Columbia Storyline

The Columbia Storyline the different events surrounding the creation of Columbia to its demise and later fate.

1890-1893: Creation of Columbia
Zachary Comstock was formally known as Booker DeWitt in his life. But after the events of Wounded Knee, Booker attended a baptism by Preacher Witting to erase his horrific memories and sins at Wounded Knee. He emerged a new man, named Zachary Hale Comstock, and had a newfound faith in Christianity. Sometime later, after Comstock became a farmer, he was believed to have been visited by the archangel, Columbia, who showed him a vision of a city in the sky. Zachary said she told him it was his duty to uphold the values of this great city. Comstock became a part of the U.S. Congress, proposed building a city, named after the archangel Columbia, which would uphold Christian and American values and share them with the world.

Congress agreed to fund the city, believing it could be a showcase of American exceptionalism. Zachary was later introduced to Rosalind Lutece, a respected quantum-physicist, who was able to indefinitely suspend an atom in midair--her colleagues referred to the process as "quantum levitation," while Rosalind herself dubbed it the "Lutece Field. The two worked hand in hand to create Columbia, and thus created it within the year 1892. The city began to travel around the world to showcase the American ideal and glory. Comstock was to become the leader and create a new religion known as the Founders, a religion expounding Christian and American values. However, Columbia still contained the flaws of racism, xenophobia and Laissez-faire business practices. Segregation was prominent in Columbia, and other religions were persecuted.

Upon further experimentation in the Lutece Field, Rosalind discovered that the quantum atom she was observing was also being observed from another dimension. It was no other than the male version of herself, Robert Lutece. Upon communication via Morse Code, Rosalind Lutece created the the Trans-Dimensional Machine, a machine able to open windows into any other dimension. After the creation of the machine, Comstock used this machine to uphold his status as a "Prophet." However, due to the mass exposure of the machine, it caused Comstock to age rapidly and his traits dissipate. Upon viewing another Tear, he discovered that if he did not have an heir, Columbia would fall. But because of his current state, he could not impregnate his current wife, Lady Comstock. Rosalind proposed that they recover a child of his from another dimension as it would be technically the same. Comstock agreed.

With the converse of Robert, the three discovered that Comstock's alternate self in Robert's universe remained Booker DeWitt, never taking the baptism, and in doing so later has child. Seeing that Booker is in debt, Comstock sends Robert to Booker for his daughter, Anna DeWitt, for exchange of clearing Booker's debt. Booker agrees and hands Anna to Robert. However, Booker immediately regretted his decision and went after her. As Robert, Comstock and Anna were passing through the Tear back to Columbia with Rosalind, Booker attempted to get Anna back, resulting in Anna being brought back in Columbia, but with her finger being severed by the closing Tear.

Comstock brought Anna into Columbia and renamed her Elizabeth Comstock. He revered to Elizabeth as his seed that will one day take the throne of Columbia. Upon viewing another Tear, he saw Elizabeth was destined to destroy the surface world when she became ruler. However, in order to compensate for the sudden presence of Elizabeth, Comstock said that his wife was only pregnant for seven days to give birth to the miracle child. While initially Lady Comstock abided by this claim, she eventually became to realize that this was not her child.

1893-1902: The Beginning of the End
During Elizabeth's stay, she began to reveal a dangerous power, she was suddenly able to open windows into other worlds, much like the Trans-Dimensional Machine. Lady Comstock finally realized that Elizabeth was not her child and accused Rosalind of having an affair. Lady Comstock wanted her out of the house. This and the dangerous ability Elizabeth possessed led Comstock and Rosalind to house Elizabeth in Monument Island as an observatory and prison for her. Due to Elizabeth's power and the Trans-Dimensional Machine, it began producing Tears all around the city, momentary rips in the space-time continuum. Everyone could observe them and some even exploited them.

The Founder and Owner of Fink Manufacturing was made from these Tears. On August 12th, 1894, Jeremiah Fink would become even more powerful when he first learned of the Tears occurring throughout Columbia through his brother, Albert, and was skeptical of the Tears until he realized the profits that could be produced from them when Albert made a fortune on usurped music emitting from the Tears. Fink eventually took this opportunity to usurp advance technology and science observed through the Tears, further advancing and expanding his company's inventions, most recognizable are the Vigors.

As Columbia continued construction, Comstock saw through another Tear a vision that one day, Booker DeWitt would somehow enter Columbia and come for Elizabeth. Fearful of his heir being lost to his alternate self, he created a "prophecy" for the city. Labeling Booker as a "False Shepherd," Comstock declared that the False Shepherd would one day come for Elizabeth to lead her astray from her destiny in becoming Columbia's leader and destroying the sodom below. When he observed Booker through the Tear, Comstock saw his right hand carved in the initials A.D. and revered this as the the mark of the False Shepherd. In order to keep Elizabeth safe in her tower, Fink built Comstock the Songbird, a creature designed to keep Elizabeth safe at all costs and inside Columbia.

In 1895, Lady Comstock finally became aware of Elizabeth's origins and confronted her husband on the matter. Panicked, he killed his own wife to silence the secret. Moments later one of Lady Comstock's servants, Daisy Fitzroy overheard the struggle and went to see the commotion. Upon discovering her dead body, Comstock quickly blamed the murder on Daisy and she quickly fled the scene. Because of the wide-spread belief that she murdered Lady Comstock, Daisy fled to Finkton where she formed the Vox Populi, a protest group for people of color, nationality, and labor against the Founders, demanding equal rights.

In 1900, Columbia was finally launched into the sky and sent around the world to uphold the American and Christian values. However, Columbia became involved in an international incident. During the Boxer Rebellion, Columbia opens fire on Chinese citizens in Beijing, revealing to the world that the city was heavily armed. On July 6, 1902 the U.S. government formally disavowed Columbia's involvement in the Boxer Rebellion and recalled the city. Outraged, Zachary Comstock declared Columbia's secession from the United States and the city vanished into the clouds above. This date was then made into a city-wide holiday celebrating their superiority.

1902-1911: Before the Fall
As the years passed, Rosalind and Robert continued their research and observation on Elizabeth. As she grew, she found interest in reading and learning skills such as lock picking, singing, painting, etc. She remained friends with the Songbird and lived happily. Elizabeth began using her abilities more as the grew. She was able to view other worlds and grew an interest in the city of Paris. In time, Elizabeth resented her situation and Songbird and realized she was a prisoner. Her first menstruation gave her a spike in power, after which Rosalind and Robert created the Siphon, a device which leached Elizabeth's quantum energy preventing the use of her full potential. Rosalind theorized the separation of her pinky as in infant gave Elizabeth the ability to open Tears as her body was in two realities at once.

Daisy Fitzroy, sometime after Lady Comstock's murder, was captured by the Finkton Police. She was studied by Dr. Pinchot who gave her intelligence tests, revealing a high-level genius. Dr. Pinchot formed a relationship with Daisy, and before her scheduled lobotomy, broke her free. In the end he was murdered by Daisy and she escaped. Daisy now had a full-fledged hatred for the Founders and sparked her protest group into a militant force against the city. Her tactics became more brutal in the ensuing war against Columbia and the Founders. Her belief was to stop the Founders by "pulling them from the roots," which meant killing their supporters, civilians and even children.

In 1909, Rosalind and Robert were observing a Tear which revealed the truth about Comstock's prophecy. In time, Elizabeth would abide by her father's beliefs and become the city's ruler. When those happened, she would lay waste to the surface world. Both Rosalind and Robert did not wish to see this happen to Elizabeth or the surface, and instead sought to change it. Robert proposed that they send Elizabeth back into her former reality with her original father. However, Comstock got word of this and had Fink tamper with their Trans-Dimensional Device. When the Luteces attempted to use it, the machine malfunctioned. While it did not kill them, it did spread the Luteces all across reality. They now had the same ability as Elizabeth and began implementing their plan. Instead of returning Elizabeth, they now wanted to create a paradox where the whole tragedy never occurred.

1912-1984: The Fall of Columbia (BioShock: Infinite)
By 1912, the Lutece twins finally managed to contact Booker by opening a Tear in his private investigation office. However, every time he entered, he suffered the same effect as Robert and his theory. As one entered another reality, their traits and memory collide with the ones from their former in this new reality. The brain hemorrhages and memories were created from old ones, even false memories, to compensate for the confusion. Every time Booker entered into the different reality, his mind confused the sale of his daughter with a new memory that he now must retrieve a girl from the city of Columbia. The Luteces went with this story, and demanded that he bring the girl back to erase his debt. However, nearly every time he enters Columbia he always failed. He died in Columbia 122 times and the Luteces kept coming back to bring Booker into their reality again. It wasn't until the 123rd time that Booker managed to actually progress in Columbia's reality.

On his 123rd attempt, Booker was once again taken to a lighthouse off the coast of Maine on July 6, 1912. Booker was rowed to the island by the Lutece Twins, who then handed Booker some supplies. He entered the lighthouse, unaware of the city of Columbia, and was transported into the sky via shuttle rocket. He arrived in Columbia's Welcome Center where he was baptized by Preacher Witting. Nearly drowning, Booker had dreams of a futuristic New York City being destroyed by Columbia. Booker awakened and finally entered the streets of Columbia during the city wide Raffle and Fair to celebrate their secession from the United States.

As Booker headed for Monument Island, the Luteces contacted him by not attending the city raffle and bringing attention to himself. Booker attended and entered into the raffle contest anyway. Jeremiah Fink announced Booker as the winner of the raffle and offered a first throw at an interracial couple. Before Booker could do anything, the Columbian Police and Fink spotted the A.D. carving on his hand, which was revered by the city as the mark of the False Shepherd, who was destined to lead Elizabeth out of Columbia. Fighting through the Columbian police who attempted to execute him, as well as a Fireman who attempted to burn him, Booker managed to reach Monument Island before being contacted by Zachary Comstock, saying he knew everything about Booker and everything he did ended in blood.

When entering Monument Island, he discovered that Elizabeth had been kept there and observed her entire life. When finding Elizabeth through a one-way mirror, Booker witnessed her Tear-opening ability which brought her apartment to Paris in the 1980's. Booker then entered her apartment. While fearful at first of him, Elizabeth was joyed by his presence and desired to leave. However, her captor, the Songbird, arrived and destroyed most of the tower as Booker and Elizabeth barely escaped, falling onto the shores of Battleship Bay. Elizabeth enjoyed her newfound freedom as Booker discovered the First Lady, a zeppelin that could take them out of Columbia. Lying to Elizabeth about it taking her to Paris, the two headed for the First Lady's Aerodrome.

However, when heading there the two were attacked. Booker killed the attackers and Elizabeth was distraught at him. Booker reminds her how important she was to these people and made her realize how he needed to kill them if they wanted to leave. When reaching Soldier's Field, they discovered they needed the Shock Jockey Vigor to power the gondola to the First Lady's Aerodrome. The two then headed over to the Hall of Heroes, where the Shock Jockey vigor was said to be located. When the two venture to the Hall of Heroes, both talked about each other's lives. Booker's confused memory made him think that he lost his wife and child due to labor and that he never heard of Columbia before. Elizabeth then opened a Tear and explained to Booker that it was a window to another world, but after narrowly avoiding another attack by Songbird, Booker deemed it dangerous and advised not to use it.

When approaching Hall of Heroes, he discovered that an old comrade from Wounded Knee, Cornelius Slate, had joined the Vox Populi and taken refuge inside Hall of Heroes, renaming it 'Hall of Whores.' Booker and Elizabeth then entered the Hall and were contacted by Slate. Apparently Comstock set a lie that he was there at Wounded Knee and led the cavalry. Exposing this lie, Slate was stripped of his title. Before Slate allowed the two to meet him, he forced Booker and Elizabeth to go through the museums of Wounded Knee and the Boxer Rebellion. After going through the two museums, they were finally allowed access into the museum of Columbia. In the museum, it covered the death of Lady Comstock and Elizabeth discovered that she was the daughter of Comstock and was destined to follow in his power.

When near Slate, Booker advised that Elizabeth use her Tear-manipulation to help them in combat. After fighting through waves of Slate's men, Booker neutralized him and recovered the bottle of Shock Jockey. When returning back to the Aerodrome, Booker used the vigor to power the gondola. After fighting through Comstock's men, the two entered the First Lady. As Elizabeth became excited about her freedom and seeing the world and Paris, she noticed that Booker was directing the zeppelin to New York. Booker revealed the lie that he needed to bring her to New York to a man who would repay Booker's debt. Elizabeth broke down and as Booker comforted her, she knocked him out with a wrench.

Booker awakened to find Elizabeth gone and the First Lady taken over by the Vox Populi and their leader, Daisy. Daisy told Booker that, in order for him to reclaim the First Lady, he had to first assist the Vox. To do so, he needed to find the gunsmith, Chen Lin, in the Factory to resupply his weapons for the Vox Populi's cause. Booker decided once again to find Elizabeth, but when he tried to pursue her, she opened up a number of Tears to slow him down. Finally, when he caught up to her, he was thrown off of the city by a Handyman. However, Booker caught onto a zeppelin summoned by Elizabeth. Despite the fact that Elizabeth considered Booker "a liar and a thug", she knew he was also her only means of reaching Paris. Booker let her in on how they could reclaim the First Lady. And so, they set out to fulfill Daisy Fitzroy's demands.

Booker and Elizabeth journeyed into Finkton, the industrial and labor district of Columbia. When entering the Plaza of Zeal, Booker was contacted by Jeremiah Fink to work for him as his head security officer. Booker denied, but later discovered from Chen Lin's wife that he was taken by the Founders into the Good Time Club. When entering the club, Fink once again offered Booker a position in his security and tested him in combat. Booker continued to deny him and reassured Elizabeth that people needed leaders like Daisy Fitzroy to end tyranny and injustice as he saw when he was a Pinkerton Agent. As the two reached the holding cells inside the Good Time Club, they find Chen Lin dead from extreme torture. However, the Lutece Twins appeared to reveal a Tear to a universe in which Chen Lin remained alive and able to help their cause, prompting Elizabeth to bring them into a reality where Chen Lin was never killed.

Upon entering this new reality, they discovered an automatic difference with reality. Namely, those who were killed in the previous universe had been brought back in a super-position in which they recalled being both dead and alive at once. One of these was Chen Lin, who was spared because his wife in this universe was a white woman connected with the Finkton Police. Upon realizing that the tools for making the guns were in a nearby police station, Booker and Elizabeth head to Shantytown. Booker and Elizabeth journeyed through the poverty and cruelty in Finkton to find the Chen Lin's tools in the police station. However, they were far too many tools and thus were way too heavy to carry. Coincidentally, a Tear opened nearby where the tools weren't at the police station. Elizabeth, once again, brought the tools into a new reality of Columbia where the tools were gone.

The two discover now how drastic the change truly was. Booker experienced the same super-position of being both dead and alive. Apparently in this universe, Elizabeth was taken away from her tower before Booker could reach her. Booker, in this universe, was reunited with Slate and the two died burning the Hall of Heroes down, furthering the cause of the Vox as martyrs. Daisy had now taken a genocidal approach to her now militant protest army. The Vox laid siege to the Factory and massacred the soldiers and supporters of the Founders, including innocent people. However, upon entering the factory, Daisy noticed Booker and wished to keep him as a dead martyr to inspire the cause. Daisy then killed Jeremiah Fink and ordered her army to kill Booker and Elizabeth. The two neutralized Daisy's forces, but she was then set on murdering a Founder boy. Elizabeth killed Daisy and retreated to the First Lady, only to change her appearance and fill with regret. But before the First Lady could leave Columbia, the Songbird reappeared to crash land it.

The two crash-land in Emporia, where the Lutece Twins confirmed that the only way to stop Songbird is controlling him through a specialized flute and playing key notes. Booker and Elizabeth then spotted Comstock House and aimed there. The Vox had now taken control over Emporia and most of Columbia, massacring any other survivors and burning the city down. The two attempted to enter Comstock House, but were told they needed a handprint key. The gate confused Elizabeth for Lady Comstock, giving Elizabeth the idea to retrieve Lady Comstock's hand from the air-tight coffin in the cemetery. However, upon retrieving her hand, Comstock released a small Siphon in the cemetery to leech Elizabeth of her power and use it to transform Lady Comstock's corpse into the Siren, a spectral form of Lady Comstock, both dead and alive, with the ability to revive the dead through manipulation of Tears. She was also hellbent on the lies Comstock hads set of her, Elizabeth, and the Luteces. The Luteces revealed that in order to stop and have her help them, they would need to uncover the truth.

Going around in Emporia, Booker and Elizabeth uncovered the conspiracy about Comstock and Elizabeth. Through the Tears, the two learned the truth of Comstock's sterility due to exposure of the Tear device, the adoption of Elizabeth from another universe, and the plot to kill Lady Comstock and the Luteces by Comstock, himself. Elizabeth revealed this truth while battling the Lady Comstock spectral. While in disbelief, Lady Comstock forgave Elizabeth and furthered assisting the two by opening the gate to Comstock House. However, the Songbird impeded the two. Before the Songbird could murder Booker, Elizabeth intervened and begged him to take her back with him. Songbird agreed and Booker chased after the two, only to find it snowing in Columbia when it was supposed to be July. Booker then entered Comstock House after hearing the cries of Elizabeth, all the while trying to avoid detection from disturbing figures known only as Boys of Silence.

Through discovering certain Tears, Booker learned it had been at least six months since he last saw Elizabeth. She was then tortured and indoctrinated to uphold Comstock's beliefs, becoming a forefront for Columbia. However, Booker soon discovered it had been more than six months as the cries from Elizabeth are from a Tear. He then found Elizabeth and realized he had traveled forward 72 years as Elizabeth had aged considerably and upheld her father's prophecy as she used Columbia to destroy New York City in 1984 -- the same dream Booker experienced when first entering Columbia. Elizabeth explained that it was her loss of hope that broke her and now regretted what she had become now. Knowing her past self could stop the cycle by achieving her full potential, Elizabeth brought Booker forward in time to evade Songbird and gave Booker instructions on how to control him. She then sent Booker back to 1912 to rescue her younger self.

Finding himself back in Comstock House, Booker fought his way through soldiers and machines alike. He reached the rooms containing the two generators and shut both of them down. With the Siphons deactivated, Dr. P. Pettifog and his coworker could only watch in horror as Elizabeth opened a Tear to a field ravaged by a devastating tornado, thus killing the two surgeons in the tempest's rampage. After Booker freed Elizabeth, the two decided to finally put a stop to the prophecy by confronting Comstock face to face. They had to board Comstock's zeppelin, the Hand of the Prophet, for that was where they'd find him. The duo boarded a Gunship and, after fending off other hostile Gunships, docked at the zeppelin's hangar bay.

Alas, the Hand of the Prophet was heavily guarded by the remaining fragments of the Founder military and also besieged by the Vox Populi. Fighting both factions, they ascended through the ship by clearing Sky-Lines carrying Motorized Patriot pods on each level in order to reach the bridge. After navigating the levels of the zeppelin, Booker and Elizabeth confronted Comstock in his cabin. There, Comstock attempted to regain Elizabeth's trust by weakening her faith in Booker, grabbing her by the wrist and demanding that Booker tell her the truth about her lost finger. In a fit of rage, Booker grabbed Comstock by the neck and smashed his head against a stone baptismal font multiple times before submerging his face in the water. After Elizabeth became concerned about Comstock's words, she and Booker happened upon an image of the statue of Columbia on Monument Island. Upon inspection, they found that the statue contained the Siphon restricting Elizabeth's powers. The two resolve to fly the ship to Monument Island to destroy the Siphon and learn the truth.

The travelers weren't in the clear yet, for the Vox Populi were now unleashing an all-out assault on the Hand of the Prophet. It was clear that they sought to do away with Elizabeth. At that moment, Elizabeth worked out the meaning of the letter given by her older self. Tearing a Whistler from a statue's head, she played the musical notes C-A-G-E, bringing Songbird under control as he swooped down to the ship. The Vox Populi began an assault on the flagship's main generator, and Songbird helped defend the surface deck from multiple Vox zeppelins.

Once the Vox and all the zeppelins had been eradicated, Elizabeth handed the Whistler to Booker and told him to finish the job. Playing the song on the Whistler, Songbird destroyed what remained of the statue, and with it, the Siphon inside. Upon the destruction of the tower, the massive energy feedback that resulted disables the Whistler, which meant Booker had lost control. Just as the enraged Songbird charged, Elizabeth opened a tear which transported them to the Welcome Center of Rapture, trapping the creature outside the window. Elizabeth comforted Songbird in his final moments as he was crushed under the extreme pressure of the ocean.

Emerging to the surface by way of Bathysphere, Elizabeth was now able to see every reality and possibility and had became virtually omniscient. She revealed to Booker that Columbia and Rapture were connected via key elements, and were in fact the same city across different realities. She led Booker to a realm between realities, each displayed as one of many lighthouses that all represent the "beginning" of Booker's journey, at the same time paying homage to Jack's expedition. Elizabeth explained that the worlds behind each door were similar and different in specific ways, all somehow connected. During this traversing of realities, Elizabeth revealed that Booker's memory of events was flawed -- he never agreed to retrieve her from Columbia in exchange for eliminating his debts. Rather, Booker gave his infant daughter, Anna, to Robert Lutece for that same purpose. Booker then realizes that Elizabeth was Anna, and the portal severing her finger was what gave her the power to create tears in dimensional time and space when her body became a part of two separate dimensions.

After reexperiencing these events, Booker put the blame on Comstock, and thought that he and Elizabeth could go on with their lives since Comstock was no more. This wasn't the case, since Comstock remained alive in many more universes. The one way to be rid of Comstock was to go to point where first came to be. Booker was transported to one final location: the site of the baptism from which he fled. Here, different versions of Anna -- Elizabeth -- revealed the truth to Booker: he and Comstock were, in fact, the same man from different realities, one in which he was baptized after the Battle at Wounded Knee, and one in which he was not. In the reality where he went through with the baptism, that event acted as the origin of Zachary Hale Comstock. Booker then allowed all the Anna/Elizabeths to submerge him before he could accept or reject the baptism. preventing his choice from ever being made and stopping Comstock from ever existing. With the elimination of Comstock across the timeline, Columbia's existence was also erased, and all the events that occurred over the past twenty years vanish with it. One by one, the alternate versions of Elizabeth began to disappear, until only the original remained, and the screen cuts to black. Players are left to decide Elizabeth's fate for themselves.