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Log printout

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First Introduced

"?"

Owned by

DHARMA Initiative

Found by

Eko and Locke in the Pearl

Used by

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The log printout is a stack of hardcopy (paper output) from a dot matrix printer connected to the computer inside the Pearl station.

Facts

• The printout commenced when Locke entered "Y" into the computer when its monitor was prompting:

>: Print Log? Y/N.

• Eko took the log, while Locke was skeptical:

• These are what we can see out of what's printed, in Locke's perspective:

System failure recorded on the log printout

• System failure: During "Live Together, Die Alone", Desmond looks through the log sheet searching for the time he failed to push the button. He asks Locke the date Flight 815 departed (September 22nd, 2004). The printout showed "922044:16 SYSTEM FAILURE SYSTEM FAILURE...".
  • This timestamp format differs from that seen when Locke examined the printout, raising additional uncertainty about the timestamp format. Additionally, the pattern has shifted by one minute, becoming  :04, :16, :28, :40, and :52.
• The timestamp viewed by Desmond is not a logical stamp. September should be designated by "09" instead of just "9". More importantly, the time the plane crashed would have been 4:16 a.m. according to the printout. Assuming the Island isn't at the North or South Pole, the crash probably occurred at 4:16 p.m., which would read 16:16,
  • The computers may be using Greenwich Mean Time. Fiji, as a reference, is in the time zone UTC+12. 4:16 am + 12 hours = 4.16pm.
  • It's also possible that the computer's clock has drifted. With no signals able to reach the island, there would be no way for the clock to synchronize itself.
• Example of improper numbering - if 922044:16 is Sep 22, 2004 at 4:16 p.m., then 1022001:00 could be Jan 2,2020 at 1 a.m. or Oct 20, 2000 at 1 a.m. Proper numbering of the date and time of the crash would be 09220416:16.
• If the number to the right of the : is base 60 (like counting seconds and minutes), the number consistently increments by 1:48 each time.
  • If we convert 1:48 in base 60 to decimal, the result is 108 units.
  • We do not know whether the units represent hours, minutes, seconds, or something completely different.
  • The number after the : keeps repeating in the pattern 17 05 53 41 29 because incrementing by 1:48 in base 60 will always yield a repeating pattern of five number.
  • It appears that the pattern began at :17, :05, :53, :41, or :29, and not on :00 as most timers do.
  • The Numbers can be input 4 minutes before the timer reaches 0. Unless the Numbers are entered as the timer reaches 0 each time (which we know does not happen) then there would be a gradual shift from the :17, :05, :53, :41, :29, pattern.
    • Since the countdown time does not display seconds until the 4 minute mark, it is possible that the timer slows down (or stays on 108 for more than 1 minute) to catch up with any shift.
• The printout has been confirmed to be a log of activity on the Swan Computer.
• Apple II computers were not programmed with timestamps up to years. The printout only shows the month and day-of-the-week. The year is not programmed in.

See also

• Pearl Orientation Video
• Swan Orientation Film
• Swan computer
• Pearl Computer
• The Swan
• The Pearl