Projet Dharma
In 1988, Alpert observed the tensions between Charles Widmore and Ben Linus in "Dead is Dead" when Ben was given the order to kill Danielle Rousseau; Ben spared her and instead stole her child, Alex. Alpert said nothing in this exchange. As an adult in the early 1990s, Ben assisted Alpert in killing the members of the Dharma Initiative with poison gas in "The Man Behind the Curtain". After the purge, in 1992, Richard consorted with Ben in banishing Charles Widmore.