Office of Andrew Ryan

"Now, would you kindly head to Ryan's office and kill the son of a bitch?"

- Atlas

The Office of Andrew Ryan is set in Rapture Central Control of Hephaestus in Rapture. Andrew Ryan used the office to control the city and it is here where he recedes throughout the events of BioShock.

History
Hephaestus being one of the first facilities finished during the construction of Rapture, it was fitting that the founder would have his main office in the complex. Andrew Ryan's office was set up in Hephaestus' Rapture Central Control, from where the man would lead the city and its citizens. From here, Ryan could give out orders as well as control the public address system and some wired equipment throughout the city.

After the civil war broke out, Andrew Ryan took up shop in his office, to continue to watch over his city as well as for protection. Several people, including Bill McDonagh and Anya Andersdotter attempted to assassinate Ryan, but failed, were killed and hung up on Ryan's trophy wall.

BioShock


After surviving an airplane crash arriving at the city, defeated Dr. Steinman, surpassed Peach Wilkins and his smugglers, brought Julie Langford's forest back to life, completed Cohen's Quadtych and overrode the entrance to Rapture Central Control, it is finally time for Jack to confront Andrew Ryan. After a brief encounter through television screens with Ryan in Rapture Central Control's main atrium, the founder sets his city to self-destruct. Encouraged by Atlas and invited by Ryan himself, Jack heads towards Admin A. Ryan's Office. The door has been sabotaged to prevent intruders, making access through the main entrance impossible. While Rapture Central Control slowly falls apart, Jack heads towards an alternate route, next to the office door are two sets of stairs going up, one of which leads to an Air Vent left open due to maintenance. Jack crawls in and manages to enter the office.

Workroom
Jack drops down into a small workroom and faces a conspicuous bulletin board. The board is covered with paper clippings, photographs of himself, Andrew Ryan, Jasmine Jolene (as well as her strip-tease poster), Frank Fontaine, Brigid Tenenbaum and Yi Suchong, connected with red strings, but most eye-catching of all: the words "Would You Kindly" written in red across the board. Upon further inspection, photographs of Jack in the Kashmir Restaurant and the Medical Pavilion, Jack's family and his family farm and a lab can be found on a table underneath the bulletin board. The evidence points to the fact that Ryan has been watching Jack's every move since his arrival. On the same table is also Dr. Suchong's Audio Diaries Mind Control Test and Mind Control Test, giving insights on a young test subject. Along with the board, the room features a table with some mechanical parts, blackboards with schematics, a wall calendar, ammunition, a First Aid Kit, an EVE Hypo and some Dollars. The doors leading to the entrance hall (and possibly other facilities) has also been sabotaged, but a door on the opposite side is accessible.

Andrew Ryan's Office
Jack continues into a dark hallway, containing only a large decorative globe, which ends at the Andrew Ryan's Office. Jack enters and finds Andrew Ryan, playing golf at a minigolf lane behind a large bulletproof window. A gate closes behind Jack, leaving him face-to-face with Ryan in his library, containing nothing but bookshelves, two decorative globes, and Ryan's control panel. Andrew Ryan begins to question Jack's supposed memories of his life on the farm, his family and the airplane crash that landed him here. He reveals that the farm was actually a laboratory in Rapture, the only family he ever had were hired doctors (Suchong and Tenenbaum) and that the airplane did not crash, but it was hijacked by Jack himself. Ryan continues to question Jack, hinting at the fact that Jack doesn't have a free will and is simply a creation and slave of a "master". The words "A man chooses, a slave obeys" is said by Ryan, before he invites Jack to come into to his main office. Both heads to the door, but as soon as Jack enters, Andrew Ryan asks Jack to stop, followed by the words "Would You Kindly", which causes Jack to stop. Ryan puts emphasis on the familiarity of the words, which causes everytime the phrase has been said to him during his journey in Rapture to flash in front of his eyes, said by no other than Atlas. Andrew Ryan gives various commands to Jack, which he follows without a chose, until stopping. Face-to-face again, Andrew Ryan appears to be moments before striking Jack with his golf club, before giving it to Jack, with one last command: Kill. Ryan struggles to once again say the phrase "A man chooses, a slave obeys" before being beaten to death by Jack.

Immediately after the deed is done, Atlas contacts Jack via Radio and tells him to grab Ryan's Genetic Key and cancel the self-destruct process. Jack continues on and can now freely move in Ryan's office before heading to the self-destruct console. The office contains Ryan's desk, the golf course, bookshelves and an alcove with the Self Destruct Override. Behind a dividing wall is a Health Station and a Vita-Chamber. Upon further inspection, it is revealed that the Vita-Chamber has been disabled, which is why Ryan wasn't brought back to life. Jack continues into the alcove where the Self Destruct Override machine is set, surrounded by large windows and Art Deco statues. The machine is a miniature of the city with Below Tree control panel, a key input and a blue liquid visible through a thin line of glass in the center of the machine, going straight from the control panel up to a screen displaying the Ryan Industries logo. Jack puts in the key which causes the blue liquid to decrease and a red liquid to appear instead, as steam and static electricity emit from the machine. A gate closes behind Jack, trapping him, just as Atlas contacts him once again, congratulating Jack on his work before he begins to maniacally laugh. "Atlas" explains that there never was a man named Atlas and reveals his true identity: presumed-dead-mobster Frank Fontaine. Atlas' radio signal is replaced by Frank Fontaine's who explains that thanks to Jack, Fontaine is now free to rule over Rapture, as the red liquid rises to the top, where the Ryan Industries logo is replaced by that of Fontaine Futuristics. Fontaine says his goodbyes as the gate opens and an alarm is triggered, causing the office to glow in red as Security Bots flies in to attack Jack. In the chaos, Jack spots a small girl, a former Little Sister, calling for him to follow her, and they both run through Ryan's office, back to the hallway. As they pass Ryan's body, one of the globes moves aside, revealing a Turret. Jack and the girl heads to an air vent, where another girl waits for him. Jack crawls in and sees a girl encouraging him to continue forward, but he fails to note that the vent goes down, causing him to fall, knocking himself unconscious, leaving the girls to take him to safty.

Audio Diaries

 * 1) Yi Suchong - Mind Control Test - On the table underneath the Would You Kindly board.
 * 2) Yi Suchong - Baby Status - On the table underneath the Would You Kindly board.

Behind the Scenes

 * After the cutscene with Ryan is triggered, the player can no longer save the game throughout the rest of the level.
 * On the wall to the left of the "Would You Kindly" board is a calendar from 1959 open to the month of January. Australia Day is circled on the calendar, and the top part contains a picture of sailboats labeled "The Calm Before the Storm, 1940 Mauricio Tejerina." Mauricio Tejerina was a member of the BioShock development team.
 * Some circuitry boards in Ryan's office were constructed by Fontaine Futuristics. One bears a plaque stating that it was last inspected 12/20/1941. This was before Fontaine arrived in Rapture and even before the city was founded. Also, the latest inspection was performed by J. Yang. This is likely referring to Joseph Yang, who worked on BioShock as a modeler and provided some additional concept art.
 * The player can choose to reactivate the deactivated Vita-Chamber, from which they will resurrect if they die within the level. However, this Vita-Chamber will actually function normally regardless of whether the player activates it, and it will revive Jack if the player is killed by Fontaine's Security Devices.
 * Brigid Tenenbaum's surname is misspelled as "Tennebaum" on the Would You Kindly wall.
 * Also, when the "Would You Kindly" flashback shows the board in Ryan's office, Tenenbaum's picture shows her with a much shorter hairstyle.
 * The player will find photographs of Jack by the Would You Kindly wall, taken by Security Cameras in the Kashmir Restaurant and the Medical Pavilion, although neither of the locations have Security Cameras in those areas.
 * Though a minor detail, the "Would You Kindly" text was originally written in black instead of red.
 * If the player would lower their health to 1 and then set Incinerate! ablaze at the exact spot where the cutscene triggers in Ryan's Office, stepping on the fire will kill the player and they will re-spawn in the Vita-Chamber in the Control Room, while the cutscene is still going. This will "break" the game, as Ryan's Office is permanently locked. So is the Vita-Chamber and if one would have the art subtitles on, the following text can be read: “!!! Bug this. If you can read this Paul Hellquist did not do his job. Love, Kline.” This Easter Egg was left by Lead Programmer Christopher Kline for Lead Designer Paul Hellquist and can be found in both the original and remastered version of the game. The same text can also be triggered in Neptune's Bounty, although under different circumstances.