Benjamin Linus is the leader of The Others and says he was born and has always lived on the island. When he is first spotted and captured, he says his name is Henry Gale. Ben, whose mother died after complications from his birth, has spent most of his life on the island, moving there with his father when he was a child. Ben's father was neglectful and drank a lot, leaving Ben in need of a father figure and desperate to take significant action that would change the course of his life on the island.Ben discovers he has a spinal tumor just two days before the Oceanic plane crashes on the island, and when he learns that one of the survivors, Jack, is a spinal surgeon he has hope that his life can be saved. He goes to extreme measures to coerce Jack into performing the operation.Ben is an unrepentant liar and manipulator, but he does seem to genuinely feel he is doing what is best for not just him but the good of the island. While he is constantly guilty of inexplicably cold-blooded acts and never fully gains the trust of the crash survivors, he becomes something of an ally.