| Revision as of 15:37, 6 May 2006 editAgapetos angel (talk | contribs)2,142 edits →The Swan← Previous edit |
Latest revision as of 19:30, 18 November 2023 edit undoCopperyMarrow15 (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users2,438 edits Redirecting to Dharma Initiative#Research stations (♑)Tag: Redirect target changed |
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#REDIRECT ] |
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{{Redirect category shell| |
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On the television show '']'', the fictional ] has built several research stations on an island located somewhere in the ]. As the shows progress, characters (and viewers) ascertain knowledge about the Initiative and the purpose of the stations through a series of clues and character discoveries. |
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{{R to section}} |
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] |
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==Discovery== |
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{{spoilers}} |
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The first of the stations discovered by the survivors of the plane crash are 'The Arrow', and 'The Swan' ('Station 3', informally known as 'the hatch'). |
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Since the discovery of The Swan, two other stations have been visited in the series. In the episode "]" a ] closes a section of the facility, trapping ] underneath. He discovers what appears to be a map of the island, drawn in flourescent paint on the inside of the door, with various annotations. ] received a high quality image of this map, which they interpreted to refer to additional DHARMA stations not yet seen on the show. <ref>{{cite news |last=Brown | first=Scott | url=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/commentary/0,6115,1178442_3||1045714|0_0_,00.html | publisher=Entertainment Weekly | title=Locke Down | date=3-30-06}}</ref> |
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==The Swan== |
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:'''First visited in:''' ] |
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:'''Name given in:''' ] |
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According to the film <ref name="orientation" />, Station 3 ("The Swan") was originally constructed "as a laboratory where DHARMA researchers could work to understand the unique ] fluctuations emanating from that sector of the island". |
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] and ] in Station Three, The Swan.]] |
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] is the sole occupant of Station 3 when the survivors of Flight 815 uncover it. He claims not to be involved with the DHARMA Initiative, having been brought to the station by a man named Kelvin after his boat ran aground on the island three years earlier. Kelvin initiated Desmond into the code-entering procedure, which he referred to as "saving the world". Desmond continued entering the code alone after Kelvin's death. Desmond explains that "Kelvin died waiting for his replacements", and initially mistakes Locke as being a member of the next team in "]". When Jack first arrives in the station, and engages Desmond in a standoff for Kate and Locke, the computer controlling the timer is accidentally shot, damaging it. Desmond, wanting to be far away from the Swan when the timer hits zero, flees into the jungle and has not been seen since. |
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After Desmond runs off at the end of "]," the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 (particularly John Locke) take on the responsibility for entering the code into the station's terminal. |
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Station 3 is almost entirely underground, except for a 'hatch' entrance and a concealed door. The word ] is ] on the inside of the hatch, and the numbers (]) are punched into its outside. It is believed to be powered by ] heat and illuminated by powerful lamps shining through windows as a substitute for ]. The main work area resembles a ]. A strong but localized magnetic field emanates from behind a wall composed of hastily laid concrete. The hatch also has several internal ]s, as discovered by ]. These blast doors are mysteriously released in "Lockdown" and Locke is trapped underneath, at which time he sees a map written on the door in fluorescent ink. |
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Station 3 is stocked with food, a ] with a collection of old LPs, a small library, an armory complete with ] rifles and other firearms, a late-model washer and dryer, a shower, and bunk beds. According to the blacklight map on the Swan's blast door, it is the largest of the seven DHARMA stations. |
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===The film=== |
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The orientation film <ref name="orientation" /> found in the Swan Station provides a brief history of the DHARMA Initiative, as narrated by Marvin Candle. The DHARMA Initiative was founded by Gerald and Karen DeGroot, and funded by Alvar Hanso, to follow 'in the footsteps of such visionaries as ]'. The film gives a very brief description of the Swan station, and what occupants are expected to do. |
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An unspecified "incident" early in the station's experiments resulted in a change of focus: a two-member crew, replaced every 540 days, is now under orders to enter a code into a ] terminal every 108 minutes. The film stresses the importance of adhering to the procedure by entering the code quickly and accurately, but gives no reason or potential consequences. At the end of the film, a copyright date of 1980 is shown. A missing portion of the film, returned by Mr. Eko when he found it in an ] in the Arrow station, adds about 30 seconds of footage in which Candle emphasizes that the terminal computer not be used for anything other than entering the code. |
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===The timer=== |
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]''.]] |
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Station 3 is equipped with a flip-card timer, which is controlled by a computer and connected to an alarm system. The computer resets the timer through manual entry of a numeric code (]) every 108 minutes and pressing an "Execute" button. |
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The code cannot be entered until four minutes before the countdown reaches zero, at which time the alarm begins to sound. Until that time, the computer is unresponsive to keyboard input. At the four-minute mark, a horn speaker alarm activates. After the one-minute mark, the alarm accelerates and grows louder, and then again at the 10-second mark. If the countdown actually reaches zero, the familiar black and white numbers begin to flip into a series of black and red tiles that look like ]. If the glyphs are translatable, a direct translation would be difficult due to the fact that Locke entered the code before the last glyph was shown (as pictured on the right) in the only ] where the timer passed zero. |
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Character Henry Gale informed Locke that he did not enter the code at the time the blast doors shut on Locke's leg and the fluorescent ink showed the map of the stations. After this, a DHARMA Initiative package was parachuted onto the island containg a plentiful stock of food. |
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===Purpose of the station=== |
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In "]", Marvin Candle describes the DHARMA Initiative's founders as "following in the footsteps of visionaries such as ]." In the same episode, Jack questions Desmond about the purpose of the station: "Do you ever think that maybe they put you down here to push a button every 100 minutes just to see if you would?" Jack suggests that the code procedure is a "mind game" and also questions the quarantine message. |
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Desmond recalls Kelvin equating the procedure with "saving the world" and takes the strong electromagnetic field as proof that the station has a non-experimental purpose: "I hope it's not real. But the film says this is an electromagnetic station. And I don't know about you, brother, but every time I walk past that concrete wall out there, my fillings hurt." |
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In '']'', "]" disdainfully addresses Locke about the Swan station, and states that "this place is a joke". After Henry accurately describes the post-countdown occurrences to Locke, he says, "and you know what happened next? Nothing happened, John. Nothing happened at all. The timer just flipped back to 108. I never entered the numbers, I never pressed the button." |
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===The map=== |
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]''.]] |
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In "]," the blast doors drop. John Locke is pinned underneath one of the doors while the timer for the countdown approaches zero. Prisoner ] has been sent to enter the numbers although, in the episode '']'', he claims to have never done this. Just after the alarm stops sounding, all of the lights go out and several ]s turn on. |
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A drawing is revealed on one of the doors, what appears to be a map of a part of the island enclosed in the shape of an ]. At the bottom of the drawing are the words "I AM HERE" with an arrow pointing to a drawing of the Swan logo. There are also other stations shown on the map, some of which are named, as well as a substantial amount of comments. |
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On the map, there are 6 structures depicted, and at least 4 of them are labeled by name and icon like DHARMA stations: The Swan, The Flame, The Staff and The Arrow. The other structures are labeled by numbers, some with question marks. Two of the alleged stations are drawn with dotted lines. The 6 structures all surround a big circled question mark in the center of the map. At the top left, there is another structure (a 7th structure) which is scribbled out. Among the stations on the southeast side of the map, there are 4 rectangular structures/labels that have "CV <u>{{overline|I}}</u>", "CV <u>{{overline|II}}</u>", "CV <u>{{overline|III}}</u>", and "CV <u>{{overline|IV}}</u>" written on them (the ] indicating that the CV part is not a roman numeral).<ref name="unaltered">Unaltered and unaltered map </ref> |
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{{-}} |
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==Additional stations== |
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''Note that all of these names (save for The Swan) are taken from that map, and are only as accurate as the mapmaker knew – including the possibility that the actual stations with the respective symbols are not the same as the ones indicated on the map. Since the Swan is the only station with a confirmed number, the stations are listed here alphabetically.'' |
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===The Arrow=== |
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] |
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:'''First visited in:''' ] |
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:'''Name given in:''' ] |
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:'''Events during visit:''' Hatch first visited by the tail section survivors and used as a hiding place from The Others. When discovered it was gutted and burned out and seemed almost entirely emptied except for a box containing a bible, a short wave radio and a glass eye. It was later revealed by Eko, in "]," that the bible contained a missing scene from the Orientation film. This scene warns the occupant not to use the computer for communication with the outside world. |
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===The Flame=== |
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:'''First visited in:''' N/A |
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:'''Name given in:''' ] |
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===The Pearl=== |
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:'''First visited in:''' N/A |
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:'''Name given in:''' ]<ref name="EW">Jensen, Jeff (March, 2006). (mirror). ''Entertainment Weekly''. |
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</ref> |
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===The Staff=== |
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] |
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:'''First visited in:''' ] |
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:'''Name given in:''' ] |
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:'''Events during visit:''' After having flashbacks of the time she was abducted by Ethan Rom, Claire takes Kate and Danielle to the hatch. When they find it, it is abandoned. The flashbacks show that this is where the Others were going to have Claire give birth, and a nursery was built. The Staff seems to be a former medical station, since it comes complete with an operation room. There is a corridor that Claire tries to go down but is veered away from by Ethan Rom. In the abandoned hatch, Kate finds costumes and theatrical makeup. |
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==References== |
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<references /> |
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{{LostNav}} |
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] |
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