Blast door map

Magazine map — Interpretation of the map from *Entertainment Weekly*

Inside the Swan are a series of blast doors which can seal parts of the bunker in a "lockdown" mode, the cause and purpose of which is currently unknown. During the lockdown, a series of black lights reveals a huge, hand-drawn map on the surface of one of the blast doors.

Chronology of the lockdown

Possibly unrelated: The countdown timer reaches zero, displaying hieroglyphics and initiating a mysterious mechanical process until apparently deactivated by pushing the button.
A garbled message by a female speaker, ending in a countdown to zero, is broadcast through the station's loudspeaker system.
The lights flicker.
The blast doors descend, sealing each compartment of the bunker.
When the countdown timer again reaches zero without completing the protocol, the lights go out entirely and a mechanical "revving up" sound can be heard.
A different set of ultraviolet 'black' lights that run vertically along the corners of the bunker illuminates what appears to be a color-coded map of the island on one of the blast doors.
Unconfirmed: The man known as Henry Gale claims to have entered the numbers into the computer.
The counter resets to 108. The power returns about 20 seconds later and the blast doors retract into the ceiling.
At approximately the same time as the lockdown, a large palette of DHARMA-branded provisions lands by parachute with a flashing beacon near the entrance to the bunker. A connection to the events of lockdown seems likely, but has not been confirmed.

The hidden map

Seems to be a crude map of the Island. The perimeter is octagonal and reminiscent of the DHARMA Initiative's logo.
Can only be viewed by black light. Written in unknown substance. Candidates include bleach, turmeric, cat urine, and laundry detergent.
There are at least two types of notations on the map: Printed notes in English, which are very factual and seem informed; and Latin-language notes in a cursive hand, which are more observational and speculative—even philosophical.

Locations and geography

Shows the location of six stations (with a seventh scratched out), all "pointing" to the center of the island, represented on the map by a large question mark. Four of the bunkers have both graphics and text identifiers, apparently their respective names and logos; the two remaining have no titles, and their icons are difficult to decipher. Clockwise from bottom:

"THE SWAN" (bird): Notice what appears to be a detatched section of the bunker on the left, suggesting there is a part of the hatch that is blocked off that the Losties have not yet explored. Marked "3 of 6."
"THE FLAME" (fire): Notice the text "Alleged location of #4 The Flame" on the left side of the map
"THE STAFF" (caduceus): Official name uncertain
Scratched out: Notice the note to the left, something about the Incident
"THE ARROW" (arrow): Official name uncertain
Unknown
"THE PEARL" (no icon): Logo possibely the logo on The Shark. Official name uncertain; may be called 'The Pearl' due to the notes to the right of the hatch

Notations

Copious notes written in several scripts, suggesting multiple contributors.
This list includes only English-language notes and excludes numbered labels and hatch names.
Numbered labels and hatch names include the Flame, the Staff, the Arrow, C3?, C4?, H2 and H3.
Notes in Latin are listed below.
Legible notes in roughly counterclockwise order:
- [...]FOLLOWING AH/MDG INCIDENT
- BUT COULD BE #6
- CONFIRMED SITE OF CADUCEUS MEDICAL STATION (THE STAFF!)
- CADUCEUS STATION BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN ABANDONED DUE TO AH/MDG INCIDENT OF 1985
- ESTIMATED TRAVEL TIME INCOMPATIBLE WITH 108. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO SURVEY
- OR POSSIBLE CATASTROPHIC MALFUNCTION OF CERBERUS SYSTEM
- ALLEGED LOCATION OF #4/THE FLAME BUT UNLIKELY DUE TO CERBERUS ACTIVITY
- ALLEGED LOCATION OF ABORTED #7
- LARGE NUMBER OF UNDERGROUND SPRINGS HEAVY WATER TABLE
- ACTIVITY UNSUITABLE FOR D.I.H.G.
- CV I HIGHLY UNLIKELY.
- NO SAFE LOCATION FOR DHARMATEL SERVERS/HUBS/CABLING OR INFRASTRUCTURE.
- POSSIBLE RECREATION AREA FOR [THE?] D.I.H.G. SURVEY TEAMS.
- LOW PRIORITY ZONE EXPLORATION: POSSIBLE SITE FOR GROUND STUDY OF FLORA, [...] LOW RELEVANCE TO VALENZETTI-RELATED RESEARCH ACTIVITY
- MULTIPLE ESCAPE CONDUITS BLOCKED BY INCIDENT
- SITE OF H.G. DELEGATION INSPECTION 12.07.81
- THE SWAN 3 OF 6 (4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42)
- SYSTEMWIDE FAILURE OF DHARMATEL INTRANET
- 4.08.00, 8.15.01, 01.06.03
- COMPLETE SHUTDOWN IN EFFECT.
- P.R.D. EVERY 6-8 MONTHS
- FATALITIES: 5
- POSSIBLE CV II - INACTIVE SINCE ACCIDENT.
- NO CONNECTION TO ISLANDWIDE E.E.P. NETWORK
- STATED GOAL, REPATRIATION ACCELERATED DETERRITORIALIZATION OF URSUS MARITIMUS GENE THERAPY AND EXTREME CLIMATE CHANGE
- REV-4 [or KEV-4] OZ [unclear, possible date 4.3.02] POSSIBLE LOCATION OF ZOOLOGICAL RESEARCH FACILITY
- ACTIVITY MINIMAL DURING LOCKDOWN AND RESTOCKING PROCEDURES
- KNOWN FINAL RESTING PLACE OF MAGNUS HANSO/BLACK ROCK.
- SIGHTINGS COINCIDE WITH EMERGENCY SHUTDOWN OF INTRANET SERVICES PERIODS OF HEIGHTENED SECURITY
- PRIMARY NEXUS OF CERBERUS-RELATED ACTIVITY
- CV III
- THE PEARL?
- CV VI?
- HIGH POTENTIAL FOR R.V.S.
- INTERFERENCE MIGHT ALSO PREVENT LOCATION FROM USE AS LISTENING STATION/CRYPTOGRAPHY RESEARCH /ANALYSIS
- GEOLOGICAL COMPOSITION LIKELY TO CAUSE MAGNETIC INTERFERENCE WITH WEATHER PROJECT
- WHY SO MANY DHARMATEL RELAYS TO SUCH AN UNTENABLE LOCATION?
- MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN MOST LIKELY USED BY DI FOR METEOROLOGICAL RESEARCH DUE TO [...]
- SUSPECTED SHUT DOWN [...] 10.28 84
- ROAD OR OTHER ROUTE OF TRAVEL
- POSSIBLE MANUFACTURING FACILITY WITH LIGHT INDUSTRIAL REQUIREMENT
- SUBTERRANIAN CONDUIT?
- SO MANY [...] LOCATION
The center of the map has a giant question mark and is marked:
- DESIGNATION UNKNOWN
- PURPOSE UNKNOWN
- RELATION TO D.I.H.G. UNKNOWN

Numbers, dates, math, equations, science

Underneath "THE SWAN" it says: "3 of 6 (4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42)"

Zoomed-in pic from EW.com, where you can see some of the numbers and dates
"108 00, 8, 15"
"01" (just below previous numbers, may be part of them)
√16 (which is 4), √64 (8) and √225 (15)
"4.08.00, 8.15.01, 01.06.03 - COMPLETE SHUTDOWN IN EFFECT".
- These seem to be dates using the month/day/year format.
- The last date is NOT "01.06.05", as it might appear to some. If you compare how the last digit is written to the way 3s and 5s are throughout the map, it is written like the 3s.
"x 4, y 8, z 15". Underneath it says "SUBTERRANEAN CONDUIT?"
Valenzetti-related research
- Done in The Swan.
- On 26 March 2006 someone "registered" the domains VALENZETTI.COM, THEVALENZETTIEQUATION.COM, ENZOVALENZETTI.COM and VALENZETTIEQUATION.COM (in the same column there is an ABC-SITES.COM too). The episode aired 3 days after. So it's evident that someone from the show registered them. If Valenzetti is really a mathematical theory or an equation, it probably has something to do with the "Numbers".
- Valenzetti-related could also be valence TI-related research, where TI is titanium.

Solving the equations

The two differential equations shown on the map are standard engineering/physics equations: B vector, on the far right of the map, and H vector, in the top left corner of the map. B is magnetic flux density. H is magnetic field strength (or intensity).

H: There is a constant term (mew/G(p) then a partial with respect to k of a vector g. This is one of the steps involved in finding a magnetic field in the k direction--that is, in the Z direction, or up. There is no indication of the value of the g vector is or of the constant. Why would someone write down just an intermediate step in an equation?
B: This is a calculation of the magnetic flux density vector field. It is a measure of magnetic induction, or the ability for two moving B fields to produce an electric potential. It actually looks like a changing magnetic induction calculation., as a static B field doesn't even require using differential equations--meaning this is an attempt to predict the field at some specific time and radius.
- Significantly, H fields and B fields are similar. They are related by the permiability constant (mew), so it seems like he was calculating magnetic flux density and then using the resulting field vector (perhaps this is the mysterious g vector from above) to judge the strength of some magnetic field in the K direction (above the island), presumably to find a minimum.
- This leads to a conclusion could support the theory that this lockdown occurs at a time of minimal magnetic energy, which would mess with navigation equipment.
- On the other hand, if the calculator was looking for magnetic field in the k direction (that is the Z direction, or up) they would have written partial d/dz. (It's very rare to see vector k as a derivative operator). I think the k here represents wavenumber (2π/λ).
The B equation is the magnetic field of a magnetic dipole M.
The H equation might be Hubble's constant, which gives the rate of recession of distant astronomical objects per unit distance away, it was the main observation which led to the Big Bang theory and gives a rough estimate of the age of the universe.
The H equation might not be Hubble's constant (partly because it's a vector and not a scalar constant!). Although if H is a magnetic field vector, it's not clear what the other constants could be, apart from k which could be wavenumber, so in that respect would fit cosmology more.
These are derivations of Maxwell's equations.
The magnetic field equation looks like a derivative of Biot-Savart, a formula describing what the field strength is on any given point for a coil or set of coils.
4π and the 1/r² are used to describe the surface area of a sphere not a coil.

Latin phrases

Aegrescit medendo

English translation(s): "The disease worsens with the treatment" or "The remedy is worse than the disease" or "He becomes ill by being cured"
Location on map: Upper left corner, directly to the left of the "Staff" station.
Origin/meaning: Quote from Virgil's Aeneid (book 12, line 46) or Juvenal's Satire XVI, later Francis Bacon's On Sedition.

Cogito ergo doleo

English translation(s): Latin for "I think, therefore I suffer." Also translated as "therefore I grieve" or "therefore I am depressed."
Location on map: Appears just under The Flame station and square root symbols on the map.
Origin/meaning: Play on the famous quote from René Descartes: "Cogito ergo sum" ('I think, therefore I am').

Credo nos in fluctu eodem esse

English translation(s): "I think we're on the same wavelength" or "I believe we are in the same wave/sea"
Location on map: Upper right corner, between the "Arrow" Hatch and the "C3?" Hatch (at the 2 o'clock position).

Hic sunt dracones

English translation(s): "Here be dragons"
Location on map: Outside the octagon, below the notation "The Pearl?"
Origin/meaning: Used on old maps to indicate places uncharted and likely dangerous; could be ironic usage

Liberate te ex inferis

English translation(s): "Save yourself from hell" or "Save yourself from those below." The Latin word inferi can refer to "the Underworld, Hades, hell, etc." or, simply, "spirits of the dead." This sentence could easily mean, "Save yourself from the spirits of the Dead." Note: This sentence is not grammatically correct. "Save yourself from hell" should be "Libera te ex inferis." This sentence might have been accidently blended with its plural form, "Liberate vos ex inferis," which means "Save yourselves from hell."
Location on map: Right above the rectangle marked CV III (at the 4 o'clock position).

Malum consilium quod mutari non potest

English translation(s): "It's a bad plan that can't be changed."
Location on map: Below the "Staff" station
Origin/meaning: A quote from Publilius Syrus

Malum non fidit atra or Mus uni non fidit antro

Malum non fidit atra English translation(s): "(Even) evil is afraid of the dark" or "Evil does not trust dark things" or "Evil has split the dark/black/gloomy things" or or "Evil does not have confidence in the deadly/dark" or "Evil has not divided/the deadly/dark"
Mus uni non fidit antro English translation(s): "A mouse does not rely on just one hole," which is attributed to Plautus in his play Truculentus
Location on map: Directly to the left of CV IV, between Hatches C3? and C4? (at three o'clock on the map).

Nil actum reputa si quid superest agendum

English translation(s): "Don't consider that anything has been done if anything is left to be done" or "Consider nothing done if anything remains to be done"
Location on map: On the bottom of the central circle with the large question mark.
Origin/meaning: A quote from Lucan, paraphrase of book 2, line 657

Sursum corda

English translation(s): "Lift up your hearts."
Location on map: This phrase appears three times just below the hatch that is scratched out, above the medical (Staff) station.
Origin/meaning: Used by the old-school Roman Catholic Latin Mass liturgy as lift up your hearts to God
"Susum Corda" is also a poem by Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ut sit magna, tamen certe lenta ira deorum est

English translation(s): "Although it is great, the anger of the gods is certainly slow."
Location on map: Appears at the bottom base of the octagon
Origin/meaning: A quote from Juvenal, Satire 10, line 240 and Satire 13, line 100.

Latin names

Ursus maritumus

English translation(s): "Polar bear"
Location on map: Appears at the bottom right side of the octagon in the phrase - "STATED GOAL, REPATRIATION ACCELERATED DE-TERRITORIALIZATION OF URSUS MARITMUS THROUGH GENE THERAPY AND EXTREME CLIMATE CHANGE"--

Cerberus

English translation(s): Greek figure that was the watchdog of Hades, a monstrous three-headed dog who guarded the gates of Hell
Location on map: First appearance is below the phrase "aegresit medendo" in the phrase "POSSIBLE CATASTROPHIC MALFUNTION OF CERBERUS SYSTEM". Second appearance is just below the first in the phrase "BUT UNLIKELY DUE TO CERBERUS ACTIVITY". The third appearance is in the lower right corner of the map below CVIII in the phrase "PRIMARY NEXUS OF CERBERUS RELATED ACTIVITY"

Theories and commentary

The map was apparently drawn by The Swan's previous inhabitants (like Desmond, Kelvin, and, judging from the mural, perhaps Thomas), raising the question: were they able to lower the blast doors themselves, or did they create the map only during the automated lockdown mode?
A strange thing however is, that the notes on the map sound more like planning notes (e.g. "not a suitable place for... not safe place for...") - maybe the map was not (or not entirely) made by previous inhabitants?
Note that the orientation of the island on the map might not be "Top=North". However if it is, the plane crash would have happened while flying to the South, leaving the tail of the plane in the north and the mid section and nose in the south.
The Pearl might be station C3 or C4, but both seem to be mountains. The Pearl might be the station crossed out (possibly because it is flooded?).
The message preceding the lockdown is hard to understand due to static, with one part possibly saying "begin protocol" and ends with a countdown to zero. Perhaps it was being broadcast by a passing aerial vehicle (silent enough not to be heard by the beach residents) as it delivered the fresh supplies.
- Possible other theories on what is being said in the message: "Please Proceed to Terminal". When Locke is adjusting the speaker, there's a spike of feedback. Right after this there's what sounds to be something in German, starting with "Zeit" which translates to "time". Upon closer examination, however, it sounds more like "17 minutes to lockdown" which is consistent with the "20 minutes to lockdown" heard while Locke is on the bike.
The blast door was not down all of the way since Locke's legs were caught underneath. There may be crucial information at the unseen top of the map.
The Blast Doors may come down because Dharma sent new supplies to the island.
- What is the purpose of an air venting system that allows easy transversing over the blast doors? The blast doors are obviously large and thick doors with anchoring pins on the bottom. This type of door would most likely be used to prevent explosive penetration.
The shape of the map seems to echo the shape of the Buddhist Dharma wheel.
Other part of the map says "Known resting place of Magnus Hanso / Black Rock"
The map indicates Cerberus activity. Cerberus was the three-headed dog who guarded Hades, the underworld of the ancient Greeks. He could be considered a...security system (which is what Danielle called the monster).
The words incident and activity are both found twice on the map, both times outside the octagon.
The existence of a "Dharmatel intranet" suggests the Michael-Walt IM session could have been real and not merely Michael's hallucination.
What is the purpose of drawing on the door in invisible inks/paints? Or on the door at all? Is this information being hidden from someone?
Why would someone detail this information on the blast door where it would be useless except for every once in a (seemingly distant) while when the doors shut unless they had a way to manually lower the doors whenever they wanted? This would make more sense as it would allow total privacy whenever the information was in plain view. It would make sense for there to be a means of lowering the doors manually, probably from within the room which is locked down.

Identification of known Island locations

The suitability/survivability of the midsection survivors' camp and an explanation for their apparent relative isolation can be gleaned from several notes near the "I am here" note:
- It's designated as a possible recreation area
- It's a low-priority zone for exploration
- There are no safe locations for Dharma infrastructure
- Large number of underground springs
- It also seems to be surrounded on the "north" and "northwest" by the Cerberus system, which could be inadvertently protecting the Oceanic survivors from the Others.
The location of the Black Rock (and apparently Magnus Hanso) and the identification of where "there be dragons" seems to roughly correspond with what Danielle called the Dark Territory
The station at six o'clock on the map is The Swan, which the Oceanic survivors refer to as "the Hatch."
The station at 10 o'clock on the map appears to be The Staff (a.k.a. Medical Station) with the caduceus logo, as visited by Kate, Danielle and Claire in the episode "Maternity Leave."

Quotes

"Save yourselves from the spirits of the Dead" could quite possiblyh refer to Jack's visions of his father, the visions of Walt after his abduction, Sawyer's boar, etc.
If the "Even evil is afraid of the dark" translation of Malum non fidit atra is correct, it could correlate to the way the Others only take the "good ones". The phrase may also refer to to the Others' apparent fear or avoidance of the Smoke Monster/Cerberus, which would somewhat explain the relative safety the fuselage section survivors have experienced in comparison to that of the Tailies.
If the line is Mus uni non fidit antro, meaning "A mouse does not rely on just one hole," it is slightly reminiscent of what Sayid once said to Kate about Sawyer, "You go after him now and he'll give you nothing. But if you wait, a rat will always lead you to its hole."
Liberate te ex inferis would seem to be a direct nod to the redemption themes woven throughout the show.
Immediately before the map is revealed, Locke tells would-be Henry Gale, "We have to lift it up" (referencing the doors) which would seem to connect with Sursum corda. Desmond also told Jack when they met at the stadium, "You have to lift it up, brotha!" in reference to Jack's injured ankle.
Nil actum reputa si quid superest agendum is pretty much a fancy way of saying "It ain't over 'til it's over."

Hatches

Main article: Stations

There were originally seven stations, one of which (scratched out on the map) was destroyed (or per the map, "aborted") in "the incident."
The hatch names may correspond to the elements or constellations of Apollo e.g. Crater, Cygnus, Ophiucus, Orion, Phaethon, Sagitta
There was a crater on Danielle's maps of the island
It seems possible that, since all the stations appear to be oriented toward the center of the island, that The Incident may have destroyed a central hub that controlled everything going on in the rest of the Dharma complex, creating the crater and causing the blockage of multiple escape conduits as noted on this latest map.
Two of the hatches might be underwater, underground, or at a higher elevation, or possibly planned but not yet constructed, based on the use of dashed lines to draw them.
An underwater hatch, at the four o'clock position on the map, would be consistent with Sayid's discovery of the cable into the water in that area of the island. Scott Jackson was killed by an unknown person, persons or thing that attacked from the water, not through the jungle.
Dr. Marvin Candle might be associated with Flame Station, given the link between candle and flame

Abbreviations, acronyms, initialisms

There are a number possible meanings for the various abbreviations and initialisms used on the map.

AH (Google: define AH)
- Alvar Hanso
MDG (Google: define:MDG)
- Magnus DeGroot
CV (Google: define CV)
- Roman numerals?
  - "105" in Roman numerals, meaning "CV I" is actually "106," "CV II" is "107," etc., but what is the significance? CVIV is not a properly formatted Roman numeral. 109 is CIX not CVIV.
  - From rustina at TWOP: "For what it's worth, I don't believe that the CVII, CVIII, etc. are full Roman numerals, but rather part Roman numerals. We all know that Roman numerals can be written with or without the horizontal bars on top and underneath, yes? On the super-snazzy high-res map, there are horizontal bars included -- but only over/under the letters after the CV. To me, this is a definitive indicator that the C and the V are initials that stand for something, many possibilities of which have been mentioned in this thread, and the I, II, III, etc. are the numbers part. So, rather than it being 106, 107, 108, etc., I think it's CV6, CV7, CV8, and so on."
- cable visible, cable volt, cached vaccines, capacitance voltage, casualty victim, ceiling void, cement vault, Cerberus vent, Cerberus vessel, Cerberus victim, clinical virology, cloud vapor, compass variable, computer vestibule, computer virus, concealed vaccines, concealed valve, concealed video, concealed viewpoint, concrete vault, concrete vault, containment valve, control valve, control vessel, controlled variable, cooling vent, core vein, core vent, covalent, crash vector, crash victim, crash viewpoint, critical violation, curriculum vitae, cryogenic vault
- Abbreviation for cave
DIMG or DIHG
- DI
  - Dharma Initiative
  - Dharma Institute
- MG or HG
  - Habitability Group
  - Hanso Group
  - Hunting Group
  - Maintenance Group
  - Medical Group
E.E.P. (Google: define EEP)
- Note: ESP = Extra-Sensory Perception
- Electronic Environment Protocol
HC (Google: define HC)
- "Hc is the measure of the coercive magnetic field strength in Oersted, or the point at which the magnet becomes demagnetized by an external field." (Could be related to the massive magnetism field that pulled Jack's key in "Man of Science, Man of Faith")
PRD (Google: define PRD)
- Parachute Rations Drop
- Periodical Rations Drop
- Post Radiation Disease (Makes sense in connection with: "Fatalities: 5")
- Provisions Restocking Drop
REV (Google: define REV)
- Review
- Revision
- Revelations
  - Revelations 4:2 - "Immediately I was in the Spirit. Behold, there was a throne set in heaven, and one sitting on the throne"
  - Revelations 2:2 - "I know your works, and your toil and perseverance, and that you can't tolerate evil men, and have tested those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and found them false."
  - Revelations 2:4 - "But I have this against you, that you left your first love."
R.V.S. (Google: define RVS)
- Remote Viewing Station

External links

Map commentary

Transcript of Javier Grillo-Marxauch chat discussing map WITH SPOILERS!