Sorry this took so long to get out but, well, things have been difficult these past few months. Still, this story is getting on a new schedule where the chapters will be coming out earlier in the month.

Elizabeth XVI

"Well, that is a long story," Langford said. She brought over their tea, putting it down on the table. "Would you like to hear it?"

Elizabeth's eyes went wide. "Of course!"

The chance to get a first hand account of what had gone down, from someone close to Ryan? That information could be invaluable! And, more selfishly, learning what Langford knew meant she could keep the woman from diverting Jack's course.

Both Langford and Jack looked surprised by her quick insistence, but Liz just covered it with a shrug and quick sip of her tea.

"Very well then," Langford said, settling into her seat. "I suppose, to explain everything properly, we'll have to go backwards in my story. What do you both know about how I came to be involved with Andrew Ryan and the creation of Rapture?"

"Hey, don't look at me," Jack shrugged. "I'm a newbie around these parts."

Jack's response took Langford by surprise. "Truly? It explains why you are in such good health, young man, but how is such a thing possible? Intake has been closed off since before the downfall started, and it isn't like the location of the city is public knowledge."

"Well, I got here by being the most unlucky schmuck in the world," Jack said. "The plane I was on went down in the waters outside that lighthouse. As far as I know, I'm the only survivor."

Langford still looked confused. "How odd, I thought-"

"We're getting off-topic," Elizabeth cut in. If this conversation went on much longer, it might reveal a contradiction that would flip a switch in Jack's mind. "Dr. Langford, I know that Ryan recruited you from Berkeley and that you worked with him closely when developing Arcadia and the airway system for Rapture, but I fail to see how that led to you being able to survive when other brilliant minds could not."

"Yes, of course... You must understand, I was one of few women working in any position of authority within Berkeley during those years. It was a position I was only able to achieve because, though they might hate to do so, not one could deny the brilliance of my work. Yet, the majority of my colleagues -both male and female- resented me. They wanted to see me fail. As a result, no opportunity was missed to sling criticism and controversy at my research. I was ridiculed for having "radical theories'', when the men around me would have been praised for "thinking outside the box" or some other nonsense. And yet I endured it all silently for the sake of being able to continue my work. Most days, it was the only thing that kept me going."

With a sigh, Langford took off her glasses and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Then I was approached by Andrew Ryan, and he was... stunning. Shamed as I am to admit, like so many others, I too was swept up by Ryan's charisma and charm. More than that, his dogma of being able to create what I wanted without shame, restraint, or judgments was easy to fall for. Not that it is an excuse, but you must understand that to my fellow female scientists, a place to work without judgment sounded like... paradise. And, despite his many failings, Ryan never scorned Lamb, Tenenbaum, or I for our gender. Anyway, one would think that those with the intelligence of myself and my colleagues would have been smart enough to realize how bad things would be, yet intelligence is not the same as wisdom. That might have been the hardest lesson I learn down here."

Elizabeth fought the urge to flinch. She remembered what it was like to be out of her tower for the first time. Despite an entire lifetime spent reading hundreds of books and studying just about every subject available, Liz had been painfully naïve about the world around her. She hadn't thought to question Booker better, she'd given her real name to strangers without a second thought, and ran off mindlessly the first time she saw Booker gun someone down. That wasn't to say all that reading had been useless, it was what had taught Elizabeth how to identify the right kinds of ammo, mix and properly use the first aid medicine to patch up Booker's many injuries, solve ciphers, and pick locks. But it was only paired with Booker's combat experiences, ingenuity, iron will, and stone cold grit that her knowledge had been of any use and that they survived.

So, it went without saying, Liz would relate to Langford's woes.

"In hindsight, there were plenty of warning signs. Ryan was... enthusiastic about every project, he wanted to be involved every step of the way. In the moment, it had been an annoying nuance, but now I see what it was for what it was. For all Ryan preached about freedom of creation, he wanted to control everything about this place and the people in it. Rapture was his master plan, his sandbox, and so long as we didn't pick a strange color or go too far outside the lines, we were allowed to play in it. Under supervision, of course."

Langford took a deep breath before continuing. "So the years went on and I lost myself in my work once more. With the help of my team, I was able to create my masterpiece, my very own Eden! And not only did it work better than expected, people loved it! For a time, everything was good... then Ryan started taking control away. It started with mandating an entrance fee for Arcadia. I protested at first, as did my team, but Ryan justified it as going towards maintenance -people did have a tendency to leave behind litter and damage- and the fee was small at first, so I bit my tongue and hoped it would stop there."

"But it didn't," Jack said, like he didn't already know the answer.

'Of course it didn't,' Liz thought. 'That's always how it starts. People are willing to stay silent and go along with small abuses because they don't want to rock the boat or appear rude. It's easier. But it never stops there. Once complacency is established, it is easy to get people to step back and agree to let worse and worse happen. It's a tale as old as society itself; it's happened before and it will happen again.'

"No," Langford said, shaking her head. "Overtime, the fee was raised, and Ryan became more paranoid about others trying to take control of Rapture. I'm sure you're both aware of Frank Fontaine and his war with Ryan, correct? Well, he'd never admit it, but Fontaine scared Ryan. No, that isn't accurate... the idea of another Fontaine scared Ryan. Of someone else taking control of his precious kingdom. That, combined with the issues ADAM was starting to cause in the general populace, scared him. So he started either disposing of anyone he saw as potential threats. As for those he couldn't outright dispose of, Ryan began slowly stripping them of support and privilege. My team fell apart, members either pushing into positions elsewhere, pushed into resigning, or just... gone. The day I found out my clearance level had significantly dropped and important research had disappeared from my office, I knew I had to prepare for things to go even worse."

"Why didn't you leave?" Elizabeth asked, genuinely curious. "If you could tell Rapture was falling, then why didn't you jump ship?"

Langford glanced back towards her lab. "I couldn't just abandon all my work. It was what I had lived for, it was what I had 'died' in the eyes of the surface world for. Leaving it at the bottom of the sea to save my own skin would be akin to leaving behind my own child."

Liz gave a silent, contemplative nod. 'I wonder what it is like to have something so tangible I could point to and say, "I did that"?'

She'd done plenty to help change the world, to change the course of history. That was different though. By changing things, anyone Elizabeth could have told about her accomplishments would have no clue what she was talking about.

"So you never even considered it?" Jack asked. "I mean, I get being dedicated, but survival instinct is strong. And what is the point of doing all this research if it dies with you here, rotting at the bottom of the ocean?"

"Sometimes... the joy of creation and discovery simply comes from the act itself, not from others knowing." Despite her words, the older woman's face dropped for a moment before she regained her composure. "You are right, there were times when I considered leaving. What would I do when I returned to the surface though? My return would be questioned, it would invite scrutiny from the authorities. Maybe I could assume another identity, yet that would mean losing my scientific reputation and credibility."

Jack frowned. "Don't you have any family you want to see again? I know the reason I'm fighting so hard down here so I can get back to my folks." He glanced over at Elizabeth, adding, "Part of the reason, at least."

Internally, Liz winced. She bit her inner cheek and didn't let her regret show on her face. 'When the truth comes out, please don't hate me.'

"My family left me behind long ago," Langford answered, shaking her head. "Most never approved of my decision to pursue higher education and then a career in academia over a more... typically feminine path in life. And those who didn't disown me due to that, did so after I became pregnant with my daughter and did not marry the father. Religious family, as stereotypical as that sounds. In the end, it hardly mattered. My dear Rebecca died, and I was left alone. Does it really matter if I'm alone one the surface world or at the bottom of the sea?"

'Or in a giant tower in a flying city,' Elizabeth mentally added. But no... that wasn't equivalent, not really. Her tower had been her prison, complete with its own flying jailor, while Rapture had been the Langford's sanctuary for a time. Now, she seemed content for it to be her grave.

Langford turned the mug in her hands, squeezing it so tightly that the veins in her hands popped up from beneath the skin. "More than that... I deserve to die down here."

That... hadn't been what Elizabeth had been expecting to hear. And, judging from the shocked look on Jack's face, he was surprised too.

"Y- you don't mean that," Jack said.

"Oh, I do," Langford replied, voice calm and relaxed. "I helped build this city. Andrew Ryan may have been Rapture's architect, but myself, Sofia Lamb, Brigid Tenenbaum, Daniel Sullivan, the Wales brothers, William McDonagh, Yi Suchong, and so many others poured the foundation, laid the bricks, and erected the walls. Then we either looked away or reaped the benefits as Ryan filled his city with blood, bodies, and death. We were all there during Rapture's creation, we deserve to be here during its dying gasps. Some of us have already met our end, either at our own hands or at the hands of the monsters we allowed to be created, while others still wait for the reaper to come for them. And, perhaps, that is just punishment for sins."

Jack looked stricken. He gently touched the woman's wrist, causing her to jump in shock. That made sense, Liz assumed it had been months since Langford had experienced the touch of another human.

"You couldn't have known how badly things would go," he said. "You shouldn't blame yourself."

For a moment, Langford stared a Jack like he was the strangest thing she'd ever seen... only for that confusion to melt into warmth.

"For all you may look like him, you still have your heart," she said, gently tapping the side of Jack's chin before shaking her head. "But that isn't true. I saw the warning signs. I predicted the danger of ADAM. I understood the horrors of the Little Sisters. Even if I was not involved in their creation, I had the responsibility to speak up. Yet I did not, and all of Rapture suffered for it."

Jack still didn't look happy but, to Liz's horror, the words that tumbled out of his mouth were, "Who do I look like? You mentioned something about it before."

"Why, An-"

"You mention Daniel Sullivan was dead? I know he was the Head of Security for Andrew Ryan's Private Forces and that he quit when Ryan started to lock down the city, but I hadn't heard he was dead," Liz cut in, hurrying to divert the conversation. "I know Suchong was killed a while back. I'm not sure about the Wales brothers or McDonagh, but Tenenbaum is still alive."

"Really?" Langford explained, eyebrows shoot up.

"Yes, she is the one who saved me when the city was starting to fall. She even managed to keep me alive and healthy for six months while I was in a coma."

It was a gamble, revealing this much of the truth. Langford clearly didn't think highly of her former 'colleagues', so there was no way of knowing how she'd react to learning of Elizabeth's connection to her. It was part of the reason she bit her tongue about Tenenbaum's safehouse and plans to save the Little Sisters.

"What?!" Jack turned to look at Liz with absolute horror in his eyes. He studied her face for a moment, as if trying to find the injury that had caused her coma. Maybe she would show it one day but, for now, the scar tissue remained hidden under her bandana.

"Honestly, her saving you is the most surprising part of the story. Brigid never was the most altruistic of individuals. Then again, I suppose dire circumstances can bring out the best in people just like it can bring out the worst," Langford said, the side of her mouth twitching upward into a small, brief grin that quickly morphed into a frown. "As for her survival... I suppose, if someone as mad as Sofia could survive, someone like Dr. Brigid Tenenbaum could as well."

"Sofia Lamb is alive?!"

Now it was Elizabeth's turn to be surprised. While she didn't know as much about Lamb as she did Fontaine and Ryan, the name had come up often enough during her time living in Rapture. Lamb's open ideology of altruism and togetherness had clashed so heavily against Ryan's, Liz had often wondered why she came to the city in the first place. Despite this, people had listened to her words. Some unnervingly closely.

"As far as I know, she is still held up in Persephone Penal Colony. Considering that she has turned it into her own personal base, I can't imagine she'd be leaving anytime soon. Which I fine by me, Lamb has always been deranged and dangerous, I have interest in seeing her again."

"Then maybe you should come with us!" Jack said, brightening up once more as a new idea seemed to spark in his mind. "Tenenbaum, she is running a safehouse for civilians. You said you have a way to grow food? I'm sure she could use some of that."

Langford looked dubious.

"Tell her about Tenenbaum trying to help splicers and save the Little Sisters," Booker whispered in Elizabeth's ear, the shock of his sudden appearance nearly making her yelp and leap out of her seat. She risked a small glance in his direction, and he continued. "Look at her, Langford is practically dripping with guilt over what happened in Rapture. People like that will do just about anything for some absolution. Trust me, I know."

For a moment, Liz wanted to say something to the ghosts of her father... only to turn to Langford and do as Booker instructed.

"Tenenbaum is working towards a way to rehab splicers, she's had some success, and the treatment is currently being refined," she said. At her words, Langford's interest visibly perked up. "More than that, she has sent Jack, and I-" Liz nodded towards her partner "-out into the city to find and save as many Little Sisters as possible."

"Why?" the older woman asked, cautious and mistrustful.

Liz gave her a knowing look. "You aren't the only one carrying guilt for the things they've done."

"Dr. Langford, you're a brilliant scientist, I'm sure Dr. Tenenbaum could use your help," Jack said, giving his own special breed of encouragement.

"I will... consider it," Langford said after a moment, face still uncertain. "But, first, we need to save my trees. If we cannot manage that, no place in Rapture will be safe."

While I can't say this is a plot heavy chapter, I thought it would be interesting to really delve into the mind and experience of a OG builder of Rapture who never got much of a voice in the game. Langford, as far as we know, was never involved with the seedier parts of Rapture but she was there and saw it happen. Guilt by association and all that.