Dharma Stations Part 3: The Staff
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By AngeloComet
- Dharma Stations Part 3: The Staff
- Created: Jan 17, 2008
- Last updated: Sep 19, 2008
- After episode: 3.22: Through The Looking Glass
- Status: Current
- Flag this theory:
How bad must the Staff Station incident have been?
— AngeloComet
I have been intrigued by what the original purpose of the Dharma Stations were. Through the design of the various Stations, and for the few that we have been able to see Orientation films for, I believe that solid foundations can be drawn to build a case for their original intentions. In this series of theories I shall examine each Station in the order their existence has been revealed. This post concerns itself with The Staff Station, ak.a. the Caduceus.
The Staff Station Dharma logo takes a departure from other Station logos in that it uses red rather than being restricted to black and white. However, before I press on about the Staff Station, I feel this note I unearthed about ‘the caduceus’ (the name of the symbol within the logo) is worth pointing out.
‘The caduceus is sometimes inaccurately used as a symbol for medicine, especially in North America, but the traditional medical symbol is the rod of Asclepius with only a single snake and no wings.’
Did Dharma (or the creative designers on the show) realise the Caduceus symbol they used was inaccurate in pertaining to the medical profession? I’ll leave that for you to make your own mind up about. (Those that have a sense about the kind of person I am will probably be able to deduce what I believe.) Still, let’s not allow this to hamper our investigation. Please remember that my chief purpose here is to work out what Dharma originally intended the Staff Station to be for, but to get there I’m going to work chronologically backwards. . .
As of the end of season 3, the last revelation about the Staff Station was the reveal of the secret vault that Juliet showed to Sun. Here, at least, there was working pregnancy equipment, verifying that The Staff was not a place that had been adjusted and refurbished to accommodate Claire after her kidnap; other pregnant women had been there before her. As Juliet points out they all died there, too. We’ve seen as much in her flashbacks.
The Others, then, appropriated The Staff as base for their issues with pregnancy-fatality on the Island. The vault that Juliet showed to Sun had been appropriated as a form of ‘hospice’ for the mothers that would certainly die. And I think there is a temptation to leave the thought process there. The Staff Station is a medical station, we tell ourselves. The Others brought pregnant women there for medical treatment, we tell ourselves. It makes sense. Except ending with that line of thinking does not answer this: What did Dharma build the Staff Station for?
When Claire returned to the Staff Station, with Kate and Danielle, we got a chance to explore a little. The place was emptied and abandoned, seemingly in a rush (presumably because, since Claire had escaped, The Others fled fearing she would tell her people where she had been). There was one enormously intriguing element that probably took your interest at first and you’ve since forgotten about. ‘Escape hatch’. There was an escape hatch in the Staff Station, presumably put there by Dharma. Now for me, that raises more questions than anything else seen in The Staff so far.
Whoever heard of a medical station requiring an ‘escape hatch’? (And, by the way, whilst I’m on the subject; if The Staff’s original purpose was as a medical station - like a hospital - then why the hell place it far away from the Barracks and the majority of the Dharma Initiative people in an underground bunker? Not exactly convenient in an emergency, don’t you think?) So we have a medical facility with a built-in ‘Escape Hatch’. Hold on to that.
Before The Others, before ‘the purge’, something happened concerning The Staff Station that’s thoroughly deserving of our attention. On the Blast Door Map, close to the The Staff, the following notation. ‘Caduceus Station believed to have been abandoned due to AH/MDG incident of 1985 - or - possible catastrophic malfunction of Cerberus system’.
Whoa.
Let’s just hold up for a second and take that in.
Caduceus Station believed to have been abandoned due to AH/MDG incident of 1985. “AH” probably stands for Alvar Hanso. “MDG” I struggle with. The DG part could be De Groot, but the M doesn’t fit with Karen or Gerald… Another De Groot? A son or daughter? Maybe. Maybe not. I find it fascinating that ‘an incident’ at the Staff Station provoked the place to be abandoned (through the ‘escape hatch’!?). I mean, we all know there was ‘an incident’ at the Swan Station but they didn’t abandon that place. How bad must the Staff Station incident have been?
Possible catastrophic malfunction of Cerberus system. Easily the most eye-catching notation. Cerberus being Dharma’s name for the Black Smoke, we have the suggestion here that the Staff Station was directly involved with it. The fact that the Cerberus system had a malfunction, I hope, is enough to persuade people that the Black Smoke is a man-made, technological creation. It almost certainly must be, and Dharma appear to almost certainly be at the heart of it. Catastrophically so. Possibly. (You’ve gotta love the caveat of flexibility the Lost creators like to leave themselves!)
Could it possibly be that the Black Smoke has its origins, or its current incarnation, as a result of work done in the Staff Station? We can be certain that the Black Smoke is not all there is to Cerberus - that it is a small part of a larger system - but where else and what else it extends to boggles the mind. Is that what the original purpose of the Staff Station was for Dharma, before The Others turned up and appropriated it as a pregnancy clinic? I think of that ‘escape hatch’ and how it would be a necessary failsafe if working with something so potentially dangerous as Cerberus and, you know, I’m a little swayed by the notion.
In 1985, by whatever process, the Black Smoke as we know it was unleashed? Catastrophic death and destruction at the Staff Station that caused the place to be abandoned? You ask me point blank if I think that’s right, I’d hesitate. You ask me if I think it’s a possibility, given the evidence I’ve gathered, I’d say, Yeah, could be. I’m not saying Dharma’s original intention was to create the Black Smoke - rather I’d suggest the Black Smoke/cerberus is an offshoot of a project that went wrong… An ‘incident’ occurred… Dharma fled the scene and the Black Smoke was left rampaging around since… Yeah, could be. Possibly.
Swan Station Post: http://lost-theories.com/theories/2008/jan/14/dharma-stations-part-1-swan/
Arrow Station Post: http://lost-theories.com/theories/2008/jan/16/dharma-stations-part-2-arrow/
Key episodes
| # | Title | Aired | Central character | Theories |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.18 | D.O.C. | 4-25-2007 | Sun, Jin | 92 |
| 2.15 | Maternity Leave | 3-1-2006 | Claire | 118 |
More More MORE!! ;)
+1
Wow AC—you are uncovering so many fascinating details in these posts—I second Molly! I want to give the initials more thought, but I remember thinking about that mistaken use of the Caduceus before and my assumption is that since the C. staff is a sign of business/trade (for one thing)—there’s a Widmore/Paik connection. Also the staff was the one carried by Hermes/Mercury—another trickster figure—patron not just of business but shadier business, and thievery—appropriately.
Insightful intake on the staff station, i like how you linked smokey’s birth at the station. Just a quick question the Caduceus Station you mention is that apart of the staff station or a completly diffrent station close by.
Another query that is against smokey being created there, before the purge there was a genral fear of smokey by dharma. sonic fence gives a good indication that smokey was a threat before the purge. Bens mother was also shown but there is no proof suggesting that smokey can shape shift yet.
For arguements sake the fence was meant to keep the hostiles out but a fence that sophisticated (i’m leaning towards smokey)
i don’t usally vote put this theory was interesting to me so +1
AC: The AH/MDG incident of 1985,Could it be…. Alvar Hanso/MittelwerkDeGroots? http://www.thehansofoundation.org Click on humanity to hear Mittelwerk’s statement. (I know you have heard it before,but it was easier than typng in everything he said.) +1 :-)
kat just reminded me of an old theory I had about smokie and the connection of smoke’s appearances with rain. Not sure how it might connect up with the Staff, and with the Widmore/Paik possible connection—but, hey, I’ll throw it out there (and give it some more thought myself) http://lost-theories.com/theories/2007/oct/04/positivenegative-life-energy-m/
Pacey - the caduceus is another name for the Staff Station, simply because the Staff Station Dharma logo has a symbol called a caduceus in it. As Jaz rightly points out, its correct use these days is in a business sense.
Fair point about the sonar fence - if it was built explicitly for Smokey then that puts a hole in my theory; although the film stated it was to keep out the “wildlife”; polar bears and “Hurleybirds” and hostiles can all figure into that!
Kate - Mittelwerk! Good stuff! Never even entered my head. (I’m at work at present but will be sure to check out that link at home later.)
Jaz - I also read something about the caduceus being linked in with a “serpent”. I drew the line at stretching the theory to combine “serpent” with the snake-like Black Smoke, however! If I’d been more desperate for “filler” there’s no doubt I’d have shoved it in there!
Perhaps the Cerberus system was created to control Smokie or change it so that they could use it for their own purposes.. It could even be a protection against Smokie, maybe there were two smokie-like forces, one of them was man-made and then they mutated into one evil robot smoke thing.. And were then called by the same names.
Which would explain the existence of the fences before the purge. They tried to tame or destroy the monster but they failed.
Re: My comments 8:04, I was once again intrigued by The Hanso Foundation I found a couple of other interesting things about …. http://www.lostpedia.com/wiki/Hanso_Foundation
Re: Site Versions; There have been four different versions of “The Hanso Foundation”. (The current one is the afore mentioned one @ 8:04)
Re: References; J.J. Abrams’s film “Mission Impossible lll” With J.J. Abrams soon to be released “Cloverfield” I wonder might a person look at the end credits in that and possibly see a reference to “The Hanso Foundation”….. stretch….
Nice work Ac. I’ve always thought that Smokey was originally man-made and mechanical but was somehow altered with the incident and/or nature of the island. OR it could have initially been a combination of mechanical and controlled “psychic” input. I mention that because Dharma was studying the paranormal, which probably would include such things as telekinesis.
Could the Staff station have been where Dharma studied the paranormal? If so, and it included experiments with psychic energy,dealing with the unknown, I can see why they would have an escape hatch. Especially if they were incorporating anything like telekinesis into the studies. It could expalin the tie-in with Smokey as well as the incident, if they got more than they bargained for with a test suject.
I’d also like to mention that Walt’s abilities seemed to include telekinesis, which is often associated with puberty and then usually disappears with the onset of physical maturity. But abilities supposedly can remain for some. (Not that I believe in telekinesis and poltergeists, it’s just that the show seems to include these possibilities)
very very nice. Just as the island is a character, i’m starting to think the hatches have there own story
Absolutely brilliant! +1
Your research is amazing, and all of your theories are so well written. Really enjoyed the read!
Very interesting and very well written!
You know when you search MDG you get a lot of info on Millenium Development Goals, an initiative that would solve many human problems.
But the one I found funny is MDG, a Canadian company specializing in fog, smoke and haze machines!
http://www.mdgfog.com
labgo, awesome find! We do know that there is Canadian involvement within the Dharma/the others because that is where Ben said he sent Bonnie and Greta. Wonderful!
Angelo, what more can I add? Wonderful read, obviously great research and well written? That doesn’t seem to come near enough to cover it. You have such an eye for detail and a way with words, it’s just amazing. +1000000
ksj, you’re not so bad yourself, coming up with Mittelwork!
labgo, I can’t forget you! Yes, awesome find!!!
Another guess for AH/MDG:
Artificial Host / Multi Dimensional Generator.
I don’t know what it does, but for some reasons it seems appropriate for the generation of intelligent black smoke. :-)
AC, well done once again. And once again I’ll add the Lostpedia link for those interested (someone says the corridor’s ceiling appears damaged)…..
http://www.lostpedia.com/wiki/Staff
AC, This is exactly what the Dharma Initiative was originally studying in the stations, or hatches as you prefer! I believe this information cannot be ignored when theorizing about the original intended use of the hatches, in order for a theory to hold weight. I believe that it should, and I am not saying that yours does or doesn’t! You decide!
1) Psycological Research: Behaviour Modification, Dissociative Disorder Study, Psycho Dynamic Research, Systematic Desensitization.
2)Parapsychological Study: Anomalous Phenomena, Bilocation & Remote Viewing, Telekenetics & GESP, Clairvoyance & Clairaudience.
3)Physics & Electromagnetics: Boson String Research, Matrix Mechanic Theory, Paleogeogrphy, Quantum Electrodynamics.
4)Zoological Sciences: Cryptozoological Research, Genus Abberational Studies, Phylogenetics, Species Allocation & Conservation.
5)Astronomy & Meteorology: Electron & Degeneracy Research, Gravitational Radiation, Peculiar Stellar Velocities, Radiative Transport Study.
6)Human Advancement: Heterogeneity Refinement, Cryogenics & Cellular Stasis, Ectopic Integration Studies, Monoclonal Research.
If we know what Dharma was initially studying, we are provided with a guideline to some of the mysteries which remain unsolved. We get an overall understanding of some of “the islands” mystique.
I have a feeling that the seventh Hatch will tie all of the above together, and will make sense out of all of the other hatches. Good thoughts!
AC, your posts are most insightful, it”s as if someone had you locked in a cupboard or something, hiding all this amazing information, and then you broke free and now it’s all coming out in rapid succession!
I think you should be included in the list of all the great things from Manchester, way above Corrie, perhaps just below the Hacienda (15 years on and my ears are still ringing!) but equal to Man U. with top goal after top goal presented stylishly.
I am a cockney w*anker & the best thing to come out of London is me when I go on holidays.
anyway I loved this post & I just wanted to get your take on these 2 pictures, relating to this staff logo business….
ok first….
http://gallery.lost-media.com/displayimage-1191-559.html
after reading your post I just happened to be watching S3-05 ‘the cost of living’, when I noticed the caduceus on the medical supply boxes (which held ‘vaccine’), do you think it is relevant or just a case of real-life mis-use of the symbol incorporated into the show?
and secondly……
http://lostpedia.com/wiki/Image:CR4-81516-2342.jpg
I noticed that the logo on the visl has a stark horizontal line running through it, can you think of any reason for this?
ok sweet I hope you might be able to shed some light on these for me, keep those posts coming!
actually while I’m at it, it still bugs me about why Locke called Ben a ‘pharisee’ and said abouthim keeping chicken in the refridgerator, and how he woudln’t if he ‘really knew what this place was’.
So have you got any takes on that?
+1
Solar… Thanks, but man you weigh in heavily with the questions!
Right. I hadn’t noticed the caduceus symbol in S3-E05 before. Good spot. I don’t think it’s a proper Dharma logo, and agree with you that it looks more like ‘official’ use of the logo as medical symbol (though, to be fair, I couldn’t really make out a snake on the thing, either - which makes me wonder if it’s a genuine caduceus).
The Shark logo is easier to sort out. The shark was supposed to have a Dharma logo, but it was not supposed to be as clear as it was in the finished show. They just stuck a generic logo on the thing and it doesn’t relate to any of the stations in particular.
The vaccine business I’m utterly lost about. The best theory I read was that it’s a fluid that contains stuff that ‘blocks’ out the Island’s effects. So The Others won’t have visions of dead people, or perhaps hear the whispers… something like that.
Locke and the pharisee business - I can see where Locke’s coming from (he wants to go back to basics and live off the land and considers Ben and his modern conveniences a cheat) but I don’t know what the hell Ben’s retort meant. I can’t even guess!
Thanks for taking the time to answer them AC, only a couple of days to go now, can’t believe it has finally come around. Wikid mate.
Dharma stations are not like you described!!!
-1 your theory while intriging causes misconceptions throughout the island
This is my favourite analysis of any of the hatches so far. Im more intrigued about the nature of Smokey and its history. +1
Okay, I agree that the DI created Cerberus and contained it through the vents, it’s a nanocloud, whatever, and there was an incident and it got loose, “catastrophic death and destruction” and the Staff was subsequently abandoned.
But why would that mean that they created it AT the Staff?
I would argue that the Staff was originally conceived as a medical facility. Probably not THE medical facility to care for all of the DI members, which would explain its distance from the barracks, but rather a research facility, just like a lot of the other hatches. Why wouldn’t the DI be studying the medical effects of the island?! That and there’s an operating theatre, and a nursery. It seems like it would have been quite a task to “appropriate it as a pregnancy clinic.”
You point out that the icon is misused as a medical symbol, but its correct use is commerce/business. What does that have to do with smokey?
Awesome theory, my only question is regarding the pylon fences. HELP ME OUT ON THIS ONE I agree with your speculations wholeheartedly about the origin of the smoke monster, but what are the pylon fences for if the smoke monster was not the intended result of the Staff’s research? We know they were built before the incident because they were a large part of Ben’s flashback. Were they a precaution? A failsafe? Meant solely for the hostiles and conveniently worked on smokie? Please help me fill this crack in the absolute solidity of your theory.