Like Ben, I'm not going to accept that Faraday is dead just yet. Not that they'll do the same thing, just that.....well......I'm just going to wait till he's in the dirt. :dunno:
Although I do have a guess on the deal with Alpert. And that's all it is, a guess, but for those that don't even want to specuate I can understand.........
*****
The thought occured to me that perhaps he's from a more distant future than the original Losties. He somehow got tangled up in the island and got time stuck like Sawyer, Juliet, Faraday, ect but got stuck way further in the past. Maybe that's why he's not aging? Only way to test that is to see if any other the Losties or Juliet stuck in 1974 age. No way of knowing that at this point. Like I said, just a guess.
As to his motives, I have no idea. Can anyone remember actually being told what The Others motives, of any time period, is other than protecting the island?