Entertainment Weekly ARG Update!!!!!

[see you in the next life]

I didn't see mention of this in letyourcompass or Rachelblake and really wasn't sure where to post it.

An update about TLE ARG from EW. It looks like things are gonna get interesting.

This could open up the TLE vs. Non-TLE thing again.

Mods, feel free to move this is it isn't meant to be a new thread. Just wanted everyone to see it.




http://www.ew.com/ew/article/commentary/0,6115,1215341_3_0_,00.html

[rvturnage]

If I may be so bold as to quote Truff...

{ahem}

It
IS
COMING!!!!!!!

{ahem}...thanks for the link SYITNL..that's quite an interesting read...I like this part:
Moreover, my Lost gut tells me that something is going to happen. Something in THE REAL WORLD.

rvt

[LAN]

When is comiccon again? Gotta be there, right?

[RisingSun]

Something in the real world... such as guest appearances on the Kimmel show or buying stocks for the Hanso Corp.?

[see you in the next life]

The thing is, Jensen asserts that this will be the thing that all LOST fans (regardless of the category) will want to be involved in and know about............thus, it must be something that ties the past (ARG stuff) and the present (the actual show) together so that the plot for Season 3 moves forward......I am just saying......if that is true, here we go again (batten down the hatches on the board, no pun intended).

[rvturnage]

Something in the real world... such as guest appearances on the Kimmel show or buying stocks for the Hanso Corp.?
I'm hoping for something more than that...we've seen appearances on Kimmel before, so that wouldn't really be noteworthy...but something like a appearance /press conference by Rachel, with DVD footage of the orientation film referred to in the Italy mp3..or perhaps the revealling of the people the characters for the show were based on...the "real" Sawyer, Jack, Kate, Michael, Walt, Sayid, etc..

The thing is, Jensen asserts that this will be the thing that all LOST fans (regardless of the category) will want to be involved in and know about............thus, it must be something that ties the past (ARG stuff) and the present (the actual show) together so that the plot for Season 3 moves forward......I am just saying......if that is true, here we go again (batten down the hatches on the board, no pun intended). Oh, yes, it'll start back up soon...but you and I both know, that as soon as this "thing" appears in the ARG, no one upstairs will know or want to hear about it, because it is in the ARG and not "on the show"...despite any direct quote from TPTB...so until it appears on the show, it won't be allowed in GD/T&S without spoiler tagging...of course, if an appropriate thread pops up at the time, i'll be sure and spoiler tag the info and include it...

rvt

[rimkick]

:yeah::yeah:

[Naka]

ComiCon starts the 21st I believe. I bet you are right, something is going to happy there, and it will be awesome. Whoever is going, BRING A VIDEO CAMERA! Be Rachel blake for us!

[Shesablondebomb]

Yea whos ever going please bring a camera!

[snakey]

Of course it's all leading to Comic Con , Carlton and Damon have said it themselves.

[truffula]

If I may be so bold as to quote Truff...

{ahem}

It
IS
COMING!!!!!!!

{ahem}...

rvt

Yes, you may be so bold, cause I am right here joining you!! :blinkie:

:hyper: :blinkie: :hyper: :blinkie: :hyper: :blinkie: :hyper: :blinkie: :hyper: :blinkie: :hyper: :blinkie: :hyper: :blinkie: :hyper: :blinkie: :hyper: :blinkie:

RAAAAAAAAAAAAA
AAAAAAAAAAAAAA
AAAAAAAAAAAAAA
AAAAAAAAAHHH!!!





HOLY CRAP I can't even BEGIN to imagine how freakin CRAZY this is gonna get.....and REALLY SOON TOO!!!

See, something's about to happen. Something important. Something that's going to put me and you and all the Lost-ies we know back in the theory-spinning business much more quickly than I was expecting. We need to prepare ourselves. We need to be ready.


BRING IT ON.

We are SOOOOOOO Ready. :D

[snakey]

I think it's all going to come together there maybe even Rachel showing up in some skit being chased, that'd get the lag out of the ARG.

[rvturnage]

I think it's all going to come together there maybe even Rachel showing up in some skit being chased, that'd get the lag out of the ARG.
and how sweet would that be?

[snakey]

keep hope alive! they have the place to do something like that and have Carlton and Damon in the crossfire (not to get shot, lol) , it would be great. Then she could just run off and disappear till we get a new video. I hope Javi shows, comics are his thing after all as well as Lost's DJ Dan, what an opportunity to promote the ARG, I hope it wont disappoint.

[Lawboy]

An RB-Jack flashback sequence? Wouldn't that be interesting if Rachel was the daughter Christian was after.

[VeeAyetheCPA]

An RB-Jack flashback sequence? Wouldn't that be interesting if Rachel was the daughter Christian was after.

But Rachel said her mom is dead. I guess there would still be time between the Sept. 04 scene with Christian and Babymama, but I have a hard time believing that.

[Naka]

Makes sense... this act will end Friday, when ComiCon starts, and then Saturday they do whatever big thing they have planned for ComiCon. So we can probably pretty safely assume Friday and Saturday are going to be pretty huge days for reveals for this ARG.

[PandoraX]

ComiCon starts the 21st I believe. I bet you are right, something is going to happy there, and it will be awesome. Whoever is going, BRING A VIDEO CAMERA! Be Rachel blake for us!

It starts this Wed (for the preview), but the LOST stuff is supposed to be on the 23rd. I will be there, and I'll let you guys know what I hear, and take lots of photos and possibly get an official interview. sculpey is already there. I read the EW weekly thing this morning, but honestly, I'm still cautious. They will say a lot of things to get us reinterested, since the ARG is slowing down. To be honest, I'm finding the new ocular effect ARG to be more interesting right now.

[truffula]

It starts this Wed (for the preview), but the LOST stuff is supposed to be on the 23rd. I will be there, and I'll let you guys know what I hear, and take lots of photos and possibly get an official interview. sculpey is already there. I read the EW weekly thing this morning, but honestly, I'm still cautious. They will say a lot of things to get us reinterested, since the ARG is slowing down. To be honest, I'm finding the new ocular effect ARG to be more interesting right now.
The LOST stuff is on the 23rd?
PRICELESS. :D

Have fun, Pan!! I'm super jealous!! :nanabobo:

[PandoraX]

The LOST stuff is on the 23rd?
PRICELESS. :D

Have fun, Pan!! I'm super jealous!! :nanabobo:

OMG.. I didn't realize that before, how funny! :D LOL, I'll give Javi a big smooch for you if I see him, truff...

[see you in the next life]

Posted by LostForGood in SPOILERS:

Did no one post this? I searched but could not find anything on it..if its lame, you can lock or merge... but i just found it. From Kristin, 6/27

http://www.eonline.com/Gossip/Kristi...06/060627.html (http://www.eonline.com/Gossip/Kristin/Trans/Archive2006/060627.html)

From Christian: Cool, but I don't have time to play. Did the doctor tell you if they've figured anything out?
She did. Dr. Graham said the Lost Experience has revealed these island-related revelations: DHARMA stands for Department of Heuristics and Research on Material Applications, the Dharma Initiative scientists vanished decades ago and haven't been heard from since, a Dharma-brand shark (like the "toothy SOB" that attacked Michael and Sawyer after the wreck of the raft) washed up dead near Australia, a fellow named Magnus Hanso (named on the blast-door map) may have owned and operated the Black Rock back in ye olden times and Sun's dad's company is building a supersecret boat for the Hanso crew right this very minute. For more from Dr. G. (and scoop on JJ's new show Six Degrees), check out this week's Vine (http://www.eonline.com/Gossip/Kristin/Trans/Archive2006/060627.html#) show.

[see you in the next life]

Did I miss that bit about the super secret boat and Paik?

Is that the Helgus Antonius or another boat?????????????????

[rvturnage]

Did I miss that bit about the super secret boat and Paik?

yes...it was about 3 weeks ago, in Rachels thread...at the time, the ship was supposed to be ready in 2 - 3 weeks...

rvt

[see you in the next life]

I saw it in her blog but was not aware that Paik was building it.....must have missed it. I remember Mittelwerk talking to a Paik representative, but didn't get that it was about the boat. thanks....SYITNL

[LostViking]

I keep thinking about DJ Dan's "where is Hanso" show - what if Hanso shows up in the real world?

[truffula]

I keep thinking about DJ Dan's "where is Hanso" show - what if Hanso shows up in the real world?
That would be AWESOME!!!!! :hyper: :blinkie:

Could you imagine....Damon and Carlton are making some big anti-hanso speech during their slot at comiccon and all of a sudden ALVAR shows up and is like "STOP this madness!!"...and gets all up on the mic....:blinkie:

I am SOOOOO jealous of yal who are going/are there already!!! :nanabobo:

[truffula]

I've been thinking here....

In light of the contents of the article linked in the first post here, some of this discussion has moved on to "What's gonna go down at Comiccon".
So what I'm gonna do is start a HYPE/Official Thread for Comiccon, so that the article can be discussed seperately in here.

:)

Peace,
Truff

[LostViking]

I am SOOOOO jealous of yal who are going/are there already!!! :nanabobo:


I know truff, I am really bummed not to be able to go - I can't wait to read Pan's report ;) (hint hint)


I hope its either Alvar or the book - either way we will get some answers!


I am so happy they might actually ADVANCE the story line through the ARG instead of just making it more complicated!

[littlemonster]

Did I miss that bit about the super secret boat and Paik?

Is that the Helgus Antonius or another boat?????????????????

I have the same question... I thought the boat with all the shipping containers on it was the same boat that Paik was working on?

MITTELWERK: Minsu, so great to see you.
MINSU: Dr. Mittelwerk. Good to see you too. Mr. Paik sends his warmest regards.
MITTELWERK: He's just saying that because we've paid him so much money.
MINSU: Ah. I see that it's straight to business.
MITTELWERK: As always.
MINSU: I think you'll be pleased to hear your ship is almost ready; with all the modifications. But I have to warn you - this kind of ship can't dock just anywhere.
MITTELWERK: We have a port. How long will it be?
MINSU: I'd say no sooner than three weeks.
MITTELWERK: Could you pass the pepper? So what will it take to make it 2 weeks?

[rvturnage]

I have the same question... I thought the boat with all the shipping containers on it was the same boat that they were looking for ealier?

Well, it's never been said if Helgus Antonius is the boat that Paik was building or not. There's no real way of knowing...all we know about the ship Paik was building was that it was being specially modified in some way, and "this kind od ship can't just dock anywhere"...

[see you in the next life]

It seems logical that the H A is the ship. I didn't mean to create any confusion, I think it is a logical connection to make, whether it was stated as fact or not.

[snakey]

SYITNL, exactly what I assumed too after the lunch with the bug in the pepper shaker.

[Deni'slost]

Where is this comiccon going to take place? I think it would be extremley cool of the helgus antonius actually showed up at a dock in the nearby area!

[aggiesean]

Where is this comiccon going to take place? I think it would be extremley cool of the helgus antonius actually showed up at a dock in the nearby area!
If it's at the new Convention Center in San Diego, that's right by the water. Not that good of access from the building itself to a large ship like the Helgus Antonius, but some access nearby; cruises leave from a few blocks away, closer to the airport.

:Cowdance:

[Deni'slost]

Wouldn't that be the surprise...just like in Detroit when the "car of tomorrow" is unveiled...approaching the event will be the helgus antonius...complete with that box that we saw being loaded onto it!

[see you in the next life]

Another update from Doc Jensen at E W:


http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2006/07/lost_experience.html

[truffula]

Another update from Doc Jensen at E W:


http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2006/07/lost_experience.html

I think I like this part the best -

Our Experience sources indicate that the intelligence Rachel's about to get is must-know info for all Lost fans.


HOLY CRAP folks.....THE FIERCE IS COMING!!!! :blinkie: :blinkie: :blinkie:

RAAAAAAAAAAAAA
AAAAAAAAAHHH!!!

:D

[ozchick]

More EW stuff:

http://popwatch.ew.com/

[see you in the next life]

Here is the text:


'Lost Experience': Who is Rachel Blake?

http://popwatch.ew.com/photos/uncategorized/152249__rachel_l.jpg The Lost Experience may be the worst thing that ever happened to Lost. Follow my reasoning here: TV shows need advertising dollars to survive, right? And advertisers buy time on TV shows because they are watched by people who can presumably buy their products, right? So what happens when people like me lose our jobs -- and therefore lose the salaries with which we buy those aforementioned products -- because we are wasting our employers' time and Internet access surfing Experience sites looking for updates and emailing tips and theories to each other? That's right, kids: Those advertisers will stop advertising on Lost because our viewership, however substantial, will be rendered meaningless to them, and therefore Lost will get cancelled. My logic here is unimpeachable! Do not assail it! Lost is doomed! Way to go, Lost Experience creator people. Way to freakin' go.
All to say: we have more TLE updates for you.
Rachel Blake (pictured) has posted a new vid blog at stophanso.rachelblake.com (http://stophanso.rachelblake.com/). As always, if you don't want to do the searching yourself, visit our friends at thelostexperienceclues.com (http://www.thelostexperienceclues.com/) for directions. It's a modest update but rasies delicious questions. What does Rachel's mom have to do with her quest? Who is the mysterious "he" (Alvar Hanso? The leader of The Others?), and why does "he" want to help Rachel? How has this Hanso goon "erased" people? Could these people include the Lost castaways? And will the key Rachel has received unlock the answers to thes questions?
DOC JENSEN 'TLE' TIP: The answer to the last question is YES. I also think we should keep our eyes peeled for at least one more communication from Rachel very soon. And then, right after that, [CENSORED BY THE HANSO FOUNDATION].

In other TLE news:
DJ Dan (http://www.djdan.am/) has updated his conspriacy tracking website with two new videos -- commericals for The Hanso Foundation that promote Hanso's "life extension" and "mathematical forecasting" initiatives.
DOC JENSEN INSTA-THEORY: It's the Garden of Eden hypothesis. What does The Bible tell us about what happened after Adam and Eve ate the apple? Death entered the world, and life would become marked by hardship and chaos. Seems to me that these two Hanso initiatives are means of finding scientific ways of restoring mankind, and the world, back to its pre-fall condition. "Life extension" is about cheating death; "mathematical forecasting" is about eliminating disorder. If the island is a mythical wellspring of life -- in other words, Eden -- then I wonder if Hanso thought he could fix the world by introducing an antidote into its sin-poisoned waters. In other words: The world is a computer that's been compromised by a vrius (original sin); The Numbers is a fix, and it's being distributed around the world through electromagnetic energy. [NOT CENSORED BY THE HANSO FOUNDATION, BECAUSE THAT'S JUST HILARIOUSLY STUPID.]
Posted by Jeff Jensen | 07.20.06, 01:33 PM

[see you in the next life]

Latest Jensen post in E W:

Jingle Jangled

EW's ''Lost'' expert has an epiphany (involving Coca-Cola and John Lennon) while grocery shopping by Jeff Jensen (http://www.ew.com/ew/search/verity/result/1,9158,,00.html?origin_topic=&origin_type=&origin_brand=0&find=Jeff Jensen&x=7&y=10)

var mainImgWidth='220';http://img.timeinc.net/ew/dynamic/imgs/060724/15573__lost_l.jpg
Would Prince himself be able to figure this glyph out?

DOC JENSEN PROGRAMMING ANNOUNCEMENT!
Tune in Wednesday at EW.com for a major Doc Jensen scoop (javascript:xrefUberContext('http://stophanso.rachelblake.com','_new')). Fans of both The Lost Experience (javascript:xrefUberContext('http://www.thelostexperience.com','_new')) and the show itself won't want to miss it.
*
IS IT JUST ME...
... or does the stylized ''O'' in the Hanso Foundation (javascript:xrefUberContext('http://thehansofoundation.org','_new')) logo look like the hood of a cobra? And considering my previous arguments that the Swan in Station 3 symbol resembles a serpent trapped inside a box, I wonder: What the devil has gotten into Hanso's graphic designers? (And emphasis on devil.)
*
WHY GOD CAN'T ''SEE'' THE ISLAND, ACCORDING TO HENRY GALE
The Island exists on a separate frequency of reality, or a parallel dimension. When Oceanic 815 flew into the blast radius of the electromagnetic pulse, the passengers were ''recalibrated'' to The Island's frequency. The Others seem to believe that this frequency of reality exists outside the auspices of ''God.''
What this means for Michael and Walt, currently tugboating their way ''home,'' I have no idea.
Yet.
*
THE INSIDIOUS JINGLE THEORY OF LOST
Last week at PopWatch, I fumbled and bumbled my way through my personal iteration of the popular Garden of Eden theory (javascript:xrefUberContext('http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2006/07/lost_experience_1.html','_new')). In a nutshell, my contention was that Hanso has been trying to find scientific means to restore mankind and the world to its ideal Garden of Eden state. I attempted some analogies to illustrate my thoughts — comparing Hanso's initiatives to antidotes to poison or fixes to computer viruses. To be honest, I wasn't happy with the articulation. It bugged me. All week.
And then, finally, I had a ''Eureka!'' moment. It came while I was shopping for groceries and I passed a Coca-Cola display. For some reason, I started humming the jingle from my '70s youth: ''I'd like to teach the world to sing/in perfect harmony...''
Suddenly, my mind linked to:
The first episode of the second season, first scene: Desmond playing Mama Cass' ''Make Your Own Kind of Music'' in the Hatch. Another circa '70s tune, the thematic flipside to that Coke jingle. ''Make your own kind of music/ Make your own special song/ Make your own kind of music/ Even if they don't sing along....''
(BTW: Did you catch the song again in the last scene of the last episode of season 2? It was in Russian, playing on the radio inside that snowbound science lab.)
Music. Harmony. Living in harmony, as mankind was supposed to — as mankind was designed to be. Suddenly, the metaphor that I really wanted became clear:
The Island, pulsing with its ''unique'' electromagnetic energy, could be likened to a tuning fork. If the world is ''off key'' as a result of original sin, Hanso has been trying to fix the pitch by tweaking with this ''unique'' EM energy. (''Unique'' = ''Doesn't adhere to a realistic notion of electromagnetic energy, and therefore can mean anything Lost says it means.'')
Or, put another way:
Hanso is trying to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony, whether we want to sing along or not, by using the Island to broadcast its own special song throughout the world. The string of Numbers is like that insidiously catchy song — ''Beautiful'' meets ''Bad Day'' — that gets in your head and won't ever leave.
What if Hanso's ''song'' (again, the Numbers) is encoded with info that can... do something to us (fix us? reprogram us? make us buy Hanso stuff?) if it is somehow accessed or unlocked? (Think ''Trojan horse.'' Or ''DVD easter egg.'') If so, how could that info be unlocked?
By another, separate signal.
What that signal may be, and when it will be broadcast, remains to be seen in the TV — or heard, as is the case.
Unless...
Unless you believe Rachel Blake, star of The Lost Experience.
Rachel Blake, who believes the Hanso Foundation is ''real.''
Rachel Blake, who believes that Lost is a TV show sponsored by Hanso.
Could it be that in this multimedia, noodle-cooking, alternate-reality entertainment, the TV show Lost is the activation signal that unlocks the secret music of the Numbers in the world's collective conscious?
If so, might these two words best summarize what Hanso is trying to accomplish:
''INSTANT KARMA.''
Which was recorded and released by John Lennon in 1970 — the same year that Hanso launched the Dharma Initiative, and one year before Lennon recorded and released another song with an ''I'd like to teach the world to sing'' utopian theme:
''IMAGINE.''
Is Hanso merely using its amazing technology to turn John Lennon's dream into a reality?

[Hurley4Prez]

SYITNL, I really like this simile:
The Island, pulsing with its ''unique'' electromagnetic energy, could be likened to a tuning fork. If the world is ''off key'' as a result of original sin, Hanso has been trying to fix the pitch by tweaking with this ''unique'' EM energy.

Gets across your point rather well.

[truffula]

INTERVIEW WITH RACHEL on ew.com

LINKEE (http://www.ew.com/ew/report/0,6115,1219122_3_0_,00.html)

[mentalabc123]

Best Bits of EW interview with Rachel:


------------------------------------
EW:You know, you're not that fun to talk to.
RB:You can report me to Miss Manners.

EW:Wait: Was that a clue?
RB:Are you flirting with me?
-------------------------------
EW:Your investigations have led us to a mathematician named Valenzetti and something called the Valenzetti equation. For those of us who watch Lost, there's something called the Numbers, a closed-set sequence with potentially supernatural properties: 4 8 15 16 23 42. Is there a connection?
RB:You didn't play a lot of sports as a kid, did you?
------------------------------
EW:You watch Alias?
RB:When I'm not trying to get killed.

EW:How often is that?
RB:You're off-topic and losing your usefulness to me.

EW:Did you know that it was canceled?
RB:[She stops dead in her tracks. Small voice:] What?


LMFAO!!!!!!!!

Not much spoilerific info in the interview, though. Why does EW keep getting these lost 'scoops' with all the codes and interviews and so on???

[rvturnage]

because they're willing to play along. :)

I loved it..."are you flirting with me?"

That's the kinda interview I would of expected from Truff:thumbs_up

[Zamboni]

Well we now know for a fact that Rachel Blake is a phony moniker, just like Persephone.

[snakey]

Original sin? I wish they didnt go there with that, makes more sense for them to say we got cursed with original guilt. yeah the human race was doomed because a woman(of course blame us) was hungry and ate a piece of fruit. I know it's a metaphor (or is it an allegory?) for the moment we started to be sentient but too many take it literally and that's where the problem lies.

[Lawboy]

Big clue as to the film's importance:

Tell us about this new phase of your investigation. You've discovered a film — what we who watch Lost would recognize as a new Dharma orientation film — correct?
It's not the film I found... it's who presented the film and why.

[leleana]

I think Rachel may have been saying, "No, I won't answer the question" in response to the question about her name, because he just kind of moves on. If she had just told him, "No, my name isn't Rachel Blake" I personally would've pushed her a bit to find out what her name was.

[LAN]

Big clue as to the film's importance:

Tell us about this new phase of your investigation. You've discovered a film — what we who watch Lost would recognize as a new Dharma orientation film — correct?
It's not the film I found... it's who presented the film and why.

This is the regular part of the show where LAN jumps in and claims that ITS WIDMORE, his ongoing favorite guess.

Part of my ultimate theory is that Widmore took over (perhaps even hostile takeover) the Dharma Project. So along my own thoughtlines, that would make sense then that this Dharma video is none other than Widmore (charles??) presenting his "orientation".

Thoughts, for/against? Lets discuss.

[snakey]

This is such a commercial in itself for the experience , I wonder if it was written by javi aka Dj Dan.

[Lawboy]

It seems from the film the Mittelwerk presented it. To who and why is not yet known. Obviously, Hugh wanted an Alvar sighting before he was "killed" and Mittelwerk told him to watch the Orientation film again. SO I guess I would like to see who it was shown to in Sri Lanka.

[PandoraX]

In the new RB "interview" with Doc Jensen.. did you guys notice that he *confirmed* that Magnus was Alvar's grandfather?

[snakey]

Yes, yes we did.

[Zamboni]

That wasn't Hugh McIntyre, Lawboy. It was Peter Thompson.

[Lawboy]

Can I just say that I am thrilled that TPTB are using Doc Jensen as their shill rather that Kristin or Ausiello. Those two are shameless self promoters, and Doc is obviously a huge fan with a decent sense of humor. Obviously he has an angle here, but it is easier to swallow than the crap shovelled by Kristen and Aus.

[PandoraX]

snakey: Oops, sorry for the repeat emphasis. :)

Can I just say that I am thrilled that TPTB are using Doc Jensen as their shill rather that Kristin or Ausiello. Those two are shameless self promoters, and Doc is obviously a huge fan with a decent sense of humor. Obviously he has an angle here, but it is easier to swallow than the crap shovelled by Kristen and Aus.

^^^ Agreed!!! I really don't like how some of the spoiler sources that LOSt caters to. Have you ever seen Kristen on TV? She is so annoying and fake!

[drabauer]

And Kristen has been wrong so often I find it hard to believe that she still has a job!

I find this whole marketing strategy pretty interesting. Notice how TPTB are trying to make it easy for latecomers to enter the game.

My late condolences on your plane Pandora. I had one of those this year, and I know how frustrating it is!

[juanbong]

Caught in the Web

How will ''The Lost Experience'' end? EW's expert Jeff Jensen offers his prediction about where the alternate-reality Internet game is going. Plus: introducing the ''Da Vinci Code'' theory...

First, a burning question:

According to the fictional story that's being told through The Lost Experience, Lost is just a TV show, and the Hanso Foundation is a real organization. QUESTION: Is this blurring of fantasy and reality pertinent to the core mysteries of Lost? Or is it just a creative conceit that has no relevance beyond The Lost Experience?

Hopefully, I'll have an official answer soon. In the meantime, here's DOC JENSEN'S INSTA-THEORY: Rachel Blake, TLE's intrepid heroine, is either bogus or being duped and used by the Hanso Foundation. Either way, her function in Hanso's conspiracy is simply this: to attract a worldwide audience. (You know: just like an ad-supported TV show or certain Internet amusements.) She's a Pied Piper, and her alluring music is intrigue. After all, doesn't everyone love a good mystery? (It has certainly worked for Lost.)

What is Hanso planning to do with the global following that Blake is cultivating? Here's my prediction: In the final act of The Lost Experience, Blake will finally flush the elusive Alvar Hanso out into the open. My guess is that Hanso will agree to participate in a live interview with Blake under the pretense of ''setting the record straight.'' But the interview is a Trojan horse. Literally. The broadcast will be embedded with a subliminal message — perhaps the Numbers; perhaps a new sequence of Numbers — that's designed to… do something to us. Maybe unlock our full human potential? Maybe bring instant enlightenment? (See: the ''Instant Karma'' assertion of Doc Jensen's Jingle Theory of Lost). Within seconds of flashing the subliminal signal, the interview will terminate, bringing a strange, abrupt end to TLE (think: the creepy last scene of The Blair Witch Project), and leaving us all to wonder: What the hell just happened? The final words we'll hear will be Alvar telling Rachel: ''It's time to go home, daughter.''

*

Second, an answer to YOUR burning question:

Last week's interview with Rachel Blake was LEGIT. I posed the questions and got authentic answers. Consider the Q&A officially ''part of the game,'' if you like. Put it this way: My interview with Rachel was as ''real'' as the code-ensconcing glyph that accompanied last week's column. Hope that clears things up for some of you.

As for all of the Jim/Pam fans who've read the previous paragraphs and feel completely… well, lost, allow me to explain:

The Lost Experience — a Internet-based ''alternate reality game'' about a hipster Nancy Drew named Rachel Blake and her efforts to expose the sinister secrets of the Hanso Foundation — has entered an important new phase.

Recently, Blake went to Sri Lanka and recorded a secret Hanso Foundation meeting, during which a film was shown explaining the origins of the Dharma Initiative. Blake has sliced her video document into about 75 little bytes, and now we have to reassemble the film by finding codes that have been scattered across the Web and entering those codes at a website called hansoexposed.com.

When I asked Rachel why she feels she needs to make this so gosh darn difficult — can't she just post the video in its entirety online? — this is what she said:

''If I didn't hide it all over the Web and bury it on corporate [sites], those (expletive)ers would wipe it out. Only chance I have at getting the truth out there is 'gamesmanship.'''

Glyph hunters are invited to share their passwords with fellow glyph hunters. If you want some of mine, send me an e-mail and I'll share what I've collected so far (I've got 20 of the available 20 released as of this writing)... or you can visit this column every Tuesday and I'll recap the info contained in the bits of film and speculate about what they are all adding up to.

But before I do, I encourage you to play the game. Really, it's fun. And it even gives you a nice buzz of smug. ''Hey, look at me, I'm a cutting-edge Web guy/gal!'' If you're not in the market for cheap ego boosts, then let the promise of Big Revelations (the Numbers! the DHARMA acronym! Alvar Hanso!) inspire you. Finally, the tricky/trippy/trying experience that has been The Lost Experience is delivering the geeky goods. And what's even better, cheating is allowed! Here's my Glyph Hunting for Dummies suggestion:

1. Set up a glyph-collecting account at hansoexposed.com. It's quick and free and there are NO ADS.

2. Let two killer Lost fan sites — thelostexperience.com or lostexperienceclues.com — do the glyph hunting for you. They seem to have a knack for finding these things within, like, seconds of their release. Visit one or both of the sites each morning, and scribble down the info they've discovered.

3. Click over to hansoexposed.com; input the codes; inspect and view.

Since there's going to be about 75 of these bits of film, and they are being released out of sequence, my advice would be to arrange them as you go. It's gonna be even more complicated if you wait until the very end.

Or you can just let me explain it for you. Here's what I've pieced together (literally) so far:

— Presumably, the film opens with shady Hanso Foundation exec Dr. Thomas Mittelwerk addressing a group of unseen people.

— Presumably, the group of unseen people are shown a film — a Dharma orientation film. Actually, the mother of all Dharma orientation films.

— The copyright date is 1975. That's five years after the creation of the Dharma Initiative, per the brief history provided by ''Dr. Marvin Candle'' in the Station Three orientation film, and five years before the creation of the Pearl and Swan orientation films, per their copyright dates. This assumes, of course, that the information in those later orientation films is accurate — including their dating.

The film is narrated by an as yet unnamed man with a dark beard and a light accent, probably Danish. It is possible that he could be Alvar Hanso, circa 1975. So far, ''Mr. Beardy,'' as fansites have dubbed him, has explained that:

* In the wake of the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, the United States and the Soviet Union collaborated with the United Nations on a secret project.

* The DHARMA acronym stands for Department of Heuristics and Research on Material Applications. (Head over to wikipedia.org for a provocative tutorial on Heuristics.) Mr. Beardy adds that Dharma also means ''The one true way.''

* There is also mention of Dharma cofounders Gerald and Karen DeGroot and a ''secret facility...''

There's more — including a reference to an ''equation'' that was ''buried by those who commissioned it'' — but those are the chunky morsels gleaned from the few fragments so far released. DOC JENSEN TIP: Check out valenzettiequation.com, an official TLE website whose purpose in the game has not yet been made clear. Check out the passages about how the U.S. and the Soviet Union, working with the U.N., financed the work of mathematician Enzo Valenzetti in the wake of the Cuban Missile Crisis. One would have to assume that the Valenzetti Equation is the project referred to in the film.

*

THE DA VINCI CODE THEORY OF LOST

All this glyph hunting and code breaking definitely has me feeling like Robert Langdon — which reminds of how much Lost resembles everybody's favorite heretical conspiracy theory thriller. Consider:

O, Draconian Devil! O, Devilish Digits!
In Dan Brown's blockbuster novel, the first riddle that symbologist Robert Langdon has to crack is the relevance of the legendary Fibonacci sequence to various other riddles. On Lost, we have the Numbers (4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42), a mysterious set of integers linked to various other mysteries (Hurley's bad luck, the Hatch, the computer). Could the Numbers be the Valenzetti Equation? If so, then check out that aforementioned Valenzetti website, especially the part that states where Valenzetti went to school: the Fibonacci State Institute of Advanced Sciences.

Follow The (Cultural) Clues!
In The Da Vinci Code, clues to an elaborate mystery/conspiracy are found in notable works of art like Mona Lisa and The Last Supper. Similarly, Lost has referenced novels like The Turn of the Screw, The Third Policeman, and now Charles Dickens' Our Mutual Friend to illuminate (albeit obliquely) character arcs and aspects of its mythology. (And what could be more scavenger hunt-ish than The Lost Experience, which has fans searching the Web for pop culture sites?)

Encrypted Cartography
In The Da Vinci Code, Langdon must crack the code to a lockbox known as a cryptext that contains the location of the Holy Grail. The corollary in Lost is the Map, showing the locations of various Hatches on the Island and cluttered with annotations describing the functions and history of the Dharma Initiative. But getting to actually see this map is as tricky as cracking Langdon's cryptext, since it's painted on a mysterious retractable wall and only visible in black light. (By the way, this current glyph-hunting phase of The Lost Experience — pure cryptext craziness.)

''The Man'' Is Lying To You. (Or Is He?)
In Da Vinci and Lost, anything that is presented as ''official information'' should be regarded with skepticism. In Da Vinci, it's the accepted history of the Catholic Church. In Lost, it's the purported history of The Dharma Initiative provided by Dr. Marvin Candle (or is that Dr. Mark Wickmund?) in the Swan and Pearl Orientation Films.

It's The Themes, Stupid!
Both Da Vinci and Lost share a central concern: the conflict between faith and reason. And both use convoluted conspiracy theories as the means to present criticisms of blind trust and zealous belief. (In Da Vinci, it's the Vatican's efforts to suppress the truth about Mary Magdalene; in Lost, it's the myth of the Button, per the story spun by the Orientation Film.) It should be noted that in both Da Vinci and Lost, these sketchy, poorly substantiated and seemingly implausible conspiracy theories are essentially proven to be true. In Da Vinci, Langdon finds reason to believe in the Magdalene heresy after realizing that ''The Holy Grail'' is buried in the Louvre. And in Lost, Locke realizes that the Button really does have a function (and a terrifying one at that) when he discovered in the season finale that the computer wasn't useless after all but was actually regulating the fluctuations of the Island's unique electromagnetic energy. (I think.)

I know what you might be saying: ''Cute, Doc Jensen. A neat parlor trick — but how does it really illuminate Lost?''

A fair criticism. But I have an answer. See, The Da Vinci Code Theory of Lost is actually the appetizer before the big meal — an exciting new Big Theory that I think represents the closest I have ever come to cracking the Lost code, and I dare say it might represent the most reasonable theory I've read anywhere. A bold statement, I know. But in the next couple weeks, I'll prove it to you. I call it the ''TV Is Good For You Theory of Lost.''

But that's ''coming soon.'' More immediately, keep checking in with EW.com's blog, PopWatch, throughout the week for TLE updates. And come back next week for our next TLE recap, and maybe a surprise or two. Until then:

[Hurley4Prez]

A fair criticism. But I have an answer. See, The Da Vinci Code Theory of Lost is actually the appetizer before the big meal — an exciting new Big Theory that I think represents the closest I have ever come to cracking the Lost code, and I dare say it might represent the most reasonable theory I've read anywhere. A bold statement, I know. But in the next couple weeks, I'll prove it to you. I call it the ''TV Is Good For You Theory of Lost.''
I'm interested in reading it. A reasonable theory sounds exactly like what I need after helter skelter season 2.