Decoding the Map - part 1 of 6

We, the viewers of "Lost" have an advantage the characters do not - we can freeze the frame on the show (and even more conveniently, search the internet for freeze frames created by other fans). As a result, some of the more ephemeral keys to the island's mysteries are available to us in ways they are not for the characters. During the current hiataus I will discuss three of these clues that briefly presented themselves to the lostaways but that we have available online at the click of a mouse: 1) the map from the Swan hatch blast door; 2) the mural on the wall in the Swan hatch and 3) the whispers that have appeared on the island at various times, which some audiophiles online claim to have extracted and transcribed.

This week, we look at the "North West" corner of the hatch map. For a visual reference, I refer to you the last link in the list on the right side of this web page.

The map was the creation of Desmond's predecessors in the Swan hatch, Kelvin Inman and the mysterious Radzinsky (it may have predated these two, but we don't know at this point). When these hatch dwellers observed phenomena taking place on the island, they updated their map with an invisible ink that was only readable under blacklight, such as when the hatch went into lockdown mode. Some of the cartographers' observations are things we already know about, others remain unknown. But here's what we know (and think we know) about the top half of the left third of the map. Starting from the top left, and working down the side, we see:

"From following AH/MDG Incident"
Decoded - There are two references in this odd phrase that seem familiar. "AH" could likely be "Alvar Hanso," the financier and co-creator behind the Dharma Initiative. "Incident" may well be a reference to the ominous event mentioned in the Swan orientation film, which told Swan staffers that, since the "incident," it became necessary to enter the numbers every 108 minutes.

Mysteries - What is "MDG?" Do we have a way to tell at this point? What exactly was the "incident?" Is the "incident" referenced on the map the one in the film? Was Radzinsky around long enough to know what the incident was?


Degree of Certainty - Very slight. We just don't know enough to even be sure if, in context, "AH" refers to our Swedish arms dealer friend, Alvar.


"Confirmed Site of Caduceus Medical Station (The Staff)"
Decoded - The staff station, we learned last season, was the facility where Claire was taken and put up in a mock nursery. There had been a big stock of the Dharma vaccine, at least one fully-stocked operating room, and a locker room. Although the Others apparently stripped the place nearly clean after Claire's escape, Kate found evidence in the lockers that the Others' "hillbilly" act was phony.

Mysteries - Why was this facility built? It makes sense that a team of scientists on a remote island would need some sort of medical facility (you know, just in case). But is that the entire purpose of the Caduceus station?

Degree of Certainty - Very high. We've seen the Staff station, and know it's fairly reachable from the lostaways' camp and Swan bunker. The Swan map puts it to the North East of the Swan, and there's no real reason to question this placement.

"But Could Be #6"
Decoded - the orientation films we've seen so far (for the Swan and the Peal) both indicate there were six Dharma Initiative stations on the island. The placement of this phrase so close to the one above suggests that the map's makers may have questioned whether the Caduceus bunker was just an infirmary or part of the Dharma experiments.

Mysteries - #6 of what? The hatches are the only things we've seen numbered as a group of six, but why question whether the Caduceus is the sixth station? And if that is a meaningful distinction, what purpose could this now-abandoned station serve?

Degree of Certainty - moderate. There is too little context to be sure what this could mean. Also, as you'll see in next week's post, there is another numerical reference on this side of the map that lessens the chances of this 6 referring to the six Dharma installations.

"Aegrescit Medendo"
Decoded - This Latin phrase is written over the map I've linked to, but translations available on the internet read "the disease worsens with the treatment" and "the remedy is worse than the disease." We've heard about the mysterious sickness from Rousseau, who claims it took her crew (forcing her to kill them). As for the "cure" or the "treatment," that could be the Dharma vaccine. Recall from the Lost Experience that the post-Dharma Hanso Foundation had planned to administer a "vaccine" that was genetically targetted to kill 1/3 of the human population on Earth. Perhaps Dharma tried something similar. More likely, there are side effects to the Dharma vaccine that are positively frightening.

Mysteries - Why write in Latin all over the map? Sure we've heard about it, but what exactly is the disease? And why did Desmond believe he had to keep shooting up the vaccine? Why did the Others keep innoculating Claire with it? What are the unintended side effects? And are they really "unintended?"

Degree of certainty - Tentative. We won't know for a while, I suspect (like until we get Rousseau's flashback story, which likely will not be until next season).

"Estimated Travel Time Incompatible with 108 Do Not Attempt to Survey"
Decoded - The reference to "108" clearly refers to the time between mandatory button-pushes in the hatch. This phrase would seem to indicate that one map maker had discovered the route to the medical station but knew that any meaningful exploration would risk a missed code entry.

Mysteries - The Swan was always meant to be manned by two individuals, yet we know that before Desmond, there was Kelvin, and before Kelvin there was only Radzinsky. Whoever wrote this phrase was most likely alone in the Swan at the time. But as we'll see in a later post, the map-makers crossed out and revised their entries from time to time, so why did this remain even after Radzinsky was joined by Kelvin, and Kelvin by Desmond?

Degree of Certainty - Very high. Other than the motivation question above, there's little doubt about why 108 minutes is a firm deadline, especially now that the Swan has imploded.

"Caduceus Station Believed to Have Been Abandoned Due to AH/MDG Incident of 1985 or Possible Catastrophic Malfunction of Cerberus System."

Decoded - Another reference to the "AH/MDG" incident! This comment dates the incident in 1985, which helps in constructing our island mythology time line. But what's this about the Caduceus station having been abandoned? It looked pretty Others-inhabited in the Claire flashbacks we saw last season. As for the last portion of this clue, many online, myself included, have interpretted the map's references to "Cerberus" as referring to the smoke monster. As the pilot and Mr. Eko discovered, the smoke monster can act in positively catastrophic ways. Rousseau described it as a "security system" and it makes that odd mechanical clanking sound.

Mysteries - This is one of the richest sources of questions on the map. If the station was abandoned, who abandoned it? Dharma? And if the Others then occupied it, are they distinct from the Dharma Initiative? How long after 1985 did the station remain unoccupied? Again, what was the incident, and how much did it directly relate to Alvar Hanso? Is Cerberus "smokey?" If smokey is a system, who installed the system, and what was its intended function? What caused it to malfunction? Can it really bust into a secured bunker?

Degree of Certainty - That "Cerberus" is the smoke monster: high. Anything else? I think we know way too little about the clues here at this point.

"Alleged Location of #4 - The Flame But Unlikely Due to Cerberus Activity"

Decoded - Elsewhere on the Map is a logo and hatch sketch that suggest one of the yet-t0-be-discovered installations is called "The Flame." The producers have hinted we would see The Flame this season, and indeed, that may be where the mysterious eyepatch guy observed via camera from The Pearl was located. Referring to The Flame as "#4" reinforces the notion that the nubmering on the map is a reference to the 6 Dharma stations from the films. The last portion of this note suggests the Cerberus system that may have endangered the Caduceus station would somehow be incompatible in its design with placement of The Flame midway between the beach and the medical station.

Mysteries - If Dharma built the hatches and Cerberus, why couldn't they just send Cerberus on another route? Why would Station 4 be built after Station 6? What goes on at "The Flame?" Other than the fairly obvious "Caduceus" (the ancient Greek symbol for medicine), what meaning can be ascribed to the names of the hatches, i.e., "The Swan," "The Pearl," "The Hydra," and "The Flame?"

Degree of Certainty - Slight. All we know about The Flame at this point is it exists and we should expect to see it soon.

Next week - I'll continue this tour of the map with the South East corner. In the meantime please email or post your thoughts on the map.