# Lost 2.17: "Lockdown" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 29, 2006, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-2-17-lockdown/350423 "2006-03-29T16:50:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2006, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-2-17-lockdown/350423/241 "2006-03-31T22:51:50Z")
> [@phungi](#): > > the question that has not been asked is: > > since Locke was the only one to see the drawing, will he mention it/tell anyone about it? Of COURSE not! Have you watched this show at all?! I think they’re building an elaborate information economy. “I’ll tell you about the polar bear and horse in exchange for the story about the balloon and a tub of ranch dressing.” ---
**Author:** ![phungi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phungi/32/395_2.png) [@phungi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phungi)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2006, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-2-17-lockdown/350423/242 "2006-03-31T23:08:43Z")
> [@UncleRojelio](#): > > I’m thinking that Locke will want to contribute to the drawing and will get caught producing ‘ink’ for it. perhaps a new spin-off series will involve Jack or Sawyer tatooing themselves with a Magic-Eye-like version of the map of the interconnected hatches and “going in” to see what they can find… call me crazy but I think it has potential! ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2006, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-2-17-lockdown/350423/243 "2006-03-31T23:34:18Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > Of COURSE not! Have you watched this show at all?! I think they’re building an elaborate information economy. “I’ll tell you about the polar bear and horse in exchange for the story about the balloon and a tub of ranch dressing.” I agree. No way is he going to tell anyone, and that’s one of the things that pisses me off about this show. It really doesn’t make sense. Loop, dude, loop! ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2006, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-2-17-lockdown/350423/244 "2006-04-01T00:52:20Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > I agree. No way is he going to tell anyone, and that’s one of the things that pisses me off about this show. It really doesn’t make sense. Loop, dude, loop! It doesn’t make sense with regard to the way that _we_ would act in that situation, but it makes good dramatic sense. It’s entertaining for _us_ to speculate and try to fit all the puzzle pieces together, but it would be dull if the characters themselves spent a lot of time rehashing what’s known. I don’t worry too much about it; I just assume they’re all under the influence of several [SEP fields.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somebody_Else's_Problem_field) I’m pretty sure if you got up _real_ close to one of those bears, you’d see something like [this](http://img413.imageshack.us/img413/2508/beartag6hs.jpg). Of _course_ they don’t come up much in conversation. 😃 Loopy enough for ya? ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2006, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-2-17-lockdown/350423/245 "2006-04-01T05:24:22Z")
Great episode. I was riveted. I had a wild speculation while reading this thread. Perhaps the curiously sudden heavy rains are artificially generated in order to mask a supply plane passing overhead? The rain is coming down hard enough that the sound would mask a plane flying at medium or higher altitude, possibly, though maybe not enough for a low-flying plane. ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2006, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-2-17-lockdown/350423/246 "2006-04-01T05:28:10Z")
Looking at the paler markings, the ones that wander and curve. Around 4 o’clock is that note about ‘subterranean conduits’. Should we assume that those are what Cerberus/TCM travels along? And, just in case someone hasn’t realized it, Cerberus was guarding the Gates of Hell – which the map warns us to save ourself from. Also, it seems clear to me that this hexagon is set within the boundaries of the island, and that there are areas of the island outside it. And the map cannot be anything like to scale. It looks like almost as far from Swan to Caduceus as from Arrow to Swan, but the latter was an arduous hike while the former a little jaunt for the three women. ---
**Author:** ![Monstre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@Monstre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstre)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2006, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-2-17-lockdown/350423/247 "2006-04-01T06:32:31Z")
> [@Oslo Ostragoth](#): > > Other points/questions about the map: > > “D.I.H.G” = Dharma Initiative H\_\_\_\_\_ G\_\_\_\_\_? A lot of folks seem to be speculating that this is _Hanso Group_, although I’m not buying it. Seems a bit redundant – would be like a research project in California being called the Microsoft Corporation Bill Gates Project. I think D.I. is definitely Dharma Initiative, but I think HG is probably initials of the name of some specific project or something. > [@](#): > > What is “Dharmatel”? The island’s cellular service provider…? “Can you hear Michael yelling WAAAAAAAAAAAAALT now? Goood…” > [@](#): > > What is “P.R.D.” that occurs every 6-9 months? Parental Resistance Discouragement…? (Claire…) Prenatal Ritalin Deployment…? (So _that’s_ what the serum is!) ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2006, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-2-17-lockdown/350423/248 "2006-04-01T07:08:21Z")
> [@StarvingButStrong](#): > > Also, it seems clear to me that this hexagon It’s an octagon, you know, like the STOP sign. Coincidence? 😉 > [@](#): > > is set within the boundaries of the island, and that there are areas of the island outside it. It might have been an octagon when it was built and now it’s eroded. > [@](#): > > And the map cannot be anything like to scale. It looks like almost as far from Swan to Caduceus as from Arrow to Swan, but the latter was an arduous hike while the former a little jaunt for the three women. It could be to scale but it’s not a topographical map. Going up a heavily wooded cliff is going to take a lot longer than a walk on the beach. I wonder if the Losties’ lack of curiosity is part of the experiment? Seems pretty odd, and it’s been noted on the show by “Henry Gale.” Either that or it’s a dramatic contrivance to keep the show going for 108 episodes. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2006, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-2-17-lockdown/350423/249 "2006-04-01T09:14:02Z")
> [@Rubystreak](#): > > It’s an octagon Chuck Norris is not on the island. The island is under Chuck Norris. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Tiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Mama\_Tiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Tiger)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2006, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-2-17-lockdown/350423/250 "2006-04-01T16:39:45Z")
It looked to me like the island is actually larger than the octagon – there’s a basic octagonal shape of installations in the center of the island, but it extends out beyond that in various directions. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2006, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-2-17-lockdown/350423/251 "2006-04-01T17:16:48Z")
I just asssumed the octogon was tied in with the Dharma logo somehow. > [@Monstre](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > What is “Dharmatel”? > > The island’s cellular service provider…? > “Can you hear Michael yelling WAAAAAAAAAAAAALT now? Goood…” Very nice!! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2006, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-2-17-lockdown/350423/252 "2006-04-01T17:28:35Z")
Actually, the Dharmatel scribbling might be the most intersting: > [@](#): > > Stationwide > Failure of > Dharmatel Intranet > 4.08.00, 8.15.01 > 01.06.03 The numbers look like dates, and are interestingly a subset (though not a complete set) of “the numbers”. April 8, 2000; Aug 15, 2001; Jan 6, 2003 Aug 15, of course, we’ve seen before: date of Oceanic flight from Sydney. And the dates are almost at 18-month intervals. I don’t know what the hell it means, but it is interesting… ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2006, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-2-17-lockdown/350423/253 "2006-04-01T18:39:53Z")
> [@Mama Tiger](#): > > It looked to me like the island is actually larger than the octagon – there’s a basic octagonal shape of installations in the center of the island, but it extends out beyond that in various directions. Yes, that’s a much better way of putting what I meant to day. I’m thinking there are ‘sigficant’ places that aren’t part of the Dharma’s octagon of installations. Some of them are likely due to whatever the anomalous aspect is that drew the DI to this island – like the shipwrecked Black Rock – and other have come later, drawn either by the original anomaly or others created by the DI’s actions – such as Crazy French Lady’s research expedition. Any feeling for where Blackbeard’s ‘Do Not Cross’ line lies in relation to this map? Does anyone else find the release of that map heartening? It seems to create a boundary to the mysteries. Here is the island, here is the definitely finite realm in which this puzzle will be worked out. It almost seems like a promise that the show will not go meandering off into an X-File-ish endless swamp of invented-as-you-go plot twists until it metaphorically curls up in the fetal postion and dies whimpering. ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2006, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-2-17-lockdown/350423/254 "2006-04-01T18:44:47Z")
> [@Oslo Ostragoth](#): > > What is “P.R.D.” that occurs every 6-9 months? My money is on “Parachute Resupply Drop” ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2006, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-2-17-lockdown/350423/255 "2006-04-01T19:36:13Z")
> [@](#): > > What might “CV” stand for? Somebody’s pointed out that CVIII, which is one of the numbers on the map, is the roman numeral for 108. ---
**Author:** ![Monstre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@Monstre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstre)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2006, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-2-17-lockdown/350423/256 "2006-04-01T19:50:19Z")
> [@Little Nemo](#): > > Somebody’s pointed out that CVIII, which is one of the numbers on the map, is the roman numeral for 108. Yes, but then it’s also been pointed out that CVIV is on the map, and that’s not a correct Roman Numeral notation for anything. Instead, it appears that there are 4 “CV” items, labelled with Roman numerals 1-4. CV I, CV II, CV III, and CV IV Also, the “bars” on top and bottom of the Roman numerals only appear on the “numeral” portion (of what I’ve stated above), not over the whole thing. Especially notable in the last one. Bars on the “IV”, but not on the previous V. My guess is that “CV” stands for something specific. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2006, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-2-17-lockdown/350423/257 "2006-04-01T22:27:27Z")
I like this [observation](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=363982&page=3&pp=50) from last week’s thread: > [@SenorBeef](#): > > Thread died out at 2.5 pages? Lost isn’t giving us as much to discuss these days… > > At least next week’s preview looks interesting - but they often do. They definitely came through in the “give the obsessives something to keep them occupied” department this week. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2006, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-2-17-lockdown/350423/258 "2006-04-02T01:05:53Z")
> [@Mama Tiger](#): > > It looked to me like the island is actually larger than the octagon – there’s a basic octagonal shape of installations in the center of the island, but it extends out beyond that in various directions. OK, eroded was definitely not the right word. Shaped by time and tide. Islands do change shape over time, so it may have originally been an octagon and then spread. Or something. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Tiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Mama\_Tiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Tiger)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2006, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-2-17-lockdown/350423/259 "2006-04-02T02:33:58Z")
> [@Rubystreak](#): > > OK, eroded was definitely not the right word. Shaped by time and tide. Islands do change shape over time, so it may have originally been an octagon and then spread. Or something. Or it may have been a big island with a smaller octagonal installation planted in the middle of it. “Smaller” being a relative term, of course. > [@Larry Mudd](#): > > They definitely came through in the “give the obsessives something to keep them occupied” department this week. And I often wonder just what percentage of what we all obsess over actually has _anything_ of significance to it, or is just another shiny thing for our entertainment. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2006, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-2-17-lockdown/350423/260 "2006-04-02T02:43:42Z")
I wonder if the hatchlings have contol over the black lights. If not, the whole think is only visible for about 10 seconds every “x” number of months. If x = number of months between lockdowns and we assume that lockdowns coincide with parachute drops and that PRD is “parachute resupply drop”, then x = 6 - 8. That’s not much time… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-2-17-lockdown/350423.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-2-17-lockdown/350423.md?page=14)