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Lutwidge
"Oh magus, you have begun thy journey. Your master's temple has fallen but his work is not yet finished…"Orrin Oscar Lutwidge

This article falls within the scope of the BioShock Wiki:Something In the Sea Content Project. This project is dedicated to improving the quality of all content related to the viral website, "There's Something in the Sea." Would you kindly help the BioShock Wiki by volunteering on the project page?
Sander CohenHQ
"I test you... but for a reason. I test all my disciples. Some shine like galaxies, and some... some burn like a moth at the flame!"Sander Cohen

This article, Rapture Timeline, contains disputed content or may not have any sources and may be fan fiction or a hoax. Please add where this subject is mentioned in the BioShock series and add references using the format detailed at Help:Cite. Check the talk page for more information about what might need references in this article.

This is a chronological timeline of events related to the history of Rapture, based on information revealed in the BioShock game series, There's Something in the Sea, and BioShock: Rapture. Please note that when specific months and days are not given, they are only known to occur within the specified month or year.

Spoilers


1906[]

September 3

1917[]

Undefined Date

1919[]

Undefined Date
  • Andrew Ryan, as a child, flees Russia in the wake of revolution; arrives in the United States of America.[3]

1922[]

Undefined date

1923[]

May 17

1936[]

June 15

1937[]

Undefined Date

1938[]

December 17

1939[]

May 14
  • Jerry Lynchman is arrested at Orlando, Florida, using the name "Ian Lynch".[8]
June 17
  • Pearl Philips and Charles Milton Porter are married.[9]
August 26
  • After accepting a job opening from Alan Turing, Charles Milton Porter and his wife Pearl take the Apollo Airways Flight DF-0113 from Philadelphia to London, to begin working with him for the Allies.
September 1

1940[]

February 10
  • Jerry Lynchman is arrested at Fort Lauderdale, Florida, using the name "Mick Lynchman".[8]
September 7
  • Beginning of the Blitz on London. Pearl Porter is killed by the first bombing.[10]

1943[]

Show List SitS Events
October 5
  • The German U-boat U-336 captained by Hans Hunger is sunk in the Straits of Denmark south-west of Iceland, in position 62°43'N, 27°17'W, by rockets from a British Hudson aircraft.[11]


1945[]

Undefined date

  • Sullivan gives Andrew Ryan two reports, including one about the bombing of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki cities.BioShock: Rapture?
August 6
  • The United States drops an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Sofia Lamb survives the bombing but loses all her friends in the explosion.
August 9
  • A second atomic bomb is dropped on the Japanese city of Nagasaki.
August 21
  • Andrew Ryan announces the plans for the construction of Rapture. He discusses the manner in which the city will be built and how they will keep the building materials hidden from the government.[12]
September 2
  • End of World War II.

1946[]

Undefined Date
  • Bill McDonagh goes to Andrew Ryan, at his Park Avenue home, to install his bathroom. Andrew Ryan notices Bill, who uses brass. The day after McDonagh becomes Ryan's new general contractor.
  • Frank Gorland becomes the owner of the bar "The Clanger", in New York City.BioShock: Rapture?
Show List SitS Events
  • James Millard Oakes disappears.[15]
  • Jean Louis Roget disappears.[16]
  • Mimi Tabor and Elgar Vankin disappear.[17]
  • Icelandic fishermen complain of "dead seas" and allege that oil slicks have killed off whole areas of the ocean.[18]
February 13
March 8
April 5
May 20
  • Scarlet Sovereign sends an invoice to Warden Yarn for large amounts of steel.
November 5
  • Rapture's infrastructure is built up enough to become habitable for a large population. The city opens to an influx of citizens.[20]
December

1947[]

Undefined Date
Show List SitS Events
  • Repeated equipment failures on commercial vessels; shipping routes are shifted quietly by NATO.[18]
  • A USAF C-47 "Skytrain" vanishes with seventeen troops and two decorated pilots after a bizarre final radio call.[18]
  • A Child's Garden of Cyphers is published by Liddell & Lewis.
February
  • A number of Australians, including Kyburz, disappear from Turtle Bay.[23]

1948[]

Undefined Date
June 16

1949[]

Undefined Date

1950[]

Undefined Date

1951[]

Undefined Date
  • (Presumably) Rapture is finished. Andrew Ryan cuts off contact with the surface.
  • Zimmermann Chardonnay is established.

1952[]

Show List SitS Events
April 17
  • Lutwidge pens a letter to Warden Yarn from Scarlet Sovereign with concerns about being used as a "shield" for North Atlantic construction project.
December 19


1953[]

Undefined date
March
Show List SitS Events
  • The ill-fated Baldur vanishes during the second leg of its quixotic attempt to follow the Viking charts. Their last recorded position was in 63°30'N, 27°4'W.[36]


1954[]

Undefined Date
Show List SitS Events
June 22
  • In a letter, Lutwidge expresses his disappointment that Ryan did not invite him to Rapture.


1955[]

Undefined Date
October 22
  • The Russian KGB publishes an internal report about various missing person cases and suspected defection to western democracies.[39]


1956[]

Undefined Date
Show List SitS Events
  • Final radio transmissions from the British vessel Ice Beagle before its disappearance: "That doesn't make sense. It shouldn't be there… do you see them? They're watching us!".[43]
  • The I.O.O.P (International Order of the Pawns) ships out its introductory pamphlet for those desiring to quest for Rapture.


July 12

1957[]

Undefined Date
  • Celeste Roget travels to the Himalayas to find her father.[16]
  • After discovering the city of Rapture by accident, a deep-sea explorer is nicknamed 'Johnny Topside' by the city's populace and becomes something of a celebrity.[44]


January 22
Infinite Spoilers


1958[]

Show List SitS Events
April 23
  • "LWS" (Lee Wilson Seward) sends Orrin Oscar Lutwidge a letter regarding IOOP business and his suspicions against the Red Pawn.
May 23
  • "The Red Pawn" sends the forged "Thingumbob" letter to Celeste, leading her to believe that it was from Lutwidge.
June
June 17
  • Lutwidge writes a letter to the "Red Pawn" stating "the game is at an end."
July 28
  • Auger Detection writes a letter to Celeste about the continued investigation of Lutwidge and his association with an accomplice, codenamed "Red Pawn", in forging documents.
September
  • Lutwidge sends a letter to the Grey Pawn noting his concerns about the Red Pawn.
  • Lutwidge records numerous audio tapes for "the Seeker," writes symbols on the basement tiles of Warden Yarn, hides the Puzzle Boxes, and disappears.


Early September
  • Frank Fontaine passes out Plasmids, some of which are still experimental, to some of his followers and employees in preparation for the conflict soon to come.[46]
September 9
  • One of Fontaine's loyal men, Ray Lardner, starts to suffer from the heavy side-effects of the Old Man Winter Plasmid given to him by his boss.[46]
September 10
  • Fontaine cancels the production of drinkable Plasmids developed by Suchong in favor of injectible versions, due to the drinkable's high cost in ADAM when Fontaine Futuristics was unable to effectively produce sufficient quantities of ADAM.[47]
September 12
  • On the success of Sullivan's investigations of Rapture's smuggling ring, and following Ryan's orders, Fontaine is ordered arrested and his criminal operation shut down. Fontaine resists, resulting in a major firefight at Fontaine's front business Fontaine Fisheries. A full assault is launched by Ryan Security, and Frank Fontaine fakes his own death in the mayhem that ensued.[45]
Undefined date
  • A revolutionary named Atlas begins protesting and rallying supporters against Ryan's philosophy in running Rapture.
  • Ryan is given false evidence that Charles Milton Porter swore loyalty to Fontaine and has him incarcerated in Persephone. Control of Rapture Central Computing, The Thinker and so Minerva's Den are handed over to his colleague Reed Wahl.
  • Brigid Tenenbaum goes into hiding (eventually residing under the streets of Olympus Heights) and starts to rescue Little Sisters. Ryan Industries publicly dismisses her disappearance.
  • Control of the Silver Fin Restaurant is handed over to Suchong by Ryan when the owner reports the Tear that had appeared there.
  • Big Daddies are commissioned by Andrew Ryan to protect Little Sisters in Rapture during the mounting civil unrest.
  • The bonding process for Protectors and Gatherers was still a work in progress. Whereas Dr. Yi Suchong had difficulties with adapting the Protector Bond for all Big Daddies and Little Sisters to accept it, Gilbert Alexander creates the Alpha Series to use the Pair Bond as a more permanent solution.
  • Atlas and some of his closest followers are sent to Fontaine's by Ryan to prevent them from causing further trouble.
  • Sofia Lamb takes control over Persephone from Sinclair.
  • The Incinerate! and Telekinesis Plasmids are released to the public.
  • Sally is declared dead by Sullivan.
October 8
  • Elizabeth first arrives in Rapture in search of Zachary Hale Comstock through a Tear opened in the Silver Fin Restaurant at Fontaine's Department Store.[48][49]
October (Undefined date)
  • Tears start appearing throughout Rapture. Suchong becomes aware of the phenomena and sends investigators to study them.
  • Suchong becomes aware that Jeremiah Fink of Columbia has been stealing his research on Plasmids and had developed a drinkable formula by the introduction of an 'oxidizing agent'.[50]
  • Suchong recreates Fink's drinkable Plasmids and starts selling them through Ryan Industries.[50]
  • The Kashmir Restaurant hosts its yearly gala, with an unknown purpose.[51]
Show List SitS Events
November 13
  • The British fishing vessel Hackness becomes lost in the North Atlantic and encounters the Phantom Lighthouse.[52]
December
  • The Lutwidge Property Management building on Lower Broadway burns down.[53]
  • Lutwidge stops in Ireland to visit Jeremiah Lynch, then travels to Reykjavik, Iceland on his way to the Frozen Triangle.[54]


December 2
  • Some of Fontaine's former employees and the remainder of his army are sent to Fontaine's Department Store after it is converted into a prison and is separated from the city,[55] by the orders of the Rapture Central Council.[56]
December 23
  • Sander Cohen brings down Sally to the department store.[57]
December 25
  • The Manta Ray Lounge, where supplies were stored for the prisoners under Atlas' command, is overrun by Splicers.[58]
Show List SitS Events
December 30
  • Dash H. Carmady takes photos of the tiles in Lutwidge's basement workshop at the Warden Yarn Building.[59]


December 31
  • The events of Burial at Sea begin.
    • Sander Cohen hosts The Business of Rapture is Business at his private club.
    • Zachary Hale Comstock and Elizabeth are killed by a Bouncer in the Toy Department. However Elizabeth remained in existence because of her quantum-superposition and leaves Rapture for "Paris."
    • Elizabeth returns to the Toy Department to save Sally from Atlas, and by returning, her quantum state collapses, losing her Tear manipulating abilities, trapping her in Rapture.
    • Ryan Security is sent to Fontaine's Department Store for Operation Deep Dive: To find and eliminate Atlas and Elizabeth.
    • Atlas and his followers escape Fontaine's Department Store.
  • The Masquerade party is thrown; the Kashmir Restaurant is attacked during the 1958 New Year's Eve Riots, and the Rapture Civil War begins.
  • Rizzo dies during the New Year's Eve Riots.BioShock: Rapture?[60]
  • The events of BioShock 2 Multiplayer begin.
  • During the riots, the power to Ryan Amusements is cut off, trapping everyone inside, including Carlson Fiddle,[61] and Nina Carnegie with an entire third-grade class.[62]
  • Subject Delta is forced to shoot himself by Sofia Lamb while under the influence of a Hypnotize Plasmid.

1959[]

  • The Rapture Civil War takes place. Rapture goes from a working society to a warzone, as Ryan and Atlas fight for control. Both sides actively splice, and many citizens splicing for their own self-defense become unstable. The people who survive and keep their sanity stay barricaded in small holdouts within the city. During this time, Sofia Lamb builds up more followers, who escape from the bloodshed, in Persephone.
January 14
January (Undefined date)
  • Terrified citizens pull all of their money out of the banks causing an economic collapse.
  • Gil Alexander discovers that the Pair Bond is too unstable, and decommissions the bond and Alpha Series.
  • Maintenance Big Daddies are chosen to be programmed as new protectors.
  • The last recording by Nina Carnegie is made, still trapped in Ryan Amusements with the children.
  • The Vita-Chamber project is fast-tracked and the devices are installed throughout the city.
Undefined Date
  • The Hypnotize Big Daddy Plasmid is released to the public.
  • The Limbo Room is forced to close, making Grace Holloway unemployed.
  • The Atlantic Express is bought by Austin Bathysphere Co.
  • Siren Alley becomes the city's red light district when its residents suffer from the economic collapse.
  • Apollo Square is turned into a containment camp for the growing number of citizens against Ryan.
  • Ryan puts all Bathyspheres into genetic lock-down, with only authorized personnel (and close genetic matches to them) able to use them.

Undefined Date (1959-1960)[]

The following events take place during the Civil War in Rapture, however, it is unknown exactly which year of the war they occurred in as the exact date of Jack's arrival in 1960 is never given.

Show List SitS Events
  • Orrin Oscar Lutwidge arrives in Rapture and encounters a French woman, James Millard Oakes, and Catherine.[64]
  • The Vulmea is found adrift, its fourteen man crew missing; dinners half eaten.[18]
  • Lutwidge escapes from Rapture.


  • After a number of lock-downs, Arcadia closes permanently due to incidents caused by the Saturnine cultists.
  • Sullivan murders Anna Culpepper, on Andrew Ryan's orders.
  • Sullivan, in remorse for his deeds, commits suicide at Neptune's Bounty.BioShock: Rapture?
  • Andrew Ryan discovers Fontaine's involvement with Jasmine Jolene.
  • Jasmine Jolene is murdered by Andrew Ryan.
  • Fort Frolic is closed to the public by Sander Cohen.
  • Minerva's Den is sealed off from the rest of Rapture by Reed Wahl.
  • Dionysus Park is flooded in what is deemed by the newspapers as a 'cult-related' incident.
  • Elite models of the Rosie and Bouncer are created to help fight the greater threat to Gatherers.
  • A new model of protector, the Lancer, is created but is never released due to Minerva's Den's being sealed off.
  • Samuel & Mariska Lutz commit suicide.
  • Diane McClintock is killed by Atlas after discovering his true identity.
  • Bill McDonagh is executed after a failed attempt to assassinate Andrew Ryan.
  • Anya Andersdotter is executed after a failed attempt to assassinate Andrew Ryan.
  • A large fire breaks out in a football stadium, cancelling the game between The Stingers and The Sea Bulls.
  • All publications cease distribution due to Security Order 217.

1960[]

Undefined Date
  • Transatlantic Apollo Air Flight DF-0301 (Jack's flight) run by Apollo Air vanishes with six crew persons and eighty-nine passengers; international search efforts fail. U.S. and NATO vessels are sent out to sweep the area.
  • The events of BioShock 2 Multiplayer ends.
  • The events of BioShock occur.
    • Dr. Steinman and Peach Wilkins are killed by Jack.
    • Julie Langford is killed by Ryan for sharing information about the Lazarus Vector.
    • Andrew Ryan forces Jack to kill him after revealing his identity.
    • Atlas reveals himself as being Frank Fontaine after gaining control of Rapture.
    • Fontaine is killed by Jack who is then offered control over the city.
  • Persistent rumors claim that a nuclear submarine sank while searching for Flight DF-0301.[18]
  • Elizabeth brings Booker DeWitt and Songbird to Rapture.
Show List SitS Events
Undefined Date
  • Lutwidge takes a newspaper clipping from the night of the plane crash, noting that "the radio has fallen silent".
August 3
  • Auger Detection spies "Orrin O. Lutwidge" in his mid-Manhattan lab/workshop and he is seen working with hypodermic needle and jars, presumably ADAM, EVE or Plasmids, as well as his manuscript.[65]
Summer
November
  • The first chapters of "Utropolis Now!" are published. A classified ad from Lutwidge/Quain mentioning the "I.O.O.P." is included.
December 2
December 9
  • Quain is moved to the Secure Ward.[1]
December 21


1961[]

Show List SitS Events
February 2
  • Quain/Lutwidge's 21st session, presumably begins electroconvulsive therapy the next day.
August 25
September


1963[]

November
  • An Icelandic sea vessel spots a volcanic island forming, later named "Surtsey".[68]

1966[]

Show List SitS Events
May


1967[]

Undefined Date
  • Sofia Lamb restarts the Gatherer Program to gain ADAM for her plans. Since the Little Sisters left in Rapture have all become too old to gather effectively, young girls are kidnapped from the surface to become new Gatherers.
Show List SitS Events

February

February 11
February 17
  • Jeremiah Lynch finds footprints on Lahinch Beach (in Liscannor Bay, Ireland).[70]
February 18

March

March 9
  • Jeremiah Lynch sends Mark Meltzer photos of the footprints on the beach.[70]
March 15
  • Mary Elizabeth Sarsfield disappears from Felixstowe, England. A vessel detects a red light underwater SW of Felixstowe harbor.[71]
March 18
  • Jeremiah Lynch writes a letter to Mark Meltzer regarding footprints and the kidnapping, and sends a picture of the Big Daddy Doll;[69] Something in the Sea Phase One begins (presumably).
March 22
  • Ulrike Moeller disappears from the town of Wayguard in the Südtondern District of Germany. Interpol in St. Cloud France becomes involved in the investigation.[71]

April

April 4
  • Four-year-old Chantal Dumas is kidnapped from the St. Lutgardis orphanage in the town of De Haan in West Flanders, Belgium.[71]
April 11
  • A newspaper reports that Camille Dumas, aged six, is kidnapped in La Rocchelle, France; red lights appear in the harbor.[71]
April 23
  • Red Glow alarms Spanish fishermen in La Boca, Spain.[71]
April 24

May

May 5
  • Boatman dodge "ghost sub" on Douro River, Spain.[71]
May 23
  • Ghost lights near Cadiz, Spain.[71]

June

Undefined date
  • A "Mysterious red light" circles the cruise ship Golden Queen, in the mid-Atlantic.[71]
June 2
  • Mark Meltzer sends info to the Philadelphia Observer.[71]
June 14
  • The US Coast Guard sights a "fast-moving red light" under the surface near the Virgin Islands.[71]
Undefined date
  • Jennifer Walker, aged five, is taken from her holiday bungalow in Puerto Rico on a Sunday night.[71]
June 17
  • Meltzer receives brush-off from the Philadelphia Observer.[71]
June 30
  • Meltzer sends letter to his representative, including his research.[72]

July

Undefined Date
  • Sightings of a "Ghost Sub" occur in the Florida Keys.[71]
  • Within 7 days, girls disappear from Savannah, Georgia; Daytona Beach, Florida; and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.[71]
July 14
  • A police report of a further break-in and the kidnapping of Melinda Jelenski in Wilmington, North Carolina.[71]
July 15
  • UNI publishes a report containing information regarding the disappearances.[71]
July 25
  • A letter addressed to Mark Meltzer from the House of Representatives thanks him for information relating to the mystery submarines; Meltzer is referred to the Office of Naval Intelligence.[71]

August

August 5
  • A Girl missing from Williamsburg, Virginia.[71]
August 6
  • Mystery lights seen in Chesapeake Bay, United States of America.[71]
August 8
  • A Kidnapping in Fredericksburg, Virginia.[71]
August 9
  • False alarm at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland; invasion called hoax.[71]
August 10
  • Abduction of Amy, daughter of Ester George, at Atlantic City, New Jersey.[71]
  • The "World Weekly Oracle" publishes a story on Ester George.[71]
August 12–17
  • Red light sightings around New York City, New York; multiple kidnappings.[71]
August 14
  • Letter received by Meltzer from Esther George re: kidnapping on August 10.[71]
August 19
  • Light spotted at Montauk, Long Island, New York.[71]
August 25
  • Abduction from Innsmouth, Rhode Island.[71]
August 27
  • Three abductions and red lights seen in Boston, Massachusetts.[71]

September

September 1
  • Roscoe Inman of ONI sends a letter to Mark Meltzer commending him on the high quality of his research and requesting any additional information.
Undefined date
  • Meltzer receives a classified information regarding the disappearances from Roscoe Inman.[71]
  • Various sightings along the New England coast: Cape Cod, Massachusetts; Gloucester, New Hampshire; Portland, Maine; Bar Harbor, Maine; Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada.[71]
September 28
  • Meltzer sends a letter to Roscoe Inman regarding a planned stake out at St. John, New Brunswick, Canada.

October

October 1
  • Meltzer takes photos of Big Sister in St. John, New Brunswick, Canada.[71]
October 9
Undefined date
  • The kidnappings and red light sightings begin moving back down the coast again.[73]
October 20
  • Mark Meltzer stakes out the beach near his wife, Amanda Meltzer's parents' house in Montauk, Long Island.[73]
October 21
  • Meltzer takes final photo of his daughter, near the home of his wife's parents.
  • A Big Sister kidnaps Cindy.
October 27
  • Meltzer is questioned about the kidnapping of his daughter.[74]

November

November 23
  • Meltzer types a letter to Roscoe Innman recounting the kidnapping of his daughter and offering to pass on all of his research.


1968[]

Show List SitS Events

March

March 6
  • Meltzer is discharged from Tollevue.[75]
Between March 6 and April 25
  • Meltzer encounters a Big Sister on the docks on the Hudson River, New Jersey.[76]

April

April 25
  • Meltzer's legs and chest are x-rayed at St. Ignatius General Hospital, NY.[77]

May

May 19
  • Meltzer is prescribed painkillers.
May 20
  • Meltzer receives divorce papers from his wife, Amanda.[78]
May 21
May 24
  • Phil Isidore calls, concerned about why Mark has not been contacting him.
May 26
  • Roscoe Inman calls asking about Mark’s “accident”.
May 27
  • Meltzer sends letters to his supporters apologizing for lapsed contact and explaining the run in with the Big Sister.
May 28
  • Benny Stango calls harassing Mark about his missing daughter.
May 29
  • Benny Stango calls again asking about reports of a red light seen around Mark’s office the previous night.
  • The Lunchbox Puzzle appears.

June

Undefined Date
  • The Monthly Undergrounder publishes articles on Lutwidge and The Vanishing.
  • Flann McDonagh writes a reply to the Monthly Undergrounder about The Vanishing article and mentioning his missing uncle's connection to Andrew Ryan.
  • Phil Isidore appears on the “Mid-Nite Ryde” radio talkshow and talks about The Vanishing
June 1
  • Roscoe Inman calls, cautioning that the lunchbox puzzle could just be a prank or trick.
June 2
  • Meltzer opens puzzle box (presumably).
June 3
  • Philip Isidore calls and sends a letter about the Utropolis story he sent Meltzer.
June 4
  • Amanda Meltzer calls, saying that searching for Cindy is hopeless, and Mark should contact Dr. Lyman.
June 9
  • Phil Isidore calls with information on “The Vanishings”.
June 11
  • Benny Stango calls to harass Meltzer and insinuates that he will have him taken in for questioning.
June 12
  • Roscoe Inman calls warning Meltzer to keep a low profile because ONI has been prepping files on “potential dissidents”.
June 17
  • A German reporter calls about his article on missing persons which Meltzer requested.
June 25
  • Roscoe Inman calls regarding The Vanishing and promises internal info.
June 26
  • Celeste Roget calls asking Meltzer to stop calling her, but offers her sympathies.
June 29
  • Celeste Roget writes Mark a reply letter warning of those who would not want him to continue the search. Mark attends a James Millard Oakes league meeting and is tracked by thuggish followers afterwards.
June 30
  • Jeremiah Lynch calls expressing his pique at being left out of the investigation and recommends the Frozen Triangle Book.

July

July 1–2
  • Mark receives the Rapture anthem record.
July 3
  • Charles Molley, Amanda's lawyer, calls requesting that Mark stop phoning “his client”.
July 8
  • Celeste Roget sends a telegram to Mark dismissing Lutwidge as insane.
July 9
  • Meltzer goes to the remains of Lutwidge’s burnt-out lab at his Lower Broadway Suites. He enters and finds the “Seeker” recording. Meltzer is caught by Stango and the local police, but is released shortly afterward.
July 10
  • Mark returns to the warehouse in the early morning and looks under the floorboards as he was clued to do by Lutwidge’s recording. There he finds the Vault-Puzzle.
July 12
  • Celeste Roget calls saying that Mark should not trust Lutwidge or anything that he may have left behind.
July 13
  • Mark cracks the first layer of the Vault-Puzzle and finds the message from Lutwidge hinting that he should go to Scarlet Sovereign Imports on the Hudson River.
July 14
  • Roscoe Inman calls suggesting that Celeste cannot be trusted.
July 15
  • Celeste Roget calls berating Mark for calling her a liar. Mark Meltzer types up an increasingly distressed and disjointed letter of apology to Celeste but doesn’t send it.
July 16
July 17
  • Jeremiah Lynch calls commenting on Lutwidge’s “trickster” personality and his numerous misleading forgeries.
Undefined date
  • Meltzer goes to Lutwidge’s Scarlet Sovereign warehouse in the Battery Park area. Mark enters, finds a bathroom with a red door, breaks the “Red Queen’s glass” inside, and finds the Bellman’s Chart, the tape recording alluding to the August 8th beaches, and the Jewelry box puzzle. Meltzer is intercepted by a local dock patrolmen but is not arrested; The Bellman's Chart appears on wall; Stango calls about warehouse incursion.
July 28
  • Call from Jeremiah Lynch regarding Lutwidge's connections to Lewis Carroll; Hunting of the Snark appears on the right table.
July 29
  • Call from Inman regarding sea currents.
July 30
  • Presumably after opening the jewelry puzzle box, Mark types up a list of locations for August 8 and posts it on his wall.
July 31
  • Meltzer draws continents on the Bellman's Chart.

August

Undefined Date
  • Giant Boulder Saucer Con occurs, Phil Isidore interviews Lex Harlan.
August 3
  • Call from Phil Isidore regarding the California point, Meltzer writes up Working Theories sheet.
August 4
  • Call from Celeste Roget about the Bellman point in Nice, France.
August 6
  • Ulrich Broder calls about the German point, and Tenenbaum.
August 7
  • Mark Meltzer posts a calender piece for August 8 on the wall. The note says "Tomorrow is the day! Jones Beach, here I come. Hoping my contacts hit the other nine beaches...got a feeling this is BIG."
August 8
  • On the date alluded to inside the jewelry puzzle box (08/08), bottles of Arcadia Merlot from Worley Winery land on beaches noted on the Bellman's chart, with information from, and invitation to, Rapture.
August 10
  • Mark returns to his office with posters and a wine bottle from the beach.
August 12
  • Call form Celeste suggests that the bottles on the August 8th beaches were planted by Lutwidge.
August 17
  • Call from Jeremiah Lynch with “the Drunken Sailor” song.
August 18
  • Roscoe Inman sends Mark requested information about deep sea creatures from the Office of Naval Research.
August 20
  • Call from Roscoe Inman cajoling Mark for “leaving him out in the cold” and saying he has plenty of resources that Mark should use.(presumably) Mark cracks the next level of the Vault-Puzzle. Mark writes a letter to Celeste telling of his revelations about Rapture being at great depth in the ocean and his fear of repeating her mistakes. He muses on the fact that in her post-August 8th call she talked as if she thought Lutwidge was still alive. Mark wonders if she knows something she isn’t telling him.
August 21
  • Call from Phil Isidore miffed that Mark hadn’t read the Utropolis story he sent and mentioning his interviews with Lex Harlan. Presumably he sends the tapes of his interviews.
August 24
  • Call from Celeste suspiciously trying to insist that of course Lutwidge is dead.
August 25
August 27
  • Celeste sends Mark a letter saying she was lying about Lutwidge being dead. She tells of the private detectives she employed and her influencing events to have Lutwidge put in an insane asylum.

September

September 1
  • Call form Lex Harlan telling Mark to stop calling him and saying he last saw Quain in Tollevue Mental Hospital.
September 2
  • Call from Dr. Lyman refusing to divulge any information about any patients and suggesting Mark visit.
September 3
  • Mark doesn’t finish a letter to Stango saying he thinks he is losing his grip. Meltzer calls Detective Benny Stango asking to be taken to Tollevue.
  • Call from Benny Stango telling Mark to stay put and that he is on his way.
  • Stango and his men force entry into Marks office while Mark is on the phone with Phil Isadore and generally disrupt and search his office while taking him away.
September 4
  • Mark enters Tollevue.
  • The doctors diagnose him with depression/anxiety and prescribe him pills.
  • Mark meets Quain/Lutwidge and is given the Rubix Puzzle.
  • Mark solves the puzzle and gets Lutwidge/Quain’s diary.
September 5
  • Mark gets out of Tollevue with many pilfered files regarding Quain.
September 8
  • Call from Phil Isidore who is concerned about the ruckus he overheard during Mark’s call.
September 9
  • Mark writes an apology and responds to Phil’s phone call.
Septmber 10
  • Call from Detective Stango, angry that Mark used his sympathy to manipulate him.
September 14
  • Call from Dr. Lyman about some of his files going missing while Mark was at Tollevue.
September 16
  • Call from Lynch, skeptical that Lutwidge is alive.
September 23
  • Call from Celeste Roget offering to have her investigators contact Mark with information on where they last found Lutwidge.
September 25
  • Call from Dash H. Carmady of Auger Detection offering his information as Celeste’s investigator.
September 28
  • Call from Celeste Roget mentioning strange harassing phone calls.
September 29
  • Call from Celeste frantic about a threatening letter she received and her refusing to take part in anything more that Mark will do.
  • Mark receives a similar letter.
September 30
  • Call from Dash Carmady refusing to give any more help since Celeste is no longer requiring him to.
September 31
  • Mark figures out the location where Celeste's detectives originally found Lutwidge at (the building originally owned by Andrew Ryan) and goes there. Inside he finds empty ADAM bottles, a bunch of Splicer masks, and many documents left by Lutwidge/Quain.

October

October 2
  • Mark sends out letters to all of his contacts requesting help in analyzing the box full of masks that he found at Lutwidge’s hideout.
October 3
  • Call from Roscoe Inman complaining that Mark has been avoiding him and requesting info from him on his research about the Frozen Triangle.
October 5
  • Call from Benny Stango mocking Meltzer for his filing a complaint about the threatening letters.
October 12
  • Call from “Northern Telco” about an outstanding phone bill of $58.26 which was payed for with a bounced check that Mark sent them. Presumably, Mark’s bank account has run dry.
October 13
  • Mark goes to check Lutwidge’s lab again and sees footprints that aren’t his. When he returns to his office, he feels that someone has been there while he was gone. He finds a dropped canister of film tape with the label “U.S. 570-68 35mm x 20 ISO100” and infers that it is Government Issue.
October 15
  • Call from Dash Carmady replying to Mark. He says that Celeste Roget is still missing and he seems willing to collaborate with Mark on searching for the identity of the Red Pawn.
October 16
  • Call from Detective Stango, skeptical of Carmady’s theory about the Red Pawn being an "Irish conman." He shows increasing hostility towards Mark. Dash Carmady sends Mark documents about a "Jerry Lynchman," seeming to suggest that Jeremiah Lynch is the Red Pawn.
October 19
  • Call from Amanda Meltzer's attorney, Charles Molley, about his freezing the assets of Amanda and Mark's joint bank account due to it being rapidly depleted in the course of Mark's ongoing investigations.
October 20
  • Mark types up an increasingly disjointed letter to Phil Isidore telling of his doubts after the revelation that Lynch may be the Red Pawn.
October 21
  • Call from Phil, trying to encourage Mark to go on with his search. It is exactly one year after Cindy was taken. Mark stays all day at the beach near his office, and when he walks home in the evening he feels like he is being followed. He hears noises during the night which keep him from sleeping, but he doesn't phone the cops. He begins to wonder if he is having "auditory hallucinations".
October 22
  • Mark takes his morning walk on the beach and sees a giant city sand-castle with cypher letters etched in the sand. He thinks it was made by Cindy with the help of the "red eyed traveler" (the Big Sister). He takes a picture.
October 23
  • Call from Detective Stango. He was staking out Mark's place during the night and saw the Big Sister on the beach. He is very shook up and tells Mark "the case is officially closed."
October 26
  • Call from Jeremiah Lynch. He is going into hiding after Detective Carmady began collaborating with law enforcement in Ireland to try and track him.
October 27
  • Call from Roscoe Inman. He is being put under pressure by an internal investigation, but he still wants to confer with Mark on certain matters. Mark writes a letter to Phil about attempting to go back to Lutwidge's lab only to find his way blocked by men in suits.
October 28
  • Mark receives a letter from Phil Isidore saying that he may be too busy to help much anymore, but mentioning some maritime contacts.
October 29
  • Mark tries to go back to Lutwidge's basement lab in midtown but finds his way blocked by Government agents.

November

November 2
  • Mark receives photos from Auger Detection. They contain images of cypher symbols marked on the tiles at Lutwidge's basement lab in 1958.
Undefined date
  • Mark writes a letter to Phil and prepares to head down to Baltimore, Maryland to meet Phil's maritime contacts.
November 6
  • Charles Molley leaves a message on Mark's answering machine in Montauk, mentioning that Mark has liquidated all of his family assets and that he is going to miss his court date.


Undefined Date
  • Brigid Tenenbaum returns to Rapture to investigate the disappearance of young girls who lived near the sea.
Show List SitS Events
  • Mark sets up a room in a ship.
  • Phase Three Begins.
  • The boat, S.S Nellie Bly captained by Casey Ferrence, ships out at dawn, heading southeast.
  • Mark solves the metal Vault Puzzle and follows its clues, eventually reaching the Frozen Triangle.
  • A radio transmission from James Millard Oakes is intercepted requesting immediate evacuation.
  • The S.S. Nellie Bly arrives at the Phantom Lighthouse.
  • Mark leaves a letter to Captain Ferrence detailing his plan to leave the ship in an attempt to enter the Phantom Lighthouse. The Nellie Bly is attacked by Splicers. The Icelandic Coast Guard responds to a distress signal from the Nellie Bly.
  • Phil Isidore leaves a phone message in Mark's office in Montauk promising "the truth will out."


  • Mark Meltzer enters Rapture.
  • The events of BioShock 2 and Minerva's Den occur.
    • A large window in Demeter's Banquet Hall is shattered by a Big Sister, flooding the restaurant and part of the Adonis Luxury Resort.
    • Siren Alley is flooded when Sofia Lamb overloads the pumps in Pumping Station 5.
    • Dionysus Park is drained of seawater by Subject Delta after 10 years of being flooded.
    • Persephone is sunk down into an ocean trench by Lamb's followers, dragging the Fontaine Futuristics Headquarters with it.
    • A 'Lifeboat', containing Subject Delta, Eleanor and Sofia Lamb, rises to the surface.
    • Tenenbaum returns with Charles Milton Porter to the surface with a copy of The Thinker's codes in order to synthesize a cure to splicing.
    • Porter is reverted back to normal by Tenenbaum and visits his wife's grave for a final goodbye.

1980s[]

  • The American channel PHE broadcast a two-part episode of the TV documentary Fact From Myth narrated by Miles Bloom, which covers some of the mysteries surrounding Rapture, presented as a "modern-day Atlantis."

See Also[]

Behind the Scenes[]

  • It must be noted that there is conflicting information on the timeline for some events between BioShock, BioShock 2 and the Burial at Sea DLC for BioShock Infinite. These conflicts are in regards to the use of Little Sisters to harvest ADAM from corpses, the first use of Big Daddies as Protectors for the Little Sisters.


References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Documents about RØd Killian Quain from Tollevue Mental Hospital
  2. Pearl Porter's Headstone
  3. Andrew Ryan's Speech in BioShock Public Address announcements
  4. Documents about Mark Meltzer from Tollevue Mental Hospital
  5. James Millard Oakes' United States Navy identification card
  6. Charles Milton Porter's Lincoln University Degree
  7. Radio Message in Fort Frolic
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 Jeremiah Lynch's criminal file
  9. The Porters' Wedding Invitation
  10. Charles Milton Porter's Audio Diary: Nothing But Ashes
  11. Riddle from the fourth level of the Metal Box puzzle
  12. Andrew Ryan's Audio Diary: Building the Impossible!
  13. Twitter post from Ken Levine
  14. "Among the Missing:The Tenenbaum Mystery", article by Ulrich Broder
  15. James Millard Oakes League poster
  16. 16.0 16.1 Article from Phase Two of Something in the Sea, "U.S. Ambassador Speaks Out Against Roget Heiress"
  17. The Monthly Undergrounder article, "The Grey Ghost of Tangiers"
  18. 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 18.4 18.5 Page 13 of The Frozen Triangle.
  19. 19.0 19.1 19.2 Newspaper clippings of declarations of fictitious business name.
  20. Monument of Rapture's founding in Welcome to Rapture, "RAPTURE Nov 5 1946 ONE MAN'S VISION MANKIND'S SALVATION"
  21. Chinese article mentioning Suchong's disappearance
  22. Newspaper article clipping, "NYC Professor Pursues Missing Person.
  23. Newspaper article clipping, "The Secret of Turtle Bay"
  24. 24.0 24.1 24.2 24.3 24.4 BioShock: Rapture, Chapter 7
  25. Date on Pay-phone
  26. Date on Wissmuller Beer's logo
  27. Radio message: "A Big Investment"
  28. Article from Phase Two Day 18 of There's Something in the Sea, "Noted Botanist Still Missing" newspaper clipping article is dated January 7, 1949 but it is implied that Langford has been missing for at least several weeks
  29. Date on the Farmer's Market marquee
  30. Unfinished advertisements for a Teleportation Plasmid (Date on the picture may have been a mistake because it's too early for ADAM)
  31. Date on Lotz & Sons' logo
  32. Hop-Up cola Advertisement
  33. Based on Burial at Sea - Episode 1's ending and the following exchange in the elevator to the The Pavilion:
    Elizabeth: "When did you come to Rapture?"
    (Zachary Hale Comstock as) Booker DeWitt: "Oh, it was… jeez… I guess around '51. No… '48?"
    Elizabeth: "That's a rather large gap."
    Booker DeWitt: "Time… Life I had before… sort of becomes a blur. '49, '49 for sure."
    [Booker's nose start to bleed]
    Booker DeWitt: "Damn."
    Elizabeth: "You look a mess, Mr. DeWitt."
    Booker DeWitt: "Just keep your eyes open for Splicers. They can do us a whole lot worse."
  34. 34.0 34.1 34.2 34.3 BioShock: Rapture, Chapter 8
  35. 35.0 35.1 BioShock: Rapture, Chapter 9
  36. Pages 72 and 73 of The Frozen Triangle
  37. 37.0 37.1 37.2 37.3 37.4 BioShock: Rapture, Chapter 12
  38. BioShock: Rapture, Chapter 11
  39. Document from Phase Two of There's Something in the Sea
  40. BioShock: Rapture, Chapter 13
  41. Radio Message: "Ain't strictly business"
  42. Plaque in the Administrative Offices of the Therapy Wing in Inner Persephone
  43. Page 13 and page 63 of The Frozen Triangle
  44. Stanley Poole Radio Message about "Johnny Topside" in BioShock 2 Radio Messages: Dionysus Park
  45. 45.0 45.1 BioShock Loading Screen Quotes
  46. 46.0 46.1 Ray Lardner's Audio Diary: A Gift from Fontaine
  47. Frank Fontaine's Audio Diary: Product Recall (note that the date was inverted with that of You Stupid Bastard)
  48. Upon entering Cupid's Arrow: "I was here as well… Right after I came through, I needed… I needed something to wear that was a little more Rapture-appropriate"
  49. Carol Lynn's Audio Diary: The Blue Dress
  50. 50.0 50.1 Yi Suchong's Audio Diary: Observation #33
  51. Herschel Weiss' Audio Diary: False Advertising
  52. Tape recording from Phase Three of There's Something in the Sea, "Transmission Intercept Distress Call - English Fishing Boat 13 November 1958 - 01:15"
  53. Notes by Mark Meltzer on a newspaper clipping, "19 Die in Broadway Blaze, Casualties Include 2 Firemen"
  54. Mark Meltzer letter to Phil Isadore, pg 2
  55. Moses Lydecker's Audio Diary: Left Behind
  56. The department stores gated entrance.
  57. Sander Cohen's Audio Diary: Critics
  58. Johnny Demarco's Audio Diary: C'est La Vie
  59. Letter from Dash Carmady to Mark Meltzer
  60. BioShock: Rapture, Chapter 17
  61. Carlson Fiddle's Audio Diary: Escape Plan
  62. Nina Carnegie's Audio Diaries: Volunteer, You, Me, and 1959 and Deterioration
  63. 63.0 63.1 63.2 2K Confirmed Elizabeth's death date on Twitter, which is the same day Suchong died and Fin De Siècle Boutiques was bombed, as seen in Burial at Sea.
  64. Page 156 of Lutwidge's "Utopian Metropolis" manuscript
  65. Auger Detection report on Lutwidge surveillance.
  66. Visionary Wonder Magazine article, "The Man From Utropolis (?)"
  67. Note on a photograph taken on Cindy's third birthday
  68. Page 62 of The Frozen Triangle
  69. 69.0 69.1 Letter from Lynch to Mark Meltzer on 3/18/67
  70. 70.0 70.1 Letter from Lynch to Mark Meltzer on 3/9/67
  71. 71.00 71.01 71.02 71.03 71.04 71.05 71.06 71.07 71.08 71.09 71.10 71.11 71.12 71.13 71.14 71.15 71.16 71.17 71.18 71.19 71.20 71.21 71.22 71.23 71.24 71.25 71.26 71.27 71.28 71.29 71.30 71.31 71.32 Documents from Phase One of There's Something in the Sea
  72. Reply letter from Lt. Commander Roscoe Inman on 9/1/67
  73. 73.0 73.1 Letter from Mark Meltzer to Roscoe Inman on 11/23/67
  74. Newspaper clipping from Phase Two of There's Something in the Sea, "UFO Buff Questioned in Daughter's Kidnapping"
  75. Discharge summary from Tollevue Hospital
  76. Letter to Roscoe Inman, 5/27/68
  77. X-ray images in "Days 1-6" folder, Something in the Sea website
  78. Divorce papers in "Days 1-6" folder, Something in the Sea website
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