So i’m kind of glad i wrote the previous entry. If nothing else, i got to read over my assumptions after progressing further in the game. It’s always fun to see how close you were.
The plan was to avoid the game until the weekend struck again, i have too much to do and can’t really afford to obsess over games. I intended to write another entry with further observations and assumptions, and i wasn’t really in a hurry to do it… But it turns out that i’m sick. It’s just a cold, but it feels like it’s going to put me out of action for a while. If i end up having to take tomorrow off work i know i’ll find myself entering Rapture for some more action. Which means i need to get this entry penned, no point writing about my assumptions when i’m tainted by hindsight.
In the last entry i discussed Atlas. I have nothing further to say about him, so i’ll go with the character that’s currently preying on my mind. As before, i’ll try to leave out any plot spoilers but i will talk about characters and basic events so skip this entry if you don’t want to know.
<SPOILERS>
Tenenbaum: Different person, or different personality
Your first “encounter” with Tenenbaum isn’t through conversation with her, you find mention of her in peoples audio diaries as well as locating her own personal recordings.
Her accent appears to be German, and it seems that she spent time in a Nazi Concentration Camp during the war. One of her diaries mentions her willingness to help the German scientists, much to their disbelief. This alludes that she is actually Jewish, and a prisoner of the camp. Tenenbaum states that despite her situation, she believed that the “techniques” should be carried out correctly. This haunting notion gives us an immediate feel of her character. Dark, disjointed, disloyal and dangerous are all words beginning with D that might describe her. We immediately label Tenenbaum as being sociopathic, and barely human. The Germans on the other hand refer to her as ‘Das Wunderkind’. Heh.
Our first real contact with Tenenbaum comes when we are first presented with an unprotected Little Sister. She implores you not to kill the child. Instead giving you a Plasmid which you can use to save her. She is honest about the fact that doing so will not allow you to reap the benefits of harvesting Adam, but to make up for it she offers to help you in any way she can.
Tenenbaums apparent protectiveness of the Little Sister would be an easy concept to accept. If nothing else her maternal instincts make it a fairly natural assumption. But, intrepid explorers can locate a diary (if memory serves, recorded by Suchong – the third person self referencing geneticist) which presents the player with the notion that Tenenbaum has absolutely no problem harvesting (effectively killing) the Little Sisters.
So what happened? It’s hard to get a feel for the passage of time in Bioshock. I’m not sure of the period covering this apparent personality change in Tenenbaum, but i’m fairly sure it’s h not long. So what caused her to turn around? It seems that she helped execute her people during the war.. then apparently invented the Little Sisters, had no problem killing them.. But suddenly she wants them to be kept alive?
Later in the game you get to “meet” with Tenenbaum, before she sends you off on your mission. Much like Atlas her instructions seem to benefit you. It seems that she wants to help, and if you play the game in a similar way to me it’s fairly easy to accept. You help her – she helps you. Unlike Atlas she is rather rude at times.
That is, until she gives you a ridiculous sounding plan. You’re stuck in an area you can’t leave. The door you want to pass through can only be opened by a Little Sister. Tenenbaum informs you that the only way to proceed is to be a Big Daddy. Only then will the Little Sister listen to you.
Okay. Sure. But she’s been having the Little Sisters do things for me in the past.. why can’t she just ask one to help you now?
Again, like Atlas, she does not give the player a choice. She gives the player an order. Become a Big Daddy. It is not explained whether or not the process is reversible. The vocal cord alteration machine i used certainly didn’t LOOK reversible.
The quesiton is.. what’s in it for her if i turn into a Big Daddy? Does she think the added power will help me defeat my enemy? Does she think that it will turn me into her slave (perhaps controlling the Little Sisters will enable her, in turn, to control me?)? Or does she think that as a Big Daddy i will stay with her children, protect them?
Who knows.
My most pressing question is on a slightly different vibe though. I found a diary by Suchong which infers that Tenenbaum is dead. Did she die? Did she fake her death? If it’s the former.. who exactly is this person “helping” me?
Tags: bioshock, game, xbox
