Tour of the Map - Part 4 of 6

Merry Christmas, Lostophiles (or, more accurately, Happy Boxing Day). Before we get to this week's piece of the map (the bottom of the middle third, from the "Swan" hatch down), a preview of what's to come down the home stretch of LLL's posts during the Lost hiatus:

Week of January 1: Tour of the map, part 5.
Week of January 8: Tour of the map, part 6.
Week of January 15: A look at the Swan hatch mural.
Week of January 22: What the whispers are saying.
Week of January 29: Recapping spoilers leaked during the hiatus.
Week of February 5: Lost returns on Wednesday! A new episode recap!

Please note that, with Lost moving an hour later on Wednesday nights, the weekly recaps will probably come a bit later (between afternoon Thursday and Friday morning).

So back to the map:

"CV I"

Decoded: As discussed last week, there appears to be no context from which we can ascertain what "CV" stands for, or determine why the "CV's" on the map are numbered with Roman Numerals. What's interesting about "CV I" (and "CV II" and "CV III") are the rectangular shapes in which they are found on the map. These rectangles are situated in very close proximity to the Swan hatch, discussed below, and suggest actual structures that the map-maker(s) may have uncovered. Although Locke and co. are no longer spending much time at the Swan (since the hatch imploded), this proximity suggests we may get some stumbled-across answers soon.

Mysteries: As discussed last week, the acronym "CV" is itself a mystery. Until we figure that out, any further mysteries remain unidentified.

Degree of Certainty: Not much at this point, but since we're in the most detailed portion of the map, I believe the mapmaker was pretty certain about something.


"MS(?)"/ "H3"

Decoded: Various versions of annotated images of the map unline have alternatively labelled this section "MS(?)" and "H3". The question mark seems to denote the annotater's uncertainty, so I'll go with the "H3" at this point. "H" certainly seems like it could stand for "Hatch," and we know that the Swan was "station 3 of 6." The "H3" is located in a diagram-like room at the end of a forked corridor, with both forks Xed out by the mapmakers. We know that the ladder leading down into the Swan from "quarrantine" hatch was damaged even before Locke, Jack, Kate and Hurley blew the hatch open. Perhaps that inaccessibility is what is marked off by the terminated corridor.

Mysteries: If "H" is not "hatch," or if "H3" is really "MS," this is wide up for grabs as to what can be going on here. Also, if my interpretation is correct, what happened in the Swan to cause the ladder to be broken off, and is related to the "quarrantine" label on the hatch? For that matter, why make the station so inaccessible from the hatch when there's an easily-discovered door to the Swan (or, there was, until the station imploded).

Degree of Certainty: In light of the way different versions of the map read differently in this spot, not a lot of certainty. But the explanation seems plausible.


"The Swan/ [logo]/ ?"

Decoded: A great deal of Season 2 was spent in The Swan, which unfortunately imploded in the second season finale before most questions about the station were answered. Given the relatively detailed diagramming of the rooms and corrdiors of The Swan on the map, it would seem this portion of the map is meant to be a fairly literal representation of this piece of the island. As discussed above, several of the corridors are Xed out at their ends, and the mapmaker made an extra notation, a "?" on the other side of the X that cuts off the northern corridor leading out from the main chamber. This could represent the powerful electromagnet that those walking the halls of the hatch felt. As Sayid commented to Jack, areas in the hatch were sealed off in much the same way the Chernobyl nuclear plant was. This could explain the Xed out corridors.

Mysteries: For all the time we spent there, the implosion of the Swan got in the way of so many of the characters' (and our) ability to solve the hatch's mysteries. For example, if button-presses were needed every 108 minutes to prevent the overcharging of the magnet powering the hatch, why tie that to entry of the Numbers, and not just program the simple terminal to vent the charge itself every 108 minutes? What was the "incident" (alluded to in several spots on the map)? And why on Earth did the Pearl orientation video suggest the activities in the Swan were meaningless and meant as just a psychological experiment?

Degree of Certainty: As certain as we are about some aspects of the Swan, its backstory remains a mystery. Fear not - the Powers that Be have promised that the truth about what happened when the Swan imploded will be revealed this season.


"CV III"

Decoded: See "CV I," above.

Mysteries: See "CV I," above.

Degree of Certainty: See "CV I," above.


"CV II"

Decoded: See "CV I," above.

Mysteries: See "CV I," above.

Degree of Certainty: See "CV I," above.


"Ut Sit Magna, Tamen Certe Lenta Ira Decorum Est"

Decoded: Translated, the Latin phrase means "The wrath of the gods may be great, but it certainly is slow." At first blush I attribute this to some depressed stinkin' thinkin' on the part of the mapmaker, who (as discussed last week) has several such choice words to describe his fate to be stuck in the Swan pushing the button. However, "wrath of the gods" suggests more than just torture - it suggests the mapmaker somehow felt he was being punished for something he had done before. Certainly these thoughts could apply to Kelvin, the former CIA spook and map editor who truned Sayid into a torturer, and by now it seems to be no coincidence that many of the island's unfortunate visitors had some dark episodes in their pasts (with the apparent notable exception of Jack, who we know was "not on Jacob's list.")

Mysteries: Is the phrase just a metaphorical bit of lamenting, or is there indeed something spiritual about the torment of those consigned to the Swan? How exactly is the "wrath" manifested? And who wrote all the darn Latin phrases on the map?

Degree of Certainty: I'm putting a lot of faith into these online translators, but without more context concerning when and by whom the phrase was written, I reserve judgment.


"I am Here"

Decoded: This simple phrase, in a circle from which an arrow points to the Swan (discussed above) may be something of a rosetta stone to the map. By clearly identifying a point on the map that is meant to be geographically accurate, the mapmaker suggests which of the map's notations provide direction and distance, and which may be just idle thoughts.

Mysteries: Isn't the mapmaker's location fairly obvious? "The Swan" logo is all over the hatch where the map was located, and the map was going nowhere. In other words, why bother writing this? More to the point, if the hatch is meant to be a 2-man operation, why "I" and not "we?"

Degree of Certainty: The directness of the message is hard to get around. I'm pretty certain of this. But as mentioned above, there are potentially more questions to ask.


"Multiple Escape Conduits Blocked After Incident"

Decoded: Another reference to the "incident." Sure do wonder what that might have been. The good thing this tells us is that a number of discrete island backstory mysteries are tied together. If we learn what the incident was, we will presumably learn why so many tunnels in the Swan are sealed off, and why the "multiple mouse-hole" design of the Dharma installations no longer seems to exist.

Mysteries: But what was that incident? And why did it necessitate the blocking off of escape conduits? Or was the blocking off of the conduits an unforeseen consequence rather than a remunerative measure?

Degree of Certainty: That these issues relate, pretty high. What actually happened back in the day, before the Swan film was made? None whatsoever.


"The Swan: (4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42)"

Decoded: Discussed ad nauseum elsewhere, there is little "new" information to be found in this notation. It again suggests multiple mapmakers, as there is no good reason to list "The Swan" in the bottom of the map while drawing its location and layout in the middle. Given the releative inaccessibility of the map most of the time (i.e. except during a hatch lockdown) it does not seem the numbers being written down here serve as a cheat sheet so much as random doodling on the part of the mapmaker.

Mysteries: Why write it down? Was there no better medium for jotting notes in the hatch than fluorescing ink on blast door? For that matter, why are the numbers so linked to this one station?

Degree of Certainty: Not a lot of serious wiggle room here. Call this pretty certain.


"Home (?) of H. G. Delegation Inspection of 12.07.81"

Decoded: Jackpot! In an earlier post, I suggested that the "D.I." of "D.I.H.G." stood for "Dharma Initiative." Here we have the "H.G." segregated out, suggesting a separate group that sent a "delegation" to inspect in December of 1981. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure the "incident" predates 1981 according to the orientation films. If that's the case, it could be that the "incident" involved the Dharmaites breaking off from another group ("the Hanso Group?") that was then forced to send a delegation to investigate. Geographically, this seems to be around the beach where our flight 815 survivors have their camp. Coincidence?

Mysteries: Again, "Hanso Group" is purely supposition, though a fairly astute guess (if I do say so myself). If I'm wrong, this whole thing is wrapped in mystery.

Degree of Certainty: Again, we're in "educated guess" territory here. Some confidence, but far from total.


"System Wide Failure of Dharmatel intranet 4.08.00, 8.15.01, 01.06.03"

Decoded: Again, we don't know specifically what "Dharmatel" refers to. What we do know is that it failed on multiple occasions in the past 4 1/2 years (of Lost time). Assuming the number sequences are dates, the last one, and possibly the last two, would have occurred with Desmond on the island. Perhaps our newly-clairvoyant Scotsman will be able to offer some insight? Indeed, perhaps these failures are of the same button-not-timely-pushed type that brought down flight 815, and the 8.15.01 (see the connection?) date is roughly the time Desmond arrived on the island. Also, we know that, in the wake of the Swan implosion, the Others lost their communication network. Could that be the most recent occurrence?

Mysteries: If my suppositions are correct, what about a late push could make a boat toss its passenger and beach itself? On that note, what happend in 2003? Might that be the date the real Henry Gale crashed in his balloon?

Degree of Certainty: Pretty much the same as the last one - an educated guess. No more, no less.


"No Connection to Islandwide E.E.P. Network"

Decoded: There may be more than one network on the island - the "Dharmatel" and the "E.E.P." Whatever E.E.P. is, it does not seem to be connected anywhere near the Lostaways' beach.

Mysteries: Why a second network? How is it distinct from Dharmatel? And why not connect that part of the island just to the Southeast of the Swan?

Degree of Certainty: Certain of what? We don't know what E.E.P. means. Period.


"Complete Shutdown in Effect"

Decoded: This seems to be a message out of time. It could refer to the end of the Dharma Initiative, or perhaps a shutdown of some specific aspect of Dharma or some other mechanisms on the island. Still, it would be odd for this to be a notation of just an apparently temporary state without some sort of date or time reference. Whatever it means, the mapmaker suggests a condition that was not subject to change.

Mysteries: The lack of a reference to any particular time, place or thing makes this one big mystery.

Degree of Certainty: Not much.


"P.R.D. Every 6-8 Months Fatalities: 5"

Decoded: I can offer little insight into this one. Something occurs every 6-8 months, and the mapmaker is aware of this event killing 5. It could stand for "positive radiation dispersal" or "polar bear rapid destruction" or even "pretty red dress."

Mysteries: What does "P.R.D." stand for? Did the 6-8 month cycle begin on the mapmakers' watch, or has it been the case for longer? Did the 5 people die at once, or each time there is an occurrence?

Degree of Certainty: Eh?


"Possible CV II - Inactive Since Accident"

Decoded: This provides further evidence that the map was not made all at once. As discussed above, there is a pretty confident placement of "CV II" right next to the Swan. Whatever CV stands for, the mapmaker in question at one point suspected a location (right near the beach). The "accident" may refer to the "incident" or it may be another occurrence altogether. Whatever the "accident" was, though, the "CV" designated "II" stopped doing whatever it was doing at that point, which may have made it hard to locate.

Mysteries: If it seems like I just winged it with this one, that's because I did. I have no idea what remains a mystery about this, since there's no clear way to know what it means.

Degree of Certainty: Not a lick.

So that's it, folks. Over the next to weeks, we'll look at the Eastern third of the island. I beg and implore you to post or email you thoughts about these mysteries and what these vague references may mean. Until next time, have a safe and happy new year.