The Stations on the island were built by the Dharma Initiative. Their true purpose is unknown, but they appear to be the only signs of civilization on the Island. They all have (or had) power and water supply and different kinds of equipment (e.g. machinery, living quarters, computers, medical equipment, ...).
The Orientation Film may have stated, that there are six Stations like "The Swan", it is unclear if there are additional facilities or if the ones we have yet seen are part of that sixtet. There is some doubt about this number though, since the film never really said that there are six stations. It only refers to "The Swan" as "Station 3". The number originated from the title of the film "3 of 6 - Orientation".
Judging from the grammar, it is more likely that there are six films, one of them being "Orientation". Still, many fans believe, that there are six stations on the island, while it could also be any number from three and upwards.
The Facilities/Stations found on the island are:
Each facility has its own, octagon-shaped logo.
Theories
- The Apollo Candy Bar may be a clue to look towards the stars. There are several constellations associated with Apollo. Perhaps this is a clue to the remaining names of the Stations:
- Cygnus or The Swan
- Sagitta or The Arrow
- Apollo or The Flame
- Corvus or The Crow
- Crater or The Goblet (reference: the word "Crater" was also found on Rosseau's Maps and Notes)
- Ophiuchus or The Serpent Handler (reference: the Caduceus Logo in The Staff - traditionally associated with the medical profession - is similar to the serpented staff carried by Ophiuchus)
- Orion or The Hunter (reference: one of the logos that made only few appearances and is yet unexplained can be interpreted as Orions Belt)
→ This theory gains popularity since there are now 5 very likely references made. It also coincides with the "New Age"-ish taint, the Dharma Initiative has. Note however, that there are more constellations associated with Apollo (for example "The Lyra").
- The stations may be involved in maintaining and monitoring a larger (social?) experiment involving the inhabitants on the island. The word "Quarantine" may be used to prevent the observers from tainting the experiment by leaving the station and entering the island space.
- In one of the Lost podcasts, Damon and Carlton insinuated that the Arrow "station" might not be a station at all but rather just a supplybunker, and that many other "Arrows" might be on the Island.
- It's also been suggested that The Staff might not be one of the stations mentioned in the Orientation Film but meant as a support station. If there should be 6 Stations on the island, this would leave 4 (or 5) more stations undiscovered.
- The code on items in The Swan is the access code for the Swan station or an alternate code for the Station 3 Computer
- If there are 6 stations, then each station is associated with one of the Numbers. The Swan is associated with the number “4” because the alarm goes off when the timer reaches 4 minutes left. Each of the 6 stations is also related to one of the 6 sciences mentioned in the Orientation Film. The Swan would be the station for studying Electromagnetism. The stations studying Zoology would be responsible for the polar bear on the island and the shark seen from the raft, and the Others where trying to take Walt to the Parapsychology station.