So Bioshock, Watchmen, and Hannibal Lector walk into a bar...
The game takes place in a haven for scientists and artists known as Rapture created by Andrew Ryan who through hard work and brilliance became a huge success as scientist, inventor, and industrialist. He created this city from his acquired wealth selling his underwater weapons and research used in WWII and after. The intent behind this city which resides underwater secluded and totally self sufficient was to free the great minds living there from the chains of morality in order to enjoy the freedom of pure science.
The setting for this game is in the year 1946 which coincides closely with the end of WWII. Europe was almost totally destroyed and the resulting treaty angered many European people. Those factors combined with lack of support by their respected homelands forced some of the greatest thinkers and scientists of the time to seek refuge. Instead of the U.S. where most went in reality, the game spins it to Rapture. Andrew’s city allows these people the freedom to study pure science, a science in which morals are nonexistent all that matters is results, religion is a nonentity, and culture does not matter, all that matters is the end result.
One scientist in particular named Bridgette Tenebaum discovers a species of slug that secretes pure stem cells named “ADAM” that would become the boon of Rapture. ADAM itself acted as a benign cancer injected in a serum known as EVE, effectively destroying native cells and replacing them with stem cells which could be used to modify anything you wanted. However, something went horribly wrong and the once great minds turned into literal abominations destroying Rapture.
The game was launched in January 2007. Over the past decade the moral debate over many scientific discoveries has been made public, but none more so than the issue of stem cells. Researchers argue that stem cells which dominantly derive from embryonic material can do amazing things such as cure diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, paralysis, and even grow organs; however, as previously stated there is great controversy over the harvesting of embryos for stem cells.
Politics have also played a large role in the development of stem cell research. For the last decade research has been limited due to president Bush’s ban, but, since President Obama's inauguration, the ban on embryonic research and grants have been lifted. The point is argued that the potential use for stem cells outweighs the religious and moral aspects of one method of harvesting stem cells.
Bioshock is a very interesting critique of science today. It celebrates science and the accomplishments that can be made when people are allowed freedom to study and research as they please, but it cautions that science unchecked can be as cataclysmic as nuclear war. As it stands Rapture was meant to be a hub for technological breakthroughs that would make Earth into a utopia, but instead destroys itself at the hands of ADAM and EVE. The miracle that was to be stem cells was used as a weapon to create an army of mutants that would destroy Rapture.
Xg3. "GameFAQs: BioShock (X360) Plot Summary by xg3." Video Game Cheats, Reviews, FAQs, Message Boards, and More - GameFAQs. 07 Oct. 2008. GameFAQ. 17 Apr. 2009 <http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/xbox360/file/931329/50049>.
CNN. "Obama overturns Bush policy on stem cells - CNN.com." CNN.com - Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News. CNN. 21 Apr. 2009 <http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/03/09/obama.stem.cells/index.html>.
Stem Cell Basics: What are the potential uses of human stem cells and the obstacles that must be overcome before these potential uses will be realized? . In Stem Cell Information [World Wide Web site]. Bethesda, MD: National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2009 [cited Tuesday, April 21, 2009] Accessed April 20, 2009. Available at <http://stemcells.nih.gov/info/basics/basics6>
This game will be used in order to depict the effects that external stimuli such as government, religion, morals, culture, etc. have on scientists and their work. The shift from the good moderated scientist to the amoral uninhibited scientist allowed work in outlandish laboratories without any fear of big brother watching or funding concerns allows for the possibility of corruption. Evil, misunderstanding, overreaching, hubris, all this becomes the downfall of the foolish scientists.