Prologue

"War a terrible thing. Japanese kill every man
in my city, except for Suchong." - Dr. Yi Suchong

The sound of gunfire echoed down the street. Its source could not be far away, the sound was still too painful to listen to, it couldn't have travelled far. What Yi had just witnessed had still not completely sunk in, it's not every day a man sees his entire family murdered before his eyes. It was still so clear in his mind, the way the bullets tore their way through his helpless family, the way their lifeless bodies crumpled to the floor in front of him. Things like that change a man forever.

Sticking to the shadows Yi made his way to the corner, he moved swiftly down the deserted streets. Most of the population had been killed or worse already, but this just made it easier to hide from the soldiers that remained in the city. Reaching the junction, Yi peered around the corner. Seeing nothing that hinted at any danger, he stepped out into the street and quickly began to make his way to the other side. SNAP! A shot rang out in the dark, and Yi felt the air move as the bullet flew past far too close for comfort. Instinctively he dropped to the floor, making himself less of a target. Quickly coming to his senses, Yi crawled his way back into the cover of the street he had just come from. Getting back to his feet, he checked his pockets. They were still there, perhaps they could get him out of this situation as they had the last time he had been shot at. Removing one of the packets from his pockets, Yi edged his way back to the corner. Stepping out for no more time than was needed, he threw the packet down the street towards the source of the shot. Silence...for what felt like an hour, Yi waited for some sort of response, and then it came.

"Show yourself!" The accent was unmistakably Japanese, the Chinese was flawed, but still surprisingly good. Shaking slightly, Yi stepped out once more into the street. Nervously making his way forward, he felt eyes on him from ahead.

"The powder is yours if you want it." Yi shouted into the gloom, "I can get you more if you spare me, I am a simple doctor. I am no danger to you."

***

1946 - Nine years later...

Dr. Yi Suchong looked back at his surgery for the last time that week, glad for the weekend. What was left of the paint on the walls was sporting the tag of the gang that controlled the block this week. It had been a hard week, obnoxious patient after obnoxious patient, each of them the same as the last. Demanding to be treated as if somehow he owed them something as a doctor. Well they could all go to hell, he didn't deserve this treatment, he was better than that. Graduating as a doctor of medicine back in his student years, he had not only surpassed the rest of his class, but was also the highest achiever to come out of China's top educational facilities in the last century. He never could understand how he had ended up in such a terrible job, but he had a feeling that his opium days may have had something to do with it. Yi turned to face the rusty bike he had chained up outside the surgery door that morning, it had served him well for the last eight years, the first and only bike he had bought in his lifetime. With a squeak and a wobble, he set off down the road, he was heading home.

Home to Yi was a one bedroom flat above one of the busiest shopping streets in the city and he hated it. It was dark, damp and cold and of course Yi deserved more. On reaching the flat, Yi gave the front door its traditional kick to unstick the bottom corner from damp swollen frame and walked inside, slamming the door behind him. He barely had time to take two steps into the flat when there was a sharp knock at the door. This was a first, nobody had visited him here before. Since leaving what was left of Nanking all those years ago, Yi hadn't had many associates, and none of those came close to being called friends, he couldn't even begin to imagine who would be bothering him this late on a Friday night. Opening the door revealed a tall man in an expensive looking suit. From the look of him, the mystery guest was in his early forties and probably American. Slightly worried about what could bring such a man to his home Yi invited him in.

"Can I get you a drink? How may I help you?" Yi asked nervously.

"Nothing for me, thank you. I won't keep you long Dr. Suchong, but I have a proposition for you, and I think it will be of great interest to you. The name's Orrin Lutwidge, and I'm here on behalf of Mr Andrew Ryan." The mysterious American began.

"I'm listening. Please go on." Yi proposed, curiosity beginning to get the better of him. He had no idea who Andrew Ryan was, but for him to have his own personal messenger he must be somebody with some money.

"Mr Ryan believes that a man is entitled to the sweat of his brow, he also believes that you are one of a few people in the world who have not been given the lives they deserve. You were meant for bigger things, surely you have noticed this?" Lutwidge began.

"Well yes of course, if it wasn't for those bloody Japanese invading my home nine years ago, I would be living off a small fortune." Yi agreed.

"Exactly, well Mr Ryan would like to give you a second chance. At absolutely no cost to you, you could begin afresh, live the life you deserve. The only catch is you must agree to this now before we go any further." Lutwidge had just dropped a bombshell. Yi was definitely interested, but he had no idea what he was getting himself into. He began to think about his life, what did he have? A dead-end job, crappy flat, and no friends to speak of. What did he have to lose?

"Okay, I'm in. Tell me everything." Yi's heart leapt to his throat. He'd just sold his soul, now he could only hope it was not to the devil.

"Excellent! What if I told you there was a place, a place where..." Lutwidge pulled a sheet of paper from his pocket and began to recite its contents, "... the artist would not fear the censor, where the scientist would not be bound by petty morality, and where the great will not be constrained by the small." He carefully folded the sheet back into his pocket as he continued. "There is a city, a hidden city, designed by Mr Ryan himself. It lies on the bottom of the ocean, and is free from the laws and problems of this world. Mr Ryan has named it Rapture, and he wants you as one of the privileged few to help him realise his dream."

"When do we leave?" Yi demanded excitedly, this sounded like the exact thing he needed to get his life back on track. A fresh start, somewhere where he could be free from all the petty laws of this world, his research could finally get somewhere.