Umbrella Corporation
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
The Umbrella Corporation (also known as Umbrella, Inc.) (傘株式会社) is a fictional biotech company set in the Resident Evil (known as Biohazard in Japan) by Capcom universe. It operates ruthlessly as a major international player in a number of markets including pharmaceuticals, medical hardware and computers along with more clandestine operations utilising genetic engineering and bioweaponry.
Slogan: "Our Business is Life Itself"
History
The Beginnings of the T-Virus, a legacy of death
1950s December 4 Ozwell E. Spencer, Edward Ashford and James Marcus create/discover the Progenitor Virus. Marcus starts research on the virus immediately.
1963-1967 Over the course of 4 years, a Mansion is built in the forest near Raccoon City, by famous New York Architect George Trevor.
1967 November 10
Trevor's wife and daughter, Jessica and Lisa, are invited to the Spencer Estate by Spencer himself. They soon disappear after their arrival. They are both used as test subjects for the Progenitor Virus. Though Jessica dies, Lisa lives and becomes a test subject for all of Umbrella's viruses over the course of the next 21 years.
- November 13
George Trevor arrives at the estate, and meets with his host. Spencer tells Trevor that his family went to the hospital to visit his aunt Emma, who has unexpectedly fallen ill. Both of them enjoy a banquet in the dining hall.
- November 14
Spencer takes Trevor on a tour around the estate and shows him his vast collection of art objects. Spencer says that he plans to found a pharmaceutical company called "Umbrella", and turn the mansion into a seaside resort for its employees. Lisa Trevor begins to feel the effects of the Progenitor Virus injected into her body four days earlier, and wonders where could her mother be, and if she escaped and left her behind.
- November 15
Lisa and her mother eat together. Lisa soon discovers that this is not her mother and feels "different inside". She peels off the woman's face like a mask, and wears it over her own.
- November 17
Lisa encounters a coffin, and wonders if her mother's body is inside. She unsuccessfully tries to open it, and tries to figure out why she can't do it.
- November 18
George Trevor starts to worry about his family, and is frustrated by the lack of telephones in the mansion. He discovers the entrance to a tunnel in the courtyard, and wonders about this oddity, which wasn't in his original design. Several men suddenly appear and force Trevor to leave, telling him that he shouldn't wander around without company.
- November 20
Trevor wonders where the shotgun that his wife gave to Spencer for his birthday is. He finds a broken one in one of the rooms, but it isn't the same one. Trevor grows more and more concerned about his family, but when he tells Spencer that he wishes to see them, he (Spencer) only laughs and tells him that it is pointless to worry.
- November 21
Trevor packs his bags, and is taken to a reception room. While he waits for his host with one of the men that told him to leave the courtyard, he's suddenly injected with a substance that makes him faint, right after the man tells him that his family has died.
- November 24
Trevor is imprisoned in a room infested with ant-like creatures, where a man brings him food and tells him that that he's sorry to put Trevor through this, but he’s doing it for security reasons. Trevor remembers that he had designed an escape route out of this room, but wonders if this is merely Spencer's test of the mansion's secrets.
- November 26
Trevor loses his lighter, the one that Jessica had given to him for his birthday. He begins to recall when Spencer told him that his aunt was sick and that Jessica and Lisa had decided to visit her, as well as the moment when he was told that his family was dead.
- November 27
Trevor escapes from the room, but can't seem to find his way out of the mansion, and doesn't have time to look for the keys he needs.
- November 29
Trevor tries every possible way to escape, but realizes that he's trapped. He spots a high heeled shoe in one of the mansion's corridors, and realizes it belongs to his wife, Jessica. He refuses to believe that they shared the same fate as him, and prays for their safety.
- November 30
Trevor hasn't eaten in days and begins to feel dehydrated. He starts to regret designing the mansion in the first place, and muses that he should have known better.
- December 1
Trevor finds another dead end, and realizes that he's finally trapped for good. In the darkness, something catches his eye. Lighting the last match he has, he quickly comes to the conclusion that the object is actually a tombstone, with his name carved on it. There, Trevor starves to death, and prays for his wife and daughter's lives.
The Beginning of Umbrella
1950s-1968 March 23 Spencer announces to Edward Ashford and James Marcus that he plans to found a company. Marcus doesn’t show much interest in Spencer’s actions, and agrees with anything he wants to do, as long as he can continue his research on the Progenitor Virus.
1968 Umbrella Inc. is founded by Ozwell E. Spencer, Edward Ashford and James Marcus, as a cover up for their Bio Weapon research.
Dr Edward Ashford supposedly dies of natural causes as his son's research goes through a "difficult phase". The Ashford family name is tarnished and Spencer's influence inside the company grows rapidly.
Ashford's Exile
1968-1970 Alexander Ashford builds a research facility in the South Pole, where he plans to work on the "Veronica" Project in order to revive the tarnished Ashford Family name. He also builds a mansion for himself, modeled after the Spencer Estate.
1971 Alexander discovers the human gene that regulates intelligence after many years of research. He then takes a sample of DNA from his ancestor Veronica, extracts this gene and implants it into the egg of a surrogate mother. Much to his surprise, twins are born from the process. He names them Alfred and Alexia Ashford. Alfred has above-average intelligence, but Alexia is a downright genius. Alexander considers her the literal reincarnation of his ancestor, Veronica.
Back at Umbrella Corp...
Mid-1970s August 19 Umbrella Inc. rapidly grows and becomes an international corporation. Ozwell Spencer asks James Marcus to be the director of the new Training Facility, which is built eight miles away from Raccoon City, and is meant to train men and women from all over the world to become Umbrella employees.
- 1977 September 2
Albert Wesker and William Birkin are recruited by the Assistant Director of the Umbrella Training Facility to be trained as researchers.
The Naming of the Beast, its early years
- 1977 September 19
James Marcus creates a new virus by combining the Progenitor Virus with leech DNA. He calls it "T" for Tyrant and decides to keep it a secret from all the other researchers.
- 1977 September 25
The Assistant Director notes a friendship/rivalry relationship between Wesker and Birkin.
- 1977 October 7
Dr Marcus tells the Assistant Director to encourage a rivalry between Wesker and Birkin. The A.D. wonders about the Doctor’s sudden interest in them.
- 1977 October 23
Marcus begins to think that only humans can be suitable as guinea pigs for his T-Virus Research.
- 1977 November 15
Dr Marcus suspects that someone might know about his experiments and T-Virus research.
- 1978 January 13
Marcus finishes preparing his leeches for T-Virus experimentation.
In-House Intrigue, T-Virus as a Bio-Weapon
- 1978 January 31
James finds out that someone has indeed been looking for the T-Virus and his leeches and assumes it must be the work of Spencer and his lackeys.
- 1978 February 3
The T-Virus is injected into four leeches by Marcus. Their will to survive leads them first to parasitism and predation, and they later begin to multiply. Marcus believes that their single-minded biology makes them attractive candidates for Biological Weapons.
- 1978 February 10
The leeches grow to double their former size after 7 days pass from the first T-Virus administration. The first signs of T-Virus transformation begin to appear. The leeches start showing cannibalistic behavior, so Marcus hurries to increase their food supply.
- 1978 February 11
Marcus again finds evidence of people looking for the T-Virus and his leeches. He decides to ask Wesker and Birkin to take care of his lab and research. Little does he know, they've been actually playing him all along in order to gain his trust, as well as some insight in his T-Virus research.
- 1978 March 7
Marcus continues his research on the leeches. They have ceased cannibalism, and are now working as a disciplined pack. Their evolution goes far beyond Marcus's expectations.
Swarm Behaviour
- 1978 April 22
Marcus's leeches begin to work and move together, and no longer exhibit individual behavior.
- 1978 April 30
Marcus begins to wonder if a human can be a suitable food source for the leeches.
- 1978 June 3
The leeches begin to mimic Marcus' actions, a day that he considers worthy of commemoration.
Theft of Research, Cloak and Dagger
- 1978 June 3-July 29
Marcus is assassinated under Spencer's orders, which are carried out by Wesker and Birkin. They steal his research on the T-Virus, and claim it their own. Marcus's body is dumped in the sewers under the Training Facility, but the Queen Leech he was researching at the time he was shot enters his body, and the T-Virus it carries starts to mutate Marcus's cellular composition.
- 1978 July 29
The Training Facility is closed. Wesker and Birkin are appointed as chief researchers in the Arklay Laboratories, which are located under the Spencer Mansion. They also bring the T-Virus research with them, and announce to the other researchers that Birkin was the man behind the creation of the T-Virus, presumably with the assisstance of Wesker.
- 1978 July 31
Wesker and Birkin visit the Arklay Labs for the first time. As soon as they arrive, they ignore the Laboratory Manager and proceed to the main lab. Finally, they are taken to a room where they meet the “Woman”, a female test subject that has been experimented on for 11 years, since her first viral injection on November 10, 1967. Little do they know, this creature is actually Lisa Trevor, daughter of the architect that designed the Mansion.
- 1981 July 27
Ten-year-old Alexia Ashford is appointed as chief researcher in the South Pole Laboratory.
Development of the T-Virus as a Biological Weapon
1981 July 27-1983 December 31 Wesker becomes irritated, since his subordinates do nothing but talk about Alexia every time their research comes to a standstill. Birkin, on the other hand, begins to behave erratically and develops intense negative feelings towards Alexia. Wesker tries unsuccessfully to pull him back to his senses, since their research is not yielding any results because of his behavior.
The T-Virus becomes stable enough to create living biological weapons, better known as zombies, by simply infecting a person with it. However, Wesker soon realizes that the T-Virus isn't powerful enough to infect 100% of the people that are exposed to it. 10% of the test subjects would not become infected, no matter how hard the researchers tried to change this. Spencer starts to provide more funds for the research, and asks the researchers to create a variant of the T-Virus that can infect and wipe out 100% of the people exposed to it. Wesker starts to ask himself why Spencer would want them to create such a thing, since it is starting to become very expensive.
Compensating for Error
Birkin is able to create another type of Living Biological Weapon, one which relies on its ability to fight, rather than infect. It is designed to kill all the people that wouldn't become infected in the case of a T-Virus outbreak, as well as individuals who wore "Haz-Mat" suits. It is later called the Hunter, and is created by infecting a person's DNA with the T-Virus, and later combining it with the DNA of another reptilian creature. However, the experiments have to be suspended temporarily, in order to protect the test subjects from Birkin, who is carrying out rushed experiments one after another at an incredible pace, with unsuccessful results. Wesker believes that Birkin's behavior is a product of his intense anger towards Alexia, which was founded on the fact that Birkin believed that no one could ever outmatch his abilities, something that Alexia had unknowingly done when she was appointed as chief researcher at the South Pole Laboratory at the mere age of ten.
Wesker, on the other hand, notices that the “Woman”, the female test subject that had been experimented on for years, continues to survive through all of Birkin's experiments, unlike any other test subjects.
A Family Affair, Be Sure Your Sins Will Find You Out
1983 January 30 Alfred Ashford discovers a secret room in Umbrella's Antarctic Facility where the Ashford family secrets are kept. In order to enter the room, he needs to obtain his father's family gem, which must be used in conjunction with his gem and his sister's.
- 1983 February 17
Alfred finally gains entrance to the secret room, where he discovers his father's research notes, and learns the truth about his and Alexia's birth.
- 1983 March 3
Alfred and Alexia start to experiment on their hated father (Alexander Ashford, see above) with a new virus developed by Alexia, which was created by combining the Progenitor Virus with an ancient virus that she discovered in a queen ant's DNA. They also take care that the family butler doesn't find out the truth.
- 1983 March 3-April 22
Alexander mutates into a hideous monster, and gains the ability to produce a toxic gas, which the blue herb has no effect on. Alexia develops an antidote for the gas, and keeps it in case her father escapes. She soon realizes the great potential of her virus, and decides to name it the T-Veronica Virus.
- 1983 April 22
The twins chain their mindless father in a cell under the Antarctic Facility, after they realize that their experiment turned into a complete failure. Alexia finds out the reason why the experiment failed and starts to conduct experiments on her own body.
- 1983
Alexia injects herself with the T-Veronica Virus, and freezes her body in a capsule for 15 years, after coming up with a cover-up story for her disappearance.
- December 31
The researchers at Arklay hear that Alexia has died while conducting experiments at the South Pole Facility. Wesker, however, hears a rumor about Alexia injecting the T-Veronica Virus in her body, and faking her own death. He starts to look for the truth behind this story. Birkin, on the other hand, starts to behave normally again after hearing about Alexia’s alleged death, and opposes Wesker when he tries to get a sample of the T-Veronica Virus.
- 1986
William Birkin marries another researcher from Arklay, Annette (last name unknown). She then gives birth to Sherry Birkin.
el proyecto de Nemesis, el cenit del T-Virus, un nuevo
del horror - 1988 julio 1-December 31 el Wesker, el Birkin y los otros investigadores decide a que es hora de crear una arma biológica el vivir de la tercera generación: un soldado estupendo creado con el T-Virus, bastante inteligente para obedecer programó órdenes. Deciden llamarlo el Tyrant, y comienzan a trabajar en él inmediatamente. Sin embargo, su investigación pronto golpea una parada: debido a la naturaleza del T-Virus, los investigadores pueden crear zombis y a cazadores fuera virtualmente de ser humano, sin embargo, debido a la tendencia de los T-Virus a hacer que el número de las células del cerebro del portador declina, sólo una persona infectada con el T-Virus en diez millones hace un Tyrant, mientras que el resto se convierte en zombis. Wesker comienza a la sensación frustrada por esto, hasta que él oye una rumor que un laboratorio en Francia podía desarrollar una tercera generación de las armas biológicas el vivir, usando un acercamiento levemente diverso: en vez de infectar el cuerpo y el cerebro de una persona en el mismo tiempo con el T-Virus, crearon una forma parásita altamente inteligente de la vida, que no podía hacer cualquier cosa en sus el propios, hasta que entró en un cerebro del tema de prueba y tomó el control de ella. Entonces, la composición de la DNA del tema comenzaría inmediatamente al mutate. El producto final era un Tyrant altamente inteligente, que obedecería órdenes y podía funcionar armamento humano; ése era Nemesis. Inmediatamente después de oír esto, las prisas de Wesker para conseguir una muestra del parásito de Nemesis, pero Birkin lo opone fuertemente. Wesker maneja persuadirlo que, sin embargo, y ése la misma noche, un helicóptero llega el laboratorio con las muestras. No mucha hora va cerca, sin embargo, antes de que Wesker encuentre un problema con el Nemesis: el parásito mata inmediatamente al anfitrión después de 5 minutos de entrar en su cerebro. El Wesker y los otros investigadores no pueden parecerse calcular qué causas decide este problema, así que ellos a administrar el parásito a la "mujer". Mucho a su sorpresa, el parásito desaparece después de entrar en su cerebro, y no hay muestras de la mutación física sensibles. Sin embargo, Birkin pronto nota que algo adentro de ella ha cambiado de hecho, y realiza exámenes del lleno-cuerpo. El descubrimiento del G-Virus pronto sigue.A Career Change for Wesker
- 1991
Wesker leaves Arklay, as well as his position as chief researcher, and founds the S.T.A.R.S. Raccoon City Branch.
- Early-to-mid 1990s
Birkin moves his G-Virus research to a huge underground complex underneath Raccoon City, after the G-Virus Project gets Spencer’s approval.
Old Habits Die Hard
- 1995 July 31
Wesker visits Arklay and reunites with Birkin. The "Woman" is supposedly disposed of by the researchers, after exhibiting strange behavior, and killing three scientists. Her body is taken somewhere else three days later as per laboratory orders.
An Oath of Vengeance, The End of the Beginning, and the Beginning of the End
- 1980-1998 May 11
James Marcus rises from the dead after his DNA has been mutated enough by the Queen Leech, and vows revenge against Umbrella. This oath would later become the cause of the Resident Evil.
