Augustus Sinclair

"Yes, Delta, what of Sinclair? The man who would sell Paradise... and where is he now?"

- Sofia Lamb

"You do business as long as I have, and you learn to pick a brand name from the writin' on the wall."

- Augustus Sinclair

Augustus Sinclair was one of the key figures in Rapture's science community, as well as an important business figure. His business, Sinclair Solutions, was one of the most important Plasmid-researching companies in Rapture, and he is a significant character in BioShock 2, guiding Subject Delta to Eleanor Lamb.

History
Augustus Sinclair was born in Panama before 1914. His grandfather was a worker on the Panama Canal who believed that he was doing a service for the greater good. The drowning of his grandfather as a result of this effort impressed upon Sinclair the idea that the only worthwhile efforts were self-serving. Sinclair eventually moved to Georgia in the United States with the hopes of striking it rich in his own business endeavors. When Andrew Ryan created Rapture, Sinclair took the invitation purely out of a desire to further his own monetary gain. In Rapture, Sinclair eventually became one of society's top men, due to his creation of several successful businesses.

In the early days of Rapture's construction, when the original Sinker platform was moored in the ocean floor, the men working on the foundation discovered an enormous cavern in the bedrock. Sinclair saw the possibilities in such a discovery and purchased the rights to the space, which no one else wanted. He then paid off the few people who knew about it to forget that the cave had ever been found. Through further exploration Sinclair discovered that the cave system extended out into a cliff at the edge of an oceanic trench.

It was here that Sinclair based his most successful business, Sinclair Solutions, in the Persephone correctional facility. When Andrew Ryan imprisoned people who spoke against him, they were held in Persephone by Sinclair, and he removed them from public record. In order to boost his gain from Persephone, Sinclair also rented out the inmates in the prison to the plasmid tests at Ryan Industries, where they were used as test subjects for the creation of the first Alpha Series.

At one point, Sinclair was hired by Andrew Ryan to uncover Sofia Lamb's activities in Dionysus Park and to find a reason for her to be imprisoned. To accomplish this, Sinclair hired a Rapture Tribune reporter, Stanley Poole, whom he was also paying not to publish anything about him, as a spy to infiltrate The Rapture Family and find a crime that Dr. Lamb could be charged for. Poole eventually gathered enough evidence, and Lamb was taken to Persephone where Sinclair used her psychiatric expertise to make the other inmates more docile. However, this eventually backfired on him, as Lamb used her influence to gain control of the inmates. Eventually, Lamb became influential enough with the inmates to spark a rebellion that ousted Sinclair from the facility and left it entirely in Lamb's control.

During the Rapture Civil War, Sinclair was involved in the creation of the Vita-Chamber, as evidenced in Yi Suchong's Audio Diary of the same name.

After Lamb assumed control of Rapture, Sinclair hid himself in Ryan Amusements, and became a valuable ally to Brigid Tenenbaum. He planned to use her allegiance to help him reach his lifeboat in Persephone and escape to the surface along with several of Raptures technologies that would ensure his financial success there.

Businesses
As one of Rapture's more shrewd and cunning business men, Sinclair was able to build or buy a great many businesses.
 * 1) Sinclair Solutions
 * 2) The Sinclair Deluxe
 * 3) Sinclair Spirits
 * 4) Parts of Pauper's Drop
 * 5) Sinclair Scrap (Part of a BioShock 2 Multiplayer Map)
 * 6) Sinclair Toys (Found on crates in Ryan Amusements Gift Shop)
 * 7) Persephone Correctional Facility
 * 8) + Numerous industrial, unnamed interests

BioShock 2
Sinclair features as a guide throughout much of the game, showing Subject Delta points of interest, re-introducing him to the methods of adopting Little Sisters and providing personal interjections throughout the levels. When first met, he asks the player to help him out of a "little bind" by heading to Ryan Amusements through the train tunnels of Atlantic Express.

As Delta helps Sinclair clear blockages from the line and override security measures, Sinclair's own agenda begins to become clear. Whereas other people below, such as Brigid Tenenbaum and Sofia Lamb are pursuing moral ideals, Sinclair is far more interested in cannibalizing and exploiting the technology of Rapture for his own gain on the surface.

Unlike Frank Fontaine, however, Sinclair is far more open and trusting of Delta, such as when Simon Wales's torpedo wrecks their shuttle, leaving him with finite air reserves. But he still allows Delta time to prepare before launching his rescue attempt.

During the final levels, Sinclair disappears for some time, only to reappear as a new (and last) Alpha Series Subject Omega (Symbol: Ω), changed against his will and controlled by Lamb's command. Even to the last, Sinclair does his best to help Delta, struggling past the mind control to give him information over the radio (he retains his intelligence and can think and speak for himself, but no longer has control over his voluntary motor functions). In return, he asks Delta to end his life and release him from his inhuman state. Even in his last words, he thanks Delta for ending his warped existence.

Augustus Sinclair represents a more rounded version of the mindset adopted by Fontaine in the original BioShock - a flawed protagonist, he helps Delta initially to serve his own ends, but in his final minutes, discovers his selfless side, aiding his companions with the only gain of his own being freedom from Sofia.

Strategy
Augustus Sinclair has roughly 2.5x the health of an average Alpha Series, roughly as much health as the Bouncer or Rosie Big Daddies encountered early in the game. He is also equipped with a Launcher and a hacked Security Bot. However, Sinclair retains the Alpha Series' vulnerability to headshots and is therefore noticeably easier to terminate. The room he locks himself in also has many different access points, traps, and hazards to allow the player to catch him off guard.

The player can drive Sinclair out of the room he's locked in by crawling through the vent and lighting up the oil puddle with Incinerate!. Deploying a Turret inside the room will also open the door automatically.

It is possible to Hypnotize Sinclair in Alpha form by charging up to level 3. Unfortunately, he cannot be persuaded to give up his key, but will have green eyes, follow the player, and fight nearby enemies. If the player sticks several Proximity Mines to Sinclair while he's hypnotized, they'll either kill him or badly weaken him. While in this state it is recommended to fire several Spears, both Standard and Rocket, into his head. If in the middle of a battle, this Plasmid can also be used to pause the encounter, giving the player time to reload and restock on ammunition.

Audio Diaries

 * Ryan Amusements
 * Wooden Nickels


 * Pauper's Drop
 * Wrong Side of the Tracks
 * Profit Coming, Profit Going


 * Siren Alley
 * Farther to Fall


 * Persephone
 * Selling Ryan Short


 * Inner Persephone
 * Sacrifices


 * Removed Audio Diaries
 * Private Interests
 * Rise of the Underdog
 * Sinclair Deluxe & Sinclair Spirits

Video
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Trivia

 * The last name "Sinclair" was inspired by the last name of BioShock ' s art director at Irrational Games, Scott Sinclair.
 * Sinclair's suit in his Alpha Series form is noticeably cleaner and in much better condition than those worn by standard Alpha Series, lacking the rust, wear, and exposed tissue normally seen on an Alpha Series. In this regard he much more closely resembles the main character, Subject Delta.
 * A close examination of Sinclair's hands in Alpha form shows the Greek letter "Omega." (Symbol: Ω) This is a nod to the fact that he is the last Alpha Series Big Daddy ever created (Omega is the last letter in the Greek alphabet.)
 * If the player should hesitate too long when obtaining the code to the warden's office to defeat Alpha form Sinclair, he will radio Delta telling him not to blame himself for ending his life. Sinclair will then justify this by saying he has accepted his death on the terms that Delta will "Stick it to Lamb and let young Eleanor see the sun."
 * If the player runs away from Sinclair (Alpha Form) he will shout out various things such as "Kid! Come back! You gotta do it!" or "Don't let me hurt Eleanor!" and even "I'm sorry Kid!"
 * As revealed by the Deco Devolution artbook, "Sinclair Scrap" would have originally been "Ryan Scrap Metals."
 * Considering Sinclair becomes a Big Daddy and speaks to the player while as such, he is the first Big Daddy in the BioShock series with the ability to talk, due to the fact that Sofia Lamb left his tongue intact to retrieve information from him.
 * In Deco Devolution, animation supervisor Jeff Weir stated that Augustus Sinclair was first modeled like the American actor Desi Arnaz.
 * In "BioShock 2\SP\Content\BinkMovies," there is a file called "gul_sinc_dies.bik." In it, it shows what would appear to be Augustus Sinclair tied up in a chamber, possibly one with the ability to be flooded remotely. Judging by the name, this would seem to be an alternative end to Sinclair, and its existence in the game files might suggest alternative use for it that never came to fruition. The dimensions of the video are consistent with videos viewed on TV's in the game, so this might have been viewed on a display with some accompanying dialog on the subject of him.