I think the Island/cork metaphor is correct. On one side of the cork hell/gates of, on the other, earth. There is a sentinel, just not sure who that is → just remember, the devil's greatest trick is to deceive (IE: to convince that he doesn't exist) I say follow that lead to the last epidose (not an error-'Lost' is heroin injected straight into the stream of concoiusness)...I think there are many influences to the show, perhaps some Egyptian stories, some biblical and as I saw it early on a Himalayan/Shambala influence (at least the station mapping) yet ultimately, it is the creators/writers who deserve the credit for an excellent run, not some ancient story sitting on a library shelf...

griff