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On the television show Lost, the fictional DHARMA Initiative has built several research stations on an island located somewhere in the South Pacific. 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.

Discovery

Template:Spoilers 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').

Since the discovery of The Swan, two other stations have been visited in the series. In the episode "Lockdown" a blast door closes a section of the facility, trapping John Locke 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. Entertainment Weekly received a high quality image of this map, which they interpreted to refer to additional DHARMA stations not yet seen on the show.

The Swan

First visited in: All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues

Name given in: Orientation

According to the film , Station 3 ("The Swan") was originally constructed "as a laboratory where DHARMA researchers could work to understand the unique electromagnetic fluctuations emanating from that sector of the island".

Desmond 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 "Man of Science, Man of Faith". 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.

After Desmond runs off at the end of "Orientation," the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 (particularly John Locke) take on the responsibility for entering the code into the station's terminal.

Station 3 is almost entirely underground, except for a 'hatch' entrance and a concealed door. The word quarantine is spray-painted on the inside of the hatch, and the numbers (4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42) are punched into its outside. It is believed to be powered by geothermal heat and illuminated by powerful lamps shining through windows as a substitute for sunlight. The main work area resembles a geodesic dome. A strong but localized magnetic field emanates from behind a wall composed of hastily laid concrete. The hatch also has several internal blast doors, as discovered by Michael. 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.

Station 3 is stocked with food, a record player with a collection of old LPs, a small library, an armory complete with Kalashnikov 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.

The film

The orientation film 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 B.F. Skinner'. The film gives a very brief description of the Swan station, and what occupants are expected to do.

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 computer 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 hollow bible 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.

The timer

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 (4 8 15 16 23 42) every 108 minutes and pressing an "Execute" button.

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 Egyptian hieroglyphs. 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 episode where the timer passed zero.

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.

Purpose of the station

In "Orientation", Marvin Candle describes the DHARMA Initiative's founders as "following in the footsteps of visionaries such as B.F. Skinner." 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.

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."

In Dave, "Henry Gale" 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."

The map

In "Lockdown," the blast doors drop. John Locke is pinned underneath one of the doors while the timer for the countdown approaches zero. Prisoner Henry Gale has been sent to enter the numbers although, in the episode Dave, he claims to have never done this. Just after the alarm stops sounding, all of the lights go out and several ultraviolet lights turn on.

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 octagon. 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.

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 I", "CV II", "CV III", and "CV IV" written on them (the lines indicating that the CV part is not a roman numeral).

Additional stations

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.

The Arrow

First visited in: Everybody Hates Hugo

Name given in: Lockdown

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 "What Kate Did," 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.

The Flame

First visited in: N/A

Name given in: Lockdown

The Pearl

First visited in: N/A

Name given in: Lockdown

The Staff

First visited in: Maternity Leave

Name given in: Lockdown

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.

References

1. Brown, Scott (3-30-06). "Locke Down". Entertainment Weekly. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help); Text "0_0_,00.html" ignored (help); Text "1045714" ignored (help)
2. ^ Cite error: The named reference orientation was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
3. Unaltered screenshot of map and unaltered map as supplied to Entertainment Weekly
4. Jensen, Jeff (March, 2006). Lost's Latest Secret (mirror). Entertainment Weekly.

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