Lower Wharf

The Lower Wharf of Pier 4 is a major area of Neptune's Bounty in the city of Rapture. Jack must pass through here during the events of BioShock.
==History==
Back in Rapture's glory days, Neptune's Bounty was an essential part of life in the underwater city, and the Lower Wharf was a hive of activity. Fishermen, stevedores, factory workers, crane operators, and all sorts of others crowded the docks to carry out their daily business on one of the city's busiest ports.
The boardwalk at the southernmost part of the wharf had direct access to the sea through a trio of watertight bulkheads. Fishermen in diving suits and subs brought fish and other sea life in through here while transport vessels docked to deliver or collect cargo. Further to the north is a sea gate that connected to a watertight caisson lock. Colossal cables and pulleys rotated to raise and lower the lock, which would flood the lower portion of the wharf and allow larger vessels to float right up to the dock. Said dock also connected to the Rapture Metro where workers arrived and departed the port every day.
The Lower Wharf connected to Fontaine Fisheries, one of the largest commercial fishing businesses in Rapture. However, it also served as the secret epicenter of mobster Frank Fontaine's smuggling empire. When the Rapture Port Authority failed to uncover the smuggling ring, Andrew Ryan brought in Chief of Security Sullivan and Ryan Security to put an end to the illicit operation. Their investigation seriously impacted work on the wharf and around the port, but in the end proved effective in officially linking Fontaine with the operation. However, all work on the wharf would come to an end when civil war broke out and everyday life in the city came to a screeching halt.
==BioShock==
After his detour through the Medical Pavilion, Jack finally reaches Neptune's Bounty by Bathysphere. Atlas sends him to find Fontaine Fisheries in order to get to the hidden sub and escape the city. Along the way Jack spots Rose, the Spider Splicer he first encountered back at the Bathysphere Station, still just as deranged and evasive as ever. He continues on to the Lower Wharf.
===First Visit===
A large and cavernous place, the Lower Wharf is a dark, dank, and foreboding hub. The northern and southern boardwalks are cluttered with Lotz & Sons shipping crates and separated by a stretch of muddy seabed littered with drums of oil. A stream of water cascades down the ceiling forming a small pool in the center of the chamber; a pipe and sump pump keep the room from filling with water. The space is faintly illuminated by a wall of towering windows which show the ocean. It's evident that the quay was a major battleground during the Rapture Civil War. The decaying corpses, scattered munitions, and hidden Machine Gun Turrets underneath either pier tell a story of combat.
Just as Jack enters the wharf, he comes face to face with a gruesome pair: a Little Sister and a new type of Big Daddy, a Rosie. The duo proceed with their usual rounds, but before the girl can begin her gathering session, a Nitro Splicer lobs a grenade from the Upper Wharf. While the protector shoots at the mad bomber, two Leadhead Splicers soon join in the ambush from the southern pier. If Jack should pick up the Medical Expert Gene Tonic by the pool of water, a pack of Splicers will charge in to attack (a Nitro from the Metro corridor and two Leadheads from the southern dock).
Jack follows the posted signs and heads into the adjoining area of the Lower Wharf. This split-level chamber served as the primary drainage basin for Pier 4; the sump pump in the adjoining chamber, the gutters around the port, and other drains emptied in a collection area which waterfalled into the area below the dock. The area also contains a Gatherer's Garden, a Gene Bank, a Circus of Values, a pathway to the Upper Wharf, and the entrance to Fontaine Fisheries. When Jack arrives, the gate to the Upper Wharf is locked tight and the path to the fisheries is carefully guarded. The entrance has been barricaded and is protected by a Grenade Launcher Turret. On the dock below, a Leadhead stands watch in front of the makeshift barrier while a second one patrols back and forth between the drainage basin and a window showing one of the fishery's many sea life holding pens.
===Second Visit===
After negotiating with Peach Wilkins, Jack leaves the fishery in search of a Research Camera. When he emerges, a trio of Leadheads can be found searching down in the drainage basin for valuables. As he descends from the barricade, a Nitro Splicer dashes out from the area by the Gene Bank. Once Jack reaches higher ground, he sees that the previously locked gate has been blasted open. On cue, the likely culprit, another Nitro Splicer, dashes around the corner. He follows her, takes her out, and then deals with two Leadhead Splicers who descend from the stairs leading to the Upper Wharf. A collapsed grating leads to the seabed beneath the docks. There's an Audio Diary, a First Aid Kit, and Machine Gun Ammo near a dead body tied to a pipe, likely someone who paid the price for crossing Frank Fontaine. As Jack returns to grate, an EVE Hypo is dropped by a pair of Splicers who are now skulking around the area looking for supplies.
He ought to continue upwards, but now's as good a time as any to check the rest of the wharf. Following the stairs down, Jack comes across a conveyor belt and a pen area which served as the "enhanced interrogation" area of poor Timmy H. With the proper code, Jack can get past the locked gate to search the space and Timmy's corpse. However, as Jack returns, a Splicer waits around the corner ready to pounce. Back up top, next to the aforementioned Vending Machines, Jack can look down into the runoff outlet. In one of the channels is the bullet-riddled body of some poor soul who failed to survive the war. His loot, a Machine Gun, Pistol Rounds, and a disabled Security Bot, are ripe for the picking, but there's a fence blocking the way down. Fortunately, Jack can leap down into the adjacent channel, walk over, and collect the valuables. He just needs to watch out for the Security Camera set up in between that monitors the spillway.
When Jack does reach the Upper Wharf, he can look out over the Lower Wharf from a ledge where crates and other large items were raised and lowered between floors via a crane. However, when he does glance over, he sees a Nitro Splicer controlling a Security Bot patrolling the Lower Wharf.
===Third Visit===
Having obtained the camera, researched three Spider Splicers, and explored the Upper Wharf, Jack heads back to the fishery. If he looks over the edge down into the Lower Wharf, three Splicers will enter the lower piers; two Leadheads come from the Metro and one Nitro come from the south. Returning to the interior section of the wharf, the familiar strains of The Inkspots' If I Didn't Care play over the intercom. Jack spies the Wrench Lurker Gene Tonic placed suspiciously out in the open on the edge of the boardwalk railing. Sure enough, it's a trap set by Rose who springs up from below and attacks if Jack even comes close to the Tonic. Once she's taken out, it's on to the Fontaine Fisheries and a way out of Rapture.
==New Discoveries==
===New Plasmids and Tonics===
*Medical Expert - Lower Wharf near the pool of water in the seabed.
*Wrench Lurker - On the ledge near the Gene Bank and Gatherer's Garden on the way back to Fontaine's Fisheries.
===Audio Diaries===
#Sullivan - Timmy H. Interrogation - Under Fontaine Fisheries, needs a code.
#Andrew Ryan - Fontaine Must Go - Under the metal grating in the hallway to the Upper Wharf.
#Sullivan - Bathysphere Keys - Under south end of the boardwalk, close to a turret.
==Gallery==
Pre-Launch Bio NB Lower Wharf Rosie Big Daddy & Little Sister.jpg|A Rosie and his Little Sister in an early version of the Lower Wharf.
Neptune-Lower Wharf-12.png|A fish out of water.
Neptune-Lower Wharf-11.png|A crashed Bathysphere and exterior machinery seen from a window.
Neptune-Lower Wharf-08.png|Little Sister and Big Daddy walk in front of the sea gate.
Neptune-Lower Wharf-02.png|One of the bulkheads is no longer watertight.
Neptune-Lower Wharf-05.png|Winding walkways and water works.
Neptune-Lower Wharf-06.png|A beat cop and his partner.
==Behind the Scenes==
*The blue light coming from a balcony above the area with the three bulkheads is produced by two overlapping screenshots of the Timmy H. scene found further into the wharf.Post on Digital FrontiersNeptunes bounty room on YouTube
*The sign for the Lower Wharf was designed by Laura Zimmermann.Laura Zimmermann's Portfolio (Archived)
==References==
Category:Neptune's Bounty