uncover it, or eliminate it.
Rapture - 1959
Revolutions are never sudden. They may seem that way to the people at the very top, the ones who are too far up to hear the warning bells. But they are a gradual push towards change that slowly becomes a landslide, and then the ivory towers are toppled and the occupants blinking in the light of a new dawn. If they still had their heads.
Just as Tenenbaum had foreseen, more residents of Rapture had spliced themselves into oblivion than could be dealt with, and added to the socio-political unrest that she had scarcely paid attention to...the city was in upheaval. Many of the splicers were attacking each other with abandon, the addictive nature of the ADAM making them so desperate they would kill their own families for it. There had been riots on New Year’s Eve, attacks on the upper echelons of Rapture society. A number of splicers had formed into factions siding with Ryan, the originator of the capitalist dream of the city, or with Atlas, some working class hero type with a charming brogue.
Civil War had come to Rapture. And it was just the distraction she needed.
Inside the relative peace of the labs, the program continued. DYAD doubled down on security and The Little Sisters still went out to collect ADAM from the corpses, the Big Daddy’s still protected them while they did so, the scientists still worked on the addiction problem, and, even now, on developing new plasmids and other applications. For herself, Tenenbaum concentrated on the girls. For one thing, Helena’s hair was definitely showing a blonde tinge...but not Sarah’s. She suspected that his was the consequence of Helena absorbing more of the ADAM during collections, and tests confirmed it. It was fascinating. Despite them being genetic identicals, Helena appeared to have a stronger constitution, able to host and process more of the ADAM than her sister. What kind of an effect this would prove to have on her system in the long term was as yet unclear.
Tenenbaum was secretly working on a plasmid of her own. One that would enable the user to harvest the ADAM from another person without harming them in the process, returning them to their previous unaltered human state. As soon as it was perfected, she could save her all her little sestras and leave Rapture. There would be no coming back. Science had made these little girls into walking ADAM factories. Science would make them human again. Science would be her lifeline once more.
⇌ ⇌ ⇌
Sarah and Helena crawled through a vent and into the maze beyond. All the Little Sisters knew their way around the tunnels. It was one of the beneficial side-effects of the ADAM that information like this, if known to one of the girls, was known to all of them. You could travel the entirety of a city section without coming out in the open, plus there were all sorts of hidden exits and entrances to the various businesses and apartment buildings. The Little Sisters could find out a great many secrets, if they had some...direction.
Tenenbaum often asked the twins to go on little errands for her. Listen here. Look there. Be quiet as church mice. (‘What’s a church?” asked Helena, and Sarah elbowed her in the ribs and giggled like she had said a naughty word.) There was no information coming out of the Duncan’s lab, and she needed to know what exactly they were doing to Rachel if the new plasmid was to work on her as well. It would be difficult to include her in the escape, but leaving her down here with Susan Duncan... Besides, Sarah insisted that Rachel be saved with the rest of the Little Sisters. Helena had merely pulled at her bottom lip and peered at the ceiling while Sarah whispered to their Maty earnestly. She was friendly enough towards the other girl but certainly not averse to the idea of having her sister all to herself again. Still, Helena would do anything for Sarah, even put up with Rachel, with her shiny hair and fancy voice. She twirled a strand of her own hair around her finger and peered at it.
It was definitely blonder now. Helena frowned. The thought of not being exactly the same as her twin made her feel wrong, like she was becoming someone else. Maty had explained that it was from imbibing so much ADAM, that it was lightening the follicles. Maybe she should stop drinking so much of the stuff? Or she’d end up with stupid yellow hair like Rachel. But it tasted so good and she was always so hungry.
‘lena, hurry up! Sarah’s voice sounded in her head, and she realised with a start that she’d fallen behind. Crawling as fast as could without making any noise, she caught up to her sister and peered through the vent opening, her face pressed against Sarah's. They were looking right into the office of Susan Duncan.
Rachel sat across the desk from her mother. She was bored and slightly unnerved, the usual combination. Mother had been talking for a while now, about the experiment and projected results and and ADAM levels and numbers and Rachel was bored, she was so bored. She wanted to go back to the common room and see Sarah. Even Helena’s glare would be a welcome sight right now. She idly let her gaze wander around the room while her mother droned on. You’re not exempt from the program, Rachel, just because you’re our daughter. You simply enjoy a unique vantage, one with privilege. You’re not a common Little Sister, a mere host. We’re making you into something much more. Human evolution needs a little push... Her blank listening face was so practised that she didn’t react when she noticed a faint golden glow high up in one of the wall vents. Rachel bit the inside of her lip to keep from smirking. She knew the twins made use of the myriad venting tunnels to spy. If it had been anyone but Sarah, she might have told.
‘Rachel, are you listening?” Susan snapped, and Rachel returned her stare with slightly raised eyebrows. Yes Mother, she thought. You’re making me into some thing.
“Yes, mother. I’ll be ready for the tests tomorrow. I won’t be late.”
Rachel left the office, making a beeline for the common room. High up in the vent, Sarah silently pushed the stop button on the miniature Accu-Vox that Maty had made just for her. Helena continued staring through the vent a moment longer, then a quiet, resolute voice in Sarah’s head said she’s not a good mummy. not like ours. She squeezed Helena’s hand in agreement. Then they made their way back through the tunnels to deliver the recording to Tenenbaum, Helena silently resolving to be somewhat nicer to Rachel.
The twins barely remembered their own parents, but they knew they had been safe and warm and loved. They could remember the feelings if not the details. But what was the point of having parents if they used you, and never played with you, or even gave you cookies when you had to sit in their boring office for hours?
Helena pressed her lips together in a tight line. Perhaps Sarah was right about taking Rachel with them after all.