BioShock 1x02 The Vanishing

B I O S H O C K
Episode #102
"The Vanishing"
Written by
Ryan M. Lange
Based on
"Bioshock: Rapture" by John Shirley
rmlwriting@gmail.com 6/23/2019

TEASER
INT. HAPPYDRIFT TRAWLER - CABIN - MORNING [NEW YORK CITY]
1 1
SUPER: 1948. Happydrift Trawler, New York City.
Fontaine sits at a small desk in his pilot-house, scruffy and
half-awake. He PENS A LETTER as only one section is visible:
... I have a plan for harvesting fish underwater using
modified submarines. Up above, this idea is dismissed as
“crackpot.” I hope that you -- clearly a forward thinker --
will be more open-minded to this innovation in enterprise.
FRANK FONTAINE
(out loud)
... Accordingly... I request your
permission to relocate to your
colony and develop my subaquatic
fishery...
(as he finishes writing)
Yours sincerely... Frank Fontaine.
He sets his pen down and leans back to rest his feet on his
bed. Fontaine picks up a loose CIGARETTE from his desk and
lights it, then HOLDS THE LETTER UP TO MORNING LIGHT as it
streams through a cabin window. He starts to read it again.
INT. THE NEW YORK TIMES - OFFICES - MORNING
2 2
SUPER: The New York Times, New York City.
A PAIR OF SHINY OXFORDS STEP PAST LINES OF OFFICE DESKS --
REPORTERS TYPE on TYPEWRITERS as CHATTER and RINGING CALLS
fill the Main Office Floor. We PULL BACK and FOLLOW the shoes
as a DROP OF COFFEE falls and SIZZLES OUT over one of them:
NOIR REPORTER (O.S.)
... Ah, shoot --
A REPORTER’S STUBBY HAND reaches down with a HANDKERCHIEF and
wipes it off. We RAISE UP with it as the man steps on to find
a dark-featured NOIR REPORTER (40s) in a square-shaped suit.
On his face -- a smile. In his hand -- his KID’S CERAMIC MUG,
a WOBBLY SMILE ENGRAVED on one side of its uneven shape. We
TRACK over with him as he squeaks past a line of desk chairs.
The CHATTER continues as WHOOSH! A THIN REPORTER flips open a
NEWSPAPER and crosses his legs. They all ignore him until he
finally reaches his OLD, CLUTTERED DESK against the far wall.

He brushes PAPERS aside with his arm, sets his mug down, and
eyes a LETTERHEAD for a letter sent over by RYAN INDUSTRIES.
THE REPORTER PLACES HIS COAT OVER HIS DESK CHAIR. He breathes
in a deep and meditative BREATH -- then smiles as he EXHALES.
BETTY HUTTON’S “HIT THE ROAD TO DREAMLAND” STARTS TO PLAY.
The man SQUEAKS down in his seat and SETS HIS FINGERS ON HIS
TYPEWRITER like a pianist. GOD’S EYE VIEW: HE STARTS TO TYPE:
NOIR REPORTER (V.O.)
..... Come out to New York City...
“The Big Apple”...
A SLIDESHOW OF PICTURES AND HIGHLIGHTS FROM 1940S NYC STARTS:
... Where the money makes the man,
and the skyscrapers grow so tall --
if you forget to look up every once
in a while, you might just forget
the color of the sky. The same five
boroughs of olde where America was
forged into the seat of the capital
empire and the melting pot of the
world. But what if there was more
than this?... What if... somehow,
somewhere... deep below the sea...
there was something better, for you
and me? And no -- I don’t mean a
kind of fairy-tale land, friends...
I mean a kind where a new breed of
freedom has a chance to roam free.
THE SLIDESHOW STOPS as we return to the reporter. He holds
for a moment and stares at an unkempt STACK OF INDUSTRIAL
BILLS. He returns to TYPING, and the SLIDES START UP AGAIN:
But how, you might wonder? Isn’t
that... impossible?... Suffice it
to say -- it has been difficult,
but a mere six years before this
very day, mankind never knew the
bold powers it would soon hold...
WE WATCH VIDEOS OF SEMI-TRUCKS CARRYING WAR MACHINES ON
HIGHWAYS -- THEN THE MANHATTAN PROJECT’S ATOMIC BOMBS --
CUT TO:
THE REPORTER STANDS STEADY AS HIS BOSS (60S) ARGUES AT HIM
ABOUT HIS ARTICLE BEHIND A GLASS-PANED OFFICE DOOR WINDOW.
2.

EXT. FIFTH AVENUE - HOT DOG STAND - DAY
3 3
THE MUSIC CONTINUES as the reporter orders and pays at an OLD-
TIMEY HOT DOG STAND on Fifth Avenue. LIVE DIALOGUE IS MUTED.
Millions upon millions of dollars
have been diverted from the cogs of
our grand capital empire, only to
be invested into tons upon tons of
gasses, liquids, livestock, metals,
minerals, and produce...
The VENDOR prepares his food from his directions as a PRETTY
WOMAN (30s) steps over. She opens a NEWSPAPER, folds it over,
then shows the reporter his PICTURE beneath his own HEADLINE
on Page 3 -- THE GREAT VANISHING... AN ACT OF GOD, OR MAN?
... Not only do I have mountains of
evidence that suggests this world
exists -- but it seems its creation
coincides with an event I’ll from
now on simply be referring to as
“The Vanishing”.
The reporter laughs and mouths: “Yeah, that’s me!” The woman
laughs too, then turns around and shouts “I told you!” to TWO
GIGGLING LADY FRIENDS over at a PAPER STAND down the street.
The reporter chuckles and picks up his LOADED HOT DOG, then
tells the vendor “Thanks, pal” as he walks away with a grin.
INT. THE NEW YORK TIMES - OFFICES - MORNING
4 4
The noir reporter TYPES as the SLIDESHOW OF PICTURES RETURNS:
In the three years since Hiroshima
and Nagasaki, I’ve encountered an
increasing number of reports about
understaffed health, science, and
education departments across the
world. It seems as if thousands of
our most prestigious and forward-
thinking members of society have
simply disappeared, with many of
their loved ones left with not a
clue as to their whereabouts. At
least -- not until I had a look.
THE SLIDES TURN TO FAMOUS EUROPEAN SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTES AND
VIDEOS OF 1940S ELITES GETTING PICKED UP IN ROLLS ROYCES:
3.

Exhibit A... While the steady
decline of retention rates at
Europe’s most prized and time-
honored educational institutes
isn’t the strangest conceivable
thing after a war, several staff
noted these turnovers happened
within weeks of them receiving
letters from Ryan Industries here
in New York. Many photos exist of
his same line of black Rolls Royce
automobiles escorting people away.
SLIDES TURN TO THE STOCK EXCHANGE AND RYAN GIVING SPEECHES:
Or what about Exhibit B?... Ryan
Industries has somehow reported a
sharp decrease in net worth for the
last three years straight -- yet
his business has been booming and
raking in all kinds of big bucks.
Could it be Mr. Ryan’s truly that
bad of a businessman... or bear
with me... could these materials
he’s been shipping be for a man-
made habitat and wonder the likes
of which we’ve never seen before?
THE SLIDES TURN TO BLACK AND WHITE PHOTOS OF A FANCY PARTY AS
A COUPLE (50S) CELEBRATES AN ANNIVERSARY PARTY WITH GUESTS:
And finally -- Exhibit C. Norma and
Walter Ray’s 25th anniversary party
in Tampa Bay -- May, 1947. Guests
claimed that after a few too many
cocktails were consumed, the couple
expressed how much they would miss
them all after “the Rapture,” and
how they had hoped they would be
safe “here above ground with the
heathens.” The two were later seen
departing from a New York City
dock, never to be found again...
TIME CUT - THE NEXT MORNING
We FOLLOW the reporter’s return to work as others pass him by
and say “Hey!” or pat his back. His boss gives him a thumbs
up and smiles as if the papers are flying off of the shelves.
4.

Where could all of these dauntless
and tireless men and women of power
have gone to when we needed their
minds and moral guidance the most?
Perhaps we’ll never understand...
but every now and again -- these
whispers make their way up to the
surface like bubbles, trapped for
years under pounds of pressure and
yearning for the touch of the sun.
We TRACK along with the reporter as he returns to his desk
and more pat him on the back or move chairs out of his way.
The truth, much like them, only
needs to be carried along by the
right currents. And until we can
carve out a rusty path to our new
Atlantis, these whispers alone will
carry the clandestine tales of our
“Big Apple” of the Atlantic Sea...
He smiles and sets his mug down before he discovers a small,
TELEGRAM-SIZED PAPER with TYPED LETTERS. It reads:
We caught onto one of your whispering white rabbits. He’s
yours for the right price. I-95, Gold Star Memorial Bridge.
10 AM. Alone.
The reporter’s eyes light up like he’s caught a serious lead.
EXT. GOLD STAR MEMORIAL BRIDGE - UNDERPASS - DAY
5 5
THE NEXT DAY -- The reporter sets his FORD COUPE in park and
steps out of the vehicle under the GOLD STAR MEMORIAL BRIDGE.
He approaches TWO BURLY MEN (40s) in overcoats and berets as
a heavier one leans against a FORD SEDAN and SMOKES A CIGAR.
The taller one approaches the reporter with a hand inside of
his coat. He stops in place as his lips curl into a smile.
BOBBY DARIN’S “BEYOND THE SEA” STARTS TO PLAY.
ENFORCER
... So you’re the fella who’s been
dyin’ to meet the fishies...
The reporter’s exuberance wanes into an awful realization.
5.

The enforcer’s smile disappears as he raises his arm and
FIRES A SILENCED .9MM PISTOL at the reporter’s head. PSST!
The reporter slumps down and collapses dead onto his side.
HE STARES AT US WITH WIDE EYES -- HEAD PERPENDICULAR TO THE
GROUND, BULLET LODGED INSIDE HIS CRANIUM AS BLOOD SEEPS OUT.
TIME CUT
TWO WOODEN PRODUCE CRATES ARE SET OUT SIDE BY SIDE. A FRESH
CONCRETE MIX IS DUMPED OUT OF A METAL PAIL. The heavier one
lights a CIGARETTE as he leans against a STACK OF PALLETS.
He takes out a GOLDEN POCKET WATCH and eyes the time, then
exhales a drag as he watches his partner work.
TIME CUT
A HAMMER THWACKS AT THE WOOD TO REVEAL SOLIDIFIED CONCRETE.
The heavier enforcer clears the debris around the reporter’s
CONCRETE SHOES as the taller one opens the back of the sedan.
The men carry his body to it, then dump him in and close it.
EXT. COUNTRYSIDE BRIDGE - DAY - LATER
6 6
WIDE ANGLE: The enforcers brace the reporter’s corpse up
against the edge of an arched, riverside bridge railing.
They then lean down to grab the concrete blocks and hoist him
over it. He flips as his concrete shoes guide him. SPLASH! --
The reporter HITS THE WATER, and the men peer over to make
sure he stays there. BUBBLES RISE UP FROM THE SURFACE BELOW.
The enforcers then amble back over the way they came as the
heavier one dusts concrete from his pants. They exit O.S.
EXT. UNDER THE WATER - MOMENTS LATER
7 7
“BEYOND THE SEA” PLAYS LOUDER AS THE REPORTER SINKS DEEPER:
IN SLOW-MOTION: AIR BUBBLES ESCAPE HIS PALE, PUFFY CHEEKS AS
HIS TIE TWISTS ABOUT LIKE A TROUT. HE DIPS PAST THE DWINDLING
RAYS OF SUNLIGHT UNTIL HE BECOMES ONE WITH THE DEEP BLUE SEA.
FADE TO BLACK
END TEASER
6.

TITLE CREDITS.
INT. APOLLO SQUARE - DAY [RAPTURE]
8 8
FADE FROM BLACK:
SUPER: Apollo Square, Rapture.
We PUSH IN on ANDREW RYAN as he stands before a PODIUM on a
bunting-swathed stage within APOLLO SQUARE. Rapture’s sturdy
magnificence rises around a CROWD OF HUNDREDS -- its windows
glimpsing SCHOOLS OF FISH through the depths as its citizens’
faces teem with pride and festive joy.
McDonagh, Elaine, Greavy, Sullivan, Cohen, and the Wales’
stand on stage behind him along with PRENTICE MILL (40s) and
DIANE MCCLINTOCK (30s), his beautiful, statuesque assistant.
Ryan’s hair slicked back, he wears a caramel-colored double-
breasted suit and emanates as much charm as he can muster.
HIS VOICE BOOMS over the MICROPHONE with little feedback as
an AUDIO DIARY records his words on the top of the podium:
ANDREW RYAN
To build a city at the bottom of
the sea...
(eyes them all)
... Insanity!... But look around
you, my friends!
Ryan raises his arms as he smiles a disarming smile:
ANDREW RYAN (CONT’D)
Where else could we be free from
the clutching hands of parasites?
Where else could we build an
economy they would not try to
control, a society they would not
try to destroy?... No, it was not
impossible to build Rapture at the
bottom of the sea -- it was
impossible to build it anywhere
else!
The crowd follows Greavy’s suit as he APPLAUDS with gusto:
RUBEN GREAVY
Hear, hear!
ANDREW RYAN
The ant society misunderstands the
nature of true cooperation!
(MORE)
7.

True cooperation is enlightened
self-interest, not grubbing
parasitism! True cooperation is not
based on the bloodsucking that the
parasites call ‘taxation.’ True
cooperation is the people working
together -- each for their own
profit!
McDonagh nods an unconvincing nod of agreement.
Why, a man’s self-interest is in
the root of all that he
accomplishes! But there is
something more powerful than each
of us: a combination of our
efforts, a Great Chain of industry
that unites us. It is only when we
struggle in our own interest that
the chain pulls society in the
right direction, for the chain is
too powerful and too mysterious for
any government to guide. Now, this
Great Chain may sound mystical...
(shakes head)
It is not! Some would imagine the
hand of their so-called God behind
every mystery! But the best of
human nature, the laws of natural
selection -- such is the power
behind the Great Chain, not God!
(aggravated)
And we need no gods or kings in
Rapture! Only man! Here, man and
woman will be rewarded with the
sweat of their brows. Here, without
interference, we will prove that
society can order itself with
unfettered competition, with
unfettered free enterprise, with
unfettered research! I have the
scientists in Rapture working on
new discoveries that will astound
you -- and the persecution of the
small-minded is all that’s kept
those discoveries from happening
till now! In Rapture, Science will
advance without the oversight of
pompous tyrants who would impose
their views of ‘morality’ on us!
After his rant comes to an end, the crowd APPLAUDS again, but
appears slightly more reluctant to do so.
ANDREW RYAN (CONT'D)
8.

(clears throat, softer)
And now, in celebration of the
opening day of Rapture -- a song
performed by Sander Cohen, written
by Miss Anna Culpepper...
Ryan steps away from the microphone and gestures to Cohen,
who nears it in a tux. (O.S.) CANNED MUSIC starts to play:
SANDER COHEN
(sings)
... The paradox of our city is the
freedom of the chain, the chain
that holds you here right next to
meeeee! A chain that oh, so
strangely makes me feel at lib-er-
tyyyy, as the blue world’s lovely
ocean scintillates...
McDonagh winces at his voice and turns to see Elaine roll her
eyes in playful understanding. The two smile at each other.
EXT. HAPPYDRIFT TRAWLER - MORNING
9 9
SUPER: The North Atlantic.
Fontaine stands at the prow of his deck with a FLASK in hand.
He peers off at the choppy, icy sea and silver-gray clouds as
he sees platform ships a quarter mile away near a lighthouse.
A SMALL MOTOR CRAFT steers towards them from the ships, and
Fontaine takes a swig as his first mate PEACH WILKINS (50s) --
a short and loyal scrapper -- approaches him at the railing.
The boat nears as they see it bustles with men with rifles.
PEACH WILKINS
Doesn’t look good, boss.
(suspicious)
What they need all those guns for?
FRANK FONTAINE
Don’t worry about it.
The boat pulls up along their starboard side, and THREE MEN
climb the ladder to the deck. One is Sullivan in a top coat,
and the other are burly young men with rifles over shoulder.
Sullivan approaches Fontaine and braces on the rail by him:
9.

SULLIVAN
Name’s Sullivan, chief of security
for Ryan Industries. You’re Frank
Fontaine, am I right?
FRANK FONTAINE
That’s me. Owner and operator,
Fontaine’s Fisheries.
SULLIVAN
Well, Mr. Ryan’s been watching your
operation out here. Seen you built
it up and edge out the competition
to make a success of it. And you’ve
done a good job of supplying us...
but you’re nosy too. You’ve been
asking some questions about what’s
down below --
(hooks thumb at ocean)
Even bribed some of our platform
workers with booze, didn’t you?
FRANK FONTAINE
I just want to be a part of what
you’re building down there. I sent
several letters over to --
SULLIVAN
And Mr. Ryan’s read your letters.
(off his look)
You got anything left to drink on
this boat, besides water?
FRANK FONTAINE
(passes flask)
Help yourself...
FRANK FONTAINE (CONT’D)
Listen, I’ll do what I have to.
Anything it takes to make my way...
in Rapture.
SULLIVAN
You know... once you go where Mr.
Ryan is, you ain’t coming back. You
live there; you work there. Maybe
you even do some real good there.
But you don’t ever leave there.
There ain’t a whole lot of rules,
but that’s one of the big ones. And
that takes commitment, Fontaine.
You ready for that?
10.

FRANK FONTAINE
(looks out to sea)
... All the way, chief.
SULLIVAN
... Well -- Mr. Ryan liked your
letters. And he’s inclined to offer
you a place in Rapture. Says you’ve
earned as much, sticking at your
vigil out here... so I guess we’re
taking a chance on you. Same offer
goes for your men.
FRANK FONTAINE
... So -- when do we go? Down to
Rapture, I mean...
Fontaine’s crew suddenly exclaims and points as they see a
SUBMARINE surface forty yards off of the trawler’s port bow.
SULLIVAN
How about right now?
Fontaine stares off at the submarine as he starts to smile.
EXT. SINCLAIR SOLUTIONS - NIGHT [RAPTURE]
10 10
A RED-GOLD NEON SINCLAIR SOLUTIONS SIGN glows outside of a
ROUND UNDERSEA WINDOW. Men sit at a desk on the other side.
INT. SINCLAIR SOLUTIONS - NIGHT [RAPTURE]
11 11
SULLIVAN
So what’s your problem with her?
Sullivan sits in a stiff chair across from AUGUSTUS SINCLAIR
(40), a Southern-fried, clean-shaven pharmaceuticals investor
with a mustache so thin it looks fake. Think Jeffrey Donovan.
AUGUSTUS SINCLAIR
(rubs chin)
Well, she’s been working for us,
development, see. Me, I don’t
understand exactly what she’s
working on -- something to do with
heredity I gather -- but I’m a big
booster of science, myself. That’s
one reason Andrew asked me down
here, I guess. That’s where the
money is -- new inventions, new
drugs. Why, if a man can...
11.

SULLIVAN
(”focus”)
Tenenbaum. We’re talking about
Brigid Tenenbaum.
AUGUSTUS SINCLAIR
This Tenenbaum...
(runs mustache)
She’s a damn peculiar woman and...
I just want to make sure that if
she’s working for us, she’s not
gonna be breaking rules around
here. She had her own lab for a
while, financed by a couple of
interests around Rapture, and those
guys dropped her like a hot potato.
Word got out that she used to do
some experiments on people for this
doctor of Hitler’s. Vivisections
and -- well, I don’t want to think
about it all that much. Now, we do
some human experiments at Sinclair,
‘cause come on, now -- you got to --
but we don’t kill people off! Uh-
uh. We don’t force ‘em or nothing,
we just pay ‘em all real good. And
if a man’s hair turns orange and he
starts acting like a monkey for a
week or two, why it doesn’t do him
no harm in the long run...
Sullivan starts to laugh until he realizes he isn’t joking.
AUGUSTUS SINCLAIR (CONT’D)
... But Tenenbaum... she’s taking
blood from people by the bucket --
and more’n one of ‘em collapsed!
SULLIVAN
You afraid you’re doing
something... unethical?
AUGUSTUS SINCLAIR
Hm? Unethical?... Hell, Chief, I’ve
been on the same page as Andrew
about altruism for years. Why do
you think I was brought in so
early? Worrying about ethics -- now
that’s something I don’t do. I came
here to strike it rich, and you
won’t catch me blowing my last
bubble for any other personage --
(jabs finger at Sullivan)
-- plural or singular.
(MORE)
12.

I’ve read every issue of Popular
Science and Mechanics front to back
-- I’m a hard charger behind the
Rapture science philosophy. But...
SULLIVAN
Yes?
AUGUSTUS SINCLAIR
Well, there’s some rules here,
ain’t there? I just feel like
people might get up in arms if we
go too far. I’m not sure this
Tenenbaum isn’t likely to do that.
Or that other fellow -- Suchong...
SULLIVAN
That’s why we got detention for
troublemakers -- but they’ve gotta
be, say, outright murderers.
Thieves. Rapists. Major smuggling.
Shit like that. We’re strict about
the watertight integrity... and
about leaving Rapture. But aside
from that...
(shrugs)
... Not much to go on in the way of
laws. I’m hearing a fella opened a
shop the other day called ‘Rapture
Grown Cola’. Grows his own coca
bushes under some kinda red lights,
then makes cocaine from the leaves.
Or claims he does... could honestly
be anything in those syringes. Gave
me a bit of a turn, though, seeing
the people come out of there like
they might get up to any goddamn
thing. But, Ryan’s alright with it.
So I guess taking a bit of extra
blood... long as it’s voluntary...
(shrugs)
That ain’t a problem here.
AUGUSTUS SINCLAIR
(shakes head)
Well, I sure hope it isn’t. My old
man was sure we got to do things
for the greater good... and what
happened?... I don’t hold with
worrying about anything but number
one. Still -- I don’t want to get
the public up in arms neither. You
hear any rumblings like that?
AUGUSTUS SINCLAIR (CONT'D)
(MORE)
13.

People talking... unions?... That
kind of thing?
SULLIVAN
(interest peaked)
You heard something, I take it?
(off his look)
Mr. Ryan worries constantly about
Communist infiltrators.
AUGUSTUS SINCLAIR
Some rumors from our maintenance
guys. Heard ‘em talking about that
place the workers made up for
themselves, down below. Not much
more than a shacktown. Who knows
what goes on down there?
Sullivan pulls a PAPER and PENCIL out of his coat pocket:
SULLIVAN
Got any names for me?
Sinclair opens up a desk drawer and removes a PINT OF SCOTCH.
AUGUSTUS SINCLAIR
A few. Care for a drink, Chief?
Feels like that time of the day.
This one’s from my own Sinclair
Spirits distillery. Quite a fine
choice, if I do say so myself...
SULLIVAN
(as he pours)
Augustus... you are a man after my
own heart. You pour and I’ll write.
INT. NEPTUNE’S BOUNTY - LOWER WHARF - DAY
12 12
SUPER: 1949. Lower Wharf, Neptune’s Bounty.
A SHALLOW PUDDLE REFLECTS THE NEON FONTAINE FISHERIES SIGN.
BURLY WORKMEN ON STEPLADDERS adjust its placement over the
ceiling in Neptune’s Bounty Lower Wharf as Ryan’s polished
black shoes stop short of the puddle.
He gazes up at the sign as his eyes start to fill with dread.
The workmen turn on its lights to reveal an electric blue and
yellow glow. Ryan remains daunted, as if it were an ill omen,
while Chief Sullivan steps up to him from the dark.
AUGUSTUS SINCLAIR (CONT'D)
14.

CHIEF SULLIVAN
(checks POCKET WATCH)
Seen enough of Neptune’s Bounty,
boss?
(O.S.) SPLASH! Their breath hangs in the air as they turn to
see a TUGBOAT VESSEL as it returns from delivering goods.
FRANK FONTAINE (O.S.)
Mr. Ryan, how are you sir?
Ryan turns once again to see Fontaine standing under his sign
with his hands in his pockets. He now wears a yellow overcoat
and tailored black suit as his enforcer REGGIE smokes a
CIGARETTE beside him and eyes Sullivan with contempt.
ANDREW RYAN
(polite nod)
Fontaine. You seem to be settling
in alright. I like the fisheries’
sign. Neon brightens Rapture up.
FRANK FONTAINE
(glances at sign)
Sure. Just like the forty-deuce...
I help you, Mr. Ryan? I was just
about to check on my fishing sub...
ANDREW RYAN
Ah, yes. The fishing subs -- I like
to keep tabs on them myself.
FRANK FONTAINE
(hint of mockery)
That right? Got you worried?
ANDREW RYAN
(wry)
Rapture leaks enough as it is. We
don’t want too much coming in -- or
too much slipping out. Nobody comes
or goes without our authorization.
FRANK FONTAINE
For a place that likes to keep the
rules down, Rapture’s sure got a
lot of ‘em.
ANDREW RYAN
We’ve got only as many rules as we
need. No robbery. And nobody leaves
Rapture -- or brings in things we
don’t want here.
(MORE)
15.

No outside product or religion --
no Bibles, ‘holy’ books of any
kinds. Luxury goods -- we’re going
to make our own, soon’s we can. No
letters, no correspondence with the
outside world. Secrecy is our
protection.
FRANK FONTAINE
Couldn’t miss the contraband rules.
(chuckles)
... Seeing as you posted them in my
office, and in big black letters.
Or your man there did.
Sullivan grunts to himself and shakes his head.
ANDREW RYAN
(civil)
I think you understand me when I
say that the fisheries could be a
weak link...
(hesitates, carefully)
The only thing a fisherman should
be bringing into Rapture is fish.
Reggie lets out a soft laugh at the insinuation.
FRANK FONTAINE
We have no troubles identifying
what’s fish and what isn’t, Mr.
Ryan. There’s the smell... the
scales...
ANDREW RYAN
(clears throat)
... We’re all individuals here,
Fontaine. But we’re also part of
the Great Chain of industry... and
the Great Chain unites us when we
struggle in our own interest. If
one were to break that chain by
smuggling contraband... then that’s
a weak link that must be severed.
Even ideas can become contraband.
FRANK FONTAINE
(smiles)
The most dangerous kind, Mr. Ryan.
ANDREW RYAN
(eyes the sign, nods)
... I do wish you luck. And a
prosperous business.
16.

FRANK FONTAINE
Might feel more like I’m a part of
things if you were to invite me to
join the Rapture Council.
Fontaine lights a CIGAR with a GOLD LIGHTER:
Care for a smoke?
ANDREW RYAN
No, thank you.
(examines cigar)
... I presume that this is a
Rapture-made cigar?
Fontaine raises it in front of his face so the smoke gets in
his eyes. Ryan does his best not to blink in spite of this.
FRANK FONTAINE
Naturally.
ANDREW RYAN
(smiles)
You perhaps have the impression the
council is some grand and powerful
organization, when in actuality,
it’s a very loose commission to
oversee all enterprise and keep a
bit of an eye on things without
interfering. Rather time consuming,
to be honest.
(unenthusiastically)
But, ah -- I’ll take your request
under advisement.
Fontaine puffs on his cigar and pretends that he’s satisfied.
FRANK FONTAINE
Then we’re in good shape!
INT. OLYMPUS HEIGHTS - DAY
13 13
AN OVAL-SHAPED VIEWING ALCOVE FACES A DULL-BLUE LIGHT THAT
REACHES BETWEEN RAPTURE’S TOWERS TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA.
ACROSS FROM THIS ALCOVE IS A GRAND SIGN ON AN ARCHED TOWER:
FUN IN FORT FROLIC! ALWAYS A GRAND FLOOR SHOW AT FLEET HALL!
Elaine, now ELAINE MCDONAGH, rests on the alcove’s leather
couch with her husband Bill’s arm wrapped around her. They
now live in a lavishly furnished Olympus Heights apartment.
17.

ELAINE MCDONAGH
... Mr. Ryan likes to talk about
choices, and I keep wondering if we
made the right one, coming here to
Rapture in the first place...
BILL MCDONAGH
(looks around, satisfied)
We did, love.
A SMILING PORTRAIT OF BILL HANGS OUT IN THEIR LIVING ROOM.
McDonagh pats his PREGNANT WIFE’S TUMMY with his free hand.
ELAINE MCDONAGH
I don’t mind the smell of Rapture
too much... it’s kind of like the
laundry room of the building I grew
up in. Kind of homey, some of it.
BILL MCDONAGH
We’re still working on that smell,
love. The sulfur one, too.
ELAINE MCDONAGH
And I don’t mind so much not seeing
family... but Bill, when I think of
raising a child here...
Elaine rests her hand over his on top of her swollen belly.
ELAINE MCDONAGH (CONT’D)
That’s when I worry. What will the
schools be like? And living without
churches, without God... And what
will the child learn of the world
up above if it’s a she... will she
really never get to see the sky?
BILL MCDONAGH
Oh in time she will, love -- in
time. Someday, when Mr. Ryan thinks
it’s safe, then the city will be
built higher up, above the waves.
And when that happens we’ll come
and go freely, but that’s a
generation off at least. It’s a
dangerous world out there, innit?
Bloody atom bombs causin’ chaos.
18.

ELAINE MCDONAGH
I don’t know, Bill. When we went to
dinner in Athena’s Glory,, with him
and his friends -- well, Mr. Ryan
ranted a good deal, don’t you
think? On and on about the world
above and how we have to accept our
choice and rejoice in it. And to be
stuck in Rapture with... well, some
of the people here... like that
Steinman. He kept touching my face
and telling me how it was ‘so very
close... and yet!’...
(unnerved)
What do you think he meant by that?
BILL MCDONAGH
(chuckles)
Steinman’s a prat, alright. But
don’t you worry. We’ll all be just
fine. I’m going to protect you, if
you can trust me to do that. It’ll
all come alright for us in the end.
INT. ATLANTIC EXPRESS - TRAIN CAR - DAY
14 14
A nervous STANLEY POOLE (30s) ADJUSTS HIS GLASSES as he sits
on one side of the ATLANTIC EXPRESS’s front train car. Ryan
sits by the glass ahead and chats with Prentice Mill, the
pinch-faced operator of the line.
Across from Poole sits CARLSON FIDDLE (40s); a bespectacled,
soft-faced man who remains prissily focused on their train
ride. Stanley eagerly removes his PEN and INTERVIEW NOTEPAD:
STANLEY POOLE
Well, Carlson --
(stops himself)
May -- may I call you Carlson?
CARLSON FIDDLE
(frowns)
No.
Poole winces and nods, but remains optimistic. THE TRAIN
ENTERS A TUNNEL on its way to the Adonis Luxury Resorts.
STANLEY POOLE
Quite a job you’ve got, Mr. Fiddle.
Designing Ryan Amusements, I mean.
Amusement park for the kids, that
the ticket?
19.

CARLSON FIDDLE
Yes, yes, we’ll have animatronics,
some interesting, ah -- exhibits
planned. I’m a bit baffled about
what Mr. Ryan wants exactly...
(glances at Poole)
Don’t quote that in the paper,
about me being baffled.
STANLEY POOLE
Oh, Mr. Ryan was clear -- this is
going to be a puff piece all the
way. All about the swell new
constructions coming -- the new
branch line -- the spa. So...
what’s this animatronics thing?
CARLSON FIDDLE
Not everyone calls it that. But
there was a Westinghouse exhibit,
in ‘39, with Electro the robot and
his little pal Sparko. That kind of
thing... animated mannequins, some
say. They’ll even talk to visitors.
(as POOLE TAKES NOTES)
It’ll be about the history of
Rapture. I’d like to put in some
fairy-tale material too, to keep
the kids coming back. Something
like the Walt Disney cartoons. But
he... well, nevermind. Just print
that I -- that I think it’s a
wonderful project, and I’m looking
forward to making it a reality...
STANLEY POOLE
Sure thing!
Poole continues writing as we pick up with Ryan and Mill:
PRENTICE MILL
He does keep implying, Andrew, that
I... that eventually --
ANDREW RYAN
Come, come. You worry too much,
Prentice! Augustus is not some
predator of the sea.
PRENTICE MILL
(snorts)
Then what does Sinclair mean when
he says, ‘Enjoy the Atlantic
Express while you have it’?
20.

ANDREW RYAN
Oh, just one businessman using a
bit of psychology on another! He
probably plans to make you an offer
and wants to keep you off-balance.
Perfectly normal business tactic.
PRENTICE MILL
But it’s not a public company...
ANDREW RYAN
Then perhaps it should be! You need
not sell to Sinclair when you could
pump up your liquidity by selling
those shares about Rapture instead.
It is still growing, after all!
It’s a bubble that will never
burst, Prentice -- and you will
want the capital for investment.
(looks ahead)
Ah -- here we are.
THE TRAIN SLOWS as it exits the tunnel in the station near
Adonis, a luxurious and spotless neighborhood that’s still
under construction. Ryan stands and looms as Poole writes:
You do remember our talk?...
Nothing unauthorized, Poole.
STANLEY POOLE
(swallows, cheerful)
You betcha, Mr. Ryan. This branch
line, here -- mighty impressive.
Quite a view.
Ryan nods with a neutral expression, then stares at him.
ANDREW RYAN
I do think I may have some special
assignments for you in time, Poole.
If you can prove to be discreet...
INT. MEDICAL PAVILION - EXAM ROOM - DAY
15 15
Elaine holds her husband’s hand as she lies on the
examination table in the Rapture Medical Pavilion.
ELAINE MCDONAGH
(whispers)
Bill, do we have to do this?... I
mean, why do we have to see these
two?
(MORE)
21.

I don’t think that Tenenbaum is
even a doctor -- and Suchong --
isn’t he some kinda brain surgeon?
What does he know about obstetrics?
She adjusts her medical gown as McDonagh pats her belly.
BILL MCDONAGH
Regular doctor was all booked up,
love. I told Ryan you were having
unusual cramps, and he’d insisted
someone here would be able to see
to you. Tenenbaum and Suchong are
colleagues of Gil Alexander, who’s
been doing a bit of work for Ryan.
ELAINE MCDONAGH
(nervous)
I heard someone say she’s got a
reputation for being crazy with her
experiments...
BILL MCDONAGH
(shakes head)
... Haven’t heard that one. Suppose
she’s just another genius type Ryan
took an interest in. Sure -- she’s
odd -- but they all are. Can’t get
people to understand what she wants
half of the time...
YI SUCHONG (O.S.)
Ahh -- here is soon-mother!
YI SUCHONG and BRIGID TENENBAUM enter the room in lab coats
as Yi’s glasses catch the overhead lamp’s shine. Tenenbaum
drifts her way over to the chair with a distant interest:
BRIGID TENENBAUM
Third trimester, yes? Interesting.
Well fed?... Circulation -- good.
Elaine scowls as they circle in and eye her like a lab rat.
YI SUCHONG
Yes, she is... what is
expression... ‘well along.’
(prods Elaine’s belly)
Yes... I can feel the... offspring
moving. Almost ready for emergence.
(chuckles)
... Your creature wishes to feed!
ELAINE MCDONAGH (CONT'D)
22.

She glares at him in horror, then turns to see a distracted
Tenenbaum adjusting a TRAY OF MEDICAL INSTRUMENTS to ensure
they all remain equidistant.
YI SUCHONG (CONT’D)
Mrs. McDonagh...
(examines her thighs)
... Does fetus make reflex
movements with extremities?
ELAINE MCDONAGH
Do you mean does the little one
kick, Doctor? The child does; yes.
YI SUCHONG
Excellent sign... excellent. Long
since I have examined baby fetus,
hard to obtain in healthy state...
Suchong steps around to her feet, then reaches out and pulls
Elaine’s legs apart with a decisive movement. Elaine squeaks.
BILL MCDONAGH
Ere, Doc -- easy on my girl!
Suchong lifts up her gown, and he and Tenenbaum lean over the
chair to examine her lady parts. Suchong grunts as he points:
YI SUCHONG
Interesting distention, there and
there -- you see? Part of peculiar
metamorphosis of pregnant woman...
BRIGID TENENBAUM
Yes, I see it... I have dissected
more than a few in this stage...
YI SUCHONG
... Enviable... perhaps you still
have specimens?
BRIGID TENENBAUM
No, no, all of my specimens were
taken when the Americans came --
ELAINE MCDONAGH
Bill!
Elaine snaps her legs shut and presses the gown back down.
BILL MCDONAGH
Ah, right! See any problems in the
area, you two?
23.

YI SUCHONG
(puzzled look)
Hm?... Ah! No, no -- she will do
very well. It would be interesting
to probe a bit --
BILL MCDONAGH
Won’t be necessary, Doc! We’re off.
(helps Elaine down)
Come on, love -- back over here --
there’s your clothes -- time to get
dressed --
Elaine moves to gather her things as McDonagh hears a voice:
ANDREW RYAN (O.S.)
Ah, there you are, Dr. Suchong --
is all well?
McDonagh stops to watch as Suchong and Tenenbaum head to
Ryan, now standing in the entrance to the lab next door.
YI SUCHONG
Yes, yes, nothing abnormal. I am
glad you are here, Mr. Ryan --
please follow to look at experiment
thirty-seven.
McDonagh follows them with a mind to tell Ryan about their
treatment of Elaine until --
INT. MEDICAL PAVILION - SUCHONG’S LABORATORY (CONTINUOUS)
16 16
He witnesses what’s inside this wing of Suchong’s laboratory.
Ryan, Suchong, Tenenbaum, and a cold-eyed and thick mustached
man, GIL ALEXANDER (40), gather around a
LIQUID-FILLED GLASS CASE THAT’S AFFIXED TO TRANSLUCENT TUBES.
A CORPSE-PALE MAN STRETCHES OUT INSIDE OF ITS BUBBLING WATER,
HIS BODY A PATCHWORK OF FLESH... AND IN SOME PLACES -- STEEL.
Alexander adjusts a TUBE THAT SINKS INTO THE MAN’S LEG as
McDonagh knows he should leave, but finds himself curious.
GIL ALEXANDER
... A little inflammation. Not bad.
We have good induction...
BRIGID TENENBAUM
(gestures to case)
As you see, Mr. Ryan -- fusion is
incomplete.
(MORE)
24.

But if we were to try viral gene
transfer, then we make him more
capable of unifying with --
YI SUCHONG
Bah!
(annoyed)
You always think genes is the way!
Viral transfer of genes is entirely
theoretical! Not needed! -- Body
can be conditioned so cells bond
with metal! -- No way we control
genes without breeding program!
Tenenbaum covers her disdain by ADJUSTING MORE MEDICAL TOOLS.
BRIGID TENENBAUM
Forgive me, Doctor, but you are
mistaken. The way will reveal
itself with right application.
When we consider Gregor Mendel --
ANDREW RYAN
(gestures to case)
I’m significantly more interested
in the practical applications. I
need something that makes our men
capable of longer hours out there --
CRACK! -- THE PATCHWORK MAN’S ARMORED KNEE SPASMS AND CRACKS
THE GLASS AS IT MAKES CONTACT. WATER SPURTS OUT OF IT.
The group that surrounds it steps back with little alarm as:
BILL MCDONAGH (O.S.)
Cor!
Ryan and Suchong turn to stare at McDonagh as Alexander and
Tenenbaum rush to change the flow of the chemical tubes.
McDonagh tries to calm himself as Ryan heads his way.
ANDREW RYAN
(softly)
Bill... I thought you’d gone.
McDonagh glances back at the exam room, but he can’t see
Elaine. Still taking her time.
BILL MCDONAGH
Just about leaving now.
(gestures ahead)
That fellow in there alright?
BRIGID TENENBAUM (CONT'D)
25.

ANDREW RYAN
Oh -- he’s simply a volunteer --
helping us with an experiment.
Ryan takes McDonagh’s arm and escorts him out of the lab as
BING CROSBY’S “WRAP YOUR TROUBLES IN DREAMS” STARTS TO PLAY.
Come -- let’s leave them to it,
shall we?... How is Elaine?...
INT. FORT FROLIC - EVENING
17 17
A FLOWER-SHAPED SPEAKER PLAYS THE SAME SONG FROM FORT FROLIC.
We PULL BACK from the speaker to the BALCONY WALK OF POSEIDON
PLAZA IN FORT FROLIC -- lively with CITIZENS and NEON-BRIGHT
SIGNS. McDonagh hums along to the music in a white linen suit
as his wife wears a pink satin dress.
The atrium balcony path wraps around before them as they near
SIR PRIZE GAMES OF CHANCE CASINO -- with a KNIGHT’S HELMET
wedged between its flashing and overwhelmingly neon display.
ELAINE MCDONAGH
(chuckles)
It’s funny about this place...
BILL MCDONAGH
What’s funny about it, love?
She stops and steps closer to the casino’s glass panels to
see the RAPTURIANS TRYING THEIR LUCK AT THE SLOT MACHINES.
ELAINE MCDONAGH
Well, I mean -- I thought it’d be
really different from the surface
world. It is, of course, in some
ways -- but -- the idea was to
bring the best of the world down
with us. Sometimes I think... maybe
we brought some of the worst, too.
They step away and head down the stairs to the lower atrium.
BILL MCDONAGH
Bound to happen when a place is
settled with people, love. They
bring the worst and the best with
‘em wherever they go.
The couple passes the smoke shop, ROBERTSON’S TOBACCORIA --
26.

BILL MCDONAGH (CONT’D)
People’ve got to have some place to
go and let their ‘air... their hair
down. Got to be able to have their
Fort Frolic’s, and the like.
Elaine side-eyes her husband as they pass a suggestive and
alluring display at EVE’S GARDEN -- their local strip club.
ELAINE MCDONAGH
A strip club was necessary, was it?
BILL MCDONAGH
Especially necessary, some would
say, what with all the men we’ve
got here. Men building, working
maintenance. Now, me -- I don’t
need any such diversion since I’ve
got the best-looking bird in
Rapture to admire.
ELAINE MCDONAGH
Well, don’t expect a strip show.
(bats eyes)
Until we get home, I mean...
BILL MCDONAGH
That’s my girl! If only I didn’t
get us tickets to a show at Fleet
Hall tonight, love.
ELAINE MCDONAGH
Oh, Fleet Hall! I’ve been wanting
to see it! That Footlight Theater
is too cramped.
BILL MCDONAGH
Fleet’s big. Mr. Ryan planned for
big all throughout Rapture...
McDonagh glances around as they head for a hall in the back.
ELAINE MCDONAGH
You really admire Mr. Ryan, don’t
you, Bill?
BILL MCDONAGH
What, me? You know I do! Gave me
everything I’ve got, he has. I was
installing toilets, love -- and he
made me a builder of a new world!
Elaine smiles, fulfilled at the sight of her happy husband.
27.

INT. HEPHAESTUS - HEAT LOSS MONITORING - NIGHT
18 18
SUPER: 1950. Heat Loss Monitoring, Hephaestus.
MCDONAGH ADJUSTS HEAT MONITORS IN A TEMPERATURE CONTROL ROOM.
Sweaty and grease-covered in the undersea geothermal furnace,
he CRANKS at a set of MULTIPLE WHEELS that control the influx
of water through SEA VENTS AND PIPES. HALF OF THE PIPES STEAM
FROM GEOTHERMAL HEAT as the OTHERS GATHER FROST FROM COOLANT.
McDonagh looks outside of a SEASIDE WINDOW:
HE’S ILLUMINATED BEHIND THE GLASS BY RED HOT PIPES OUTSIDE.
He glances back down at the HEAT METERS on TWO PIPES to see
that both of them THROB AT A SLOW PACE BETWEEN CLOSE POINTS.
The geothermal balance is correct.
Roland Wallace steps up to McDonagh, then gestures where he
came from and grumbles:
ROLAND WALLACE
That Navarro is always looking for
a leg up...
(mockingly)
Wants to be head engineer of the
section, don’t you know...
BILL MCDONAGH
That’s Greavy’s call, mate. But I
don’t know as Pablo keeps at the
job hard enough to deserve the
title. How’s Kyburz working out?
ROLAND WALLACE
Getting his share done. Good
technical know-how. But those
Aussies, they’re an odd bunch. And
he’s the sullen sort of them, don’t
you know.
BILL MCDONAGH
Every Australian I ever knew was a
sullen ‘ol sod.
(checks meter, taps it)
Holding steady so far.
ROLAND WALLACE
(jabs thumb over shoulder,
speaks over STEAM VENTS)
Anyhow, there was an intercom buzz
for you. Mr. Ryan wants you in
Central Control.
28.

BILL MCDONAGH
Should’ve told me before! Right,
I’m off.
McDonagh eyes the meter once more, then hurries out of sight.
INT. RAPTURE CENTRAL CONTROL - RYAN’S OFFICE - NIGHT
19 19
McDonagh rushes through the door to Ryan’s Central Control
office to find him pacing in front of his desk as he waits.
ANDREW RYAN
Ah, Bill. I sent Elaine home early.
BILL MCDONAGH
(worried)
Is she alright?
ANDREW RYAN
Yes, yes. Seemed fine. Wanted to
look in on the nanny. Perhaps she
came back to work too soon after
the baby arrived. How is the child?
BILL MCDONAGH
Little one’s right as rain. Smiling
and waving ‘er arms about like
she’s conducting a band...
ANDREW RYAN
Splendid, splendid...
(off his look of concern)
Bill, would you come with me? I
need to go have a chat with Julie
Langford and I’d like your opinion
on the new tea garden in Arcadia.
Plenty to talk about on the way...
INT. RAPTURE CENTRAL CONTROL - NIGHT - MOMENTS LATER
20 20
MCDONAGH AND RYAN WALK DOWN A TRANSPARENT CONNECTOR PASSAGE.
Heat vectors in below as an ORCA AND SOME FISH SWIM OUTSIDE.
ANDREW RYAN
I’m hearing rumblings in Rapture
that I don’t like, Bill.
(nods outside)
Out there, it’s as it should be...
the big fish eats the smaller fish.
Ryan steps up to the glass, and McDonagh steps up after him.
29.

Some fish elude the predators and
thrive... but here -- there are
those who disturb the balance.
BILL MCDONAGH
Rumblings, guv’nor?... Which sort?
The pipe sort or the people sort?
ANDREW RYAN
It’s the people -- if you want to
call them that.
(shakes head, scowls)
Parasites!... I thought we could
weed them all out, but people are
tainted, Bill. There are rumors of
union organizers here in Rapture!
Unions! In my city! And someone is
encouraging them! I’d like to know
who that is, and very much why.
BILL MCDONAGH
(shrugs)
Haven’t heard anything quite like
that myself...
ANDREW RYAN
Stanley Poole caught some union
talk in the taverns. There’s a
pamphlet being passed around
complaining about my unfairness to
the workingman of Rapture...
BILL MCDONAGH
People bein’ as tense as they can
be -- they naturally need to blow
off steam, guv. Toss around their
ideas, freelike. Even some ideas
that you, er... we... don’t like,
Mr. Ryan. Unions and whatnot.
(hastily)
Now, I won’t defend ‘em -- but
there’s a kind of marketplace of
ideas here, too, yeah? People need
to be able to trade in ideas...
ANDREW RYAN
Hm. Marketplace of ideas. Maybe. I
try to be tolerant... but unions --
we saw where that leads...
McDonagh holds his tongue. They step further down the tunnel
as a BLUE WHALE starts to CROSS ABOVE THE PASSAGE ABOVE THEM.
30.

TIME CUT
NEON SIGNS for FLEET HALL and WORLEY’S WINERY glow beyond a
curve as Rapture shines around them; a sunken Metropolis.
It could be that we were too hasty
in some of our recruiting processes
for Rapture. I may have picked a
number of people who were not as
like-minded as I had hoped...
BILL MCDONAGH
Most of us believe in the Rapture
way, Mr. Ryan. There’s plenty of
enterprise and plenty who know it,
like yours truly.
ANDREW RYAN
You hearten me, Bill. And I hope
everyone stays busy -- competing,
carving out their place in our new
world. Everyone should branch out,
create new businesses! Do you still
plan to open a tavern?
BILL MCDONAGH
Right enough, I do... Fighting
McDonagh’s, it’ll be called. After
me old man. Was a boxer in his day.
ANDREW RYAN
(beams)
We’ll have you a grand-opening
party!
Ryan slows down and gestures to the ASCENDING TOWERS ABOVE:
Look at it! Rapture is a miracle,
Bill -- the only kind of miracle
that matters! The kind a real man
creates with his own two hands, and
it should be celebrated everyday...
BILL MCDONAGH
Miracles need a lot of maintenance,
Mr. Ryan. Thing is, we’re short on
people to deal with the sewage, the
cleaning, and the landscaping in
Arcadia. We’ve got some posh types
who never suffered worse than a
paper cut, but precious few who can
dig a damn ditch or plumb a pipe.
31.

ANDREW RYAN
We’ll have to lure men who have the
skills we need, then... find ways
to house them. We’ll bring them in,
don’t you worry about it! The light
attracts the enlightened, Bill!
A SUPPLY SUBMARINE passes in between the nearby buildings,
and Ryan starts moving again as the path straightens out.
BILL MCDONAGH
... Dunno who might be encouraging
unions -- but I can tell you that
one person I don’t much trust is
that Frank Fontaine...
ANDREW RYAN
He’s quite the productive one...
got a lot of enterprise rolling.
He keeps me thinking. I like the
competition... within reason...
BILL MCDONAGH
You think maybe Fontaine’s using
his subs to bring in contraband,
guv?
ANDREW RYAN
I’m monitoring the possibility. I
warned him -- and it seemed to me
he took that warning seriously.
BILL MCDONAGH
I hate to be the one to spill it,
but some smuggling’s been going on,
Mr. Ryan... a Bible’s turned up in
the workers’ quarters.
ANDREW RYAN
Bibles... yes -- Sullivan told me.
The man said he’d bought it from ‘a
fellow I didn’t know over in Apollo
Square.’
BILL MCDONAGH
... All I can tell you is that I’ve
never trusted that bugger Fontaine.
He talks all silky-like, but none
of it feels like real silk.
ANDREW RYAN
We can’t assume anything in that
regard, you know. Time will tell.
(cautious)
(MORE)
32.

Bill, would you perhaps have heard
any residents whining about not
being permitted to leave Rapture?
BILL MCDONAGH
(reluctant)
Here and there.
ANDREW RYAN
(shakes head)
This is why we cannot trust anyone
outside of Rapture, Bill. We’d have
American intelligence agents down
here, or the jackals from the KGB
as fast as --
(SNAPS!)
I understand some might find it
different, but I have no respect
for quitters! You don’t visit
Rapture -- it’s a way of life!
The two near a SEMICIRCULAR SECURIS DOOR to the next chamber.
... Come along now, Bill...
Ryan steps off, and McDonagh sighs then follows after.
INT. RAPTURE CENTRAL CONTROL - RYAN’S OFFICE - DAY
21 21
DR. SOFIA LAMB sits in the waiting room to Ryan’s Central
Control office many months after receiving her INVITATION
LETTER. Tall and slim with horn-rimmed glasses, she wears
a navy dress suit with sharp white collars and navy pumps.
DIANE (O.S.)
He’ll see you now, Dr. Lamb.
Lamb looks up to see Ryan’s assistant DIANE holding the door.
SOFIA LAMB
(stands)
Splendid. It’s been a long journey
and I’m curious to find the final
chamber of this great nautilus
shell of a city...
Lamb steps into the decorated office to find Ryan sitting at
his desk with a faux-friendly smile.
33.

ANDREW RYAN
Welcome to Rapture, Miss Lamb --
won’t you have a seat? I hope your
journey down wasn’t too exhausting.
Diane closes the door as Lamb sits in the chair across from
Ryan and crosses her long, pale legs.
It’s a pleasure to have you join us
here in our brave new world...
SOFIA LAMB
Brave new world -- a reader of
Shakespeare? The Tempest, was it?
Lamb extracts a PLATINUM CIGARETTE CASE from her HANDBAG,
then removes one that’s long and slender like her fingers.
SOFIA LAMB (CONT’D)
... O brave new world that has such
creatures in it...
ANDREW RYAN
Does it surprise you, Miss Lamb,
that I’m familiar with Shakespeare?
Ryan steps around his desk and LIGHTS HER CIGARETTE with a
GOLD LIGHTER. She blows smoke at the ceiling then shrugs.
SOFIA LAMB
No. You’re a wealthy man. You can
afford to educate yourself.
(charismatic smile,
glances around)
... I must say... this place is
remarkable. Quite astonishing. And
yet, no one seems to know about it.
ANDREW RYAN
(closed-lip smile)
As few as we can manage. We work
hard at keeping it secret. And we
shall require you to keet it secret
too, Miss Lamb. Or should I call
you Doctor Lamb?
Lamb nods a faint nod.
You are well aware of the driving
forces of Rapture. Its philosophy,
its plan. The Great Chain...
34.

SOFIA LAMB
Yes -- but I can’t claim to
completely understand your...
operative philosophy. I am, of
course, attracted by the
possibilities of a new society that
has no... interferences from the
outside world. A self-sustaining
colony that might be able to
rediscover human possibilities --
the possibility of a society free
from the warmongering of the upper
world...
ANDREW RYAN
(nods in agreement)
... I understand that you were in
Hiroshima, when...
SOFIA LAMB
(recalls horrors)
... I was in a sheltered, outlying
place... but yes... some people I
worked with were burnt to shadows
over the walls of their homes...
(haunted)
If the modern world were a patient
in my care...
(shakes head)
Then I’d diagnose it as suicidal.
ANDREW RYAN
Hiroshima and Nagasaki -- they were
a large part of the reason why we
built this place. I suspected you
might understand our imperative,
after seeing what happened there
firsthand. I’m certain that our
surface world will commit nuclear
suicide in time, Dr. Lamb. One
generation, two, three -- it will
happen -- and when it does, Rapture
will be safe, down here below. Self-
sufficient and thriving in the face
of this utter annihilation. Make no
mistake... Rapture is deliverance.
Lamb nods eagerly as she ashes her cigarette over the BRASS
FLOOR ASHTRAY next to her chair.
SOFIA LAMB
That is a great appeal for me...
deliverance.
(MORE)
35.

A chance to rebuild our society
into something innately good.
Everyone has a duty to this world,
Mr. Ryan -- and we’ve lost all of
that, up above, in the grubbing
chaos of that perverse and
debilitating civilization...
(off Ryan’s confused
frown)
Which is why I was gratified to
hear everyone has equal opportunity
here! Including women, I presume?
(questionable glance)
In an ordinary society, the male
patriarchy crushes our dreams...
they see a woman with a spark --
Lamb STABS HER CIGARETTE OUT in the ashtray:
-- and they must crush it out!
‘Lady doctors’ -- as they’ll refer
to them -- are sometimes tolerated.
But... any real advancement for a
woman in the field? No!
ANDREW RYAN
(strokes mustache
thoughtfully)
Yes, I see...
(firmly, convincingly)
You can certainly compete with the
rest of us here. But of course,
your initial focus would be to
evaluate Rapture so we can develop
a means of preparing the public for
their future. More pressingly, some
of our residents do appear to have
developed several psychological
problems... little, ah... personal
difficulties that bubbled up from
the isolation here. As such, your
task would be to diagnose those
problems and uncover a solution.
SOFIA LAMB
Oh, of course, yes... that is quite
understood. However, later on... if
I wish to develop my own...
institute, here in Rapture?
ANDREW RYAN
Then you would be more than welcome
to.
SOFIA LAMB (CONT'D)
(MORE)
36.

Why shouldn’t the people have a
local psychiatric doctor to consult
with? A whole institute for self-
exploration.
SOFIA LAMB
(murmurs)
Or perhaps for redefining the self.
(stands up)
If you’ll excuse me, I’m ready to
be shown my quarters. The journey
here has been -- a lot to absorb.
I’ll need to freshen up and rest
for a bit before I’m given a tour.
I’ll be sure to begin my diagnosis
right away. This evening, in fact.
ANDREW RYAN
Good! I’ll have Chief Sullivan send
you files about the problem people.
The petty malcontents cropping up --
the complainers, and so on. We can
have you start with those ones.
INT. NEPTUNE’S BOUNTY - DOCKS - NIGHT
22 22
TENENBAUM’S PUMPS STEP DOWN THE CHILLY NEPTUNE’S BOUNTY DOCK.
She tugs her coat closer over her shoulders as she focuses on
scanning the artificial cavern’s DELIVERY BOAT DOCKWORKERS. A
CONSTABLE and his AFRICAN-AMERICAN DEPUTY take notice of her
as they pass, but she stares ahead as if looking beyond them.
Further down, Tenenbaum discovers TWO DOCKWORKERS TOSSING A
BASEBALL BACK AND FORTH as they wait for a delivery to come.
She squints at both of the men’s hands as if looking for
something until she notices ONE THROWS WITH A STIFF GRIP.
Tenenbaum approaches the man after he’s thrown the ball.
TENENBAUM
Excuse me... you throw the ball --
it is very... unusual for you, no?
(stares at his hand)
You are Suchong’s patient... your
hands... one paralyzed, the other
only half working, this I remember.
You carry some things on shoulders,
not do so much work with hands...
STIFFY
Sure -- that’s why they call me
Stiffy.
(MORE)
37.

(smiles, checks her out)
I got another kind of stiffy,
though --
TENENBAUM
(SLAPS his arm, firm)
Do not trifle with me, Mr. Stiffy!
(sighs)
... I wish only to know -- how you
can catch ball now? With fingers
that were paralyzed? Dr. Suchong
repaired your hands, yes?
STIFFY
(scoffs)
Suchong? Hell no... made a lotta
excuses, s’what he did. Funniest
thing. Had a net fulla fish, see.
I was scoopin’ ‘em out of there,
sortin’ ‘em -- that much I could
do, anyhow -- and I sees a kinda
sea slug mixed in there with ‘em,
floppin’ itself around. Weirdest
lookin’ slug you ever saw. Little
shit bastard bit me on the hand!
(chortles)
I didn’t even know those fuckers
could bite!... ‘Scuse me. Well --
my hands got all sorts of swole,
but when the swelling disappeared --
(looks at hands in awe)
-- that’s when they came to life!
Stiffy tosses his ball in the air and catches it deftly.
STIFFY (CONT’D)
You see that? Before that bastard
bit me, I couldn’t do that! No way,
no how!
TENENBAUM
... And you think it was sea slug
that disrupt paralysis?
STIFFY
(nods)
Something in that bite -- I could
feel it spreading out, like in my
hand!
Tenenbaum takes his hand and raises it for a closer look to
see STRANGE BITE MARKS BETWEEN HIS THUMB AND INDEX FINGERS.
STIFFY (CONT'D)
38.

TENENBAUM
Ach! Indeed...
(considers)
If only I had this creature now...
(eyes Stiffy)
You can find another such sea slug?
STIFFY
(shakes head)
No need. I still got the same one!
Chucked it in a bucket of seawater.
Such an odd-lookin’ lil’ bugger, I
was thinkin’ I could maybe sell it
off to one of you scientist types.
(off her look)
You wanta buy it?
TENENBAUM
Well... perhaps I do.
INT. SOFIA LAMB’S OFFICE - DAY
23 23
Lamb listens from one of her office’s comfortable couches as
her new patient GLIDDEN (45), a fatigued grunt in workman’s
overalls, wrings swollen hands and paces back and forth in
front of her. The room is dim with soothing mood lightning.
GLIDDEN
... I guess... I guess maybe I
shouldn’t have brought my kids to
Rapture in the first place... but
they told me that we had to come
together, whole family or nothin’.
Said they was needin’ my skills
with a boiler and I’d be taken care
of... be makin’ piles of dough...
Lamb watches as his neurotic pacing continues.
SOFIA LAMB
Wouldn’t you like to relax on the
couch as we work on this together,
Mr. Glidden?
Glidden slows himself in realization and sniffles as if not
to cry, then shakes his head as he picks up the pace again.
GLIDDEN
... No. No, I can’t, Doc. I need to
get back home, ya see. My wife, my
kids... they’re alone there in the
new apartment... if you can call it
an apartment. A dump is what it is.
(MORE)
39.

A lotta’ shifty characters out and
about around there. I feel like the
kids ain’t so safe in that place...
(off her head tilt)
... We’re havin’ to share it with
another family cause there ain’t
enough housing in this crazy town.
Nothing that I can afford, I mean.
They said there’d be more housing
here... and better pay. I thought
it was gonna be a road-to-riches
thing, like the Comstock Mine...
(off her nod, gaze falls)
... They talked like it was...
Lamb shifts in her chair and makes a note in her NOTEPAD.
SOFIA LAMB
You feel as if you were... misled
about what would happen down here?
GLIDDEN
Well, yeah, I --
(stops and stares at her)
You... you work for Ryan, right?
SOFIA LAMB
Only in a manner of speaking --
GLIDDEN
So no. No, I wasn’t... what’d you
call it... misled.
(stares, irked)
They were straight with me.
SOFIA LAMB
(reassuringly)
It’s alright... you can say what
you really think. It’s true that
these therapeutic sessions will be
summarized in my report -- but I
won’t be naming any specific people
in it. It’s all about the trends...
GLIDDEN
Yeah? Then how come this ‘therapy’
thing is free? I wouldn’t-a come
here except my wife says I’m all
tense and the like. But... ‘free’?
(shakes head, scoffs)
Nothing’s free in Rapture!
GLIDDEN (CONT'D)
40.

SOFIA LAMB
(smiles, confident)
Really -- you can trust me to
remain impartial, Mr. Glidden --
GLIDDEN
(panics)
So you say. But supposin’ I get
fired because of this?... Maybe
they... maybe they blackball me so
I got no work! And then what?
(waves hand in the air)
“You can’t leave Rapture!” You...
you can’t leave! Not even you, Doc!
You think he’s just gonna let you
leave if you want to? Oh hoh. Nah.
We PUSH IN on Lamb’s face as she comes to the uncomfortable
realization that the thought of Andrew Ryan brings her fear:
SOFIA LAMB
Oh, well I...
(trails off, reconsiders)
I’m... in the same boat -- so to
speak -- with you, Mr. Glidden...
(smiles)
Or under the same boats.
Lamb’s attempt to relate falls on deaf ears as Glidden simply
crosses his arms and stares at her. She writes a note in her
notepad, then underlines the last sentence:
Subjects are typical in their feelings of alienation and
mistrust of Ryan. Social claustrophobia and economic anxiety
at a boiling point for some. Financial status a key factor.
Glidden’s curiosity sparked, he tries to peek at the note as:
(closes pad)
You can go, Mr. Glidden. Thank you
for coming in.
TIME CUT
A DESK LAMP’S CHAIN IS PULLED, AND ITS LIGHT COMES ON.
Lamb OPENS THE LOCKED BOTTOM DRAWER IN HER DESK to reveal an
AUDIO DIARY -- a primitive recording device that resembles a
steampunk tape deck. Next to it sits a LEATHER-BOUND JOURNAL,
which Lamb picks up. She sits down and starts to write in it:
41.

If the Rapture experiment fails -- as I suspect it will --
then another social experiment could be carried out in this
strange, undersea hothouse. A radical social transformation.
LAMB’S GLASSES GLINT AS THEY REFLECT HER VISION FOR RAPTURE.
INT. LITTLE EDEN PLAZA - EVENING
24 24
Ryan and an oily, post-work McDonagh step down the sidewalk
in Little Eden Plaza. They near the gracious facade of the
PEARL HOTEL as COUPLES and SHOPPERS pass and some nod shyly.
BILL MCDONAGH
Anything in particular you’ve been
needin’ me to look at, Mr. Ryan?
ANDREW RYAN
There’s talk of a chemical leakage,
and we had some kind of complaints
at a shop in the area, so I thought
I’d look into both at once. I don’t
care much for complaints, but I do
like to know what’s going on...
The men pass the PLAZA HEDONE APARTMENTS and soon come to a
dark corner that’s been smothered in a THICK GREEN-BLACK
CHEMICAL DISCHARGE. Their eyes trace it to a BULKHEAD SEAM.
There it is, Bill. Were you aware
of it?
BILL MCDONAGH
That I am, sir. This is why I was
adjusting the valves in stations
five when you came in. Trying to
cut back on flushing so I could
reduce this ‘ere toxic overflow.
(gestures)
There’s a factory upstream, you
might say -- or anyway, upstairs
from ‘ere. Augustus Sinclair owns
the place, what I remember. They
use a lot of chemicals and dump
them in the outpipes -- but they
corrode the pipes, and the solvents
work their way out to the sidewalk.
What might be worse -- the rest of
it gets dumped outta Rapture, Mr.
Ryan. I checked on it myself. These
chemicals -- they go out into the
ocean and down current.
(MORE)
42.

Could be that they’ll get all mixed
up with the fish down there...
which means, we could all end up
eatin’ these chemicals when we eat
those fish.
ANDREW RYAN
(arches eyebrows)
Really, Bill? How ridiculously
alarmist! Why, the ocean is vast.
We couldn’t possibly pollute it! --
It would all be diluted.
BILL MCDONAGH
(shrugs)
Right enough, sir... but some of it
accumulates, what with currents and
eddies, and if we create enough of
a mess --
ANDREW RYAN
(firm)
Bill -- forget about it. We’ve got
sufficient concerns inside Rapture
as is. We’ll need to replace those
pipes with something stronger, and
we can certainly charge Augustus
for it...
BILL MCDONAGH
... Just thought it’d be better if
he’d use chemicals that wasn’t so
corrosive, guv. Easy to be done, I
reckon, if --
ANDREW RYAN
(laughs to himself)
Bill! -- Listen to yourself! Why,
next up, you’ll be asking me to
regulate all our industrial waste!
That old fellow Will Clark, up in
Montana, created his own wasteland
around his mines and refineries --
and did anyone suffer?
(clears throat)
Well -- perhaps some did, yes. But
the world of commerce is restless;
It’s like a hungry child that keeps
growing, yet never quite grows up!
It becomes a giant, Bill -- and
people must get out of its way or
be stepped on by its ten-league
boots!
BILL MCDONAGH (CONT'D)
(MORE)
43.

Oh, I’ll look into stronger
drainage pipes outside factories,
to prevent a mess on the sidewalk.
Ryan Industries will bill Rapture,
and Rapture will then bill those
factories. Come along, Bill, this
way. Here’s the other problem...
The men continue through the plaza until they stop in front
of a shop named GRAVENSTEIN’S GREEN GROCERIES -- a modest
grocery store sandwiched between the others.
PUNGENT PILES OF TRASH ARE GATHERED IN THE GUTTER OUTSIDE --
INCLUDING ROTTING AND DECAYING TONS OF MEATS AND PRODUCE.
A small man in an apron sees them through the store window
and eagerly makes his way outside. GRAVENSTEIN (50) shouts:
GRAVENSTEIN
(shouts)
Mr. Ryan! -- You came! I must’ve
sent a hundred requests, and here
you are at last!
ANDREW RYAN
(frowns)
Well? Why have you let all this
trash pile up here? That’s hardly
in the spirit of the Great Chain.
GRAVENSTEIN
Me letting it pile up? I didn’t! --
He did! Shep did it!
Gravenstein points emphatically across the “street” and to
the clean-as-can-be exterior of the larger SHEP’S SHOPMART.
GRAVENSTEIN (CONT’D)
I’d pay any kinda reasonable price
for trash pickup! But he -- why --
Speak of the devil -- GORDON SHEP (55) exits the front of his
own shop with a CIGAR in one hand. A big-bellied brute in a
strained, blue suit, his jowly face has a gold-toothed grin.
Shep approaches them and jabs his cigar Gravenstein’s way:
GORDON SHEP
... What’s this little liar here
yellin’ about, Mr. Ryan?
44.

ANDREW RYAN
If you’d care to indulge me... why
should this man be responsible for
your trash, Gravenstein?
GRAVENSTEIN
(clenches fists, shakes)
First of all, it’s not all mine!
GORDON SHEP
(chuckles)
Feh! Prove it!
GRAVENSTEIN
Some of it’s mine -- but some of
it’s his, Mr. Ryan! And as for
what’s mine -- he runs the only
trash-collection service around
here! He bought it two months ago,
and he’s using it to run me out of
business! He’s charging me ten
times what he charges everyone else
for trash collection!
BILL MCDONAGH
Ten times?!
Shep chuckles and ashes his cigar over a trash pile.
GORDON SHEP
That’s the marketplace. We have no
restraints here, right, Mr. Ryan?
No price controls! Anyone can own
anything they buy and run it how
they like!
BILL MCDONAGH
The market won’t bear that kind of
pricing.
GRAVENSTEIN
He only charges me that price! He’s
my grocery competitor! He’s got
more business than I do, but it’s
not enough; he wants to corner the
grocery business around here, and
he knows if garbage piles up
because I can’t afford to pay him
to take it, then nobody’ll come to
shop at my place! And nobody does!
45.

ANDREW RYAN
(shrugs)
Looks like you’ll have to move it
out yourself.
GRAVENSTEIN
And who looks after my shop while I
do that? It’s a long ways to the
dump chute! And I shouldn’t have to
do that. Mr. Ryan! He shouldn’t be
gouging me, trying to run me out of
business!
ANDREW RYAN
Shouldn’t he? It’s not really a
business practice that I admire.
But the great marketplace is like a
thriving jungle. Some will survive
and become king of their territory,
and others will not. Survival of
the fittest weans out the weaklings
by the way of nature, Gravenstein!
I advise you to find some means of
competing yourself -- or move out.
GRAVENSTEIN
Mr. Ryan -- please! Shouldn’t we at
least have a -- a kind of public
trash-collection service? --
ANDREW RYAN
(raises eyebrows)
Public! Why, that sounds like
Roosevelt -- or Stalin! Go to one
of Shep’s competitors if you must!
GRAVENSTEIN
They won’t come clear over here,
Mr. Ryan! This man controls trash
pickup in this whole area! He’s out
to get me! Why, he’s threatening to
buy the building I’m in and have me
evicted, Mr. Ryan! Now, I believe
in competition and hard work, but --
ANDREW RYAN
No more whining, Gravenstein! We do
not fix prices! We do not regulate!
We do not say who can buy what!
GORDON SHEP
Hear that, Gravenstein? Welcome to
the real fuckin’ world of business.
46.

Gravenstein CLENCHES HIS FISTS even tighter at this.
GRAVENSTEIN
Please, Mr. Ryan! When I came here,
I was told I’d have an opportunity
to expand, to grow, to live in a
place without drowning in taxes.
I gave up everything to come here!
Where am I to go, if he drives me
out? Where can I? Where can I go?
ANDREW RYAN
(narrows eyes in disgust)
Deal with it as a man should and do
not whine to me like a child!
Gravenstein shakes, helpless and pale with rage -- until he
runs off and heads back inside of his shop. McDonagh watches
him go with conflict in his eyes. Ryan’s right... isn’t he?
GORDON SHEP
(satisfied)
Say there, Ryan, how about coming
into the office for a drink, eh?
ANDREW RYAN
(grumbles)
I think not, Shep.
Ryan turns and beckons McDonagh to follow after him.
Come along, Bill. That man Shep is
an odious sort and little better
than a mafioso. But the marketplace
must be free, and if some eggs are
broken to make that omelet, well...
(O.S.) A SHOUT FROM BEHIND AS SHOPPERS YELL IN FEAR.
Ryan and McDonagh turn to see Gravenstein return from his
store with a SHAKY REVOLVER AIMED RIGHT AT SHEP’S BIG HEAD.
GRAVENSTEIN
I’ll deal with it like a man,
alright! --
GORDON SHEP
(throws hands up)
No!
BLAM!-BLAM! Shep staggers and clutches himself with each
GUNSHOT until he suddenly falls like a sack of groceries.
ANDREW RYAN
(grunts)
Dammit!
(MORE)
47.

Now, that, is against the rules!
I’ll have a constable on the man!
McDonagh and Ryan watch in shock though as GRAVENSTEIN TURNS
HIS SHAKY GUN ON HIMSELF AND PRESSES IT TO HIS TEMPLE. BLAM!
Gravenstein collapses in the middle of the street ahead as
the BLOOD OF THE MEN POOLS OVER THE PATTERNS IN THE FLOOR.
INT. SOFIA LAMB’S OFFICE - MORNING
25 25
LAMB RESTS HER BOOK ON HER KNEE AS HER PEN IS READY TO WRITE.
SOFIA LAMB
... Tell me about this feeling of
being trapped, Margie...
On the couch across from her sits MARGIE (25), a two-months-
pregnant brunette in a blue dress, white flats, and a shabby
blue velvet hat. She PICKS AT OLD SPECKS OF RED NAIL POLISH
as her sweet and freckled face maintains a disturbed stare.
MARGIE
There’s one way I can get out of
this burg, Doc. If I kill myself.
SOFIA LAMB
(looks up, cautious)
And is this an idea that you truly
believe in?
MARGIE
(hesitates, looks down)
Maybe not. Maybe killing yourself
don’t get you out either, actually.
I’ve heard there’s ghosts in
Rapture...
SOFIA LAMB
Ghostly manifestations exist solely
in the minds of people, right up
alongside a sudden need to escape.
It’s just -- just a notion that’s
been haunting you. And after all
that you’ve been through...
MARGIE
What I been through... maybe I got
only myself to blame.
(wipes tears, deep breath)
They said I’d have a career as an
entertainer here, but I shoulda
known better, Doc.
(MORE)
48.

My ma always said, “you don’t get a
free ride in this world,” and she
was right. Died when I was sixteen
after my pop was long gone, so I
was on my own, working as a taxi
dancer when I got recruited for
Rapture. I come down here, fulla
hopes and dreams, and I end up in
that strip joint in Fort Frolic.
Eve’s Garden... what a joke! All
the big shots come there, grinnin’
like -- like apes at us young
girls. I’ve see Mr. Ryan come
there, even. When he got interested
in Jasmine Jolene -- what airs she
put in, I can tell ya! The manager
of that place, I wouldn’t have sex
with him, so he fired me! It’s not
supposed to be a part of my job...
SOFIA LAMB
Naturally not...
Lamb PENS A NOTE in her book: Consistent pattern of
disappointed expectations in patients.
MARGIE
So, I tried to get work some other
place in Rapture -- waitressing, ya
know? Nope, no work. Sold most of
my clothes, ran out of money, ran
outta food. Living on stuff cadged
outta trashcans! So, I asked to be
taken back to the surface. “No way,
sister,” they tell me...
(shakes head, tears up)
Never thought I’d ever end up as a
whore. A little dancing for money,
sure... but this... selling my
assets to those fishermen down at
Neptune’s Bounty! Working all day
in the bar -- then on my back in
the rooms they rent out behind it.
And Fontaine -- he said I owed him
a percentage now. Ma always said I
could get stubborn -- and I told
him right then and there to go to
hell on a sled. So that’s when...
that’s when he tells that Reggie
guy to come and knock me around...
Lamb clicks her tongue and pens a new note: No recourse for
those stricken by bad luck. No WPA here. Enormous potential
for social ferment. She looks up from her pad and leans in:
MARGIE (CONT'D)
49.

SOFIA LAMB
(soothing)
It’s alright, my dear. You can let
it out now. You’re safe in my care.
(considers, empathetic)
I can even offer you a new job.
MARGIE
(perks up)
What kinda work is it?
SOFIA LAMB
Gardening, assisting. I intend to
start a new program here that I’ve
been referring to as Dionysus Park.
Nothing you’ll ever have to be
ashamed of, believe me... but I
will need something from you. And
that something is your trust...
(firmly)
Your complete trust.
MARGIE
(sniffles, emotional)
Gee, if you’ll help me -- gosh...
you got it, Doc! I’ll trust you
from here to the stars above!
Lamb smiles as she sees the tension leaving Margie’s body:
SOFIA LAMB
Good!
EXT. MERCURY SUITES - NIGHT
26 26
SUPER: 1951. Mercury Suites, Olympus Heights.
A SCHOOL OF GLOWING PURPLE JELLYFISH WAFT BY THE HIGH-RISE
MERCURY SUITES APARTMENT BUILDINGS WITHIN OLYMPUS HEIGHTS.
INT. MERCURY SUITES - FONTAINE’S SUITE - MOMENTS LATER
27 27
On the other side of a big window -- Fontaine finishes his
CHEF’S COOKED BEEF BOURGUIGNON AND SEAWEED upon his marble-
topped, gold-legged table. He then sips from the rest of his
GLASS OF WORLEY WINE as the DOORBELL RINGS O.S.
Fontaine remains seated as if he’s expecting company. He dabs
his lips with a NAPKIN, then picks his teeth with his tongue.
REGGIE (O.S.)
Da boss’s in here.
50.

Reggie escorts Tenenbaum and Suchong to the SITTING ROOM as
Fontaine picks up the WINE BOTTLE and gets up to join them.
FRANK FONTAINE
Keep an eye on the door, Reggie.
We don’t wanna be interrupted.
REGGIE
Sure thing, boss.
Reggie closes the door behind him as Fontaine takes a seat
across from them on the couches. He notices Tenenbaum’s RED
LIPSTICK -- and that she dressed up for the occassion, even
if she won’t look directly at him.
BRIGID TENENBAUM
May I smoke, please?
FRANK FONTAINE
Sure, you can. Have one of mine.
Fontaine offers her a CIGARETTE from a SILVER CIGARETTE BOX,
and she sets it on an IVORY HOLDER. He then lights it with a
SEAHORSE LIGHTER and notices the CHEWED-UP FINGERNAILS on
Tenenbaum’s shaking hands.
Tenenbaum picks up on this. She sneaks a glance at him, then
looks away and exhales the smoke at the ceiling.
How about some wine?
BRIGID TENENBAUM
Yes.
YI SUCHONG
No.
Suchong lets out a nervous chuckle as Tenenbaum eyes her
cigarette. Fontaine doesn’t hesitate to pour TWO GLASSES.
He sets one glass on a table next to Tenenbaum as she tries
to hide her hands, then sits down and leans into the couch.
FRANK FONTAINE
Dr. Suchong -- I understand you’ve
been working for Ryan Industries.
YI SUCHONG
(sighs)
... Suchong do work for himself...
There is the Suchong Institute and
Laboratories. But -- contracts with
Ryan and Sinclair, yes...
51.

FRANK FONTAINE
And Miss Tenenbaum -- you’re
working as a free agent?
BRIGID TENENBAUM
(avoids eye contact)
Yes. This is a good description.
FRANK FONTAINE
(sets glass down)
This is where I say, ‘You’re all
wondering why I called you here.’
(off their suspense)
... I asked you here because I
think there might be some bigger
opportunities in this science stuff
than I ever thought of before. Now,
I got my people who work for Ryan
giving me the inside skinny. What I
hear is that you two’ve been
feeling a bit... eh... frustrated.
BRIGID TENENBAUM
(looks down)
... This is true, what you say.
Ryan says to work on anything --
but research costs money. Financial
support is -- what is the word...
inconsistent.
(eyes Suchong)
... Dr. Suchong, he... he does not
wish to make Mr. Ryan angry -- but
we both need... more! --
YI SUCHONG
(frowns)
Woman, do not speak for me!
FRANK FONTAINE
Well, now -- let’s think on this...
Given the right situation... what’s
to say the three of us couldn’t
start our own little research team?
(off their silent looks)
Suchong... I understand you’re
working on a new kind of tobacco?
YI SUCHONG
... Not precisely. Suchong alters
genetics of different plant to make
nicotine. Nicotine in sugarcane!
Soon -- we extract and make ‘Nico-
treats.’ Nicotine candy!
52.

FRANK FONTAINE
Clever. I’ve been reading up on
this whole genetics business, and
you could make all kinds of things
by switching genes around, seems to
me. Maybe miniature cattle that we
could keep down here somewhere for
fresh beef? And from what I hear,
you could even start to switch a
person’s genes around. You could
make us changes in people, right?
BRIGID TENENBAUM
(scowls)
What do you know of that?
FRANK FONTAINE
Just rumors. That you’re paying for
some kind of special sea slug. I
hear you’ve bought ten of them...
BRIGID TENENBAUM
(brisk nod)
I would buy more if I could. No
ordinary sea slug -- this species
is a living miracle! I asked Ryan
to help fund these experiments...
but... he would not hear about it.
FRANK FONTAINE
You on the point of a breakthrough?
Suchong shrugs as Tenenbaum answers:
BRIGID TENENBAUM
Perhaps.
FRANK FONTAINE
(nods)
Then this is something I want to
invest in. I’ll pay well for a
stake -- and Ryan doesn’t have to
know about it. When you’re ready,
you can come and work for me
completely -- the both of you. I
figure this genetics dodge could be
the wave of the future -- and I’ve
got a few things in mind. Suchong
could bring you into his lab, and I
could pay your salary, for now...
maybe get this guy Alexander
involved. Only I don’t want Ryan to
know about any of this. I want it
on the QT, see.
(MORE)
53.

He’ll move in and take anything we
make otherwise -- and he’ll find
some big excuse to keep all the
rights to himself...
BRIGID TENENBAUM
(crooked smile)
... Meanwhile, Ryan pays for
Suchong’s expensive lab, yes?
FRANK FONTAINE
Why not let him pay for the big
stuff?
(toys with wineglass)
I’m doing alright here -- but Ryan
controls more resources in Rapture.
He’s got deeper pockets... for now.
YI SUCHONG
Suchong needs more research money,
yes! But also need something else.
(off Fontaine’s gesture)
Yes, we both think of altering
human genes... difficult to do
without humans. What Suchong needs
is -- young humans! The cells have
very much more possibility. But --
everyone crazy about children!
(makes appalled face)
Overprotect them. Vile creatures,
children --
FRANK FONTAINE
(chuckles)
Don’t like kids much, eh?
YI SUCHONG
Suchong grow up in a household
where my father is very poor
servant, only children there are
brats of rich man. They treat me
like dog! Children are cruel...
must be treated like animals.
BRIGID TENENBAUM
Children. All are lost creatures.
FRANK FONTAINE
You were pretty young when you
started working as a scientist,
Miss Tenenbaum. How’d that happen?
Tenenbaum takes a sip from her wine and recalls her trauma as
she gazes out of the window and into another time.
FRANK FONTAINE (CONT'D)
54.

BRIGID TENENBAUM
... I was at a German prison camp,
only twenty years old. Important
German doctor, he makes experiment.
Sometime... he makes scientific
error. I tell him of this error,
and this makes him angry. But then
he asks, ‘How can child woman know
such a thing?’ And so I tell him,
‘Sometimes, I just know.’ And he
screams at me, ‘Then why tell me!’
(stiff smile)
‘Well,’ I said, ‘if you’re going to
do such things, at least you should
do them properly!’
YI SUCHONG
(bored)
She tells story many times.
FRANK FONTAINE
(ponders plan)
... I don’t know if I can get you
these experimental subjects you’re
talking right away, Doc... might
draw too much attention. But what I
can get you is grown-up guys who’ve
run afoul of the rules here. Couple
of guys disappear from Detention
and who’s gonna be the one to care?
We’ll give out that they escaped
and drowned trying to get out of
the city.
YI SUCHONG
That can be... useful.
FRANK FONTAINE
So -- supposing you could find a
way to control genes... is it true
what I heard?... That genes control
how we age?
YI SUCHONG
No.
BRIGID TENENBAUM
Yes.
YI SUCHONG (CONT’D)
(fumes)
This is Tenenbaum theory! -- Genes
only one factor!
BRIGID TENENBAUM
Genes, they are almost everything.
55.

FRANK FONTAINE
But, I mean -- you could help a man
stay young? Maybe change his body
in some way? Give him more hair,
stronger arms, a longer... you
know?.. Because if we could sell
that... and give a guy -- I don’t
know -- more talents... more...
abilities... then...
Fontaine raises his arms as if to say ‘the sky is the limit.’
BRIGID TENENBAUM
... Yes. This is something my
mentor had talked about... To
enhance a man’s powers -- make him
Der Übermensch -- the superman. A
super man -- or woman! Many risks
in this, but yes... with time --
and much experimentation.
Fontaine takes a moment to enjoy his wine buzz -- and that
he’s going to cut them loose after they have breakthroughs.
YI SUCHONG
(impatient)
When will Suchong get money
and experimental subjects,
Mr. Fontaine?
FRANK FONTAINE
(sly grin)
I’ll get you the first research
payment tomorrow. We can work out a
contract between the three of us,
but we’ve got to do it carefully.
‘Free’ enterprise or not -- Ryan
watches everything in Rapture...
INT. RAPTURE CENTRAL CONTROL - RYAN’S OFFICE
28 28
FRANK SINATRA’S “THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE FREE” PLAYS.
IN SLOW-MOTION: Ryan, Suchong, Cohen, Lamb, Tenenbaum, and
Alexander gather by a newly painted wall of Ryan’s office.
They shake hands and exchange laughs and pleasantries as we
continue to listen to Sinatra without hearing their voices.
After Suchong shakes Ryan’s hand, he glances at Tenenbaum.
The six figures then position themselves for a CAMERAMAN who
holds a HANDHELD CAMERA WITH A MASSIVE FLASHBULB. FLASH! --
56.

We PULL BACK from a FRAMED POSTER OF THE PHOTO down a hall.
Its figures loom like a collection of Nobel’s most
mischievous misfits. The lower caption on it reads
RAPTURE’S BEST AND BRIGHTEST, 1952.
INT. LABORATORY CORRIDOR - NIGHT
29 29
SUPER: 1953. Fontaine’s Lower Wharf Laboratory.
Tenenbaum and Suchong guide Fontaine down a long, dark hall.
INT. LOCKED LABORATORY - DAY
30 30
She opens the high-security door into a locked laboratory
deep below Rapture and guides Fontaine and Suchong within:
BRIGID TENENBAUM
(excited)
This discovery is very great. Mr.
Fontaine, you will see!
Inside of the room -- a sedated, PATCHY-SKINNED MAN IN A
HOSPITAL GOWN is bound to a gurney with PADDED RESTRAINTS.
Tenenbaum leads them to him as Fontaine notices an ENORMOUS
SYRINGE with a RED LIQUID in it on a metal table -- and a
FIVE-GALLON TANK on a shelf with a SEA SLUG in its waters:
THE CREATURE IS EIGHT INCHES LONG WITH ARMOR-FRINGED RIDGES,
INCANDESCENT BLUE PATCHES ON GRAINY SKIN, AND GNASHING TEETH.
Tenenbaum stops them beside the man without acknowledging it.
BRIGID TENENBAUM (CONT’D)
Germans... all they can talk about
is blue eyes and shape of forehead.
All I care about is why is this one
is born strong, and that one weak --
this one smart, that one stupid?
(shakes head)
All their killing... you think the
Germans could have been interested
in something useful? Today -- I
think we have found something very
much useful...
YI SUCHONG
(scoffs, defensive)
This Tenenbaum, she believes genes
answer to everything.
(MORE)
57.

Suchong think genes important --
but the control of subject’s mind,
conditioning of synapses -- these
things are more important! Who
controls such, they control all!
FRANK FONTAINE
... I like that. Conditioning is
something real interesting to me.
Read about it in some magazine. The
Nazis were experimenting with it...
BRIGID TENENBAUM
(clears throat)
Now, this man -- Brougham -- he is
wounded. I will show you injury...
Tenenbaum lifts the man’s medical gown to reveal a SIX-INCH
WOUND on the inside of the man’s thigh. The flesh is ragged,
torn, and haphazardly closed with ONE PIECE OF MEDICAL TAPE.
He tries to use fishing hook to
steal fish from fishery tanks --
(mimics slicing motion)
Ryan’s men catch and slice him with
own hook. Now -- we have extracted
special material from sea slugs,
purified it. The material is made
of special stem cells...
(wobbles hand)
... Unstable, but highly adaptable.
Please observe.
Without hesitation -- Tenenbaum picks up the giant syringe,
then STABS IT INCHES INTO THE MAN’S BELLY ABOVE HIS GROIN.
Fontaine winces at this as SHE INJECTS ITS CONTENTS INTO HIM,
then removes it.
Now -- observe the wound...
Fontaine does. The three observe it... but nothing happens.
YI SUCHONG
Ha! Maybe it not work this time.
And your great theory? -- Poof,
Tenenbaum! Poof!
But miraculously -- HIS WOUND STARTS TO HEAL. The skin
twitches and reddens as his serrated flesh seals shut.
They watch as in under a minute, only a faint scar remains.
YI SUCHONG (CONT'D)
58.

FRANK FONTAINE
I’ll be damned!
BRIGID TENENBAUM
(eyes Suchong, satisfied)
I call it ADAM, because from Adam
in the myth came life for mankind.
This too brings life. It destroys
damaged cells -- replaces them with
new ones transferred by plasmids,
or unstable genetic material. Now,
stem cells can be manipulated --
their genes changed! We can make
them this -- make them that. And if
it can do this -- heal instantly --
what else can it do? Transform a
man -- a woman? Into what? Many
things!... Endless possibility!
Suchong chews a fingernail as he shrinks from her success,
then suddenly points at the man:
YI SUCHONG
You see there? On his head? -- Some
lesions!
BRIGID TENENBAUM
(shrugs)
Hardly visible. A few minor side
effects...
YI SUCHONG
Some may have much more! Your man
with miracle hands -- that one
behaves more strangely now. And
there are curious marks on his
arms, like cancer! Uncontrolled
cell growth!
FRANK FONTAINE
(ignores him)
So that’s the key... these stem-
cell things and this... this ADAM?
You can use it to change things up
in a man -- give him some special
abilities, like we discussed?
Tenenbaum avoids eye contact but responds with pride:
BRIGID TENENBAUM
Precisely!
59.

FRANK FONTAINE
Growing hair, growing a bigger
pecker, bigger muscles, bigger
breasts for the ladies, bigger
brains for the highbrows...
BRIGID TENENBAUM
Yes, it is all possible with ADAM!
She starts to check the man’s vitals with a STETHOSCOPE.
YI SUCHONG
Hmf. You do not tell him how ADAM
must be constantly re-energized!
BRIGID TENENBAUM
Not a concern, Dr. Suchong -- as I
have design for energizer. We will
call it EVE...
(frowns)
But -- the sea slug can only make
so much ADAM and EVE. These slugs --
we believe they are also parasites.
We find on sharks, other creatures.
(slight hesitation)
Maybe they can be attached to human
beings. A person could become a...
a factory for ADAM. Then we have
more ADAM for more experiments.
FRANK FONTAINE
So this ADAM thing... if you can
get enough sea slugs, maybe some
people to work with as, ah... what
would you call them?... Hosts...
you could mass-produce this stuff?
BRIGID TENENBAUM
(nods)
In time -- yes.
YI SUCHONG
(shakes head)
But... Suchong believe ADAM could
be addictive! My study of humans
shows anything make easy change in
people -- people quickly become
addicted. Man feels bad -- takes
drink of alcohol -- very quick he
feels a little better. But, not
long -- he is addicted to alcohol!
Same with opium!
(MORE)
60.

Maybe same thing is with ADAM?
Quick fix in man is -- addictive.
Organism develops need for it...
Suchong observe agitation in man
Tenenbaum found on dock... and
sometimes he is... what is it
you people say? -- He is ‘high’!
Fontaine smiles at the news like it’s music to his ears.
FRANK FONTAINE
Keep on this. I’ll make it worth
your while. Worth all our whiles.
INT. MEDICAL PAVILION - STEINMAN’S OFFICE / OR - LATE DAY
31 31
J.S STEINMAN SNORTS A LINE OF COCAINE FROM HIS OFFICE DESK.
He jolts his head up and rubs his nose. Steinman wears an
operating gown as BLOODIED LATEX GLOVES rest on the other
side of his desk.
He opens his office PORT HOLE’s curtains to look at the KELP
and SEA FANS in the currents and stroke his pencil mustache.
For a few seconds. That’s all he really needs. Things to do.
Steinman sniffles as he turns -- then startles and yells as
he jumps back. He lowers his fists and relaxes as
APHRODITE -- THE ANCIENT GREEK GODDESS IN ALL HER WONDER --
FLOATS AHEAD OF HIM IN A MAGNIFICENT VORTEX OF BRIGHT LIGHT.
SHE WEARS A HEADDRESS AND IS NAKED LIKE APHRODITE PANDEMOS.
J.S. STEINMAN
Oh, wow! -- Hi! It’s nice to meet
you again.
Steinman’s drug hallucination escalates as Aphrodite drifts
towards him and speaks with a silky, adoring tone:
APHRODITE
... My darling Doctor Steinman...
to create like the gods is to be a
god. Can only a god fashion a face?
Steinman ponders her question: “That’s a good point.”
APHRODITE (CONT’D)
You have done it again and again --
you have taken what was lumpen and
made it exquisite --
Steinman bats a hand as if to say: “Oh, you stop.”
YI SUCHONG (CONT'D)
61.

You have taken the mediocre and
made it into the marvelous. But
alas... in every man and woman’s
face lies a hidden secret. The lost
perfection -- masked below their
color. Under the face of a woman
whom low, vulgar people regard as
‘beautiful’ is another face -- the
perfect face, the Platonic ideal --
hidden beneath the surface beauty.
If you can liberate this divine
face from its almost perfect form --
then you, too, will become a god.
Steinman mouths a wide-eyed “Me?” in faux surprise. He turns
to his OFFICE MIRROR and examines his elegant chin, his dark
eyes, his meticulous mustache. But could he have... more?...
What is more important than beauty?
It was I, Aphrodite herself, who
inspired the poet Keats. Truth is
beauty; beauty is truth!... The
hidden symmetry underlying the ugly
irregularity of surface reality...
She floats around him and closely analyzes his face:
... And here is the paradox... that
only by passing through the gate of
chaos and its shadow valley of so-
called ‘ugliness’ will your quest
at last be completed. Only then can
your hidden perfections be found...
Aphrodite strokes Steinman’s cheek -- which makes him shiver
and nearly lose balance in one leg. She whispers in his ear:
(seductive)
... Here it is... here is your
chance to enter the secret realm
you’ve dreamed of, where you can at
last unearth your true divinity in
a refuge where the small-minded
scorners will never find you --
KNOCK!-KNOCK!-KNOCK!-KNOCK! MISS CHAVEZ (30s), Steinman’s
short and pretty Puerto Rican medical assistant, KNOCKS on
the door before quickly entering. She dons a white uniform.
Steinman snaps out of it and nearly loses his balance again.
62.

MISS CHAVEZ
Doctor Steinman? Miss Pleasance is
waking up...
J.S. STEINMAN
... Ah -- yes, go ahead and begin
unwrapping her face, Miss Chavez.
I’ll be right there with you...
Miss Chavez eyes the COCAINE RESIDUE on his desk, then does
as she’s told. Steinman sniffles and wipes it off his desk.
OUT IN THE OPERATING ROOM -- Steinman and Miss Chavez sit on
opposite sides of the operating table. He UNWRAPS THE FINAL
PIECES OF GAUZE as Miss Chavez gasps. She smiles and claps:
MISS CHAVEZ
Oh, isn’t she lovely, Doctor?
You’ve done a wonderful job!
Steinman sits back and sighs a resigned sigh. It was true...
he fixed her dimples, and her chin. An adult Shirley Temple.
Miss Chavez hands SYLVIA PLEASANCE (45) -- the red-haired
fiancé of Ruben Greavy -- a HAND MIRROR to take a look:
SYLVIA PLEASANCE
Oh, Doctor! It’s perfect! God bless
you and what you’ve done for me!
J.S. STEINMAN
(mutters)
Yes, yes...
Steinman approaches her and takes her chin in his hand so he
can look at both sides of her face under his gooseneck lamp.
J.S. STEINMAN (CONT’D)
Yes, only... I cannot escape the
feeling that there is more... far
more, to be done here. Some hidden
perfection lurking underneath your
pretty little mask.
Sylvia pulls away from him and frowns.
SYLVIA PLEASANCE
... What?...
(looks down)
I...
She picks up the hand mirror then looks at each side again:
63.

SYLVIA PLEASANCE (CONT’D)
No! This is what I wanted! Exactly!
I -- I’m amazed at how you got it!
I wouldn’t alter it a jot, Doctor!
J.S. STEINMAN
(shrugs)
Just as you like. I simply think...
(restrains himself)
... I’m so glad that you’re pleased
with the results. Go ahead and let
her get dressed now, Nurse, then
you can release her to her fiance,
and I’ll just, uh...
Steinman stands there for a moment... then abruptly turns and
heads back to his office with purpose.
EXT. FONTAINE FISHERIES - FONTAINE’S OFFICE - NIGHT
32 32
The Fontaine Fisheries NEON SIGN GLOWS and BUZZES, now with
added layers of dirt and grime from the passage of time.
INT. FONTAINE FISHERIES - FONTAINE’S OFFICE - NIGHT
33 33
AN EMPTY WORLEY WINE BOTTLE AND TWO EMPTY GLASSES SIT ON THE
FLOOR OF FONTAINE’S DIM OFFICE. THE ROOM’S SHADES ARE DRAWN.
Tenenbaum stretches out over a comfortable sofa in a negligee
and red pumps, her hands nervously entwined with Fontaine’s.
He sits on the edge of the couch in his boxers and a t-shirt.
Fontaine analyzes her soft features in silence as she avoids
eye contact with him out of fear and anticipation.
FRANK FONTAINE
... You look kinda scared...
(hesitates)
You sure about this?
BRIGID TENENBAUM
I... do not like to be touched so
much... but... I need it, when the
feelings of desire come. What I
dream of is a man who... simply
takes me. I will make some token
resistance, but it will not be
real. I must fight a little...
(shutting away emotions)
And I can only do it that way.
64.

FRANK FONTAINE
Well, then... you made your way
down to the right shop. So, this is
something you haven’t done before --
but something you’ve only imagined?
BRIGID TENENBAUM
Yes. I can be afraid to touch...
but I must be touched.
Fontaine starts to rub Tenenbaum’s hands as she looks a them:
FRANK FONTAINE
What they call this is... a
contradiction in terms...
(leans in)
But that’s just you, eh?
BRIGID TENENBAUM
Perhaps.
(stops him)
Now... please.
(nods to her side)
Put the blindfold on me.
Fontaine picks up a BLACK BLINDFOLD that’s rested over the
top edge of the couch, then ties it over her eyes.
FRANK FONTAINE
There. You can’t see me now.
BRIGID TENENBAUM
No... now that I cannot see you...
then you can touch me only if you
hold my arms.
Fontaine does as he’s told. He moves her arms by her wrists
to either side of her hips and caresses the lengths of them,
then presses his hips against hers as she feigns to twist.
FRANK FONTAINE
Like this?
BRIGID TENENBAUM
Yes --
Fontaine kisses her deeply as she resists for only a moment.
FRANK FONTAINE
(pulls away)
Just remember... if you want it
done your way, then you do your
work my way. And you do that work
exclusively for me.
65.

They return to their kissing as we RAISE UP into the dark.
INT. RYAN AMUSEMENTS - RAPTURE MUSEUM - NIGHT
34 34
McDonagh stands in the shadow of the entrance to the JOURNEY
TO THE SURFACE ride in Ryan Amusements before he heads home.
He takes a look at the TICKET in his hand, then steps ahead.
INT. RYAN AMUSEMENTS - RAPTURE MUSEUM (MOMENTS LATER)
35 35
McDonagh settles into the ride’s OPEN BATHYSPHERE CAR ON A
TRACK as it lurches into gear, then HEADS TOWARDS A TUNNEL.
THE ARCH’S DARKNESS LOOMS ABOVE UNTIL IT OVERTAKES MCDONAGH.
Soon enough -- SNAP! A light turns on above an ANIMATRONIC
MANNEQUIN OF ANDREW RYAN at a desk. The mannequin jerks to
life and gestures as it speaks with a fatherly tone:
MANNEQUIN RYAN
Why, hello there! My name is Andrew
Ryan, and I built the city of
Rapture for children just like you.
I did it because the world above
has become unfit for us -- but here
beneath the ocean, it is natural to
wonder if the danger has passed...
TIME CUT
The ride CREAKS on down the track as another light reveals a
MECHANICAL TABLEAU of a FARMHOUSE with a WORKER in its field:
MANNEQUIN RYAN (CONT’D)
On the surface, the farmer tills
the soil, trading the strength of
his arm for a land of his own...
A GIANT HAND ATTACHED TO A SUIT SLEEVE REACHES DOWN AND
STEALS THE ROOF FROM THE FARM. The farmer falls and sobs.
But the parasites say, ‘No! What is
your is ours! We are the state; we
are God; and we demand our share!’
BILL MCDONAGH
(mutters)
... Crikey...
TIME CUT
66.

The ride rolls on to find an ANIMATRONIC SCIENTIST who cheers
after he’s made a significant discovery:
MANNEQUIN RYAN
On the surface, the scientist
invests the power of his mind into
a single, miraculous idea and
naturally begins to rise above his
fellows...
McDonagh braces for it before ANOTHER GIANT HAND CRUSHES HIM.
But the parasites say, ‘No!
Discovery must be regulated! It
must be controlled and finally
surrendered!’
TIME CUT
In the final tableau, a CHILD WATCHES TV WITH HIS FAMILY:
On the surface, your parents sought
a private life. Using their great
talents to provide for you, they
learned to twist the lies of the
church and government, believing
themselves masters of the system.
THE HAND RETURNS TO GRAB THE CHILD AND DRAG HIM INTO DARK.
But the parasites say, ‘No! The
child has a duty! He’ll go to war
for the nation and die!’
A CHEERFUL PROPAGANDA SONG BY SANDER COHEN PLAYS as the ride
nears the exit tunnel. McDonagh shakes his head and sighs.
BILL MCDONAGH
Lord almighty...
INT. DIONYSUS PARK - SCULPTURE GARDEN - NIGHT
36 36
SUPER: 1954. Dionysus Park.
SOFIA LAMB AND SIMON WALES SIT TOGETHER ON A CARVED, CORAL
BENCH IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DIONYSUS PARK SCULPTURE GARDEN.
SOFIA LAMB
... How can a house divided stand,
Simon?
67.

Wales smokes from his PIPE and wears his troubles on his face
as Lamb watches her loyal followers -- Margie and Glidden --
spreading fish-fertilizer on the plants on the other side.
Ahead of them rises an OCTOPUS SCULPTURE WITH A HUMAN FACE.
Rapture is designed for conflict.
For competition... but can this
marvel of a community survive that
division, bottled up down here? We
need unity to make Rapture thrive!
And that means a communal concept,
not a competitive one...
SIMON WALES
(glances around nervously)
... Really, you shouldn’t use those
kinds of -- well, Ryan would regard
it as ‘red propaganda.’ Could be
dangerous. They’re building a new
kind of detention center, and I
have an odd feeling Ryan might want
it for, ah... people who talk about
undermining his master vision...
SOFIA LAMB
(shrugs)
If I must go to prison, then so be
it. The people need me! More are
coming every day, Simon! The vision
of wholeness is taking hold!
Rapture must be a single society --
not some schizophrenic social
organism forever wrestling with
itself. Look at what’s been
happening -- people forced into
prostitution and living on top of
one another. How is that better
than the surface world?
SIMON WALES
If he suspects what you’re up to...
SOFIA LAMB
(chuckles)
Please. He’s still convinced I’m on
his team. I advised him on how to
set up that little child-training
amusement park... it’s absurd,
really... I doubt if it does
anything but frighten children --
but he believes it will train them
to accept Rapture as it is. I gave
him an edited report on all my...
(MORE)
68.

(glances at Wales)
I can trust you, can’t I, Simon?
SIMON WALES
(stunned, swallows hard)
But -- of course! How could you
doubt it? You know how I feel...
ELEANOR LAMB (O.S.)
Mommy, look!
Lamb turns to her side to see her daughter ELEANOR LAMB (3),
in her pink pinafore and dragging an AUDIODIARY behind her.
ELEANOR LAMB (CONT’D)
I’m going to play with the Mr.
Diary you gave me!
SOFIA LAMB
Oh, wonderful, my love!
SIMON WALES
(lowers voice)
Don’t you think it’s time she had
some contact with other children,
Doctor?
SOFIA LAMB
Hm? No. No, not when they’re under
the influence of the poisonous
paradigm of Andrew Ryan. I will
keep her safe here, train her in
isolation -- and make her a paragon
of the society to come...
SIMON WALES
And --
(clears throat)
What happened to her father, then?
SOFIA LAMB
(caught off guard)
... Ah. As to that... that’s a
private matter.
BING CROSBY’S “OH, WHAT A BEAUTIFUL MORNIN’” STARTS TO PLAY.
Eleanor sits on the grass with a SCREWDRIVER and speaks to
the audio diary like it’s her friend.
ELEANOR LAMB
Hello there, Mr. Diary! Do you want
to play?
(mimics diary voice)
SOFIA LAMB (CONT'D)
(MORE)
69.

BioShock 1x02 The Vanishing

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