The Intriguing Evolution of BioShock: Unraveling the Enigmatic Worlds of Rapture and Columbia

Highlights

The BioShock series has a complex and intricate storyline that involves time travel and alternate realities, which can sometimes be confusing for players.

The initial game, BioShock, occurs in the submerged metropolis of Rapture, where a rebellion occurs. BioShock 2 depicts the decline of Rapture and introduces Subject Delta, a new main character who strives to rescue the city from Sofia Lamb and her cult. BioShock Infinite transports players to the elevated city of Colombia, embroiling them in various dimensions and a conclusive time loop that links all three games.

The BioShock series has captivated fans since 2007, with its immersive worlds and groundbreaking gameplay. Over time, the franchise has evolved into a complex narrative, exploring multiverses and branching timelines. From a hidden underwater city to a fantastical floating metropolis, the BioShock universe has grown into a rich tapestry of interconnected stories spanning its main titles and accompanying DLCs.

Tackling themes of time travel and alternate realities comes with its challenges, as maintaining consistency and coherence becomes paramount. However, despite the potential for confusion, there are several pivotal events in the BioShock timeline that greatly impact the overall canon. Here, we delve into these noteworthy events and their significance in shaping the story thus far.

The World Timeline of BioShock Explained: Rapture to Colombia

The tale of BioShock takes place in the mesmerizing city of Rapture, an astonishing hidden metropolis beneath the depths of the Atlantic Ocean. Designed by the ambitious entrepreneur Andrew Ryan in the mid-20th century, Rapture was intended to be an escape from the limitations of the surface world, an oasis for imaginative and driven individuals who desired to break free from societal constraints. Thematically, Rapture serves as a critical examination of Ayn Rand's Objectivist philosophy. However, the story takes a dark turn with the discovery of a fictional sea creature called a sea slug, which is exploited for its powerful substance known as "Adam." This substance has the ability to genetically enhance humans, granting them extraordinary abilities. The pursuit and misuse of Adam leads Rapture into a devastating downward spiral, resulting in an economic collapse and a city-wide civil war.

Within Rapture, Andrew Ryan faces fierce competition from a cunning impostor named Frank Fontaine, alias Atlas, who collaborates with scientists to harvest and refine Adam into plasmids. In this process, an unsettling consequence emerges: Little Sisters, young orphan girls who are implanted with the sea slugs to serve as optimal incubators for the valuable Adam. These Little Sisters become a physical embodiment of the city's societal greed and corruption, representing the immoral ramifications of its core ideology. To safeguard the vulnerable sisters from the unscrupulous citizens, towering figures donning diving suits, referred to as Big Daddies, are created and mentally bonded to them. This further plunges Rapture into a nightmarish state of chaos and despair.

As the two giants battled for economic and political supremacy, an arms race ensued. Coupled with the addictive and genetically altering effects of plasmids, the majority of Rapture's inhabitants transformed into permanently violent and mentally unstable splicers. After a year filled with tense sabotage tactics, the conflict reached its climax on New Year's Eve, 1959, as bombings erupted throughout Rapture, devastating its infrastructure and shattering any semblance of stability. This is the troubled state in which the player character, Jack, discovers Rapture in 1960. Throughout the game, Jack learns that he is Ryan's artificially created "son," implanted with mind-control conditioning by Fontaine. Jack confronts and eliminates both of them, rescues a group of Little Sisters, and manages to safely return to the surface.

BioShock's Timeline and World from Rapture to Colombia, Explained

In 1968, BioShock 2 delves into the dilapidated state of Rapture, where Sofia Lamb, the sole survivor of the city's inner council, and her devoted following have gained control. Lamb's objective is to bring her own vision of Rapture's perfect world to fruition by infusing her daughter, Eleanor, with the combined genetic material and memories stored in the city's Adam. As players step into the shoes of Subject Delta, one of BioShock's renowned Big Daddies, they become connected to Eleanor through a telepathic bond, forged when she served as his Little Sister.

BioShock 2 uncovers the truth about Lamb's manipulation of Delta, leading to his self-inflicted demise in 1958. In a coma for years, Delta awakens when Eleanor seeks his aid in escaping her mother's control. Together, they navigate the decaying remains of Rapture, facing off against Sofia and liberating Eleanor, at the cost of Delta's own life. The future of Rapture remains uncertain, shrouded in submerged silence.

Taking place before its predecessors, BioShock Infinite transports us to a version of 1912 America, where a quasi-religious sect, led by the self-proclaimed messiah figure Zachary Hale Comstock, rules over the flying city of Colombia. This steampunk-style city, which seceded from the US Government, is riddled with tension between the oppressed working class and the privileged elite, due to Comstock's racist and xenophobic ideology. The game delves into the complexities of multiverses and alternate timelines with unprecedented intensity.

Booker DeWitt, a private investigator down on his luck, is hired by the enigmatic Luteces, who happen to be twin siblings, to locate a woman named Elizabeth imprisoned in Colombia. As Booker fulfills his mission, numerous revelations unfold rapidly: the Luteces are one person from different dimensions and possess scientific knowledge enabling the creation of Colombia; Comstock, a darker version of Booker from an alternate universe, and Elizabeth are actually father and daughter. Since Elizabeth has a presence in multiple realities, she has the ability to create portals, some of which led to the city of Rapture. Utilizing these tears, Elizabeth and Booker successfully dismantle Comstock and restore peace to the city, but an unresolved issue remains.

The transformation of Booker into Comstock is determined by a pivotal decision in his past. In order to prevent this transformation, Elizabeth takes them through one final portal. They traverse Rapture and arrive at the exact moment when Booker made the fateful choice. Booker willingly allows multiple versions of Elizabeth to drown him, effectively eliminating all divergent timelines where he becomes Comstock, and leaving only one version of Elizabeth. The conclusion of BioShock Infinite may appear convoluted, but the Burial at Sea DLC episodes complicate matters even further. The ultimate Elizabeth arrives in 1958 at Rapture to eradicate the last remaining Booker/Comstock from all timelines. In the process, she encounters Fontaine/Atlas as he orchestrates the creation of Jack, thus connecting the events of all three BioShock games and forming a classic time loop.