Posted: Feb 23 @ 08:30 AM by: Kay_Monaghan (903 Posts in the last 90 days) Registered: Jan 29, 2006 a lot of this is already known but some of it is not. enjoy!!


Most of what is known about the DHARMA Initiative comes from an orientation film found in an underground bunker on the island. The film has a copyright date of 1980 and is designated the third of six such films. It has been noticeably cut or damaged in places. However, given the nature of the series, there is no guarantee that the information gleaned from the film, or any other source of information, for that matter, is actually truthful.

The film is narrated by DHARMA Initiative researcher Dr. Marvin Candle (played by Fran?ois Chau). The first part of the film describes the history and purpose of the Initiative. The second part gives specific instructions for the occupants of Station 3, the bunker in which the film was found.

Contents [hide]
1 History and purpose
2 Station 3: Electromagnetic Research
3 The Timer
4 Additional Stations
5 Trivia
6 External links



[edit]
History and purpose

Gerald DeGroot as seen in the 1980's DHARMA Initiative Orientation Film.The DHARMA Initiative, founded in 1970 by University of Michigan doctoral candidates Gerald and Karen DeGroot and financed through the mysterious Hanso Foundation, apparently consisted of a group of "scientists and free thinkers" from around the world who were brought together at a "large-scale communal research compound" to conduct research in various disciplines, including meteorology, psychology, parapsychology, zoology, and electromagnetism, as well as something involving utopian societies (the film is damaged at this point so the full phrase is unknown). American psychologist and Walden Two author B.F. Skinner is cited as an influence on the DeGroots' work.


[edit]
Station 3: Electromagnetic Research

Desmond and John Locke in Station Three, The Swan.According to the film, Station 3 ("The Swan") was originally built as a laboratory to study the unique electromagnetic fluctuations emanating from that sector of the island. However, an incident occurred early in the station's experiments, resulting in a change of focus. The station is now supposed to be occupied by a two-man crew whose duty is to enter a code into a computer every 108 minutes. After the code is entered and a button labeled "Execute" pushed, the station's timer resets. The film stresses the importance of adhering to the procedure by entering the code quickly and accurately, but doesn't elaborate on the reasons for entering the code, or the consequences of not pushing it. Every 540 days a new two-man crew will arrive to replace the existing crew.

Desmond is the sole occupant of Station 3 when the survivors find it. He claims not to be involved with the DHARMA Initiative, having crashed on the island three years prior and brought to the station by a man named Kelvin. Kelvin trained Desmond and referred to "pushing the button" as "saving the world". Desmond continued entering the code alone after Kelvin's death.

Station 3 is almost entirely underground. It is powered by geothermal heat and illuminated by powerful lamps shining through windows in a simulation of sunlight. The main work area resembles a geodesic dome. A strong but localized magnetic field emanates from behind a makeshift wall. The word quarantine is spray-painted on the inside of the hatch.

Station 3 is stocked with food, an extensive arsenal of firearms, some medical supplies, a record player with a collection of old LPs, a small library, a late-model washer and dryer, a shower, and bunk beds. Since Desmond ran off at the end of "Orientation," the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 are now responsible for entering the code into the station's terminal every 108 minutes.