Lost Experience: In Paragraphs.

[Carencey]

ok, rather than cleaning my apartment this evening, I ended up writing this instead. We have lots of info on websites and passwords and easter eggs, but I figured I'd try structuring this as an article on the info presented in the Lost Experience rather than the elements of the game itself or theorizing show tie-ins. This was sort of inspired by running back through the Master Clues thread and seeing that except for the Joop's Corner hack, we got all of the executive info, then the project info, and now we're nearly done with the project info. All of this will be old news to the regulars of this part of the forum, and as always, comment if I got my facts mucked up!

The Hanso Foundation: Their mission statement says they stand “at the vanguard of social and scientific research for the advancement of the human race”. They have a spectacular website detailing all of their research and development projects worldwide, and they even run television ads promoting their motto of “reaching out for a better tomorrow”. The Foundation was established by noted philanthropist Alvar Hanso, and its executives dedicate the skills they bring from their life experiences to the betterment of mankind through the Foundation.

However, things which look “too good to be true” often are. There seems to be a whistleblower within the Hanso Foundation—a woman who calls herself “Persephone” has been hacking the Hanso Foundation website in order to share information on the real nature of their projects and board of directors, and may even be getting assistance from sympathetic employees of companies which do business with the Foundation.

Here’s what Persephone has told us so far regarding the executives of the Hanso Foundation:

Thomas Mittelwerk: The President and Chief Technologist is described on the Hanso Foundation website as Alvar Hanso’s right hand man. However, Persephone points out that he cannot have been recruited by Alvar Hanso at the age of eighteen while pursuing a molecular biology degree at Caltech, as the site says—Caltech’s records show that he never studied there.

Peter Thompson: The “successful corporate lawyer” joined the Hanso Foundation as Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary after being cured of cancer at one of their clinics. Persephone tells us that before coming to work for the Foundation, the seemingly pro-philanthropy Thompson actually made a career of defending tobacco, oil, and nuclear interests against patients and citizens. He also defended Lawrence Peck and Jacob Vanderfield, members of the Foundation’s Board of Directors, against assorted charges and got very light sentences for both.

Hugh McIntyre: The Communications Director has a background as a UN translator and public relations expert. His bio on the website describes him as “deeply committed to family values”. However, Persephone has provided us with evidence that McIntyre was cheating on his wife of fifteen years with an unidentified woman. McIntyre appeared on the Jimmy Kimmel show on May 24, stating that Persephone was “more mischievous than damaging” and that the picture on the website was actually his predecessor’s, accidentally posted by the webmaster. The picture then disappeared and was replaced by a question mark.

Alvar Hanso: The information Persephone has on the Foundation’s founder and guiding force is a bit different. She hasn’t accused Hanso himself of any nefarious activity; instead, Persephone notes that he hasn’t been seen in public since the end of 2002. Is Alvar Hanso really running the Hanso Foundation now, as the website suggests? Or is someone else in charge?

Persephone’s charges regarding the Foundation’s projects are even more damning.
Mathematical Forecasting Initiative: Despite the MFI’s stated goals of using mathematical models to predict the impact of pollution, population growth, and human disease, Persephone has presented us with a portion of a letter from Peter Thompson to “Minister of the Interior Mugato” regarding using findings from the Foundation’s population growth models to justify preemptive strikes on enemies—Thompson insisted on “plausible deniability”.

Worldwide Wellness and Prevention Development Program: On the Hanso Foundation’s website, the WWPDP is described as “a far-reaching educational initiative designed to teach the basics of sanitation, nutrition, and disease prevention to the world”. Persephone suggests that the free hospitals built by the Foundation have a darker purpose. A code hidden on a map of the foundation’s hospitals reads “MISSING ORGANS”. She later provided a South African newspaper account of a raid on a Hanso Foundation hospital that found patients kept in a comatose state with missing organs and bodies being kept just above freezing for organ harvesting purposes. Interestingly, the paper ran a retraction the next day regarding the involvement of the Foundation with the hospital…immediately after the paper’s purchase by the Foundation. The reporter also told Persephone of rumors that another reporter had died in a car accident immediately after penning a similar story.

Mental Health Appeal: The expressed goal of the MHA is “the complete eradication of all mental illness by the end of the century”, but according to Persephone, their methods are at best questionable. She has provided us with a letter from Dr. Armand Zander, director of the Vik Institute, the MHA’s flagship institution, to “Dr.” Thomas Mittelwerk, protesting activities conducted by doctors at the hospital acting outside of his authority.

Electromagnetic Research Initiative: The most basic of the Foundations’ research projects as well as the most vaguely described, the ERI seeks simply to understand electromagnetism. Persephone’s hack of this area includes another letter to Dr. Mittelwerk from a minister of the Korean government, warning that an offshore antenna project could be moved or destroyed due to negative effects on the surrounding area that include satellite and communications interference and mutations observed in nearby wildlife.

Institute for Genomic Advancement: Persephone has told us relatively little about this project, whose goal is described as the eradication of disease and birth defects through a deeper understanding of the function and mechanisms of the human genome. One hack, reached by an interesting password ‘parthenogenesis’ reveals a logo apparently tattoed on the skin of a dead shark, yet this update did not contain any of Persephone’s signature text and documentation.

Life Extension Project: The LEP, whose purpose is clearly stated in its name, boasts as its main achievement a 105-year-old orangutan named Joop. Persephone’s earliest site hack shared first a letter from a Global Welfare Consortium official, Jacques Maillot, to the CDC alleging a connection between the LEP’s research activities and a new meningococcal strain transmitted to humans in Africa, and a second letter from Peter Thompson effectively smoothing over the fuss—after he had taken over Maillot’s position at the GWC.

Department of Heuristics and Research on Material Applications: We know very little about this department, but its name was given to us as part of a game presented in the MHA hack. There may be more information available on DHARMA in the future.

The Hanso Foundation seems notoriously uncomfortable with negative publicity—brief mentions of the Foundation in the novel “Bad Twin” were greeted with a flurry of ads in major newspapers, and revelations such as Persephone’s could provoke a more dangerous response.

So who is Persephone? She has given us very little information on her own identity—one note on the WWPDP map states that she was an employee of the foundation. In addition, as part of that same update, a page was included in the microfilm section that read “Persephone if you can read this I know who you are”. We may not know who Persephone is, but evidently someone else does.

Another individual that may be a natural ally of Persephone’s is DJ Dan, a broadcaster and conspiracy hunter. Persephone used a name for Dan’s devoted listeners (“conspiraspies”) to unlock her latest update, which suggests some sort of connection between these two. In addition, one caller to a recent show of DJ Dan’s was “concerned” enough to issue threats if Dan didn’t stop his criticism of the Hanso Foundation.

Since Persephone has shared information on the true nature of the Hanso Foundation’s executives and nearly all of its projects, it is unclear what directions any future revelations of hers may take. Hanso watchers and conspiraspies should stay tuned.

Addendum June 16, 2006: Persephone had one more update today regarding the disappearance of Alvar Hanso. Hanso had apparently suffered some sort of medical crisis before vanishing, and afterwards, his office was slowly picked over in his absence. Just as Persephone was confessing that she believed Mittelwerk was responsible for the current direction of the Foundation, the transmission was abruptly cut off with the following message—“The Hanso Foundation site has been hacked by malicious infiltrators seeking to damage the good work of many dedicated researchers. Until a legal investigation is completed, the site will no longer be accessible to the public. Namaste.” It appears that Persephone will need to find a new outlet if she wishes to continue her efforts against the Hanso Foundation.

[The Partyman]

An excellent summary of the story so far.

It will undoubtedly be of great use to those who are interested in the information, but do not have the time and/or patience to follow all the *game* aspects of this tale.

[Finnster]

That's awesome... Thanks for the summary. I am one of those people who don't have enough time and / or patience to follow the experience. By the way, has anyone gotten to the explanation of the numbers in the Lost Experience?? I would love to hear any info on that...

[IStoleCindy]

Ooh, very useful! I gave up on this weeks ago because I have too little internet time, etc.

And now I'm up to date!

Heuristics, eh....

[twilightsun]

Thank you! I've been looking for something like this!

[DharmaChick]

Great summary!!

[waltisfuture]

Awesome Carencey


I have trouble getting the clues to work for me with the Hanso sites, so I truly appreciate your effort.

[jennylee27]

Wow, thank you!!! This is the best way yet for those not playing the game to see what's been going on. Much appreciated.

[Necrite98]

Carencey, you continue to impress and amaze. This is a great idea! Thank you!!

[Carencey]

Aww, thanks! I'm just glad y'all think it's useful.

Now, does anybody want to do my laundry?