BioShock: Undersea Eden
A fan fiction by Jon Sessman.
Chapter 2: Revelry and Rapture
"No Gods or Kings, Only Man". I imagined a massive mob chanting it with unparalleled vigor. Why this place, though? In the middle of the Atlantic, where nobody's gonna see? Doesn't make much sense. I figured I'd check the place out; just to see what's going on.
It was like I was transported back through time. Art deco reliefs of fish on walls. Etched plates with phrases "In what country is there a place for people like me?" by one Andrew Ryan; along with things like "Art", "Science", and "Industry". Then there was one with an imposing "R" on it. What could that possibly mean? All leading up to an open bathysphere.
My mom says I always had a sense of adventure. I was the kind of kid who'd play hide and seek for hours. Guess I never lost that. Well, either that or it just came back; because I got in there and pulled that lever. Now who knows where I was going next?
I looked out the dusty window and saw the bubbly waters swirl about. There was even a sculpture marking the depths of the sea. Ten fathoms, eighteen fathoms....Then a projector screen unfurled in front of the window! Old-timey music playing while a slide showed "Brought to you by Incinerate! Plasmids by Ryan Industries!" A man was lighting a woman's cigarette with his finger; flames shooting out of it. How the hell do you get that to happen?
Suddenly, a businessman appeared onscreen and a crackly voice beamed "I am Andrew Ryan, and I'm here to ask you a question." The scene shifted to a man in a field wiping his head. "Is a man not entitled to the sweat of his brow?" the slide shifted to the same man getting attacked by a massive bald eagle "No, says the man in Washington! It belongs to the poor!"
It shifted again, this time a massive hand outstretched from the heavens with a scooped palm asthe man tried to push it away "No, says the man in the Vatican! It belongs to God!". Then finally a McCarthyist scene of a hammer and sickle pursuing the man "No, says the man in Moscow! It belongs to everyone!" Does this man truly hold such a view of the world? Then it shifted back to the slide of Andrew Ryan.
"I rejected those answers. Instead I chose something different. I chose the impossible. I chose..." The projector furled up. "Rapture!" I was staring into the past and the future at the same time; neon lit skyscrapers amongst crabs and squids! Beautiful signs and ornate glass tunnels! What a wondrous place this must be!
"A city where the artist would not fear the censor!" the voice droned in one ear and out the other as I stared at the art deco sculptures in awe! "Where the scientist would not be bound by petty morality!" I saw a man in a diving suit repairing one of the glass tunnels, even! "Where the great would not be constrained by the small!" Underwater ads flickered in the distance!
"And with the sweat of your brow, Rapture can become your city as well!" I could not have named it anything better; such a marvelous place! My eyes darted back and forth as I heard radio chatter in the distance. "The lighthouse is all lit up like hellfire, sounds like some sort of plane crash."
"We're in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. How could it?" a squeaky voice trembled back. "I dunno, you'd best get over there. And be quick about it! The splicers are coming!" the first voice commanded back. "You gotta be kidding, how do you know someone's even coming?" the second one whimpered. "'Cause we got a bathysphere on the way! That means we've got company!"
The bathysphere passed under some arches which read in order "All good things of Earth flow into the city" the Y in the word "city" flickered then broke off. A bit unsettling to see the last bit of a beautiful place break off, perhaps a bit ironic. Finally, I made it to the station greeted by an ad for "Telekinesis Plasmid" which had a slogan of "Mind over matter! Free samples at Dandy Dental!" I could not help but feel a bit uneasy as the bathysphere rose to the top, bubbles churning about again.
