a/n: This is not a different version of the game's storyline, but about life in rapture as it grew to prosper ann fall. It was also kind of hard to write this since there is alot of detail in the game and story.
Ch. 1: The City under the Sea
Life is almost as unpredictable as Mother Nature herself. A couple of days ago I was living my life in New York City. Now I'm on a boat somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic ocean, seasick."God I think I'm going to be sick" I said in a queasy tone."I hate the ocean"."Well son, you're going to have to get used to it from now on" my father said as he walked to my side and patted my back."Since we'll be surrounded by it day in and day out" he smiled a bit and laughed. Before I could say anything I threw up what's left of my lunch over the railing."Geez son what did u eat?" the tone of his voice sounded a bit more concerned."I'm going back to our room and lie down for a bit" I said walking toward the stairs."Ok then I'll wake you up when we get to our destination" he said."By the way, where are we going again?" I asked."I am guessing this makes the, eighteenth time you've asked me" he said smiling back at me."Yeah, I know, I can't really trust you on this one" I looked at the ocean one more time, watching the clouds and the distant horizon go by slowly. Then I slowly started to walk back to the cabins."If you need me I'll be in the bar or on the deck" my father said.
My stomach started to feel a lot better, so I went around the ship. There were a lot more people than I thought. A lot of them looked like businessmen, scientists, researchers, and doctors. I could tell many if not all of the people on board were wealthy. Most of them were accompanied by their families. Their children looked as if they were on vacation, well mainly the younger kids. The mothers were on the watching their kids and talking to friends and family. The fathers are probably in the bar drinking and chatting away.
I walked to an empty part of the upper deck and lit a cigarette. My thoughts were on this ship's destination."A city under the sea…that's a load of bullshit" that was my first thought and I still think it is. Though I am starting to rethink what I said, considering the amount of people on the ship. Blowing one last puff of smoke I dropped the filter on the floor and walked to my room. Down in the cabin was dark save for the lights illuminating the halls. I took a key out of my pocket and unlocked the door. Once inside I opened a cabinet full of cheap liquor and poured some old tom whiskey into a shot glass."Damn should have gone down to the bar" The taste was off, needs to age a bit more. I took one more shot then slept on the bed.
A soft voice called out my name…"Jack…Jack wake up" At an instant I did. That comforting voice could only come from one person."Mary…" That name echoed in my head bringing back old memories. Memories I cherish and want to forget...It was only three in the afternoon."I only slept for like 4 hours geez" I thought I'd sleep longer than that. I looked at the bottle of whiskey and decided to pour another glass. Just as I was about to get up the door opened and my father stepped inside."Ah good you're awake" he said the tone of his voice was much more lively than usual."Hurry up and get dressed"."Why, what happened?" I asked."We've finally arrived" he said. That look on his face was both happy and somehow cynical."So put on your coat, get your bag, and let's go!" I did just that and took that bottle of old tom too."Why you are bringing that bottle?" he asked."I get the feeling I may need it" I said.
Somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean was a city. I was wondering how we were going to get there and my answer to that problem was simple."So the entrance to the underwater utopia is a lighthouse?" the stupidity in my question was pretty obvious."Well of course, did you think the ship would transform into a submarine or something?" my father said laughing a bit. I could almost imagine what he said. Entering the lighthouse we were greeted by an enormous statue of a man (I think it was the creator of the city) and the tune of the song Beyond the Sea . A banner saying No gods only man hung from it. The whole lighthouse echoed with the people's voices. It also started to get pretty packed in here to, good thing we were near the front. Speaking of which,"Hey dad what happened?"."Hmm, what is it Jack?" he asked."You're being awfully quiet"."I'm just excited that's all, why is that odd?" his expression changed to a more what the hell are you talking about look."Yeah, even when you are excited you talk like crazy" we both laughed and joked about that. On the bottom floor was a bathysphere, and that feeling of doubt I had early disappeared. We had to wait a bit for the next ride and I could feel how tense my father had become."All right then please stay seated until the bathysphere has reached its destination and keep all children and belongings near you" the service man said. The way he said it was like how one of the staff members would say to you at a ride in some amusement park. The inside of the bathysphere wasn't all that big and could only fit like eight people. Even still that felt like a crowd.
Once we past 100 fathoms or so a white screen came down and a projector started to play. A recording started to play from the radio near the hatch;
I am Andrew Ryan and I am here to ask you a question:
Is a man not entitled to the sweat of his own brow?
No, says the man in Washington. It belongs to the poor.
No, says the man in the Vatican. It belongs to God.
No, says the man in Moscow. It belongs to everyone.
I rejected those answers. Instead, I chose somethingdifferent.
I chose the impossible. I chose...
Rapture
The screen went up to reveal the city. It was incredible, simply amazing. I was in awe to see that it was possible to create Rapture. Various forms of ocean life swam by the enormous city; whales, fish, and even a giant squid or octopus. I wasn't the only one who was just as amazed. I looked to my right to see my father just sit there with a grin on his face. I expected him to be talking like crazy at this point, but he didn't. There was something else that Andrew Ryan said in that recording. Where the artist would not fear the censor, where the scientist would not be held back by petty morality... No wonder so many people came here, but something bothered me. Nobody here looked like common folk or as if they came themselves, but more like they were chosen or selected. Before this my dad was a normal scientist and researcher. Many of his theses, experiments, and dreams were far from the regular ones that others come up with. They were daring, brilliant, and from time to time mad. I could see why he dragged me down here. My head stared to ache a bit from all this and I was right about one thing.
I really did need that bottle of whiskey.
Ch. 1 end
a/n: That ends the first chapter. Please review the story to tell me how I did. I am very thankful if you do.
