Post by Dream on Mar 3, 2009 1:38:26 GMT -5
When Things Go Wrong...
[/u][/i][/font][/size][/left][glow=gray,2,300]"I am Andrew Ryan, and I'm here to ask you a question: Is a man not entitled to the sweat of his 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 something different. I chose the impossible. I chose----- Rapture. A city where the artist would not fear the censor. Where the scientist would not be bound by petty morality. Where the great would not be constrained by the small. And with the sweat of your brow, Rapture can become your city as well." - Andrew Ryan
Our story begins in a place much unexpected, a place where human life was never meant to conquer - entirely, anyway. Deep within the Atlantic Oceans stirs an evil force, but, surprisingly, this world is unknown to much of humanity. Sure, some know it's there, but do they really know what this city is about? Probably not, it seems that most people don't really give a damn about it either. Unless, that is, you're a scientist. A scientist (or artist, maybe?) that does not want to be censored, that does not want to have their gifts held back and tied - suffocating you. You know what this city is all about, the city that we now as Rapture.
[glow=gray,2,300]"Ryan and Adam, Adam and Ryan... all those years of study, and was I ever truly a surgeon before I met them? How we plinked away with our scalpels and toy morality. Yes, we could lop a boil here, and shave down a beak there, but... but could we really change anything? No. But Adam gives us the means to do it. And Ryan frees us from the phony ethics that held us back. Change your look, change your sex, change your race. It's yours to change, nobody else's." - Dr. Steinman[/color][/glow]
[1][/url]This underwater city was created by a scientist known to the world as Andrew Ryan. Living as a Soviet Citizen, he witnessed the murder of his entire family by Agents of the State. His childhood experiences under Soviet rule led Andrew Ryan to his personal philosophy- the modern world was created by great men who strove to make their own way. Anytime "parasites" gained control of such a world, they destroyed it. He emigrated to America in 1919, believing it was a place where such men could prosper. For a time, he was devoted to his adopted country, grateful for it rewarding his intellect and determination with wealth and fame. However, the social programs adopted in the 30s increasingly tested that devotion. Ultimately, Ryan was a very selfish individual, and considered those who benefited from others "parasites". Ryan soon came to despise the ideals of charity or generosity. In his mind, one could only own what one earned. He once owned a large forest as a personal retreat, one that many groups envied. Ultimately, the government attempted to nationalize it as parkland. His response, before surrendering it, was to burn it to the ground. The final straw for Ryan was the destruction of Hiroshima with the Atomic Bomb. In his eyes, the Bomb was the ultimate corruption of his ideals - science and determination harnessed for destruction, creating a weapon that gave the "parasites" the ability to destroy anything that they could not seize. Ryan's response was to use his entire fortune to build Rapture - a community where "the artist would not fear the censor, the scientist would not be bound by petty morality, the great not be constrained by the small", in the only place he felt the "parasites" could not touch - the depths of the Atlantic ocean.[/size]
[glow=gray,2,300]"I am beautiful, yes. Look at me, what could I do to make my features finer? With Adam and my scalpel, I have been transformed. But is there not something better? What if now it is not my skill that fails me... but my imagination?" - Dr. Steinman[/color][/glow]
But, most - if not all - good things die eventually, and Rapture was no exception. Over time the city was filled with the best and brightest scientists, quickly becoming a paradise for such people. Its only flaw? As a rule the people of Rapture were forbidden to make contact with anyone at the surface, for fear that the "parasites" would soon try to gain control over this underwater world. In doing so, the world of smuggled goods soon became a reality to Rapture, and one man would be the middle of it all: Frank Fontaine. The former mobster had just the skills needed for dominating the small smuggled goods market. When he became the first sponsor to Bridgette Tenenbaum's research into a mysterious sea slug, he became the primary distributor of ADAM. What is ADAM you ask? Hold on, I'm getting to it. As Rapture had no contact with the world above, they were unaware of the post-WWII chaos and Fontaine easily swayed the lower class-man onto his side of things. It took less than 3 years for him to gain enough support to challenge the ruler of Rapture: Andrew Ryan. But, really, it was the a scientific discovery that upset the balance of Rapture.
[glow=gray,2,300]"Spent the morning jawing with that Kraut scientist. She's damaged goods, all right. Just like all those chumps they scraped out of them prison camps. But she's no crackpot... she's gonna make me the kinda scratch that'll have Ryan look like he's runnin' a paper route. She just needs some supplies to get the ball rolling... and a friend to watch her back." - Frank Fontaine[/color][/glow]
It all started with a normal, crippled guy getting bit by a sea slug - who woke up the next morning with total use of his fingers. Under further investigation, it was found that the slug could create stem cells. These cells could be used to enhance a persons abilities both mentally and physically, as well as cure disease and heal injuries. The substance was called ADAM. As ADAM became more and more desired, it became the cities dominant currency, and because Fontaine had invested early in, he had the most of it. It was discovered that ADAM could be used to modify your body, but you would loose your humanity in the process. The biological modifications using ADAM were named "Plasmids" while the substance that powered it was known as EVE - they were obviously named after the biblical characters. On New Years Eve, December 31st, attacks on the New Years Eve ball with plasmids was unleashed and eventually led the city to its downfall. There not being enough ADAM to go around, little girls were taken away and biologically put together with the ADAM. These girls, these..."Little Sisters", were the hosts of the Sea Slug that produces ADAM, the slug using their stomachs to produce roughly 3 times the normal amount. Their protectors, dubbed "Big Daddies, were men clothed in large diving suits and equipped with guns or large drills. During this time, the citizens of rapture were being transformed into monsters by the works of Dr. Steinman. Since everyone wanted ADAM, they would stop at nothing to get it - making the Little Sisters prone to attack, though they were immortal themselves. All normal humans hide now, though all of them are dangerous in one way or another.
[glow=gray,2,300]"War a terrible thing. Japanese kill every man in my city, except for Suchong. Suchong have opium. Very good opium. This war, terrible thing, too, but not for Suchong. Everyone scared now. Everyone need Adam. More than Little Sisters can make. Good news is war makes lots of corpses. Suchong knows way to recycle Adam from corpse. But can't send Little Sister out to street unprotected. Suchong must think on this." - Dr. Suchong[/color][/glow]
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Who Will You Blame?
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