside, and asked him, "Man, what can you teach me about hand-to-hand combat?"