This fan fiction has a few changes made in terms of the Bioshock and Bioshock 2 storyline. For instance, there have been two civil wars in Rapture, the first of which was at the end of the rule of the first leader (and founder) of the city Andrew Ryan. The war lasted a total of five years and left the population of the once thriving city divided and lost.
The second ruler came from an elite group of citizens who locked themselves away during the war. This man was, as Ryan, an industrialist who saw things big. His name was Bill Dickinson. Together with his wife, a therapist he gathered a small group of followers. This little band of misfits tried to reunite the people of Rapture. They did so by declaring that all current science and art was devilish and had to be destroyed. Apart from the art-bit this wasn't such a bad thing. The genetic modifications of the citizens were one of the catalysts during the first civil war. During his rule all traces of science were erased from the city as if they never existed. Also a lot of art –paintings, sculptures, even books were burned. It was forbidden to even speak of it and doing so could get you punished quickly.
The people and their next generations grew saner and developed a stronger sense of community due to the renouncing of genetic splicing. But soon the citizens became fed up with the so called 'purification' of the city by their tyrant, they decided to rebel. But it still took them two years before any serious actions were taken. Finally they drove Dickinson from his home in Olympus Heights in an old fashioned protest march with torches and pitchforks. More or less. It is said that the man and his family fled to the surface in a bathysphere. Leaving a small band of followers to fend for their selves. The purification left its scars though. Only the elder inhabitants of the city still know of the bad genetic habits of their predecessors. And even they don't really like to speak about it.
The current leader of the ideological city is James Elton Reeves. He was the third in line of Rapture leaders. But the first one to be chosen democratically. He grew up in a simple family living in Apollo Square. But our story begins not with him. It actually starts rather far from him, far from his city. On the surface.
The boat was rocking back and forth, and Laura cursed herself while going through the rest of her food she got in stock. She had just lowered the sails and was shivering from the cold. Her clothes were soaked. "Barely enough for three days" she thought, cursing herself again for not having thought this trough all the way. She was an experienced sailor but she never undertook such a journey. A journey that would take her to the bottom of the ocean. "One way or the other." she grumbled.
Back on land she was a reporter for one of the biggest news stations of her country. Until she got fired that is. She lived for her work as a journalist. Always finding a story, if it wasn't a bribe in the local police force it was a sex scandal in the mayor's office. However, one story proved too big, even for her. An important politician and one who was soon running for presidency found out about a story Laura was about to publish and had her shut down. Literally. She was in the hospital for a week during which the candidate had all the time in the world to do as he pleased. To make things worse, Laura's boss had her take a leave of absence after she recovered. To 'get things sorted out'. Something Laura didn't quite like and made a scene in front of the whole staff. About half an hour later she was walking towards the exit with all her office supplies in a little grey box and flanked on either side by security guards.
For nearly a year she locked herself away in her house, only going outside for groceries. It went from bad to worse. She started looking for stories where there weren't any, hoping for a chance of getting her reputation back. But by doing that she stumbled on an old story of child disappearances at coastal villages. Although the story was almost seven years old, it intrigued her. Maybe it was growing up in an orphanage, never knowing her parents (the one unsolved story). After a bit of digging around she had her destination, more or less. She heard stories of a small island with an odd lighthouse on top of it. Said to be some sort of passage to another world. Sounded like madness to any sane person. But Laura was prepared to risk it all for a chance of redemption. And so she ended up in the North Atlantic Ocean in a small sailing boat. Far from any living soul.
"Bloody hell, what was that?" Laura said startled. The boat had hit something hard. It was impossible that she had hit land; she hadn't seen any when she lowered her sails. Well actually she saw nothing because of the storm. "It can't be, it just can't be." In the light of a small flashlight she checked her maps; there wasn't any land around for miles. A reef perhaps? But she was sailing in water of more than three kilometres deep, it couldn't be. There was a slight glimmer of hope in Laura's eyes. To think that she had actually hit her destination would be amazing. Mainly because she didn't really have an exact destination. More like an estimation was what she had. Her sense of hope was soon rudely shattered when she felt her feet getting cold and wet. A leak! "Oh you have got to be kidding me! Not now, not here!"
Quickly opening the hatch leading outside she stood up and took a look around. The storm was still raging on the sea hadn't become any calmer, and it was pissing rain. Her thoughts had been correct; the bump came from a reef. The rocks had cracked open the hull of the little sailing boat, luckily the rocks held the boat there and prevented from too much water getting in. She couldn't believe her eyes. There, almost 200 metres from her boat was a small island not bigger than a large house and on top of it, a busted, old lighthouse. She made it! At least, almost…