Fontaine Futuristics (Business)

"When you're down in the mouth, and life's a pain/weatherman says 'heavy rain'/A little boost is all you need/Average Joe to Hercules/A Stronger Arm, A Sharper Brain, That's Why The Future Is Fontaine!"

- Fontaine Futuristics advertising jingle

Fontaine Futuristics is a business run and owned by Frank Fontaine and was one of the largest companies dealing with genetic enhancements in Rapture. It was the heart of biotechnology in the city, but also oversaw various other business endeavors owned by Frank Fontaine. It was nationalized by Andrew Ryan after Fontaine's "death," much to the chagrin of conscientious Bill McDonagh, and inciting civil unrest.

Under Frank Fontaine
Fontaine funded Brigid Tenenbaum's research of ADAM after her discovery of the sea slugs. He also had a means to acquire girls to be made into Little Sisters and the facilities to research and produce the Plasmids and Gene Tonics. His headquarters was built on the edge of the ocean trench that the slugs may have came from, ensuring his monopoly on access to the supply of ADAM.

Fontaine achieved vertical integration in the Plasmid business, as he effectively owned every step of the process:
 * Fontaine Fisheries and Fontaine Futuristics, where the slugs were found.
 * The Little Sister's Orphanages to acquire girls, so as to make more ADAM.
 * Little Wonders Educational Facility to physically and mentally make the girls into Little Sisters capable of generating ADAM.
 * Fontaine Futuristics Genetic Research Dpt. — the actual research of ADAM, and it's ability to create Plasmds and Gene Tonics which Fontaine profited from.
 * Fontaine's Department Store - A large department store, selling products from Fontaine's businesses such as; drinkable Plasmids, Bathyspheres, housewares and clothes straight to the consumer, completely cutting out the middle man.

However, Fontaine was not able to achieve horizontal integration due to competition with Plasmid production by Ryan Industries and Sinclair Solutions.

Products and Services

 * Accu-Vox Audio Diaries
 * Various kitchen and cleaning appliances
 * Blenders
 * Dishwashers
 * Dryers
 * Mixers
 * Ovens
 * Radar Range
 * Refrigerators
 * Toasters
 * Fontaine-Vac
 * Waffle irons
 * Washing machines
 * Private Bathyspheres, and the speed control systems for the public bathyspheres.
 * Various creams, pills, injections, and cosmetics, as seen on a billboard.
 * Fontaine Press was a publishing house owned and operated by Frank Fontaine.
 * Gene Tonics
 * Little Sisters
 * Medical care and blood drives (in exchange for money) at Fontaine Clinics.
 * Oxygen services
 * Plasmids
 * Power to the People vending machines
 * Smuggled goods and contraband

Employees

 * Brigid Tenenbaum
 * Gilbert Alexander
 * Louie McGraff
 * Peach Wilkins
 * Reggie
 * Sammy G.
 * Yi Suchong

Employees at Fontaine's Department Store

 * Bert Unger
 * Florence Baxter
 * Kay Flannigan
 * Ray Lardner
 * Samantha Kemp

Under Ryan Industries
When Andrew Ryan took control of the business, he converted Fontaine's own department in to a prison for the former emplyees of Fontaine Futuristics (AKA Fontaine's followers), everyone except for Yi Suchong whom was offored a job at Ryan Industries. The kidnapping of little girls to create the Little Sisters started, unlike Fontaine who used little girls voluntarily given to him through the Little Sister's Orphanage program. The Little Sisters first began their function gathering and recycling ADAM from the dead during this period. By this time, Tenenbaum had left Fontaine Futuristics and disappeared, so it was left to Yi Suchong to continue creating Little Sisters and subsequently Big Daddies. There appear to have been budgeting constraints under Andrew Ryan, as Suchong described him as a cheap son of a bitch compared to Fontaine.

Unlike Fontaine, Andrew Ryan saw no need to hide the role of the Little Sisters from the citizens of Rapture. He brought them into the public eye by creating the Gatherer's Garden vending machines to sell Plasmids and Gene Tonics. These vending machines featured large figurines of smiling Little Sisters on either side. Later, Ryan changed the role of the Little Sisters, actually sending them out into the streets to gather ADAM from corpses as the Civil War heated up. In response to the disquiet the Little Sisters caused among the citizens, Ryan created several public address announcements suggesting that the Little Sisters were performing a noble service.

Ryan commissioned Dr. Suchong, and later Dr. Alexander, to create protectors for the little girls since they would be vulnerable to attacks by Splicers when searching the city for ADAM. This resulted in the training of Big Daddies (Plasmid test subjects who were armored, genetically modified and conditioned to be the cities maintenance workers), as protectors for the girls.

Behind the Scenes

 * The company is also called Fontaine Corporation on bathyspheres' speed lever.