Lost - The Dharma Stations

Now that the remaining survivors appear to be back on the island amongst the Dharma Initiative, it’s likely that the Dharma stations will feature heavily in future episodes. Although many of the stations have been destroyed by the survivors or appear to be in disrepair in the original timeline, this may be irrelevant in the Dharma Initiative island of the 1970’s. Here’s what we know about the Dharma stations on the island, as well as what we don’t. The Dharma stations on and off the island include: The Swan, The Staff, The Arrow, The Pearl, The Hydra, The Flame, The Looking Glass, The Tempest, and The Lamppost.

The Swan

The Swan has been the most heavily featured Dharma station on the show as of yet, especially in Season 2. This was the first station discovered by the survivors after they blew the hatch with dynamite salvaged from the Black Rock slave ship. The Swan is where Desmond spent so many years entering The Numbers, and it is where John Locke discovered, lost, and rediscovered his faith in the island. The magnetic outburst following the resulting surge from the numbers not being entered on time stopped The Others from communicating and traveling to the outside world and allowed Penny and her father to located the island.

The Staff

The Staff is the medical research station that the Others took Claire to in order to treat and presumably take her baby. Later in the show, the station is largely abandoned and used to store costume clothing by the Others. Juliet and Sun visited The Staff to see discover whether Jen became pregnant before or after visiting the island. Due to the fact that the station is now largely empty and in disrepair, it appears unlikely that viewers will be seeing much more of The Staff. The Staff is presumably named after the icon of the medical staff, a pair of snakes rapped around a rod.

The Arrow

The Arrow was first discovered by the remaining survivors of the tail section of Oceanic Flight 815, as led by Ana-Lucia. These survivors lived in The Arrow’s hatch until capturing some other survivors who were searching for Michael. According to Dharma’s introductory video, the purpose of The Arrow station was to gather intelligence and formulate defense strategies against the hostile indigenous of the island. Given The Arrow’s prominence in the Season 5 premiere, it is possible that this station may be critical in upcoming episodes.

The Pearl

The Pearl is the psychological research center built to study whether the subjects of The Swan performed their task of entering the numbers into the computer that was devised to save the world. Given the fact that The Swan’s computer had a very real purpose, it is possible that it is the residents of The Pearl were the real subjects of the experiment.

The Hydra

The Hydra is the zoological research station located off the coast of the main island. This is the station that housed the bear cages that housed Kate and Sawyer for so many episodes, presumably the polar bears that the survivors encountered and Charlotte discovered during an archeological dig.. During Season 3, Jack was kept prisoner in an underwater observation room used by the Dharma Initiative to study dolphins, sharks, and the like.

The Flame

The Flame is the island’s communication’s station. This is the station that is responsible for the survivor’s timely deliveries of food staples. It is an above ground station with a large storage of books and supplies. This appears to be the station that functioned as the news  source for The Others prior to the electromagnetic detonation in of The Swan.

The Orchid

The Orchid has featured heavily in recent episodes of Lost. Most recently, it was revealed in the season premier of Season 5 that The Orchid was the home of an “almost infinite source of energy” that could be use to alter time, which appears to be one of the major themes of Season 5. Additionally, it is clear that The Orchid is located adjacent to the wheel that Ben turned to relocate the island and inadvertently dislodge the remaining survivors from time at the conclusion of Season 4.

The Looking Glass

The Looking Glass station is set upon the floor of the ocean off the sea. This is the station which the anchor cable of the island is attached to and is the home of the powerful radio that Charlie used to inadvertently contact Penny. Although the station was housed by a couple of kick ass women from Ben’s house, it appears that this station was rendered inoperable at the end of Season 3 due to explosives that claimed Charlie’s life. This station was presumably destroyed and rendered inoperable.

The Tempest

The Tempest station was featured in Season 4 as the host of a deadly toxic gas that could kill every one on the island if released. Outside of that, not much is known about this station.. A deadly toxin is an important feature of the island that influenced the perceptions and motivations of the French woman and Desmond. The Tempest was named after the Shakespeare play by the same name, a play which is also based upon a mysterious island.

The Lamppost

The Lamppost was revealed in episode “316” by matronly schoolmarm Miss Hawking as the station that the Dharma Initiative used to locate the perpetually moving island. It features a large pendulum reminiscent of a Foucault’s Pendulum swaying over a large stone globe, etching lines on the globe as it tracks the island. No other properties of this station have been revealed as of yet.