Bioshock: The Story of Henry Walker

Chapter 32: Splicer

Quickly and quietly. Not to make any abnormal sounds or movements. She reached her room and shut the door behind her, making sure to lock it. Elizabeth moved to the other side where an untidy bed lay in shambles. Tools, gears, bits and bobbles lay strewn all over the place. Next to the bed was a wooden desk she had made herself. Throwing the worn leather satchel on the table and unzipping the bag, carefully taking out the contents inside. Elizabeth's eyes shimmered as she placed the three large vials on the wooded plank. Before her sat a gene tonic and two plasmids. She had been saving a long time for these. 

"Okay Liz. Take a breath. Just relax and get comfortable." 

Reaching back into the bag she pulled out three clear syringes. The long needle seemed to gleam under the lamp light. 

"Right. One for each. Now to decide what to take first."

The method of which plasmids and gene tonics were administered had to be done by injection. Ingestion of these genetic altering chemicals proved to produce less effective results and in some cases death. The liquid inside the thick glass slowly churned inside. Glowing softly, each a different color. 

"Guess I'll start with the tonic." 

Elizabeth picked up the vial shining bright yellow. It was a high end chemical that reprogrammed the mind. Awakening pieces of the brain, giving the individual the ability to see what others cannot. To her it sounded like something a charlatan would be selling. But this was the most expensive of the three. Recommended highly by quite a few at Hephaestus. "A must for every aspiring engineer!" they say. 

Sitting upright at the desk she moved the small retractable mirror close to her face. Dabbing a cotton swab on the right side of her neck, keeping the area as clean as possible. Elizabeth gripped the first hypodermic needle. She jammed the head into the top of the tonic container. Placing her thumb under the reel she watched as the transparent barrel filled with glowing liquid. 

"Keep calm. Just breath. You've been given needles before." Elizabeth continued to try and keep herself steady. Raising the hypo to her throat she gulped. 

"Here goes. Next stop, genetic supremacy." Laughing nervously she slapped at the side of her neck, awakening the veins beneath her flesh. A large blue line appeared across her reddened skin. It was thick and pulsing, a perfect target. 

Thin steel punctured the surface and slid into the vein with ease. Elizabeth kept her eyes on the mirror as she slowly pushed the reel, watching as the glowing liquid disappeared into her bloodstream. Drawing the needle away, the young engineer took a long breath. A couple minutes passed by since the injection. 

"Well, that wasn't so ba-" 

Elizabeth reeled back, grasping at her head as searing pain shot through her temples. Kneeling on the floor, she could feel sharp pricks inside her skull. Like a thousand hot knives. And just like that the excruciating feeling left as suddenly as it had came.  She sat on the floor breathing heavily, sweat beading her forehead. 

"Woah...ow..." 

Getting up and sitting back at the desk her eyes went wide as she gazed ahead. On the desk sat her radio and lamp, but she didn't see just the exteriors of the appliances. Gears and wires and switches were all visible. Glancing around her room, outlines of pipes and electric currents could be seen. Not only that but pathways that could redirect energy with routes not yet built. This tonic had given her some kind of vision that let her see through metal and machine. And such thoughts flooded her mind as the means to improve on everything came in a surge. 

Elizabeth finally tore away from the trance and focused on the other two vials on the desk.

"Time for the plasmids."