Lost
The pieces of the puzzle are coming together.
The hanzo foundation offers a promise of longer life spans. Michael shows up after being with the others only to kill off Anna Lucia and the blonde girl.
Here is my hypothesis.
The island and the people on it have somehow harnessed the power to live longer, heal quicker, and possibly have immortality; however, with this there is a cost. They can no longer procreate. They have to take babies from strangers of air plane crashes that they (the others) cause. Also, they only try to "recruit" or brainwash people into their tribe that are "good". They don't want murderers and trouble makers to cause issues once they become bored with immortality. And, they don't want people who are motivated to escape and tell the rest of the world their secret.
Backstory
The Hanso foundation was a prosperous company that created these ideas of a longer, better life. They decided to test their findings on humans via the "dharma experiment." They placed life pods on a deserted island that wasn't yet discovered. Of course, the experiment went ary and the people that survived formed a "lord of the flies" sort of government where a leader cropped up. They banded together and formed a coalition. They decided how to operate and how to keep their society going.
Current episode.
Michael was not an other. He was brainwashed into their immortality spiel or they might be holding Walt hostage and they told him to use any means necessary to get their "guy", weird bug eyed dude, back. I like the brainwashed theory. Michael's main motis operandi is to never be separated from his son again. Now, the people of Hanso, have given him the means for life forever and never separated from his son. And, perhaps, because he is not an original other, he can procreate. There isn't enough info about the procreation problem yet.
Quarantined.
The people that are so called infected with this virus are the ones that can no longer procreate.
"Him" Their leader
I think that the "other" guy that they are keep in the hatch is, in fact, the "others" leader. He uses serious mind games to get out of dangerous situations and his followers come to his rescue, ie Michael.
Pieces that don’t Fit
Hurley’s hallucinations and the dynamic that this island is all in his head.
John Locke’s almost being pulled into a hole by “the black smoke”
We saw that they used fake beards and actors glue to hold the beard on. Perhaps this black smoke is the quintessential smoke and mirrors game. They are using smoke and mirrors to make the people from the plane scared?
