The FlashForward ARG is continuing to flourish, expanding rapidly and producing a wonderful background for the show to premiere on to when it airs on September 24 of this year.
Earlier today, I recieved an email from someone named Oscar Obregon. "ABC's FlashForward - The Search for Truth," it was titled, and I opened it to read this message from the fictional Mr. Obregon.
Dear Fellow Journalist,
I am an Investigative Journalist working independently for TruthHack.com.
As you well know, the entire global population blacked out for 2 minutes, 17 seconds and saw visions of themselves six months into the future.
What happened? How is it possible? Who is responsible?
The Global Blackout has left us all with questions. TruthHack is committed to bringing you answers.
A few weeks ago I was at Comic-Con for the launch of the Mosaic Collective. This global database has been put together by the Bureau to collect FlashForwards in order to piece together a picture of April 29, 2010. While there I noticed that some people were being pulled aside for secondary interviews with a Bureau agent. What did they say? What is the Mosaic Collective looking for?
As a colleague who may have been at Comic-Con, I wanted to contact you to see if you had been pulled aside. If you know anything about the cause of the Global Blackout or the Mosaic Collective in general, I would appreciate hearing from you.
See you at TruthHack.com,
Oscar Obregon
Founding Editor
Following the link to the website, I found it largely a personal venting place for the perpetually sweaty and balding Mr. Obregon, who, through videos, discusses the elements of FlashForward in an in-universe style. A Twitter account (@TruthHack) is also linked to, though he hasn't updated in 12 days.
And that's what makes Obregon's site interesting. It doesn't stick to the canon for the show -- Obregon is investigating the flashforward at Comic-Con 2009, even though the flashforward isn't supposed to take place in the storyline of the series until September of 2009.
I recieved another email around this time as well, though this one was something that we're all a little more familiar with: the Mosaic Collective. The new site is up and running, and it's a very nicely done site. Here's what the email said:
Hi,
We are pleased to announce that the official Mosaic Collective website, JoinTheMosaic.com is now live.
In the wake of the Global Blackout the Mosaic Collective has been collating thousands of individuals visions of the future or FlashForwards. We are now very pleased to share our database with you and invite you to share your FlashForward.
We urge you to explore the site and discover the profound impact that the Global Blackout has had on us all. In response we have created a number of ways for you to discover the various visions of people from all over the world.
Not only can you view text and video accounts of other peoples FlashForwards but you can also see how your vision can possibly connect to others. Some of these FlashForwards are highlighted in our exclusive Stories from the Mosaic video segments. These are updated each week so make sure you come back to see the latest fascinating story.
We have been very moved by the many personal stories we have received. The Global Blackout has changed our lives, but together we have a future.
Best wishes,
The Mosaic Collective
Going to the new website (you must have Flash to enter) is quite a lot of fun. After a short load time, you're faced with a model of the globe, with small pushpin-like markers that, when clicked, reveal the flashforward of people from that location.
Of course, the flashes are mundane and uninteresting; one person from Australia notes that he was trying to eat a hot dog even though he didn't like it, and another simply tells that the person was walking to work.
But there's also a form to enter your own flashforward (which you just make up), which will presumably be placed on the map in the future. It's a very cool concept, which we'll hopefully see explored on the show in the fall.
So what do you think of the ever-expanding FlashForward ARG? How does it compare to the high standard set by LOST's ARGs? Sound off in the comments below -- we're always listening.
