Well, kids, here we are on the third and final installment of the "Subterfuge in the Swan" series here on the Lost blog. Have you been keeping up? Writing down clues? If you guessed Colonel Mustard in the Arrow with the poison gas, well, you're wrong. So read on and see if you can't solve the mystery after reading about the third element in the Swan that reeks of disinformation: the blast door map.

We haven't quite gotten to this map in the "We Have to Go Back" series, but hopefully you all have a decent recollection of this important clue revealed to John Locke during the episode "Lockdown" during the, well, lockdown. It's perhaps the greatest example of Lost being a show of the TiVo Era, with the various scribblings practically begging the viewer to pause the show and stick their nose up to the screen and soak it all in. Course, the more knowledgeable of us knew that hi-res versions would pop up online, so really, what fool would have actually reduced their overall eyesight by smooshing their face up against the television screen? (OK, so I did exactly that. But don't tell anyone.)

I'm not here to break down every little nook and/or cranny of the Thomas' English muffin that make up the Blast Door Map content. Lostpedia offers a virtual buffet of blast door map goodness. I'm more concerned about why it was created, and more importantly, towards what end. We know it was started by the amateur film editor and Swan inhabitant Radzinsky, with a little help from his friend Kelvin Inman. But let's put aside "sheer boredom" as a possible reason and sort this piece of black-light art out.

I've left the Blast Door Map for last in my analysis of the Swan's surfeit of shenanigans because I feel it's in many ways the culmination of the other two examples listed this week. Ostensibly, Radzinsky edited the Swan video so that future inhabitants would be duped into potentially using the computer for communication. But by the time Desmond arrived, it's clear that no one ever came to relieve Radzinsky and Inman of their duties. The computer served as a possible conduit to the outside world, but could no longer be trusted in the isolation that followed the Purge. So what's a couple of crazy (and crazed) Swan citizens to do?

Build up a repository of information, that's what.

Radzinsky used the blast door map for his canvas for a specific reason: it only appeared during a lockdown, when the eyes and ears focused on the Swan would go temporarily dark. And while he eventually figured out a way to fake a lockdown, he couldn't quite figure out how to ignite the black lights. So he had to paint the map from memory under normal lighting conditions. But in either situation, isolation was key: Radzinsky couldn't risk anyone seeing what he was working on.

If you watch the orientation video of The Lost Experience, you'll hear Alvar Hanso mention that pallet drops would be made "in perpetuity." This means that periodically during the time Radzinsky and Inman pushed the button, actual lockdowns would occur, during which Radzinsky could ostensibly perform the bulk of his work. According to scribblings on the map, these lockdowns occurred every 6-8 months. It's unclear when he and Inman learned how to hotwire the hatch for faux lockdowns, but it is clear that the map's both fact-based (when possible) as well as speculative (almost always).

In the interim, Radzinsky theoretically went on little expeditions around the Island, culling any knowledge he previously might have had about the Dharma Initiative and checking it against the reality of the situation. Many of the geographical locations are best guesses on his part, with some hatches in fact scribbled out after the fact and redrawn. Musings about power cables, monsters, and final resting places abound. This is all well and good, but still hasn't answered the main question: why did Radzinsky do this?

Any answer to this is purely speculative, given how little we know about the man himself. We only know of him through Inman's description to Desmond, so any and all knowledge is far from definitive.  So let me throw out a couple of routes in which the show could feasibly go.

1) Dharma Gone Wild

Or, really, "Dharma Gone Batty." Under this assumption, Radzinsky and Inman were the last two given a 540-day assignment under the Dharma Initiative before the Purge. Ben Linus and Company assumed control over all stations except the Swan, realizing that they didn't want the responsibility associated with button pushing, and left these two alone in order to do the dirty work associated with the hatch. However, through the Pearl and the Flame they still maintained an eye on the facility, lest the two go on a drunken bender and sleep through the warning signal.

Radzinsky started the Blast Door Map when he realized no one was coming to replace them. He started taking copious notes of all he could find out about the Island: he located hatches, found old notes, and slowly started to put together a possible scenario along the blast door. Eventually, he wrote himself into circles, slowly losing his grip on reality, ending it all with a shotgun blast to the head.

2) Experimental Art

Radzinsky wasn't an employee of the Dharma Initiative, but rather a subject of their experiments. The Blast Door Map is the product of a person formerly in Room 23, somehow placed into the Swan. Why? Because, as stated above, the Hostiles/Others expressed little interest in assuming control over it. The work was tedious and kept them hidden from the world's eye. They have better things to do with their time. There are muffins to bake and book clubs to be had and children to swipe, after all.

In any case, Radzinsky was moved there pre-Purge as a way to save a "specimen" of the DI's work. The Blast Door Map is the result of a "special" person with a photographic memory and an ability to paint without actually seeing his own work. He didn't actually travel around the Island (too dangerous) but in fact composed the map entirely from his previous experiences on the Island, taking the geography he'd seen and the conversations he heard (out loud/in people's heads) and put them down on the blast door over the course of many years until finally, the work done in Room 23 simply cooked his brain until the point where suicide seemed like a good option.

3) Waiting for the Man

Know how both Kelvin and Desmond greet newcomers to the hatch with the question, "Are you him?" Well, that "him" in question is the person for whom Radzinsky is designing the Blast Door Map. It's essentially a Hitchhiker's Guide to the Island, if you will. And it makes sense, since the answer to life, the universe, and everything is one of the Numbers, after all.

In this scenario, Radzinsky's job is to provide on-Island recon for whomever is coming to the Island at some pre-determined point in the future. Radzinsky doesn't know who this person is, or he undoubtedly would have told Inman. All Radzinsky knows is that he has to put together a comprehensive guide to the Island in the most secretive way possible. The only way to do so would be during lockdowns, when no one was looking/listening. But since the lockdowns occurred so infrequently, Radzinsky had to improvise, and thus the hotwired lockdowns were established.

And the "him" in question? I think you know whom I'd nominate for that.

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So there are three of the possible scenarios in which I could see the creation of the Blast Door Map. In any case, it's clear that it's one of the Swan's biggest secrets, one kept from the makers of the hatch itself, in order to provide crucial information about the Dharma Initiative. I'll leave it in your capable hands to select which theory seems most plausible, and what the ultimate use of that information was supposed to be. It's the biggest mystery in a hatch full of them.

Ryan also posts every 108 minutes over at Boob Tube Dude, then checks out Zap2It's Guide to Lost Facebook group.

Comments

so...now the failsafe key has been turned, as has the frozen donkey wheel, will the Dharma food drops continue? while i think not, as a knee-jerk reaction, what if they were? what would that mean? hmmmmmmmmmm....

mri | Sep 18, 2008 7:29:18 PM | #

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Escaping the post for a second, isn't it possible that the incident was provoked because the guys in the swan were so busy chatting in the Dharmessenger that they forgot to input the numbers, thus reaking havok and unleashing armageddon upon the island? And if the problem could be solved by simply turning a key, why didn't they do it before?

mri- That will be interesting to find out. Maybe Ben plans to search for the island in the dharma headquarters or in the Hanso Foundation.

sin laden | Sep 18, 2008 7:56:58 PM | #

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Of the 3 scenarios, I'm more inclined to go for #1. However, I get the feeling that Radzinsky was an Other, yet Kelvin was a Dharma recruit sent post-Purge. I say this, because I seem to remember Kelvin saying that Radzinsky was there before him, and stayed to train him.

Didn't Kelvin continue to draw the map after Radzinsky had died? I believe Kelvin showed Desmond the faux-Lockdown trick, and continued to draw the Blast Door Map. Does this mean he saw the other Hatches too, or was he just going by what Radzinsky told him?

To be honest, besides what Kelvin has told us, we don't even know Radzinksky even existed. Kelvin could have edited the film, moved it, and wandered the Island himself, putting together the map. I don't know...it just seems what we've heard of Radzinsky, came from a somewhat unreliable source. I really hope we get some more insight, if not answers to this, during Season 5.

Shaggysteve | Sep 18, 2008 8:22:04 PM | #

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Radzinksky had to be the one to cause the incident, but he also tried to keep it from happening again. I think he was one of those rebellious young scientists that "hacked" into the main Dharma network, figured out their grand scheme, and decided to report it to the outside world. This may have been what triggered the purge, as Richard Alpert would have found out about this contact to the outside world and decided it was "time" for Ben to live up to his word. After the purge, Radzinksky felt so guilty about everyone else dying and him surviving he stayed in the swan to push the button, edited the film to keep anyone else from being tempted to contact the outside world, tried to draw from memory the schematics of the island that he got from his hacking, and finally killed himself out of severe guilt. (big breath)

Does any of that sound remotely feasible?

The Man from Tennessee | Sep 19, 2008 4:33:07 AM | #

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Absolutely possible, and an interesting hypothesis. Thanks, Anthony Cooper!

And no, you can't have my kidney.

Ryan | Sep 19, 2008 7:27:35 AM | #

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sin laden, the protocol of inputting the numbers was established after the Incident happened. Something else caused it.

I believe Radzinsky and Kelvin were both DHARMA employees, but like you said Ryan, when no one came to relieve them, their minds became idle and they needed to do something to keep themselves alert and focused.

Radzinsky seems like he was a real conspiracy theorist and it seems he was very intelligent. If you read the scribblings on the door, he was very clearly trying to figure out all the dirty little details about the DI. It does seem that he got increasingly paranoid as time went passed. He may have started to lose his grip on reality in the end.

But he's my question. If we factor Via Domus into the equation, what further insight can we glean about the blast door map? And don't give me the prepackaged non-canon answer; the blast door map is an important piece of mythology that was created by the producers - there's nothing non-canon about it.

One of the notations has the words "K. bahaving strangely; can't trust; have to watch out" Could it be possible that Radzinsky didn't commit suicide but was actually killed by a deranged Kelvin? I mean, this is the same guy that was secretly fixing Desmond's boat and was going to leave without telling him.

JeffC | Sep 19, 2008 7:52:10 AM | #

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Well, sorry JeffC, I will give you the 'prepackaged non-canon' answer, in that the producers have officially put the game outside of the official narrative.

http://www.lostpedia.com/wiki/Official_Lost_Podcast/March_10%2C_2008

I think your theory about the "K" being Kelvin is correct, and it's quite possible that Kelvin DID kill his partner, but I am not sure we can go to Via Domus as an example of that.

Ryan | Sep 19, 2008 8:03:12 AM | #

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But there are elements of Via Domus that are non-canon. When the producers go on the DVD and say there's another layer to the blast door map that we haven't seen and then a month later release a video game that show that layer, how is that non-canon?

JeffC | Sep 19, 2008 8:27:39 AM | #

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JeffC, I really don't want to turn this into some "yes it is" "no it isn't" fight on here. I understand where you're coming from, but if the Lost writers didn't come up with the text on the second layer on the map, it can't be considered canon. This isn't me being argumentative, it's just me trying to look at this in a detatched fashion. The producers of Lost did not release "Via Domus," Ubisoft did. _That's_ how it's non-canon.

I have included mention of things like the Valenzetti Equation this week because while we primarily know it through a non-canon ARG, it IS mentioned on the in-show map, and was on the image distributed by the show to various outlets. But I try to couch all this in terms of "it might be" or "it'd be cool if" rather than try to make all-encompassing, "this is how it has to be" proclamations.

I have tried to shoehorn in "Via Domus" into the overall story many times on this blog, and it just doesn't hold up. You can't wildly displace the locations of hatches, re-jigger certain story elements, AND have certain elements which are now supposed to be believed whole-heartedly. You just can't have it both ways. So I write the whole game off as "interesting" but ultimately an exercise in feeling like a Lostaway versus learning about the mythology of the show in a meaningful way.

Also, at the risk of sounding like a broken record: _the producers called the game non-canon_. I wish I had know this before dropping $60 on it, but my anger towards that can't make me wish it into canon-dom, either.

Ryan | Sep 19, 2008 8:42:41 AM | #

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Yeah, you're right. There's really no point in trying to use anything in Via Domus as canon. I'll modify my statement to say it would be interesting if the extra notations on the blast door were real because it might suggest Radzinsky was murdered.

JeffC | Sep 19, 2008 10:51:41 AM | #

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I think #1 makes the most sense to me, although this show is full of surprising turns. Maybe once they got abandonded there and felt that no one was going to replace them, he felt like it was something valuable he could contribute once the Man showed up, before the tediousness pushed him over the edge.

Lisa | Sep 19, 2008 11:23:25 AM | #

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Hate it when you do that Ryan! Who do you think "him" is?
Great column.

Dean | Sep 19, 2008 12:31:13 PM | #

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In scenario 3, the "he" in question is Charles Widmore. I like the idea of providing on-Island recon for the Keamey Krew, which would potentially explain how they knew about things like the secondary protocol and the sonic fence.

Of course, it's also possible Widmore just obtained those documents off-Island from some Hanso offices as well. But I like the possibility all the same. Just fun food for thought. Way tastier than a fish biscuit.

In any case, I was thinking a lot about the "Are you him?" questions in Season 2, and Widmore seems a possible candidate for that role.

Ryan | Sep 19, 2008 1:03:06 PM | #

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Interesting... I always assumed "he" was the guy who was finally going to relieve Radzinksy of duty.

JeffC | Sep 19, 2008 1:32:17 PM | #

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How did Radzinksky die? Not the method, but how did the Island LET him die? What purpose did he serve prior to being allowed to die by the Island? What if his death was necessary to cause the ripple effect of what we are looking at now?

If someone else has already posted this, I am not stealing it from you, just throwing it out there. What if we have already met Radzinksky? What if Radzinksky is Faraday? What if he had knowledge of his future past and his past future and that is why he needed a Constant?

Meh, I don't know. It's kind of out there but fun to think about in this long gap between seasons and a weekly/weakly ARG test...

Blue Sean | Sep 19, 2008 1:44:33 PM | #

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Jeff: Your take is probably correct, in that it's logical and simple. Unlike mine, which is pretty far out there. "Are you him?" could simply be a question, not a mystery.

But to tie into Blue Sean's query about Faraday, there are a lot of outlandish but completely fascinating options there. Jacob, Locke, Faraday, Widmore, Christian...

In terms of the Island not letting people die: I think those who are in the Island's grip have already died in a point that is in the person's future, but time's past. If that makes sense.

So, when Faraday cries upon seeing Oceanic 815, it's because he intuitively understands its the end of days for him.

I need to work through the specifics, but in short: Jeff, you're more than likely right, and Blue Sean: I think it's completely possible.

Ryan | Sep 19, 2008 2:04:38 PM | #

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I do tend toward the straightforward and logical answers, but then again when is this show ever straightforward or logical? :)

JeffC | Sep 19, 2008 3:26:19 PM | #

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I'm going to reply to "Lilith's" Comment here, because I have "fallen behind" (just as she stated) and I'm just now getting caught up. BUT, that has only happened a few times. Most times, I can keep up with the pace. I believe that Ryan has a good "pace" going here -- fast enough to keep interest but not slow enough to lose my interest. Sometimes I am waiting for the next thread (and constantly checking back) and sometimes (like now), I can't keep up. It just depends on what is happening in my life. I think Ryan has great insight -- comparing the "button" to the Ring and how once they "push the button", it changes people just like the Ring did -- is absolutely brilliant and I wouldn't have thought of it myself. Those who post here, take the good and the bad, because we know that Ryan's words have alot of wisdom and insight. The fewer "poster"s have more to do with how busy our lives are, because most people here are avid fans and come back when time permits!

Debra | Sep 21, 2008 3:20:02 AM | #

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Who here thinks Christopher Lloyd would make a fabulous Radzinsky?
Do you think Ben and the others knew about the blast door map? About Kelvin? About Desmond? Seems like the Pearl station or The Flame would have provided them easy access to view the day to day activities in the Swan. So, How come they did not know about Desmond's boat? How has Ben not put together the fact tht Desmond was in the Swan for 3 years and that he is directly connected to Charles Widmore? This has bothered me for some time now.

Radzinsky could not have been part of Ben's "others" IMO because, no one seems to have known about him or missed him when he was gone. For all we know Radzinsky could have been made up by Kelvin. Remember, Kelvin told Des that there was a great sickness among other lies....he could have lies about Radzinsky or maybe he, himself disposed of Radzinsky.

Chris | Sep 22, 2008 7:33:18 AM | #

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Theory: Radzinsky = Benjamin Linus... Discuss.

Marino | Sep 22, 2008 10:30:22 PM | #

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