Columbia

"Why would he send is savior unto us, if we will not raise a finger for our own salvation? And though we deserved not his mercy, he has led us to this New Eden, a last chance for redemption. And the prophet shall lead the people to the New Eden."

- Church of Comstock

Columbia is a massive floating city in the sky, commissioned by the United States government and founded by Zachary Hale Comstock as a symbol of American political and religious ideals. The city, capable of flight due to the scientific discoveries of physicist Rosalind Lutece, was completed in 1893, and seceded from the United States in 1901. It is the primary setting of Bioshock Infinite.

Overview


Columbia floats above the North American terrain and is comprised of neoclassical buildings similar to cities in the American Northeast (such as Boston) which were pivotal in the eventual formation of the United States. While reactors, propellers and balloons are present throughout the city, its ability to float is due to the utilization of a quantum field which allows objects within it to be suspended indefinitely. The city is also designed with "rain-catchers" that collect water from precipitation in the clouds and fallen water from the city to keep the vegetation and populace supplied with water.

The city was designed with docking stations and propulsion devices to allow buildings to move about. It was also constructed for greater travel, allowing for national and international tours. The city maintains a regular route across the United States with periodic stops near major cities, connecting to relay stations which contain transport rockets. These rockets function as the only means of entry into Columbia, accessible via coded signal. Columbia's internal means of transportation include zeppelins, hovercrafts, and Sky-Lines. Bridges are also automated to connect with different portions of the city at various stations, scheduled like any other transportation system.

History
"What is Columbia if not another Ark, for another time?"

- Zachary Comstock

Zachary Comstock claims to have been shown a vision of the city by the angel Columbia, who he asserts chose him to lead people to a "New Eden." After meeting Rosalind Lutece and learning of her Lutece Field, he used his position in Congress to sponsor the construction of the city, in which he would play the role of the Prophet and Shepard.

The U.S. government believed Columbia to be an example of American exceptionalism, and the city was launched to great fanfare in 1893, dispatched to distant shores. However, what began as an endeavor of hope went drastically wrong: in 1901, during the Boxer Rebellion, Columbia fired on Chinese civilians who had taken American hostages. This event revealed the true nature of the floating city: a heavily armed aerial battleship. A rift swiftly emerged between leadership in Columbia and Washington, and in response, Columbia seceded from the union and disappeared into the clouds.

Social Politics
Institutionalized racism is widely apparent in Columbia, with notions of Anglo-Saxon supremacy widely respected by the upper classes in particular. People of minority races are subjugated in Columbia, with some (such as eventual Vox Populi leader Daisy Fitzroy) brought in to serve as slaves or indentured servants. Racial segregation is heavily enforced within the city--events witnessed by Booker DeWitt at the Raffle & Fair suggest that interracial marriage is punishable by stoning. As a result of this subjugation, minorities are largely relegated to menial labor with no obvious opportunity for upward mobility. For this reason, much of the hard labor work force at Fink Manufacturing (which is well-known for mistreating its workers) is performed by the city's minority population.

Columbia is a militantly pseudo-Christian society, and adherence to other religions (Catholicism, Buddhism, atheism, Darwinism, etc) is taboo. The Founders, led by Comstock, are the prevailing political faction in Columbia, retaining exclusive control over the city's government and business infrastructure--through their control over the city, they reinforce Comstock's religious and social vision.

Religious Beliefs and Philosophies
Major beliefs held by citizens in Columbia:
 * The Founders - The majority of Columbia's citizens worship Father Comstock, following his word blindly and trusting wholly in his prophecies. As a result, they stand by his decision to intervene in the Boxer Rebellion, and Columbia's subsequent secession. The people of the city also worship Elizabeth as the Lamb of Columbia, believing she will fulfill Comstock's prophecies in years to come. The Founders' also worship the Founding Fathers--particularly George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin--as religious icons. Each of the three is associated with a different symbol, according to what they gave to mankind: Franklin is associated with the key, a symbol of knowledge; Jefferson is associated with the scroll, a symbol of law and order; and Washington is associated with the sword, a symbol of power and justice.


 * Fraternal Order of the Raven - The Order is a widely accepted white supremacist organization in Columbia that also espouses extremist Christian views. They revere John Wilkes Booth as their central figure and Abraham Lincoln as a corrupt figure of evil. They also reverie Lady Comstock, and worship the sword, the raven, and the coffin in her memory.
 * Buddhism - The belief of awakened enlightenment, followed mostly by the Chinese immigrants in Columbia. This belief is regarded as taboo within Columbia, and must be practiced in secret. Chen Lin and his wife are followers of Buddhism when Booker and Elizabeth first encounter them; however, in an alternate reality, Mrs. Lin is white and follows the Founders.
 * Darwinism - Darwinism does not feature prominently in Columbia, but is known and marked as taboo--on the shores of Battleship Bay, a citizen can be heard attempting to discussing Darwinism and is hastily hushed by his companion.

Business
Fink Manufacturing is the largest business in Columbia, as well as its largest employer and manufacturer. Due to a high demand for Vigors in Columbia, Fink Manufacturing bottles and distributes Vigors produced by independent, contracted businesses, such as Marlowe for Murder of Crows. The work floor at Fink Manufacturing shows its dominance in various markets--one floor, for example, is devoted to automated turrets, while the one above focuses on children's toys.

Smaller businesses produce various items for the people of Columbia, the Founders, and the Vox. However, most of these companies are quickly bought out by Fink's business empire, leaving him the sole distributor for goods in the city. There are some exceptions, such as the Duke & Dimwitt Company, which produces propaganda pieces via books, toys and machines.

Despite these business opportunities, 50% of every Silver Eagle earned goes directly to Comstock, which deeply affects the laborers of Columbia. Further, Fink's heavy-handed exploitation of his workers becomes a factor in the Vox Populi's eventual social uprising and revolution.

Science and Technology
Comstock believes that scientific knowledge is the simply the blueprint of "God's work," and can therefore be practiced, but also controlled in the name of God. The first major scientific discovery for Columbia was Columbia itself. Rosalind Lutece discovered a method of indefinitely suspending atomic particles in mid-air, named the "Lutece Field," which her colleagues lauded as "quantum levitation." Lutece reasoned that if an atom could be suspended, larger objects such as buildings could as well. Columbia is the end result of Lutece's work.

One of the major breakthroughs in science was discovered while conducting further research on the Lutece Field, Rosalind discovered the existence of parallel universes that could be accessed through Tears in reality, and brought a parallel version of herself named Robert into Columbia. The two created a device that was used by Comstock to observe the future and other dimensions to maintain his status as "Prophet." While using this device, a subject lost their finger in another dimension when the closing of a Tear severed it, giving them the ability to interact with these Tears. In 1905, when the subject was 13, was in control of so many Tears that the Lutece twins developed the Siphon to control her and Tears she interacted with in Monument Island where she was held and researched.

Other individuals in Comstock's inner circle, such as Jeremiah Fink, used the Tears to replicate items they viewed through the Tears to sell in Columbia. Fink, for instance, commissioned to the creation of the Songbird after viewing a similar being (implied to be a Big Daddy) through the Tears. Fink also refers to to observing a biologist (implied to be Brigid Tenenbaum) who then is able to create Vigors after viewing such design. Columbia's enginners also created automata (such as mechanical horses and Motorized Patriots, Voxophones, and advanced weaponry), and the Sky-Line transport system that links much of the city, which may have been inspired in a similar fashion.

Locations
Columbia is composed of several distinct districts:


 * Emporia
 * Bank of the Prophet
 * Comstock House
 * Downtown Emporia
 * Emporia Towers
 * Lutece Labs
 * Memorial Gardens
 * Port Prosperity
 * Finkton
 * Finkton Docks
 * Fort Franklin
 * Good Time Club
 * Plaza of Zeal
 * Shantytown
 * Worker Induction Center
 * Monument Island
 * Monument Island Gateway
 * Monument Tower
 * Soldier's Field
 * Arcade
 * Battleship Bay
 * First Lady's Aerodrome
 * Hall of Heroes
 * Soldier's Field Welcome Center
 * Welcome Center
 * Fraternal Order of the Raven
 * Garden of New Eden
 * Raffle Square
 * Comstock Center Rooftops

Trivia

 * The name Columbia refers to the female personification of the United States used in various forms of patriotic symbolism in the 19th century.
 * Columbia is supposedly the angel that visited Comstock, inspiring him to build Columbia (his own ark). This can be heard at the celebrations at the start of the game when the floats pass by.
 * Early in development, Columbia was meant to be much darker than it currently is. Ken Levine mentioned at a press conference that the concept looked like "Rapture in the sky."
 * The process of entering Columbia is a mirror to that of entering Rapture: both journeys start at a lighthouse, but whereas the journey to Rapture is a descent into the ocean, travel to Columbia involves ascension in an airborne capsule. When a whale comes into view when the player descends into Rapture, a zeppelin comes into view when the player is launched to Columbia. Furthering these opposing parallels, Jack rides an airplane to the lighthouse in BioShock and Booker takes a boat in Infinite. A final parallel in decor is also present, as Bioshock opens with a sign declaring Rapture's atheism, whereas the lighthouse at the start of Infinite has signs alluding to Columbia's heavily religious society.
 * The events of BioShock Infinite begin on July 6, 1912, the anniversary of Columbia's secession from the United States.
 * Columbia appears in PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale. It makes two appearances: once, in the background of the Uncharted stage, Stowaways, and again as its very own stage, which is invaded by the Twisted Metal character, Dollface.
 * Columbia is shown attacking New York City on December 31st, 1983 in one reality.
 * According to the automated recording heard in the transport capsule Booker DeWitt rides to Columbia, the city resides at an altitude of approximately 15,000 ft (4572 meters). This altitude would have a serious effect on the health of Columbia's residents. The lower air pressure and oxygen can effect judgement and instill a sense of euphoria, tunnel vision, and hypoxia (insufficient oxygen supply to the body or parts of the body) within moments. Prolonged exposure can also result in altitude sickness and high altitude pulmonary edema or a fatal cerebral edema.
 * The lighthouse at the start of the game has a schedule for Columbia's visits to U.S cities. Cities on Columbia's route include Washington, New York, Chicago, St. Louis and Savannah. How exactly Columbia visits these cities in light of its secession from the United States is unclear. It is possible that Columbia still accepts new visitors on a regular basis--this state directly contrasts Rapture, which not only stopped accepting new people, but completely forbade contact with the outside world.
 * The map in the lighthouse (next to the schedule mentioned above) shows that Columbia was never originally intended to fly over the Atlantic, and instead was to travel in a loop on a tour across the U.S. The map seems to be period-correct, perhaps created in 1893 when Columbia was constructed, since it does not show Alaska or Hawai'i.
 * Unlike the high standards of "best and the brightest" required for entry into Rapture, Columbia appears to have no such structure; anyone is allowed to enter, so long as they subscribe to the city's variation of "American Exceptionalism."