Big Daddy

Big Daddys are genetically engineered humans that feature in BioShock.

History

Big Daddies were were originally created by Dr. Yi Suchong to serve as Rapture's maintenance workers where they were to help in later construction projects and do the menial work that was not profitable. Various kinds of Big Daddy were developed where some helped in construction of the underwater city whilst others excavated minerals or drilled deep-sea rocks for expansion of Rapture. Later on, the demand for ADAM came to skyrocket where Dr. Suchong proposed that the idea of recycling the raw genetic material directly from the corpses of dead Splicers instead of exclusively producing it with Little Sisters in their laboratories. However, the genetically modified girls were still at great risk when out on the streets as they were gathering ADAM on their own. Looking for a solution, the Protector Program was put into effect where a Little Sister would be bonded with a large hulking Big Daddy to guard them. Serving as Protectors, the Big Daddy would respond aggressively to any threat encountered by Gatherers that were targeting a Little Sister. However, finding volunteers was difficult as the transformation into a Big Daddy was a one way process though Andrew Ryan stated that there would be no problem gaining individuals to be transformed into the hulking protectors. Those chosen were injected with a plasmid into their bodies which made them mindless drones and driven by a single task that was the protection of the Little Sisters.

While the true identities of most of the candidates were unknown, many were exiled criminals, the criminally insane, and political dissidents imprisoned in Persephone, which was under the management of Augustus Sinclair, the owner of the plasmid research company, Sinclair Solutions. With the help of Sofia Lamb, who was herself imprisoned at Persephone at that time and acting as a psychiatrist for the other inmates, Sinclair would send chosen test subjects from Persephone to both Fontaine Futuristics and Ryan Industries. Experiments were conducted by Dr. Gilbert Alexander in the research laboratories of Fontaine Futuristics. The first protector prototypes bonded to Little Sisters were called the Alpha Series, who were previously plasmid test subjects from Sinclair Solutions. Alexander took inspiration from a common nickname for the Protector Program candidates was the 'Big Daddies', and engineered a conditioned bond between the Protectors and their charges which would mimic, through mental and physical restraints, the emotional bond between a father and his daughter, the 'Pair Bond'. This bond ensured that the Protectors would guard their charges at all times, and not wander away from the girls, otherwise they would slip into a coma. After many unsuccessful attempts, the first candidate from the Protector Program to be successfully pair bonded was Subject Delta, a deep sea diver formerly known as Johnny Topside who had discovered and entered the city by accident. In a short time though, the Alpha Series failed to be practical as Protectors as they only protected a single specific Little Sister, and if they were lost to Splicers or rescued by Dr. Brigid Tenenbaum, that rendered the Protectors useless, sending them into a coma or making them suicidally aggressive. Even after being reprogrammed, they were only usable as combatants with no other thought than to kill their target. With these unsuccessful results, the Alpha Series was put to an end. The remaining Alpha models were deactivated and, in the following years, kept in holding at Fontaine Futuristics, Minerva's Den, and Persephone.

Overview

In appearance, a Big Daddy appeared as enormous humanoid figures in diving suits that carried either a large drill or a rivet gun with them being extremely powerful and strong. Despite that, they were relatively harmless unless provoked or if one of their charges were endangered. These creatures were altered Humans were outfitted with the large diving gear that they were designed and programmed to wear. They were actually human beings who had their skins along with their organs grafted into the large diving suits. As part of the procedure, these individuals had their voice box's modulated and a change in their pheromones.

The addition of several types of plasmids increased the users strength as well as their agility but at the expense of their individuality. They no longer possessed a humanity or sanity to lose. This made them single minded in their goal of protecting the Little Sisters. They are quite capable of lifting heavy weights easily and their strong metal suits allows them to withstand a great deal of punishment - even resist the intense pressure present at 6 miles beneath the ocean. The individuals present within the suits were capable of communicating through haunting sounds that were similar to whale calls. However, a number of lights are used to help determine the Big Daddys 'mood'. These are also used to ensure no civilian incidents occurs. Red and yellow lights suggested an agitated state whilst green meant the Big Daddy was calm.

There were five different functional types of Big Daddy that included:

• Alpha Series :
• Rosie :
• Bouncer :
• Rumbler :
• Lancer :

Members

• Subject Delta :
• Subject Sigma :

Notes

• Big Daddy's were created by Ken Levine and designed by Scott Sinclair where they featured in the setting of the BioShock universe.

Appearances

• BioShock:

External Links

• BioShock Wiki Entry

This article is a stub. You can help Multiversal Omnipedia by expanding it.