The discharge was the release of electromagetic energy that resulted from Desmond's triggering of the Swan station's fail-safe mechanism ("Live Together, Die Alone, Part 1"). A similar event also occurred when Ben turned the frozen wheel beneath the Orchid station. ("There's No Place Like Home, Part 2") During the Incident at the Swan station in 1977, a similar noise occurred minus the purple light. ("The Incident, Part 1")
The Incident
Main article: The Incident
When Stuart Radzinsky disregarded Pierre Chang's warnings about drilling into a pocket of energy located below the Swan station site in July 1977, he triggered a magnetic anomaly similar to the discharge. This "incident" caused magnetic objects of increasingly large size to start flying into the drilling shaft. While the sky did not light purple, the noise that occurred was identical the one that would later happen when Desmond turned the key and when Ben and Locke turned the frozen wheel. During the incident, Phil was killed and Juliet was badly wounded when she was pulled into the shaft. However, she managed to possibly detonate a hydrogen bomb that may or may not have changed the future. ("The Incident, Part 1")
Fail-safe activation
The fail-safe was a mechanism in the Swan station which, when triggered by the turning of a key, would terminate the electromagnetic buildup which the protocol was meant to periodically discharge safely. Kelvin explained to Desmond that it was the "only way out", and that it would make it "all go away". After Locke prevented the button from being pushed by destroying the Swan computer, the countdown timer reached zero and a system failure occurred within the Swan. Severe electromagnetic effects then began to occur inside the hatch, leading Desmond to activate the fail-safe mechanism, which in turn destroyed the station. ("Live Together, Die Alone, Part 1") The nature of the fail-safe and the repercussions that resulted from its triggering are unclear; however, the discharge resulted in a bright purple light seen across the Island and the implosion of the the Swan, leaving nothing but a large crater in the earth and assorted debris. The event is referred to by the survivors variously as a "detonation", "implosion", "explosion", a "blowing up", or the "sky turning purple". The Others have referred to it variously as an "anomaly", the "sky turning purple", and an "electromagnetic pulse".
Frozen Wheel rotation
Ben turning the Frozen Donkey Wheel. ("There's No Place Like Home, Part 2")
Locke fulfills his destiny and turns the frozen wheel ("This Place Is Death")
The Frozen Wheel is an eight-spoked wheel set into a wall of a secret chamber located beneath the Orchid station. It was accessed by Ben putting metal items in the vault and activating it, which blew a hole into a tunnel leading to the icy chamber. Ben turned the wheel, with great effort, causing a discharge similar in appearance to when Desmond turned the fail-safe key. Unlike the earlier event, however, this discharge also caused the island to disappear. Ben had stated earlier that the island would be "moved." ("There's No Place Like Home, Part 2")
Locke then later turned to wheel. It is currently unknown what effect, if any, this had on the Island and its inhabitants. ("This Place Is Death")
Effects of Desmond triggering the Fail-Safe
External effects of the discharge, in chronological order ("Live Together, Die Alone, Part 1")
At the moment Desmond triggered the fail-safe, a huge, blinding white glow covered the Island and the sky turned a violet color. The ground shook, as if an earthquake was occurring, and a painful buzzing sound was heard (like a blender, according to Hurley).
The event was powerful enough to lift or repel, among other things, the heavy quarantine door into the air. It landed a considerable distance from its original location, narrowly missing Bernard and Claire. ("Live Together, Die Alone, Part 1") Locke, Desmond, Charlie, and Eko survived the event, despite being inside the hatch. The remains of the Swan station were later seen by Charlie and Locke as a large crater in the ground. ("Further Instructions")
In a deleted scene from "Exposé", Nikki reacted particularly drastically to the "purple sky", first by completely freaking out so Paulo had to calm her down, and subsequently by questioning her past behavior to her fellow castaways.
The effects of this event were detected by the men at the listening station as an "Electromagnetic Anomaly", which they then reported to Penelope Widmore. They had missed one at a time previously, and questioned whether it was another false alarm. ("Live Together, Die Alone, Part 1")
After the event, Tom referred to it as the "sky turning purple", and said that it shut down
"Electromagnetic Anomaly Detected" in the listening station ("Live Together, Die Alone, Part 1")
the Others' communications. Mikhail also said there was an electromagnetic pulse which caused the submarine's underwater beacon to stop emitting its locater signal. ("Every Man for Himself") ("Not in Portland") ("Par Avion")
However, it is later implied that the communications disruption was unrelated to the discharge, as Ben had secretly ordered Greta and Bonnie at the Looking Glass station to jam all communications to and from the Island. ("Through the Looking Glass, Part 1") Further evidence of this comes when Tom meets with Michael in New York weeks after the discharge, implying that Tom was still able to leave, and return to, the island, and Ben is able to use the radio in his house to contact Michael on the freighter. ("Meet Kevin Johnson")
Effects of Ben turning the Frozen Wheel
When Ben turned the wheel a huge, blinding white glow covered the Island and the sky turned a violet color, just like when Desmond activated the fail-safe. The turning of the wheel transported Ben to Tunisia, 10 months into the future. After that, the Island disappeared, it began travelling through time, and the Oceanic Six, Frank, and Desmond were making their way to land on the island in the helicopter when the Island moved, and were forced to crash into the ocean.
Effects of the discharge on those present
Incident Effects
- The button pushing protocol was instituted at the Swan station, requiring two occupants to enter the Numbers into a computer and hit the execute button every 108 minutes to prevent another incident. ("Orientation")
Fail-Safe Effects
- Locke initially lost his ability to speak. ("Further Instructions")
- When Desmond turned the fail-safe key, he became unstuck in time, his mind re-experiencing events in his past, while gaining the limited ability of experiencing premonitions. When he woke up, he also found out that his clothes had inexplicably vanished. ("Flashes Before Your Eyes")
- The high dose of electromagnetic energy that Desmond was presumably exposed to after turning the fail-safe key seems to have contributed to the side effects he experienced after leaving the Island to travel to the freighter. This is suggested by Daniel asking if Desmond has been subjected to an intense dose of radiation or electromagnetic energy. ("The Constant")
- Eko was knocked unconscious, leaving him helpless against a polar bear that dragged him into a cave. ("Further Instructions") ("The Cost of Living")
- Charlie remembered nothing of the discharge, but throughout Season 3 would be saved at various times from death by Desmond, with the aid of his flashes.
- Tom referred to a situation where 'the Others' could not leave the island after 'the sky turned purple'
Frozen Wheel Effects
- After turning the wheel, Ben was transported to Tunisia 10 months into the future. ("The Shape of Things to Come") ("There's No Place Like Home, Part 2")
- The people still on the island became unstuck in time. Daniel Faraday, the other survivors on the Zodiac raft and Jin were "inside the radius" of the island, and were therefore moved along with the island. ("Because You Left")
- After Ben turned the wheel, it slipped off its axis and the occupants still on the Island, bar the Others, began skipping randomly through time. According to Christian Shephard, this was a result of Ben turning the wheel. It is unknown if the same events would have taken place if Locke turned the Wheel initially, instead of Ben. ("This Place Is Death")
- Locke turned the Wheel, setting it back on its axis, under the guidance of Christian Shepard. He was transported years into the future from his current position, forward to 2007. The Island, and the rest of its inhabitants became permanently lodged in 1974. ("LaFleur")
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