Alvar Hanso

Season: 2, Episodes: 1, Faction: DHARMA Initiative

Overview 

Alvar Hanso was the Danish CEO of the Hanso Group and the founder of the Hanso Foundation. The great grandson of Magnus Hanso. Although little is known about his early life, it is understood that he was involved in providing munitions to resistance groups in Europe during the Second World War, and following this was the leading purveyor of high-technology armaments for NATO. However, during the 1960s, Alvar would establish the Hanso Foundation, in contrast to weapons development, aiming to “reach out for a better tomorrow” and preserve life on Earth through science and technology.

Sky (Thunder)

Leadership

Law (Order)

Sexuality

Fertility (Vegetation)

War

Fate

Swan Orientation Film

2×03 – Orientation

   

Temporarily living with the DeGroot family, Alvar attended the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor, for a year as a foreign exchange student. During his stay with the DeGroots, he bonded with 8 year old Gerald DeGroot. Alvar’s undergraduate degree, from a university in Billund, Denmark, was in chemistry, and he returned to the University of Michigan for a masters in engineering, spending more time with the DeGroots, and Gerald.

When Gerald DeGroot was a graduate student, in search of financial backing for his project the DHARMA Initiative, he contacted Alvar for funding.

   

In 1967, he addressed the UN Security Council, where he made a speech about “man being blessed by his own curiosity”. Eight years later, Alvar appeared in the 1975 DHARMA Orientation Film, introducing the DHARMA Initiative to recruits, and explaining its purpose to the world. The project began due to Alvar discovering the Valenzetti Equation, which had been commissioned by the United Nations in 1962. Its findings predicted the exact amount of time until mankind extinguished itself as a species. Hanso built research facilities on an island to research and attempt to modify the equation’s results (thereby changing the date of the “end of the world”).

   

He later bought every copy of Gary Troup’s book The Valenzetti Equation, which described the theory’s premise, including all rights to a reprint. In December 2002, Hanso made his last public appearance in Madrid, and then seemingly disappeared for years. He was traced by Rachel Blake in 2006 to Narvik, Norway. There, he admitted on camera that he was being held prisoner by his second-in-command at the Hanso Foundation, Thomas Werner Mittelwerk. He also revealed that he was in fact Rachel Blake’s father (presumably having had a relationship with her mother whilst she worked for his company), and had secretly financed her first-rate education for years before she began to question how her mother could afford it. (Norway Video) After Blake published the video and sent it to the authorities, Hanso was freed, releasing a statement on the Hanso Foundation website promising to reorganize the Foundation after Mittelwerk’s corrupt actions.

According to Dr. Eliza Vasquez, there is something unusual about Alvar’s bloodwork, which she suggested may have serious consequences to his health (see below). Javier Grillo-Marxuach also revealed in the aftermath of the Experience that Alvar was older than he seemed, after himself taking part in the Foundation’s life extension experiments

Biography

“Driven by a need for privacy and a deep-seated sense of humility, Alvar Hanso has released few details of his personal life to the public.

He first made his mark during the Second World War, providing munitions to various resistance movements around Europe. After the War, Hanso became the leading purveyor of high-technology armaments to NATO.

After decades of keeping the world safe through the development of sophisticated weapons systems, Hanso turned his attention to critical areas of science and technology – always searching for new ways to improve the human experience, and create a brighter future for all humanity.

Still running his vast network of companies, Hanso has set new standards for philanthropy and the support of pure scientific research for the betterment of the entire race.”
– taken from http://thehansofoundation.org

May 8th, 2006

On thehansofoundation.org website, a Persephone hack became available under Alvar’s profile page. It detailed his disappearance from the public eye.

The date is circled several times. “Notice the grainy far away picture?”

• clicking again continued the message*

“It doesn’t match anyone else?” *clicking again continued the message*
The screen zooms to a satellite view of Western Europe with flight paths drawn over.
Each path ends at a European city with a date.
Persephone then states that her research indicated that the locations and dates are the places and times that Alvar Hanso has been sighted in person. Clicking on the dates that flash revealed subsequent dates and Persephone’s next message These dates are:

14.06.2000 – London
12.11.2000 – Copenhagen
23.02.2001 – Paris
12.07.2001 – Geneva
18.09.2001 – Roma
01.01.2001 – Copenhagen
31.12.2002 – Madrid

Once that sequence is complete, another message comes up stating:
“PERSEPHONE: THIS IS THE LAST RECORD I FOUND OF ANY PUBLIC APPEARANCE OF ALVAR HANSO. THE MAN HASN’T BEEN SEEN IN PUBLIC SINCE 2002!!!”

After that some flickering text is displayed stating:
“IS HE HIDING? WHO IS RUNNING THIS PLACE? ALVAR HANSO WAS NEVER THERE.”

Persephone also voiceovers this part of the message. By saying:
“Where is Alvar Hanso?
Is he hiding?
Who is running this place anyway?”

June 16th, 2006

Persephone’s final hack on the Hanso Foundation website showed a letter from Eliza Vasquez. She wrote to Hanso advising him to contact her immediately after she’d taken a blood sample without his wishes. She stated that there was something unusual in the sample, and that if he didn’t see her he may risk heart problems.

The hack then also showed hidden camera footage of Alvar’s reserved car space, office desk and nearby elevator. Persephone noted that Alvar had not been there in months. The three screens changed to say “Where Is Alvar”

July 10th, 2006 

On his podcast, DJ Dan spoke to a caller who claimed they saw Alvar Hanso running a tour de stade. Dan replied by saying:

Recent estimates put Alvar Hanso at somewhere near 112 years old, I don’t care what kind of life extension drugs they are pumping into the old boy. I couldn’t run a tour de stade when I was twenty ok?

This supported evidence by Dr. Vincent “Wally” Bolé that Alvar was himself involved in life extension, and was the first source to give an indication of Alvar’s approximate age (though much of Dan’s information on the show was speculative).

July – September 2006

In Sri Lanka, Rachel Blake filmed the Sri Lanka video, which included an Orientation film introduction by Alvar Hanso from the 1970s.

I’m Alvar Hanso. If you are watching this film, you already know and have worked with Gerald and Karen DeGroot, founders and masterminds of the DHARMA Initiative.

By now, you also know there are many research goals for our joint venture. What you may not know, is why we have assembled the DHARMA Initiative, why we have assembled the greatest minds in the world and given them unlimited funds and access.

As with all you’ve already been told, you are bound by your honor and commitment to keep what you are about to hear a secret.

In a few weeks, after your induction counseling and survival training, you and your colleagues will be shipped to a top secret facil[ity…] The precise location of the facility is known only to myself, the DeGroots, and the few high ranking members of my organization. Why all the security, all the secrecy? The answer is simple: Your research is intended to do nothing less than save the world as we know it.

In 1962, only thirteen years ago, the world came to the brink of nuclear war. The United States and the Soviet Union almost fulfilled the promise of mutual assured destruction. A promise they continue to foster through a destructive Cold War. After the Cuban Missile Crisis, both nations decided to find a solution. The result was the Valenzetti Equation. Commissioned under the highest secrecy, through the U.N. Security Council, the equation is the brainchild of the Italian mathematician Enzo Valenzetti. It predicts the exact number of years and months until humanity extinguishes itself. Whether through nuclear fire, chemical and biological warfare, conventional warfare, pandemic, over-population… The results are chilling, and attention must be paid…

Valenzetti gave numerical values to the core environmental and human factors in his equation: 4, 8, 15, 16, 23 and 42. Only by manipulating the environment, by finding scientific solutions to our problems we will be able to change those core factors, and give humanity a chance to survive. Although the equation has been buried by those who commissioned it [STATIC] panic. It has always been my belief that we ignore warnings at our own peril; and thus, the DHARMA Initiative was born.

DHARMA is an acronym for Department of Heuristics and Research on Material Applications. It also stands for the one true way. [STATIC] …and through your research, you will help human… [STATIC].

We have constructed several stations on the island, underground laboratories with the facilities you will need to do your research, with optimal expediency…all of the support you will need, including regular medicine and food drops will be made in perpetuity.

A radio transmitter has also been erected on the island broadcasting in a frequency and encryption known only to us. The transmitter will only broadcast the core numerical values of the Valenzetti Equation. When, through your research, you manage to change the numerical value of any one of these factors, when you have created through science the [inaudible] … We will know that the one true way has been found.

That is the work to which you have committed yourself. Change the core values of the Valenzetti Equation, and you will change the course of destiny. The fate of the human race is in your hands.

Thank you and namaste.

September 24th, 2006

With the help of her contacts, Rachel managed to infiltrate the house where Alvar was being kept a prisoner. There he told her what Mittelwerk had done, as well as reveal that he was indeed her father. 

September 26th, 2006

After Mittelwerk became a wanted fugitive, Alvar was released and reinstated as head of the Hanso Foundation. He released a press release, where he thanked Rachel and her followers, and promised to make amends for the bad name Mittelwerk had given the company.

Mysteries of the Universe

Mysteries of the Universe, a fictional 1982 television series that aired on the ABC network, dedicated its fourth program to Alvar Hanso and his connection to the DeGroots and the DHARMA Initiative.

Image Source | Image Source | Image Source | Source  

Associated LOST Themes & DHARMA Stations

      

Decoded Family Members

Magnus Hanso (Great-Grandfather)

Rachel Blake (Daughter)

Decoded Season 1 Characters

John Locke

Jack Shephard

Decoded Season 2 Characters

Gerald DeGroot

Karen DeGroot

Thomas Mittlewerk

Charles Widmore

Desmond Hume

Key Episode(s) to Decoding the Character

2x03 "Orientation"

Wiki Info

In Greek mythology, Zeus is the “Father of Gods and men”, according to Hesiod’s Theogony, who ruled the Olympians of Mount Olympus as a father ruled the family; he was the god of sky and thunder in Greek mythology. As Walter Burkert points out in his book, Greek Religion, “Even the gods who are not his natural children address him as Father, and all the gods rise in his presence.”(Iliad, book 1.503;533) For the Greeks, he was the King of the Gods, who oversaw the universe. As Pausanias observed, “That Zeus is king in heaven is a saying common to all men”. In Hesiod’s Theogony, Zeus assigns the various gods their roles. In the Homeric Hymns he is referred to as the chieftain of the gods. His symbols are the thunderbolt, eagle, bull, and oak. In addition to his Indo-European inheritance, the classical “cloud-gatherer” also derives certain iconographic traits from the cultures of the Ancient Near East, such as the scepter. Zeus is frequently depicted by Greek artists in one of two poses: standing, striding forward, with a thunderbolt leveled in his raised right hand, or seated in majesty.

His Roman counterpart was Jupiter and his Etruscan counterpart Tinia.

Zeus was the child of Cronus and Rhea, and the youngest of his siblings. In most traditions he was married to Hera, although, at the oracle of Dodona, his consort was Dione: according to the Iliad, he is the father of Aphrodite by Dione. He is known for his erotic escapades. These resulted in many godly and heroic offspring, including Athena, Apollo and Artemis, Hermes, Persephone (by Demeter), Dionysus, Perseus, Heracles, Helen, Minos, and the Muses (by Mnemosyne); by Hera, he is usually said to have fathered Ares, Hebe and Hephaestus.

Subterranean Zeus

Although etymology indicates that Zeus was originally a sky god, many Greek cities honored a local Zeus who lived underground. Athenians and Sicilians honored Zeus Meilichios (“kindly” or “honeyed”) while other cities had Zeus Chthonios (“earthy”), Katachthonios (“under-the-earth”) and Plousios (“wealth-bringing”). These deities might be represented as snakes or in human form in visual art, or, for emphasis as both together in one image. They also received offerings of black animal victims sacrificed into sunken pits, as did chthonic deities like Persephone and Demeter, and also the heroes at their tombs. Olympian gods, by contrast, usually received white victims sacrificed upon raised altars.

In some cases, cities were not entirely sure whether the daimon to whom they sacrificed was a hero or an underground Zeus. Thus the shrine at Lebadaea in Boeotia might belong to the hero Trophonius or to Zeus Trephonius (“the nurturing”), depending on whether you believe Pausanias, or Strabo. The hero Amphiaraus was honored as Zeus Amphiaraus at Oropus outside of Thebes, and the Spartans even had a shrine to Zeus Agamemnon.

Zeus and foreign gods

Zeus was identified with the Roman god Jupiter and associated in the syncretic classical imagination with various other deities, such as the Egyptian Amun and the Etruscan Tinia. He (along with Dionysus) absorbed the role of the chief Phrygian god Sabazios in the syncretic deity known in Rome as Sabazius.

Some modern comparative mythologists align him with the Hindu Indra.

Zeus becomes king of the gods

After reaching manhood, Zeus forced Cronus to disgorge first the stone (which was set down at Pytho under the glens of Parnassus to be a sign to mortal men, the Omphalos) then his siblings in reverse order of swallowing. In some versions, Metis gave Cronus an emetic to force him to disgorge the babies, or Zeus cut Cronus’ stomach open. Then Zeus released the brothers of Cronus, the Gigantes, the Hecatonchires and the Cyclopes, from their dungeon in Tartarus, killing their guard, Campe.

As a token of their appreciation, the Cyclopes gave him thunder and the thunderbolt, or lightning, which had previously been hidden by Gaia. Together, Zeus and his brothers and sisters, along with the Gigantes, Hecatonchires and Cyclopes overthrew Cronus and the other Titans, in the combat called the Titanomachy. The defeated Titans were then cast into a shadowy underworld region known as Tartarus. Atlas, one of the titans that fought against Zeus, was punished by having to hold up the sky.

After the battle with the Titans, Zeus shared the world with his elder brothers, Poseidon and Hades, by drawing lots: Zeus got the sky and air, Poseidon the waters, and Hades the world of the dead (the underworld). The ancient Earth, Gaia, could not be claimed; she was left to all three, each according to their capabilities, which explains why Poseidon was the “earth-shaker” (the god of earthquakes) and Hades claimed the humans that died.

Gaia resented the way Zeus had treated the Titans, because they were her children. Soon after taking the throne as king of the gods, Zeus had to fight some of Gaia’s other children, the monsters Typhon and Echidna. He vanquished Typhon and trapped him under Mount Etna, but left Echidna and her children alive.

Image & Source

 

Mythological Family Members & Associated Deities

CRONUS (Father)	RHEA (Mother)	HADES (Brother)	POSEIDON (Brother)	HERA (Wife)	DEMETER (Lover)	MNEMOSYNE (Lover)
APHRODITE (Daughter)	ATHENA (Daughter)	APOLLO (Son)	ARTEMIS (Daughter)	HERMES (Son)	MINOS (Son)	PERSEPHONE (Daughter)
KORE (Daughter)	DIONYSUS (Son)	PERSEUS (Son)	HERACLES (Son)	ARES (Son)	HEBE (Daughter)	HEPHAESTUS (Son)
GAIA	ATLAS	TYPHON	AMUN	ALCYONEUS	PORPHYRION	ANTAEUS
POLYBOTES	AEGAEON