ADAM Information

ADAM is the raw form of the unstable stem cells harvested and processed from a type of Sea Slug parasite. It is believed to consist of totipotent stem cells that have the ability to differentiate into any cell type. As revealed in the Audio Diary Hatred, ADAM is a viscous, green liquid in its raw form.

ADAM can be genetically manipulated to produce cells that would not normally be present in the human body. It acts like a seemingly benign form of cancer, destroying native cells and replacing them with the unstable stem versions. While it is this instability that gives it its amazing properties, it is also what causes the cosmetic and mental damage to people who use it habitually. In the end, the instability of the stem cells means that the user will have to take in more and more ADAM just to remain sane and healthy.

The problems caused by ADAM abuse among the population of Rapture were exacerbated by Andrew Ryan's Free Market beliefs. His hands off approach to running the city meant that there was no regulation of ADAM, and no prevention of its side effects. By the time the Rapture Civil War began and Ryan was running the city with an iron fist, the damage had already been done.

ADAM was discovered by Brigid Tenenbaum in a sea slug that had bitten one of Rapture's dock workers and healed his long-crippled hand. However, the sea slugs alone could not provide enough ADAM for experimentation and work, let alone marketing. But when the slug is embedded in the lining of a host's stomach it was discovered that, through regurgitation, they could have twenty to thirty times the yield of usable ADAM. This was the original purpose of the Little Sisters and the orphanage.

The exact date of ADAM's discovery remains murky, although it would seem to have occurred sometime before 1948 due to a concept for a Teleportation advertisement seen in Fontaine Futuristics, dated 06/16/1948. Another sign of it being at least before 1952 is that Tenenbaum, Yi Suchong and Gilbert Alexander are all seen in a "Rapture's Best and Brightest" 1952 poster. All were key figures in Rapture's scientific community after the discovery of ADAM. It is unlikely that Tenenbaum would have been so revered prior to ADAM's discovery.

ADAM is earned with every post you make. Use your ADAM to purchase Plasmid upgrades and new tonics to help you survive Rapture.