CHAPTER 8 ...and the MonsterAna:And if you think that one gun and one bullet is going to stop them -- think again...ok, but will a large mechanical monster that rips trees out of the ground be enough? In Solitary, Danielle tells us that there is no such thing as monsters. From Exodus -Danielle:We're safe now.Kate:What was that thing?Danielle:It's a security system.Jack:Security system? What does that mean?Danielle:It's purpose it that of any security system - to protect something. Kate:Protect what?Danielle:The island.We've also heard from A friend of ours -OK. Look, something that is reacting to it's surroundings automatically. There. Don't complain at me about spoiling if you put up questions like this.IMO, I think that it is safe to assume that we are dealing with a security system (SS). So what is this security system protecting...and from what? It seems that whatever the SS is after is fast and possibly moves through the trees. The SS also seems to be very quick; it also appears to respond to movement (and possibly sound, as well). In Exodus, when the SS is coming after Locke and Hurley, Locke motions Hurley to be still (and shushes him if I remember correctly). Once they are motionless (and silent), the SS leaves them alone. IMO, Locke knew this would happen. Why? When Locke first encountered the SS and it cornered him, I believe that he witnessed the SS looking at him (or possibly scanning him...for the disease, maybe?) and realizing that Locke was not an other (aka, its prey), so the SS let him go. I believe that the SS is protecting the hatch and/or the crater from "the others", who are quick, can move silently, and can only be found when they want to be found (which is why you need a bad@$$ SS). I also believe that this SS has a limited range, which we can try to discern from the locations of our monster sightings. Based on the sightings, it appears as though the SS is clustered in the southern area of the Territoire FOnce (see below), which is also in the vicinity of the whispers. Before I go any further, I need to discuss the Territoire Fonce (TF) (I do need to thank lucky4me8 as we kind of came up with this through discussion). I believe that the others inhabit the TF. I also believe that the northeastern boundary (according to EL's map -http://www.blackrock.nl/content/view/21/39/) of the SS is approximately the same as the southwestern border of the TF. As I mentioned before, I believe that the SS is only operational in the vicinity of the hatch and crater; I do not think that it goes around the entire perimeter of the TF. I think that it's purpose is not to keep the others from leaving the TF, but to keep them from getting to the hatch or the crater (and who knows what else is near the crater). OK, so what is the TF? According to lucky4me8, to which I agree,Fonce means "dark," but another meaning is "deep." Deep as in buried or dug deep into something (like digging a well, was the example in my French dictionary). The "dark" is the kind of dark associated with being deep within something. When Danielle first tells of the Territoire Fonce, she never is the one to translate it. And if she ever refers later to the "Dark" Territory (I can't remember whether she ever says it in English), she's only going on someone else's translation. In other words, I wonder if the Territoire Fonce really is the deep territory inside the island. It's not just a realm on the map, but within the island(although I agree that it is a realm, I am still not sure about "within" - but with all the mining equipment on the BR, who knows). We also have A conversation discussing the others as coming from "inside" the island. So where do I think that the TF is located? First, some background information. I believe that it is fairly safe to assume that Danielle would not make her home in the TF (given the location of her home on EL's map). I also believe that the others prefer to operate in the darkness and seclusion of the jungle and that they avoid open areas as much as possible (possible side effect of the sickness could be sensitivity to light). Based on everything said so far, I think that the toe of the plateaus' slopes in the valley form two of the borders of the TF. For the border closest to the fusies, find the confluence of the rivers down by Desmond's boat on the S2 map. The overall shape of the rivers on the lower portion of the map looks like a "Y". Now find the upside-down "Y" that the rivers form on the upper part of the map. I believe that these are the approximate boundaries of the TF. To me this makes sense because these Y's, along with the edges of the plateaus form the "heart of the island". So the question becomes - what role does The Swan play in controlling or powering the security system? Also, have we seen the monster since Locke blew it up? If not, could our losties be in for WW3?