Academic Writing Assignment #2

My Favourite Villain

- Father Comstock -

Fairuz Astra Pratama -16514108-

Racists, Religion Fanatics, and Dictators; those are the words which appear in my head when seeing his picture. "Father Comstock", or "The Prophet", is one of my personal favorite villain in the fiction world. If you are a fan of the Bioshock series or have played through Bioshock Infinite, I'm sure that you would remember him and probably despise him as well. For those of you who haven't, I'll be sure to do my best to describe him.

            Comstock was originally a soldier of the 7^th Cavalry of the US army who took part in the infamous "Wounded Knee Incident"; the battle or perhaps massacre between Native Americans and Americans. Unfortunately, since the details of this incident is not mentioned in the game, there is nothing more that we can learn about the Wounded Knee Massacre.

            Years after the massacre, Comstock regret his actions during the incident; he sought forgiveness in Christianity in order to redeem himself and become a new man. After the baptism,  Comstock bacame a very devout man, whose voice became very influential in the early American Government the following year.

            Comstock started to claim that he had visions about an angel, who called  him a prophet and granted him a peek at the future. This is -in my amateurish opinion- perhaps some sort of hallucination, caused by some kind of Post-War Trauma. Though for some hallucinations, these "visions" seems very detailed; here is a quote from our Father himself.

            " And then the archangel showed a vision... a city lighter than air." I asked her, " "Why do you show this to me archangel?" "I am not a strong man, I am not a righteous man, I am not a holy man." and she told me the most remarkable thing. "Your right prophet, but if grace is within the grasp of one such as you, How can anyone else not see it within themselves?"

            Besides being such a religious person, Comstock was also a American Nationalist; a religiously devoted nationalist. He praised The Founding Fathers; Political Leaders who signed the Declaration of Independence of America; as "The Lord's Emissary" and seen America as "The New Land of Eden (Heaven on Earth)."

            Several months later, he met an ingenious physic scientist named R. Lutece who had found a way to "Lock an atom in place" using quantum technology. This technology can be used to make foundation out of nothing, simply by locking the foundation's atoms into a fixed position. Thus, enabling the building of giant floating structures. Using his influence on the American government, Comstock managed to gather enough funds and supports to utilize this technology and realize his visions.

            With that he realized "The floating city of Columbia" with the help of "The Founders"; several selected families to build and life at the world's first flying city.

 

            "Why would he send his savior unto us, if we will not raise a finger for our own salvation? And though we deserved not his mercy, he has led us to this New Eden, a last chance for redemption. And the Prophet shall lead the people to the New Eden." -The Founders Church

            Columbia's history is very complex; from its founding with "The Founder",  tour across the world, the Boxing Rebellion, into its disownment from America. Now, we are going to focus mainly at its connection with the Prophet. Since Zachary Hale Comstock is the sole totalitarian leaders and founder of Columbia, this means that the city itself can perhaps be seen as a reflection of his personality and mental condition.

            From the surface, the city looked like heaven, with Angel Statues, floating white buildings, green parks everywhere, fresh water fountains, parades, and the smile of happy White-Caucasian people. The second thing you'll notice when arrive at Columbia is how little racial diversity there are, since "The Minority" are hidden below, doing the hard dirty work. Comstock is a racist; so are his followers 'The Founder' and most of Columbia citizen.

            Regarding the racism, the "minority race" was called "The Vox Populi" and was considered as vermin by the upper society, their only legitimate choice was to work on an underpaying factory with poor work and housing condition or become an underappreciated slave servant. Some of them was even resorted to eating rats and becoming criminals.

            They had a Museum dedicated to honor John Wilkes Booth (The killer of Abraham Lincoln), in which there was statues and paintings depicting Saint John Wilkes pointing his gun at Demon Abraham Lincoln who liberate African American from slavery. Comstock despised Abraham Lincoln for freeing the "Minority Race"; he said,

            "What exactly was the great emancipator, emancipating the negro from? From his daily bread, from the nobility of honest day's work, from wealthy patrons who sponsored them from cradle to grave. Front clothing and shelter and what have they done?, Why go to the factories and you shall find out. No man is born free, except the white man, and it is our burden to care for the rest of creation."

            Lastly, every year at the central park, the city would held a raffle. The raffle was free, all you need to do is to pick a numbered ball from many of the raffle girl spread at the park and go to the stage in the middle of the park. At the stage, there will be an interracial couple, tied up to a pole. The winner of the raffle can throw their ball first at the interracial couples, before they get executed by the hundreds of Metal balls thrown their way.

            At this point, the population of the Columbia might looks like a bunch of inconsiderate racist snob. But don't forget whose fault this is. The Vox Populi was seen as criminals because they was forced to be one due to the abysmal accommodation and approval by the Prophet, thus making the civilians hated the minority.

For God and Country, It is our Holy Duty to Guard Againts
The Foreign Hordes

            The Raffle's Interracial Couples were stocked by the Comstock himself to "Entertain" the people so he said. But most of all, Comstock said to the people of the Columbia that the Vox Populi are criminals and varmint who are not to be trusted with anything and belong in the Factories.

            Although the reasons of why Comstock hated all races but Caucasians are not clear, this might lead back to the "Wounded Knee Incident" where, as a soldier, Comstock was indoctrinated to hate natives American. Perhaps this is still part of his Post-War Trauma ?, Whatever the reasons are, Comstock insisted that all of this are part of his visions of "The Lord's Great Plan" He even tried to justify his cruelty.

            "To tax the black more than the white, is that not cruel? To forbid the mixing of the races, is that not cruel? To give the vote to the white man, and deny it to the yellow, the black, the red -- is that not cruel? Hm. But is it not cruel to banish your children from a perfect garden? Or drown your flock under an ocean of water? Cruelty can be instructive, and what is Columbia, if not the schoolhouse of the Lord?"

            About time to change the subjects, isn't it; Our prophet here, does have plenty of the so-called visions, and he does publicly announce all of them regularly as-well. 

Well, actually, there is one prophecy that he never speak of in public. .

            And the Lord saw the wickedness of man was great and he repented that he had made man on the earth. Rain, Forty-days and Forty-nights of the stuff, and he left not a thing that walked alive. You see my friends, even god is entitled to a do-over, and what is Columbia if not another ark, for another time. The Seed of the Prophet shall sit the throne and drown in flame the Mountains of Man."

            Do you remember the story of Moses where the entire human race were obligated by a 40-days of rain and flood due to their sins ? Well, Zachary Hale Comstock here, wanted to recreate that day of reckoning by flooding the world below his feet with fire; smoldering hot burning fire, because some voices in his sleep told him to do so.

            It is reasonable if our Lords wants us to kill our children just to test our faith, but I don't think it is possible that God sent us a message like, "Kill everything and everyone below you, especially the darker one". Yet for some reasons, this doesn't came up in Comstock mind. 

            The other part of this so-called "prophecy" also mentioned "The Seed". It meant that since Comstock can only live so long, his child would be the one who had to realize the prophecy. Lucky for him, Comstock had a beautiful wife who is a so devoted to him, that she willingly marry him.

            Comstock is actually not that old when she married the woman who is actually called "Lady A. Comstock", but the irradiation from Lutece's experiment that was constantly exposed to Comstock seems to accelerated his aging process. At the age of 40 his hair was all white, he had a long beard, mustache, and a lot of wrinkles in his face.

            Unfortunately, the radiation also seems to have made our prophet rather "Sterile". Rendering him incapable of having a bloodline from Lady Comstock.  Fortunately, the brilliant Luteces have a solution for him. Using a ridiculously complicated method of quantum physic and engineering, They managed to open a "Tear" into another dimension, retrieving Comstock daughter from his alternate self. There won't be any more elaboration about this, since it is quite confusing. Assume that he summon his blood-child through some magic ritual.

     

               Comstock falsely acknowledged this girl as his and his wife's daughter. They named her Elizabeth who is supposedly going to continue his father legacy. Sometime later,  Lady Comstock became rather suspicious. She suspected that the child is a result of infidelity from Comstock and Lutece, and are determined to prove it.

            Becoming a bit paranoia and/or worry about the public knowing the truth about the real origins of the Child, Comstock knew that both his wife and Lutece had to be Silenced. So, he decided to do something rather drastic about this.

            He ordered someone to kill Lutece, blamed it on some "Malfunctioning Dangerous Experiment". He also killed his wife, and said that the killer was their servant who is, incidentally, an African-American woman. Even though, he could say literally anything else, and the people would believed him; he blamed it on the "Minority Race", worsening their reputation because what the citizen knew is that "The Vox Populi has killed their Lady Comstock"

                He managed to killed two of his closest companion, just so he can fulfill his prophecy. Apparently his prophecy and public image was more important than his wife and scientist who had helped him a lot.

                Now, let's focus on his children, Elizabeth. Comstock wanted her to be just like him, an extremist nationalist racist religion fanatics who is willing to burn the world below. But, since she is technically not his direct daughter, she is nothing like her old man. Adding to the problem, his wife -who he hasn't been killed at this time-  insisted that Elizabeth had to be thrown from the throne.

                Unfortunately, our Father here has thought up an ingenious solution for situation like this, it is called The-Extreme-Isolation-Indoctrination-Torture-Techniques. Comstock had no problems indoctrinating someone. He was often indoctrinated young boys, gave them a isolating yet sense enhancing helmet; and made them into a camera/watchman. He was also regularly indoctrinated criminals, put a mask of him on them, and there you have it; a perfect guard dog. Here is how it went with Elizabeth also called as The Lamb.

                Step 1 : Completely isolate the child in a statue of giant angel, completely separated from the outside world and her hating mother, full with everything to suit her needs and hobby. Build a giant mechanical bird servant who will keep her from getting out and protect her. Continually send her censored books to make sure that she knows only what she needs to know even though it may or may not be true. The books should provide her with immense knowledge, although may also result in her being gullible, and easily manipulated. Don't forget to make one-way mirror and cameras everywhere so you can watch her every move.

                Step 2 : If an alternate version of yourself come to take your/his daughter back/from you, freeing her body and mind from the perfect blueprint you designed her to be, Don't Panic. She may wants to see the world, but that's not what you wanted isn't it ? Just tell her that you love her. Also, tell her that she is destined to follow your path, and the outside world is way too dangerous for her. Seeing that you're the one who keeps her locked up, I'm sure that she will run back at you and hug you, calling you her father.

                Step 3 : If after step 2, she still insisted to not follow you and still has free-willed childlike spirit, then simply capture her. Bring her back to your home/headquarter and just torture your daughter a bit, physically and mentally with an electric pole. If pain and time doesn't Wipe the Her Hope of Ever be Free Away, frankly, nothing will. A couple of years later, she is bound to be your perfect ruthless, maniac, racist descendant who shall Sit the throne and drown in flames the mountains of man.

                Although she wasn't his real child she was still technically his child, but the way he treated her is just disgustingly bad. That is how ruthless he is. He did all those things, and in the end still managed to say, "All the things I do, I do it for my love for you and our Lord." 
Furthermore,  I think that he meant that, he actually meant that.

                Comstock was dying during the time this story take place, yet he really wanted to redeem himself to the Gods before he goes. Elizabeth was the only way to do it, and he believed that it is her destiny to do so.

Confronting Comstock

"It is one thing to imagine one's future, and another to see it. I have seen the seeds of fire that will prepare the Sodom Below for the coming of the Lord. But Elizabeth shall sow those seeds, not I. I will fall before the job is done... but she shall take up my mantle. The Lord is calling me home. I feel His love in every tumor, because they are the train which takes me to His station. And I go with joy, knowing that Elizabeth will take my earthly place."

                Indoctrination, although bad and absolutely can't be justifiable, can have some really good intention behind it. Comstock really believed of what he heard in his hallucinations, he wanted his child to grow into a woman who can make him and his "Lord" proud, he believed that he is doing the right thing. At the end though, all of those, indoctrination, isolation, and Torture are still unjustifiable.

                In the end, he died in the hands of the protagonist during "The Vox Populi Rebellion", where the angry minority brutally murdered hundreds of The Founders members as well as a lot of innocent civilians who is just a normal soul that believed at what their prophet said. Even though he didn't realize his visions, Comstock's actions still consume many innocent life.

         That was the story of Zachary Hale Comstock, the racist-nationalist-religion extremist who indoctrinated his daughter and killed his wife in the name of God.  

               He is still one of the best villain that I've seen up to this moment. A lot of reasons supporting that statement, here is my elaboration of said reasons

                His back-story and stories surrounding him, are some of the best and most complex one I've heard. The reasoning of what he did is kind of understandable, it is still unjustifiable, but understandable nonetheless.

                He hated the "Minority Race", probably due to his experience at "Wounded Knee Massacre". He was a war/massacre survivor, felt really bad of what he did, and want to redeem himself in Christianity. His religion gave him hope, he was born a new man, thus he felt that he owe his Lord for rescuing him. So once he heard the voices in his sleep; due to some psychological issue, he felt that the Lord has communed with him, and given him a change to pay the dept he owed Him.

                He was a very ruthless man, the things he did, he know most of it are wrong, but he did it anyway; not without a good reasons though. He thinks that they need to be done in order for the greater good, in order for his Lord's plans to work, in order to redeem himself.

                The stories surrounding him as the antagonist is also near-perfect; The history of Columbia, Comstock met Elizabeth, The night Lady Comstock assassinated, Interference of the protagonist, Destruction of Elizabeth's home, The Vox Populi Rebellion, some important story elements that shouldn't be spoiled; all of that is just a glimpse of the Bioshock great story and immersive story telling.

Right : Civilian Sector, Left : VoxPopuli Factory and Slum,
Middle : High Class Sector and Founders HQ

                The things he did seems like a reflection on real life issues, past and present. Sure, there is some fantasy elements in it, but at its core, it can be classified as realistic or even a look back at history..

                The minority race being treated badly and unfairly has been a problem throughout history, especially at western countries during the turn of century several decades before where The American thought that immigrants have been stealing their jobs and becoming criminals thus making the minority looks bad.

                Religion extremists wanted to exterminate "Heathens" as they called it, have happened before, such as The Holy War (A religious war led for religious reasons and with an exceptionally high grade of religious feeling)  which happened repeatedly throughout history from The Islamic "Jihad" all the way to Christianity "Crusades"

                Child indoctrination, was done by parents who wanted their child to be just like them and have the same beliefs as they do; and by countries who wanted the new generation to have the same ideology as their country, thus growing Nationalism; both of which have a good intention from their perspective, but are still wrong nonetheless.

                Father Comstock is sort of a symbol of several bad things that happened in the history. His doings made him just like Hitler + Osama Bin Laden; He hates minority races, He twist religion in the way he wanted it to be, He is willing to use forces to get what he wanted, and He indoctrinated a lot of people to do his bidding.

                Father Comstock is another great character from Irrational Game's Bioshock Series. He is a great villain with rich stories followed with great morale value. Perhaps we can learn a few things from him.

                Several peoples throughout history had said to themselves, "I wonder how great it would have been had there not been any immigrants, only the true people of this lands, living their lives", "We should devote our action for a better tomorrow for our country", and "Just think of a world where everyone is bring together under one religion, how wonderful is that". All of them had a good point; maybe except the racist one, but we should be able to understand the reasoning behind said statements.

                Father Comstock is sort of depicting what the world would look like,  had these people blindly followed their beliefs and virtue. You can't make a Utopian world by simply follow your virtue and beliefs blindly, because there are be flaws that should be corrected in every design, perspective, society, or even principle.

                We shouldn't just follow what our ancestor beliefs at, nor should we ignore it. We should take that virtue, carefully examine it for any flaws, fix said flaws, and generally improve it to better suit our condition for both our generation and the next one.

"The Lord forgives everything, but I'm just a prophet… so I don't have to. Amen."-Father Comstock