Minerva's Den (Level)

Minerva's Den is the first level featured in the Minerva's Den DLC for BioShock 2. It is known as Rapture's Technology Center, headquarters of the Rapture Central Computing executive wing, Air-Tite Archives, and McClendon Robotics businesses, but also contains the entrance to the Operations part of RCC, leading to The Thinker's Core.
==History==
The source of computerization in Rapture, the Rapture Central Computing Corporation was founded in Minerva's Den by Charles Milton Porter and Reed Wahl, during the early days of Rapture's development. The Rapture Operational Data Interpreter Network (nicknamed "The Thinker"), the mainframe computer that runs many of Rapture's automated processes, is hidden deep within the bowels of the Den, in the Operations part of Rapture Central Computing.
Before the Rapture Civil War, Porter and Wahl entered into conflict for The Thinker's use. Wahl falsified evidence that Porter had struck an alliance with Frank Fontaine, leading to Porter's arrest by Andrew Ryan's security forces. As Porter was incarcerated in Persephone, Wahl took control of Rapture Central Computing and Minerva's Den, allowing him to use The Thinker as he wished while he slowly lost his mind using ADAM. When the war began to tear apart the city Wahl sealed off Minerva's Den from the rest of Rapture. Over the next decade the Den suffered some damage and minor flooding, however the computers remained operational allowing Rapture's systems to keep functioning properly.
==Minerva's Den==
Subject Sigma, an Alpha Series Big Daddy, journeys to Minerva's Den with an unknown mission. Before he can reach the facility, Reed Wahl, mad with power and Spliced beyond reason, sets off an explosive charge in the glass tunnel Sigma was traversing. Sometime later, the Protector awakens in the seabed, and, under the guidance of Charles Milton Porter, enters the Den via an airlock.
===Den Entrance===
When workers or visitors first came to Minerva's Den, they would pass through the Den Entrance. From the Atlantic Express terminal, they would enter the Lobby where an animatronic receptionist would greet them. Beyond was an Atrium which boasts a cast of Rodin's sculpture The Thinker, fashioned from the original mold. The Rapture Central Computing Executive Wing, McClendon Robotics, Air-Tite Archives, and Operations are all accessible from the Atrium.
===Executive Wing===
 Occupying the Northern section of Minerva's Den, the Executive Wing housed the offices of many of the employees of Rapture Central Computing, including the Office of Charles Milton Porter.
===McClendon Robotics===
McClendon Robotics was Rapture's preeminent robotics producer. The facility housed the public showroom, drafting rooms, and experimental workshops.
===Air-Tite Archives===
Located just off the Atrium is Air-Tite Archives. Here, Rapture citizens would store their valuables in a secured pneumatic warehouse. 
==Map==
==New Discoveries==
*There are 8 ADAM-filled corpses.
===Collectibles===
*9 Sea Slugs
*5 Vacuum Bots
===New Weaponry===
*Drill
*Hack Tool - In the flooded basement of the Boardroom.
*Ion Laser - Found next to dead Lancer and in front of the Lighting Control.
*Upgraded Ion Laser (Intensity Upgrade) - Beside a dead Lancer in Air-Tite Archives.
*Rivet Gun - In the central lobby of McClendon Robotics.
*Spear Gun - On a table in the System Design portion of McClendon Robotics.
*Upgraded Spear Gun (Acceleration Upgrade) - Found in a great room's gallery along the hallway to Porter's office.
*Shotgun - In a little, flooded basement in the Air-Tite Archives. The basement is right after the reception, on the left side.
*Launcher - In the Corporate Offices area. Past the Mag-Lock door, it's in a room at the end of the straight corridor.
===New Plasmids (found)===
*Telekinesis
*Security Command - On the Reception Desk in the Executive Wing.
*Electro Bolt - In a hidden workshop in McClendon Robotics.
*Gravity Well - In the Administrator's Office in Air-Tite Archives.
=== New Plasmids and Tonics (at a Gatherer's Garden) ===
* Cyclone Trap - Price: 60 ADAM
* Hypnotize - Price: 60 ADAM
* Winter Blast - Price: 60 ADAM
* Insect Swarm - Price: 60 ADAM
* Cyclone Trap 2 - Price: 100 ADAM
* Telekinesis 2 - Price: 100 ADAM
* Winter Blast 2 - Price: 100 ADAM
* Insect Swarm 2 - Price: 100 ADAM
* Electro Bolt 2 - Price: 120 ADAM
* Hypnotize 2 - Price: 120 ADAM
* Vending Expert - Price: 75 ADAM
* Armored Shell - Price: 45 ADAM
* Shorten Alarms - Price: 30 ADAM
* Extra Nutrition - Price: 20 ADAM
* EZ-Hack - Price: 55 ADAM
* Security Evasion - Price: 45 ADAM
===New Gene Tonics (found)===
*Booze Hound - Inside vacuum bot #4, on the second floor of Air-Tite Archives entrance.
*Careful Hacker - In a flooded closet on the first floor of Corporate Offices.
*Drill Dash - Found in the lobby of McClendon Robotics.
*Drill Lurker - Inside vacuum bot #5.
*EVE Link - In the closet area in the far back-right of the Robotics Showroom.
*Hacker's Delight - In a closet next to the Hack Tool in the flooded basement of the Boardroom.
*Handyman - In a flooded room to the left of the entrance in the Workshops in McClendon Robotics, underneath a Security Camera.
*Master Protector - Available at a Gatherer's Garden (only with all stars obtained in The Protector Trials DLC).
*Natural Camouflage - In a side room of the first floor of the Warehouse of Air-Tite Archives.
*Sports Boost - In a room along the hallway to Porter's office.
*Walking Inferno - Found in a safe in Porter's office.
*Proud Parent - As a Little Sister's present.
===New Enemies===
*Thuggish Splicer
*Spider Splicer
*Security Camera
*Big Sister
*Leadhead Splicer
*Security Bots
**Rocket Security Bot
**Laser Security Bot
**Electric Security Bot
*Machine Gun Turret
*Grenade Launcher Turret
*Fiery Brute Splicer
*Lancer
*Little Sister
===Audio Diaries===
#Andrew Ryan - Your Link of the Chain - To the left, after entering Minerva's Den past the locker room at a dead end.
#Reed Wahl - The Thinker's Potential - Right side of the room with the Thinker statue where Sigma is first attacked.
#Charles Milton Porter - The Thinker - Behind the counter in room with the first Security Camera.
#Reed Wahl - The Predictive Equation - In front of a corpse in the center of the Boardroom.
#Charles Milton Porter - Nothing But Ashes - Porter's Office, where Sigma obtains the punchcard.
#Brigid Tenenbaum - Reversing ADAM Sickness - Downstairs area of the room with the Spear Gun across from the "Lounge" room.
#Christopher di Remo - New Bot Models - McClendon Robotics, in the Demonstration Stage showroom, inside a Vacuum Bot around the Auto-Chief display.
#Charles Milton Porter - Somebody Else's War - McClendon Robotics Workshops, in the back room with a Sea Slug, Security Camera, and a safe.
#Jack McClendon - Robotic Little Sisters - McClendon Robotics Workshops. Go towards back right past oil spill door and follow around to a grate in the wall. Knock it out and find it on a stretcher.
#Charles Milton Porter - The Turing Test - Crane control room in McClendon Robotics Workshop.
#Charles Milton Porter - Thinker, Meet Pearl - Same room as #10, except Sigma needs to use the crane controls first to get it as well as the Electro Bolt Plasmid.
#Charles Milton Porter - The Wager - Air-Tite Archives, inside the hallway leading to the Archives. Can be found on a seat.
#Audrey Hesselgren - Prying Eyes - First room after the entrance hall in the Air-Tite Archives. Go left after entering up the stairs past a Health Station.
#Brigid Tenenbaum - A Possible Solution - Through the first room in the Air-Tite Archives, through a small hallway, down a stairwell to the left of Canister Retrieval, and on a desk in the room to the right.
#Charles Milton Porter - How to Get Ahead - Air-Tite Archives, in Canister Retrieval, straight ahead as one enters the hall leading to the Archives.
#Charles Milton Porter - Thinker Input 1 - Air-Tite Archives, in a room to the right and underneath the hall leading to the Archives. Has a hole in the ceiling that lets Sigma hack the door above.
#Nicholas Ingraham - Subversives in the Archives - Archive Warehouse. Past the Gatherer's Garden, stay on the upper floor into the doorway on the left side. The Audio Diary is located on the far side of the large room by the monitor.
#Reed Wahl - Implicating Porter - Same room as the Gravity Well Plasmid.
#Andrew Ryan - Attracting the Looters - Chamber past Mag-Lock door, near C.M. Porter's Office. First room on right.
#Evelyn Klein - Vacuum Bot Problems - Look right from #19 to see the door to a small room . Diary is in the filing cabinet (must open cabinet) next to the vacuum.
==Gallery==
===Concept Art and Models===
Oldminervasden.jpg|Concept art for the Minerva's Den building #1, by Devin St.Clair.
Minerva's Den Vulcano Concept.jpg|Concept art for the Minerva's Den building #2.
Minerva's Den Entrance Concepts.jpg|Concept art for the Den's entrance.
Minerva's Den Thinker Atrium Concept.jpg|Concept art for The Thinker Atrium.
Minerva's Den Owl Concepts.jpg|Concept art for the owl decor.
Minerva's Den Doors & Column Concepts 1.jpg|Door and column concepts #1.
Minerva's Den Doors & Column Concepts 2.jpg|Door and column concepts #2.
Minerva's Den Doors Concepts 1.jpg|Door concepts.
Minerva's Den Advertisement Concept.jpg|Concept art for the Minerva's Den advertisement.
Minervasden1.png|Minerva's Den advertisement.
BS2R-rodinsculpt.jpg|Renders of the statue "The Thinker" found in Minerva's Den. By Devin St.Clair.
===In-Game Images===
Screengrab 480.jpg|Minerva's Den, as viewed from the connecting tunnel before it was destroyed.
BioShock2 2011 06 12 00 45 18 809.jpg|What remains of Minerva's Den outside of Rapture.
BioShock2 2011 06 12 00 51 53 245.jpg|A billboard for advertising Minerva's Den.
BioShock2 2011 06 12 00 47 51 986.jpg|Sea Slugs can also be found around the facility, both outside and inside.
XKvL0UB.png|The entrance to Minerva's Den.
BioShock2 2011 06 12 00 59 12 047.jpg|Surrounding computers left in disrepair.
BioShock2 2011 06 12 01 01 57 443.jpg|Visitors entering Minerva's Den are welcomed by a mechanical puppet.
RodinsThinker.jpg|Rodin's Thinker in the den.
BioShock2 2011 06 12 01 28 35 509.jpg|This way to the office of Charles Milton Porter.
BioShock2 2011 06 12 01 17 13 847.jpg|One of the rare finds of a clock with a window view.
BioShock2 2011 06 12 01 24 57 832.jpg|An outside view of the executive wing entrance.
gridminervasden.jpg|One of the many equations scrawled throughout.
==Behind the Scenes==
*Minerva is the Roman Goddess of Wisdom, a fitting name for this part of Rapture and The Thinker's computing power.
**The Den's symbol is an owl, a signifier of wisdom and often depicted with the goddess Minerva.
*According to the DLC's lead designer Steve Gaynor, the possible location for Minerva's Den is within the same area as Fontaine Futuristics and Point Prometheus.Minerva's Den Tidbits from the 2K Forums Steve Gaynor's replies to questions on topics regarding Minerva's Den and the BioShock series on the 2K Forums 
*The inspiration from the clock room came from the 1994 Coen Brothers film, The Hudsucker Proxy.Introduction time! Steve Gaynor, writer/Lead Designer of Minerva's Den at the 2K Forums During the film, the clock takes up an entire wall in the company director's office. During a pivotal plot point, the clock is also stopped near midnight.
*In the hidden room in the Robotics Workshop of McClendon Robotics (you knock a grate open to enter) there is a Robotic Little Sister on a pallet. When you first enter, a splash of water drops on it, causing a short circuit, and it moves for a few seconds.
*It is possible to avoid the Big Sister fight in this level by dropping off the last Little Sister in the vent closest to the Operations elevator, and then escaping through the latter before she arrives. However, doing so will provide a missed opportunity to loot the Big Sister, as the player will be unable to take the elevator back up.
*An unused idea from concept art of Minerva's Den was that this district of Rapture was self-powered by a hydroelectric power plant. The arch dam through which a subterranean river would flow would have been built into the caves beneath the facility, with The Thinker sitting atop.
*Another cut idea from a concept art was that the district featured Rapture's clock tower, with a clock face on each side of the tower and atop.
*Much of the signage for Minerva's Den was designed by Brandon Pham.Brandon Pham's portfolio
==References==
ru:Логово Минервы
es:Guarida de Minerva (nivel)
it:Minerva's Den (Livello)
Category:Walkthroughs
Category:Minerva's Den (Level)
Category:Minerva's Den (DLC) Locations