After three months in the waiting, Lost fans got to see what that strange Octagon Recruiting commercial was all about. The Dharma Initiative is back, and they want you to work for them! Eight weekly tests started on August 20 and will lead into season five. But some fans wonder, is this new Initiative the new Big Bad?

On August 20, Test One was added. Named “Pressurized Spatial Judgement Evaluation,” you have to have to take several pieces and create a rectangle in the fastest time. Multiple chances are given to get a high score. But sort of like when John Locke was in the Flame, this Dharma game also has a cheat. If you hit the Space bar, the timer will freeze and you can put the pieces together. The highest score possible is 99%. After three days, our profiles were updated.

Apparently, based on your Test Oone score, you are assigned to one of two groupings: “Ganymede” or “Pandora” (More mythology references!). It seems the combination of groups you are assigned to will determine your career: scientist or … janitor?!  A new feature called “Dharma Points” was added. You get extra points for recruiting friends to join the Initiative.

I’ve done terrible at this, being mostly an online loner.

On August 27, Test Two, “Broad-Spectrum Knowledge Analysis” was released. It was different challenge, a series of multiple questions about arts and science. The catch was that only your first try is accepted. If you waited a couple of days, a legion of fans compiled an answer sheet to the 140 total random questions that can be generated. Oddly enough, the last question is rigged, “What is the answer to this question?” The only way is to cheat, again. Type “I” and you’ll see which answer to pick. Weird. After that, you’re assigned to one of three groups: “Steropes,” “Polyphemus” and “Brontes.” Each of which refers to Cyclopes in Greek mythology. And yes, fans thought this pointed to the infamous foot statue.

It seems that Hans Van Eeghen, recruiting director, sends an email alert each week to advertise the new test. Test Two’s email source code was certainly worth a good laugh, “The Dharma Initiative - Guiding the World to a Bitter Tomorrow – BS.”

Greek references, aptitude tests, hacked emails; what does this all mean? Just another day in the world of Lost. To Be Continued …