The Man From DHARMA
Title: The Man From DHARMA
Fandom: Lost
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Ben, Richard, Ethan, Tom, Jacob, original characters Isaac Alpert and ex-Dharma member Philip.
Summary: How Ben became the leader of the Others, and his struggle to remain so.
Craphole Island, immediately after the Purge.
Ben looked around him at the ghost town that had been the Dharma barracks until that afternoon. Richard and an associate of his named Ethan had removed all the bodies of his former people to a site somewhere in the jungle.
Most of the bodies, he corrected himself.
He poked at the fire on which his old Dharma overalls burned. For a moment the logo "Ben: Work Man" could be seen in the vivid orange glow. Ben prodded it angrily until the logo disappeared into the flames, vanished into ashes just like the rest of the Dharma Initiative. That wasn’t who he was any more. Ben had always known he was destined for greater things than being a workman.
Roger had thought he was destined for greater things too.
But Ben wouldn’t think of him any more. He was free of Roger and his constant blaming of Ben for Emily’s death. The anniversary of Ben’s birth was now the day of his rebirth. The Benjamin Linus who had arrived on the island was no more. Free of Dharma, Ben could now find out who he truly was and what he was destined for.
"You did good today, Ben," said a voice behind him.
Ben jumped, not having realised Richard was there.
"I mean it, None of this would have been possible if it wasn’t for you. You proved your worth today, Ben. You showed that you were really one of us."
Ben smiled. "Thanks, Richard."
The two men watched as the sparks from Ben’s bonfire faded and died out.
"I think we’re done here," Ben said. "This part of my life is over," even as he said this reaching into his bag for his Annie doll, the one remnant of his previous life he had felt unable to destroy. He wondered briefly how things might have been different if Annie had been with him today.
Richard nodded. "Come with me, Ben," he said as he took Ben by the arm and led him away. "There’s someone I’d like you to meet."
Ben could see at a glance that the man before him bore a strong familial resemblance to Richard. He couldn’t be sure of the man’s age, but he guessed that this man was older than Richard.
The man regarded him coldly.
"So," he said. "You’re him."
Richard nodded. "Father, this is Benjamin Linus. He’s the one who made all this possible. Ben, this is my father. Isaac Alpert."
Isaac continued to stare at Ben. "So. You’re the man from Dharma."
"Not any more." Ben replied.
"You were brought here to perform experiments that would change the world," he continued sardonically as though Ben had not spoken.
Ben’s mouth formed a matching smile. "That’s what they told my father."
Isaac raised his eyebrows. "Your role in the Dharma Initiative, I believe, was that of workman?"
Ben could feel his hackles rising, but was determined not to lose it with Isaac. Not when he had come this far.
Richard came to his defence. "Leave it, Dad. It doesn’t matter what he was. It’s what he can be now that matters."
"Dharma was a joke," Ben burst out. "They told us about all these supposed world changing experiments, but it all meant nothing. I always knew there was more out there."
Richard blinked in shock at this new side to the usually controlled Ben, but Isaac appeared unfazed.
"I am aware of what passed for experiments in the Dharma Initiative," Isaac informed him coldly. "You will find us to be very different. While we too perform experiments, the work we do has meaning. For instance, we feel we are very close to eradicating cancer on the island. Should our latest trial work, it will be impossible for cancer to develop among our people."
Ben smiled. This was exactly the kind of thing he was looking for.
"And the fertility problem on the island?" he asked.
"Oh yes, the fertility problems. I believe they started not long after you arrived on the island, is that correct?" Isaac smiled, a wolfish grin revealing perfect teeth. "We have more important issues right now."
Ben angrily turned on him. "More important than keeping your people alive?"
Richard was forced to intervene once more.
"You know the circumstances, Dad." Richard said irritably. "Come on, Ben. We’re taking over the old Barracks. Come back with me."
Ben reached into his bag for his Annie doll as they left. To hell with Isaac and his purposes. He knew what really mattered.
"I’m sorry about that," Richard apologised as they left. "My father was a little unsure about having former Dharma members coming to join us."
"And you talked him around?" Ben asked.
Richard shook his head. "Not me. Jacob."
"Who’s Jacob?" Ben asked when they arrived back.
Ethan looked momentarily shocked as he exchanged glances with a guy called Tom, but Richard replied "Jacob is our leader."
Ben frowned, confused. "I thought that was Isaac."
Ethan shook his head. "Isaac answers to Jacob, just as we all do."
"Then where is this Jacob?" Ben demanded. "I want to speak with him. If Isaac doesn’t want to know about the fertility, I want to discuss it with Jacob." Ben sprang to his feet, followed by a former Dharma member named Philip, as if to see Jacob, but Richard held up his hand to stop them.
A woman named Amelia was now looking horrified. "We don’t see Jacob," she exclaimed. "Only Isaac speaks with him."
"That’s right," Ethan confirmed. "Jacob communicates his orders to Isaac, and he communicates them to us."
Richard nodded. "And even then, he doesn’t just go and see Jacob. Jacob summons him."
Philip muttered something under his breath that Ben didn’t catch, but it sounded like something about Dharma suddenly not seeming quite so crazy.
Tom promptly rounded on him. "What was that?"
"He doesn’t mean anything," Ben hastily explained. "His wife, Rosemary, died when she was pregnant. It’s a sore subject."
Philip was about to protest, but Ben stopped him.
"I don’t think Isaac’s quite as in control as he thinks," he whispered.
"How do you know?" Philip asked.
"Because he’s going to be taking me to Jacob. Very soon."
"Jacob is concerned," Isaac informed his people.
"Why?" Tom asked.
"A division is beginning to grow among our people." Richard glanced at Ben as he said this.
"Should never have let the Dharma people join with us," Tom muttered.
Richard approached Ben. "Jacob wants us to have a higher purpose, Ben. You pursuit of trivialities such as fertility is distracting us from that. We need to be united, to find our purpose again."
Ben clenched his fists angrily. "Trivialities? Tell that to Philip here. tell that to Adam," he snapped, indicating a Hostile who had recently lost his wife, Catherine, to pregnancy. "And tell that to all the women who have died." Tell that to Annie.
Ethan stepped over to Ben, attempting to break up the argument, but Ben immediately rounded on him "If that were you and your wife, would you want us to sit back and do nothing?"
Adam nodded. "If we’d had someone like Ben here earlier, someone who cared, then Catherine needn’t have died. I’m sorry, Isaac, but I’m with Ben on this."
Richard shook his head. "I’m wondering if I made a mistake."
"A mistake?" Ben repeated.
"I asked you to come and work among us. I didn’t know it was going to cause such conflict. I had thought you were the right person for us. But maybe my father was right."
Ben shook his head. "It’s not just former Dharma people following me. Isaac’s people are turning against him."
Richard sighed. "You were brought on board to rid us of Dharma, not to question my father and Jacob."
"But do you think Jacob wanted our people to die out?" Ben demanded. "Because if our mothers keep dying, that’s a very real possibility."
Isaac glared at him. "You, who have never spoken to Jacob, think you know what he wants?"
"I find it hard to believe he would be okay with so many people dying, and for us not to attempt to find out why," Ben replied.
Ben watched as Isaac’s faced turned a dull red and he clenched his fists, struggling to remain in control.
"If you think that’s what he does want," Ben continued, "then let me hear it from him."
Isaac snorted. "You really believe that you would be able to see and hear him?"
Ben stared. "What do you mean?"
"Jacob would not reveal himself to one of your people," Isaac replied. "And I will put an end to all this. I will prove that to you. Tomorrow morning, at first light, I will take you to Jacob’s cabin."
Ben smiled. Once again, he had got exactly what he wanted. And Isaac thought it was his own idea.
"How much further?" Ben asked as he and Isaac trekked through the jungle.
"What’s the matter, Ben?" Isaac sneered. "Too far? I thought you wanted to see Jacob. You can always turn back."
"I’m staying." Ben replied.
Isaac relented. "We’re almost there."
"Seems a very remote location," Ben mused. "Anyone would think he didn’t want visitors."
"He doesn’t." Isaac informed him. "It’s as Richard said. He chooses when he wants to see people."
"Guess I’m one of the lucky ones," Ben smirked.
Isaac snorted. "You won’t see him," he sneered. "You are far too limited, focusing only on your own concerns, not the bigger picture."
"What bigger picture?" Ben demanded.
"We have now managed to eradicate cancer on the island, not only a cure but preventative measures. Jacob wants us to look at other methods of healing, to eradicate disease and old age altogether."
Ben nodded. "And what use is that if there is no one alive to take advantage of this, because no one is being born?"
He waited for Isaac to reply, but he didn’t. Obviously didn’t have all the answers after all.
He reached into his bag for the Annie doll once more. I’m doing this for you, Annie, he told himself again. Dharma was gone, but the problem persisted.. It obviously wasn’t their experiments as he had been led to believe.
"This is it," Isaac said as they reached the cabin. Ben looked dubiously around him. He was expecting something grander than this.
"Jacob likes the simple life," Isaac informed Ben as if he was reading his thoughts. "He doesn’t care for change." He gave Ben a meaningful look, which Ben ignored.
"Jacob, it’s me," Isaac said as he knocked at the door. "I have the man from Dharma with me."
"I told you before," Ben reminded him, "I’m not any more. As Jacob knows," Ben spun around in the direction of Isaac’s gaze. "Isn’t that right, Jacob?" he asked sarcastically of the empty chair.
Isaac snorted again. "You cannot see him, Benjamin," he glared at Ben. "Sorry about him," this again to the empty chair. "Benjamin here has ideas above his station." He smirked to himself, secure in the belief that Jacob would dismiss Ben’s views.
"It is true," boomed a voice from the direction of the chair. Ben glanced at Isaac, but Isaac’s face had frozen in shock. And now he looked, he could see the figure of an elderly man, dressed in clothes from the previous century, glaring at Isaac.
"It is true that we have lost many people to fertility problems over the last few years, that our people are dying."
"Jacob?" Isaac asked incredulously.
"And steps must be taken to prevent this happening any more," Jacob continued.
"I think Jacob made his choice, don’t you?" Ben asked, reaching into his bag and pulling out the gun he had secreted there.
"Goodbye, Isaac," he calmly said as he pulled the trigger.
Ben watched the faces of his people as he returned to the camp alone, Philip and Adam appearing quite calm, Ethan bemused, Richard worried. Hastily, he composed his features, removing all emotion from his face as he joined the group.
"You’re alone," Richard said as Ben approached. "Where is my father?"
Everyone crowded around them now, confusion on all faces.
"Isaac was a sacrifice that Jacob demanded," Ben began. He observed the looks of shock on all faces, before it changed into quiet acquiescence.
"Jacob wants us all to look at fertility problems," he began. "And he has chosen me to lead you on this."
Everyone calmly nodded. If Jacob had dictated it so, then that was the way it must be. Jacob had revealed himself to Ben, Jacob had backed his ideas.
Ben was the Chosen One.
Finally he risked a glance at Richard. He was the only one not nodding in acquiescence. Richard’s face wore a look of barely concealed disgust as he looked as his one-time ally.
Miami, September 22, 2004
Richard smiled to himself as Ben broke transmission. So, they were getting other visitors.
The time had come.
What Ben didn’t realise was that Richard was the only person who knew the truth.
Ben had heard what he wanted to hear, but Richard knew what Jacob had really meant.
The fertility problems hadn’t just begun when Ben arrived on the island. They started BECAUSE he was there.
And Jacob had meant that Ben had to be removed to solve the problem.
He knew it wouldn’t be long to go now.
John Locke had arrived on the island.
And Richard was going to make damn sure that Isaac and Jacob got what they wanted.
Craphole Island, 2004
"It’s happened," Ben informed Jacob. "We have more people on the island. More mothers. I have a list here."
Jacob’s mouth went oddly slack.
"The Chosen One is here," he began.
Ben stared. "What?"
"The one who has been chosen to lead our people has arrived, the one who will defeat you, and you will help to bring about your own downfall…"
"Jacob? Are you crazy?"
"He has arrived…"
"Who? Who is it? I have to know."
But Jacob refused to speak again.
Ben had been watching them all on the monitor in the Pearl ever since. He studied every file intently. Eventually, he thought he guessed who Jacob meant. But he couldn’t be sure.
That was why he had to be taken.
So he could identify the threat to himself and his people.
And eliminate him.
Fandom: Lost
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Ben, Richard, Ethan, Tom, Jacob, original characters Isaac Alpert and ex-Dharma member Philip.
Summary: How Ben became the leader of the Others, and his struggle to remain so.
Craphole Island, immediately after the Purge.
Ben looked around him at the ghost town that had been the Dharma barracks until that afternoon. Richard and an associate of his named Ethan had removed all the bodies of his former people to a site somewhere in the jungle.
Most of the bodies, he corrected himself.
He poked at the fire on which his old Dharma overalls burned. For a moment the logo "Ben: Work Man" could be seen in the vivid orange glow. Ben prodded it angrily until the logo disappeared into the flames, vanished into ashes just like the rest of the Dharma Initiative. That wasn’t who he was any more. Ben had always known he was destined for greater things than being a workman.
Roger had thought he was destined for greater things too.
But Ben wouldn’t think of him any more. He was free of Roger and his constant blaming of Ben for Emily’s death. The anniversary of Ben’s birth was now the day of his rebirth. The Benjamin Linus who had arrived on the island was no more. Free of Dharma, Ben could now find out who he truly was and what he was destined for.
"You did good today, Ben," said a voice behind him.
Ben jumped, not having realised Richard was there.
"I mean it, None of this would have been possible if it wasn’t for you. You proved your worth today, Ben. You showed that you were really one of us."
Ben smiled. "Thanks, Richard."
The two men watched as the sparks from Ben’s bonfire faded and died out.
"I think we’re done here," Ben said. "This part of my life is over," even as he said this reaching into his bag for his Annie doll, the one remnant of his previous life he had felt unable to destroy. He wondered briefly how things might have been different if Annie had been with him today.
Richard nodded. "Come with me, Ben," he said as he took Ben by the arm and led him away. "There’s someone I’d like you to meet."
Ben could see at a glance that the man before him bore a strong familial resemblance to Richard. He couldn’t be sure of the man’s age, but he guessed that this man was older than Richard.
The man regarded him coldly.
"So," he said. "You’re him."
Richard nodded. "Father, this is Benjamin Linus. He’s the one who made all this possible. Ben, this is my father. Isaac Alpert."
Isaac continued to stare at Ben. "So. You’re the man from Dharma."
"Not any more." Ben replied.
"You were brought here to perform experiments that would change the world," he continued sardonically as though Ben had not spoken.
Ben’s mouth formed a matching smile. "That’s what they told my father."
Isaac raised his eyebrows. "Your role in the Dharma Initiative, I believe, was that of workman?"
Ben could feel his hackles rising, but was determined not to lose it with Isaac. Not when he had come this far.
Richard came to his defence. "Leave it, Dad. It doesn’t matter what he was. It’s what he can be now that matters."
"Dharma was a joke," Ben burst out. "They told us about all these supposed world changing experiments, but it all meant nothing. I always knew there was more out there."
Richard blinked in shock at this new side to the usually controlled Ben, but Isaac appeared unfazed.
"I am aware of what passed for experiments in the Dharma Initiative," Isaac informed him coldly. "You will find us to be very different. While we too perform experiments, the work we do has meaning. For instance, we feel we are very close to eradicating cancer on the island. Should our latest trial work, it will be impossible for cancer to develop among our people."
Ben smiled. This was exactly the kind of thing he was looking for.
"And the fertility problem on the island?" he asked.
"Oh yes, the fertility problems. I believe they started not long after you arrived on the island, is that correct?" Isaac smiled, a wolfish grin revealing perfect teeth. "We have more important issues right now."
Ben angrily turned on him. "More important than keeping your people alive?"
Richard was forced to intervene once more.
"You know the circumstances, Dad." Richard said irritably. "Come on, Ben. We’re taking over the old Barracks. Come back with me."
Ben reached into his bag for his Annie doll as they left. To hell with Isaac and his purposes. He knew what really mattered.
"I’m sorry about that," Richard apologised as they left. "My father was a little unsure about having former Dharma members coming to join us."
"And you talked him around?" Ben asked.
Richard shook his head. "Not me. Jacob."
"Who’s Jacob?" Ben asked when they arrived back.
Ethan looked momentarily shocked as he exchanged glances with a guy called Tom, but Richard replied "Jacob is our leader."
Ben frowned, confused. "I thought that was Isaac."
Ethan shook his head. "Isaac answers to Jacob, just as we all do."
"Then where is this Jacob?" Ben demanded. "I want to speak with him. If Isaac doesn’t want to know about the fertility, I want to discuss it with Jacob." Ben sprang to his feet, followed by a former Dharma member named Philip, as if to see Jacob, but Richard held up his hand to stop them.
A woman named Amelia was now looking horrified. "We don’t see Jacob," she exclaimed. "Only Isaac speaks with him."
"That’s right," Ethan confirmed. "Jacob communicates his orders to Isaac, and he communicates them to us."
Richard nodded. "And even then, he doesn’t just go and see Jacob. Jacob summons him."
Philip muttered something under his breath that Ben didn’t catch, but it sounded like something about Dharma suddenly not seeming quite so crazy.
Tom promptly rounded on him. "What was that?"
"He doesn’t mean anything," Ben hastily explained. "His wife, Rosemary, died when she was pregnant. It’s a sore subject."
Philip was about to protest, but Ben stopped him.
"I don’t think Isaac’s quite as in control as he thinks," he whispered.
"How do you know?" Philip asked.
"Because he’s going to be taking me to Jacob. Very soon."
"Jacob is concerned," Isaac informed his people.
"Why?" Tom asked.
"A division is beginning to grow among our people." Richard glanced at Ben as he said this.
"Should never have let the Dharma people join with us," Tom muttered.
Richard approached Ben. "Jacob wants us to have a higher purpose, Ben. You pursuit of trivialities such as fertility is distracting us from that. We need to be united, to find our purpose again."
Ben clenched his fists angrily. "Trivialities? Tell that to Philip here. tell that to Adam," he snapped, indicating a Hostile who had recently lost his wife, Catherine, to pregnancy. "And tell that to all the women who have died." Tell that to Annie.
Ethan stepped over to Ben, attempting to break up the argument, but Ben immediately rounded on him "If that were you and your wife, would you want us to sit back and do nothing?"
Adam nodded. "If we’d had someone like Ben here earlier, someone who cared, then Catherine needn’t have died. I’m sorry, Isaac, but I’m with Ben on this."
Richard shook his head. "I’m wondering if I made a mistake."
"A mistake?" Ben repeated.
"I asked you to come and work among us. I didn’t know it was going to cause such conflict. I had thought you were the right person for us. But maybe my father was right."
Ben shook his head. "It’s not just former Dharma people following me. Isaac’s people are turning against him."
Richard sighed. "You were brought on board to rid us of Dharma, not to question my father and Jacob."
"But do you think Jacob wanted our people to die out?" Ben demanded. "Because if our mothers keep dying, that’s a very real possibility."
Isaac glared at him. "You, who have never spoken to Jacob, think you know what he wants?"
"I find it hard to believe he would be okay with so many people dying, and for us not to attempt to find out why," Ben replied.
Ben watched as Isaac’s faced turned a dull red and he clenched his fists, struggling to remain in control.
"If you think that’s what he does want," Ben continued, "then let me hear it from him."
Isaac snorted. "You really believe that you would be able to see and hear him?"
Ben stared. "What do you mean?"
"Jacob would not reveal himself to one of your people," Isaac replied. "And I will put an end to all this. I will prove that to you. Tomorrow morning, at first light, I will take you to Jacob’s cabin."
Ben smiled. Once again, he had got exactly what he wanted. And Isaac thought it was his own idea.
"How much further?" Ben asked as he and Isaac trekked through the jungle.
"What’s the matter, Ben?" Isaac sneered. "Too far? I thought you wanted to see Jacob. You can always turn back."
"I’m staying." Ben replied.
Isaac relented. "We’re almost there."
"Seems a very remote location," Ben mused. "Anyone would think he didn’t want visitors."
"He doesn’t." Isaac informed him. "It’s as Richard said. He chooses when he wants to see people."
"Guess I’m one of the lucky ones," Ben smirked.
Isaac snorted. "You won’t see him," he sneered. "You are far too limited, focusing only on your own concerns, not the bigger picture."
"What bigger picture?" Ben demanded.
"We have now managed to eradicate cancer on the island, not only a cure but preventative measures. Jacob wants us to look at other methods of healing, to eradicate disease and old age altogether."
Ben nodded. "And what use is that if there is no one alive to take advantage of this, because no one is being born?"
He waited for Isaac to reply, but he didn’t. Obviously didn’t have all the answers after all.
He reached into his bag for the Annie doll once more. I’m doing this for you, Annie, he told himself again. Dharma was gone, but the problem persisted.. It obviously wasn’t their experiments as he had been led to believe.
"This is it," Isaac said as they reached the cabin. Ben looked dubiously around him. He was expecting something grander than this.
"Jacob likes the simple life," Isaac informed Ben as if he was reading his thoughts. "He doesn’t care for change." He gave Ben a meaningful look, which Ben ignored.
"Jacob, it’s me," Isaac said as he knocked at the door. "I have the man from Dharma with me."
"I told you before," Ben reminded him, "I’m not any more. As Jacob knows," Ben spun around in the direction of Isaac’s gaze. "Isn’t that right, Jacob?" he asked sarcastically of the empty chair.
Isaac snorted again. "You cannot see him, Benjamin," he glared at Ben. "Sorry about him," this again to the empty chair. "Benjamin here has ideas above his station." He smirked to himself, secure in the belief that Jacob would dismiss Ben’s views.
"It is true," boomed a voice from the direction of the chair. Ben glanced at Isaac, but Isaac’s face had frozen in shock. And now he looked, he could see the figure of an elderly man, dressed in clothes from the previous century, glaring at Isaac.
"It is true that we have lost many people to fertility problems over the last few years, that our people are dying."
"Jacob?" Isaac asked incredulously.
"And steps must be taken to prevent this happening any more," Jacob continued.
"I think Jacob made his choice, don’t you?" Ben asked, reaching into his bag and pulling out the gun he had secreted there.
"Goodbye, Isaac," he calmly said as he pulled the trigger.
Ben watched the faces of his people as he returned to the camp alone, Philip and Adam appearing quite calm, Ethan bemused, Richard worried. Hastily, he composed his features, removing all emotion from his face as he joined the group.
"You’re alone," Richard said as Ben approached. "Where is my father?"
Everyone crowded around them now, confusion on all faces.
"Isaac was a sacrifice that Jacob demanded," Ben began. He observed the looks of shock on all faces, before it changed into quiet acquiescence.
"Jacob wants us all to look at fertility problems," he began. "And he has chosen me to lead you on this."
Everyone calmly nodded. If Jacob had dictated it so, then that was the way it must be. Jacob had revealed himself to Ben, Jacob had backed his ideas.
Ben was the Chosen One.
Finally he risked a glance at Richard. He was the only one not nodding in acquiescence. Richard’s face wore a look of barely concealed disgust as he looked as his one-time ally.
Miami, September 22, 2004
Richard smiled to himself as Ben broke transmission. So, they were getting other visitors.
The time had come.
What Ben didn’t realise was that Richard was the only person who knew the truth.
Ben had heard what he wanted to hear, but Richard knew what Jacob had really meant.
The fertility problems hadn’t just begun when Ben arrived on the island. They started BECAUSE he was there.
And Jacob had meant that Ben had to be removed to solve the problem.
He knew it wouldn’t be long to go now.
John Locke had arrived on the island.
And Richard was going to make damn sure that Isaac and Jacob got what they wanted.
Craphole Island, 2004
"It’s happened," Ben informed Jacob. "We have more people on the island. More mothers. I have a list here."
Jacob’s mouth went oddly slack.
"The Chosen One is here," he began.
Ben stared. "What?"
"The one who has been chosen to lead our people has arrived, the one who will defeat you, and you will help to bring about your own downfall…"
"Jacob? Are you crazy?"
"He has arrived…"
"Who? Who is it? I have to know."
But Jacob refused to speak again.
Ben had been watching them all on the monitor in the Pearl ever since. He studied every file intently. Eventually, he thought he guessed who Jacob meant. But he couldn’t be sure.
That was why he had to be taken.
So he could identify the threat to himself and his people.
And eliminate him.