Bioshock: The Story of Henry Walker

Prologue: Henry Walker

Henry James Walker never had it easy. Henry was born on August 9th, 1921. Henry grew up in a rough neighborhood in Montgomery Alabama, with seven siblings, but he was smart enough to get by, he knew when there was trouble, he knew when to hide and when to fight. His mother was very protective of her children and Henry's father had taught him how to fire a gun and how to hold his own in a fist fight. His parents were loving people, but they were both terrible alcoholics. Henry and his older brother Gregory and younger sister Susan would take care of the other four, younger siblings, Anne, Billy, James and Claire, while his parents where incapacitated. Henry had a knack for being smart and he knew how to fix his father's car motor by the age of ten. By the time he was twelve, he had created all sorts of gadgets and trinkets that would whiz about, unscrew things, puncture holes and even blow up and burn. He was the inventor of the family, always trying to help out his friends and family with his many gadgets. He had helped Mrs. Barnes get her cat out of the tall oak tree with a giant retracting claw-net contraption, and into an even taller maple. Old Mr. Welkin's always had back trouble and so Henry made a sort of back brace for him that kept his torso still as stone. Unfortunately the brace ended up giving Mr. Welkins a dislocated spine. Henry was a clever inventor, but sometimes his inventions were not always reliable, and everyone knew it. Many people said he wouldn't amount to much. All the kids at his school laughed at him for his defective inventions. However, his family was always there for him. They tested out his inventions, and helped Henry iron out the kinks. One night when Henry had come home, he was bruised and beaten. He had gotten into a fight at school with four other boys. He had given two of them black eyes, one had lost six teeth and another suffered from a minor concussion. His mother was devastated, his brothers and sisters were furious, and his father was extremely proud of him. Later that night Henry's father had wanted to see him out on the front porch.

"Henry, it seems you made some enemies today."  he said.

The child on the bottom step continued poking a stick into the ground "I guess I did." 

His father smiled and put an arm around his sons shoulder. "Good, that means you stood up for something in this god damn world, something that was really important to you, something that you love. Just remember Henry, the best things in life are worth fighting for."

On that same night Mr and Mrs Walker died of alcohol poisoning. The seven children were all orphans. They were then sent to live with their aunt and uncle a couple miles north of Montgomery. All the children were immensely grieved by their loss, but they remained strong, they looked after each other and grew as a family. Gregory was the eldest of the seven siblings and had decided to drop out of school and join up with the army. Henry was the second eldest and the first of the Walker's to graduate from school. He then went to work in the local factories, learning the ways of industry and engineering. Of course money was still quite tight for Henry's aunt and uncle in the 30's and they would not be able to care for the other siblings unless Henry took on a second job. Henry decided his family was the most important thing and so entered himself into a tournament for bare-knuckle boxing. Henry came out with the title, the Alabama Bruiser, champion of the tournament and won three thousand dollars on bets alone.

With his family able to support themselves again, Henry returned to his industrial occupation and became an amazing manufacturer for the war against Germany in the 40's. His company had become the top manufacturer for weapons and Henry had even added a few modifications to the troops rifles. When the war had finally ended, the Walkers received a letter that Gregory had been killed just a few days before the end of the war. Shot in the head by a sniper. A quick and painless death. Regardless, Henry quit the manufacturing company, he had saved up more than enough money to start his own business but instead, decided to buy a house back in his old neighborhood and began inventing.He was always busy, working day after day trying to invent new items to help his fellow man. Henry was an avid inventor who had invented many things, such as a two way radio that could be used anywhere with no limit in distance between the receivers, bulletproof glass that was thick as a tree trunk, extra strength lead pipes that could withstand enormous amounts of pressure, and even some various weapon improvements. These inventions were going to make Henry rich. At least, that’s what the government had told him when he signed the contract in which he would give any valuable inventions over to U.S.A government. So far Henry had given the government all he had conjured up in his workshop. So far, the government hadn’t come through with their payments.

“I just don’t get it.” Henry thought. “Why does the government consistently keep dodging the payment for my inventions? We have a contract, well we had a contract!”

Henry had been working with the government for ten years and patiently waited for his payments.“The only thing that I ever got was a monthly thank you letter signed by the president saying that my pay would be delivered to me within the week. Bullshit, to hell with the government, I bust my ass trying to make inventions to help man and what do I get in return? A small thank you letter from the president!”

Little does Henry realize, that at that exact moment, a mysterious letter is being mailed to him. He will open the letter, and it will change his life forever. This is the story of Henry James Walker.