The Good Ending of BioShock 1 Is Considered Prime Canon

As a BioShock lore enthusiast, I‘ve analyzed evidence across the series‘ multidimensional storylines. Based on direct references in BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea, the good ending of the original BioShock is considered canon within the prime narrative timeline.

Diving Into BioShock‘s Multiple Endings

The first BioShock is well-known for having several possible endings based on moral choices regarding the Little Sisters. Let‘s break those options down:

The Happy Ending

If players rescue all Little Sisters, protagonist Jack escapes Rapture with five of them and adopts them as his daughters. The now adult women surround an elderly Jack on his deathbed years later.

The Bad Variations

Conversely, harvesting more than one Little Sister results in darker outcomes. If Jack harvests a few but not all Sisters, Dr. Tenenbaum calls him out for his cruelty. Harvesting all of them leads to Jack becoming ruler of Rapture.

Here‘s a comparison of potential ADAM gained:

Evidence For The Good Ending‘s Canonicity

Burial at Sea directly references the good ending events several times. For instance, it shows Little Sisters living peacefully on the surface after Jack‘s rescue.

So The Good Ending IS Canon…Right?

Maybe not completely. The series also plays with multiverse theories – so it‘s possible ALL versions of the endings happen across different realities and dimensions simultaneously.

But yes, IF we had to choose a prime canon story, the good ending would be it!

Analyzing BioShock 2‘s Complex Endings

BioShock 2 also has moral choices resulting in variations. For example, sparing or killing key characters like Grace, Stanley, and Gilbert Alexander affects outcomes.

Fan theories propose that BioShock might take a "multiverse" approach – allowing ALL these endings to be equally canon within infinite alternate timelines and realities.

As a big nerd for sci-fi possibilities, I agree! BioShock 2 feels like an exploration of "what ifs" rather than one core route. The Rapture Civil War seems prone to many shifting outcomes.

Tying the Games Together: Infinite and the Multiverse

BioShock Infinite also plays with the idea of time and reality as mutable rather than fixed. At the end of Infinite, Booker DeWitt enters a version of Rapture and sees events that happened earlier in the BioShock timeline (or WILL happen from his perspective).

This crossing of time and space is core to BioShock‘s overarching story. The series suggests that time is not linear, but rather a web of interconnected possibilities and alternate happenings.

Conclusion: Canon in the Context of Infinite Universes

Thematically, BioShock refuses to conform to simplistic ideas of canon. Rather, it embraces the quantum complexity of reality – one of endless branches and variations.

Yet within this multiplicity, BioShock 1‘s good ending stands as the "prime" path. While other routes shine light on thought-provoking alternate visions, the good ending sets up the core timeline that later games directly reference.

So in summary: The further we venture through the lens of BioShock‘s world, the more "canon" comes to encompass ALL possible pathways…each real and co-existing across the cosmic landscape.

Yet in the midst of this plurality, some choices DO appear to form the central river of the story. And in BioShock 1, the good ending marks that iconic main flow.