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The Swan
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The Swan (a.k.a. the Hatch), was DHARMA Initiative station number 3. It was discovered by Locke and Boone on day 16. The Swan was originally a laboratory where DHARMA scientists worked to understand the "unique electromagnetic fluctuations" emanating from the Island. However, after an "Incident", a protocol had to be followed in which two people would take shifts pressing a button (inputting the Numbers into a computer) every 108 minutes for 540 days per shift. The Swan imploded as the result of a system failure and fail-safe activation. A large crater now resides in its place, located in the south-western region of the Island, about a mile inland of the crash of Flight 815.
Contents |
History
DHARMA Initiative
Little is known of the history of the DHARMA Inititive's research at the Swan. It is unknown if DHARMA personnel were required to live in the bunker prior to the Incident, but once the protocol was established, it required habitational shifts of 540 days. Roger Linus was found dead wearing a Swan jumpsuit in the DHARMA van, but it is not certain if he was an inhabitant. ("Tricia Tanaka Is Dead") ("The Man Behind the Curtain")
When Radzinsky arrived is unknown, but his partner, Kelvin Inman, arrived sometime after the Gulf War in 1991. At some point, while Kelvin was sleeping, Radzinsky shot himself in the head in the Swan's living space, leaving Kelvin alone until Desmond crashed onto the Island with his sailboat in 2001. Kelvin and Desmond were hatch-mates for three years until, on the day of the crash of Flight 815, Desmond accidentally killed Kelvin at the cove. ("Live Together, Die Alone")
While at the cove, Desmond failed to enter the Numbers into the computer on time, which resulted in a system failure and an electromagnetic buildup. Although Desmond eventually managed to reset the Swan's countdown, the electromagnetic force were strong enough to pull down the plane and cause it to break apart in mid-air. Desmond wouldn't come to realize his role in the crash until more than two months later. Desmond lived alone for 44 days before the survivors blasted their way into the Hatch. Shortly afterwards, Desmond fled the Swan and left it to the survivors. ("Live Together, Die Alone") ("Man of Science, Man of Faith") ("Adrift")
Orientation film
The Swan contained an orientation film, produced in 1980 by the Hanso Foundation, that described the origin and purpose of the station to its new inhabitants. In the film, which was kept behind The Turn of the Screw, Dr. Pierre Chang, who used the alias Dr. Marvin Candle, gave a brief overview of the founding of the DHARMA Initiative and explained that the station was originally intended to study electromagnetism, but that an incident occurred that altered its intended purpose. He went on to explain the protocol, which was to be followed by the station inhabitants in the wake of the incident. ("Orientation")
After the reunification of the Flight 815 tail section survivors and middle section survivors, Mr. Eko revealed a cut-out piece of the film to Locke, which he had discovered in another DHARMA Initiative station, the Arrow. In this piece, Dr. Candle explained that the computer should only be used for entering the code every 108 minutes, and that using the computer for communicating with the outside world would compromise the project and possibly lead to another incident. ("What Kate Did")
The Others
The Others initially seemed to have no knowledge of the purpose or function of the Swan station. Shortly after the castaways entered the Swan, the Others became aware of what they had done via surveillance. On November 7, 2004 (three days after the castaways entered the Swan) Tom is known to have used the Pearl to observe the interior of the Swan. Two days later, Ben and Juliet visited the Pearl to briefly observe Jack. At that time, Ben outlined a plan that strongly suggested that the Others were able to send messages to the Swan computer from an unknown location. These messages were apparently directed at Michael.
In the March 20, 2007 Official Lost Podcast, Carlton Cuse confirmed that The Others had no knowledge of the Swan station; hence, Radzinsky, Kelvin Joe Inman, and/or Desmond were not killed during the Purge along with the rest of the DHARMA Initiative.
During Ben's period of captivity at the Swan, there was a "Lockdown" event in which the blast doors inside the Swan automatically lowered. Locke was pinned under the blast door and sent Ben through the vent system to push the button. At first, Ben claimed to have pushed the button, but later told Locke that he had not pushed the button and nothing had happened; he said the station was a "joke". What exactly Ben did, or did not do, during the lockdown has not been revealed. As a result of the lockdown, supplies were dropped by parachute to the Swan.
Season One (Days 1–44)
During the first season of LOST, one of the central plots was gaining access to the Swan, which they referred to as "the Hatch". The word "hatch" has since been used to refer to the entrances to other DHARMA stations.
The Hatch was first discovered by complete accident by Locke and Boone. Locke dropped his flashlight and the sound of metal was heard from under the foliage covering the ground. ("All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues")
They proceeded to dig-up the Hatch without telling anyone. Their first attempt at opening it was with the construction of a large trebuchet, designed to swing a large piece of plane shrapnel at the Hatch door. This plan backfired when a sharp piece of the shrapnel broke off and buried itself into Locke's leg. ("Deus Ex Machina")
The second attempt was successful, as they used the dynamite obtained from the Black Rock to blow it open. As they are setting-up the dynamite, Hurley saw the Numbers engraved onto the side of the Hatch and insisted they not open it. He was over-ruled and the Hatch was blown open. The season ended with Locke and Jack looking down into the long shaft inside the Hatch. ("Exodus, Part 2")
Season Two (days 44–67)
In the second season of Lost, the survivors ventured into the Hatch and met Desmond. Jack and Locke eventually decided to create a shift system comprised of two people in the Swan at once, taking turns pushing the button, which Locke believed to have significant importance. ("Orientation")
However, after Locke and Eko discovered the Pearl Orientation Video, Locke lost all faith in the button, being led to believe it was all a psychological experiment. Eko on the other hand, felt that pushing the button was of the utmost importance. ("?")
Meanwhile the gun vault of the station served as imprisonment of the false Henry Gale. ("One of Them")
Later, Locke and Desmond conceived of a plan to not enter the Numbers and see what happens, proving once and for all that it was just a psychological experiment. Mr. Eko's protests fell on deaf ears and he was shut-out of the computer room when Desmond activated the blast doors. They let the Countdown Timer run out causing a system failure. The countdown timer numbers flipped to the five hieroglyphs and it caused what seemed to be an earthquake. All the objects made of metal soon flew against the wall, attracted to something with an extremely powerful magnetic force. Locke and Desmond quickly came to the horrible realization that they had made a big mistake. Desmond was forced to act, as he entered the crawlspace underneath the floor of the Swan and used the fail-safe to activate the "discharge". The Swan was completely destroyed, apparently imploding upon itself. ("Live Together, Die Alone")
Season Three (Days 68–91)
A gaping crater is left in the place where the Hatch used to be. It is unknown whether or not the whole of the Swan, or just part of it, was destroyed due to Desmond using the fail-safe, but it is possible that the Swan will not be revisited in the future. ("Further Instructions")
Later, Hurley discovers a DHARMA van with plans for a dirt road leading to the Swan station. The dead occupant of the van is wearing a work man jump suit with a Swan logo patch. ("Tricia Tanaka Is Dead")
The Station
The Swan was originally conceived and designed as a scientific laboratory, but because the protocol had to be adopted following the incident, it became a continually manned post. Dating from the 1970s, the subterranean station was found to still have the conveniences and technology from that era when the survivors discovered it.
Purpose
According to Orientation Film, the Swan was originally a laboratory "where scientists could work to understand the unique electromagnetic fluctuations emanating from this sector of the Island". However, after an "Incident", a protocol had to be followed in which two people would take shifts pressing a button (inputting the Numbers into a computer) every 108 minutes for 540 days, at the end of which replacements would arrive to take the place of the previous inhabitants. The Swan imploded as the result of a system failure and fail-safe activation. A large crater now resides in its place, located in the south-western region of the Island, about a mile inland of the crash of Flight 815. ("Orientation")
Rooms and spaces
Entrances
There were two entrances to the Swan on opposite ends of the main corridor: a steel hatch atop a long vertical shaft, and a walk-in door with the Swan logo on the outside.
Along the entrance corridor, a broken section of the wall was filled in with a large amount of concrete, sealing off what remained of the laboratory where the incident occurred. It exhibited a high degree of magnetic attraction to metals, such as Jack's key and Eko's cross. ("Man of Science, Man of Faith") ("What Kate Did")
The inside of the Hatch's upper door (i.e., the side not visible from the exterior) had the word "QUARANTINE" spray-painted on it. ("Exodus, Part 2")
Computer room
Enclosed in a geodesic dome, apart from the main living area, the computer room was where the occupants of the station would carry out their responsibility of pushing the button. Situated in the middle of the room was the Swan computer, into which The Numbers had to be entered every 108 minutes, according to the protocol set forth in the Orientation film. Around the perimeter of the room were various other machines, including mainframe computer components, reel-to-reel tape drive units, and two oscilloscopes. A countdown timer on the wall displayed the remaining time to enter the Numbers.
In a crawlspace below the computer room, accessible via a grate in the floor, was the fail-safe mechanism. In the event of a system failure (i.e., failure to follow the protocol), the fail-safe would terminate the electromagnetic anomaly that the protocol was meant to discharge. Desmond was forced to activate the fail-safe after Locke destroyed the Swan's computer. The resulting discharge caused the entire station to implode. ("Live Together, Die Alone")
Blast door
Inside the Swan were a series of blast doors that could seal-off the living space and the computer room during a lockdown procedure. A message would sound over the speakers notifying of the upcoming event, after which the blast doors would descend and the electrical power would be interrupted, causing the lights to flicker. ("Lockdown")
A lockdown incident unexpectedly occurred while the survivors were holding Ben prisoner, during which Locke's legs were crushed by a blast door near the mural. After Ben crawled through the vents to push the button, the normal lighting completely turned off and a different set of ultraviolet "black-lights" tuened on. This revealed a large hand-drawn map on the blast door, supplemented with numerous equations and notations written in English and Latin. ("Lockdown")
Kelvin told Desmond that Radzinsky figured out how to fake a lockdown by touching two bare-wires together, forcing the blast doors to come down. This allowed them to work on the blast door map. Desmond later triggered the blast doors to come down as part of his and Locke's plan to keep Eko out of the computer room in order to not push the button. After manually initiating a lockdown, Locke destroyed the computer, which ensured that a system failure would occur. Realizing what they had done, Desmond was then forced trigger the fail-safe, and the entire Swan imploded. ("Live Together, Die Alone")
Living space
The living space was the largest part of the Swan. It was where the occupants of the station could spend their time when not "working". It had many conveniences for its inhabitants: a bedroom with bunk beds,; a bathroom with a shower, sink, and running hot water that was described by Kate as having a sulfur smell; miscellaneous exercise equipment; a surveillance system featuring a telescope used in conjunction with a series of mirrors; a washer and dryer, seemingly newer than everything else, indicating they had been replaced; a dining nook; a center kitchen area equipped with an oven, stove top, and sink; and a lounge area, including a record player, LP collection, bookshelves, a ping-pong table, and a painting of a tree.
Bookshelf
The Swan's bookshelves contained a number of titles, including:
The Incident Room
| Expanded Universe alert! This article/section contains information officially created to be part of the Lost expanded universe, but may not be considered canon. It may be endorsed by ABC, or feature cast members. |
|
In the non-canon video game Lost: Via Domus, Elliott Maslow discovers "The Incident Room" on the other side of the concrete wall. The Incident Room was accessed by a tunnel and a large locked door near the exterior of the Swan.
The room contained a large reactor amongst a room full of severely damaged equipment. The reactor is tilted to one side, and discharging electricity and a fluid that looks like water. The reactor had the appearance of two large electromagnetic coils suspended over an excavation into the Island. Unlike the Swan, the Incident Room's machinery is in a state of disrepair, possibly due to the Incident. The Incident Room also has its own computer, much like the Swan's.
Pantry
The panrty was opposite of the living space's lounge area. The pantry's shelves were well stocked with food from the Periodic Resupply Drop, including notable products such as Apollo Candy Bars, DHARMA Ranch Composite, and Peanut Butter.
Gun vault
Adjoining the living space's lounge area was a gun vault. It contained a wide and formidable array of weapons, including pistols, semi-automatic rifles, bolt action rifles, assault weapons, shotguns, and grenades. The door had a combination lock that was changed several times by Locke. ("Three Minutes")
After the weapons were removed, the gun vault served as a holding cell for Ben. ("One of Them")
Mural
Along the wall between the entrance corridor and the living area, was a large mural created by Desmond. (Secrets From the Hatch)
Painted in an expressionist style, it contained an assortment of images and writing, including the Numbers 108 and 42, a boat, an arrow, and depictions of a black man and white woman.
Blueprints
- A number of blueprints of the Swan station's interior design are found on the Season 2 DVD special featurette, Secrets From the Hatch.
- There also appears to be a blueprint on the DHARMA van road map. ("Tricia Tanaka Is Dead")
- A floor-plan blueprint appears in issue 1.10 of Lost: The Official Magazine in an advertisement for a free poster that comes as a subscription reward.
- In the game Lost:Via Domus the "Incident room" appears. The room's look and design was made to look like what the creator's had envisioned, through never before seen blueprints given to the game developers by the Lost set crew.
Blueprint gallery
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 DHARMA van map |
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Electromagnetism
During normal conditions, the Swan is adjacent to an unusually strong magnetic field. The field is noticeably stronger near the mural. A section of the station has been sealed-off with a concrete wall that is several feet thick. The magnetic source behind the concrete is still strong enough to attract the key around Jack's neck, making it visibly move towards the wall. ("Man of Science, Man of Faith")
the Swan Orientation Film indicated that the original purpose of the Swan was to study or regulate these magnetic properties. On several occasions, the field has grown to immense strengths during "system failures". ("Orientation")
Underneath the floor of the computer room, there is a fail-safe mechanism. Apparently, Desmond's activation of the fail-safe caused a drastic change in the magnetic field, resulting in the discharge. When Desmond did this, he was temporarily transported back in time, and was later found naked in the jungle by Hurley. ("Flashes Before Your Eyes")
In the Season 2 DVD featurette Secrets from the Hatch, Damon Lindelof described the Swan station:
| “ |
The function of the Hatch, what it is built for, is because there was this accident here. Basically, if you were to perceive the fact that the Hatch is a structure that is essentially a big thumb, and that thumb is sticking in a dyke. And that dyke is holding back this massive electromagnetic anomaly that is just sort of illustrated on the other side of this wall that makes Jack's key rise. That's what the design is. | ” |
In the feature Access Granted on the Lost: The Complete Third Season (DVD), Damon Lindelof described the electromagnetism:
| “ |
Let's just say, theoretically, inside the Island there was this ball of electromagnetic energy. And, let's just say, there was a group of people - we’ll call them the DHARMA Initiative - sort of drilling around, and doing general futzing on the Island, and they accidentally drilled into this hole, and suddenly that entire ball of electromagnetism became untapped, so they built this Swan Station above it, in an effort that it wouldn’t get completely out of control. So, by plugging that hole, you don’t actually do away with all the electromagnetism. It's still there. | ” |
The Incident Room
|
| Expanded Universe alert! This article/section contains information officially created to be part of the Lost expanded universe, but may not be considered canon. It may be endorsed by ABC, or feature cast members. |
|
In the non-canon video game Lost: Via Domus, Elliott Maslow discovers "The Incident Room" on the other side of the concrete wall. The Incident Room was accessed by a tunnel and a large locked door near the exterior of the Swan.
The room contained a large reactor amongst a room full of severely damaged equipment. The reactor is tilted to one side, and discharging electricity and a fluid that looks like water. The reactor had the appearance of two large electromagnetic coils suspended over an excavation into the Island. Unlike the Swan, the Incident Room's machinery is in a state of disrepair, possibly due to the Incident. The Incident Room also has its own computer, much like the Swan's.
Trivia
General
- Of all the season 2 main cast, only Claire and Shannon never appeared in any scenes in the Swan.
- The only time a survivor has referred to the Hatch as "the Swan" is when Eko referred to it as such when looking at Locke's map. Every other time, it has been referred to as "the Hatch". ("?")
- Swan is the Coptic name for the Egyptian city of Aswan, the site of the modern day Aswan Dam. This links to Kelvin's Dam (theory).
Cultural references
- The constellation Cygnus, or "the Swan", is also known as the "Northern Cross" because of it's distinctive shape. The tail of the swan is marked by the bright star Deneb, Arabic for "tail". Three fainter stars cross the line between Deneb and the star at head of the swan, Albireo.
- The names of the stations seem to be related to the god Apollo from Greek mythology. Swans are sacred to Apollo, and circled around him when he was born.
- In Hinduism, the Sanskrit word for "swan" is "hamsa" or "hansa", and is used as the vehicle of many Hindu deities, such as the goddess Saraswati.
- In Irish mythology, the Children of Lir were trapped inside a swan.
- In Finnish mythology, Kalevala is a book, and considered an epic poem. Kalevala is said to be the National Epic of Finland. In Cantos 11-15, The main character Lemminkainen must kill the Swan of Tuonela. Tuonela means the land of the dead. "Swan of the land of the dead"
Production notes
- According to the Season 2 DVD featurette Secrets from the Hatch, the Swan interior was originally inspired by Tomorrowland at Disneyworld. The featurette describes Tomorrowland as being decorated how people in the 1970's pictured "the future".
- The set dressing of the Swan is somewhat different between the opening scene of "Man of Science, Man of Faith" and subsequent appearances. This included things such as the bed being next to the computer, the type and placement of lamps, the style of record player and arrangement of records, as well as the relative cleanliness of the living quarters. These discrepancies led some fans to incorrectly conclude that there were two separate time lines. In reality, the producers simply decided to dress the Swan differently between its first and subsequent appearances.
Unanswered questions
| Unanswered questions |
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- For fan theories about these unanswered questions, see: The Swan/Theories
- What happened inside the Swan during the incident?
- After the incident, how was the electromagnetic energy discharged until the number protocol was introduced?
- Why was DHARMA drilling into the Earth in the first place?
- What was the purpose of the Hatch door?
- Why was it sealed and the ladder inside the shaft broken?
- What was the exact cause of the Swan's implosion?
- If it was an implosion, why were some objects from the Swan, such as the ping pong table, found outside the crater?.
- Exactly which phenomena during the discharge were caused by the failsafe being activated, rather than the button not getting pushed?
- Did the concrete wall rupture during the discharge?
- Is any of the station's interior still intact after the implosion?
- Are there any long-term consequences of the discharge for the Island or its inhabitants?
- According to the Purple sky and noisy voice when the failure key has been turned, Is there is any relationship between the Swan Station and The Orchid in functionality?
See also
