Reed Wahl



"In my limited time as its master, The Thinker has shown me so much. My outlook was... limited before."

- Reed Wahl

Reed Wahl is the antagonist of Minerva's Den and the former colleague of Charles Milton Porter. His voice is heard during the Minerva's Den teaser trailer, and portraits of him decorate the interior of the Minerva's Den area. His in-game model is that of a recycled Buttons Splicer, with a special headpiece.

History
The practical engineer to Porter's idealistic mathematician, Reed Wahl was the co-founder of Rapture Central Computing. He co-invented The Thinker, a supercomputer capable of realizing incredibly complex calculations at the speed of thought, with the help of Charles Milton Porter, his colleague and associate.

Once the shine wore off the business, he found less ethical ways to profit from The Thinker's abilities, and so he planned to use The Thinker to predict the outcome of ballgames and stock prices for which he may profit, but soon shifted his focus from money to power after splicing.

After a while, he came under the delusion that there was a "predictive equation", capable of foretelling the course of events, and that The Thinker was on the verge of discovering it. Porter discarded this theory, preferring to give The Thinker a more human personality, which both frustrated and disgusted Wahl. In a bid to take The Thinker away from his colleague, he used The Thinker to frame Porter for high treason, creating a fake Audio Diary in which Porter claimed to side with Frank Fontaine. Sending this directly to Ryan, he offered to take Porter's position in maintaining The Thinker. Convinced of the authenticity of the recording, Ryan sent Porter to Persephone and put Wahl in charge of Minerva's Den. Soon after, the latter locked down the district, spending the next seven years attempting to crack the predictive equation.

As the years passed, Wahl remained in charge of Minerva's Den in the absence of Porter. Like so much of Rapture's populace, splicing has driven him insane, but, unlike most Splicers, his mania has a focus: The Thinker. Wahl is obsessed with realizing the mainframe's untapped potential via a Predictive Equation that can foresee all future events, perfectly.

Minerva's Den
In 1968, Brigid Tenenbaum reactivates Subject Sigma with help from The Thinker and sent him to Rapture Central Computing, ordering him to save the Little Sisters there. Wahl soon learns of this and destroyed the tunnel to the district. Some time later, Sigma is reawakened by the voice of Charles Milton Porter, who guides him towards the Den, hoping Sigma can acquire The Thinker's codes. Wahl then proceeds to use The Thinker to predict Sigma's actions, resulting in the latter being ambushed on multiple occasions by Wahl's Splicers and Turrets. He repeatedly mocks Sigma via radio, boasting that he can predict his every move. Despite this, Wahl grows more anxious as Sigma gets closer to The Thinker and increases the number of attacks.

When Sigma reaches Operations, Wahl starts to use Alpha Series Big Daddies and is eventually seen through the protective glass setting up Turrets, while Sigma advances through the ocean floor.

By the time Sigma gets to The Thinker, Wahl runs short of minions and decides to stop Sigma personally. He destroys the main path to The Thinker and sets up Miniature Turrets along his way. At this point, he realizes that Sigma and Porter are one and the same and that The Thinker is impersonating the latter to overthrow him. When Sigma finally gets to The Thinker itself, Wahl taunts him behind a sheet of bulletproof glass, revealing that he was the one who framed him. He then sends four more Alpha Series Big Daddies onto Sigma, and sets up a Turret. After witnessing the fall of his last defenses, Wahl attacks with a Shotgun, two Electric Bots, and Miniature Turrets. He soon meets his demise at the hands of Sigma, who takes his Administrator Punchcard and prints out The Thinker's codes.

Strategy
Wahl is a very powerful Leadhead Splicer armed with a shotgun and is able to place Mini-Turrets. He also has two Electric Security Bots who follow him and attack Sigma on sight. He has as much health as a Big Sister and is easily the most powerful enemy in Minerva's Den, not to mention the player can only confront him after defeating four Alpha Series Big Daddies.

A good strategy against him would be to hack the Turret downstairs when fighting the Alpha Series. After all of them are defeated, stay upstairs and equip the Hack Tool. Hack both his Bots and any Mini-Turrets that he places with Automatic Hack Darts immediately, as they can provide supporting fire. It is also recommended to equip the Natural Camouflage Tonic, since it allows the player to hack without being noticed.

As for weapons, both the Anti-Personnel Rounds of the Machine Gun and the Thermal Cell of the Ion Laser work very well against him, as these can decimate his health quickly. Setting traps might also be a viable strategy (although Trap Rivets must be applied in large amounts to do significant harm against him). He is also immune to the effects of Gravity Well.

Audio Diaries

 * Minerva's Den
 * The Thinker's Potential
 * The Predictive Equation
 * Implicating Porter
 * Operations
 * In Capable Hands
 * The Books Are the Code
 * Wheels Within Wheels
 * Detonating the Tunnel

Trivia

 * The surname "Reed" refers to a person with a reddish or ruddy facial complexion.
 * Apart from the Administrator Punchcard necessary to proceed in the game, Wahl's loot is just pocket lint and a chewed-out pencil, two objects that cannot be used for anything, and are not present anywhere in the player's inventory.