Bioshock: The Story of Henry Walker

Chapter 9: The Assistant

Henry had never worked so hard in his life. He had gotten little sleep over the past three weeks. Every day he would spend countless hours in his cabin, trying to perfect his radios. Henry had given a list to Andrew Ryan for all the materials he would need to create these radios. Ryan had followed through on his word and delivered the parts Henry needed, and even more were on the way. Henry was amazed at the efficiency and time saved due to Andrew Ryan’s fast acting crew. In his first week, Henry had already put together the radio transmission relay using various parts from old radios, car parts and televisions. The finishing product was a large cube with hundreds of wires attached to it and a number of bulbs radiating with electricity from every angle. Simon was very impressed at the rate Henry was working, which gave Henry the motivation he needed to complete the fifty small radios he had to create for each of the deep-sea welders. It was very difficult to find the parts to make these radios, and harder still to establish a proper communication transmission between the relay station and the small helmet radios. Henry barely saw anyone, he just didn’t have the time, he had been invited to a get together by Naledi many times but Henry politely refused each of her invitations, he needed to get these radios finished in time for the start of construction on the bedrock. Jacob and his team had prepared for many weeks and today they were going down to the bottom to take measurements. Henry didn’t have time to think about visits at the moment, he needed to get these radios finished by the end of the week. He sat back, turned his neck to the left as far as it would go, his neck cracked loudly. Henry let out a deep sigh. He hunched over his desk and continued working.

Meanwhile, somewhere else in the ship, in cabin 112, two of Jacob’s best deep-sea divers were preparing for their mission. Shawn and Mary Smith were two of the most renown deep-sea divers in North America, they were the only known people to have reached a depth of five miles and survived, they had specially made diving suits of their own creation, and were the obvious choices for deep sea exploration. They had been on many deep-sea expeditions in the past, ranging all over the world, from South Africa to Iceland. Seeking their next big adventure, they answered the call of Andrew Ryan and found themselves aboard the Odyssey. They even took their daughter along. “But Dad, why do I have to stay here, can’t I come with you and Mom?” Shawn finished strapping on his metal boots and stood up, he smiled at the girl sitting on the bed. The girl had straight jet-black hair and flawless pale skin like her Father, but she was slim and had bright green eyes like her mother. She was strong willed, and full of attitude as well. Shawn shook his head and chuckled. “Elizabeth Anne Smith, what have I told you a million times before?” The girl lowered her gaze and grumbled. “Only certified divers and sailors are allowed on, or near the premises.” she recited miserably. Shawn bent down and kissed his daughter on her forehead. “That’s right Liz, and until you become a certified deep-sea diver like your Mum and I, you get to spend the afternoon with Helga!” Elizabeth groaned, “Mom, do I have to stay with Helga? She scared me last time, she yells at me in German and she smells like a farmhouse.” Mary shook her head, “Elizabeth, that’s no way to talk about your nanny, you know she loves you, and I know she’s tons of fun!” Shawn and Mary were very busy people. They travelled the world frequently, seeking the next big expedition. Ever since Elizabeth could walk, her parents had taken her with them on their trips. She had seen much of the world, although she barely remembers most of it. Yet when they arrived at their destination, her parents were far to busy with their work to watch over Elizabeth. They hired a German military nanny named Helga to take care of Elizabeth while they were gone on their expeditions. Helga was a very large woman, two hundred pounds of fire and brimstone. She had a lazy eye, missing front teeth, one eyebrow, a visible moustache and a fierce ‘beauty mark’, as Mary called it, on her chin. Helga also had an extremely difficult time speaking English, but she watched over Elizabeth like a hawk chasing a mouse, making sure she was safe and protected. Elizabeth was at most times afraid of Helga and when she was with the German nanny, she seldom spoke. She really wished that her parents would just take time off from their expeditions and have an adventure with her for once. Elizabeth watched her parents slip into their new custom-made diving suits. They were slimmer than the usual bulky suits she always saw her parents in. Shawn stretched his arms, “Perfect fit! These suits are amazing, I can actually move my arms!” he exclaimed. Mary nodded her head in agreement, “With Mr. Ryan’s finances and technology, we’ve revolutionized diving suits!” They laughed. Shawn looked over to his daughter who was sitting with her arms crossed, in a melancholy mood. “C’mon Liz, try and smile a little will ya? Your gloom is bringing me down!” Elizabeth stared at her father and cracked a sarcastic smile. He nodded, “That’s better, now we best be off!” Shawn and Mary grabbed their diving helmets and escorted Elizabeth down to Helga’s cabin, which was on the other side of the building. Elizabeth groaned, ‘Maybe I should jump ship and swim back home’ she thought.