Fontaine&Atlas

* See also The_Smuggling_Operation
* See also Fontaines_Lair
* See also Neptune's_Bounty_Shootout
* See also Burial_at_Sea_Turned_Fontaine_into_a_Moron
* See also Ryan_And_Fontaine
* See also Fontaine_Fisheries
* See also Kashmir_Incident and %27civil_war%27
* See also Fontaine_The_Pusher ... Fontaine_Wasnt_Al_Capone ... ADAM
* See also Someone_Has_To_Scrub_The_Toilets
* See also Characters/Personalities
All the Audio Diaries and Talk by this (Later Revealed) Conman/Sociopath/Criminal character needs to be 'Kept in Mind'.
Atlas the Liar : Too many Players think his word 'is gospel' about Ryan ( and other things he says ).
== SPOILER : ATLAS IS FONTAINE ==
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Frank Fontaine ( AKA Atlas ) at his core is a 'Grifter' - a 'Con Man', a Liar, a Criminal, a Sociopath. His sort of people constantly lie, even when they don't have to. He was intent on seizing power in Rapture, and took advantage of the Freedoms there. The Funny thing is : A man like THAT being destroyed by his own creation ( Jack - Fontaine WAS Killed by his Own Creation - Either Jack or the Little Sisters - Not a point made much in the game ). 
Fontaine got 'a little too involved' in his own 'con', and his Ego led to his End.
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Fontaine, Previously a Small Time Criminal, Became Mobster-ish ( Who BTW is NOT 'Scar Face' Al Capone ) :
Already explained (elsewhere) why Fontaine's Smuggling activities just could NOT be all that large ( even if significantly larger than anything we were shown in-game ).
Additional criminal ventures would be needed to make up the slack to enable Fontaine getting SUFFICIENT resources for the story's Genetic Research/Experiment/Development ( Lucky he had so much amazing implausible talent available in Suchong/Tenenbaum, and Alexander later ). 
* Idea : Importing "Drugs" ( high value - recreational as well as medicinal ) and pushing them ( rather than importing 'Beef' ) - Note : THEY were not illegal.
* Logical : A Protection Racket is a traditional venture for Thugs ( Strongarming methods for Extortion payments )
* Fontaine's forcing workers to pay him a percentage ( what's that called - Coercion ) ? - THAT is spoken of in the games Audio Diaries.
* Typical : Preyed on the Poor ( Loansharking ... Perhaps why there were so many hiding in places like Paupers_Drop where Sinclair at least provided a modicum of lawfulness ).
* Obtaining businesses through illegal means ( Extortion ), at 'fire sale' prices.
It is Only that such things could NOT become too-bad/too-overt ( Crime against someone who would not 'give in' ) -- or Publicly known, the Citizens would be 'Up in Arms' ( Free Press denunciation and official/unofficial Law Enforcement ...) Rapture was a bit too small for that to work for long.
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Fontaine The Pusher' :
Fontaine would have DESIGNED his ADAM products to have a limited lifespan when used - To Deteriorate, so that the user had to renew it ( pay for more ) regularly. They would deteriorate normally, but like lightbulbs why make them 'to last' for years at all WHEN the customer needs them AND you want to be selling many/more of them ? 
I could see Fontaine INTENTIONALLY facilitating this 'business mode'. Later, with his goal of Rapture's disruption, Fontaine may have intentionally changed his formulas to MAKE the ADAM side-effects even worse.
Getting poor people 'Hooked' ...
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Fontaines Delusion :
Allegedly, Fontaine planned to leave Rapture and spread his Power Grab/Influence to the Rest of the World. How exactly did he expect to do this with the limited Sea Slugs/ADAM ( the reason 'Little Sisters' were eventually used 'in the first place' ), and a bunch of ADAM-addled crazies ?? It would not be huge armies of Splicers possible there -- Who anyway now would face REAL weapons used on The Surface. So, it was the delusions of a 'small time hood' who would have to face TRUE ruthless bastards on The Surface - instead of the handy fair rule-following environment he covertly abused within Rapture.
Ryan himself, by BS1, had all but thwarted Fontaine. But the lame surrender-monkey storyline allowed Fontaine brief hope before his inevitable failure.
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Fontaine - Just a Parasite :
Ryan ran Rapture the way he said he was going to ( and even battled Parasites in defense of all the Peoples hard work ). We really are not shown what all he did even during the %27civil_war%27 -- If people were not starving/freezing to death as Fontaine/Atlas disrupted things, it was probably because Ryan kept things running.
Fontaine was going to leave and take his evil/criminality back to The Surface, so he probably didn't care about what happened to Rapture. All those who mistakenly followed him, whom he had no further use for, would be left to die.
Atlas pandering to losers who wanted to change the rules to take what they never worked for, deluded about "what they deserved". Parasites assume that everyone HAS to cater to losers. That is today's expectation, and was not too prevalent in people (Americans) who supposedly came out of the Depression and WW2 ( AND Rapture People were supposed to have been people originally picked for Rapture FOR believing the OPPOSITE of Parasitism, and being the 'go-getters' tired of being held back by such dead wood and those who pandered to them ).
But again, a Failtopia HAS to Fail ( whether it makes sense or not ) - BECAUSE the plot says so. I can 'just hear' the 'Derrrrp!!s coming out of the developers/writers mouths as they crafted this game. AND For Infinite BS, it must have been like the Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing "The 'DERP!!!' Chorus" 'day in and day out'. 
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Fontaine Ain't No Al Capone :
1) Rapture isn't big enough for either the Smuggling nor Fontaine's Plasmid business to add up to the money they (the writers) portrayed Fontaine as having ( particularly in the DLC ). Remember profit is usually a fraction of the Gross Sales -- the Net Profit is after ALL the Expenses are paid.
2) The Smuggling Operation could only be so large due to the difficulty moving any large amount or value of Contraband ( and you have to trade for something valuable to the outside world, and THAT would eventually run out ). There is alot of overhead for such an illegal operation, and that absorbs profit.
3) The ADAM business wasn't illegal ( and there would have been competition all along, like Ryan who Fontaine could not coerce ). So higher/premium prices would NOT be paid by the users, like they had been for good illegal alcohol during Prohibition ( or drugs in our day ). In the REAL real-world, Capone had a population/customer base a thousand times bigger than any Rapture market.
4) Fontaine strong-arming too many people ( in his various criminal ventures ) would eventually come to light via Raptures Free Press ( and Ryan's (if any) could-not/would-not be forced to keep quiet about Fontaine ). Criminal acts of threatening/torturing/blackmailing/killing by Fontaine to get a monopoly is STILL against society's basic Laws, and even if the authorities didn't act, individuals could -- Fontaine eventually would have someone walk up to him and remove his head with a Shotgun or an Ax.
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Consider what you know about him, and what might be extrapolated, which led to his escape via his 'first death' :
Fontaine Selling an addictive product that drives people insane and gives them tumors ... Nah
Strong-arming/coercing/extorting most of the fishing companies to sell out to him .. Nah
Enslaving his employees and terrorizing them so that none would ever go to Rapture's quite vocal Press to denounce him .. nope.
Endangering Rapture's existence in a Cold War Worldhttps://www.conservapedia.com/Cold_War through the risks of running a huge smuggling operation and exposing Rapture - Nah.
It was when he tried to corner the 'TP' market... ( Ryan decided "enough was enough" ... ). Controlling and 'cornering' the Toilet Paper supply, and causing such a big "stink" ... And of course with the Neptune's Bounty Shootout, Ryan 'rolled up' control of it for himself ...
The strange thing was that Rapture's locally manufacture Tobacco was made from the same material used for the TP (kelp fiber). John Wayne brand TP - "It is rough and tough"...
Atlas's strange statement on a newly found Audio Diary : "Damned Two-ply, that was my greatest mistake!" - Makes more sense in this context.
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BioShock Simplistic Plot - Needed Spicing Up (Psycho-drama) : 
Atlas 'helping' you through the game ... Oops, now Ryan has killed Atlas's family, Oh Noooos. So Sad.
Atlas even piped in sad music to make you feel his pain ...
Yes, it did seem 'over the top' manipulation by the writers to convince you it was a good thing to help Atlas go murder Ryan :
 "Hey little boy, I'm your pal. Hey, this bad man ran over my puppy. You should go over to that bad man's house and murder him ..." ( Player either goes along or quits )
Unfortunately you are being led by the nose along this whole plot and you can't ask :
 "Hey, Atlas was right there. Why DOESN'T HE go and murder Ryan himself ? I mean I'm just the newbie here, so why isn't he getting his own revenge ??? Something is very wrong here ... " 
The writers ACTUALLY could have had a FAR BETTER story where you have more clues along the way so see that you were being manipulated by Atlas, and YOU finally figure out he IS controlling you BEFORE you get to Ryan ( and has lied about just about everything ), but NOW you cannot stop yourself and you robotically go through the motions and kill Ryan and THEN find out he was your father. Hitchcockian storytelling ... With YOU even trying to fight against the sociopath Fontaine controlling you ... but you CANNOT. AND NOW, you have a REAL reason to get Atlas in the remaining 1/3rd of the game.
This can fit right in with My other 'better twist' : When at the end, you learn Ryan knew, and FAKED his own death to get Fontaine ( that animatronic dummy, seen by a 4-year-old ADAM_Addled mutant ).
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Did Fontaine Stash some of his Profits on 'The Surface' ? (Plan Z) : 
He had to sell some product of Rapture in trade for the incoming smuggled goods. It would require a good sized ongoing process/establishment for his Smuggling operation on the surface. Art/antiques/precious metals/Technology(?). Permanent organization, up there, to maximize the value of conversion by cutting out the middleman ( "Fences" A "Fence" is a buyer of stolen goods - a criminal often give as little as '10 cents on the dollar' ... ).
Fontaine may have had at least some limited Surface resources ( from before he came to Rapture ) to get some Surface money to use to buy his initial Contraband. But that would only get him started, while he organized his permanent system. Infrastructure within Rapture would have to be 'paid upfront' as he expanded.
Fontaine ( and any other smugglers ) had to have contacts to obtain the Contraband goods, and to 'fence' the Rapture goods. Who did this and how much could he trust them ? Did he himself go ( or send a trusted underling ) to the Surface with any frequency, to supervise this operation ?
Might he have had 'investors' ( did he have 'investors' among the rich who would have far more Surface resources to utilize ? ... from which he took a large 'cut' ? ) Mafia/Organized crime surface connections ? Or do THEY take too much of the 'cut' themselves ( them trying to muscle in would make a nice MMORPG side-plot ), and would seek to have their own people eventually take over the 'operation' ? ( "Hey Vinny, Why does this Rigatoni taste like Seaweed ? " )
Where there other smugglers beside Fontaine of any real size ? Was there a 'syndicate' ( at least at one time ) ? Did he strong arm them/take THEM over as he did other lawful businesses ... How many murders ?
This also begs the question about resources that Fontaine/Atlas might have called upon to fight his incited %27civil_war%27. ( Reasons why he may have lasted so long ).
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Moira = 'Fate' in Gaelic ( Fontaine's fake wife's name, and not Tolkien's underground thingamabob )
No sign of it being anything 'deep' or 'meaningful' for the game. ( "Furina" goddess of thieves might've been more appropriate for that - Though to most Players would sound more like a Cat's name ).
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Another Two Faced ... :
Perhaps with Atlas in BaSx being so fond of Lobotomy ( a medical procedure and very odd detail in the game ), it is plausible that Dr J. S. Steinman, in that alternate universe, had killed Fontaine and made himself Atlas ( Maybe THAT also explains why Atlas/Fontaine doesn't know WYK in that story ).
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Atlas, Hangman :
Scene of strung up people in (BaSx) Fontaine's Department Store : "Turncoats" offers evidence of Atlas having a history of using such methods to terrorize opponents/followers. ( No reason for Ryan to do such a thing, but very much for 'Atlas' trying to become 'the Rebel Leader' rid of others whom assume they also 'have a say' ... ) 
The hangings in Apollo Square thus are likely this same 'Atlas's method of persuasion.
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Burial At Sea "Atlas" :
Also the new Burial At Sea DLC buildup of 'Atlas' as an already publicly-known revolutionary doesn't really fit. He should, at that story's time, be an unknown, OR he WOULD have been 'locked up' in "Solitary" at the Persephone Penal Colony as a ringleader by Ryan. In Fontaine's ( Department Store/mall prison ), Atlas is vulnerable, and he should have been keeping his head down until he could escape.
SO To have Fontaine's Mall not be converted into a prison before at least late November 1958 ??? ( Ignoring the issues with the consistency of many of the Audio-Diary dates ... ) That is still quite a while for the "problem" people at 'Home for the Poor'/Apollo Square to be on the loose threatening Public Safety. They would have been spotted very soon as Ryan's Security started assessing all of Fontaine's Assts/operations/holdings/property gathering evidence. 
Assuming there were any Splicer survivors of the Neptunes Bounty Shootout, there had (?) to be others there ( and across Rapture ) who were part of the Smuggling Operation ( the original crime indictment ), and in the interim they (if already caught) were kept somewhere ( Them also being associated with Fontaine makes them being incarcerated within the "Fontaine's Department Store Prison " apropos ).
Who lived in that Apollo Square 'poorhouse' ( or other similar establishments we never heard of ) ? Not ALL residents necessarily were arrested ( many were likely just there for something to eat/a place to sleep/or were coerced by Fontaine to remain ). If they weren't disruptive, then Ryan probably didn't want to waste resources 'locking them up', AND having to face a negative public opinion. Most of those 'locked up' in Fontaine's Mall were probably the crazy Splicer types, who were unpredictable and dangerous - thus NEEDING to be isolated ( at least until Splicer-Proof cells were built in Persephone ). Did we see many 'normals' in Fontaine's ?? - And any ADAM to create new ones would be in short supply. Vague. What actual numbers of people were really involved in all of this ? ( other than the ones we saw evidenced in the game ?).
In BaSx, you have presented to you a much greater extent of Splicer violence in Rapture than was mentioned/implied before in BS1. Previously, up to that time, the rabble-rousing by 'Atlas' originating in Apollo Square wasn't impacting the City all that much, safety-wise - It likely was localized and minor, as far as the public was concerned. Rich people partying "while Rapture Burns" is one thing, but obvious Chaos and disruption and Danger ... THAT WOULD BE a serious issue reacted to by the rest of Rapture's population.
I would think for Fontaine/Atlas, being 'rounded up' was unplanned ( not a good place to be, just the uncertainty of being imprisoned and significantly hampering his efforts/plans ). Crazy Splicers might not listen to his practiced con-man talk, and could just as likely turn and kill him ( evidence was shown they weren't really controllable ). 
The whole situation ( that Burial At Sea plot) is problematic anyway, because Ryan's people would have gone-over/investigated/searched the whole Department Store place to turn it into a proper prison ( even just when looking for evidence of Fontaine's crimes and investigating his now 'Seized' property ) - That would not be leaving much for Atlas to work with. A simple warehouse 'prison' would have served far better and been easier to convert/control, and would be less problematic for Ryan - even just dealing with the displaced owners/workers of all the other businesses in "Fontaine's". Announcing it was "Back To Business, Under Honest Management" would have been a philosophical coup for Ryan. 
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In the more normal times violent Splicers were 'handled' by law enforcement, and it should have been alot less frequent ( or the Newspapers would be covering the violence disrupting the city ). Combat-Plasmids became ALOT more used once the %27civil war%27/terrorist activity escalated. SO, incidents may have been rare upto Kashmir happening. ( That "Fontaine's Army", mentioned by McDonagh in a Audio Diary ... All of this is short of details to pin much down - McDonaugh's term seems to be referring to the Neptune's Bounty Shootout, but technically doesn't actually say ). 
That's the problem with alot of all this Story- even the evidence we are given in the game is generally Vague. So we are chasing after logic with very few facts to go on. The 'Prison' inmates may be leftovers from the Neptune%27s_Bounty_Shootout, and others from 'dead' Fontaine's criminal organization across the city, and some (violent ones) from the 'poorhouses' and the 'protests', and ringleaders like Atlas.
Later, it is hard to say how many of Sofia Lamb's followers were Splicers or non-Splicers. By later times, when there was probably alot less ADAM available ( Little Sisters killed or getting too old ), it (probably) was easier to control Splicers who had lost their power ( when their Combat-Plasmids no longer work any more, and we also have years of time involved in that whole situation ).
Similar uncertainty about details for facilities at Persephone, as to How they handled Splicers still having their powers -- We saw isolation tanks and covered cells which might work for any non-Houdini ( assuming that isn't a faked Teleport power as has been suggested ). 
Ditto with the 'nationalization' ( "Seizing" of the criminal-owned Fontaine Futuristics ) - Its timing, and making public the abused orphans ( and maybe other children ) made into Slug Hosts ( Why wasn't THAT presented as a bigger deal ????? )
Certainly, there's the separate actions of the Investigations into ALL of Fontaine's 'Empire' (Ryan had to justify to the Public the actions he had taken ( Attempted arrest resulting in the "Shootout" ) -- We certainly DID see an extensive investigation setup at Neptune's Bounty in the Wharf Masters Office by Sullivan).
Fontaine obvious had planned his death well in advanceGetting the Face Change by Steinman even with ADAM's assistance is not too quickly done, and had been positioning resources ( away from his existing establishments, which WOULD BE well searched ... THAT would have been smart of him ). He would have to completely separate his new identity - IF Ryan found out about it, then the whole 'We are Just Poor People Protesting' cover would turn into death warrants on Atlas. THAT'S why being the danger of being trapped in "Fontaine's Department Store" was against his plans ( and why it is Illogical to see him in BaS acting the 'Big Man' there, instead of what he needed to do to simply survive and then escape ).
I think the Dates on the various BaS Audio Diaries made the time intervals rather too tight ( the same for events related in the whole BaSx DLC ). How soon Fontaine's Department Store started being used as a Prison ? - We don't know ( and the whole Suchong events complicates/overlaps it ). Fontaine seemingly had lots of resources, and seeing the ease that Booker/Elizabeth arrived via 'Locked down Bathysphere', he could-have/should-have (?) long previously escaped. 
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The procedure was created to be simple to perform and with the least side-effects for the patient - IF you have the right tools ( an "orbitoclast" ). Why Atlas/Fontaine should have one or know how to use it ( or why one could be in Rapture, where purposefully mangling the tissue someone's brain is likely a violation of their Free Will -- that all isn't much answered ). 
"Man named Steinman taught me this. He's a bit of a lunatic, but a fine surgeon. He calls this little trick a transorbital lobotomy."
WHAT A Load of Crap. It is not painful (for a torture), and leaves the patient a bit addled after the procedure ( so EVEN LESS LIKELY to give any good answers ). Good ole 'Cigarette burns' torture is more of the type of thing to be employed by a thug like Fontaine on a dame.
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Fuckatlas2.jpg|Poster we should have seen
Wanted-10000ADAM-Reward2.jpg|Might have been a very quick end to Ryan's problem with Atlas if such a logical thing was done ( the games plot was in general not too logical ).
Bounty.jpg
ArcadiaAtlasStench.jpg
AtlasProp.jpg
Pal.jpg|Things like this in the Burial At Sea Prison would NOT have fooled the half-insane Splicers he tried to 'order around'.
AntiAtlasPropaganda.jpg|If We Had Seen Such Posters, Then That Twist Would Have Been Spoiled
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ALTAS :
I've misspelled Atlas as "Altas" a number of times, and Hey - *IDEA* : Some guy pretends to be 'Atlas' calls himself 'Altas" and starts 'cashing in' - scamming Fontaine. Of course Atlas "don't like it", but Splicers are Crazy ( and dyslexia perhaps is an ADAM side effect ? ). So all kinds of stupid things happen before 'Altus' gets 'a crowbar upside the head', and Fontaine can then go on with his overcomplicated 'Ace in the Hole' plan. 
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Fontaine the Literary Giant :
We never see any of these later in BS1/BS2 because the inmates at "Fontaine's" used up 'the book stockpile' as TP(Toilet Paper) during their internment. Sofia Lamb was smart enough to add abrasive glass fibers to the paper of her book "Unity & Metamorphosis" to forestall that same likely fate for it.
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Fontaine's Plan E :
(Plan A) : which was Fontaine just trying to take over the City of Rapture with his Spliced minions ( back when the Constables barely had any weapons ), but was headed off by Ryan going after him for Smuggling at Neptunes Bounty ( The Shootout )
(Plan B) : An assassination attempt upon Ryan ( Bomb at Kashmir - which also was staging for Fontaine's later plans ). 
(Plan C) General Terrorism to disrupt Rapture 
(Plan D) : 'Jack' WYK -- Activated when Atlas/Fontaine was 'on the run' after Ryan nullified the Splicers with Pheromone Control. Looking at how complex and full of possible failure points ( Shoulda been called "Inside Straight" - or "Long Shot" )
(Plan E) : The Assassin Pawn Jack failing only left Fontaine Mega-Splicing himself
I'm not sure where "Leaving Rapture with the ADAM goodies to become rich on the Surface" fell into these sets of plans.
Fontaine DID already have that submarine we saw in Smugglers Hideout - unless Ryan had already disabled it ( not disclosed in game ), and thus could be used by Fontaine as a prop in his WYK 'fool Jack' plan.
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Peach(y) Wilkins ran Fontaine Fisheries for 'the City' after Fontaine was killed. Coerced (or convinced) into playing stoolie ( turning 'States Evidence' ) for Ryan/Sullivan to get the evidence proof needed to arrest and convict Fontaine. Consider that Wilkins was forced by Fontaine into virtual slavery ( Audio Diary - "Putting the Screws On" ) and into the Smuggling operation also. With Fontaine dead, the fishing operations would continue with most of the the personnel who had previously operated it ( and any surviving Owners whom Fontaine had 'strong armed' out of their fishing businesses, might be back ).
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 "What I Miss is Popcorn and Rum" (McDonagh) 
"Popcorn and Rum for EVERYONE" ( Atlas's Lies seen on a MMORPG Poster - Except its crossed out and 'The Popcorn is a Lie" is scrawled over it ). ref from HalfLife game DLC - PORTAL "The Cake is a Lie" ... 
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Fontaine's Plan D :
9/11/60 - Several Bathyspheres full of explosives fly into Rapture Tower at Welcome Center, causing collapse and the flooding of most of the building. Death toll well over 100. Ryan doubles the 10000 ADAM Bounty on Atlas's head, and calls on all citizens to eliminate the remaining Anarchists and Terrorists - Dead or Alive. 
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When you have just entered 'Welcome Center', He sends Johnny ( not that 'Topside' guy ) to get you out of the Bathysphere, who is promptly slaughtered by a Splicer. Shouldn't that be a clue to you about Atlas ? Couldn't he have had 'Johnny' go help his family out of that sub ?? Instead, he throws him away like spent tissue paper. At that point (on first playthru) Rapture is all very confusing and strange, and YOU are too busy playing with all the game widgets to notice this ( or if you did, you are given NO options to do anything about it in any case ... ).
And so the farce picks up steam, and you have little Choice - You are a puppet, a pawn in a story that grows ever more absurd : Ryan is 'so Evil!!', Atlas says "Boy-oh", Boom boom .. bang bang, "Mr Bubbles!"(awwwww), "A man chooses"(splat), SilverSurfer: "You Mook", Arrrgh!! , Back to the Surface("yaaay"), The End.
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Showing Fontaine/Atlas For What He Really Was :
An interesting scene would be Atlas needing more ADAM for his Splicer Minions ( to control them ) grabbing/kidnapping citizens and killing them and then having 'His Little Ghouls' (LS) "Obtain" the ADAM for his supply ... He might even organize scooping up some 'less than recently killed' bodies for this purpose ( Expect New Rapture to have a Bounty on bringing in (old) bodies, to recover the ADAM, which is still used for medical procedures, and for improvement of the general sanitation. )
Since Fontaine's researchers had developed this process, he would know how it worked and would figure out how to do it 'on a shoestring' in some hidden lair ( somewhere in the sewers, no doubt ). Atlas having his 'Daddy' ACT - being all cutesy to trigger the Little Sister's conditioning -- THAT might be an odd Flashback scene ( with him then on the sideline saying "I hate those creepy little brats, and if I didn't need them, then ..." )
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Fontaine - His Game-Writer Exaggerated Wealth :
Al Capone supposedly was making $3 million profit a year from the proceeds of his 'illgotten gains' ( illegal and 'legit' businesses ). Of course that was with millions of customers and not merely something less than 20000/40000. Capone ALSO had swindled/extorted people out of their businesses ( so to buy them cheap ) like Fontaine supposedly did.
According to http://www.usinflationcalculator.com/ , the Ryan's (multi-multi millionaire) Industrial fortune 1946 would be worth 12 times as much today.
Note : Chicago had a population of 2.7 million (1920) and Rapture only 20K-40K. SO trying to make Fontaine into some big crime boss like Alfonso Capone doesn't exactly work -- To have him get anywhere near to Ryan and other rich people who invested 100s of millions to build Rapture. They later would be earning from rents/utilities/etc ... and other investments/businesses. It also takes TIME to build a competitive business, to grow with expenses sucking up profit. Fontaine's rise was limited to be within a rather short time ( early 1950s to 1958 for his 'ADAM' business ).
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"Sing Along With Fontaine ? NO. Fontaine Sings Along With YOU..." :
Gad, imagine the TV show that Fontaine produced when "diversifying" his money ...
More of his propaganda of how he rose up from nothing and built his empire. His long-time goals were to finish his big scam and leave Rapture, so most things he did would be to those ends - Makes the whole "Fontaine's Department Store" not really all that logical. Another truth, which some people don't realize : You don't get success always by just throwing money at things. So there would be many things that Fontaine would have wasted his money on. And Thuggery can only get you so far in the 'Real World'.
Note - Fontaine's and Atlas's fictional "families" ... Wouldn't it ( After a decade ) be obvious that they didn't exist ??? Little details ... ( Maybe the MMORPG will explain this ? ).
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Yes "Rabble" - A Good Descriptive For Many of the People Shown as Atlas's Followers. : 
In the revised (Retro) BaSx Canon, many of Atlas's follower are shown to be criminals/crazy. Exactly how would having THEM as followers impress any new ones out amongst the 'poor' of Rapture ?? Scare-off many, leaving others who might not care much about the conventions of any society. Being 'The Boss' while not playing/appearing 'the boss' ( "See, I'm just like you" ) could be rather difficult when some softer 'poor' people are to be dealt with. How many of these 'rebels' existed ? - any number would be rather difficult to provide for ( You can't hand out a limited supply of food for very long - example - the "Department Store" was cutoff - remember ? ), and even stealing from shops doesn't last very long when the production ceases -- the harder types start seizing from the weaker ones as long as there is anything left ). Same goes for BS1 'Atlas' stirring up crowds Ghost Stories see) .
Following someone who 'Tells them What they Want to Hear' - Go kill people and I'll give you some canned food ... SO they wreck things and then complain that things don't work any more. Most people are NOT stupid enough to destroy things that keep themselves alive.
Many are crazy/unstable from ADAM ? Would all the rest of the previously allowed drugs in Rapture have not long previous produced the same type of people ? A deranged person can do plenty of damage/destruction without ADAM even being involved ( but those were handled apparently just fine BEFORE ).
So ADAM was cheaper ( to make a bigger sudden plague ... ) ??? To use it for the 'rush' or 'high' ( over those other quite effective drugs ) ??? Is it only when you abuse it that is has such effects ?? ( Story-wise, it too 'conveniently' took so long to happen for people NOT to realize it - till 'Surprise' it suddenly is there a major problem -- Rapture isn't such a BIG place that it could be so easily overlooked ). 'Drug users' willingly disabling themselves IS parasitic and quite detrimental to one's survival and lowers the regard paid by other Citizens - hard to stay hidden. You have to remember that in those days such addicted drug users/abusers WERE considered 'bums' by the majority. Where does one get the money for ADAM if it is expensive ( and then to abuse it ) ? Normal use then would have been causing it ??? So the game story wasn't handled particularly cleverly - only forced as the 'plot' required.
ADAM brain damage is making some Citizens stupid enough to follow Atlas or other Anarchists ? Such should have been reported almost immediately in the City, and Fontaine put out of business for selling poison ( Rapture's 'Wonder' advanced medicine (predating ADAM) should have had plenty of experts around capable of spotting this hazard ). Such brain damage would have been spotted at that early time then - shouldn't it ? Oops, it is not part of 'the narrative' to allow Fontaine/Atlas to be known for what they actually were -- to be known to (apparently) simpleton-filled Rapture, and thence to the Player.
Attacking the systems and people who maintain the City -- suicidal stupidity. "If I can't have it then burn it down ..." Yes, that's a message that would go over big with Rapture's population - even the dissatisfied ones.
'Atlas Will Free US !!!' ( What the 'rebels' allegedly want ... ) - What ? To now be up on The Surface (Lighthouse) and then to head for wherever ?? In the World of ~1950, there hardly is much convenient welfare state (not even 1960), or earlier as most people there would remember the World ( from the time they came from it - When it was much still in a shambles ). Is it a 'good plan' to die of exposure ? Or the stampede ( that is if the Bathysphere doesn't break down before a fraction of these 'Leavers' can get out ... to wherever they think they can get ).
So Atlas ( that humble fisherman ) will run things ? Or it will just be everyone will somehow simply still make things work ? ( I Estimate merely 1 year before all of Rapture malfunctions and was rendered lifeless for THAT scenario ). "Work for Atlas or Die" is hardly conducive to making that happen ( "In six months we'll be stealing Erno's nose!" as Woody Allen in "Sleeper" said about a proposed 'revolution' ).
Atlas is leaving ( to sell his 'tech' to become a Big Man Up There ) ? So does he need a pack of degenerated humans loose to demonstrate to the World what ADAM-use does to you ??? So he probably DOESN'T want them to escape - It was only a ploy to disrupt Ryan's control. Fontaine would even kill them once HE had the power if needed. If he could stash stuff for his 'revolution' why not just have a submarine hidden away to escape with ?? ( He hid the Smuggling base for so long, so one sub shouldn't have been that hard. Instead he lets himself get trapped/cornered - OK for the stupider BaSx Fontaine/Atlas, but untypical for the supposedly clever BS1/BS2 Fontaine )
Fontaine/Atlas probably fears having to be near all these crazies. They are unpredictable and might suddenly take a liking to his Face --- to want to wear it as a mask !!! (or maybe eat it) SO HE is really under siege more than Ryan is by all those Splicers. WHO can Fontaine really trust ???
These dissatisfied people, THEY Can't work? Won't work ? In Rapture, for jobs that are needed, the wages go up ( So you wouldn't work as a farmer even just to feed yourself ???? Even with mechanization, food growing still required some labor. ) There would be plenty of work to keep Rapture alive - Ryan would need work done and would pay the going price. And labor/'work' really would not be 'assembly line' type production much, so there's alot more hands-on work - jobs available just for producing basics -- and you don't really need all the luxuries when things get tough.
So are these dissatisfied people all starving "Artists" ? Well, they probably would have starved in 1952 and be long gone by now ( 'artist' is a dubious career ). Didn't read the brochure ? And just thought Rapture was gonna be their 'free-ride' ticket ?? Such people were not knowingly allowed into Rapture. And those who slipped in, they would be a minority when the REST of People would NOT want to kowtow to any Parasites ( It IS WHY they came ).
Militia fighting for the sane/loyal majority ( the unheard-from people the game kept hidden ) - THEY would have Atlas and his terrorists mopped up/destroyed inside a month ( the majority would just say "KILL THEM" ) - and the WOULD have been exterminated like Parasites.
Rapture WAS NOT our modern day touchy-feeley, over-tolerant, foisted parasitical welfare state ( the writers seem to have forgotten that or 'haven't a clue' ).
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SO Fontaine Never Spliced While He Was Building His Empire... :
He uses thug methods to coerce his 'employees', He rules thru fear/murder, etc ...
And Atlas starts employing Splicers to institute violence, building his 'army' ...
NEVER SHOWN/HINTED AT : How long before some unstable half-crazy/irrational Splicer minion ( immune to adequate fear ) decides HE'S gonna be the big boss, and Fontaine's head is suddenly Incinerated to a crispy mess, or Fontaine gets a shotgun blast to the face, or in the back ??
ADAM is a sword that cuts both ways ...
An interesting Audio Diary explaining his 'abstaining' ( Maybe because he saw the results of the early developments and test he decided the risk was too much ... )
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#1 Parasite :
Parasite Fontaine planned to leave Rapture for some larger Surface World ambition. After he poisoning the city into a addiction-ridden psychotic mess, wrecked the ADAM production to facilitate his rebellion, he then got Ryan killed off so that no real recovery was possible. Ryan the Builder WOULD have tried to find a permanent solution to save HIS city ( New Rapture would later arise ).
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Fontaine's Penthouse Shoulda been Thoroughly Trashed :
Looking at Fontaine's apartment ( in Mercury Suites, Olympus Heights ), with it being largely pristine. That's rather strange, as it would have been thoroughly searched for evidence once he was suddenly 'dead' ( killed while resisting arrest by city authorities ). His possessions would have been hauled away to help pay restitution to his victims, and what was left then vandalized or stolen in the general chaos or retribution owed traitors.
The same strangeness was seen later or the "hidden" Fontaine stuff in BaS in Fontaine's Department Store -- particularly unlikely for someplace that was supposed to be turned into a Prison. Again, a rather incompetent/missing investigation - with no real effort to properly search the premises (( Mentioning such makes Ryan's society look competent, I guess. )) Tenenbaum was a minor nuisance by comparison, and HER apartment was trashed quite alot.
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These supposedly 'Spontaneous' Protest signs are rather well and similarly composed. Typical "Rent A Mob" type stuff.
We find these at the Welcome Center Bathysphere station. They look like an orchestrated 'Protest', which likely was organized by Fontaine in his campaign to destroy Rapture society.
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Atlas was a Drug Pusher, and his followers would do/say anything to get their ADAM Fix. As Atlas he used that. In the end, Fontaine himself became a user and destroyed himself.
It is a well known fact about 'The Addicted' ... They will say "black is white" to get the drug they need. They will knife their own mothers. It wasn't Ryan's Philosophy that led to Rapture's downfall, it was Fontaine poisoning the Underwater City with something that would wreck our World s easily.
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The BaS 'Moron' Fontaine never bothered to GET the WYK Control Code Phrase' from Suchong - How fricking Imbecilic was that ?? - After his huge costs in time and money and resources the whole 'Ace-Hole' project took to do ??? ...WYK Codephrase - imbecilic Fontaine not having it : Some Players have speculated It was Suchong Holding IT Back for 'Insurance' against Fontaine, but NO, the original Fontaine would have demanded it, and Suchong WOULD have 'ended up in a sack underwater' at the dock in Neptunes Bounty if he had refused. 
Previously Fontaine was shown to be far more Clever and Careful.
Perhaps it is more that the DLC writers just used whatever 'First came into their Heads'.
Lazy and Careless ... DLC-itus ...
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