Rapture Undersea Facility

Though the bottom of the ocean seems a highly unlikely location for a large, secure facility, here it is. To paraphrase the words of its founder Andrew Ryan, "it was not impossible to build Rapture here, it was impossible to build it anywhere else." It has its own history, but in the end, on almost any world where both Rapture and Black Mesa exist: Rapture falls first, and certainly falls hard. However, on those same worlds, it's almost a sure bet that the facility exists in a moderately functional state, even through the 2020s when it might be rediscovered by intrepid (read: crazy) explorers, teleporters, or dimension hoppers. That isn't saying that all of it is easily traversed, in fact perhaps only 10 or 15 percent of the whole city is preserved in a state that can be called 'safe'.

Because the location was already ravaged by its own inhabitants as well as the physical crushing of the ocean on top of it, re-entering the facility at the point we meet our intrepid dragonry folk is dangerous at best, in some locations. However, as a passing 'gift' to his one-time love, and to his other-dimensional doppelganger, the local Lane returned the 'right' parts to their original condition. He did make some changes within those areas, and suggested they be done by the 'imported' Lane, once the population required it: aluminum needed to be replaced with steel. The interior use of a weak, stress-fracturing metal such as aluminum was, in his words, "completely irresponsible". Since the Pantheon has several metal-shaping individuals, eventually a path is cleared around and through parts of the city that are needed.

With the arrival of the dragons, and particularly those Seawings who can tolerate the tremendous pressure and darkness far below the ocean's surface, greater strides can be made toward a functional - if much smaller than before - city. The research being done down in Rapture is of key importance to keeping the Combine at bay. Rhea and her daughter Raven along with Simmons and occasionally others from the surface do a lot of work in the Medical Pavilion as well as Arcadia. They have reacquired the Plasmid production facility at Fontaine Futuristics, but it's not quite in workable shape yet. Once that place is up and running, safer uses for the Plasmids, as well as genetic therapies for those who require it, may be started up once more. However, it will be mixed liberally with the Icarus processing brought from Repurposed Earth - and this can become the new wave of Human evolution on this Earth. Because Icarus affects genes directly and permanently, its effects are cumulative over generations, as evidenced by the second generation of Pantheon. Plasmids unfortunately tend to damage their users, and will need finer tuning before they're ready to be in use again. Applying the theories of Icarus to Plasmids is an ongoing and somewhat dangerous prospect - and ... requires testing, which not a lot of people are willing to do. Perhaps they can use captured Combine soldiers, but even then it's still a bit unethical - even for Rapture, and that's saying a lot. More apparent is the need to reverse the Combine processing done to several dragons, and to any recaptured refugees.

These facilities, along with the cloning technology in North Aperture, will likely provide Rookery Earth with super-powered armies... In a few years, maybe. But for now, the place is both a haven from the surface dangers, and it's own whole can of worms. However there are functional parts of the location that are very popular in their own right: from fashion outlets and restaurants, to music stores and craft shops. Those fashions are over 80 years out of date, but no one even cares - they're still intact.

Images are from in-game screenshots and trailer shots, gathered by playing, or from the Bioshock wikia.

In the above map, note that the Ruins are sites where dragons and their human companions might be able to recover goods, materials, structural items, and the like. They're still quite dangerous even with a dragon to help, and may also contain a good amount of wildlife - both for hunting, and clearing out. External routes are safe for transporting both humanoids and dragons, and Internal routes generally are fit only for human-sized creatures. Some locations are accessable only by external routes, due to the surrounding structural instability or damage to prior airlocks. Those locations marked as 'Explorable' are not yet fully inhabited, but can be safely visited and used by the humanoid population. Ones that are 'Functional' have established inhabitants and have full power, heat, air, clean water and proper sanitation / sewers, food, and other sundries, whereas the Explorable locations are unpowered, or have one or more of the above notably missing from their checklist. Most Explorable spots still have way too much rubble or waste, decaying bodies, or leaks in the walls / systems to be comfortably lived-in, and need to be fixed physically before they can be fully inhabited. The Power Plant can easily accommodate all of these locations, provided the conduit is safely linked up.

Notably on the map post-RY7, there is a large dome created for surface-dwelling dragons to reside in more permanently, located between Neptune's Bounty and Arcadia, and extending nearly the entire length between Palmetto and NB2's hatches. It is composed of the spare rubble and shaped stone surrounding the area, enclosed safely with thick reshaped glass and newly-converted steel girders, and has heating provided directly from the seabed vents. It can be entered by even the largest dragons provided they can reach the area from outside, and the airlock for them is located on the southernmost edge by NB4's hub. Though dragons with a wingspan larger than 100 feet might complain that there's not quite enough 'soaring' room, even mid-sized dragons can actually fly races and laps to burn off energy and remain healthy. The two internal routes which cross the dome are integrated into the design, allowing for roosting as well as human passage, and the external route built into the airlock. It's a remarkably scenic place, with designs on having Arcadia's garden and oxygen producing plant life forming a forest of sorts, which may then be stocked with wildlife.

The small lighthouse island resting nearby on the higher continental shelf is known now as Aerie Island, and has been expanded by terraforming powers, to provide a resting spot for both humans and dragons on their way down. It is considerably larger than it had been, and there are often more than one lighthouse visible because it still is a nexus location. Normally there should be one, sometimes there have been four or even five visible, but the new terrain changes whether they will be 'active' and link to an alternate dimension or just be merely 'visible'. The island used to be 'just above the surface', but now extends more than 400 feet upwards at its highest point, and is around 20 square miles. However, the island itself is only marginally connected to the city below, with a strangely fractured pillar of unnaturally-formed stone its only support. How the island remains where it must be is obviously a Mystery... There is a small 'colony' fit for both dragons and their riders, as well as maintenance workers and those who just don't want to live miles below the surface. Over time this place may become more of its own site, but there are transient residents for the most part.

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While Rapture itself had a brief heyday during the period between 1946 and 1958, there was never any doubt that the culture it housed could not sustain itself. They had a lot of art, style, and innovative flair, but very little in the way of oversight, standards, or ethical guidance to make sure that what they built remained standing. Though some exteriors such as that below are still visible - and powered up, thanks to local Lane's Vortal manipulation - most of the buildings and walkways or transportation tunnels are in ruins...

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...Such as those below. However, plenty of those broken bits, including stonework, metal, marble, even rescuable wood or plastic items, litter the floor of the sea surrounding the entire area. Those are ripe for the picking, and with Seawings and other dragons available to help collect them, a 'trash heap' of sorts has been assembled near the old Neptune's Bounty market. Since it was a location habited by both legitimate shipping and smugglers, there are numerous methods of getting that rubble back inside the facility.

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Most of the glass in the area has shown signs of wear and tear, but with a little Vortal sprucing up, even the decorative ceilings withstand the tremendous pressure of the ocean. It's not uncommon to see a dragon or two lurking outside those windows.

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Some number of collapsed buildings are still structurally sound, and have been hollowed out to provide easy access from one altitude to another, of otherwise inhabitable locations. Metal shapers and technicians have worked to make certain that these are water-tight and comfortably pressurized, though they are considered the weakest link of all the internal passageways. Regular refitting and upkeep is required for all of those 'not really intended for this use' spots. The building below is one such passageway. Where they may be too steep to comfortably walk, funiculars have been installed, though many of them rely on pedal power, dragons to lift or push, or other means than electrical energy.

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In addition to dragons, there are still some number of aquatic creatures that haven't been completely killed off by the Combine's pollution or water-siphoning. Whales are a common sight. In fact, once the Resonance Cascade occurred, their only real predators came from off-world, and those are few and far between. Whales of many kinds, as well as other sea life, have thrived in this Post-Invasion era. Thus, even if the food is mostly fish, there's plenty of it, down in Rapture. They just have to compete with the whales for it!

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Arcadia Gardens and Research, seen from the exterior, is where most of the oxygen and non-fish foodstuffs come from. This was a key location to make sure still worked, obviously, and quite a few people have visited it. It is also where a small graveyard rests, with only a few markers for those who Rhea and Lane determine 'really deserve' to be commemorated. Any of the dragons with the power to manipulate plant life also are encouraged to do so near Arcadia, though the location lacks a large enough space for most of them to get very comfortable. Their exterior redecoration has been extensive. ** Note that after RY7, the view below is actually replaced with trees and open air - as it's where the Dragon Flight Dome has been created.

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Draconic medical needs are met as well as Human ones, in the Medical Plaza. The area directly surrounding the human-sized pavilion has been repurposed and fitted toward dragon sized patients. A lot of the actual medical equipment has had to be seriously examined, as well as absolutely sterilized. The condition that some of it was in was... astonishingly ugly. And not just because it'd been sitting there for half a century unused: because it was used in ways that just weren't very civil.

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Since they are all but invisible down at the bottom of the sea, and significantly the Combine's detection technology cannot reach this area at all from the surface, any refugees who can tolerate the place's imposing nature are welcome to live out their days in relative freedom. The original group of settlers to this area refreshed the Mercury Suites, where Rhea Mercer's original apartment was, and likely the reason it was restored first. There may be quite a few more floors available in the future, but for the moment the upper three, bearing a dozen spacious homes, play host to this group and more. Fontaine's penthouse at the top of this structure is now a group gathering area rather than any single person's dwelling. Some apartments had the same gristly remains in them as they'd had when Rhea and Lane were there some 60 years before, but thankfully his sweep of the area removed those before serious work started.

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Notably there are several members of the community who have made their way by revamping old shops and distribution centers. Both importing things from above, as well as sending items back out to the Rookery, North Aperture, the Grounds, and even the Ranch, these shops have hardly seen such a heyday since before the place fell into ruins.

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In addition to shopping, entertainment becomes more and more important to those living in this place. While Hoyle's enclave up in North Aperture suits many families, there is more mature fare found in the casino and theater of Fleet Hall, namely when the girls get together for performances, The Rookettes put on quite the quartet show!