Chapter Text
I see
And hear Atlas
Everywhere
RAPTURE, POINT PROMETHEUS, 1960
The girls are safe. Atlas is dead. Jack has the key to the city.
There was static on the radio, and then Tenenbaum’s voice was heard. “Are the little ones alright?” She asked.
“They’re fine,” Jack replied, guiding the girls to the bathysphere. “Please take them with you to the surface.”
There’s silence for a while, before the woman spoke again. “Are you not coming with them?”
Stay with me.
“I can’t. I need to stay here. Something else is keeping me here and I can’t leave. Please take them. Give them the life they deserve.”
After Tenenbaum retrieved the girls, Jack was alone. He stood in Fontaine’s empty office, bodies of dead splicers all around him and their blood staining his tan sweater. He gripped his wrench tightly, his body shaking. He stared straight ahead as the blurry black and white vision of the man he knew stood before him.
“Leave me alone…” He whispered to the ghost.
You know I can’t.
“You’re not real!” He snapped, his voice echoing.
Real enough, darling.
It was the ADAM. That damn liquid that can produce new stem cells and manipulate functions of the body. This happened many times before since Jack saved that first little sister. He gained the memories of deceased people of Rapture who ingested ADAM as well. These memories appeared as ghostly figures, only showing up where they died and going on with their business. None of these ghostly figures interacted with Jack. None of them even looked his way.
But Atlas. Atlas was different. Atlas spoke to him. Atlas followed him around. Atlas was always there.
“How much of your ADAM did I drink?” Jack wondered, not sure if he was asking Atlas or himself.
Just enough.
Just enough for me to be with you.
And now, Jack realized he didn’t kill Atlas at all. Atlas lived; and he’s living through Jack.