The Tempestedit
From Lostpedia
The Hydra • The Arrow • The Swan
The Flame • The Pearl • The Orchid
The Staff • The Tempest
The Looking Glass • The Lamp Post
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The Tempest is a DHARMA Initiative station that produces, stores, and distributes a deadly toxic gas. Its location is about a day's walk north of the survivors' beach camp on the western coast. It was used by the Hostiles during the Purge to annhilate the DHARMA Initiative on the Island. It has since been disabled by Daniel and Charlotte.
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History
DHARMA Initiative
Very little is known about the history of the Tempest, although it likely was built by the DHARMA Initiative some time before 1977. ("Namaste") As the station's only apparent purpose appears to be the manufacture of chemical weapons, it may be that the station was constructed in response to the escalating tensions between DHARMA and the Hostiles. ("The Other Woman") Kate described the station to the other survivors as a "poison gas factory." ("Ji Yeon")
The Others
The ongoing feud with the DHARMA Initiative reached a critical point when the Hostiles seized control of the Tempest and initiated the Purge. The release of toxic gas on an Island-wide scale killed over 40 members of the DHARMA Initiative. ("The Man Behind the Curtain")
Later, Goodwin was assigned to the Tempest and was treated by Juliet for a burn he sustained while working there. Goodwin claimed the station was a power plant, but Juliet recognized the injury as a chemical burn. While picnicking and swimming on a secluded beach, Goodwin confessed that with a flip of the wrong switch at the Tempest station, he could kill every man, woman and child on the Island. ("The Other Woman")
Season Four (Days 91-100)
Daniel Faraday and Charlotte Lewis, two scientists from the Kahana, abruptly left the beach camp heading for the Tempest without explanation. Jack and Juliet followed - and it ultimately became clear that the scientists' purpose was to neutralize the poison gas at the station. Charlotte claimed that they did this to prevent Ben from using the gas to kill everyone on the Island. It seems likely that they were ordered to do this by Charles Widmore as one of their first steps on arriving on the Island. ("The Other Woman")
The Station
The Tempest consists of two levels: an upper level, featuring an entrance and main corridor leading to a catwalk; and the lower level chamber, containing the computer systems that control the station. Overall, the station appeared to be cleaner and in a better state of repair than other DHARMA stations.
Entrance and corridor
The exterior of the Tempest appears to be a large bunker-like structure set into the side of a mountain. A large blast door emblazoned with the station logo serves as the main entrance - leading into a central corridor. The corridor is long and dark with flickering lights. Speakers are placed at intervals along the walls. The corridor opens onto a catwalk that overlooks the facility's lower level.
Computer systems
There are two computer systems on the lower level of the station. One system's monitor displays an interactive process flow diagram with a pressure warning, while the other appeared to control various parts of the chemical process, allowing an operator to issue commands to change the temperature, open and shut valves and vents, etc.
The latter computer also displayed the names of chemicals, such as thionyl chloride, O-ethyl 2-diisopropylaminoethyl methylphosphonite and N,N-diisopropyl-2-aminoethane thiol. These are precursors to the nerve agent VX. VX was banned by the UN in 1993, but would have still been accessible to the DHARMA Initiative in the 1970's.
The computers seemed to each be different makes and models: one appeared to be a newer computer, while the other was an old Apple II similar to the computer found in the Swan.
Computer screen
- The first computer screen repeats the following text:
| “ |
>:set valve 21B = close >:EC22 reset >:set valve 21B = off >:set vent C = open >:master caution reset >:telnet tmpst4 >:set n-p/hgd tank cooling = MAX >:set valve BC22 = open >:set valve BC (something) | ” |
- In the end, the code is the same to last "set valve BC22 = open", but it ends with
| “ |
>:set valve BC22 = open >:master caution reset | ” |
Notable visitors
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| Picture | Name | Episode | Reason for Visit | |||||
 | Goodwin | "The Other Woman" | Worked there, and at one point received a chemical burn while stationed there. | |||||
 | Daniel | "The Other Woman" | Went to The Tempest with Charlotte. Donned hazmat suits to protect themselves from the gas, and disabled the gas when confronted by Juliet. | |||||
 | Charlotte | "The Other Woman" | Went to The Tempest with Daniel. Donned hazmat suits to protect themselves from the gas, and disabled the gas when confronted by Juliet. | |||||
 | Juliet | "The Other Woman" | Followed Daniel and Charlotte to stop them, under orders delivered by Harper. | |||||
 | Jack | "The Other Woman" | Followed Daniel and Charlotte to stop them. | |||||
 | Kate | "The Other Woman" | Followed Daniel and Charlotte to stop them. | |||||
Trivia
General
- Producers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof confirmed on the March 10, 2008 Official Lost Podcast that the Tempest was on the blast door map. They also confirmed it was a chemical weapons facility and was what the Hostiles used to gas the DHARMA Initiative in the Purge.
- The computer keyboards in this station are a modern design, at the very least an IBM/PC AT Enhanced model keyboard, having both arrow keys and a number pad. This style was first released in 1987, demonstrating that the equipment in this station is newer than the other stations that have been shown.
- "TEMPEST" is a US government codename for the concealment of compromising emanations in part through the use of Faraday cages to contain the electromagnetic radiation of entire buildings.
- When Jin visits the Flame station in 1977, you can barely make out the phrase "Tempest station" on the computer monitors behind Radzinsky's as he's getting up.
Cultural references
- The Tempest is a play written by William Shakespeare, that tells the story of the sorcerer Prospero and his daughter Miranda, who are stranded on a mysterious desert island that has mystical properties. Prospero raises a storm, or tempest, which causes a passing ship containing his enemies to run aground. Using magic, spirits and a man-beast creature named Caliban, he separates and manipulate the survivors of the wreck for his own purposes. The play ends with Prospero restored to his former glory.
- Forbidden Planet is a classic sci-fi film based on Shakespeare's The Tempest. Its storyline features many similar themes to Lost: a mysterious location, geographic isolation, immense power sources, ancient civilizations, hidden underground facilities, an invisible monster, a stranded crew of explorers, lost scientific expeditions, and deadly psychic powers.
- David Fury mentions Forbidden Planet while discussing the Monster in an interview with Lostpedia:
| “ |
Metaphorically, the Monster was just the great unknown threat, the imminent danger around the corner that potentially haunts us all… Some thought of it as a monster of the id, much like in Forbidden Planet-- that maybe it appeared differently to everyone who saw it. The most tangible thought, as explained later by Rousseau, was that it functioned as a security system set up by the Island’s creators/early residents... For Locke, clearly, the Monster was the "soul" of the Island that was responsible for his "miracle." | ” |
- The Tempest DHARMA logo is a huge wave which is symbolic of a catastrophic event, much like the Biblical story of the great flood. (The Other Woman-Enhanced)
Production notes
- Cooper Battery, a World War II coastal defense gun battery at Kualoa Ranch on Oahu, served as the entrance to the Tempest station. [1]
- The inside of the Tempest is actually an abandoned dairy factory.
Unanswered questions
| Unanswered questions |
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- For fan theories about these unanswered questions, see: The Tempest/Theories
- When was The Tempest constructed?
- What was DHARMA planning to do with the toxic gas?
- How was the gas released during the Purge?
- Why do the Others maintain a fiction that the Tempest is a power station?
- What work are they doing at the station?
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