[In the middle of a wooded area, a woman screams]

MAN: Come on! Dammit, push!

WOMAN: [Screams again] Something's wrong! I can't...oh...

MAN: Emily! You can do this! Now push, come on! Come on, baby. You can do it, now come on.

[Emily pushes, clenching her teeth and screaming]

MAN: Come on, there you go. Come on.

[Emily screams as she pushes still. The sound of a baby's cries can then be heard]

MAN: It's a boy! You did it.

EMILY: It hurts.

[The man wraps the baby in his jacket and gives him to Emily]

MAN: Oh...

EMILY: Roger, it hurts.

[Roger looks down; his hand is covered in Emily's blood]

ROGER: Emily, no one knows we're out here. We gotta get back, okay, honey? Can you hold onto the baby? Emily! Can you hold the baby? Hold him tight.

[Roger picks up Emily and carries her through the trees. They make it out to a clearing, a road. Cars drive by and a sign lists Portland as 32 miles away]

ROGER: Help. Help! Help!

[A red car stops with a man and woman inside]

ROGER: Oh my God, help me.

MALE DRIVER: Hey, what happened, man?

ROGER: We were hiking. She went into labor and she wasn't due yet. She's bleeding.

MALE DRIVER: Okay, okay, look, we'll put her in the car, okay. Let me get you to the hospital.

[Emily screams and Roger puts her down]

ROGER: Oh, okay, okay, honey.

MALE DRIVER: Okay, it's all right. Let's keep her warm, all right? How's the baby?

ROGER: Fine, I guess—I don't know.

EMILY: Roger? Roger.

ROGER: I'm right here.

EMILY: Call him Benjamin.

[Emily passes out]

ROGER: Stay with me. Stay with me. Emily! Emily! Emily! Oh God, no!

[On the Island, Ben looks at a doll in his tent. The previous scene was obviously a flashback. As Ben sits, Richard enters]

RICHARD: What you got there?

BEN: It's a birthday present. Mine just happens to be today. You do remember birthdays, don't you Richard?

RICHARD: So do you want me to bring the tape back to Juliet?

BEN: [Puts down the doll] What?

RICHARD: The tape with your instructions for Juliet, do you want me to bring it back to the medical station?

BEN: [Slightly irate] I recorded it yesterday, before we left. I thought you already took it!

RICHARD: No.

[Ben gets up quickly and heads out of the tent]

BEN: Where's Tom? Tom! Have you seen my recorder?

[Tom's gaze is fixed farther away, and Ben looks to see what he's staring at. He sees Locke, carrying a body on his back, approaching him]

LOCKE: You said that if I killed my father, you'd tell me everything I wanted to know about the Island.

[He dumps the body bag at Ben's feet]

LOCKE: So why don't you start at the beginning?

[Inside Ben's tent, Locke and Ben discuss matters over a glass of alcohol]

BEN: I know I promised to tell you everything, John, and I wish it was as simple as me taking out a dusty old book and opening it up.

[He offers Locke a glass, but is met with a blank face. He places the glass next to him instead]

BEN: But it's not that simple.

LOCKE: How about you just tell me?

BEN: You probably think I'm the leader of this little community, but that's not entirely true. We all answer to someone, John.

LOCKE: And whom might that be?

BEN: His name is Jacob.

LOCKE: Okay, then. Take me to Jacob.

BEN: I can't do that.

[John gets up and heads to leave]

BEN: Where are you going?

LOCKE: Hell, Ben, if you don't wanna take me, maybe someone else will. I'll just go and ask Richard...

BEN: Why would Richard take you? He doesn't know where Jacob is. He doesn't talk to Jacob...

LOCKE: Well, who talks to him?

BEN: I do.

LOCKE: So you're the only one who talks to him?

BEN: That's right!

LOCKE: And no one else knows where he is?

BEN: I was born here on this Island. I'm one of the last that was. Most of these people you see—I brought them here. So Jacob talks to me, John. He tells me what to do, trusts me.

LOCKE: And no one else has ever seen him?

BEN: That's right.

LOCKE: How convenient. You know what I think, Ben? I think there is no Jacob. I think your people are idiots if they believe you take orders from someone else. You are the man behind the curtain, the Wizard of Oz. And you're a liar.

BEN: And what might you base that theory on, John?

LOCKE: Because if you were telling the truth, your hand wouldn't be shaking.

[Ben steadies the glass in his hand, which is shaking]

[FLASHBACK]

[A young Ben walks down a jetty from the submarine with his father and a number of other people. Roger looks at an array of DHARMA boxes, vans, a boat, while Ben sees a sign saying “Namaste! The Dharma Initiative”]

WOMAN: Namaste!

[She puts a floral necklace over Roger]

ROGER: Thanks.

WOMAN: Namaste!

[She puts another necklace over Ben]

[A man greets Roger. It's the same man who stopped his car when Ben was a baby]

MALE DRIVER: Hey, welcome to the Island, man! Namaste.

ROGER: Namaste, yeah!

MALE DRIVER: So, what do ya think?

ROGER: Wow, this is...some place. Thanks again for the opportunity, Mr. Goodspeed.

MR. GOODSPEED: Horace! Please.

ROGER: Horace.

HORACE: And this must be Ben.

ROGER: Yeah. [To Ben] Mr. Goodspeed was there the day you were born.

HORACE: Yes, I was.

ROGER: He's doing us a big favor here. Gave your old man a job. [To Horace] Ah, he don't say much.

HORACE: That's okay. I bet he will when he has something to say. Right, Ben? Hey, you hungry kiddo? Huh, huh? Great. Well, I'll tell you what. After you're done processing, we'll have some lunch. How's that sound?

ROGER: Yeah, thank you.

HORACE: You're gonna love it here.

[Inside a room, a group of people are being inducted. A television shows a video of Marvin Candle]

MARVIN: Welcome to the Island. For your own comfort and safety, we ask that you stay within the confines of your new living quarters. Our Barracks are surrounded by a high frequency sonar fence, to protect us from the Island's abundant and diverse wildlife. You are now a member of the DHARMA Initiative...[inaudible]

ROGER: [To other viewers] What kind of wildlife you think this fence is protecting us from?

MAN: Roger Linus? Roger Linus?

ROGER: Yeah.

[Roger heads to register as the video continues]

MARVIN: ...Every morning you will be given a new code which will allow you to cross outside the fence... there are properties on this Island that exist nowhere else on Earth. Our mission is to study these properties for the betterment of mankind and advancement of world peace. Most of you will be working on the mainland. Should you be assigned zoological studies...

[Ben looks around at staff giving injections to some individuals. A young girl approaches him]

GIRL: Hey. You're new, huh?

[Ben nods]

GIRL: I'm Annie. Want one?

[She shows him an Apollo bar. Ben takes it]

ANNIE: We can have as many as we want.

[Ben then overhears Roger talking to a female member of staff. Her uniform reveals her name as “Opal”]

ROGER: Work man? What is this? Work man? I'm a janitor?!

OPAL: I'm sorry, Mr. Linus.

ROGER: Goodspeed told me you people were doing experiments, changing the world. I didn't come here to clean up after ya!

OPAL: Look, if anything else opens up, you can feel free to apply for it.

[Roger walks away in a huff]

ROGER: [To Ben] Come on.

[At the beach, Sawyer hides in the trees watching the camp]

CHARLIE: [Holding Aaron] I think he'll grow out of it.

CLAIRE: You don't think it's too big?

[Further away, he sees Hurley and Desmond]

HURLEY: Dude, you know what I'm saying? It can't be worse than haggis.

DESMOND: [Inaudible, possibly “Oh I dunno”], I could [inaudible, possibly “murder”] some haggis right now.

[Sawyer sees Sayid walk nearby]

SAWYER: Hey! Sayid!

SAYID: What happened to you?

SAWYER: I was with Locke.

SAYID: Well, where is he?

SAWYER: He went back.

SAYID: Back where?

SAWYER: With them. Don't ask me where the hell it is, 'cause it don't matter right now. What does matter [shows him the tape recorder], is this.

[Out in the jungle, a man runs. Mikhail sprints into the Others camp]

MIKHAIL: Where is Ben?! Where is he?!

[Ben steps out of his tent]

BEN: I thought you were dead.

MIKHAIL: I'm fortunate the pylons were not set to a lethal level.

[Locke exits the tent, too]

MIKHAIL: What is he doing here?

BEN: It's all right.

MIKHAIL: He's the one who tried to kill me!

BEN: He's with us now. Where have you been, Mikhail?

MIKHAIL: I encountered several of his people in the jungle. They had an injured woman with them. Apparently, she had just parachuted onto the Island.

BEN: What?!

MIKHAIL: Her helo crashed into water. She says her ship is approximately 130 clicks to the west of us. She has a radio telephone.

BEN: Where is she now?

MIKHAIL: I assume they have taken her back to their camp.

BEN: We'll be visiting their camp day after tomorrow. We'll take care of it then.

MIKHAIL: Day after tomorrow? We have to go now!

LOCKE: Ben's not going anywhere with you.

MIKHAIL: Excuse me?

LOCKE: He and I are going to see Jacob.

[The rest of the Others begin to murmur the name. Tom and Richard look on with shocked faces]

MIKHAIL: Please tell me this isn't true, Benjamin.

BEN: [Pauses] I'm sorry I have to deal with this now, John. Our excursion will have to wait.

MIKHAIL: Since when do you explain yourself to him? An outsider...

[Locke punches Mikhail to the ground and proceeds to violently beat him]

BEN: Tom? Richard?

[Locke ceases his attack, leaving Mikhail bleeding]

LOCKE: [To Ben] So when do we leave?

[Later, Ben and Locke collect water from a stream]

BEN: You know, you didn't have to beat Mikhail senseless to make your point, John.

LOCKE: Yes, I did.

ALEX: Locke.

[Both Ben and Locke turn to see Alex]

ALEX: I hear you're gonna go see Jacob. You're gonna need this.

[She holds out a gun for Locke. Ben looks on with a look of surprise]

LOCKE: [Taking the gun] Thanks.

[Alex turns to leave, but then looks back at Ben]

ALEX: [Coldly] Happy birthday, Dad.

[She leaves]

[FLASHBACK]

[Ben sits in class while a teacher discusses volcanoes. Her uniform reveals her name to be “Olivia”]

OLIVIA: So, once water is added to the bicarbonate, we will get our very own volcanic reaction.

[Annie raises her hand]

OLIVIA: Yes?

ANNIE: Is that what happened to the volcano on this Island?

OLIVIA: Exactly Annie, but that was a long time ago. Okay! Let's get ourselves an eruption.

[The kids murmur with excitement. Olivia pours the water into the model volcano and the volcano overflows with fizzy liquid]

OLIVIA: Just add water, and...voilà. Now I know it's not lava, but—

[The ground begins to shake. As the kids murmur, a siren sounds]

OLIVIA: Okay, everyone into your positions! That's right, all together. Annie, lock the back door please!

[Olivia loads a shotgun as Annie padlocks the door]

OLIVIA: [Sees Ben hasn't moved] Ben, come on, honey, you gotta move. Ben!

[Outside, a number of DHARMA staff are running past with guns. Annie grabs Ben]

ANNIE: Come on!

[They sit in the corner with the others]

ANNIE: Don't worry. It's just the Hostiles. We'll be okay.

[The DHARMA staff shout and a loud explosion can be heard]

[At night, Horace talks with Roger in his house at the Barracks. Ben listens from the next room]

HORACE: Hey, man, heard you ran into a little trouble.

ROGER: We're driving back from the Flame and we hear this huge explosion. Next thing I know, there's a siren wailing, and we're driving through the middle of a shootout.

HORACE: Look we're having some skirmishes with the natives.

ROGER: What do you mean, "natives"?

HORACE: Well, we're not exactly sure who they are.

ROGER: [Throws down a beer can] Oh, this ain't what I signed up for!

HORACE: Roger, I did you a favor, man. You were having trouble finding work. And don't forget about Ben—he's getting a quality education here.

ROGER: I don't give a damn about his education. If I'm gonna get shot at, I want hazard pay. I want another thirty grand.

HORACE: Calm down, man.

ROGER: And don't try to tell me you don't have it, you hear me?

[Ben hears rattling at his window]

ROGER: All right, get the hell out of my house.

[Ben closes his door fully and turns. Staring at him outside the window is his mother. Ben falls back, knocking over a chair. He gets up as Roger enters]

ROGER: I thought I told you to go to bed.

[He leaves. Ben looks again but his mother is no longer there. He looks at an old photograph of her in his room and cries]

[At the beach, Sawyer and Sayid go to Juliet's tent]

SAYID: She's not here.

SAWYER: I noticed.

[Kate arrives]

KATE: What are you doing?

SAYID: Looking for Juliet.

KATE: Well, you're not gonna find her in there. She left with Jack.

SAYID: Juliet left with Jack?

KATE: He took off right after I told him about Naomi.

SAWYER: Who's Naomi?

SAYID: And why would you do that, Kate?

KATE: Because she's hurt, because he's a doctor, and because he has a right to know.

SAYID: Where is he now?

KATE: I dunno, Sayid.

SAYID: Of course you don't.

[He begins to walk away. Kate calls after him]

KATE: You know, it might be time for you to tell everybody else about Naomi, too.

SAYID: [Turns] Play her the tape!

KATE: [To Sawyer] What tape?

[Out in the jungle, Ben loads his canteen into his pack as they prepare to head out]

BEN: Something you should know, John, before we go. Whether or not you think he's the Wizard of Oz, I can assure you that Jacob is very, very real. And we're gonna go see him, and he's not gonna like it. In fact, I have a feeling he's going to be very...angry. And that's why my hand was shaking, because this is not a man you go and see. This is a man who summons you.

LOCKE: Well, I guess there's a first time for everything.

[They leave the camp, drawing the stares of the Others]

[FLASHBACK]

[Ben sits on the swings at the Barracks with Annie. He unwraps a present to find two carved wooden dolls, one boy and one girl]

ANNIE: It's us. That's you and that's me. Now we never have to be away from each other. Happy birthday, Ben.

BEN: Thanks.

ANNIE: You're welcome.

[At night, Ben arrives back at the house to find Roger asleep on the couch with beer cans scattered around the room. Ben puts a blanket over him and Roger rouses]

ROGER: Wow... [Sees the wrapped present] It's your birthday. Sorry I forgot. Kinda hard to celebrate on the day you killed your mom. She was just seven months pregnant. We went for a hike, but you had to come early. Now, she's gone. And I'm stuck here on this island...with you. [Pauses, grunts] Happy birthday, Ben.

[Ben runs out, crying. He goes straight to the sonar fence, hearing whispers. His mother then appears in front of him, on the other side of the barrier.

BEN: Mom?

[Ben runs toward the barrier]

EMILY: Ben, don't!

BEN: Mom!

EMILY: It's not time yet, Benjamin.

[She leaves]

BEN: Mom!

[Ben begins to run, stumbling, back toward the Barracks]]

[In real-time, Locke and Ben trek through the jungle at night. They approach a line of what appears to be gray powder. Ben pauses and then steps over it. Locke looks at it and sniffs it]

BEN: Let's go, John. John!

[Locke follows]

[At the beach the whole camp are in uproar about Naomi's revelations]

CLAIRE: So, what, the whole world thinks we're dead?

SAYID: That's not important right now.

SUN: Not important?!

CLAIRE: What do you mean it's not important, Sayid?

NAOMI: Excuse me. I'm sorry, don't you people want to be rescued?

SAYID: We kept her a secret to keep her safe.

KATE: Safe from what, Sayid?

SAYID: Safe from Jack. He spent a week with the Others, and he brought one of them back with him. Here, amongst us. And every time we try to get answers from this woman, he prevents her from giving them.

SUN: But it's Jack! He would never do anything to hurt us. And Juliet? I believe she's a good person.

SAWYER: Good person, huh? You basing that on what? Wouldn't involve her taking you to one of their medical stations would it now, Mrs. Kwon?

SUN: How—

[Sawyer plays the tape]

JULIET: Kwon is pregnant, the fetus is healthy and was conceived on-Island with her husband, he was sterile before they got here.

JIN: [Speaks Korean].

JULIET: I'm still working on getting samples from the other women. I should have Austen's soon. I'll report back when I know more.

JACK: Where'd you get that?

[The whole camp turn to see Jack and Juliet approach]

SAYID: Where have you been, Jack?

JACK: I asked you where you got it.

SAWYER: You really think you're in a position to be asking us questions?

JULIET: Turn the tape over.

SAWYER: Stay out of it.

JULIET: You wanna burn me at the stake, here I am, but first, turn the tape over, press play.

[Sawyer does so, and the camp listen to another recording, this time by Ben]

BEN: Juliet, it's Ben. I'm sending three teams to extract Kwon the night after tomorrow. We won't have time to run Austen's sample, so if you determine that she or anyone else is pregnant, mark their tents, and we'll take them too. Good luck.

JULIET: [To Sun] The night I saw your baby on the ultrasound, I told Jack what they were making me do.

SAYID: Why didn't you tell us?

JACK: Because I hadn't decided what to do about it yet.

SAYID: "Yet"?

JACK: I think we've got some catching up to do.

[FLASHBACK]

[Ben heads to the sonar fence armed with the deactivation code. He enters it, turns the dial, and the sound of the fence buzzing dies down. He pulls out a white rabbit, and shoos it across the fence line to ensure it really is off, then runs through, collecting the rabbit as he goes. He heads into the jungle, hearing whispers]

BEN: Mom..? Mom? Mom! Mom! Mom!

[Ben hears the whispers, and then turns to see a long-haired Richard Alpert standing behind him]

RICHARD: Whoa whoa whoa whoa. Whoa. Whoa, hey, hey, whoa, I didn't mean to scare you. Wait, wait! Are you lost? Wait!

BEN: Are you one of them?

RICHARD: One of whom?

BEN: A hostile.

RICHARD: Do you even know what that word means? What's your name?

BEN: Ben.

RICHARD: Ben? So you wanna tell me what you're doing in the middle of the jungle all by yourself?

BEN: I left home, and...I'm looking for my Mom.

RICHARD: You think she's out here?

BEN: You wouldn't believe me.

RICHARD: Try me.

BEN: She's dead.

RICHARD: Did she die here, on the Island?

BEN: No. When I was a baby.

RICHARD: Did you see her, out here, Ben, in the jungle?

BEN: She talked to me.

RICHARD: What did she say?

BEN: That I couldn't come with her. She said it wasn't time yet.

RICHARD: You should go home now, your people will be looking for you.

BEN: I don't want to go back there! I hate it there! Take me with you.

RICHARD: Maybe that can happen, maybe. But if that's what you really want, Ben, if that's what you want, I want you to really think about that. And you're gonna have to be very, very patient.

[In the present, Ben and Locke approach an old shack in the jungle at night]

BEN: We're here.

[Locke shines his flashlight at Ben]

BEN: You'll wanna turn off your flashlight, John.

LOCKE: Why?

BEN: Jacob feels the same way about technology as you do.

[Locke turns the light off and they leave their bags outside. Ben reaches the door and lights a lantern]

BEN: Once I open this door, there's no turning back. You sure this is what you want?

[Locke steps forward and looks at him resolutely]

BEN: So be it. [To the door] Jacob? I'm here with John Locke. We're coming in now.

[Inside Locke looks around the room. Jars stand by the window, a painting of a dog can be seen by the wall. Ben moves over to an empty chair]

BEN: Jacob. This is John. Aren't you going to say hello, John?

LOCKE: What?

BEN: [Looks to the chair] I told you he wouldn't.

LOCKE: Who—what are you talking about?

BEN: You can't see him?

LOCKE: See who?

BEN: Jacob! He's sitting right here, in this chair! [Looks at the chair] Yes, I know, but he insisted.

LOCKE: What is this?

BEN: You wanted the secrets of the Island? Well, here they are. This is the man who can answer every single... [Stops, pauses while looking at the chair] I am not. He made me bring him here—do you think that that was my—sorry, may I finish?

LOCKE: You're crazy.

BEN: Excuse me?

LOCKE: You don't know anything about the Island, do ya. You just...made it all up.

BEN: [Looks at the chair] Jacob, please, I can't hear him if you're gonna talk over what he's saying—

LOCKE: Stop. Stop. Shut up! You're putting on a show for me? Or do you...do you really think there's someone there?

BEN: I know there's someone there!

LOCKE: You don't know anything.

BEN: I'm sorry you feel that way, John. And I'm sorry that you're too limited to see.

LOCKE: You're pathetic.

[As Locke leaves he hears a voice]

VOICE: Help me.

[Locke turns]

LOCKE: What did you just say?

BEN: I—I didn't say anything.

LOCKE: Oh yes you did. I heard you, [raises the flash-light] you said...

[Suddenly the room takes on a life of its own. Chairs rock, glass smashes, the lantern catches fire and windows shatter]

BEN: [To the chair] That's enough, you've had your fun!

[Ben is thrown back against the wall. For a brief moment, a figure is seen in the chair, followed by a closeup of an eye. Locke runs out of the cabin. Ben walks, shaken, from the cabin a moment later. Pause]

LOCKE: What was that?

BEN: That was Jacob.

[The next day, Ben and Locke walk back through the jungle]

BEN: What did you hear in there, John? What did Jacob say to you?

LOCKE: He didn't say anything to me. You did.

BEN: What are you talking about?

LOCKE: There is no Jacob, Ben. I'm not gonna be taken in by the little show you put on last night. You're a fraud. And it's time your people were told the truth. And this is not the way we came.

BEN: I'm taking us back another way. I wanted to show you something first.

LOCKE: I've seen enough.

BEN: You know, John, you're not wrong. Some of the things I've told you—some of the things I've told everybody—are simply not true.

LOCKE: Like what?

BEN: Well, for starters, I wasn't born on this island.

LOCKE: Then where did you come from?

BEN: That's what I wanna show you.

[FLASHBACK]

[An adult Ben, twelve years younger than in the present, is in his house, and zips up a DHARMA jumpsuit with “Ben – Work Man” stitched on. He looks at his watch, and then the doll Annie gave him years earlier, which he places in his bag. He heads outside carrying items to a DHARMA van. A now aged Roger is struggling to put pallets of beer into the back]

ROGER: Morning. Okay, wait. Put it right—right down there. What's the problem now? You're usually Chatty Cathy in the morning.

BEN: It's my birthday. I dunno why I keep fooling myself into thinking that one of these years you're actually gonna remember.

ROGER: Well, I'll tell you what. All we gotta do this morning is run this stuff out to Pearl station. Why don't we go up to the mesa, drink some beers? Have some...I dunno, father and son time.

BEN: I'd like that.

ROGER: Okay.

[Roger drives the van up to the mesa as "Shambala" plays from the van's speakers. They stop on a ridge.]

ROGER: Well, you sure can't say it ain't beautiful.

[Roger drinks a beer]

BEN: Do you really blame me?

ROGER: What?

BEN: Do you really think it's my fault that she died?

ROGER: What do I know...

[Ben looks at his watch]

ROGER: Why do you keep looking at your watch? You got a date? [Pauses] Listen...if it makes you feel any better, I will do my best to remember your birthday next year.

BEN: I don't think that's going to happen, Dad. [starts to unzip bag]

ROGER: What do you mean?

BEN: You know, I've missed her too. Maybe as much as you have. But the difference is, for as long as I can remember, I've had to put up with you. And doing that required a tremendous amount of patience.

[Ben pulls out a gas mask]

BEN: Goodbye, Dad.

[Ben puts it on and then releases a gas canister]

ROGER: Ben?

[Roger struggles for breath, coughing and retching as blood spurts from his nose and mouth, clawing at Ben's mask]

[At the Barracks, Ben walks with gas mask on. He sees all the DHARMA employees lining the ground, all dead. He then notices Horace on a bench, and closes his eyes. Richard and the Hostiles arrive with masks on. Richard checks his watch, then removes his mask taking a deep breath. The rest of the team follow, as does Ben]

RICHARD: You want us to, um...go get his body?

BEN: No, leave him out there.

[In real-time, Locke stands over a mass open grave full of skeletons, some still wearing their DHARMA jumpsuits]

BEN: This is where I came from, John. These are my people. The DHARMA Initiative. They came here seeking harmony, but they couldn't even coexist with the Island's original inhabitants. And when it became clear that one side had to go, one side had to be purged, I did what I had to do. I was one of the people that was smart enough to make sure that I didn't end up in that ditch. Which makes me considerably smarter than you, John.

[John stands up and turns but Ben shoots him. Locke falls into the ditch]

BEN: What did Jacob say to you?

LOCKE: Why did you do this?

BEN: Because you heard him. Now, I need to know what he said.

LOCKE: Help me...

BEN: John, I'm not going to ask you again. What did he say to you?

LOCKE: He said, "Help me."

[Ben looks incredulous, pauses a moment, utters a disbelieving half-laugh]

BEN: Well, I certainly hope he helps you, John.

[Ben leaves Locke lying in the ditch]