FlashForward: 137 and Bio-Programmers
FlashForward
137 seconds. That’s how long the black out lasted. So why 137? Is there a reason? I think there is a perfectly good explanation, which might even unlock some of the main thematic elements of the show.
During the short snippet preluding the third episode of “FlashForward”, a new character appears, a grandpa-looking protoscientist whose been locked up in some kind of a mental institution. I wouldn’t be surprised if his name was “Walter”. This physicist of some kind seems to have an answer for why the “blackout” lasted exactly 137 seconds, and proceeds to hand the FBI agents a book about “Birds.” Birds? What the hell do birds have to do with anything? I’ll explain later, read on.
The number 137 is known in physics as the “fine-structure constant“. Designated as “alpha”, this number contains the fundamentals of electromagnetism, relativity, and quantum mechanics. 137 continues to baffle the scientific community, creating all sorts of problems for quantum theorists.
So what does 137 have to do with “FlashForward”? I believe, based on what we’ve seen so far, that a secret organization found a way to hack “nature’s algorithm”, and therefore manipulate and control the Earth’s electromagnetic fields through “Bio-programming”.
Recall the scene in which the agents tried to apprehend the second suspect in the doll factory. The computer submerged in the water tank seemed very peculiar, and extremely cool. With “Bio-programming”, perhaps the group is able to manipulate the Earth’s magnetic field, thus expanding or contracting the spacetime fabric.
So now we come to the “Birds” part. It’s well documented that birds contain certain molecules which makes them extremely sensitive to the Earth’s magnetic field. Migratory birds use this “internal compass” to navigate between nesting areas and the wintering grounds.
Perhaps the point which “the scientist” will try and make, is that just like birds, humans have certain characteristics, which when amplified, makes them sensitive to anomalies in the Earth’s magnetic field, making it possible for “bio-programmers” to hack our brains.
Hmmm…in episode 2, the FBI leader (the black guy), he reveals that he was on the can having revealed from a second flashback. In the first episode, one of the FBI agents who has a flashback in England, said that a bird (possibly a pigeon) hit the window of their office.
More than likely you seem correct. The anomalies in the earths magnetic field is messing up both pigeons and humans.
Hey I completely forgot about that. That’s right, the pigeon’s magnetic compass was probably thrown off course when they started messing with the magnetic field. Thanks for pointing that out!
i can relate to migratory birds, pigeons are out of the question. Apigeon flew into the window of my maths lesson Years ago in high school, obviously due to thinking the reflection was more flying space, then just flew off after a slight aerial stagger.
I am backing your general theory as my post on scifi wire.com contains similarities to yours.
I thought I’d make it easier by copying abd pasting my questionable theory….. which does have similarities to others……
To speak of the significance of 2:17 also being from that particular verse in the bible and what is actually said: God Said, ‘that I will pour out my Spirit on all people, and your sons and your daughters will prophesy, and your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams. And I can agree with the relation with the results of the blackout towards specific characters in the show.
Also we see that 2min 37 seconds as 137 seconds and the significance of the number 137 in the Kabbalah code, which is equal to the combined value of the words chochmah, “wisdom,” (73) and nevuah, “prophecy,” (64).
If you were to research on the significance of 137 in relation to this code then it explains how physicists can use this dimensionless structure in number to make accurate predictions, and Kabballah seeks to channel divine light through the to the denser areas of thought.
I was quite intrigued when I found this out and I can easily relate to divine thought. My research only helped me clarify what I was thinking – to know the names and processes to what I already knew in fractions.
Now, let me try and explain my possibly objective theory of how this blackout was caused and why 2:17 seconds (137) has is significance.
Firstly, a lot of biblical scriptures, as well as other religions are personifications of the world’s natural characteristics and physical law (anyone watched any of the zeitgeist movies?’. A lot of these numbers and calculations were hidden in stories, parables and riddles for the most enlightened to decode, overcome and see it in its original form – it’s source of influence and seeing beyond the distraction.
Numbers have been used to help to measure these characteristics and atomic structures and over the years, scientists have developed understandings and have tried to re-create or harness these natural characteristics. They have worked out that the earth is like one giant, continuous equation of atomic movements and development, and will continue to function this way with or without human intervention. Scientists have developed ways to manipulate or ‘mimic’ a natural atomic formation but not to the perfection of nature itself. They cannot create an atom or anything like it as firstly they are in need of ‘existing’ material to perform such thing. Why so you think a scientific experiment can easily go wrong in comparison to natural formation and equation? Yes scientists and physicists have found that the numbers are the closest thing to help measure these natural laws, but as nature’s actions being so infinitive, it is hard to keep up and get something to be as accurate as possible to match up to nature’s perfections. Cloning is another example of this, taking years of trial and error to get to the closest possible to what is naturally achieved. Trying to recreate a big bang by making atoms travel at a near to light speed and collide –obviously it’s a scary issue, and can our resources we have today harness such event if they were to re-create it fully, at the EXACT same speed of light? The people performing these experiments do live in fear as they cannot match up to the infinitive behaviour of natural law.
The code of kabbalah was used in this film due the non-dimensional 137 and this would possibly be the portal used as part of the experiment to make predictions through thought.
I believe that the experiment was along the lines of Einstein’s theory of the bending of light. And to dwell on my divine thought, I can understand the relation to how light it magnified through binoculars and we can physically ‘foresee’ things before the naked eye will visualise.
I believe that the experiment had amplified the speed of light and I cannot believe that it was physical time travel as our bodies being exposed to such speeds of travel will kill us as our structures are clearly not designed to survive such activity. However, us humans have the ability to see without our eyes being physically open, our thoughts and visions happen a lot faster than the time we are physically travelling in. Our thought processes travel at amazing speeds. These things are part answers to why our dreams seem to cover hours or events, over a few minutes, predominantly during the R.E.M stage of sleep.
The experiment in flash-forward went wrong, causing chaos in the physical world as the 137 structure had cancelled out human physical activity as the enormous power of the amplified light through the mind had prevented the brain activity from its subconscious everyday abilities – like being hypnotized or put into a trance-like state.
Humans were exposed to this frequency and each second of 137 was used to generate this dimensionless structure and multiply this light amplification to see into light distance six months ahead, which helped to promote the most accurate predictions with the motive of people having the ability to co-ordinate their future if their vision had resulted in a bad product in relation to their current factors.
I can’t explain why certain people were still walking around unaffected by the blackout, but I believe it has something to do with the rings I saw in one of the episodes being returned to some guy and the fact that the guy seen in the stadium was wearing one of them.
I watched the episode on Monday 30th November to see that Simon was being questioned by the FBI about an instrument used as part of the experiment and there were 5 of them placed in pentagonal formation. He questioned how they got hold of that picture, assuming that it was an advanced decode of image through numbers, but the FBI revealed that it was an actual picture taken in 1999.
So there has been a chain of flash forwards before for someone to discover Simon’s invention? Well if that was the case then the invention must have already existed to do so. The experimental machine may have generated light to travel in both directions to emit reverse time travel for someone to have the vision of Simon producing this invention, therefore being produced at an earlier time and was kept hidden so when he designed such thing, he could easily be held responsible and then believe it will not happen again, when there is an exact duplicate of the instrument. This concludes now to whether it was planned or an experimental ‘cock-up’. Unless I can be convinced that people were actually physically travelling through time, which would be too much of an easy answer to the mystery based on the complexity of the show…… But who knows, it could be a lot more simple than we think and the audience may have been stripped of their objective way of thinking due to the promotion of empathising with the characters in the story…..
The numerical value of the Hebrew word Kabbalah has the value of 137
That’s right, the number 137 has perplexed scientists, kabbalists, mystics, and numerologists alike.
I have been watching the episodes of flashforward and typed in 137 seconds straight away and I saw this. I thought of the pidgeon and their internal compass when we saw the pidgeon hit a window during the meeting just like the movie “The Core” (A scene in london with pidgeons flying crazzily everwhere)
I think this comment was great
Thank you for the comment! Yes the pigeon hitting that window got me thinking….
Greg Tramel sent me over here. Nice and succinct, I enjoyed your theory (likely correct), and, while I can see the pigeon being messed with, does that image mean the exact fluctuation in the field occur on April 20th, 2010? What of that kangaroo? Do other species have the same homing capabilities?
Thank you! Yes, more than likely the fluctuations occur on that date, but sense the spacetime fabric contracted for a moment there, the present as well as the future were effected in the same way, meaning the present became the future and the pigeons in that future were effected by the anomaly.
I’m not sure as to the other species, like kangaroo’s and such, perhaps they are…I’ve been thinking about the scene, and so far nothing interesting came up, perhaps it just escaped from the local zoo.
oooooo… another mysterious number! it’s like the 23 enigma all over again!
hey – if you add all the numbers together it makes 11 – that’s how loud Spinal Tap’s amps went!
> The number 137 is known in physics as the “fine-structure constant“.
Well : NO. IT’S NOT.
> As of 2007, the best determination of the value of the
> fine-structure constant is α = 7.297352570(5)×10−3 =
> 1/137.035999070(98).
137 != 137.03
I did some researching and I think I found another interesting theory that could coincide with yours. I first looked at it as a biblical reference. So we looked through chapter 13 verse 7 of every book in the bible. We also looked at chapter 1 verse 37 were applicable. Then I realize that 137 seconds is also 2 mins and 17 secs. So I looked in revelations and chapter 2 verse 17 states He who overcomes wilt inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son. The verse before states the famous I am the alpha and omega the beginning and end. As u stated earlier 137 is designated alpha (scientist also believe this number hold the key to creation or the beginning) so I looked up omega or the end. Scientists have a theory called the Omega Point which essentially implies that the universe is being filled up with a growing knowledge and consciousness. And once the universe fills up to the brim it will reach the “omega point”. Scientists also theorize that only an entire universes consciousness can overcome the omega point and stop the universe from folding in on itself. So as revelations said if we can overcome the alpha and the omega (137 and the omega point) then we will inherit all this (the universe) and then maybe we become god.
Man, this is amazing! You really did a research o/
This is very cool, in another post¹ they were talking about 2012 and that the reason the media is talking so much about universe could be because of 2012. This is a good point and also related to that year. I think the discussions on this blog are becoming really cool XD
The Omega Point sounds very cool, have never heard of it before (but may search abotu it later).
*****SPOILER FROM THE 3RD EPISODE*****
I think that the alpha thing is already mentioned, even more with the tower from the 3rd episode, they referenced it to Tesla works and everything, I think it’s really turning into a physics class now. \o/
Just found a place to discuss Flash Forward =D
See you all.
1: [http://murdon.wordpress.com/2009/10/06/flashforward-the-kangaroo-theory/]
2012 is just the end of a 26000 year cycle……. People will be celebrating its significance. So far its has been potrayed and misconcieved as the ‘End of Days’…. Do research on the 13 20 cycle and divide 26000 by 2012. Answers will arise in the mind.
I do like what ken says and I belive that It is not literal regarding us humans becomming God but that omega point will be when all conciousness has reached its highest point of universal knowledge. We will need not to search anymore for the answers.
Ingorance is just one of the many elements for humans to extinguish from the mind befor ALL can reach this level of conciousness. GREED being another as people do not wish to reveal TRUE knowledge, especially for free. There is a price to pay and this is how the imbalance will continue and things will never be universal. This level of high conciousness can be done without the need of academic study and I can assure you all of this as academic learning as controlled and its a form of implosion on the mind where you are limiting your human abilities.
Hi Ken! Thank you for your comment! That is a fascinating theory! I appreciate your contribution and feedback. The Omega Point seems a very plausible thematic element around which the writers can build a story. Perhaps, and I’m just speculating, the organization, “Blue Hand”, are researching the GUT, trying to unify all field theories and fuse them into one unified theory of everything.
The “Omega” should certainly be taken into serious consideration, as it appears not only here but in “Fringe” as well, recalling the last episode Olivia was shown a symbol, similar to the Omega, by William Bell. She was told that a man carrying this symbol will bring an end to our universe by opening a portal.
Omega is also a symbol for electrical conductance, see my “Tesla Theory” for further detail.
Did you look at all the books in Chapter 2, Verse 17? I ask because here’s Acts 2:17
“In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.”
I don’t promote a biblical interpretation of the show, as I see it taking a much more scientific approach, but it is interesting.
I think that they would not focus so much into an animal that had just scaped from the local zoo, it must have another meaning…
Some said it has something to do with Lost, it’s a possibility, but I think they may have a reason that is linked to FF and not only with other ABC’s shows.
[...] or manufactured by the government. It would make for an interesting story. Perhaps an unofficial, clandestine research organization, sponsored by the CIA, was tasked with creating a way to “peek into the future”. The [...]
The room numberf where Wolfgang Pauli died.
Finally stumbled onto good FF discussion! I’m a physics teacher and as soon as they said “137″ I knew the show was going to take a quantum twist. Simliar to LOST, I believe they will make us decide whether we live in a world of fate or choice. Just curious, has anyone read the “FlashForward” novel? Interesting connection to CERN (Large Hadron Collider) and the flashforward…I think I’ll pick it up.
So could it be that a giant electromagnetic pulsewave was sent out and we shifted forward into time, not through the body but through the mind. Shock was caused to the body to why we blacked out. For us to shift forward in time would be for the light to be bent through electomagnetism in a wave-like form lifted along its linear route so both points of course become closer together so light position temporarily re-locates closer to its destination before the wave settles and the light will return to its natural course, or to its present or original position.
When scientists say that a Star is 25 light years away, they mean that when we look up at the stars, we are seeing the state of that star 25 years later. If us humans were taken on a journey through light to where both ends of the light wave between our current vision and the star became slightly closer for a short space of time then we would see the star’s state some time earlier than we would normally see it though lights natural course.
People who didn’t blackout were encased in a shell which bypasses the emitted pulse or something like that but i am finding it hard to belive that their bodies travel through time. A blackout (few) occurred before, and the preliminary being the trial where everyone must have blacked out then they learnt from it and produced a machine to protect those from blacking out.
I leave it at that as I am adding to my emphasism on the human body being able to tolerate time travel, unless I look at something like Stargate into more depth. Reason being is that when I researched on the Kabballah code 137, It also mentioned the significance of the number 26 for physicists.
Got me thinking slightly when I worked out that ‘S’ is the 20th letter of the alphabet and ‘G’ being the 7th. Then i looked at the Title ‘SG-1′ (27-1), could it be? as the answer is 26.
I’ll go into further research to find a Quantum – based relation to see if it may have further significance over this time travel or bio programming theory
Yes! apparently 26 its known as a ‘portal’ which also represents the end within destruction. 26 also being the only number of being square and cubed. In the alphabet z is the 26 as the omega in comparrison to Alpha ‘A’. So I have established a relation between 26 and 137 in the kaballah code and stargate being my chosen personification to define the number 26 as an element of travel through space time.
Its becomming of a slight headache to me as I dont study physics. I am just as human as those who discovered the laws of physics and quantum analysis and all those stylish names to desribe such thing.
Lets not spoil the whole concept of entertainment and watch the film as the producers may be doing what they have sought to do and to get people trying to predetermine what is the method to the madness.
Well alpha is the symbol for the fine-structure constant, 1/137.035. So I guess the rings from latest episodes must be related to the number.
Computers were basically soaked into some kind of oil which is non-conductive. Basically its the cheapest way to cool a highly overclocked computer better than water unless you can get your hands on some liquid nitrogen which you need to refill in time.
There is this episodes which they show high towers in Somalia and something which they are emitting into the atmosphere shows me similarity of the H.A.A.R.P. project whereby they try to charge the atmosphere with loads of electricity and whereby it has the ability to push the atmosphere higher up to space. Maybe in this series they are able to manipulate the electromagnetism, space and time.