Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months as the people of the Odyssey worked day and night creating the city of Paradise. Peach's crew and Jacob's divers worked around the clock, non-stop labouring as they lifted materials onto platforms and welded girders and plates and windows and steel and iron and concrete together to create the buildings of Rapture. Henry and Gil worked day and night creating faster and efficient ways to help the divers get to the bottom. In fact, most of the divers didn't even resurface after a long night of work, they would stay down in diving chambers for the night. Thanks to Henry and Gil's superior scientific engineering, they had made small metal spheres with seats and windows that would travel long distances using a remote controlled system under the water. The sphere had a lever and when that lever was pulled, the sphere would submerge into the water and travel to the next designated area all on it's own! Henry had personally created most of the control system all around Rapture so these spheres could travel in between most buildings. It revolutionized the way people would move around Rapture since underwater cars were impossible to create. Henry had decided to name the new invention the Bathysphere. Naledi had also helped Henry and Gil in the creation of the Bathysphere. She had volunteered to pilot the first prototype. Reluctantly, Henry and Gil had given her full control of the Bathysphere's systems. She submersed all the way to Rapture at an impressive speed and continued to travel throughout the city in the small metal sphere. Henry wasn't too surprised that she had gone a complete circuit through the underwater city, if there was ever a person who could have done that feat it would be Naledi Atkins. As a reward for giving them feed back and helping them as a guinea pig, Naledi asked if she could keep the prototype and work on it to her specifications. Henry and Gil gave the prototype to her without hesitation, she deserved it after all. Over the months, Elizabeth started coming out of her cabin more and more. She talked to people briefly and ate her meals with Helga. Henry hadn't come to see her. However, one night, Helga was rushed to the infirmary. She had been diagnosed with having a massive heart-attack and stroke. Doctor Suchong had pronounced her dead that night. Surprisingly, Elizabeth did not cry for her nanny. She had been at the funeral and continued her daily routines after that. Many people wondered if there was something wrong with the girl, but Henry knew that she had grown stronger, like her parents would have wanted her to be. Henry had gone to see Ryan again and to talk about what was to become of her now. Ryan had said that she was too young to be on her own and so she would be put into a orphanage for the time being, once they moved to Rapture. Henry was shocked by the notion of Elizabeth being in an orphanage. Henry had pleaded to Ryan multiples times to allow him to become Elizabeth's guardian but Ryan would hear none of it. He said the paper work would be tremendous and the cost for the transactions and adoption papers would cost Henry well over five thousand dollars. Ryan assured him that she would be fine. Over the course of Rapture's creation many people had succumbed to exhaustion and some divers became careless. There were several other deaths during the creation of Rapture, which left several children without parents. While the thought made him feel terrible, Henry was glad Elizabeth wouldn't be alone.
It had been almost a year since the people of the Odyssey had taken their first steps towards Paradise, and now they were going to live out their greatest triumph. Rapture had finally been finished, the city stood tall and solid twenty thousand feet under the ocean. However, the workers were not finished yet. They needed a way to get the people down to Rapture without them having to wear diving suits. A way to get to the bathysphere's without an ocean liner. Ryan decided to have them build a lighthouse. They spent another month creating it. It stretched from the bottom of a rocky mountain formation, located right next to the city, to about forty feet out of the water. The lighthouse was built with a hole in it so the bathyspheres could resurface, passengers would board and then submerge to Rapture.
Andrew Ryan sat at his desk in the dim light of the single lit lamp bent over his desk. Suddenly, a man walked into the room. He was still suited up in his welding attire, grime and sweat covered his face and he had a lit cigarette wedged into the side of his mouth. Ryan frowned. "Mr. Norris, I had really hoped that you would come dressed in something more....presentable, or have had at least the courtesy of showering." Jacob Norris chuckled. He enjoyed annoying Ryan. "Sorry Andrew, got no time fer showers!" he said laughing loudly. Ryan nodded. "So it would seem. What's the news?" Jacob rubbed his hands together smiling so wide that his cigarette almost fell from his mouth. "Lighthouse is finished, city is finished, we're all done!" Ryan paused for what seemed like a lifetime. He slowly rose from his desk and stared at Jacob. "Mr. Norris, I've been waiting for this day for all my life, finally my great vision has become reality!" Ryan smiled widely. "It's time, I will make an announcement tonight, tomorrow we rid ourselves of this parasite ridden world, tomorrow we make our own destinies, tomorrow we leave the old world and enter a new world, a world free from Government eyes, free from the small, free from those who would hold us back with petty morality......free from the parasite. Rest well tonight Mr. Norris, you've earned it." Jacob nodded and chuckled as he shut the metal door, leaving Ryan alone once again.
"CHEERS!" shouted the entire bar as the sound of glasses and bottles clinked against one another. People laughed and shouted as they consumed their drinks. Henry finished his beer and set the empty bottle on the table. He looked up to Naledi and Gil seated opposite to him in the booth. Naledi was smiling widely at him and Gil was giggling to himself, he had only been on his second vodka tonic but was already red faced and swaying in his seat. This past year Henry got to know Gil and Naledi quite well. However, of all the attributes they possessed he had learned two things above all else about his friends. Naledi was absolutely crazy when it came to adventure and Gil was the worst light-weight when it came to drinking. Henry looked over to Gil. "Hey Gil, maybe you should take it easy on the vodka, you don't look so great." Gil smiled and shook his head violently. "Wassh arrre youuu talkinsh to me!? I...I'm ffffine! B...but N....Naldi yer c...c....razy! CHEERS!" Gil said slurring his words badly. He nocked over his drink as it poured down the side of the table and onto the floor. "Wwwwhoopsh! I..I can fixsh that shtuff!" shouted Gil as he proceeded to slurp the remaining puddle on the table. Naledi stopped him from going any further. "Gil, why don't you just take a breath and rest for a bit eh?" Gil looked at Naledi with a puzzled expression. He laughed and smiled widely. "Naldi....yer crazy...." Gil then slumped back in his seat and began sleeping. Naledi and Henry looked at each other and burst out laughing. "Poor Gil, he never knows his limits." said Naledi shaking her head. Henry shifted in his seat. "Well neither do you!" he said. Naledi stared at Henry and smiled. "Your right Hank, I'm not even sure I have any limits!" she chuckled. Henry smiled and was about to talk when the speakers around the bar crackled with static.Then a familiar voice spoke.
Attention people of the Odyssey. This is Andrew Ryan speaking. You have all worked long and hard these past eleven months. Each of you has worked incredibly hard in seeing that Rapture is perfected and created to exact specifications. The sacrifices that have been made by those few who are no longer with us will never be forgotten, without their sacrifices Rapture would have never been born, my condolences and sympathies go out to those who lost such great beings. I would advise each of you to enjoy yourselves tonight.Tomorrow we travel to our new home. We leave this old world behind and find our place in the new world that we have created. A place free from Government, free from those who would hold us back, free from the parasites of the surface! There is a chain in Rapture. A great chain of industry. In Rapture, we all pull this chain and are pulled by it. With this chain and the sweat of your brow, you will become great, each and every one of you will become an entity of greatness. The surface is cruel, there won't always be a place for you on the surface, but in Rapture, you will always have a home. Remember that!
The entire bar cheered and shouted and laughed as people hugged each other and drank and sung songs of the ocean. Henry and Naledi looked at each other. A waiter brought them two glasses of champagne. They picked up their glasses. "Cheers!" they said in unison as their glasses clinked. "We did it Naledi, we actually built a city under the water!" Henry said. Naledi nodded slowly. "I know Hank, I can barely believe it myself. Of course, most of the credit goes to you, you made all this possible Hank, your gonna be big down in Rapture, you just wait!" Henry smiled. "Thanks Naledi." He downed the rest of his champagne and sat back in his seat. "Rapture, here I come."
The next day the Odyssey's anchors were lifted up and the massive ocean liner was ready to head back to it's port down south. Henry had gone to bed early that night to get some decent rest, but he barely slept, he had been too excited to sleep. He shaved and put his best clothing on for this day. He had packed all his belongings and looked to his cabin, he wouldn't be seeing it again. Henry let out a sigh and walked down the halls of the Odyssey one last time. He opened the door which led onto the ships deck. The beautiful warmth of the sunlight on Henry's face made him smile widely. He looked across the massive ocean-liner's metal deck. He had never seen so many people on deck before! There must have been almost a thousand people! They were all talking amongst themselves, each dressed for the occasion and each of them sported several suit cases, bags, brief cases and all sorts of belongings. Most of these people must have been part of Peach's crew. In fact, he saw the cranky old shipmaster at the front of the crowd barking orders at some young men. Henry chuckled and shook his head. "You haven't changed one bit Peach." He walked over to the old man and tapped him on the shoulder. "And what the hell do you want- Oh, Henry it's you! Good to see ya! How've things been?" Peach said a little startled. Henry chuckled and shook Peach's hand. "It's good to see you too Peach. Like yourself, I've been busy helping Ryan make Rapture. Can you believe it's already been almost a whole year?" Peach nodded. "Yea, it's been long and tiresome it has, but our hard works finally gonna pay off, we're finished, Rapture is built and we're off to Paradise Hank! I'm just here to make sure everyones all set, some of the boys are a little nervous about being at the bottom of the Atlantic, know what I mean?" Henry laughed and nodded. "Yea, it's definitely going to be a big change for us all, but I'm sure it's going to be great. Besides, I'm done with the surface, I'm ready to go to Paradise!" Naledi and Gil walked over towards Peach and Henry. "Well here we al are eh? Back at the beginning!" said Naledi with a wide smile on her face. Henry nodded. He looked over to Gil who was looking was looking at the ground. He was quite pale and kept massaging his temples. Henry chuckled. "How're you doing this morning Gil?" Gil looked up at Henry with a sick expression. "Ugh, dreadful, absolutely dreadful, never again will any form of alcohol get past my lips!" Everyone with the exception of Gil started to laugh. Henry looked over to the tall lighthouse standing erect in the ocean. "So, that's how we're getting to Rapture?" Peach nodded. "Yep, gonna be taking a bathysphere there, I gotta say I'm pretty nervous about this." Naledi put a hand on Peach's shoulder. "Don't you worry Peach, it's actually really fun, I should know, I went down there in the very first one! In fact, we'll be taking my own bathysphere down to Rapture, I tweaked it up to my own likings so it runs nice and smooth!" Peach smiled and nodded. Gil cleared his throat. "I believe we are not scheduled to be in Rapture until the evening, the workers and families will be leaving for Rapture first, Ryan has made his "talented individuals" be the last to depart, besides, the depart for Rapture doesn't start for another half an hour so we might as well make ourselves comfy in the lounge area." The others nodded and made their way to the lounge cabin.
The call for departure to Rapture had started at one o'clock in the afternoon. Henry and the others waited in the lounge area for seven hours before they were called for departure. They walked onto the metal deck and found that the Odyssey was almost cleared of people. They had moved right to the front of the lighthouse where a metal bridge connected from the Odyssey to the lighthouse steps. Henry and the others made their way over to the bridge. There was a group of people lined up as they crossed the bridge and into the lighthouse. Many of Ryan's so called "talented individuals" were in the crowd and the final people to depart to Rapture made their way down to the bathyspheres. Henry and the others walked across the bridge and onto the platform of the lighthouse. Henry looked up in awe. The doors of the lighthouse were massive! They stood at least ten feet tall and made of solid bronze. Henry looked up even more to see a giant R right above the doors. He heard the others gasping as well. Then a startling fog horn blew. Henry looked back to see the Odyssey sailing away at incredible speed. He looked to see three other crew members walking by them. "C'mon pal, we're the last ones to depart, let's not keep Mr. Ryan waiting any longer." said one of the crew members to Henry. Henry nodded and turned around to see the sky. In the distance the sun was beginning to set, the sky was a display of pink and orange and the sun was red. "Dusk" whispered Henry. He looked to see Peach, Gil and Naledi walking into the lighthouse. Henry looked at the sun and took a deep breath. He turned and followed his friends into the lighthouse. Henry knew he needed to take his time, for once he passed through those doors, it would be the last time he ever felt the warmth of sunlight on his skin. The lighthouse doors slid shut behind him and the sunlight disappeared.
Henry stood looking at the giant statue of Ryan in the lighthouse. It was disturbing how much it resembled the actual man. It had a stern look on it's face and it's arms were spread wide as it held a massive red banner with golden letters on it that said: NO GODS OR KINGS ONLY MAN. Henry had seen that banner many times in Ryan's office. He heard Peach whistle. "That thing is gonna be haunting my dreams tonight!" he laughed. Henry chuckled. "C'mon Peach, let's not keep Ryan waiting." They walked around the large statue and down the steps to a large room below. "Ah, there she is!" said Naledi pointing to the middle of the room. There was a bathysphere floating in a hole of water in the middle of the large room. Henry looked around. On the walls there were three signs with a word on each of them. SCIENCE was on the left side of the room, ART was on the right side of the room, and INDUSTRY stood right in the middle. Henry was amazed at how much detail and design had gone into making just the lighthouse. They walked down the ramp and one by one entered the bathysphere. "Now, rest assured, she may not be pretty but this baby runs smoother than those newer models!" said Naledi with a wink. The inside was actually quite comfortable. The seats were lined with blue velvet and leather on both sides of the bathysphere. The floor was made of shiny steel and a large golden lever was positioned at the back. Everyone was seated with the exception of Naledi. "Alright boys, next stop is Rapture, hold on to yer seats, she goes fast!" A worried expression came across Peach's face. Henry chuckled. He watched as Naledi slid her hand over the lever and gripped it tight. "Three...two.....one!" Naledi shouted as she pulled the lever. The bathysphere door swung shut and water splashed around as the sphere descended. Henry watch closely at the clear doorway. "Five fathoms.....nine fathoms........eighteen.......thirty-two!" Henry counted in his head as they dove deeper and deeper. The bathysphere rumbled and shook and the jets at the back of the sphere activated. The sphere moved out of the railing tube and into the wide ocean. Rocky formations, coral reefs, exotic fish, Henry could see it all. He had never seen anything like it before and was amazed at the amount of life under the ocean. However, nothing could have prepared him for what he saw next. The bathysphere lights flickered on as the water became darker and darker. Henry couldn't see much anymore except for rock formations. Then the bathysphere made it's way over a large rocky hill and then they saw it. First it was just a dim light, and then it got brighter, and brighter. Everyone could not tear their eyes away from the amazing spectacle before them. The city illuminated the dark ocean. It was massive! And it looked like an actual city. In fact, almost like New York! The bathysphere slowed down as it made it's way through the city. Henry's jaw dropped as he looked at the massive sky scrapers and buildings that was Rapture. Neon lights illuminated the city with an array of colours. Everyone sat quietly, not wanting to say a word, not even to breath loudly. It was all so incredible. The bathysphere descended into another railing tube. Henry looked up to see neon words light up as they approached them. ALL GOOD THINGS. OF THIS EARTH. FLOW. INTO THE CITY. Henry shook his head in disbelief. They had actually done it. They had made Rapture and now he was going to live in Paradise. The bathysphere started to ascend. The sphere burst through the surface of the water. The door slowly slid open. Henry looked in surprise as a crowd of people were gathered around, clapping and cheering for them, welcoming them all. Henry and the others stepped out of the bathysphere. They looked around. The bathysphere station was massive! The ceiling stretched to at least fifty feet! The ceiling was constructed of glass panes which Henry could see through. He looked back and walked down the red carpet beside his friends. A man stepped out from the crowd wearing a golden business suit. Andrew Ryan had a wide grin on his face and his arms spread wide. He smiled. "Welcome everyone! Welcome to your new home, to freedom, to Paradise! Welcome to Rapture!"