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I thought the damn press would never leave. Jack was thinking to himself as he drove home the night of September 8th, 1961. Someone found the corpse of a young woman down by the docks and Jack and a group of eight other cops had been instructed to hold back the mobs of press and citizens who seemed all too eager to go and poke at the dead body while the site was cordoned off and detectives began to gather evidence. Apparently, this now takes 4 hours and involves the vultures from the press always looking for a new story to sell. Jack drove home angry at the slow as molasses reaction to the crime by his superiors. But as he drove home to his home in the Sea Cliff neighborhood, he was not in store for the shock he would recieve soon enough. When he got home at 7:00, he felt incredibly hungry, being forced to skip lunch to prevent a riot by the press. Brigid said she would marrinate some steak for dinner, so that was something to look foward to. When he entered, he found Brigid sitting in a leather recliner he usually sat in during his time home. She then jumped up and hurridly moved over to him, kissing him and hugging him tightly. She also took off his police cap and unbuttoned the top button of his shirt. Jack smiles and asks "Why are you so happy today?" Brigid takes both his hands and folds them across her chest. "Jack, you don't know?" she asks. Jack looks at her with a confused expresion and asks "About what?" "Jack..." she begins. "I'm pregnant!"

Jack felt as if his stomach had just turned inside out. "Your... What?" he asked nervously. "Pregenant, Jack!" she says with a very excited tone. "Can you believe it?" she says. "Our own child!" No, I can't. Jack thinks to himself. Anita walks up and says to Jack "Daddy, I can't wait, I wish I could have a new brother though!" Jack was 10% happy and about 90% terrified. Since he had spliced so heavily in Rapture, he had no idea what the long term effects were. Sure, he had a heightened resistance to damage. He had taken a few bullet hits to his arms and legs in the past and walked them all off. But he was fearful for what would happen to his wife or their child due to all the ADAM. Would it kill them both or would some unpredictible scientific catastrophe ruin his life? He would have to wait to find out. He never told Brigid of his fears, lest he ignite the same fears he felt in her. When asked of what he thought the baby's gender would be, Jack would simply pat her swollen belly and say they'd have to find out.


On March 15th, 1962 that day came. As Jack waited outside the hospital room, his mind swam with thoughts of what would happen. The whole time, he rested his elbows on his thighs and looked to the ground with a downcast expression. He heard the door open after what seemed like an eternity. A nurse stepped out. Jack looked up, dreading her next words. "Mr. Ryan?" she said. "Come and see your new child." Jack felt an enormous sense of relief wash over him. as far as he could tell, his child was born without a hitch. He entered the room and walked over to Brigid. She looked tired and worn out, but she was smiling. She was craddiling a infant wrapped in white cloth. "We have a son, Jack! A beautiful baby boy!" she said happily. A doctor strolled over, untying his surgical mask. "Congratulations, Mr. Ryan. It looks like you are the father of a healthy boy. He was born without a hitch, and seems unnaturally strong and active for a newborn though." Jack looked at him in fear and said "Is that a bad thing...?" The doctor responded "Oh no no no! This is a great thing! It can be assured that your boy will be healthy in life." Jack sighed in relief. He turned back to Brigid. "What should we name him?" he asked. "Hmmm. How about Jack Ryan, Jr!" Jack shook is head. "No way I'm going for that. I was thinking something more unique. How about... Orson? Not exactly common, huh?" he said. Brigid considered it for a moment and said "I'd love that. Orson it is."

Orson grew quickly. He learned to walk 3 months after he was born and began basic words and phrases by the time he was 11 months old. Certainly, this was quite unnatural. Jack was always wondering if this was due to his splicing or something else. He didn't know. As long as his wife and child were fine, he had no problem with it. As Orson grew, it became evident that he was strong and intelligent far beyond the capacities of a normal kid.

June, 1968

Orson was 7 now and started to look a lot like his father. Tall for his age, dark hair and eyes, and a rather muscular frame. He looked like a kid who would love to play football when he's older. In fact, Jack tossed a football back and forth with him almost every day. Today, it was the start of summer and Jack mercifully had the day off. As they played ball, Brigid idily leaned against the door frame, watching them play ball. It eerily reminded her of the day she discovered ADAM, watching the two fishermen throwing a ball back and fort as she approached them.

At that moment, she realized how much has changed since Rapture. She had gone from a rather downtrodden and cynical woman to a proud mother of 5 daughters and a son. She had a steady job and a family that loves her. And to imagine, all this really began down in Rapture, down in the Fontaine Futuristics labs when she first met that little infant designed to be a virtual slave and ended up being the one who saved her and the Little Sisters from a terrible faith and defeated the most powerful man in the city, as well as being the man she would love. Time sure does fly, huh?

After reflecting on all this, she pulled herself back to the real world and called "Jack! Orson! Lunch is ready!" And watched her husband and son rush inside to eat.

November, 1974

Orson was now 12. As he grew, he seemed to develop various traits symbolic of both his mother and father, who both sometimes debated over where he got a certain trait from, Jack or Brigid. But today, it looks like Jack's traits as a fighter and a upright person. Today, it seemed he had taken that to a whole new level.

"So, the principal at your school told us you beat up three high school Juniors after one of your football games?" Jack was asking Orson. Jack, Brigid, and Orson had all gathered in the living room to discuss a recent accusation that Orson had in fact defeated three high schoolers after a football game, which neitheir Jack or Brigid had attended. "But dad!" Orson said "I didn't do it cause I wanted to! I had no choice, you see they were--" "Orson!" Brigid said in anger. "You can't fight your way out of every problem!" "Mom!" he said. "It wasn't my problem I was fighting for."

"Then who's?" she asked. "It was..." Orson began. "Who?" Jack asked. "A... cheerleader from our team..." Orson said, looking at the ground. "Wait... what?" Jack asked. "Why?"

"Because, these three meatheads from the local high school had came over to watch the game or something, and they found her walking out alone. I don't know what their motive was, I mean fooling around with a girl 2 years younger than you? They were saying all these horrible things to her... I couldn't just let it go! I came over there and told them to stop, they told me to leave and let them have the girl to 'themselves,' so I came over and pushed the ringleader and told them to leave. They laughed, one of them pushed me down. I got up and kneed one of them in the stomach and tried one more time to get them to stop without fighting... But they ignored me and actually attacked me. I had to defend myself and that girl."

At that moment Jack became incredibly pleased and proud of Orson, sticking up for a poor girl all alone he didn't even know that well. Jack wouldn't have the guts to confront three guys twice his height and strength and tell them to stop at whatever they were doing. He opened his mouth to actually commend Orson, but Brgid beat him to it. But, she was condeming, not commending this time. "Orson, that's enough. Go to your room." Orson frowned and got up. Jack followed him. "Dad, look I'm sorry, I didn't want to do it, I just..." Jack shook his head. "No Orson, I'm not mad at you, not a bit." Orson looked suprised. "You're... what?" Jack nodded. "Orson, I'm proud of you. You did the right thing. I could never muster up the courage to do that all by myself."

Orson smiled for the first time in a while. "You... really think so?" he asked. "Sure do." Jack replied. "Now, tell me about this girl. What's her name?" he asked, hoping to take his mind of the subject matter. "Well, I think she is named Arya." Jack nodded. "What does she look like? She cute?" Orson thought for a moment. "She is about 2 inches shorter than me, she has long, dark red hair, and light green eyes." Jack grinned at him. "You like redheads?" he asked. Orson tried his best to suppress a grin, but failed. "Yeah." Jack crossed his arms. "Aw, you so got that from me. Redheads and brunettes were always my thing. I mean look at your mother? When I met her 14 years ago, she was the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. And you know what? She still is. Well, I hope you get closer with this girl when you see her. You did a good thing. Now lets get going, dinner should be ready."


The next day, at Orson's school.

Orson had finished stuffing his football gear inside his locker and tried to brush off a grass stain on his shirt, which obviously did not wipe off. He walked across the field to a gate that pointed in the general direction of his street. "Orson?" he heard someone say. He turned around. It was Arya. "Hi. I just wanted to thank you for what you did for me. I didn't get a chance to. You just ran off once you layed out those guys." Orson smiled a bit. "I just couldn't stand by. I was afraid I would get in trouble if I hanged around." Her eyes went wide. "Did you...?" "Oh no." Orson responded. "Oh. Thats good. I couldn't bear knowing a person got punished for me." Orson shook his head. "It was no problem. I guess I'll just see you around then..." She stopped him. "Orson, no wait! I was just wondering if you could walk me home. I don't live to far from here and I think I'm going in the same direction your going, too. I'm just... A little scared about what happened." Orson smiled. "Sure. Where do you live?"

"4 McLaren Avenue." She reponded. "Oh! I live at 8 Seacliff Avenue!" Orson reponded with delight. She smiled.

"Wow really?!" They they kicked off a long and rambling conversation, starting with their home lives, their parents, and concluding with comments on how horrible their math and science teachers were. Before he knew it, she was safetly at home. "Thank you, Orson. I'll see you around." she said, before giving a quick grin before turning around to walk inside. Orson turned to head to his own home, a triumphant smile on his face all the way home.

In the coming weeks, Arya and Orson grew considerably closer. They found out that they had most classes together and started to walk to their home together every day. They would always wait for their respective practices to be over at the end of every day and go home. Their friendship was rather strange one to have, as she was a rather popular girl while Orson, all though an avid football player, was content to always hang out with his close knot of friends and didn't always go with the crowd.

Towards the end of eighth grade, Orson waited for Arya to finish her cheer practice, which was running a bit longer today, and go on home. But today, it was different. As they walked the usually quiet route home, swapping opinions on a recent math test, Orson heard heavy footsteps behind them which had been following them the whole time. He glanced back for a second and almost had a heart attack. It was the ringleader of the Juniors from the highschool he had singlehandidly defeated the day he met Arya. Orson and Arya both stopped. "Arya, I want you to go now. Just run, get out of here." Orson said quietly. Arya shook her head. "No way." Orson bit his lip. "This is not an arguement. Get out of here before something happens." The Junior laughed. "Well, well. You remember me, punk?" Orson frowned. "How can I forget such an ugly mug like that?" he snapped back at the Junior. The Junior chuckled. "Haven't lost an ounce of confidence, have we now. I see you made a friend too." he said, motioning to Arya. Orson pulled her behind him. "Just leave us be, okay?"

"Or what?" the Junior replied. "I can assure you, you won't be taking me down today. I'm gonna make sure they find you bleeding like a pig!" Orson crossed his arms. "I'm not here looking for trouble. What is your problem? Get over it and go home." The Junior took a few steps closer to the pair. "My problem is you. You ruined me. I want to return the favor." Orson moved closer to him. "Maybe if you used your head, it never would have happened."he said coolly. He turned around to simply walk away before he felt a sharp blow to the back of his head. He stummbled and whipped around. The Junior had both fists clenched and held up in a fighting stance. "Bring it, tough guy!" the Junior said angerly. Orson threw a punch, but he neatly dodged to the side and socked Orson in the gut. Orson fell to his knees and heard Arya scream. He stumbled to get up, hiding the look of pain on his face. He readied himself again. The Junior threw another punch, but this time Orson extended his left arm and blocked his blow by pushing it off to the side. He then kneed the Junior in his gut. As he bent over, Orson elbowed him in the back. He turned back to Arya. "Look, just leave now!" Arya started to argue but Orson said in a rather commanding voice, just a bit too much, "Go!" She turned and ran down a lane.

"My dad thought me that one!" he said to the Junior as he got up. The Junior scowled and aimed another blow to his face. Orson tried to duck under it, but he was still hit on his left cheek. Orson attacked seconds later. They sparred for a few minute with no clear winner. The Junior got the upperhand after he tripped up Orson and pinned him in the sidewalk. The Junior smiled maliciously. "Oh, what's this? The brave Orson Ryan got pinned by me? What a turn of events!" he aimed a punch right above Orson's heart. He struggled to push him off, but the Junior was too heavy. He braced for the impact and...

Crack!


It never came. He opened his eyes. Arya stood behind the Junior, holding a wodden plank which had a large portion hanging off it by a thread. The Junior was sprawled out next to her, a massive bump on the back of his head. Arya was breathing heavily. She threw the plank over a fence. "Is he... dead?" she asked. Orson checked and shook his head. "He'll be fine. You just knocked him cold!" he said with a grin. She smiled a little. "Yeah... I guess I got my revenge."

Orson nodded. "A well deserved one too. Hmm. He seems rather lacking. Hang on." He walked to a trash can and pulled out two empty beer bottles. He placed one next to the Junior and another in his hand. "Let's see how the cops like a high schooler passed out on the sidewalk with two beers in his hand." He took one last look at his attacker and walked off with Arya.

They walked the remainder of the way in scilence. But when they reached Arya's home, she told him to close his eyes for a second. Orson asked why, but she just told him to do it. Orson did and felt her arms wrap around his shoulders. "I never really got to thank you for everything you do for me. I really appreciate it, Orson. I really do." She then proceded to kiss him on his bruised cheek. Orson opened his eyes and hugged her back. they embraced for 20 seconds before she turned and walked inside her home, glancing at him and smiling before going in.

For the remainder of the year, they still remained the greatest of friends. They built up a steady romantic intrest in each other, but started dating in sophomore year. Their friends of course threw a massive fit over the fact they had so many differences. But, they loved each other and that was all that mattered.

December 22nd, 1991

Orson stood erect with dozens of other recruits at the official Marine swearing in ceremony at the San Diego depot. He felt boiling in his tight, heavy dress uniform, but his pride out did his heat level. He would be shipped over to The Gulf in a few weeks, like Jack in Vietnam in 1967. He spotted Arya in the crowd who grinned and waved at him. He did the slightest grin and gave a little wave to his fiancee before getting back into his serious mode, lest his CO sees him. Arya blew a kiss and smiled. Orson had proposed to her the previous month and hoped to get married before he went to the Gulf. The ceremony ended and the couple went out to a local steakhouse. Jack was away at his post as Captain of his police precinct but managed to call Orson before the ceremony. Brigid was out on an administrator meeting all day at the University of California and hadn't been able to talk to Orson. Orson was due to be deployed on January 2nd, but thankfully managed to marry Arya on the 30th of December. They didn't really have time to get any of their plans done, as Orson was wrapped up in Marine related stuff for most of his remaining time before deployment. Orson was called to be deployed on the 2nd and after a very emotional embrace with Arya, he headed to The Gulf. At this point, he was assisting the armored brigades smash threw the poorly defended Iraqi positions and mop up resistance to the way into Kuwait. Arya called or wrote him almost every week, asking usual concerned wife stuff when it comes to soldiers; Are you feeling sick? Were you shot? Orson was forced to lie about his injuries somedays, once his foot was caught in a gernade blast that killed their squad leader. The blast barely touched Orson to be a crippling injury, but it put him out of action for a mere 2 days. Arya called him once as doctors pumped penicillin into his foot and Orson tried his best to listen to her while holding back an occasional yelp of pain.

Orson got back from the war after the victory on February 28th and finally got to go hiking in northern California, something Arya wanted to do since high school. After that, Orson wanted to follow in his father's footsteps and became a San Fransisco cop. This went well until October 14th 2001, when Orson was sent to catch a homeless, drug fueled rapist which had escaped custody. Arya had nearly become one of the sicko's victims when she took the subway home from her job as a Architect. The rapist was driven off by the sight of a police car who happened to be rounding a corner, which Arya hailed down and reported the Sicko. The cops gave chase, but he had escaped. He was collared eariler that day and Orson snuck a few blows to his head while no one was watching. He had some how escaped and Orson was the first one on his tail. Maybe the Captain shouldn't have let Orson go after him...


Orson had trapped the crook in a dead end alley and ordered him to surrender. The crook looked like he was going to... but pulled a homemade shank and rushed Orson. Orson shot him without even thinking they proceding to pump over 30 rounds into his corpse. When backup arrived, Orson calmly explained he had pulled a shank and had no intentsion to stop. The department wasn't angry, but the Sicko's family was. They sued the city for "Negligence." The city Lawyers tried their best, but only succeded in preventing fines and jail time. The city very reluctantly discharged Orson.

Orson found work in Corrections helped, by the fact the Police decided to fudge the official incident report on the shooting, but was called back to Marine service in April 2003. Iraq was being invaded and Orson was happy to help. Orson was there when Hussein's statue went down, when Hussein's corrupt regime crumbled and his loyal defenders dwindling. And he tagged along with the goup of soldiers who found the coward hiding in his "Spider Hole." Orson returned home with a Silver Star under his belt.

As he got off the plane and embraced Arya, he was approached by a middle aged man with a white bussiness suit and wispy blond hair. After waiting a bit, the man pulled Orson aside. "Hello, Mr. Ryan." He adressed him politely. "I am Simon Nelis. I am the head of Aurora Industries. We are a firm that conducts genetic and biological research to improve humanity." Orson nodded. "Okay, what do I have to do with this now?" he asked, puzzled.

"Well, Mr. Ryan, I want to ask you if I could get your assistance with a little project of mine? I know you are well reversed in combat and security tactics?" Orson shrugged. "Well, I don't know..." The man disregarded this and continued. "I am planning to build a city- not just any city! A city underwater. The government is backing me with this and several architectual and construction firms are also on board. This project is the result of a decades long obsession of mine- one for change and progress for the good of humanity! Mr. Ryan, please will you be my chief of security for my city? I hear your wife is an architect and has won several prestigious awards the field too! She will be of great help to my project!" Arya now had deep intrest in what he was talking about.

Orson liked where this was heading. But he needed to know one thing. "Mr. Nelis, this seems rather... Ambitious. Do you have any sort of backround ideas for this city?"

Nellis thought for a second. "I do in fact. I want my city to be named Imperium. And I do have a basis for this."

He looked right at Orson and said quietly "Have you ever heard of a city called Rapture?"

A little note and some other info.[]

This isn't the end of Orson's story, not by a long shot! In fact, it's just beginning.

What does Nelis plan to do with his city? How does he know rapture? How does ANYONE besides Jack and his family know Rapture?

Stay tuned, and before I go I just have a little comment to make...

Imperium was mankind's greatest dream. It turned into our worst nightmare.

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