 Alpert realized Ben is special when Ben mentioned seeing his deceased mother (Carrie Preston) in the jungle.He agreed to Ben's request, but told Ben it will require time and patience.In 1974, Richard entered the Dharma Initiative's barracks in "LaFleur" and demanded the whereabouts of two members of his people, they having been killed and buried by Juliet Burke (Elizabeth Mitchell) and James "Sawyer" Ford (Josh Holloway) following Locke's successful attempt to stop the time skips.