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Specimen Tracker
BillBoard Fat Quiet
What is all this? They were watching me? All this time… Why? Why did they put me in here? What am I? WHAT AM I?
― Elizabeth[src]

Specimen Observation is a series of chambers in the tower on Monument Island, separated from the public areas of the attraction. It is where the Lutece Twins and other researchers of the Columbia Science Authority have been observing and recording Elizabeth for a great deal of her life. It has several rooms which feature one-way viewing mirrors as well as Specimen Trackers that display Elizabeth's current whereabouts.

BioShock Infinite[]

Main article: BioShock Infinite

Conservatory[]

Booker first comes across the Conservatory where Elizabeth practiced her Lockpicking skills as well as deciphering various Vox Ciphers.

Bedroom[]

Adjacent to the Conservatory is Elizabeth's Bedroom. Music formed a central part of her life with various instruments arranged near sheet music for "Allegro for Flute Clock" by Ludwig van Beethoven. Posters advertise Albert Fink's music accompanied by a gramophone record player.

Dressing Room[]

Monu Island-03

Elizabeth's handiwork.

Traversing the hallways leads to the Dressing Room where Booker comes face to face with Elizabeth for the first time. Among the mannequins are pictures of Paris pinned to the wall. Elizabeth clutches a postcard of the Eiffel Tower to herself, but curiously grabs her thimble-covered pinky. She picks up the fallen postcard, looking at wistfully in the mirror.

She turns and runs into the next room.

Dining Room[]

BI Monument LizParis

Elizabeth viewing Paris in the 1980s through a Tear.

The Dining Room seems to have been converted into an ersatz painting room. Childish scrawlings of the Songbird adorn the walls while an incomplete painting of the Eiffel Tower rests on the easel.

Elizabeth clutches the postcard once more and readies herself. She turns and appears to be trying to rip a hole in the painting. To Booker's surprise, Elizabeth opens a Tear to an alternate dimension, cracking the glass. It is the city of Paris lit with glowing neon as rock music blasts through. Suddenly a fire engine appears, heading towards her. She barely manages to close the Tear in time. Crying, she heads away.

Bathroom[]

There is another locked door next to the Dining Room. It is presumably the Bathroom, but is not accessible. It goes to show the extent of which the researchers trespassed on Elizabeth's privacy.

Library[]

Monu Island-05

A bird in her cage.

Further down the corridor is the Library. Booker climbs the steps, dazed at what he just experienced and mutters, "This job's getting worse all the time." The observation room contains a Voxophone suggest the origin of her powers. The view opens to Elizabeth's melancholic staring out the window.

To continue further, Booker must traverse the exterior of the statue to the head amidst gusting winds. He ventures back inside the statue to a rotunda. Suddenly the floor gives away to a ceiling and Booker falls to the floor of the Library. He clambers up to see Elizabeth fearfully clutching Homer's Odyssey. She screams starts throwing books at the intruder.

Accosting Booker, she asks who he is. He assures that he is a friend though Elizabeth doesn't believe him. However, she realizes that this strange man might be her savior from a life cooped up in a Tower.

Suddenly the statue of Comstock comes to life whistling the tune to summon the Songbird. Elizabeth becomes frantic that her captor will discover them. She insists that there is no way out until Booker hands her the key he obtained from the cigar box from the Maine Lighthouse. Excited, she unlocks the door and makes her escape as Booker follows. He pursues her through the observation rooms as the Songbird tries to tear the Tower apart to get Booker.

Waiting for the elevator, Elizabeth frighteningly realizes that people were watching and analyzing her every movement. The Songbird crashes through the wall and nearly succeeds in getting through. Just then, the elevator finally arrives, crushing the Songbird and allowing Booker and Elizabeth to venture outside and try to escape via the Sky-Line.

New Discoveries[]

Voxophones[]

  1. Rosalind Lutece - The Source of Her Power - On the chair in the observation room to the Library.

Gallery[]

Behind the Scenes[]

  • The sheet music for the flute clock can conventionally be played by a flute trio, but it was intended for a Flötenuhr or Spielühr, otherwise known as a mechanical pipe organ.
  • The music heard when seeing Elizabeth for the first time is called "The Girl in the Tower".
  • The song "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" by Tears for Fears can be heard playing in the background when Elizabeth opens the Tear to Paris in the 1980s.
  • Booker's remark may be a reference to Lando Calrissian's quote "This deal is getting worse all the time" from Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back.
  • The Tear to Paris sequence was initially featured in the 2011 E3 BioShock Infinite gameplay demo. Elizabeth would discover a dying horse and attempt to bring it to life. Her first try brought them to a woodland glen which quickly collapses. She tries again and succeeds in bringing them and the horse to a city in the 1980s. A shop sells stereos and the Regent Theater marquee reads "Revenge of the Jedi". Suddenly a fire truck arrives and nearly runs over them both until Elizabeth manages to close the Tear.[1]
    • Revenge of the Jedi was the working title of Return of the Jedi during production in 1983, but was changed. However in 2005, Revenge of the Sith was released.
    • When the location was moved to Paris, the Eiffel Tower was added in the background and the title is translated to La Revanche du Jedi.
  • The titled books in the library are:
    • Wales III
    • Manual for the Solution of Military Ciphers II - Wolfgang-Peterson - Books Ltd - ColumbiaI[sic]
    • Manual for the Solution of Military Ciphers VI-The Greatest Guide for Military Coding and Cipher's Understanding - Parker Hill
    • Odyssey - Homer
    • Paris & Its Environs IIX - Muirhed Guide-Books Ltd.-Hatchette & Cie.
    • The Principles of Quantum Mechanics - Rosalind Lutece
    • Codes & Ciphers - Alan Smith Smith Guide - Books Ltd. - Gactchest
    • The Complete Guide to Lock Picking - Robert Clarke Duncan
    • Ciphers for the Little Folks-A Method of Teaching the Greatest Work of Sir Francis Bacon of Wales, Viscount St. - Dorothy Kane
  • The "Yvette Guilmont" poster in Elizabeth's bedroom is slightly altered from an advertisement for French singer Yvette Guilbert.
    • The projected film of Elizabeth seen in the tower's screening room reveals that in 1911 Elizabeth had another poster of Yvette Guilmont in her bedroom, which was replaced by a poster of Albert Finks' "God Only Knows", distributed for the 1912 Columbia Raffle and Fair. This poster is also based on an advertisement for Yvette Guilbert.

References[]

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