Gilbert Alexander

"The end may be nigh, but for me it's just more paperwork."

- Gilbert Alexander

Dr. Gilbert Alexander was a scientist who worked for Frank Fontaine and later Andrew Ryan. Alexander developed the impractical Pair Bonding mechanism between Alpha Series Big Daddies and Little Sisters, starting with Eleanor Lamb and Subject Delta, in whose creation he was also heavily involved.

History
Alexander was an ambitious researcher in the early days of Fontaine Futuristics, specializing in mechanical and robotic engineering. At the height of his career, he designed much of Rapture's automated security system and was influential in the creation and advancements of Big Daddies, modifying their suits with gadgets and armor. Like many scientists who worked for Fontaine, Alexander was likely forced to work for Ryan Industries or be imprisoned at Fontaine's Department Store. When recycling ADAM from corpses was needed to meet the high demand for the drug, Alexander created a new Big Daddy, the Alpha Series, who were suited for the job of protectors. It was this role that ultimately gave the Big Daddies their nickname, which is what inspired Alexander to work on a bond that forced the Alpha Series to protect a single Little Sister with their life. The bond ended up being a failure when the protectors became unusable after their Little Sister had been killed, but he continued to work on the protector program using older Big Daddy models and using a more suitable bonding method. He also worked on the creation of the Vita-Chamber with Augustus Sinclair and Dr. Yi Suchong.

After the war Alexander and the remaining scientists began working for Sofia Lamb, where he created the Rumbler and even the suits for Big Sisters. Once highly committed to his job, he came to regret his actions, and joined the Rapture Family, where he soon volunteered to become the first "Utopian". Based on Jack's mental conditioning (as Sofia believed it to be), the subject of the operation would be imbued with the entire collective genius of Rapture via ADAM infusion, suppressing his own "self" personal identity. The plan failed, and Alexander was heavily mutated and rendered quite insane by the enormous amounts of ADAM and genetic material from the people injected into him. Seeing that he was no longer useful to her, Lamb cruelly abandoned him, but left him in control of the Fontaine Futuristics headquarters. Calling himself "Alex the Great", he controlled most of the functions of Fontaine Futuristics with a heavily-modified Security Bot, which he manipulates through four hijacked Bot Shutdown Panels. The Bot itself is marked by its added television monitor (displaying Gil's manic eyes) and distinctive violet running-lights. Alex the Great spent most of his time "running" the Fontaine Futuristics business, managing his spliced "employees" by sadistically punishing them.

BioShock 2


Before losing his mind, he recorded audio logs with instructions for gaining access to the inner areas of Fontaine Futuristics. In these logs, he asks whoever finds them to enter and kill him. However, the post-mutation Gil uses his modified Security Bot (and surprisingly operatic singing voice) to prevent Delta from accessing a Security Office where one of the messages had been left for him, as well as the controls to enter the secret laboratory where his heavily-mutated form resides in a large glass tank.

Subject Delta is forced to destroy Gil's control over the Security Bots, and after crossing the ocean floor to enter the airlock of the darkened lab, finds the scientist himself in his containment chamber. Gathering a bunch of plants infused with ADAM, Delta manages to lure Gil close enough to the glass wall of his lair that a sample of his DNA can be taken by a mechanism operated at the control panel, which then prints a key to open the hidden doorway behind the false Oxy-Fill station outside. Having now been granted access to Persephone, the player is left to decide Gil's fate.

Gilbert's Fate (Choice)
Following Dr. Alexander's long-previously recorded guidance, the player is ultimately given the choice to electrify Alex's holding chamber through its sample disposal system, fulfilling Gil's wish to die, or spare him, for which his ADAM-produced alter-ego, Alex the Great, now begs. Towards the conclusion of the game, Sofia detonates the bombs which brings down Persephone into a deep trench, potentially killing Alexander. It is possible that Alexander escaped into the ocean (as he promises when begging for mercy). For the purposes of the ending, killing Alexander appears to be treated the same as any of the other NPCs.

Subject Delta's encounter with Dr. Alexander is represented by a statue in the hallucinatory version of Outer Persephone. If the player chose to kill Gilbert, the statue depicts Subject Delta battling a giant serpent (representing Alex the Great). If the player chose to let Gilbert live, the statue depicts Subject Delta pulling a man (presumably Dr. Alexander) out of the mouth of the giant serpent (again representing Alex the Great).

BioShock 2

 * Atlantic Express
 * Improving on Suchong's Work


 * Ryan Amusements
 * A Father's Love


 * Siren Alley
 * The Rumbler
 * The Pair Bond Mechanism


 * Dionysus Park
 * A Secular Saint
 * Growing Up


 * Fontaine Futuristics
 * Agnus Dei
 * Source of Volunteers
 * Prototype
 * Abort the Experiment
 * Solving for X
 * Outlived Usefulness
 * Big Sister


 * Removed Audio Diaries
 * Alpha Series
 * Not Nigh Enough
 * Abandoned
 * Alpha Series: Failure
 * False Fatherhood
 * Lamb's Gambit
 * Problems and Solutions
 * Subject Delta
 * The First Little Sister
 * Training the Sleepwalkers

Behind the Scenes

 * Gil Alexander's name was a tribute to Stephen Alexander, an FX artist at Irrational Games who was influential in the making of BioShock.
 * Alex the Great, Gil's alias, is based on Alexander the Great, a famous Macedonian king.
 * It is possible to see Gil's true form inside the tank with the use of console commands.
 * As seen in concept art images from Deco Devolution artbook, Gilbert's tank would have originally been a giant sphere with large blue-lit portholes covering its metal surface.
 * Gil's Audio Diary, Agnus Dei, is a reference to the Latin phrase "Agnus Dei" meaning "Lamb of God". It refers to Jesus' sacrificial offering to atone for the sins of humanity.
 * During development of BioShock 2, before Gilbert Alexander was given an official name, employees at 2K Marin referred to him as the "The Guild Navigator" - a pun referencing the Dune novels.
 * According to the subtitles' file of BioShock 2, the Audio Diary "Alpha Series" was removed from Fontaine Futuristics and not Dionysus Park as stated on Cult of Rapture.