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Frozen wheel

[[{{{Video}}}|Orientation Video]]

First seen

"There's No Place Like Home, Parts 2 & 3"

Last seen

"There's No Place Like Home, Parts 2 & 3"

Constructed by

Unknown

Controlled by

The Island

Connection

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Number

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Purpose

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Status

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Discovered by

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DHARMA Initiative Stations
The Arrow • The Staff • The Swan
The Flame • The Pearl • The Orchid
The Hydra • The Tempest
The Looking Glass

An eight-spoked frozen wheel was set into a wall of a secret chamber located beneath the Orchid station. Benjamin Linus turned the wheel in order to move the Island. ("There's No Place Like Home, Parts 2 & 3")

Wheel chamber

Hieroglyphs can be seen in the frozen wheel chamber.

The wheel was set inside a construction of carved rocks inside a secret chamber; to reach the wheel, Ben had to blow a hole in the vault of the Orchid station, crawl through a tunnel carved out of rock, break through a sheet of ice, and climb down a ladder. The effort involved in reaching the wheel indicates it was not intended to be used very often.

Temperatures in the wheel chamber were below freezing, making it an unusual location on the tropical Island. The chamber had apparently been cold for quite some time, as the entire room, floor to ceiling, was covered in ice, including the wheel itself. The wheel chamber also featured hieroglyphs similar to the ones previously seen on the the Swan's countdown timer and in a secret chamber under Ben's house at the Barracks. ("Live Together, Die Alone")  ("The Shape of Things to Come")

Ben showed foreknowledge of the wheel's existence, location, and use. Ben knew to wear a parka before entering the wheel chamber. (The fact the Orchid had parkas stored there is also unusual and indicates planning on DHARMA Initiative's part.) Ben also knew enough to bring a crowbar to aid in removing ice from the wheel. Furthermore, he told Locke that a repercussion of turning the wheel was banishment from the Island.

Metal bands appear to be holding the wheel together.

Mock-up of entire wheel based on the on the over-head picture above demonstrating that the frozen wheel is similar to the Dharmacakra.

The wheel

The wheel itself appeared to be made of wood and held together with some metal bindings, similar in fashion to nautical construction. The construction implies that the wheel was built a long time ago and may have had an original purpose other than what it is used for today.

The tips of the wheel's spokes had holes bored through them that appeared to be part of some obsolete function or previously connected to apparatus that was no longer there, such as an animal's harness. At one point, Ben threaded his crowbar through a hole in order to gain more leverage while attempting to turn the wheel.

After much physical effort and chipping away ice, Ben managed to turn the wheel. It appeared to be very heavy and difficult for him to turn alone, indicating either it hadn't been turned in quite some time or it was intended to be turned by some other means—either by more than one person, or by animals (as indicated by the wheel's code name), or by machinery.

The wheel appeared to be part of a larger mechanism, as it seemed to be connected to something behind or inside the wall or beneath the floor. Turning the wheel may have manipulated this unseen mechanism and caused the Island to move; soon after the wheel was turned, a loud noise and bright lights were experienced throughout the local area, both on and off the Island. This disturbance happened immediately before the Island disappeared from the ocean. ("There's No Place Like Home, Parts 2 & 3")

Trivia

• "The Frozen Donkey Wheel" was the code name used by the producers to refer to the secret scene in which the wheel literally appeared. Such code names have been used by the Lost producers to keep plots secret.
• The Dharmacakra is an 8-spoked wheel. It is a Buddhist symbol for teaching the path to enlightenment.
  • Three Turnings of the Wheel of Dharma - Whenever the Dharma (i.e., a Buddha's teaching or a code of ethics) is lost or forgotten, a new Buddha comes to "turn the wheel". Depending on the exact Buddhist tradition, some believe the wheel to have turned up to three times. Whenever the wheel is turned, it signifies a milestone in Buddhist history, such as the first teachings of the Four Noble Truths. On Lost, Locke has assumed status as the Others new leader and the Island has moved.

Unanswered questions

For fan theories about these unanswered questions, see: Frozen wheel/Theories

• How does turning the wheel move the Island?
• Who built the wheel?
• How was Ben made aware of the wheel's location?
• Why did the makers of the wheel have a need to move the Island to begin with?
• Why does someone have to leave the Island and never return if they move it?
  • By what method do they leave the Island?
  • Was Ben's relocation to Tunisia random or predetermined?
  • Why was he transported forward in time, as well as relocated spatially?
• Why is the wheel chamber frozen?
• What produces the light coming out as Ben turns the wheel?
• What do the hieroglyphs in the room mean?
• Why was the wheel chamber only accessible by destroying the Orchid vault?
• Has the Island been moved before?
• Does the wheel move the Island as well as the water surrounding it?
  • Do Faraday and the others aboard the ship's tender move with the Island?
• Where did the Island move to?