"...A man's dream succeeds him, and his work becomes his legacy..." Charles Milton Porter spoke into the microphone. He was on stage speaking to perhaps a few thousand people, mostly students, but also renowned professors from all over the world. He had performed a huge lecture about ADAM, The Thinker, computing, science, and a little philosophy, introducing the achievements of Rapture to the world. There were also camera crews recording him.

Almost all students' attention were glued to Charles. A lecture about science, that was actually interesting? And being about advances that could revolutionize the world? It seemed Porter's efforts gave every student the opportunity to change the world. Of course, a portion of the audience was in utter disbelief, but it would only take a matter of time before the reality of ADAM would prove itself.

Eleanor sat with the students, dressed as a student herself, wearing the black uniform all girls did. She remained silent, enjoying listening to Porter. She even felt a little nostalgia thinking about Rapture, and could not help but smirk when Porter referenced Andrew Ryan's words.

"...those words were spoken by Andrew Ryan about me, before I became one of the metal daddies. Now, ironically, he's the one who is long gone," Porter continued, the audience chuckling, Porter holding back a grin. However, he saddened. "Even though...I lost my wife to the Blitz, I didn't let it stop me. I did not let the racism of my country hold me down. I did not Splice White. Hell, I didn't even let over a decade of Rapture drown me! That's the power of perseverance with the scientific method. There are no limits that define us, there are always limits to break," he continued, the audience building a gradual applause. "My work will exceed Ryan's own dream and legacy. Science has no limits!" he finished, the applause building, Eleanor also clapping.

"Ah, if only he had been part of the experiment with us since the beginning," the mysterious woman remarked, this couple not bothering to applause. "I wonder if it would have succeeded in something else... His contraption is quite advanced."

"It could have failed," the mysterious man butted in.

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yes, but it would be interesting."

"I do believe he could change things, or at least The Thinker could."

"And one undertakes an experiment knowing one could fail."

"But one doesn't go into an experiment knowing one will fail."

"But process information at the speed of thought, for an indefinite amount of time, then converge the capabilities of ADAM with the Lutece particle—"

"And the experiment could include working of multiple realities at the same time, or adjusting constances of certain realities. Multiple windows. Not just a single one-way tear...but a sphere, a network of revolving realities."

"But the fascinating question is, why couldn't we find further realities in relation to this one?"

"Because this one grew out from the others. It's a reality that developed into its own, with new possibilities, a universe that created new rules. Just because the girl uprooted the tree, does not mean the seeds are dead, nor does it mean there aren't other trees to begin with."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yes, I am."

"Or did we stop the experiment?"

"No, we didn't. Time is indeed more of an ocean than a river, but oceans have currents, whirlpools, and waterspouts."

"And cities."

"And if a city can be underwater, and can float, why not also be a current?"

"Was this part of your new ultimatum?"

"No, it wasn't. Or, was it your new ultimatum?"

"No."

"No?"

"I think the problem with memories is affecting us now, brother."

"Unintended consequences?"

"Or a new experiment?"

The mysterious redhead couple continued their awkward banter, but no one seemed to really care. Occasionally, Eleanor looked at them, wondering how they managed to teleport here and there, but could only conclude they had access to Plasmids like hers, or some equivalent.

Porter continued his lecture about this and that, more crazy stuff for the world. The audience found much interest in his stories of Rapture, especially when he became a Big Daddy. After the end of Porter's talk, massive line-ups formed for the question period. Porter would probably need all day and all night to finish answering every question! But he seemed excited to talk about everything with students, some of whom had to be gifted. But what could the future hold? Not even Eleanor knew.

Is the world ready for me?

Eleanor's new life was one of constant activity, thinking, planning, and working. She worked with Charles Porter and Brigid Tenenbaum every day, even during weekends, gradually building up The Thinker and incorporating it with a Lutece device they also had to build. Apparently, the mysterious couple already had a Lutece device, but the hardware was incompatible with what Porter had. They had no choice but to create a newer version which was nothing short of unprecedented.

Turns out the mysterious man's name was Robert, and the mysterious woman, Rosalind. Eleanor found their backstory quite interesting, piecing their cryptic speech together, but it was usually impossible to have a normal conversation with the redheads. Their habit of disappearing and reappearing killed any hope of friendship.

Ms. Lamb's job consisted of writing articles for various science journals and magazines, of which she explored and explained ADAM, EVE, Plasmids, Tonics, the Lutece particle (a subject she found quite interesting), and sometimes other things relating to Rapture and its great minds. Everyone needed a source of income, after all.

To keep the Little Sisters busy at home, Porter let them play Spitfire, a simple video game he invented in Rapture, which he recreated up here. The video game gave Tenenbaum a little extra spare time every now and then. Occasionally, the girls would get angry and scream at or hit the gaming system, and no one really knew why. Kids and their video games...

Eleanor's compounded intellect of many of Rapture's inhabitants, and her experience in electronics, meant she was the perfect engineer for The Thinker, whilst the Luteces modernized their own knowledge and expertise into making a superb Lutece device. Such beautiful minds worked together, even though the Luteces often rambled about nothing, which Porter sometimes joked as pseudoscientific mumbo-jumbo.

Eleanor got along well with other students of the university. She did not reveal much about herself, and spent time helping others in their studies and befriending people. Eventually, some people came to believe that Eleanor was the adopted daughter of Porter and Tenenbaum, but Eleanor did not mind. Her past in Rapture could not stay hidden, however, and she became a popular topic of gossip.

The Little Sisters spent most of their time at Porter's townhouse. Whenever Spitfire got boring, the girls would play and run around, making messes and spills. Eleanor, Tenenbaum and Julian sometimes took the girls to parks, candy stores, zoos, and whatever attraction was available. Despite the hassles of looking after kids, the Little Sisters sure gave everyone a cute break from their work.

Eleanor and Tenenbaum noticed that after the children's Little Sister conditioning naturally dissipated, they gradually changed, slightly reverting to what they used to be, before they became Little Sisters. The transformation was never absolute, but the Little Sisters clearly looked different from one another. Tenenbaum's cure for ADAM sickness, in all its forms, worked.

Tenenbaum spent much time seeking information of the girls' parents, but The Thinker and Eleanor always got the necessary data instead. Julian Sinclair would then fly the girls to their countries, and he, Eleanor and Tenenbaum returned the little ones to their homes, one by one. They used this as a means of vacation away from work, but Porter and the Luteces managed well enough.

Camille Dumas was reunited with her father Claude and mother Marie, in La Rochelle, France. The nightmare of her parents, and their babysitter Lisette Dubois, had finally ended. Although not her biological sister despite having the same last name, Chantal was Camille's best friend, and the French Dumas family adopted Chantal Dumas, a Belgian orphan who had nowhere else to return to. The family planned to visit St. Lutgardis Orphanage someday, where Chantal was kidnapped from, so that Chantal could have a proper farewell of her former home.

Amy George was reunited with her mother, Esther George, in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Now, her night terror was truly over; Mary Elizabeth Sarsfield returned to her home in Felixstowe, Suffolk, England, with her father, Ward.

Melinda Jelenski finally came back to her parents, Marie and Johann, who lived in Wilmington, North Carolina.

Ulrike Moeller returned home in St. Cloud, France, reuniting with her parents Werner and Hannah.

Kidnapped from a beach bungalow in Puerto Rico, Jennifer Walker reunited with her parents, Janet and Harold, in Pennsylvania.

Elena Rodriguez returned home to her family in a place referred to as La Boca, in Spain.

Maura Clune's parents, Charlotte and Eamon, would not have to pay any ransom. She came back to her home, a traditional cottage in Liscannor, County Clare, Ireland.

Mark's sacrifices of everything, including his own life, had not gone to waste. At long last, Cindy Meltzer was saved. She was returned to her widowed mother Amanda Kay Meltzer, in New York City. After finishing hugging her teary-eyed mother, Cindy looked at Eleanor, the child clutching her Big Daddy doll.

"You take good care of him," Eleanor said.

Cindy hugged her doll tightly. "Don't worry, Eleanor, I'll take really, really good care of him! For all of us!"

Eleanor smiled. "You will. Goodbye, Cindy."

Cindy was about to take her leave but then waddled to Eleanor, raising her arms. Big Sister knelt, and the two hugged tightly. After they finished, Cindy wiped her eyes, looking up at Eleanor.

"Bye-bye, Eleanor! Bye-bye, Mama Tenenbaum!" Cindy waved and, at long last, she returned to her true mother, still waving back at her friends.

Eleanor felt her eyes warming and moistening. Cindy, I'll miss you...and Little Daddy.

All other Little Sisters were reunited with their families, which was no easy task. But it was all worth it in the end. Every time Tenenbaum saw the family reunions, she smiled from relief. At long last, Tenenbaum atoned for her sins, at least some of them. However, watching the little ones go, one by one, also felt like bits of her heart were peeled away. At least Julian was always there to brighten up the place, he was quite proud of his flying.

Eleanor and Tenenbaum felt an uncanny loneliness flying back to London. They sure were going to miss those cute little girls, even though they were quite the handful of problems at times.

Eleanor's past still troubled her. Memories of wandering Rapture, watching Father shoot himself, growing up dreaming about him, finding him, guiding him, seeing him again, wearing the Big Sister suit, killing Splicers, escaping Rapture, wanting to drown Mother, watching Father die, her first dream of Spirry, wandering the strange hallways and finding the baby girl, fighting off that random shark, sailing to Ireland, getting drunk with Cathal and his friends, the problems with the police, arguing with Mother, escaping the jail, finding Tenenbaum, brutalizing those two teenagers in the orphanage...

Her heart thumped with pain from such thoughts. She regretted quite a lot of what she did, and spent many nights pondering to herself about her actions. Did she really have to kill all those Splicers with Father? Did she really have to kill those two Irish teenagers abusing the Little Sisters? Did Father have to die? What was Mother up to? What about Cathal? Eleanor did not even want to ask The Thinker what Mother was probably doing. However, she did consider talking to The Thinker about Spirry. However, at the same time, she wanted to leave many things of her past in the past.

Is this my life now?

One sunset, Eleanor reached home, kicking her shoes off lazily. She had severe eye bags and dark circles; she was reaching even her own limitations. Rubbing her eyes, she walked forth rather slowly and weakly. Porter had remained at the university, and Julian was away somewhere, probably dating.

Eleanor saw Tenenbaum sprawled on the sofa, sleeping. Lying on the coffee table was an empty wine bottle as well as a newspaper, opened to a page: RAPTURE REVEALED! MILITARY SENDS SUBMERSIBLES TO EVACUATE SURVIVORS OF UNDERWATER CITY

Ms. Lamb zombied up the stairs, nearly tripping once and again. She waddled to her bedroom, exhausted from everydays' everythings. Her desk was overloaded with papers and books, but they would have to wait. She flopped onto her bed, faceplanting the pillows, wishing she could just sink into the soft fluffiness and sleep forever.

"It's so quiet without the little ones," Eleanor's voice muffled against the pillows. She turned around to lie on her back then stretched and yawned like a cat. "I really miss them..." Yawning finishing, she let her long arms drop onto the bed.

Eleanor wanted sleep so badly, but could not. Slumber just was not working. Sighing, she sat up to take a look at all that work on her desk—she winced. So, instead, she sat at her other desk to play some Spitfire, anything to get her mind off the thought of so much work mockingly waiting for her.

It was not long until Eleanor lost at her game.

"Oh my fucking god." She shut the system off and flopped back to bed. I can build a supercomputer, but I still can't beat that stupid game...

Eleanor shut her eyes, just wanting to sleep. She imagined the ocean, in all its dark, deep, blue glory. Thinking of the ocean only gave her nostalgia and sadness. The echoing thuds of Rapture, the dripping water, the humming of whales and machines, the shadows, the ramblings of Splicers, the laughing of the Circus of Values clown... Eleanor actually started to miss Rapture. As horrible as Rapture was, it was still her home, what she was used to. The memory of the Rapture lighthouse was one she wished she could forget. Yet, she imagined a giant, fleshy snake coiling up the lighthouse, staring back at her. Come back home, Eleanor, the monster hissed.

Eleanor then heard a...screaming dolphin? Opening her eyes, she sat up, looking through the window and noticing it was nighttime. Rain was tapping against the window and roof. Am I dreaming? No, she had not fallen asleep.

"Spirry..." Eleanor whispered, expecting he made another one of his enigmatic, pointless revelations. She hurried to her bedroom door and hesitated. She slowly opened it and looked down both ways of the hallway...everything seemed normal.

Quietly stepping down the stairs, Eleanor scanned the bottom floor. Tenenbaum was still asleep, probably having drunk herself to sleep from separation anxiety when the little ones returned to their previous lives, as well as from work. Only tapping rain made any sound.

Eleanor looked at the small window in the front door, seeing...red light? Eyebrows furrowed, Eleanor went to the door, the beaming red light casting a red tint on her. She hesitated again, hand stopping before the door handle. After taking a breath, she slowly opened the door, just enough so that she could see who stood at the entrance. Raising her head, Eleanor's mouth dropped. She was staring at a Big Sister, a back-mounted cage the only thing missing about her. The light changed from red to yellow, and the two sisters stood idly, the one in the diving suit soaked from the rain, raindrops tapping against her helmet.

Outside, various passersby kept their distance from the two-meter tall, gangly individual, the attire alone more than enough to cause some nightmares. Even cars drove past quicker. The immense individual very slowly leaned forwards, towering over Eleanor, she feeling as though the yellow light was beaming through her soul.

"Uh...come on in?" Eleanor somewhat greeted, stepping aside to let her sister in. The Big Sister nodded, and then past Eleanor, big boots thudding.

The sister plodded her way to the living room, Tenenbaum waking up and blankly watching the ghastly figure approach her. After a second, Brigid sat up properly, rubbing her face. At first, she did not believe her eyes, but once Eleanor walked into view, she had to believe. Brigid and the Big Sister just stared at each other, the yellow light turning green.

"So...which one are you?" Brigid asked nervously, placing her hands on her lap.

The Big Sister tilted her head at the question. She then gracefully sat beside Tenenbaum, swinging her extremely long legs over mama's lap. The Big Sister then grabbed her helmet, and after a short struggle, wrenched it off, placing it on the sofa. She looked terrible, head low, as if about to cry.

The Big Sister had pale skin, puffy eye bags, dark circles, and massive eyes that glowed orange. Her eyes were shaped so that they appeared to slightly tilt downwards to the sides. Her eyes were so bloodshot that the red veins visibly mapped across her glowing eyeballs. Very long, very messy black hair hung like a dirty curtain from her huge head, covering most of her face. She has rounded cheeks, plump lips, small nose, small chin, and a tall, enlarged forehead. She stroked her hair to the sides, revealing her deprived face.

Eleanor winced from the Big Sister's terrible visage. The poor thing looked like she had not slept, ever, her babyfaced appearance obviously young, but looking like the skin was going to fall off. She looked like a sick zombie. ADAM oozed out the corners of the Big Sister's mouth, sick and green, just as Eleanor remembered it. Her filthy hair and dirty attire makes everything even worse. Tenenbaum felt an urge to just push this gross thing off her lap, and scream, Get away from me! Tenenbaum remembered who this sister once was.

As always, Tenenbaum's maternal instincts overcame fear. But, the horrible, horrible memory crushed her. Yet, she kept eye contact with the unblinking, oversized child. The Big Sister bit her lower lip, and looked afraid, lowering her head and shrugging.

Tenenbaum kept a rather stolid face on, but that did not stop teardrops from trickling. She slowly smiled, feeling much guilt and shame slip off her shoulders. Did the child forgive her? The Big Sister tilted her head, and smiled back, as painful as it was to smile, but she did it anyways, for Mother. Mama gave the grown-up Little Sister a big hug, and they silently wept over each other's shoulders.