It seemed off island to me... after all, why can't Ben leave the island? We know Richard and Ethan Rom both came and went from the island. Plus it seems like other Others had left too, for "missions." Wasn't one of the girls in the underwater station (according to Mikhail) supposed to be on a mission in Canada? I know that was just a cover story, but the implication was that it was common for people to be gone for various purposes (maybe how they got information files on everyone)

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