Explainations of what is known so far[]
The distortions of Booker's perception (e.g. Saltonstall changing from a Patriot to a Soviet) and a Tears for Fears song a few decades early are at least partly explained by these "tears" in the dimensional fabric, connected to parallel universes, some ahead of the one the game is set in, others almost identical. No wonder it has an adverse effect on Elizabeth! It's also why both factions have an interest in her. Vae Infectus 14:57, May 25, 2011 (UTC)
That's a possibility, but I think we need to get something conclusive from IG about the faction motives, especially when there's some articles that say that the Vox want to kill her or want her for their intentions. It may just be that obvious as what you and what anyone mentioned, but with changes to the game (especially with this first delay), there may be some possible changes to the story as well.Evans0305 (talk) 20:28, July 16, 2012 (UTC)
Preview first mentioning tears has a movie reference[]
In a more recent preview, it mentions that an interaction with a tear involves a movie theater showing "Revenge of the Jedi", that was a working title of Star Wars movie "Return of the Jedi" (in our universe, they changed it because Jedi aren't the vengeful type). I'm thinking that this and a Tears for Fears song much sooner in the world that this game is set in will have a few more outside references with some differences. Vae Infectus 15:01, May 25, 2011 (UTC)
I think its more like Columbia uses Tears to further advance their science and technology, and expanding more of America's future history into their example on how patriotic and feared their city is to the world, but that's just my theory. Evans0305 (talk) 20:28, July 16, 2012 (UTC)
Well, there was Revenge of the Sith. ZanyDragon (talk) 02:51, November 7, 2013 (UTC)
The "unknown" cancelled game finally solved[]
Someone on the Irrational Games' forum pointed this out when watching the music video for The Lost.
http://oi39.tinypic.com/25tumvt.jpg
Despite the architectual difference, the ascetics of the theater sign and heading are pretty much the same, and The Lost was one of their cancelled games (or so they thought, when another company in India remade it as Agni, and was ported and translated to here by another company as Netherworld: Beyond Time I Stand)
http://gamestore.revision3.com/games/netherworld-beyond-time-i-stand
Looks like this answers what that "unknown" game was. Evans0305 (talk) 20:12, July 16, 2012 (UTC)
Update/timeline[]
They obivously changed tears so she has more control of them in game play right off the bat you can instantly create one after another, also it appears they cut the revenge of the jedi scene out given that she wanted to go to paris so they replaced it with a french verison. Also we should possibly add to both the rapture timeline and columbia timeline
Control over tears (updated)/ new note worth tears[]
The only limit in game play she has with tears is the fact she can only open one at a time when opening another shes closes the last one, she also is later shown to open a portal to a alternate universe and later to rapture itself 99.231.75.151 05:23, March 30, 2013 (UTC) Daimen
Would it be worth mentioning that Tears function quite differently from initially intended in the "Trivia" section? There was talk that having Elizabeth using them affected the ending, akin to how you dealt with Little Sisters in Bioshock/Bioshock 2, yet there are no adverse affects from using them in the released version. RaptureWhaleFan (talk) 21:40, March 30, 2013 (UTC)
Non-combat tear[]
What about the tear in Shantytown that can be used to fed the starving citizenry? --FossilLord 22:30, May 1, 2013 (UTC)
A tear containing sacks of food will appear near the group. You can tell Elizabeth to open it. Don't worry, the citizens can pull the food through the tear. ZanyDragon (talk) 16:08, November 17, 2013 (UTC)
Generic Big Battle (assistance) Tears - dead giveaway of pending battle...[]
In many situations you would see these ahead of time and it would ruin any suprise for the player.
Heh, They should have had at least one (middle of game) set of generic Tears in a location where there was no battle to happen -- to at least leave the player guessing the next time.
75.36.140.136 11:13, August 23, 2013 (UTC)
"There's always a man, there's always a lighthouse, there's always a city".[]
Except that those 'Constants' can be more than a little variable ....
Man (?) : Carrot Top
Lighthouse: Alexandria's Lighthouse (scattered ruins at bottom of a harbor)
City : Bartertown (from Mad MAx Beneath the ThunderDome... close enuf)
And actually nothing says ANYTHING is 'constant' in the Quantum Metaverse (the reverse actually is what that 'theory' says - or actually DOESNT SAY) The only 'Constant' is that it ISNT CONSTANT.
Very convenient these 'Tears'[]
between Rapture and Columbia. Suchong happens to be the one to find one of the random tears that lasted just long enough for him to 'see' Fink s stealing his (and others) work on Plasmids and then also happens to 'see' the secret formula for making Raptures plasmids/tonics 'drinkable' ('oxidizing agent' whatever the heck that means) thru another oh-so-lucky Tear in just the right spot. Amazing that a just-the-right Tear was looking at Fink's blackboard or papers on his desk (or in his safe) outlining this 'drinkable' formula information (similar to how Fink has so many many times 'seen' all the other tech he stole just by seeing the things versus the plans.manuals/technology textbooks (infinite Tears in the wrong places but he gets just the ones he requires...).
To quote Carl Sagan : 'Billions and Billions' of Tears just to get the right ones (and not to count all the ones he had to ignore from the Bozo Universe and Upsidedown Hell Universe that might have been a bit confusing and not at all useful or even catastrophic.)
Of couse, Suchong is the man who recombines genetics to make Psi Bees shoot out your hand to mentally attack some other person .... but HE (or the hundred other product technologists in Rapture) wasnt clever or smart enough to devise a methodology for non-needle-y 'drinkability' for ADAM products --- Only worse is that Fink could EVER EVER even begin to understand genetics (and moreso chemical manipulations of) to be able to reverse engineer Raptures tech (as well as just about any other high tech which requires a whole DOMAIN of understanding to copy things that advanced, or even to make the required materials/tools for them, etc etc etc....)
Fink's gene sequencer is Steam Powered.... for the love of Wink the Wonder Cat
I call "Shenanigans" on the whole absurdly contrived thing.
First object seen through a tear[]
I know most people would say the first time you see the effects of a Tear is when the statue of Robert Lutece morphs in Rosalind. But its not. After leaving the Welcome Center and passing the statue of Comstock you go up an incline. Look at the papers that blow past. If you look closely you will see them shift and warp just like something from a Tear. I just noticed this after playing it I don't know how many times. Wonder if it was just a small effect they put in or there is something to be learned there? sm --Solarmech (talk) 17:45, October 22, 2016 (UTC)
Samurai error[]
The statement about the samurai warrior being brought through a tear from feudal Japan is incorrect, isn't it? It's clearly an automaton like the Patriots, etc. 23skidoo (talk) 14:37, October 26, 2019 (UTC)
While I do believe that the Samurai is in fact an automaton created in an alternate Rapture. I don't think there is conclusive proof that it is one and so calling it an automaton falls under speculation. sm --Solarmech (talk) 17:39, October 26, 2019 (UTC)