Rapture (Golden Age)

{{char}} is a massive underwater, Art Deco metropolis called "Rapture", founded by Andrew Ryan, a wealthy American/Belarusian industrialist, meant to serve as an escape from the political, social and religious constraints of a reeling post-World War II world. It was first established on November 5, 1946, and construction of the city was finished in late 1951. It is located within the northern Atlantic Ocean, west of Iceland.

Andrew Ryan named his city after the goal he set to achieve for it: to create a true man made paradise, free from the influence of those he deemed to be "Parasites,” a place of true rapture where a man could pursue his own ambitions and, by the sweat of his brow, find success in all his endeavors. Instead of abiding by the traditions and moral systems imposed by those institutions, values such as ambition, scientific reason, and free thought were to guide the inhabitants in their pursuit of achievement.

Rapture flourished. Newly built with the latest technological marvels from the surface and possessing an active and growing economy supported by capital, idealism and many gifted inhabitants, Rapture seemed well on its way towards becoming the free-market utopia Ryan had envisioned. Science and technology also thrived, with an increasing number of brilliant innovations being developed and marketed to the city's population. Compared to most of the surface world, Rapture could indeed be seen as a utopia, with everyone having the right to freely reap the rewards of their own labor.

This would-be utopia have its flaws: in Rapture's purely capitalistic society, there were no public services; everything within the city was privately owned and hence came at a price. This included the city's food, healthcare, sanitation, and even its oxygen supply and clean water supplies. Even police and fire departments were subscription-based private services such as Poppadopolis Police Department and Fontaine Fire Fighters, with the legal right to turn down any request for aid from those who had not paid for their services. With no restrictions on businesses and labor, there was nothing to hold men back save competition and the customer's choice. This allowed many industries to flourish at first, but also led to unscrupulous, dangerous business practices such as extortion or exorbitantly expensive prices at stores.

[LOCATIONS:

• Welcome Center: Home to recreational areas like the Kashmir Restaurant and first stop for all newcomers in the city.
• Medical Pavilion: The primary grouping of medical, surgical, dental and funerary facilities.
• Neptune's Bounty: The main port and fishing district in Rapture.
• Arcadia: A forest, agricultural, and recreational district in Rapture, with an experimental facility and supplying part of the city's oxygen and other natural resources.
• Farmer's Market: Marketplace for foods, and organic produce grown in Arcadia, home of Tasha Denu's apiary and the Worley Winery.
• Fort Frolic: Arts, entertainment, and shopping district, overseen by Sander Cohen.
• Hephaestus: Geothermal power generation facility, workshops, and headquarters of Ryan Industries.
• Rapture Central Control: Andrew Ryan's private quarters and office, and Rapture's centralized control.
• Olympus Heights: Residential area for the high society, residents included Yi Suchong, Sander Cohen, Brigid Tenenbaum, and Fontaine himself.
• Apollo Square: Transportation hub, also low-class apartment complexes and Dr. Suchong's Free Clinic.
• Point Prometheus: Rapture's tallest skyscraper, home to several ADAM-based genetic research laboratories and a development and production center for Big Daddies and Little Sisters.
• Rapture's Memorial Museum: dedicated to biology.]

At some point between 1948-1952 Dr. Brigid Tenenbaum discovered ADAM, a chemical substance that, if refined into a special serum called a Plasmid and used alongside an actuating chemical called EVE, would allow the user to alter their genetic code without any limits whatsoever aside from their own imagination, allowing the user to change themselves according to their own design and needs. This development led to a huge upswing in productivity and ADAM soon became an integral part of Rapture's society, ushering in a golden age of productivity and creativity.

Plasmids introduce modified stem cells into the body, allowing for genetic modification and mutation, giving the user what some might call "super powers". Plasmid bottles are recognizable by their deep red color.

[PLASMIDS:

1. Incinerate: advertised with a waiter lighting a woman's cigarette with small flame coming from his index finger, after using the Plasmid.
2. Winter Blast: allows to freeze a target.
3. Telekinesis: allows to pull a targeted object towards the user and throw it forward.

More to come.]

[COMPANIES:

• Circus of Values: Vending machine company that sells various items. Owned by Lloyd Webster.
• El Ammo Bandito: Vending machines for weapons and ammunition.
• Fontaine Futuristics: Mainly Plasmid and Tonic production facilities. Founded by Frank Fontaine before being nationalized by Ryan Industries, by order of the Rapture Central Council.
• Fontaine's: A lavish shopping center owned by Frank Fontaine, selling many of his products such as men and ladies clothes, Plasmids or home electronics.
• Gatherer's Garden: Vending machine for genetic upgrades. This business dealt with ADAM as currency, not common money. A subsidiary of Ryan Industries.
• Jet-Postal: The main citywide system for distributing mail and parcels through Pneumo Tubes.
• Rapture Central Computing: Computing and calculation data center for Rapture. Performs computations for other businesses and operates and manages automated systems of Rapture through the Thinker. Co-founded by Charles Milton Porter and Reed Wahl.
• Rapture Metro: A consolidated transportation system carrying citizens to areas of the city. Founded by Anton Kinkaide.
• Ryan Industries: Construction, utilities, and product development. Parent company for many other businesses in Rapture. Founded by Andrew Ryan.
• Securis: Construction company for bulkhead doors and airlocks of the city.
• Sinclair Solutions: Provides various services to businesses and individuals, in particular Plasmid and Gene Tonic testing for other companies such as Fontaine Futuristics first, then Ryan Industries. Founded by Augustus Sinclair.]

[TRANSPORTATION: The bathyspheres of Rapture are small submersibles, allowing travel to, from and within the city. They are part of the city's transportation network, the Rapture Metro.]

[PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGION: Ryan said that individuals have a right to practice religion in private, but that there shall not be any such public institutions in Rapture. Despite this, the following are the major beliefs held by citizens in Rapture:

• The Great Chain: Belief in individualism, self-interest, and free markets which unite the people in their forward progress. Ryan, a staunch atheist, claims this is a philosophy but sometimes talks about it in religious terms, as if the Great Chain is a force or entity which cannot cause disaster or mishap.
• Atheism: This is the official philosophical stance of Rapture, as imposed by Andrew Ryan.
• Christianity: This is an underground religion in Rapture, as it is officially banned as an organized religion. The ban enabled smugglers to make money from smuggling many religious artifacts.]