The Dharma Initiative is a fictional research project featured in the American television series Lost. It was introduced in the second season episode "Orientation". During the Lost Experience it was revealed that "DHARMA" is an acronym for Department of Heuristics And Research on Material Applications. In 2008, the Dharmainitiative[2] website was launched.

[edit] Background

In the Swan orientation film shown in "Orientation", Pierre Chang (François Chau), under the pseudoname Dr. Marvin Candle, explains the origins of the Dharma initiative. It began in 1970, created by two doctoral candidates from the University of Michigan, Gerald and Karen DeGroot (Michael Gilday and Courtney Lavigne), and was funded by Alvar Hanso (Ian Patrick Williams) of the Hanso Foundation. They imagined a "large-scale communal research compound", where scientists and free thinkers from around the globe could research meteorology, psychology, parapsychology, zoology, electromagnetism, and a sixth discipline that the film begins to identify as "utopian social-" before being cut off.^[1] The "Lost Experience", an alternate reality game which took place in 2006, revealed that the objective of the Dharma Initiative was to alter any of the six factors of the Valenzetti Equation, an equation which "predicts the exact number of years and months until humanity extinguishes itself", to allow humans to exist for longer by changing their doomsday. These factors are represented as numbers in the Valenzetti Equation and are also the numbers frequently mentioned in the show: 4, 8, 15, 16, 23 and 42.^[2]

Both the Swan Station Orientation Film, as well as revisions of the blast door map, suggest that there was some sort of "Incident"(as Dr Marvin Candle refers to in the SwanStation Film as well as on the Swan Station's Blast Door Map) that took place on the Island at some point ostensibly before the time the Swan Station's film was made in 1980. In the edit's to the Swan Station film (that were removed by Radzinski and somehow ended up at the Arrow Station before being recovered and restored to the full film later by Mr Eko), Dr Candle insists that the computer at the Swan Station not be used for any other purpose and indicates it had something to do with the "Incident" and the need to prevent another one. As of season 4, the nature of this "incident" has not been explained or revealed. The Blast Door map indicates that the Incident seemed to correlate with a general decline of the listed Dharma Facilities on the Island.

When the Dharma Initiative began on the Island, they fought with the Island's natives, which they called "Hostiles".^[3] The "Hostiles" had been living on the Island long before the Initiative arrived.^[4] This conflict ended in 1992,^[5] when one member of the Dharma Initiative, Ben Linus (Michael Emerson), joined the "Hostiles" and helped kill the remaining members using poison gas,^[3] in an event which became known as "The Purge".^[6] The bodies were buried in a mass grave.^[3] However in 2001, Kelvin Inman supposedly was still working for the Dharma Initiative in the Swan station. However, it's unclear when he arrived on the island, but is possible that he and other personell arrived AFTER the "Purge", which occurred in 12/19/1992. In the episode 2x23, he mentioned to Desmond that there were "hostiles" on the island, so we can imagine that he knew about the "purge" and the end of the Dharma Initiative.^[7] In the "Lost Experience", an actor portraying fictional Hanso Foundation executive Hugh McIntyre appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live,^[8] where he stated that the Foundation had stopped funding the Dharma Initiative in 1987.^[9] . Furthermore, in season 2, an air drop of supplies was sent to the SWAN station. As an airdop would require a cargo plane, pilots, parachutes, a loadmaster and the supplies themselves, this was clearly funded from where, but has not been revealed as of yet. Furthermore, the Dharma Initiative insignia can clearly be seen on the Secondary Protocol's mission orders that mercenary commander Martin Keamy accesses in the Freighter's safe, suggesting that the Dharma Initiative continues in some way, shape, or form to the present day.

At the 2008 San Diego Comic-Con, a new ARG began with a booth recruiting new members to the Initiative. At the Lost panel, Hans van Eeghen, a Dharma executive, revealed that the results from the booth were "abysmal", and a few people had been selected to view a video that had been sent from thirty years in the past.^[10] In the video, Pierre Chang said that the work on the Island is valid, and it is essential that the Dharma Initiative is restarted.^[11] Following this a website was launched, which allowed users to join the Dharma Initative.

[edit] Research stations

A Bagua

The Dharma Initiative placed several research stations around the Island, which take the form of hidden, underground facilities or bunkers. After Oceanic Flight 815 crashes on the Island in September 2004, the survivors encounter several of these stations. The first to be discovered is "The Swan" which they refer to informally as "the hatch". Eight additional stations have since been visited over the series, each with its own particular logo associated with it: an octagon, similar to the bagua design, with a differing symbol at the center.

The Swan Station's Blast Door claims that there was, at one time, an underground tunnel network that connected many of the stations. Notations on the map suggest that the tunnel started falling into disrepair or destruction in the early 1980's, around the time the alleged "incident" occurred.

[edit] Station 1: The Arrow

During "The Man Behind the Curtain" there are flashbacks to a time when the Dharma Initiative is still functioning on the Island. One of the members, Horace Goodspeed (Doug Hutchison), wears a jumpsuit bearing the Arrow station logo, with "mathematician" written below.^[3] When discovered in 2004, the word "quarantine" appears on the inside of the station's door.^[12]

When the tail section survivors discover it in "The Other 48 Days", it has been abandoned, but is being used for storage.^[13] Whilst hiding from the "Others", the survivor's name for the "Hostiles", inside the Arrow, they discover part of the Swan station's orientation film hidden inside a Bible, a radio, and a glass eye.^[12] Producers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof stated on a podcast that each object is significant, and not randomly chosen.^[13]. In "Live Together, Die Alone", Inman stated that it was Radzinski that made the edit to the Swan Station Film. How the film made it to the Arrow Station (which is at least 3 day's away from the main camp) has never been revealed.

[edit] Station 3: The Swan

Dharma food, bearing the Swan logo

The Swan is a laboratory used by the Dharma Initiative for research on electromagnetism.^[1] According to the feature "Access Granted" on the third season Blu-ray, Dharma drilled into the earth and hit an area with large contained electromagnetic buildup. They broke into the anomaly which allowed the field to leak out. The Swan was built over this area to act as a cork. Dharma then came up with a scheme to "dam" the leak but with the drawback that the field built up behind the dam and would eventually break it. A failsafe key could be used to permanently "seal" the leak.^[14] On the station's orientation film, Pierre Chang explains that an "incident" occurred early in the station's experiments, and implies that unauthorized usage of the station's computer terminal had something to do with it. This event caused a consistent build-up of electromagnetic energy, which resulted in a change of the station's focus: a two-member crew, replaced every 540 days, were instructed to enter a numeric code into a microcomputer terminal every 108 minutes. The station is equipped with a split-flap display timer, which is interfaced to a microcomputer terminal and connected to an alarm system.^[1] The station is stocked with food, a record player with a collection of old LPs, a small library, an armory, a shower, and bunk beds. It is almost entirely underground, except for an entrance shaft and a concealed door. The station also has several internal blast doors, with a map in invisible ink on one of them.^[15] This map is very old, and has been worked on by, at a minimum, by Kelvin Inman and Radzinski. Analysis of the map suggests no less then five unique handwriting styles, and thus five different contributors. The map has direct revision dates on it, and Kelvin Inman is seen writing in the lower right hand part of the map in "Live Together, Die Alone".

In flashbacks in "Live Together, Die Alone", Desmond Hume (Henry Ian Cusick) shipwrecks on the Island in 2001 and is taken to the Swan station. Here Kelvin Inman explains about entering the numeric code then pushing the button to save the world. In September 2004, Kelvin and Desmond get into a fight, resulting in Kelvin's death. Desmond enters the numbers too late, resulting in an electromagnetic build-up, which causes the crash of Oceanic Flight 815.^[7] Two of the survivors, Locke (Terry O'Quinn) and Boone (Ian Somerhalder), discover the Swan accidentally, after they drop their torch and it hits off the metal exterior.^[16] After Boone's death, Locke manages to successfully open it in the first season finale "Exodus".^[17] Inside they find Desmond,^[18] who flees after they break the computer.^[1] The survivors manage to fix the computer, and begin pushing the button every 108 minutes.^[1] After discovering the Pearl orientation film, Locke believes pushing the button is a psychological test, and decides to find out what will happen if the button is not pushed.^[19] This causes all the metal objects in the Swan to fly about, as the ground begins to shake. Realising the importance of the button, the failsafe key is turned. The sky turns violet temporarily, and the Swan is destroyed.^[7]

[edit] Station 4: The Flame

The Flame is the Dharma Initiative's communication station. It uses sonar and satellite technologies to communicate with the outside world and other stations on the island, and can also be used to order food to be delivered to the Island. Unlike the other stations, the Flame is not an underground bunker, but rather a wood-frame bungalow, with a large satellite dish on the roof. Inside the station is a living area, kitchen, and computer room. Below the building is a large basement containing supplies, including a library of Dharma Initiative operations manuals.^[6]

On the day Oceanic Flight 815 crashes on the Island, Mikhail Bakunin (Andrew Divoff) uses the station to access news feeds to gather information about the survivors. At Ben's request he alters one of the feeds to allow Juliet to see her sister and nephew alive and well off the Island.^[20] At some point after this, communication off the Island is no longer possible, as the Looking Glass is blocking all signals.^[21] In "Enter 77" Kate Austin (Evangeline Lilly), Sayid Jarrah (Naveen Andrews) and Locke enter the Flame, and find that it has been occupied by the Others and is being operated by Mikhail Bakunin. Locke uses the computer to send a message saying the Hostiles have invaded the station, and then intentionally destroys the station, by setting off an explosion of C4 which was lining the basement.^[6]

[edit] Station 5: The Pearl

The Pearl is where the Dharma Initiative studied psychology. Its orientation film asserts the purpose of those stationed in the Pearl is to monitor and record the activities of participants in other Dharma Initiative stations. The station consists of a three-by-three bank of television sets, two chairs and a computer, hooked to a printer. On the wall there is a pneumatic tube which the orientation film stated was used to transport notebooks to another Dharma location. According to the orientation film, two-person teams, working eight-hour shifts over a three-week period, were to watch the video displays and take notes on their observations. Every action, regardless of how subtle, to be recorded into notebooks by the Pearl's team members.^[19]

After Oceanic Flight 815 crashes on the Island, Nikki and Paulo (Kiele Sanchez and Rodrigo Santoro) are the first survivors to encounter the Pearl, whilst searching for diamonds.^[22] Several weeks later, Locke and Mr. Eko (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) enter the Pearl, and watch the orientation video. Locke believes this means pushing the button in the Swan is a psychological test, and resolves to discover what will happen if it is not pushed.^[19] In "Live Together, Die Alone", some of the survivors discover that the pneumatic tube goes nowhere, dumping all of the notebooks in an open field on the Island.^[7] During season three, some of the survivors visit the Pearl in hope of finding a way to communicate with the "Others".^[23]

[edit] Station 6: The Orchid

In the final three episodes of the fourth season, "There's No Place Like Home Parts 1, 2, and 3", the Orchid station appears at first to be an abandoned greenhouse. Hidden below the greenhouse is a second level of the station. Its interior resembles that of a furnished laboratory, similar to the Swan station. The Orchid features a small chamber adjacent to an electrical anomaly, which can be used to warp time and space. Hidden behind the chamber is a further level of the Orchid, with what appear to be ancient civilization's remains, pillars and stones with unknown hieroglyph's that have been seen in a few other places on the island, and ends with a room consisting of a giant frozen wheel on a wall.^[24] An outtake from the orientation film was shown at the 2007 San Diego Comic-Con, where Pierre Chang explains that, contrary to Dharma's statements that the station was for botanical research, the station is used for researching a "Casimir effect" exhibited by the Island.^[25] The producers have confirmed that the video is canon, and holds relevance to the show itself.^[26]

Ben and Locke both enter the station in the fourth season finale, and Ben blows a hole in the chamber's wall. He heads deep underground via a ladder and ends up in a chamber sealed by a wall of ice.^[24] He turns the giant wheel on the wall, which causes the Island to move,^[24] and Ben is transported to a desert in Tunisia.^[27]

[edit] Station ?: The Staff

The Staff is a medical research station. Much of its original purpose was for the pregnant women who were taken to give birth and/or die.^[28] At the end of one hallway is an operating room, and a nursery and locker room are also present.^[29] Hidden inside one of the lockers is a switch that unlocks a hidden vault behind a group of lockers, that, in December 2004, contains medical equipment and nursery furniture.^[28] There is another hidden room, where the "Others" take women who have become pregnant on the Island to die.^[28]

After Claire Littleton (Emilie de Ravin) is kidnapped by the "Others" in season one, she is taken to the Staff station. Here she has a drug administered to her foetus. A renegade "Other", Alex (Tania Raymonde), informs her that they are planning to steal Claire's baby, so Alex helps her escape. Later when helping Claire find medicine for her baby, Kate discovers costumes, a fake beard and some theatrical glue in the Staff locker room.^[29] In season three, Sun-Hwa Kwon (Yunjin Kim) and Juliet Burke (Elizabeth Mitchell) visit the Staff station to perform an ultrasound to discover when Sun's baby was conceived.^[28]

[edit] Station ?: The Hydra

The Hydra is a zoological research station located on another island, about twice the size of Alcatraz Island, two miles off the island the survivors are on. The Hydra facility has cages outside the station in the jungle, where it is implied that polar bears used to be kept. An underwater complex was once used as an aquarium, which housed sharks and dolphins.^[30]

At the start of season three, Jack, Kate and Sawyer are held captive here by the "Others". Kate and Sawyer are forced to dig in a quarry, until they manage to escape.^[31] In "Confirmed Dead", a leather collar bearing the Dharma Hydra symbol is found near a polar bear skeleton in the Tunisian desert.^[32]

[edit] Station ?: The Looking Glass

The Looking Glass is located on the sea-bed at approximately 60 feet (18m) depth, some 600 feet (182m) from the Beach. The Station was used to jam communications going to and from the island. The station received power from the cable that Sayid discovered in the episode "Solitary".

The Station's Logo is a Rabbit, a reference to The White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland. Its logo can be seen in the episode "Greatest Hits" when Charlie swims down to it.

The Others were under the impression that the station was flooded. Only Ben knew that the station was still in operation and there were people working there.

It was on this station that in the Season 3 finale "Through The Looking Glass", Charlie Pace discovered that the rescue boat linked to Naomi, the parachute woman, was not set out by Desmond Hume's ex-girlfriend Penny Widmore. Charlie locks the door to the control room when Mikhail shatters the porthole window, subsequently flooding the room. This prevents Desmond from getting to Charlie, thereby fulfilling Desmond's latest "premonition" (Charlie was meant to drown in the control room after disabling the jamming equipment). He quickly writes "Not Penny's Boat" on his hand and shows Desmond through the glass on the door.

[edit] Station ?: The Tempest

The Tempest is a biochemical and electrical station on the island. It is used to control poisonous gases from traveling throughout the island. Every day before his death, Goodwin would travel to The Tempest to press a button to prevent deadly gases from escaping. However, Ana Lucia killed him, so the gases built up. That is supposedly why Daniel and Charlotte traveled to The Tempest in "The Other Woman". They said they needed to press the button to save everyone, although they may have wanted to disable the station's gases to prevent Benjamin Linus from using the Tempest as a weapon of last resort against the Island's enemies.

Also, this station feeds electricity to the other DHARMA stations.

This station was first seen in the episode "The Other Woman".

[edit] As mythology on Lost

[edit] In popular culture

A Dharma-related Easter Egg in Half-Life 2: Episode 2.

A Dharma logo in Cloverfield.

In Half-Life 2: Episode Two, players can find an easter egg in the fifth chapter, "Under the Radar", by using the noclip cheat to pass through the pipe in Uriah's lab. This leads to an otherwise inaccessible room containing a computer terminal with the numbers shown on the screen and a Dharma-style octagon with a pine tree symbol for the White Forest base on the wall. The room was inserted at the request of Gabe Newell, who promised to insert a reference to Lost in response to Half-Life references in Lost's first season.

In a scene of the U.S. version of The Office episode "Initiation," Dwight asks Ryan "What is the DHARMA initiative?" This can be seen on the season 3 DVD. He also asks this question to the character Andy in a deleted scene in the third season finale.

In the 2008 movie Cloverfield, which was produced by J.J. Abrams and the team that made Lost, a slight variation on the Dharma Initiative logo can briefly be seen in the opening of the movie. It is during the introduction of the film which states where the "video" about to be shown came from. It is only visible for a few frames on the lower right side of screen. It looks almost identical to the Pearl station logo.

At the end of the 90th issue of Ultimate X-men, a sign can be seen in the background advertising Oceanic Airlines. The sign reads: "Oceanic AIRLINES Taking you places you never imagined." On the bottom left of the page, there is a surprised citizen with a T-shirt bearing the band name "Driveshaft" on the back of it. On the panel before that, the building in the background reads "Widmore Industries".

[edit] References