- “Not good workers, those Splicers. They go crazy; they kill. A man does not get job done when busy being crazy and killing… Unless killing is the job.”
- ― Ivan Karlosky[1]
Ivan Karlosky was a pale-haired man of Russian origin who was employed as Andrew Ryan's bodyguard.
Life on the Surface[]
Before coming to Rapture, Karlosky was Andrew Ryan's personal chauffeur in New York City. He had a reputation for being a skilled auto mechanic as well as nearly invincible in a fight.[2] Karlosky could sometimes be trigger-happy after drinking alcohol, and on one occasion he shot a taxi driver who scraped the fender of Ryan's limousine. However, Ryan valued Karlosky's services enough that he kept him out of jail by paying a bribe.[3]
Work in Rapture[]
Within Rapture, Karlosky continued in his main responsibility of bodyguarding Ryan. However, Ryan also employed him as a covert investigator, keeping track of Frank Fontaine's movements and investigating the smugglers.[4] His investigations of the smugglers led to him working closely with Security Chief Sullivan, and his quick reflexes with a gun saved Sullivan's life on several occasions.[5] Sullivan relied on Karlosky so much that he made a habit of keeping the Russian man with him whenever Ryan did not require his services.[6] In the later part of the Rapture Civil War, Karlosky became an active member of the quickly dwindling Rapture constabulary, who were hard pressed to keep up with the growing threat of the crazed Splicers.
In his spare time, Karlosky had a hobby of brewing vodka from potatoes grown in Rapture hydroponics. He eventually struck up a close friendship with Redgrave, a man who was a member of the police force, and they trusted each other enough that neither took offense when exchanging good-natured insults. Both of them attended a Christmas Eve party at Bill and Elaine McDonagh's flat in 1958. Redgrave and Karlosky were also together guarding the Kashmir Restaurant on the night of the 1958 New Year's Eve party, and they were among the few loyal constables who fought against the attacking Splicers when the riots began.[7]
As the situation in Rapture deteriorated, Ryan occasionally sent Karlosky to guard the McDonaghs when they went out in public. Karlosky and Redgrave were guarding the McDonaghs during a walk in Arcadia in 1959 when Masha Lutz was kidnapped while playing with Sophie McDonagh.[8] Karlosky was also guarding Bill McDonagh on a maintenance run in the drafting rooms of the Atlantic Express Workshops later that year when Bill talked him into a foolish attempt to rescue a Little Sister (who resembled Masha) from her Big Daddy guardian.
Karlosky never seemed to question the wisdom of his employer's decisions. He continued to be loyal to Ryan even in the final days of the war when Ryan began hanging the bodies of traitors on the columns outside his office door in Hephaestus. Karlosky remarked to Bill McDonagh that he didn't like the "decoration" but that it was "sometimes necessary."[1] However, Karlosky's friendship with the McDonagh's made him lenient when he, Patrick Cavendish, and Redgrave were sent to stop the McDonagh family and Roland Wallace from escaping from Rapture in the Lighthouse. Karlosky shot Cavendish in the head when he insulted Redgrave, and he allowed Elaine and Sophie to leave. However, his loyalty to Ryan was strong enough that he would not directly countermand an order from him, so he and Redgrave captured Bill and Wallace, taking them back down to the city. Karlosky had been given orders to crucify Bill McDonagh after he captured him, but he respected the man enough that he gave him a quick death instead.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 BioShock: Rapture Chapter 20
- ↑ BioShock: Rapture Chapter 3
- ↑ BioShock: Rapture Chapter 11
- ↑ BioShock: Rapture Chapter 8
- ↑ BioShock: Rapture Chapter 9
- ↑ BioShock: Rapture Chapter 13
- ↑ BioShock: Rapture Chapter 17
- ↑ BioShock: Rapture Chapter 19