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1890-1893: Creation of Columbia
Zachary Hale Comstock was formerly known as Booker DeWitt, but after the events
of Wounded Knee,
Booker attended a baptism conducted by Preacher Witting to ease his horrific mem
ories and wash away his sins at Wounded Knee.
He emerged a new man, named Zachary Hale Comstock. After the baptism, Comstock
became a farmer and small-time preacher.
At some point, he claimed to have been visited by the archangel Columbia, who s
howed him a vision of a city in the sky.
Zachary said he was told it was his duty to build and uphold the values of this
city. Comstock convinced the U.S.
Congress, to build the city, named after Columbia, to uphold Christian and Ameri
can values and share them with the world.
The Congress agreed to fund the city, believing it could be a showcase of Americ
an exceptionalism. Zachary was later introduced to Rosalind Lutece,
a respected quantum-physicist, who was able to indefinitely suspend an atom in
midair
her colleagues referred to the
process as "quantum levitation," while Rosalind herself dubbed it the "Lutece Fi
eld". The two worked hand in hand and
created Columbia within the year 1892. The city travelled around the world to sh
owcase American ideals and glory.
Comstock through a faction known as the Founders
became Columbia's leader. He s
tarted a new religion expounding some
Christian and American values, but which also contained elements of racism, eli
tism, xenophobia and Laissez-faire business practices.
Segregation was prominent in Columbia, and other religions were persecuted.
Upon further experimentation with the Lutece Field, Rosalind discovered that the
quantum atom she was observing was also being observed
from another dimension. It turned out to be a male version of herself, Robert L
utece, and she communicated with him via Morse Code.
Rosalind Lutece then created the the Trans-Dimensional Machine, a machine able
to open passages, called 'Tears', across dimensions.
With the creation of the machine, Comstock used it to enhance his status as a "
Prophet." Unfortunately, mass exposure of the machine
caused Comstock to age rapidly and his genetic traits to dissipate, rendering h
im sterile. Viewing another Tear, he discovered that
if he did not have an heir, Columbia would fall. Because he could not have a chi
ld with his current wife, Lady Comstock, Rosalind proposed
that they could recover a child of his from another dimension, and it would be t
echnically the same. Comstock agreed.
With the assistance of Robert, the three discovered Comstock's alternate self in
Robert's universe had remained Booker DeWitt afte
r not taking the baptism, and later had a child. Seeing that Booker was in debt,
Comstock sent Robert to Booker to trade his daughter,
Anna DeWitt, in exchange for clearing that debt. Booker agreed and handed Anna
to Robert. Booker immediately regretted his decision
and went after her. As Robert, Comstock and Anna were passing back through the
Tear to Columbia, Booker attempted to retrieve Anna
but failed, severing part of her finger as the Tear closed around it.
Comstock brought Anna into Columbia and renamed her Elizabeth Comstock. He refer
red to Elizabeth as his "seed" that would one day

take the throne of Columbia. Upon viewing another Tear, he saw Elizabeth was des
tined to destroy the surface world when she became ruler.
In order to compensate for the sudden presence of Elizabeth, Comstock said that
his wife was only pregnant for seven days to give birth
to the "Miracle Child". While Lady Comstock initially abided by this claim, she
eventually realized that Elizabeth was not her child.