Rapture
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- "I am Andrew Ryan, and I'm here to ask you a question: Is a man not entitled to the sweat of his brow? No, says the man in Washington. It belongs to the poor. No, says the man in the Vatican. It belongs to God. No, says the man in Moscow. It belongs to everyone. I rejected those answers. Instead, I chose something different. I chose the impossible. I chose... Rapture. A city where the artist would not fear the censor. Where the scientist would not be bound by petty morality. Where the great would not be constrained by the small. And with the sweat of your brow, Rapture can become your city as well."
- ―Andrew Ryan
Rapture is a massive underwater city created by Andrew Ryan to escape from the political, social, and religious anxiety of a post-WWII world. It was officially christened on November 5, 1946. It is located at 63° 2' N, 29° 55' W (which would place it at about 259 miles west south west of Iceland's capital, Reykjavik).
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[edit] Overview
Built by Andrew Ryan, Rapture sits at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, a metropolis of massive art deco-styled buildings connected by a network of glass tunnels and a Bathysphere system, appearing to be the size of New York City, New York. The city is completely self-sustaining, and all of its electricity, food, water and air purification and defense system are powered by the underwater vents in Hephaestus. Rapture is intentionally isolated from the world, and the only way to access it seems to be bathyspheres taken down from the lighthouse perched on an island above.
In terms of its philosophical underpinnings, Rapture can best be described as a "gulch," a term derived from Galt's Gulch in the Ayn Rand novel Atlas Shrugged. A "gulch" is a localized underground economic and social community of freedom-minded individuals and differs from a utopia or a commune in that it is uniquely freedom-focused, and so upholds individual and property rights rather than operating by the rules of a collective community.
[edit] Rapture's Goal
The original goal of Rapture was to create a society free of religion and government, where any citizen could capitalistically achieve for his or her own gain, rather than for the altruistic fulfillment of the wants of others. The "world's best and brightest" were granted freedom of will and choice in Rapture; they were unrestrained by government, religion and similar established institutions. Instead of abiding by the morally idyllic restrictions imposed by these institutions, values such as logic and scienctific reason were to guide the inhabitants in their pursuit of achievement. However, the would-be utopia had its problems. In Rapture's purely capitalistic society, its facilities were completely devoid of any and all social programs, and so everything within the city was privately owned and came with a price tag; this included the city's healthcare, its sanitation facilities and even its oxygen supply. There were few, if any, defined standards for business and labor, allowing unscrupulous business practices to flourish. This system alienated Rapture's less fortunate citizens, who began to resent Ryan as a naive and elitist individual. Andrew Ryan's paranoia of these poorer citizens and his xenophobia led to the downfall of his self, as well as his city. His edict that the outside world never be permitted to learn of Rapture's existence enabled a man named Frank Fontaine to build his criminal empire through smuggling. Unlike the capitalistic Ryan, the former mobster could not be satisfied by mere material wealth—he wanted Rapture to be subject to his dominion. He would go on to start a civil war that sealed Rapture's doomed fate under the alias, Atlas.
| WARNING Significant plot details follow. |
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[edit] Transportation
Transportation within Rapture is provided by a connected Bathysphere system, which consists of spherical pressurized capsules. There is only one entrance to Rapture, which is around in a remote lighthouse above the Atlantic Ocean. A number of railway systems exist which you use to reach each new area in the game. Other times you use Bathyspheres are in the beginning when you enter Rapture, and in the end when you either escape with the Little Sisters, or when you unleash your Splicer army beyond Rapture. Read the story section for more information on how you end the story.
[edit] Science
As Ryan had felt that scientific achievement in the world was being restricted by "petty morality," he ensured that the inhabitants of Rapture could explore paths previously deemed too immoral or controversial to follow. One of the major breakthroughs achieved in Rapture was the creation of Plasmids from ADAM, a substance created by a deep sea species of slug. Essentially, processed ADAM created stem cells in its host which allowed new genetic material to be "spliced" into the DNA of the host. However, drawbacks were later encountered by excessive splicing (mainly during and after the civil war of Rapture) among common citizens of Rapture, such as cellular mutation resulting permanent mental and physical damage.
[edit] Beginning of the End
On December 31 1958, a massive riot of the working class citizens was led by Atlas upon higher class locations, such as the Kashmir Restaurant. This action not only sparked a civil war in Rapture, but intimidated Ryan's administration as well. Despite prior conflicts with Fontaine's corrupt smuggling and plasmid industry, this blow definitively marked the end of Rapture as a functioning society. Although he led the working class to war, Fontaine's plasmids were used extensively by both sides.
[edit] Explorable Areas
- Main article: Locations
During your journey through Rapture, you will explore the following areas.
- Arcadia - Garden and Arboretum
- Apollo Square - Transportation Hub and Fontaine's Stronghold
- Farmer's Market - Main Marketplace for organic produce
- Fort Frolic - Arts and Entertainment District
- Hephaestus - Power Generator Facility
- Medical Pavilion - Main Medical Institution
- Neptune's Bounty - Fishing Wharf
- Olympus Heights - Apartments Complex
- Point Prometheus - "Birthplace" of the Big Daddies and Little Sisters
- Proving Grounds - Natural History Museum turned Big Daddy Training Area
- Rapture Central Control - Andrew Ryan's Private Quarters and Office
- Smuggler's Hideout - The center of Fontaine's criminal exploits
[edit] Other Areas
Areas that were either removed from the final game or have yet to be explored in BioShock 2
- Rapture Zoo - Zoological Garden
- Athena's Glory - Apartment Complex
- Fontaine Futuristics - ADAM Production Facility
