Dharma Initiative Recruiting Project clues/September 2

Return to the main clue page for "The Project".

On this day

• Dharmawantsyou.com has changed to 'Site Updating' (as of 1.30am 3/9 GMT)
• New Video Announcement from Hans Van Eeghen is released
• New Test is released

Video

After logging in, a message saying "VIDEO ANNOUNCEMENT" appears in the middle of the Dharma logo. It takes you to a video message by Hans Van Eeghen.

“

Namaste. My name is Hans Van Eeghen. Many of you will already know me. I am the Dharma Initiative's head of recruiting as well as the architect of the aptitude tests you have been undertaking in the last few weeks. Although we are not yet half way through the planned program, I am happy to report that the progress in the general colhort is, in my studied opinion, extremely encouraging. Indeed some of the results from the first two assessments have been nothing less then stunning. It is reassuring that recruits have managed to deliver such excellent results despite numerous attempts by the so called Black Swan to undermine the testing program. You are to be commended for your discipline. Keep up the good work and avoid contact with any insights distributed by this individual. I have reported your progress to my superiors and they are suitably encouraged. I look forward to your future efforts. Namaste.

”

Pausing the video message after Hans Van Eeghen mentions the Black Swan this image was discovered. There are also numerous other instances where the video can be paused and the Swan icon can be seen clearly. The numbers 40, 60 and the letters B, P and M can also be seen at different times when the video is paused.

Test 3

The 3rd test of the Dharma Initiative Recruiting Project has begun.

Test Objective: To assess adroitness within an increasingly unpredictable environment.

Candidates must navigate a Dharma logo around a confined space avoiding collisions with other objects for a top-score of 100 seconds. Any collision instantly ends the game.

Cheat

A possible cheat can be found by examining the unusual wording in the third test objective. The etymology of the word "adroitness" is from the French phrase "a droit" meaning "to the right". When the test is active, right-clicking the mouse will pause the game. After pausing, left clicking somewhere else will round the timer up to the next second and teleport the dharma-logo mouse to the new location. This can used to move the mouse out of trouble, and to artificially increase the timer. This "cheat" can be repeated until the player achieves 100%. Also, "dexterity" comes from Latin and the word root means "right".

The in-game cheat seems to incorporate the corrupted frames from the assessment update video, in which characters spell out "B P M 40 60" followed by a black, and then white swan. In music, "BPM 40-60" corresponds to the term "lento." Typing "lento" during the game will slow down the moving balls for a limited time. You can type "lento" repeatedly to slow the balls down for the entire 100 second period. "Lento" is the translation of "slow" in Portuguese, Spanish and Italian.

Also using the right click teleport trick, players can actually place the dharma logo on the left strip "augmented" to the game screen. This will place it out of harm's way, allowing for an easy 100%

Groups

Heracles and Antaeus, red-figured krater by Euphronios, 515–510 BC, Louvre (G 103)

Antaeus: Antaeus in Greek and Berber mythology was a giant of Libya, the son of Poseidon and Gaia, and his wife was Tinjis. He was extremely strong as long as he remained in contact with the ground (his mother earth), but once lifted into the air he became as weak as water. He would challenge all passers-by to wrestling matches, kill them, and collect their skulls, so that he might one day build out of them a temple to his father Poseidon. Heracles, finding that he could not beat Antaeus by throwing him to the ground, as he would regain his strength and be fortified, discovered the secret of his power (touching the ground) and held Antaeus aloft and crushed him in a bearhug (Apollodorus ii. 5; Hyginus, Fab. 31). The myth of Antaeus has been used as a symbol of the spiritual strength which accrues when one rests one's faith on the immediate fact of things. The struggle between Antaeus and Heracles is a favorite subject in ancient sculpture.

Enceladus: In Greek mythology, Enceladus was one of the Gigantes, the enormous children of Gaia (Earth) fertilized by the blood of castrated Ouranos. With the other Gigantes, Enceladus appeared in one particular region—either Phlegra, the "burning plain" in Thrace, or Pallene. Like the other Gigantes, Enceladus had serpent-like lower limbs, "with the scales of dragons for feet" as Bibliotheke states, though this convention was not invariably followed in pictorial representations. During the battle between the Gigantes and the Olympian gods, Enceladus was disabled by a spear thrown by the goddess Athena (illustration, right). He was buried on the island of Sicily, under Mount Etna. The volcanic fires of Etna were said to be the breath of Enceladus, and its tremors to be caused by him rolling his injured side beneath the mountain (similar myths are told about Typhon and Vulcan). In Greece, an earthquake is still often called a "strike of Enceladus".

Tityos: In Greek mythology, Tityos is a giant being of the underworld, and son of Elara and Zeus. After attempting to rape the goddess Leto (at Hera's request), Tityos was slain by Apollo and Artemis. As punishment for his crimes, Tityos' body was staked down in Hades, where vultures ate his ever-regenerating liver for all eternity.

Otus: In Greek mythology, Otus was a giant and the brother of Ephialtes, collectively called the Alodae, and the sons of Poseidon and Iphimedia. They plotted unsuccessfully to storm Mt. Olympus in order to win Artemis for Otus, and Hera for Ephialtes. In a separate altercation involving Artemis as a doe, the brothers simultaneously kill each other by throwing spears at a fleeing Artemis. The Alodae were also the instigators of civilization, teaching culture to mankind.