Vita-Chamber

* See also Vending Machines
* See also ADAM_Medical_Uses
* See also Corpse Gnomes
* See also Marketing_Hype
* See also BioShock_Game_Elements
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Introducing the Future of Health and Wellness, The Vita-Chamber  :
The Vita-Chamber is a different technology, and remember Ryan himself was a technical genius (power systems, etc ...), so his know-how tied in with Alexander's/Suchong's/Sinclair's might have produced an exclusive product, separate from ADAM, which could compete with ADAM and Fontaine  ( and maybe was planned as a way to alleviate ADAM side-effects to help Rapture recover ).   We saw them deployed ALL over the place already in Rapture, so they must have worked and been in demand by consumers ( or Ryan would NOT have paid to deploy them ).
Vita-Chamber may have seen quite alot of use some time before the events of the first BioShock. The one at  Adonis with its own Spa area suggests that ( Deluxe new exclusive features !! ).  I remember there are two of them at the Smuggler's Hideout, which is a bit odd.  If the cave remained hidden to Ryan's forces all this time, then they must have been emplaced BEFORE Fontaine's fake death.   But then neither Suchong or Gil Alexander would have worked under Ryan at that point in time, or the Vita-Chambers for some reason were later installed by Ryan's men, sometime AFTER they stormed the place ( which doesn't make any real sense ).    Another possibility is that Peach Wilkins and the remaining smugglers who barricaded themselves at the hidden parts of the Fisheries/Hideout later stole/looted them.  
Vita Chambers were everywhere, even in very poor/strange places ( for the games Save & Load mechanism, but  still there, so its Canon ).    Smuggler Hideout also had a Pneumo Kiosk -- Fontaine was alot like (or illogically MADE like) the criminal Al Capone, and probably had all kinds of people bribed for 'looking the other way'.   He could probably get anything he wanted for the place ( and the fact that they were there, means Vita-Chambers worked in a useful way for 'revitalization' ).   The simpler function was already there, but Suchong/Alexander/Sinclair might have later been brought in, and were expanding on its abilities ( to do the more difficult 'Back from (near) Death' function ).  Suchong talks about the 'bring back from dead ... BS', but that may was probably the latest of many improvements upgraded into existing machines.
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New From Ryan Industries :
Theory - Vita-Chambers function included cleaning up genetic garbage (kinda like anti-oxidants do free  radicals) using a whole different technology ( Ryan was an electrical genius in his own right ).   It was completely separate product/service giving him an exclusive for a 'Cure' ( maybe with the Pheromone Control stuff he  could get all the existing Splicers to use it and eventually recover - or even long term have it allow ADAM to be used 'safely' ).
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 MMORPG Vita Chamber Justification (So that its not Quantum Bullshit just to have a SAVE mechanism) :
The writers were a little loose on the justification for this game mechanism ( It goes a bit further 'Star-Trekky' than most of the genre's 1950s-era Sci-Fi plus ADAM/gene-tech stuff in believeability ). If they tried, they might have come up with something more reasonable. But as it is (keeping it), we can be challenged and a little creative in correcting it to have a plausible existence :
"restoring vigor and spirit with the touch of a button."
It was originally a Ryan product that was used for something less than 'Bringing people (The player/Ryan) back to life' - a possible "pay to be invigorated" ( or healed/resuscitated ) vending machine ( no coin slot visible - so must be some membership thing ), being expanded in its function/capabilities 'experimentally'. That would justify why we see the machines already being all over Rapture ( and in some strange/odd places - intended for its general use by citizens, and not just Ryan ).
The BaS storyline is off the rails - Dr Suchong instantly inventing them, and automatically having them only work for Ryan - We will ignore that illogic entirely.
Supposedly they were 'locked down' to prevent assisting (via the original system's healing function) Ryan's enemies in the 'civil war', and in were in the middle of being changed over to assist his forces ( enemy all die, his loyal minions come back to life, or at least healed ... ), when the work was disrupted.
Perhaps their function was also being changed to administer part of the 'pheromone control' scheme at some point, or something equivalent ( Ryan looking forward to trying to get his citizens OFF their ADAM addictions ).
Why only Ryan (his 'genetic frequencies') and not just shut them all down ? - well if the thing actually worked, then why not gamble for 'resurrection' for himself ( he had paid for them after all ). And the 'lock' apparently was the same developed mechanism that supposedly worked already (assumed used on Bathyspheres), and it blocked use by his enemies ( possibly the 'civil war' disruption prevented implementing some modified lock for his minions to use them - maybe still doing healing at least ).
Being usable by Delta (NOT Ryan's genetic 'frequencies...) would mean some general change happened across the whole VC system. This might have been made by Tenenbaum/The Thinker/Lil Sisters hands to help Eleanor at whatever central control the Vita-Chamber system had. Again, some narrow genetic lock encoded ( Delta's DNA Eleanor found ) as in the limited mechanism from Ryan's time OR the locks were ALL disabled but noone else knew that had happened ( though why so many (all) would be still working when so much else was in ruins is inconsistent ). We don't ever see a Splicer use them (too bad), so it is not likely they were 'hacked' before that in any general way.
BaS Bullshit - REJECT IT -- Suchong there shown creating them and as 'RYAN ONLY', just before the 'civil war' -- which makes little sense as they are seen all over by BS1 in places Ryan would never go. Too much disruption/expense to produce/deploy them ( besides the fact Suchong in previous games called the whole Resurrection idea "Bullshit", when Sinclair and Alexander "tried to explain it" to him ).
For the MMORPG, you will find many wrecked ones ( some with valuable salvage parts ). The technology to resuscitate/heal ( The Resurrection thing may have only been a Sales Slogan ) was still useful and would continue to be to New Rapture ( particularly for the Citizens being ex-Splicers who can get severely injured in the new game mechanics, and a justification for your typical No-Death MMORPG requirement ).
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Vita-Chambers From a Game 'SAVE' Component to a Canon Device :
We really don't know all the ins-and-outs of how the Vita Chamber operates -- Maybe the Corpse Gnomes(tm) bring your body and stuff it into the machine before you are fully dead ? You are unconscious, so who is to say how long that takes or what is involved ?? The machine could take a while to do its work, depending on the injuries. Those Medi-Packs we otherwise use do seem to work awfully fast, and likely fix up some pretty horrendous damages -- so why can't this machine ( and whatever chemicals/whatever it might pump into you ) do the same ?? This is a little more reasonable than some magical 'quantum entanglement', with or without 'Teleporting'.
"Corpse Gnomes" might also explain what happened to all the 'Little Brothers' ... :
The advanced 'revitalization' process might just be a fancy resuscitation system which works as long as you aren't yet (completely) braindead. Massive regeneration ( better when the 'ADAM' effect causes Stem Cell conversion rather than being THE Stem Cells ). Ryan may have found additional techniques to accelerate/improve the tissue regeneration, or somethings completely different.
It is possible that after Sofia Lamb (effectively) murdered Delta, that his corpse was taken back to the Big Daddy Depot (wherever) for forensics of what went wrong by Fontaine Futuristics or Fail Safe Escorts personnel. (Delta was an early testing model, so they were still debugging alot at that point). He may even have been put 'on ice' intact. He also, as well, probably had various extra/extensive brain scans and such being available for him ( again being a test model, they likely had to gather data while his Conditioning was in progress - upto and including scans of his brain synapse patterns, as well as the conditioning tapes which had previously been used to overlay mental patterns onto BD minds ). With the start of the 'civil war', Delta might have been largely forgotten after being stored away.
So there might have been rather ALOT for Eleanor to find to handily piece Delta back together - not just DNA, which might be able to recreate his body (Alpha BD suits were likely to be had - DNA can't recreate that). There is no such thing as the patterns/memories in the brain being stored in DNA/RNA ( it is possible the mention of saving his DNA was actually to compare/index it, or to act as templates for Big Daddy DNA changes ), Eleanor would have to search for the records of Delta. The 'quantum entanglement' BS was Ryan's/Sinclair's marketing hype. The Vita-Chambers can revive/resuscitate you, IF you are recently dead, and Eleanor apparently modified that machine in the Adonis Resort to do a bit more.
SO in this case it IS the same body ...
Now, how close to the original [[[Delta]] his long-delayed resuscitation might have made him ?? That is questionable. Many of his 'memories' may have been inserted into his rebuilt mind by Eleanor, to assist in convincing him to come save her. To do some of this work, Eleanor would have to slip away from her mother, but she really needed to get out of Rapture to be truly free of her. Delta would be her solution for that.
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Why There Would be No 'Magic Resurrection Quantum Bullshit" in the MMORPG :
"Sinclair Solutions successfully manufactured this potentially world-changing device for Ryan Industries,  who proceeded to take it public"
I don't recall seeing a label or any mention of 'Sinclair Solutions' making them.  Research and development is one thing, manufacturing and servicing is another.  That's a bit of a larger task than  Sinclair Solutions might have been capable of ( and Alexander/Suchong who were mentioned being involved worked for Ryan/Ryan Industries. )
"Introducing the future of health and wellness, The Vita-Chamber"     - Ad from Ryan Industries
Instead of some magic Teleportation of a 'entangled' whatever, The Little Undertakers ( being what happened to the 'Little Brothers' ) or fellow Citizens drag your poor corpse back to a Vita-Chamber  ( no need for physics-impeded Teleporting or this Fantasy 'Quantum Entanglements' shit ).  Its all part of the service - and Jack with Ryan's genes is signed-up already.   The Vita-Chambers, less this advanced 'deluxe' resurrection features, were a way for Ryan Industries to compete with ADAM (largely monopolized by Fontaine). The project underway for YEARS, was accelerated to break the ADAM addictions and their disastrous side-effects (and forestall more), and potentially sometime soon implement a Cure.
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Vita Chambers - BaSx Suchong Developing It - NO. : 
Remember Suchong called it "Bullshit" (the 'back from the dead' thing).
And with the BaSx story Time frame Pushing such development Far Too Early ? AND SORRY, 'NO' TO THE INFINITE QUANTUM BULLSHIT ( BioShock Rapture is Science Fiction based, not Fantasy -- and especially not BAD Fantasy ) .
It seems (from previous games' evidence) Vita Chambers were meant to be used by most people (probably for a 'Fee' like most everything else) as a "Next Generation Health Station" ( a Ryan Industries product which could compete with ADAM ). There are ads and signs around implying this : 
"Introducing the Future of Health and Wellness ! The Vita-Chamber, Restore Vigor and Spirit with the Touch of a Button !"
The Vita Chambers probably were not (for a plausible story) originally intended to "Resurrect" you from Death ( The signs indicate it was more for restoring you to good health, revitalizing you when you worked hard, and perhaps make you seem "younger" ). The alleged "Resurrection" would only have been a later development during the war, and it STILL functioned more like Resuscitation - for patients who weren't quite dead. The 'back to life' idea being more a marketing gimmick. 
Who's to say how 'dead' you were when some passing kind stranger (Ryan himself for Jack ??) carried you to the machine and crammed you in it -- as you WERE unconscious at the time. People probably would get a reward for assisting a 'Patient' into the machine (paid out of the patient's membership). Some method of preventing people from purposefully being 'intentionally whacked' to milk the rewards would be needed ( like a long delay of awarding any CASH or credit being rendered to the rescuer's Vita-Chamber service account, etc ... ).
It seems THAT 'advanced' experimental "Resuscitation" feature was never available to the public before the 'civil war' broke out, and at some point Ryan had them tweaked for THAT feature to work only for him (or his minions), just as he restricted use of the Metro Bathyspheres and installed the Security Systems to control Authorized-Only areas. 
With Splicers respawning frequently in YOUR SOLO game (BS1/BS2/...), that maybe can be explained by the Vita-Chambers now being all Hacked, and still being in general use ( Did you check that those Splicers were really dead ?? Their corpses do seem to disappear alot, maybe they are 'dragged off' while you aren't watching ?? Just because WE never saw it happen ... )
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Ryan Taking His Own Advice "OFFER A BETTER PRODUCT" :
http://bioshock.wikia.com/wiki/Offer_a_Better_Product
The Vita Chamber technology may have been in direct competition with some of the ADAM-based treatments, and as ADAM was restricted or in shortage (and probably got alot more expensive) this system became a viable option ( and maybe without the insanity/mutant side-effect stuff ). It may have greatly alleviated many of the ADAM side-effects, which manifested after people used ADAM more. We saw lots of advertising signs for it (and the VC units everywhere), so it really couldn't have been something 'only for Ryan's personal use' ( and set to his 'frequency' -- whatever that means ). The Vita-Chambers medical applications may have also been further researched and greatly expanding as Ryan saw the profits and potential for more.
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Vita-Chambers were a way for a Ryan product to compete with the ADAM technology products. His machines could possibly do what many of the health related ADAM-tech Tonics did. With ADAM becoming more expensive/limited in supply with expanding demand ( and with realization of ADAM's side effects of insanity/disfigurement ) the Vita-Chamber system could be more than competitive - something that was important to Ryan's (and Rapture's) Philosophy. 
Offer a Better Product (Audio Diary) : Ryan : "Gregory, don't come whining to me about market forces. And don't expect me to punish citizens for showing a little initiative. If you don't like what Fontaine is doing, well, I suggest you find a way to offer a better product."
It would explain why the Vita-Chambers were everywhere (deployed and operating for the basic functions). "Introducing the future of health and wellness! - The Vita-Chamber - Restore vigor and spirit with the touch of a button!". The Vita-Chamber's technology is likely of high interest to New Rapture's Council and there should be a high Bounty for the machines or parts of broken ones ( and they may take part as some 'reconstitution' mechanism used in the game to keep Players from Perma-DeathGames realistic enough where you can actually die PERMANENTLY and have to start a new character ).
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Why so many Vita-Chambers Around Rapture (BS1/BS2) ??? :
They seem to be everywhere - every nook and cranny in the middle of nowhere has one.
A new Ryan Industries moneymaking product for Rapture - Health and rejuvenation ( and with no consumables to replenish ). Must have been at least partially operational to be placed so widely (perhaps to get the public used to seeing them and then later more features would be revealed.)
Alongside the Circus of Values and EL Ammo Bandito... Made out of Ryanium ( or some cheap knock off) for durability ( and with auto-locking to prevent mis-use as a Port-a-potty ).
Sales Pitch - "Using the Vita-Chamber is like getting a good nights sleep - so you can go back to work and get even more done (and your competitors who don't are soon left behind - definitely of interest to all you competitive Rapturians").
People may need to look out for a whole new raft of negative side-effects (like the ADAM Plasmids have), so it doesn't become another 'Splicer' type problem/threat for the City. Its workings may have required tying-in to a central Computer (in Central Computing?) to manage all the 'per patient' data for its more advanced abilities.
The remaining Vita-Chambers will be of interest to the player for salvage, as the genetic-biotech components inside them have significant value (an intact unit even more so, though might be a bit more trouble to recover).
The 'Bringing Back from Death" feature was experimental ( no doubt requiring a huge amount of DNA and N-gram data for the patient to be able to accomplish that near miracle ). What was done for Delta surpassed its original function/expectations and took Eleanor years of modifications to accomplish. Don't expect to see it in the MMORPG as an 'easy' justification for the players not dying.
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Vita Chambers Were Everywhere :
Seen located even in very poor/strange places ( there for the BioShock game's Save & Load alternative mechanism, but a prominent Prop, so it is Canon). Smuggler Hideout had one ( and also had a Pneumo Kiosk). As Fontaine was made to be alot like Al Capone Though Fontaine could not possibly have the market-scale Capone had - neither for the Smuggling Operation, nor for ADAM business ). Fontaine still probably had all kinds of people bribed or threatened into 'looking the other way'., he could probably get anything he wanted for his operation (and the fact that they were there means they probably worked in a useful way). At least the simpler 'Revitalization' function existed (was deployed across Rapture). Suchong/Alexander/Sinclair in Audio Diaries had all been working to expand on its abilities for Ryan ( to attempt the more difficult 'Back from Death' functionality required for the game Auto-Save mechanic ). 
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Vita-Chambers - Conveniently Located All Over in Rapture :
The Vita-Chambers could have been primarily a general therapy (revitalization) treatment for everyone  (using some alternate technology than ADAM), and a For-Profit-Service system.  That would explain them  being all over.  Perhaps the Vita-Chamber 'treatments' also alleviated many of the ADAM-use side-effects, a hope that Ryan may have had to eliminate the side-effects and reverse what ADAM had done to his City's population.
No coin slot maybe meant it used a Membership System (perhaps with some central computer data system to coordinate it 'per patient' - making used of previously acquired medical data for the 'patient').  The genetic Security system might also be centralized.  That might have allowed one change at that central point to set them all to repair Delta/Sigma, as Eleanor and Tenenbaum allegedly did (and as we used them in the game).
The Vita-Chambers were still experimental for some features -- maybe with lesser abilities/therapies already working (the machines WERE deployed...), but the 'Resurrection' feature may have been too new, and that was the one that Ryan restricted (and maybe activated for himself, for a crap-shoot's chance to cheat death at least once).
If they weren't "general use" (were for Ryan-Only), then why have them out in the open subject to tampering/destruction? Why have the fancy sign/styling?  Hide em in a secure closet, if they were exclusive to Ryan's "select" few.  Many of the Seedy places you can find them in the games were places Ryan wouldn't be found dead near.
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Vita-Chambers - Lets Make Them Halfway Logical :
Theory : The Vita-Chamber's function included cleaning up genetic garbage  (kinda like anti-oxidents do to  free radicals) using a whole different technology (Ryan was an electrical genius in his own right).   Or it could 'revitalize people to allow their bodies to fight the genetic damage better.  It was a completely separate product/service, giving him an exclusive for a 'Cure' Maybe also with the Pheromone Control, he could get all the existing Splicers to use the Vita-Chamber machines and eventually recover - or even long-term have it allow ADAM to be used 'safely'.  (We certainly saw ALOT of Vita-Chambers all over - including may places Ryan literally WOULDN'T be caught dead in).
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Inherited Idea :
"Quantum Entanglement" sample used in System Shock to 'restore your life', which is probably the reason of it being mentioned for BioShock's Vita Chambers (mentioned by Suchong who called their 'quantum' idea "Bullshit").
As mentioned elsewhere, Entanglement of Quantumz works with 'particles' and NOT people. But who knows what kind of Questionable Sales Hype might be used to sell this Vita Chamber product, when it still WAS likely useful in negating various ADAM side-effects. ( Somewhere short of reconstituting you magically out of nothing ). 
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Audio Diary : "The Vita Chamber" :
Suchong (found in RCC) : "Initial Deployment, Vita-Chamber/Client Ryan Industries. Stage one is complete. Sinclair and Alexander tried to explain the science to me, but Suchong does not believe them. They keep saying Plasmid reconstruction this and quantum entanglement that, and then poof, dead people come back to life. Bullshit! Of course, Ryan will only allow it to be tuned to his genetic frequencies for the testing..."
The Part I don't get is why they would be 'Tuned only to Ryan', when the devices is still being tested. Myself, I would NOT want to have to die to test something that hasn't been proven yet.
This is what 'volunteer test subjects' are for ... ( and numerous lab animals first due to cost of 'volunteers' ).
Heh, *Conspiracy hat on* : This Diary was for misdirection, when it was actually thoroughly tested and proven to be ready for Ryan to use it in HIS faked death 'scam' on Fontaine (I put my money on Jack thinking he was killing Ryan when it was really an animatronic 'Ryan' borrowed from Ryan Amusements ...)
Maybe it was tested on all the dead cats we've seen ?? Hmm, it was not quite working too well yet in that case ...
ADAM repairs when you are 'not quite dead' yet could be plausible. Quantumz stuff ? Leave that kind of Fantasy to stuff like Infinite BS.
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De-Magic-afying the Vita-Chamber :
The "Quantum Entanglement" may really have been the "BS" Suchong called it, but massive rebuilding/repairing of a human body is still a pretty good achievement by itself (it is at least within the genetic tech realm of plausibility). With MY explanation there is no real Teleport involved (nor magic entanglement reproducing someone - or collapsing them from a parallel universe, or whatever). It is you (a near corpse) being dragged to the Vita-Chamber for repairs (By what I call the corpse gnomes. Those might be some machines - we have enough robotics in the game to justify that -- maybe some Flybot drags you to a Vita-Chamber ?? OR Tenenbaum sneaks out and drags you with a rope block and tackle ... for all YOU know). Your stuff (which ain't no way part of your DNA) thus goes with you.
You are near dead and unconscious, so you have no sense of being carried/dragged or HOW LONG the repairs take.
I just remembered that when you are Delta and die with a Little Sister 'adopted', she is standing outside the Vita-Chamber when you come back to life. What THAT indicates about the process can be debated. She wasn't dead -- so did the machine pull her there too ? - Except it left her outside - so lotsa questions about that whole mess.
In Reality the Vita-Chambers were there as a Game SAVE Mechanism to attempt to avoid the standard Save/Reload cycle. It was a bit problematical for consistency with Real Physics. We could have done without it - Players for centuries have simply done SAVES themselves, without some over-complication having to be added (and it also allows the Players, when they go back to a 'SAVE', to play thru the area again ( stretching the already short game playtime length a bit ).
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Oh and as I mentioned elsewhere : the 'Teleport' done by Houdini Splicers are not real either - it uses a Psi-type distraction (which at least has potential of some biological method of influencing brains at a distance) of the Player, masking the Splicer's walking around to the spot they reappear. A clue might be that puff of smoke (magician trick) we see, and that sound.
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Can We Put The Dead Cats in The Vita-Chambers to get some kitties back ? 
In New Rapture with its Vermin problem. we really need them.
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Another Use For Robotic Little Sisters :
By BS2 times, perhaps all the Vita Chambers had all been Hacked and were open to use - Could you just see Sinclair hauling Delta to a Vita-Chamber ? Sinclair apparently was one of that machine's developers, so he might know a few tricks to activate the retrieval mechanisms (the corpse gnomes - McClendon Robotic Ambulance System - using Robotic Little Sisters - 
https://rapturerebornmmorpg.wikia.com/wiki/File:Spastichicken222.jpg ).
See also Lock_Box_Gnomes
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A Players Question About Vita-Chambers and Delta/Sigma Being Revived by One
There is a bit of an issue with Vita-Chambers being used as a plot device, as they are not only part of a Resurrection game mechanic, but also feature as a factor in the plot itself - The reason why Jack and Delta were nearly unstoppable in the two games was due to the Vita-Chambers being set to their genetic signatures, always bringing them back no matter how much punishment they suffered (( Can't die - NO Perma-Death "Game Over" )) 
The Chambers are really optional anyway, as you can always reload the last Save image ...
This could just be treated as a game facilitation (( Note - for lazy players who forget to regularly do a "Quick Save" )), and NOT how things actually would have operated in a Sci-Fi Rapture. We could just as well ignore this magic intruding in the story - this quantum process they mention, if not for the device being entwined in the plot. 
In BioShock 2, we are led to believe that Eleanor, through her brilliance at hacking/tinkering of advanced machinery, and possibly being in collaboration with Tenenbaum and maybe even with Sinclair, and accessing Gil Alexander's research materials, was able to rig the Vita Chambers to seek Delta's genetic signature instead of Ryan's, giving him the upper hand he needed to fight through Lamb's defenses. 
Is it not curious how Sofia Lamb was towards the end aware of Delta being un-killable through 'trauma', yet she did not bother to destroy the many Vita-Chambers scattered around the city, especially those that were active down in Persephone? Why not ambush/booby trap them to keep Delta in a constant reviving limbo? I realize that locations of all the Vita-Chambers don't have to be considered as Canon, i.e. - there were likely less of them in reality, and many were present in the game on level maps just for gameplay reasons. Still it makes little sense for Lamb to overlook such a crucial part of Delta's ability.
Were Vita-Chambers installed around Rapture with the sole purpose of keeping Andrew Ryan alive in case he slipped and fell, or a piano fell on his head ? Why so many, even in places where Ryan was unlikely to spend time ( Dionysus, Pauper's Drop, Atlantic Express Depot, etc ... )? Is their range so limited (quantum entanglement - remember) that literally dozens or even hundreds had to be installed to cover the entire city? I realize he feared many subversives, agents from the surface, Fontaine, and eventually Atlas and his terrorist followers, but it feels like an awfully convoluted and over-the-top solution to install so many expensive machines, even in poorer or industrial districts ( and even at a top-secret penal facility, of all things ) just to ensure his immortality on the off-chance he took a stroll through Pauper Drop and got killed there ? How would the people react to seeing the authorities install and upkeep so many expensive machines that do nothing but keep ONE man, the ruler of Rapture, safe ? 
The BioShock 2 uses the Vita-Chamber reviving as a plot element/excuse, and then often pretends like the machines are not there. Plus not one of the characters, especially, reflects on their presence or role in the story, OR USES ONE. 
Another thing I cannot figure out - who rigged the Chambers in Minerva's Den to Sigma's genetic signature? Was it Tenenbaum? The Thinker itself maybe, or it being assisted ? In the BioShock 2 game, Eleanor was the one that possessed the skill to do it, while Tenenbaum seemed not to, her job was to help in removing most of Delta's Big Daddy mental conditioning, thus restoring his free will. If I had to guess, I would reckon The Thinker had the intelligence and raw processing power to tweak the Chambers to help Sigma. Is it also not curious how Eleanor managed to rig machines across most of Rapture, yet it did not affect the ones in Minerva's Den? ( Ignore from Canon a simple Game Save mechanism )
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NO SAVE REQUIRED :
We could do a Save at any point on the PC, so the Vita-Chamber stuff was not that critical (I usually just restored a Save when I died, and tried to save frequently when things were tough in Hard Mode). If you couldn't do that on one or more of the platform games, then that would have been some actual need ( not having to restart at 'game defined' Sync Points ). 
Apart from the story's regenerating Delta (at the start of BS2), the Vita-Chambers SAVES were unneeded in both games ( you die/you lose - and reload at a Save to try to do better - it helps stretch the playtime a bit ... ), SOME OTHER WAY to resurrect Delta could have easily been used instead. Player Resurrection with used-up resources wasn't all that useful in Hard Mode anyway.
If Ryan had pulled a 'Twist' and faked HIS OWN death (using a Vita-Chamber) it might have been relevant to the story for having them.
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Accepting Them ...
The Vita-Chambers could have been a general therapy (revitalization) for everyone (using some alternate technology from ADAM), and as a profit making system. That would explain them being all over. No coin slot maybe meant it was a membership thing (perhaps with some central computer data system to coordinate it per patient). The "genetic" security might be centralized also allowing change at that point to set them all to repair Delta/Sigma.
They were still experimental -- maybe with lesser abilities already working (deployed) but the 'Resurrection' feature may have been too new, and that was the one that Ryan restricted (and maybe activated for himself for a crap-shoot chance to cheat death at least once).
If they weren't General-Use, then why have them out in the open and subject to tampering/destruction, why have the fancy sign/styling. Hide 'em in a secure closet if they were exclusive to Ryan's select few.
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Vita Chambers - Ryan's Plan :
The plan was to establish the Vita-Chambers as a commonly used service to large numbers of Rapturites.   When the time came it would be a means to correct the problems which ADAM had created.  Initially The Vita Chambers provided a minor vitalization and was becoming accepted and was deployed throughout Rapture.  Even during the %27civil war%27, the machines were frequently being used.   Next feature being developed was a genetic stabilization which helped overcome and repair the genetic disruption caused by frequent use of Fontaine's crude Plasmids and Tonics.  The metabolic boost assisted the body in reasserting its original genetic patterning which helped clean up damage from old conflicting ADAM modifications.  Further Vita Chamber development would bring increased resistance to damage and and would combine with the new ADAM development for improved Plasmid/Tonic stability ( which Ryan had ordered after taking over Fontaine Futuristics ).   In future, it was possible that Plasmids/Tonics might be used without side-effects (The 'better product' Ryan had spoken of once).
New Rapture is interested in finding any research dealing with the Vita-Chambers either to help additional improvements to their 'Cure' process or an alternative.
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Vita Chambers Everywhere (A web commentator comments) :
It seems Vita Chambers were primarily used as a restorative and regenerative medical device for larger-public customers, and that the instant-resurrection function was perhaps a secret reserved for Ryan. The ones in Adonis (and perhaps Medical Pavilion) were clearly used for profit, for pampering and regenerating its guests. The Vita Chamber advertisements around town are testament to that.
Maybe they were indeed installed in such quantities to make money (No Coin slots ? Perhaps an Exclusive membership club, so it only reads the genetic signatures of members?) and the complete Resurrection thing was its secret secondary role to keep Ryan alive and immortal to his enemies ? 
Still, its a bit odd to have so many expensive machines in places like in Pauper's Drop or Persephone - but then again, this is the amazing city of Rapture. SO, why NOT make money from slum residents or inmates, who might've needed medical attention even more due to the hardships they had to endure (assuming its cheap enuf) ? The ads for Special Treatments of Inmates who pay extra in Persephone showed that money was a factor even down there. How likely it is that so many complex machines would have survived the 'civil war' and the many years until BS2 times in perfect working order is another matter.
Sigma being revived at the Vita Chamber in Minerva's Den ? I suppose it was The Thinker and Tenenbaum who could manage to hack/rig the machines to Sigma's genetic imprint. Isn't it just a bit odd how Eleanor and Tenenbaum can arbitrarily remove Alpha Series conditioning and tweak Vita-Chambers with such ease, when the story requires them to The Hack Writers god 'Cuz' can always be called upon and require little sacrifice. Fixing Pair bonds and Lack of Free Will, setting Vita Chambers to seek out other different 'Genetic Signatures', Self-destruct protocols built into Jack, etc.. Everything magically can be done with such ease ... But both women are, of course conveniently brilliant, so I suppose they are the only two sane people left in Rapture that can pull off things like that. This IS a fictional story and a DLC, which tend to repeat things established in the original game. The writers also wouldn't have alot of ability to do a more complete story outline (its a short story tacked onto the main game).
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The Absurd Premise of BS2's Start :
Via a Vita-Chamber Rebuilding a whole body/person (INCLUDING THE CLOTHING AND GUNS AND A BIG DADDY SUIT ?????)
The Vita-Chamber Quantum Entanglement BULLSHIT was originally just a crutch explanation for a Game Save (Which was really unneeded, and then allowed 'quantumz' to be taken to a TRULY stupid extent 2 games later with : dimension gods/gates, Time Travel and such second-rate Fantasy).
We should have (in the MMORPG) a Vita-Chamber advertisement saying 'Quantum Entanglement' (a sales gimmick) presented by some shill in a magicians 'tophat' and magic wand (saying the healing done is like magic - which similarly ADAM therapies had been like as well for what they were capable of (( Just as Penicillin seemed when it came out - and itself was hyped almost as badly )).
Lets make it proper Sci-Fi :
* Follow the Laws of Physics. The "Entanglement" Writer-BS is just misuse of actual quantum theory (a Human Being is NOT and CANNOT BE a 'quantum' object for any kind of 'entanglement' to apply). Matter appearing (trapped) out of nowhere magically OR Teleporting the Corpse ?? Ditto. These Writers are Too Weak, when they attempt to quote/explain so much 'science' in the rest of the game and their interviews. BTW, why is DELTA pulled out of nowhere when all the Splicers you slaughter are left to rot in the corridors ? (Some magical system 'Intercepting genetically coded' deaths ?? - Yeah how does that work, Levine? Enuf of that. It is shabby BS.) 
* Vita Chamber - Revitalization is its main function (like ones being in a 'Spa' in BS2). It is all made rather vague (perhaps it IS better they didn't TRY to explain it too much). There are missing 'proprietary' details about substances being injected/breathed (as vapor) or Electro-Stimulation (or you just get to breath pure oxygen), or whatever else is involved (or for how long you stand/stay in it, how frequently it is to be used, etc ...)
* We don't know what all Delta's reconstitution process was (or how long) for him to to be "Resurrected". We (the Player) just wake up OUTSIDE a Vita Chamber in BS2. More plausible, was Delta being a 'Corpsicle' (body frozen - structure preserved, and NOT a 10 year old patch of rotted/decayed sludge), who was then resusciatetd using Vita-Chamber-like capabilities, then MIND-CONDITIONED by clever Eleanor (similar techniques employed with Jack and the BD/LS/Maintenance Cyborg training). Then with Eleanor ALSO adding her own bits to motivate Delta for her Rescue. Most of the corpsicle's brain would still be intact to provide a operational human for the tasks needed.
* A mechanism to record your brain ??? N-Grams ?? (similar to analog TV recording - brain nerves aren't digital) - quantums of information, via Scanner and recorder and magic booth ... 'Entanglement' of those neural Quantums to form a personality ??? SORRY, brain function works with trillions of microscopic synapse interfaces, defining its complex information and processing neural paths (which can't really be recorded, and is even less unlikely to be 'applicable' to a 'blank' brain). So you would instead need largely intact human neural patterns (in situ), with some additional conditioning being overlaid. 
* SIMPLE ANSWER - Really the source of it being said that Vita Chambers operated via 'Quantum' was just buzzword terminology being misused by some hack Rapture Journalist ... (and/or marketers). Repeating various 'sales pitches' (kinda like Infinite BS) and exaggerations in advertising ... In the Press just some hack coverage ( in newspaper publication) where they didn't pay attention or didn't care to include alot of boring/unintelligible details.
* Suchong called that whole "Bullshit" in the real Rapture BioShock games (Ignoring that the BaSx writers had HIM wholly amazingly do 'Tear' Dimension Gate engineering - having him magically become some great scientific-polyglot genius. We WILL avoid that stupidity in the MMORPG.) 
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The Quantum Entanglement May Really Have Been the BS that Suchong Called It,
For The Vita-Chambers :
But massive rebuilding/repairing a body is a pretty good achievement by itself (is at least within the genetic tech  realm versus Teleportation or Star Trek Replicator-like).  With my attempted explanation, there is no  Teleport, it is you (a near corpse) being dragged to the Vita-Chamber for repairs (by what I call the Corpse  Gnomes -- thought they might be some machines - we have enough robotics in the game to justify that -- or  Tenenbaum sneaks out and drags you with a rope block and tackle for all you know - who knows how long you  are unconscious...).  Your stuff (which ain't no way part of your DNA) thus comes with you (and you have the  same weapons/ammo selection you had when you are dead - not plausible THAT would be replicated with you  except if it was all non-Rapturesque MAGIC).
You are near dead and unconscious, so you have no sensing of being carried/dragged or how long the repairs  take.  "Corpse Gnomes" lead into that topic of 'Little Brothers' too ....
I just remembered that when you are Delta and die with a Little Sister 'adopted' she is standing outside the  Vita-Chamber when you come back to life.  SO what that indicates about the process might be debated. She  wasn't dead -- so did the machine pull (Teleport) her too ? (and outside the machine?) - Lotsa hard questions  about all that whole mess.
Actually the Vita-Chambers are there as a game mechanism for avoiding save reloads and pretty bad for  consistency with real physics.  (Did we really need this reality breaking mechanism in the first place?    'Save and Reload' work too and it really isnt too neat to still have lost all the resources when you 'reload'  this way and having to redo a hard section of the game DOES stretch the play time a bit longer when the  trend is the average play-thru hours keep shrinking).
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Oh, and as I mentioned previously : The 'Teleport' done by Houdini Splicers are not quite real either - Just Psi type  mental distraction (which at least has potential of some biological method of influencing brains at a distance) and that puff of smoke (a typical magician trick) we see as part of it.
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Ryan's Vita Chamber :
We have no real details of how far Vita-Chambers worked, for some other one to work or how long it really can take or if Ryan had a second one hidden (so if they wanted to bring him back for BioShock 3 they could explain it with little problem.)   Faking out Atlas/Fontaine would have been a excellent plot mechanism, but they messed that up.    He knew his son was thoroughly control programmed and having Ryan commit suicide seems a very stupid way to supposedly attempt to snap Jack out of it.  A "man" doesn't give up, but Ryan did and turned surrender monkey.  Give me a break -- it doesn't make  any sense when Atlas was almost completely defeated. Ryan just need grab Jack and then deprogram him and finish off Atlas with a splicer Zerg Rush using the Pheromone Control or via a huge bounty.  Ryan could then rebuild his city and then find a cure.  It would have taken a little imagination to have a  much more epic plot than what we got in BS1. 
But Ryan need not die and Rapture need not fail.  "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger".  Plenty of avenues to lead to rebuilding and reaching the goal that Ryan sought.  Giving-in might be a Ken Levine solution, but it would not be for a real Andrew Ryan.  (TVTrope about when authors don't actually understand the characters they have created ...)
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Vita-Chambers As A Business :
One actually wonders how much Ryan was going to charge for the 'full' Vita process (versus vitality  'tweaking').
* There was probably no coin-slot on the Vita-Chambers because you had to maintain a Vita-Account. (Not a good time to have 'Incorrect Change').
* Or maybe he just never got around to it, while it was in 'testing' phase (before the 'civil war' started).
* Maybe the plan was actually more to use them to dispense/adjust 'Pheromones' conditioning in a more convenient way.
* OR a way to later keep the Splicers from de-populating themselves before Ryan's researchers could come up with a 'Cure'.
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The Resurrection Machine (For Delta) :
Eleanor did massive modification (and possibly tried many attempts) to reconstitute Delta (versus the Vita-Chamber's originally intended  Resurrect function to be performed on a still warm body dragged to the machine).  Changing any genetic locks would have been only a small part of making it all work.  The Thinker or Tenenbaum probably did that much for Sigma to use the Vita-Chambers.
Sofia Lamb might have booby-trapped the Vita-Chambers (also after 7+ years how many machines would still work ?).  But then, the Vita-Chambers not working - that would have gotten in the way of using the Game-Play-Save mechanism (the whole reason to have that fantasy-type mechanism (Teleport and 'entanglement BS) inserted into the Sci-Fi Rapture world).  So they ALL somehow survived to BS2.
Eleanor probably had plenty of time to un-booby-trap the one she intended to use, and maybe even do repairs (with access to parts from many other machines).  She could probably even could work on pieces of the machine herself, with the Little Sisters and their Big Daddies running errands for her.  That is if she actually couldn't already 'Teleport' out of her confinement (or skipping that fantasy element, simply pick the lock while Sofia was off strangling kittens or whatever her hobby was.)
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The Resurrection Mechanism in Infinite BS :
What exactly is it that Elizabeth does to bring Booker back from a pending death ? Is it a Medi-Kit from Rapture (or similar ... maybe 'Quantum Juice' ) -- Why don't the enemy forces (Players opponents) have the same (or DO THEY and you keep facing the same 7 Enemy guys over and over throughout the game ? ) Likewise VOX might prove rather hard to eradicate if they keep coming back to life (Hmmm, The 'Firemen' were for INCINERATING bodies to prevent that ...). Better might've been : She opens a Tear and pulls a different Booker from an Alternate Universe (of course there is the problem that the Elizabeth in THAT universe now has LOST her Booker leading to THAT Elizabeth's recapture and painful death/Trans-Orbital Lobotomy ...)
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Current Vita-Chamber Research :
Research project to use the Vita-Chambers mechanism to realign/tune a Splicer to eliminate some of the "genetic turbulence" ADAM use side effects that results in the damage and insanity. Unfortunately the circuitry is rather complex ( think of a hacking pipe Mini-Game with as many 'pipe cells' as pixels on your screen ... ). Citizens are asked 'to keep an eye out for' research documentation labeled "Vita-Chamber Mk1". Ongoing Player 'development tasks (Mini-Games) to solve this circuitry reprogramming. Bounties would be placed by the City for bringing in Vita-Chambers from out in 'the Wild' for the needed components.
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Vita-Chamber - A Few More Logic Checks for Content Would Have Been Nice  :
Suchong - "Transcript: Initial Deployment, Vita-Chamber/Client Ryan Industries. Stage one is complete. Sinclair and Alexander tried to explain the science to me, but Suchong does not believe them. They keep saying Plasmid reconstruction this and quantum entanglement that, and then poof, dead people come back to life. Bullshit! Of course, Ryan will only allow it to be tuned to his genetic frequencies for the testing ..."
How does one test without accessing a killed/maimed test subject, to then verifying the 'revitalization' (or further Healing effect) ??   I doubt Ryan would be the subject for any initial testing of repairs of severe body damage.  The Vita-Chambers were deployed at what state of testing ??  If there is a much lessor function to do minor 'revitalizations','invigorations', etc.. then that would have explained an existing deployment of the machines, which we saw all over and in some very odd spots.   So commercial use was probably already in progress and this newer function is an experimental upgrade.   Even after successful early-stage testing of an advanced function, it hardly would be deployed to the City's machines yet.  Bad side-effects happening to customers would kill it as a commercial  project.
The Vita-Chamber's details may have been added hastily and with little checking done to see if the game material was cohesive within the rest of the story.
Possibilities are endless ... :
Sinclair was intelligent (Suchong said that Gilbert Alexander and Sinclair tried to explain how the Vita-Chambers Resurrection mechanism worked...)   and also clever -- and one likely to hedge his bets.  Might it be possible that he too (in the MMORPG) joins Ryan and a few others who still come to the regular Friday night poker game at Ryan's Secret Bunker ???  It could have happened that Sinclair, dying of 'trauma', was reconstituted by a Vita-Chamber he had Secreted in Persephone - which he had opportunity to turn on (keyed to HIS genetic markers) before Sofia Lamb grabbed him.   ( Interesting how rather quite rapidly she converted him to a cyborg - well the plot says so, so thus it was done ).
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The above brings up an interesting idea - that some of the early testing of the Resurrection feature was used for Ryan's security troops ( another force multiplier to give Ryan back the advantage in the 'civil war' ).  Unfortunately something as complex as "bringing a dead person back to life" is not so easy and would have taken more than a little 'trial and error'.  Thus, partial results very well could produce process damaged individuals who might still be useful for conversion to Big Daddies ( which Rapture needed to stay in existence ).   Ryan didn't murder his opponents ( except for a few who tried to assassinate him directly ) and likely wouldn't want to 'put down' loyal troops when the Vita-Chamber Resurrection process didn't quite work.  We also are not entirely sure how much/what mental activities remain in a Big Daddy's mind.  Repair work requires more than a shambling zombie to accomplish, and they may have at something of a conscious life after all.
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Great Minds :
The Vita Chambers can 'bring back the dead' ??   From DNA ?? ( Well, how does the DNA get to that Vita-Chamber if YOU are dead ??  Well ignoring that little issue ... )   Someone suggested to Ryan that he send Agents on The Surface to recover the DNA of the greatest minds in history ( Ryan shouldn't be bothered  by desecrating graves, etc ... ).  Sinclair's advertising BS seems to have too many dupes believing it.  Ryan himself knows it doesn't work that way, and the advanced features of the Vita-Chambers are really just sophisticated resuscitation.   
Anyway, have that be a Plot by some group of Rapturites, thinking that this is the answer to 'saving Rapture' and their disastrous adventures, and the story for the disinformation film 'The North  Atlantic Project'.   No doubt someone called "Booker" and another called "Elizabeth" viewed this movie in a 'B-class' Theater, and called it ridiculous crap - they should have seen "Plan 9" instead ...
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Vita-Chambers ( Sorry, they wont be a game convenience turned into a Plot 'Crutch' in THIS game ) :
In MMORPG you can repair only a limited amount of 'health' damage ( but enough to make it worth a mission-divergence to use one - except any working ones will probably be quickly brought back to the City and old ones might not work too well - besides Splicers using them as lavatories ).
Their original function was to revitalize you ( different from ADAM methods ).
The Resurrection Upgrade was still experimental and many of the machines have downgraded their operating abilities due to lack of proper maintenance There's also 'that little matter' of the genetic lockout being integral - Though they worked for Delta and I doubt he was a relative of Ryan's ( or *dramatic pause* Was He ????? ).   Since the MMORPG game is alot less 'fatal', various other alternatives will be available.
The enclosure would make a nice stylized phone booth ( there must be alot of junked ones by now in Rapture ).
They are pretty much weapon proof ( made of the same magic materials the windows are made of ?? Polycarbonate ? ) so might make a good 'panic booth' for one person.
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Vita THIS Sucka !!! :
The Vita-Chambers did basic 'revitalization' as a (probably pay) service and the new super-duper "bring you back from the dead" function was just a new feature.  All those machines ( you see all over ) hadn't had that feature added yet for use by the consumers ( the VC 'Platinum Circle' VIP Customers ... ).  
My theory is, that the Vita-Chambers were meant to help remove/alleviate some of the ADAM side-effects -- So in effect would be Ryan's version of 'The Cure'.  As it is a machine technology, Ryan would have an exclusive product ( to facilitate making money from it, ontop of stabilizing his city's citizens ).
Get all the Splicers to regularly use the machine ( and with even more improvements ) and his City's Citizens might have been back to normal --- to pick up the pieces after Atlas/Fontaine tried to destroy everything.
One logical gaff  : if they were only keyed to Ryan's 'genetic code',  then how do you test the  "bring you back from the dead" function without killing Ryan for the test ?   I don't know about you, but I think I would want that thing thoroughly tested before I ever 'proved' it on myself.
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Delta Saves Sinclair (If ONE can Resurrect, just about ANYBODY can) :
Well, the Vita-Chambers seem to work for anybody these days, so 'Who is to Say' ?????
(Tenenbaum - needing serious help (autism ?) at least knows that Sinclair is quite capable - After all, he survived Sofia Lamb's "Purges""Purges" - something that collectivists do to people who oppose them - Murder Them. ...)
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==INFINITE COLUMBIA RESURRECTION==
When Alone, Booker Just Restarts in His Office and the Door Opens Back To Columbia
Later Booker gets a Magic Injection from Elizabeth
They had Planned a Resurrecto Booth to act much the same as the Vita Chambers did in Rapture
[pix]
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Vita Chambers 'Just Happened' ???
Amazing how easily such things are created and rushed into manufacture. Unfortunately unlike today's Games, you couldn't just "fix it" in the Patch -- after it has turned dozens of customers into puddles of slime when it has a 'bug' malfunction.
Magic : From Chalkboard straight to Product, and NOT taking 5 years of it being delayed and going overbudget ...
Ryan appears to have owned/controlled them, and thus funded them. 
AND Consider : How exactly do you Test that the magic resurection feature works when it is Tuned Only to Ryan's 'Frequencies' ??? Tested on stray dogs likely wouldn't 'cut it' ...
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