You get the keys to Rapture (Bioshock)

[FaxModem1]

Tomorrow morning, you get Andrew Ryan's Genetic Key for Rapture, along with the location of a bathysphere that can take you to the underwater city.

What do you do now that you control a failed Objectivist utopia?

[bilateralrope]

Do I know if the bathysphere will let me return after I go down ?

If I do know, I go down, take some video of the place to prove that it exists. Then I come back and find someone to fund a serious expedition down there.

If I don't know, I stay away. Maybe try and arrange the expedition anyway.

[Zixinus]

The prime problem is first killing Frank Fountain. Properly and fully, while putting down the whole civil war situation. The problem is that the people that built Rapture are either dead, hiding with paranoia or turned into super-psychopathic slicers (what interactions I recall between splicers tend to be violent or very thuggish). It may be prudent to go as far as to poison ADAM so they are far less aggressive (preferably, even docile or if necessary, dead). The people in Rapture work through Adam and controlling Adam is the only way to control Rapture, beyond its security systems.

Next or directly related to this, contact Tenenbaum and tell that there is a change of leadership. She is the one remaining, not-insane person in place that might have any ability to stop the madness. The Little Sisters can go return to normal, as long as there are still sea-slugs around to study.

Of course, there is a question of when would this happen in the Rapture timeline.

[K. A. Pital]

Nothing? It failed, it is dangerous to go alone, and it is not a computer game, so dying would be permanent.

Or maybe report findings to the military, probably. Maybe for icing on the cake to a socialist country military.

[Zixinus]

Depends on whether the revivial-chamber things are still operational and "canon". If they are and you are in the system (and as long as there is a functioning one nearby, Andrew Ryan deliberately turned the one in his office off), then you will be resurrected if you died from trauma. The thing may also help heal trauma, maybe. Of course, there are no mentions of whether there are long-term health effects.

Not that going in alone is any less insane. But then there is the question of who the hell are you going to call? At which point the question then becomes "how fast is the genetic key taken from you?".

[Starglider]

Columbia would be a more interesting scenario, defusing the class/race war and averting the destruction of the city would be difficult but probably possible with pragmatism + strong leadership skills. If you pull that off it would be an intact city that could be reintegrated into global society (and realistically they are still trading with ground cities for resources at the start of the game). Columbia also has more interesting and useful technology including levitation, humanoid robots & cyborgs, and superpower potions that (unlike plasmids) don't cause insanity.

[Zor]

1: Get a team of engineers, workers, scientists and guards
2: Send them down to salvage stuff either for Raw Materials, what valuables can be gathered and technology
3: Get Rich
4: Hold a big ass Communism themed Party to celibrate my newfound wealth.

Zor

[K. A. Pital]

The question is though, why would I put a big value on the key? If it's taken, the one who has it will then take all the risks connected to going down there.

As for Columbia being more interesting - just as in the other scenario, the place would probably just be looted for whatever useful technology there is.

[FaxModem1]

Nothing? It failed, it is dangerous to go alone, and it is not a computer game, so dying would be permanent.

Or maybe report findings to the military, probably. Maybe for icing on the cake to a socialist country military.

I'm very curious what you make of Sofia Lamb and her attempt at Utopia.

[K. A. Pital]

Nothing? It failed, it is dangerous to go alone, and it is not a computer game, so dying would be permanent.

Or maybe report findings to the military, probably. Maybe for icing on the cake to a socialist country military.

I'm very curious what you make of Sofia Lamb and her attempt at Utopia.

Much like Stalin’s idea of socialism in a single country, doomed to fail if it cannot expand.

[Zixinus]

It could have expanded underwater. If I recall correctly, Rapture was still slowly falling apart rather than growing. There is nothing stopping you from invading a small country too.

With the key you can establish yourself supreme ruler and maybe fix the system. Maybe even fix Rapture. The key gives you the opportunity to do that, you know what is wrong with Rapture (because you, as a player, have access to insight and knowledge about it that few others have).

The question is whether you are willing to try to do that or do something else.

[FaxModem1]

It could have expanded underwater. If I recall correctly, Rapture was still slowly falling apart rather than growing. There is nothing stopping you from invading a small country too.

With the key you can establish yourself supreme ruler and maybe fix the system. Maybe even fix Rapture. The key gives you the opportunity to do that, you know what is wrong with Rapture (because you, as a player, have access to insight and knowledge about it that few others have).

The question is whether you are willing to try to do that or do something else.

Yes, in the book Bioshock Rapture, Andrew Ryan's plan was to keep on expanding Rapture into a network of cities, and then when World War III happened, reconquer the Earth with his new Objectivist Utopia, teaching everyone about the free market. Then the free market taught him what happens when it remains unchecked.