Lost/The Hanso Foundation/Mental Health Appeal

The Mental Health Appeal is one of the active projects being run by The Hanso Foundation. The Mental Health Appeal is a world-spanning system of clinics seeking revolutionary new treatments in mental illness.

Information for this entry is gleaned from The Hanso Foundation.

Information

It has always been the steadfast belief of Alvar Hanso that the mentally ill must be given every opportunity to not only heal, but to realize the ptotential robbed of them by their sickness. Every day, thousands of potentially productive minds are crippled by terrible diseases. The Hanso Foundation is committed to restoring these tragic losses. The Hanso Foundation's Mental Health Appeal is a world-spanning system of clinics seeking revolutionary new treatments. It is nothing short of a crusade to rid us all of the spectre of debilitating illnesses that truly hold hostage the human race's drive to a better future. From Gene Therapies, to radical pharmaceutical treatments and cutting edge in both surgery and psychotherapy, the Hanso Foundation's Mental Health Appeal is moving forward to fulfill Alvar Hanso's ambitious mandate: the complete eradication of all mental illness by the end of the century.

Vik Institute

The Vik Institute is the Mental Health Appeal's flagship clinic and located in the coastal city of Vik, Iceland. It operates as a mental health clinic for patients and a place where scientists can work to discover cures and improve the lives of the patients. Dr. Amrand Zander is the director of the Vik Institute, but is kept largely unaware of the operations occurring in a secret ward in the third sub-basement of the institute. Zander has noted that new doctors enter and leave this secret ward without his consultation or consent.

A fire broke out in the sub-basement of the Vik Institute, killing one individual, Vigi Benoffski, who was a noted mathematician. Benoffski was scheduled to appear at a mathematics symposium in Perth, Australia at the time of his death at the Vik Institute in Vik, Iceland. The truth of the matter is that Benoffski was one of many of the world's finest mathematicians who are being paid by The Hanso Foundation to come to the Vik Institute undercover and work on an equation in secret. Dr. Armand Zander claims that many of these mathematicians seem to not want to be there. In addition to the mathematicians, there are autistic savants with unsurpassed computational power running the equation over and over. Dr. Zander claimed to have seen five or six symbols used in the equation that look like Egyptian hieroglyphics — the exact same hieroglyphics on the Swan's timer. When pressed by Dr. Zander, one of the mathematicians told him the symbols were representational. Dr. Armand Zander has since disappeared.

Press Release

Vik Institute
The Hanso Foundation Mental Health Appeal is pleased to announce the grand re-opening of our flagship clinic, the Vik Institute.

Located outside the southern coastal city of Vik, Iceland, the Vik Institute is nestled amongst the stark beauty of fjords and geothermal lakes. It is an unusual setting for a mental health clinic, but one whose natural beauty affords the maximum therapeutic benefit.

Only hours away from the capital city of Reykjavik, the Vik Institute offers healing and solace in a beautiful environment of awe-inspiring wonder. It is a place that brings dire need — and a place where scientists may discover the cures of tomorrow while improving the lives of the patients of today.

VIK, ICELAND

A tragic fire struck a hospital in the town of Vik, Iceland at 3 a.m. today, leaving one man, renowned mathematician Vigi Benoffski, dead, and several others hospitalized for burns and smoke inhalation. Authorities released only the names of three of the injured: Janos Backh (38), Orban Hikmet Ran (43), and Vikram Sahani (28). Their families refused comment.

The costal community was awakened in the early morning hours by sirens, as rescue and fire units rushed to contain the blaze that erupted on a basement level of The Vik Institute, an advanced mental health facility endowed by international philanthropic organization, The Hanso Foundation. Hospital director Armand Zander: "We are most thankful more were not put in harm's way. What happened to Mr. Benoffski is a horrible tragedy."

While the fire has been ruled accidental, uncertainy still lingers. It is not yet known whether the injured included any hospital patients. And, while Zander asserted that Benoffski "must have been visiting," he refused to comment how a visitor could have obtained access to a basement level well past visiting hours.

The Lost Experience

• Vik Institute Letter: Go to "Active Projects" -> Mental Health Appeal" (you may have to go through this link first). Click on "Inquire today!" and enter "light sequence again" in the text box. You will see a room with a computer terminal in the middle. Clicking on the computer will zoom you in and reveal a confidential letter from Armand Zander, Director of the Vik Institute, to Thomas Mittelwerk. Dr. Zander complains about doctors he's never seen before adminstering tests to his patients, and a secret ward in the hospital filled with patients whose illness is unknown to him. Clicking on the letter will start a memory test on the computer with symbols corresponding to the hieroglyphics present on the Swan's timer. If you complete all 42 turns, then the screen flashes "Department of Heuristics and Research on Material Applications" — an acroynm for DHARMA.