The Thinker (Level)

The Thinker is the third and last level of BioShock 2's downloadable content Minerva's Den. It is here that Subject Sigma reaches The Thinker's Computer Core in order to print out a copy of the machine's code, and finally confront Reed Wahl.
==Minerva's Den==
As Sigma arrives, Reed Wahl shuts down the door to the Mainframe Computer Core room, forcing him to detour through the Mainframe Access Shafts while Wahl sets several security devices to hinder his progress. He finally reaches a room where his opponent has been madly writing down equations to find out what secret links together Subject Sigma, Charles Milton Porter and The Thinker. In the middle of his scribblings lies an audio diary Porter recorded before his disappearance from Minerva's Den, in which he starts running a new protocol for The Thinker to calculate a way to escape Rapture for itself. In the Computer Core, Porter urges Sigma to go to the console upstairs to confirm his genetic identity and start the printing process of the code, but Wahl shuts down the machine to keep it from interfering in his confrontation with Sigma. Brigid Tenenbaum finally enters in contact with Sigma and warns him that shutting down The Thinker puts in jeopardy the very state of Minerva's Den, which means he will have to defeat Wahl, take his Administrator Punchcard and restart the computer before it is too late. Helped by several reprogrammed Alpha Series, Wahl engages the fight with his mortal foe before being finally defeated. (After this point there are no further enemies to fight in the level/game other than any remaining Alphas; the remainder of the level is primarly exploration.)
Sigma then recovers the punchcard and relaunches The Thinker, which proceeds in confirming his genetic identity as Alpha Series, and his former one as Charles Milton Porter. Porter's voice is heard once more on the radio, greetings Sigma upon the recovery of his identity, before fading and revealing that it was no more than The Thinker itself running a personality duplication protocol based on its creator. Tenenbaum tells Porter that both the machine and her needed a familiar, comforting voice to guide him through his journey, eventually using his own. She then says that thanks to the machine's code, she will be able to bring him back to normal. She asks Porter to meet her in his private docking station behind his private office near the Computer Core, where a Bathysphere awaits for their escape from Rapture. In his former apartment, souvenirs of his life on the surface with his deceased wife Pearl fill in the blanks in his memory. Tenenbaum is sitting inside the submersible, waiting for Porter to pull the lever and return to the surface.
After returning to the surface, Porter rebuilds The Thinker from the printed code, which is then able to process the correct genetic combinations for Tenenbaum's cure to ADAM sickness. Tenenbaum then keeps her promise and cures Porter, who then visits his wife's grave. He leaves a letter to her, finally accepting her death and relieved of his grieving.
==Map==
==New Discoveries==
===Collectibles===
*1 Sea Slug
===New Plasmids & Tonics===
*Fountain of Youth
===New Enemies===
*Reed Wahl
*Mini-Turret
===Audio Diaries===
#Charles Milton Porter - Rapture Departure Protocol
#Charles Milton Porter - Pearl
==Gallery==
Knx7J09.png|Porter's former abode.
FkuDqZb.png|A piano in Porter's lounge room.
M4ZBPll.png|An Alpha Big Daddy with The Thinker.
Thinker output3.png|The Thinker's Output Cards: Processing Rapture Departure Protocol
Thinker output2.png|Transmission from: Dr. Brigid Tenenbaum.
Thinker output1.png|Reallocating Resource: Subject Sigma. Destination: Minerva's Den.
Thinker outputTAAL.png|(Remaster-only) A bloodstained punchcard reading: There's Always a Lighthouse.
==Behind the Scenes==
*In 2016's BioShock: The Collection, a punchcard reading "THERES ALWAYS A LIGHTHOUSE" can be found in the level, a reference to BioShock Infinite. The punchcard is found in The Thinker's control booth along with the other punchcards, set in between two consoles at floor level.
**The Morse code at the bottom of the punchcard .-.-.-/-.-./---/-- translates as .COM, leading people to visit theresalwaysalighthouse.com.
*While some props may appear on previous levels, The Thinker hosts a particularly dense concentration of developer name references.
**Hudson Power Ltd. fuseboxes can be seen in the beginning of the level, named for Brent Hudson.
**Karla Electron Tubes boxes can be seen piled haphazardly around The Thinker, named for Karla Zimonja.
**Sheets of tractor feed computer paper can be seen moving with the names: Devin St. Clair, Brandon Pham, Rinaldo Tjan, Collin Fogel all popping in and out of the lines of 1s and 0s.
**The Thinker's serial number on the rightmost cylinder reads "M4-R10-M-5UZ4.NE-P1X13-C0C0-N-500K13" which can be translated to Mario -M- Suzane Pixie, Coco, and Sookie. These are likely members of developer Mario DiPesa's family whose named ADAM slug also appears in this level.
Hudson Power fusebox.png|Hudson fuse box.
Tractor feed paper with developer names.png|Tractor feed paper.
Mainframe Mario.png|The Thinker's serial number.
==Bugs/Glitches==
* Upon first entering the level, if you stand within the open airlock door, the Brute Splicer cannot figure how to reach you even after he sees you.
it:Il Pensatore (livello)
ru:Мыслитель (Уровень)
Category:Minerva's Den (DLC) Locations
Category:Walkthroughs
Category:The Thinker