Along with The Thinker’s machine code, Porter needs a hacked bathysphere signal beacon to escape Rapture. Go to the Programming wing and use the Master Input console in Reed Wahl’s office to reprogram the beacon into a signal jammer.
Programming
Return to the airlock and drain the room, noting the Splicer who activated a Turret in the room with the window. Use the Hack Tool to safely hack the Rocket Turret, then turn and destroy the one near the door. Hack the door control on the left to exit and return to the central lobby where a Little Sister and Audio Diary (“Partnership with Porter”) can be found.
Little Sister Encounter
You’ll encounter the first Little Sister and her Lancer protector in the lobby on the way to Programming. Splicers with personal Security Bots will also be present. Splash them with Hypnotize to turn them and their Security Bots against the Big Daddy. Watch the Lancer’s Ion Laser, since it will start to glow brightly before the Big Daddy performs its Ion Flash attack. This bright burst of light temporarily blinds you and leaves you susceptible to attack. Look away quickly! Use Electro Bolt to keep the Lancer stunned while you hit him with Heat-Seeking Rockets and Thermal Cells.
Gather #1: Operations Lobby
The first Gather Corpse is close to where you encountered the Little Sister. The corpse is up the stairs, just beyond the Gatherer’s Garden machine. Set up Trap Rivets and a Mini-Turret near the corpse, then take up position on the balcony overlooking the corpse. The door to Core Access is locked, so you needn’t worry about any attackers sneaking up behind you. Use Hypnotize 2 to befriend the Leadhead and Houdini Splicers that attack, and hurl Gravity Well at the Little Sister whenever any Splicers get too close. Use the ADAM from this Gather to purchase Security Command 2 or Gravity Well 2 from the nearby Gatherer’s Garden.
Gather #2: System Programming
The next Gather Corpse is in System Programming, in the main room that is just north of Reed Wahl’s Office. Take a moment to hack the Turret by the stairs to the left of the corpse, as well as the Security Cameras in the hallway to the top of the stairs and by Wahl’s office. The more Security Cameras you hack, the easier this is going to be. Use the Trap Rivets located under the desk to ring the Little Sister. Use the Bot Shutdown panel in the hallway to the north to gain some extra Security Bots to hack if you don’t have any (and haven’t purchased Security Command 2), then stand back and watch the elaborate security system work for you. Conserve your ammo and let your Hypnotize and Security Command 2 Plasmids do the hard work for you.
Enter the System Programming area through the door in the lobby and use Electro Bolt to enter the storage area on the left. There you’ll find the Upgraded Rivet Gun and a Vacuum Bot. Acquire the Audio Diary (“In Capable Hands”) from the planter. Continue south to where the Fiery Brute Splicer is standing with a Security Bot. Hit the brute with Security Command, then open fire on its head with Heavy Rivets while the Electric Security Bot electrocutes him.
Take a moment to collect the Hardy Machines tonic from the room up the stairs nearest the second Gather Corpse, along with the Audio Diary (“How We Met”) and Safe containing 10 Dollars, Spear Ammo, and Bandages. If you don’t trust yourself to hack the Safes manually, you may want to skip this one, as the contents aren’t very valuable and certainly not worth an Auto-Hack Dart.
Make your way across the Data Processing room to the west and ascend the steps near the Circus of Values. Lob a Gravity Well polyp over the wall on the right to break the mag-lock on the door around the corner. The small room contains a wealth of ammo including some Anti-Personnel Rounds for the Machine Gun you’ll find shortly, as well as a Safe containing 57 Dollars, three Trap Spears, and eight Heavy Rivets.
Ascend the stairs to the west in Data Processing, kill the Splicer on the fourth floor, and listen closely to the Audio Diary (“Spitfire”) lying near the computer terminal. Spitfire is an old-school computer game playable on the computer next to the Audio Diary.
Listen to the Audio Diary (“Milk Money”) near the locked door to the right of the Spitfire terminal to learn that the key to the door has been put inside the nearby Circus of Values machine. Unfortunately for you, Felix Birnbaum’s Office Key costs 250 Dollars. Go ahead and buy if you have the cash, otherwise come back for it later. Either way, you’re going to want it as the office contains a wealth of valuables including another Audio Diary (“Behind the Scenes”) and a Safe containing 74 Dollars, three Mini-Turrets, and 60 Burst Cells.
Locate the Upgraded Machine Gun from the walkway to the left of the Circus of Values and the Vacuum Bot around the corner from it on the right. Return to the lobby and proceed to Reed Wahl’s office beyond the graffiti warnings and Security Cameras.
Equip the Hack Tool and Electro Bolt and be ready for the two Turrets that flank Wahl’s desk. Fire a Remote Hack Dart at the one on the left and dash across the room and down the stairs adjacent the Turret to avoid the other Turret’s attacks. Hack it while your Security Bots destroy the other Turret.
Listen to the Audio Diary (“The Books are the Code”) in the desk drawer to get a clue concerning the keypad beneath the desk. Locate the bookshelves near the El Ammo Bandito and study the pattern of the books. You’ll see that they are arranged in groups of 2, 3, 4, and 1. That’s the code! Enter the secret room behind where the bookshelf was to find a Safe containing 41 Dollars, three Mini-Turrets, and 10 Solid Slugs. More importantly, you’ll find the Master Input console with which you can hack the signal beacon. Wait for C.M. Porter to finish the hack sequence then reacquire the signal beacon.
