I just came up with a theory. Sort of.

Lost - Season Two Forum

Are any of you framilliar with the game Tomb Raider? That game is a combination of adventure, and puzzles. The puzzles are most often timed so that you had to run around and pull levers, as quickly as possible, in a certain order. If you screw up, doors which need to remain open slam shut.

Games such as Resident Evil, or Silent Hill are often equipped with a map. As you play, the character will update the map with descriptions of what they find.

These games are both puzzle oriented, and take a long time to solve because you have to explore, defend yourself against the attacks of various enemies, and think in riddles. Sometimes it seems like you're running in circles, for no reason at all, until finally every little clue you come across, and every destination you've explored comes full circle and presents one major challenge that you couldn't have possibly thought about until that moment.

Maybe the timer is harmless. Maybe it's simply 108 minutes of opportunity. Maybe once they push the button, they have 108 minutes to go push another button on the island, or flip a switch, or get inside another hatch before a door slams shut.

Maybe all the buttons in all the hatches need to be pressed at the same time in order for the big *?* in the center of the island to be activated, opened, or destroyed?

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, good thought, Sayzak. It's quite possible that it's a timer to allow them to reach a second destination. Who knows!

That would be interesting, if every hatch had a button or something of equal importance and if they were all pushed at the same time then something big would happen. Good thinking.

Oh, could you imagine if they were to get in all of the hatches, and push "execute" at the same time... have gain access to whatever it is, in the very center? Find out the truth, behind it all?

Now that would be awesome Kris! I can see that! BUT they would have them all push and then it would be the cliff hanger for the season.

Yes... like you can see something opening, in all of the hatches... but, you have absolutely no idea what it is. Then, the camera pans to the people within the hatches, and they all have the same, astonished looks upon their faces, or something.

and they leave us all cheesed off the whole summer wondering what will happen. That would be just like them.

Yeppers.. though, I don't think that it would happen until the end of season three. But, you're right... we would be a fumming about that.

For now, I think the button is real and something will happen if the timer counts down for real.

I think it ties in with the incident that happened, which is confirmed by the blast door wall map, and the orientation movie from Dr. Candle. It could be a ruse, like Zeke's fake beard, but for now, I'm gonna assume it's the real deal.

I wish they would have gone a bit more into that whole other hatch....it seems like a really big deal that they left untouched.