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Bank of the Prophet sign
Prophetybank

The exterior of the Bank of the Prophet.

Protect Your Hard-Earned Rewards at Bank of the Prophet
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The Bank of the Prophet is the headquarters of the First Savings Bank of Columbia (F.S.B.C.), located in the Financial District in Downtown Emporia and is the largest bank in Columbia.

History[]

BankSaveings DIFF

The Bank of the Prophet was established in 1894 as a place for citizens to deposit their savings, establish credit, and receive loans. The central financial institution of Columbia, it was a symbol of the floating city's economic independence and stability. It was also Zachary Comstock's biggest racket, as fifty percent of all transactions processed in the city went directly to him as a tithe.[1]

Because of this, the Bank of the Prophet was an especially meaningful target for the rage of the Vox Populi when they rose up against The Founders and seized Emporia.

BioShock Infinite[]

Main article: BioShock Infinite

By the time of BioShock Infinite, when Booker DeWitt and Elizabeth reach the bank, much of the inside is dark and dreary. While the Foyer is open to peruse, Booker and Elizabeth will not be able to access the elevator until they have attempted to enter the Comstock House Gate in Victory Square and explored the Memorial Gardens, where they have been tasked to "learn three truths", mainly involving Lady Comstock.

Foyer[]

The player can optionally enter the Foyer of the Bank of the Prophet after the battle at the Financial District when Booker and Elizabeth arrive via the help of a hairpin to unlock the main entrance. Besides the three Kinetoscopes, and Silver Eagles around the reception, and the unaccusable elevator, there is not much interest the Foyer, which has been left untouched by the devastation outside, not counting the dead rose bushes aliening pillars in the dimly lit area.

After visiting Lady Comstock at the Memorial Gardens and followed ghostly footsteps leading to the bank, the stairs to the main entrance has a suspicious amount of crows on them, as an omen to the two Zealot of the Ladys bursting out of the doors, followed by a Fireman and Vox Soldiers. After defeating the hoard and continuing inside, the player will see several executed policemen and Columbia citizens sprawled in the area. When approaching the now busted open elevator gate to the Main Hall, the rose bushes "magically" are brought back to life.

Main Hall[]

Bankfoyer

The Main Hall.

The Main Hall served as the main hub for customer service and client engagement, as well as the protruding circular door to the Main Vault. When the elevator stops, Booker and Elizabeth have a few moments to take in the grand hall before Vox Soldiers emerge. There is a Dollar Bill vending machine and a Freight Hook Tear as assistance for the battle. The balconies on top of the customer service offices serves as a higher ground for battling, where a Burstgun and Sniper Rifle are found. Once the Vox are dealt with, the area can be explored in peace, which has an abundance of lootable desks, cabinets and Cash Registers, as well as a Safe, in the customers service offices aliening the walls. The glass ceiling has been shattered and a alarming amount of blood covers parts of the Main Hall's center. In the same center, there are notably two empty square gardens opposite to the vault door. Elizabeth will comment on the fact that Comstock gets 50% of everything the bank earns and a pair of ghostly footsteps suggests that the duo should continues down into vaults. Since the Fink Manufacturing-provided vault door is shut, the player has to enter the Safe Deposit Box Vault and can also search through the offices on the other side of the hall.

The Main Hall is where the player fights Lady Comstock's Siren form after visiting the Main Vault, where she now resurrects the killed Vox Soldiers Booker previously killed to fight by her side, causing the chandeliers to be dragged and swinged in the process. The Siren also uses her powers to keep all doors leaving the Main Hall shut (except for the Main Vault) and the previously empty square gardens are now filled with bushes thanks to her.

Offices[]

The completely optional area is opposite to the Safe Deposit Box Vault and holds the administrative offices and executive office. The hall leading to the offices has suffered by the hands of the Vox. A stairway leads to the balcony above the customer service offices in the Main Hall, but there is nothing of interest up there, so heading towards the flickering lights straight ahead is advised. Amongst toppled furniture is a Locksmith Bag.

Administrative Office[]

BioI Downtown Emporia Bank of the Prophet Administrative Office

The aftermath of the struggle in the Administrative Office.

Continuing down the hall is a pair of doors, one locked and one open, both leading to the Administrative Office. Inside, a scene of struggle and death unravels itself: A third door shows that the remaining staff tried to barricade it with furniture and their own strength, unsuccessfully. The doors are pushed inwards with the failed barricade and staff laying motionless around the infiltrated entrance. The Administrative Office is in complete disarray. Fallen cabinets and shuffled furniture aside, there is a man stabbed in the back by a sconce and underneath a mural of the model citizens (and the target group of the bank) is a bloodily killed man next to a Gear and Locksmith Bag. Along with lootable office fixtures there is also a Silver Eagle bag.

Executive Office[]

BI VoxCipher BankSecrete

The secret room.

Adjacent to the Administrative Office is the Executive Office. From a far, the player can see that the head of the bank has been attacked, dragged from behind his desk to the front and executed, being labeled a "hoarder". The small cabinet-lined room's focal point is the desk, which has a picture of the boss's daughter, a Lockpicking Kit, a typewriter and a eye-catching clipboard with red markings. Elizabeth recognizes the markings as a Vox Cipher and if the player has already found the Code Book in Hudson's Fine Clothing, Elizabeth can translate the cipher to: "Type three letters to spell the voice." Elizabeth puts two and two together and orders Booker to use the typewriter to spell V-O-X. It seems that the head of the bank was secretly associated with the Vox Populi, as typing the three letters reveals a secret storage area behind a cabinet, containing an Infusion, the Voxophone "The Imagination of God", a Burstgun, a Locksmith Bag, a Cash Bag, and a silver- and Gold Bar.

Vault[]

The Vault is where the bank's customers' valuables are stored, with a Safe Deposit Box Vault for priced possessions and the Main Vault for Silver Eagles. Much like the office hallway, there is a similar stairway leading to the balcony in the Main Hall, but before the player even gets the option to ascend, a figure sprints across the Safe Deposit Box Vault ahead and disappears.

Safe Deposit Box Vault[]

The Safe Deposit Box Vault, as the name implies, holds deposit boxes, protected by Bank Solutions Safe Identification Co. The first room is untouched and has nothing of interest, but walls and walls of the safe deposit cabinets. But looking into the next room shows the figure which just moments ago ran from the player, revealed now to be a Zealot of the Lady, standing on top of a murdered bank teller on a safe deposit cabinet in the center of the room, before he disappears again, followed by Vox Soldiers entering, looked over by a Vox Sniper. It seems like the Vox has not been able to open any of the deposit boxes, and has resorted to trashing the place, with desks and cabinets tossed around. On one of the desks is a Lockpicking Kit. Continuing on into a hallways shows a few dead bank tellers and once again the Zealot of the Lady runs past. Down the hall is a massive hole in the wall, still charred from an explosion caused by the Vox, in order to enter the Main Vault. Near an inaccessible elevator is a corpse next to a Locksmith Bag and a Gear in a wash basin. Booker and Elizabeth follow the Crow through the hole into the Main Vault, where they see a familiar shimmer.

Main Vault[]

BioI Downtown Emporia Bank of the Prophet Main Vault Central Area

The Tear in the central area of the Main Vault.

The Main Vault held the majority of the bank's Silver Eagles. As Booker and Elizabeth follows the Crow and the shimmering Tear, they enter the Main Vault's central area. The player can see the large vault door previously seen in the Main Hall, still shut. Ghostly footsteps appear again and just as they are about to open the Tear by the central angelic statues, the Zealot of the Lady they followed: a red variant, attacks them. Unlike other Crows, once the red assailant is dealt with, he mysteriously just disappears, never to be seen again. On both sides of the central area are the safe storage rooms, which has been completely ransacked and destroyed, with collapsed platforms and toppled safes. All but a single safe has been left which Elizabeth can unlock with three Lockpicks. Behind the safe is the Voxophone "No Longer". Opening the Tear in the central area reveals that Comstock tasked a man named Mansfield to hire Jeremiah Fink to have Rosalind and Robert Lutece assassinated, to silence the truth about Elizabeth in exchange for all the Lutece's patents. Mansfield's voice from the Tear also gives light on Lady Comstock's fate, showing that it was Comstock that had her killed, not Daisy Fitzroy. As the Tear closes the Voxophone "A Broken Circle" is left in its place and Booker wonders what Elizabeth meant earlier when she said that the Siren form of Lady Comstock doesn't belong here, to which she can't properly respond. Ghostly musical sounds and screams are hears and as the player investigates, the giant vault door shimmers and opens by itself to the Main Hall, where the Siren from of Lady Comstock awaits a battle.

New Discoveries[]

Voxophones[]

  1. Lady Comstock - The Imagination of God
  2. Lady Comstock - No Longer
  3. Zachary Hale Comstock - A Broken Circle

Kinetoscopes[]

  1. A Look Back at Opening Day
  2. The Prophet Stands Up to Foes: Within and Without
  3. We Secede from the So-Called "Union"

Gallery[]

Foyer Advertisements[]

Behind the Scenes[]

Columbia Savings Bank concept art
  • An early screenshot of the bank exterior shows it was originally named "Columbia Savings".
  • The bank advertisements were designed by West Studios. They resemble the art style of illustrator J. C. Leyendecker. Text-less versions are available on their website.
  • The doors on the balconies above the customer service offices in the Main Hall has green lights above them, much like the entrance to Offices and Safe Deposit Box Vault, but the doors are still unopenable. The doors will only open after the Siren has been defeated.
    • Additionally, all the fixtures displaying the green lights above the doors are gone when the player returns to fight the Siren in the Main Hall.
  • The Bank of the Prophet sign was repurposed from the Columbia Post Office sign, which was cut from the game. The sign uses the exact same background base and the "est 1894" text.

References[]

  1. Conversation between Booker and Elizabeth:
    Elizabeth: "Fifty percent of everything people earn here goes right to Comstock as a tithe."
    Booker DeWitt: "I gotta get me a job in the prophet business."
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