Desmond's working on the computer while Jack pesters him, asking him if he's in contact with the people who made the film. "Do you think I'd be here if I was?" says Desmond, not even looking up. Jack wants to know how it's possible Desmond doesn't know about the crash, about the survivors. "I push this button every 108 minutes. I don't get out much," is the reply. Yeah, and what's the deal with the replacements? Well, Kelvin died waiting for them. Okay, we get it: Jack's a skeptic. We understand. After a couple more questions designed to point out to Desmond how silly this all is, Jack just finally erupts and asks Desmond if he's ever considered that this whole thing, the hatch and the button, everything, is an experiment. A mind game. That's kind of what I ask myself from time to time watching this show, you know. Desmond finally looks right at him. "Every single day," he says. "And for all our sakes, I hope it's not real. But the film says this is an electromagnetic station. And I don't know about you, brothah, but every time I walk past that concrete wall out there, my fillings hurt." The timer flips to forty-nine minutes.

Desmond puts the cover back on the computer, says "all right," and flicks the switch. The hole is momentarily plunged into darkness, before being bathed in faint yellow backup light. "Oh no," says Desmond. Yeah, that's putting it mildly. Locke comes running in. He has a box of popcorn and a Coke, but apparently the concession stand was out of Twizzlers. "What happened?" he asks, and Desmond says, "It's over!" which, thanks to my love of Rocky, forces me to yell, "Nothing is ovah!" Desmond goes running into the pantry. I hope he's not looking for those chocolate bars, or he's going to be pissed. Desmond starts stuffing a backpack full of supplies. "Are you going?" asks Locke. Desmond doesn't even bother to answer, but, to be fair, it was a pretty stupid question. Next, Desmond goes for some of that stuff he was shooting into his arm in the first episode (we also spot a book called The Third Policeman, which I've read, and I encourage you to do so, and to do this: read the first word on pages four, eight, fifteen, sixteen, twenty-three, and forty-two. It's worth it, I promise). Locke says Sayid's coming to fix the computer. "Give him my best," says Desmond pleasantly.