The Incident

From Lostpedia

The Incident was first mentioned in the Swan Orientation Film. Dr. Marvin Candle mentioned that there was "an incident" which resulted in the creation of a protocol that required a code to be entered every 108 minutes. The incident involved a leak in the containment associated with an electromagnetic anomaly. The leak caused an unspecified charge to build up within the anomaly. As the charge built up, the magnetic field associated with the anomaly grew. After 108 minutes, the magnetic field is large enough to damage the Swan station. This incident had to have occurred before 1980 (the production date of the film).

It is unknown exactly what caused the incident to occur, or what kind of damage it caused. The protocol was created so that the magnetic anomaly could be discharged every 108 minutes, thus preventing a electromagnetic catastrophe. Failure to comply with this protocol leads to a system failure. There is a failsafe mechanism in place below the floor of the computer room that will destroy the Swan and permanantly and safely seal the electromagnetic anomaly. ("Live Together, Die Alone")

The Pearl station log printout ("Live Together, Die Alone")

A system failure occurred on September 22, 2004, when Desmond failed to enter the Numbers before the counter reached zero.

Dr. Marvin Candle issues a strict warning not to use the computer for communication with the outside world. He goes on to say that failure to do this will compromise the integrity of the project and could result in another incident. Again, details of this Incident are not revealed. However, it had to occur before 1980, the year in which the film was made, assuming the copyright date is accurate. ("What Kate Did") Candle also seems to indicate that the incident occurred shortly after the swan station began operations.

Blast door map

There is a different incident mentioned on the Blast door map called AH/MDG (see blast door map). This incident occurred in 1985. Possible Names for AH/MDG:

Abnormally high/Magnetic Disruption Generated
Attack of Hostiles/Major Defenses Guarded
Attack of Hostiles/Major Devices Guarded
Alvar Hanso/M? De Groot
Alvar Hanso/Mittelwerk & De Groot

Since the jigsaw puzzles seem to confirm that "AH" stands for Alvar Hanso, the De Groot translation is likely. This leads to speculation that the DeGroots split from Alvar Hanso or that both came into conflict together with an unmentioned third entity. However, it is unclear what the "M" before "DG" would stand for since the DeGroot's names are Gerald and Karen.

The blast door map contains the following references to Incident(s):

*"Believed to have divested from project in 1985 following AH/MDG incident"

*"Arrow station believe to have been abandoned due to AH/MDG incident of 1985"

*"Multiple escape conducts blocked after incident" (indicating the Swan)

Other occurrences

The Hotel Manager told Jack that his father Christian Shephard had been involved in "an incident" at the hotel bar. ("White Rabbit")
Hurley mentions that there was an "incident" at the caves (when Claire was attacked).
Basra Incident