The Arklay Laboratory was the first of many clandestine biological weapon research laboratories to be established by the Umbrella Corporation which operated as an annexed laboratory of Umbrella U.S.A. The actual facility was hidden beneath a large European-style mansion estate built in the backwoods of Raccoon Forest in the Arklay Mountains on the outskirts of Raccoon City. Its design was based partially on one of the many residences of Oswell E. Spencer; the Spencer Estate. The mansion estate itself was known as the Arklay Mansion, a replica of the Spencer Mansion. 1
History
Construction (1962 ~ 1967)
In 1962, nobleman Oswell E. Spencer ordered the construction of an elaborate mansion several miles outside of the then-small town of Raccoon City to serve as a retreat for executives of the pharmaceutical company he intended to establish. The mansion was designed by renowned New York architect George Trevor, and Spencer ordered Trevor to design many nefarious traps, secret doors, and hidden spaces in the mansion. Work was completed in 1967, and to celebrate the completion of the mansion, Spencer invited Trevor and his family to stay in the mansion for a few days.
However, Spencer's plans were to use the mansion as a front for a secret laboratory which would conduct research on the newly-discovered Progenitor virus. In response to the virus' discovery in 1966, Spencer had an underground laboratory constructed secretly underground alongside the mansion. In order to protect the mansion's secrets, George Trevor was imprisoned and later died of fatigue and was disposed of. His wife and daughter were used as the first human test subjects of the Progenitor virus with Jessica Trevor dying from infection and being placed in an underground crypt beneath the mansion's main hall. Lisa Trevor on the other hand was kept as a test subject in the laboratory and experimented on for the next few decades.
B.O.W. Research & Development (1978 ~ 1998)
The laboratory beneath the mansion was the site of several developments in the Umbrella Corporation's top-secret B.O.W. research. While the t-virus was initially developed elsewhere, by James Marcus at the Umbrella Research Center a short distance away, the virus was stolen and research and development was moved to the Arklay facility by Spencer under the leadership of new chief researchers William Birkin and Albert Wesker after their arrival at the facility on July 31, 1978. 2 Early successful applications of the t-virus, such as the Hunter series of Bio Organic Weapons, were developed here, and much of the early research on the Tyrant program was conducted here as well. Further experiments involving the first successful Progenitor test subject, Lisa Trevor, led Birkin to discover the foundations of the G-virus. Several new experiments and B.O.W.s were also produced at the facility, including the Cerberus, Neptune and Chimera. The T-A.L.O.S. Project was also initiated and conducted at the facility, with the T-011 prototype used in the project being stored in the facility. 3
Wesker left his position as chief researcher in 1991 and became a member of Umbrella's Intelligence Department. However, he maintained a presence at the facility as chief of security and consultant researcher. William Birkin also transferred to the Raccoon City Underground Laboratory in 1993, being replaced as chief researcher by John Clemens from the Chicago Laboratory in 1994. 4 Lisa Trevor was disposed of in 1995, but somehow survived and remained on the estate.
t-Virus Outbreak (May ~ July 1998)
An outbreak of the t-virus occurred in the laboratory on May 11, 1998. The facility's water supply in particular was contaminated by the virus. The outbreak was attributed to the Queen Leech, taking on the form and memories of James Marcus, who was killed ten years earlier. Over the next two months, the entire staff of the Arklay Laboratory were either killed by their fellow infectees or the B.O.W.s that had broken loose or infected and transformed into the "Zombie" state. A team sent by Umbrella to clean up the mess was completely annihilated. In order to destroy any evidence of wrongdoing, Umbrella Headquarters ordered Albert Wesker, now leader of Raccoon City's S.T.A.R.S. unit, to lure the team to the mansion to obtain raw combat data from the facility's B.O.W.s and their embryos, then trigger the facility's self-destruct device. 5 This course of action was the X-DAY procedure initiated by the Umbrella board of directors without the consent of Ozwell E. Spencer. In response, Spencer deployed Sergei Vladimir to the facility in order to retrieve the T-A.L.O.S. prototype, a retrieval completed by Sergei on July 24. 6 S.T.A.R.S. Bravo Team was first on the scene, and all members found their way to the mansion, but were killed by the infected creatures within.
Wesker then led his S.T.A.R.S. Alpha Team into the mansion, intending to destroy the facility when they were all dead. After Chris and Jill went their seperate ways, Wesker resigned himself to a secret room within the mansion where he observed the team's encounters with the B.O.W.s, surfacing every once in a while to first lecture Barry Burton on his role as the Judas of the group, and later to lure them back into the mansion to fight the Hunter specimens he released. However, several S.T.A.R.S. members survived long enough to trigger the self-destruct mechanism themselves and escape by helicopter after foiling Wesker's plans. The facility, including both the mansion and the laboratory beneath it, were obliterated, erasing all evidence of Umbrella's experiments.
The explosion of the mansion was covered by the local media, but the truth was never revealed until after the Raccoon City tragedy. Meanwhile, the combat data collected from the B.O.W.s at the mansion was announced to the Chicago branch of Umbrella by William Birkin in a meeting on July 24, and each R&D department of Umbrella began utilizing it to improve upon their B.O.W.s.
The Grounds
The mansion itself is a three-story plantation-style building with a spacious main hall and second-floor terraces on the front of both wings. Numerous hidden passages and traps are distributed throughout the structure, hiding key components of other traps and mechanisms leading to the laboratory itself. Behind the main stairs is a second stairwell leading deep underground to a crypt holding the body of Jessica Trevor, the first unsuccessful Progenitor subject. From this crypt, an elevator leads to a fountain which is not accessible from the main courtyard. This fountain hides a secret passage leading to the laboratory facilities.
Behind the mansion, and accessible from the main hall, is a graveyard with a large crypt. A roofed passage leads behind the mansion to the courtyard, from which the guardhouse can be accessed. The guardhouse (or "residence") is a single-story building with three dormitories, a recreation lounge, and a gallery; a secret passage in one of the dormitories leads to a large ring-shaped aquarium beneath the entire building, which is used to keep and study sharks. Also accessible from the courtyard by way of a secret passage is a network of abandoned mining tunnels.
Laboratory
The laboratory facilities consist of four levels; the first is a simple passageway with access to the surface and to a heliport. The second level holds only a Visual Data and presentation room. The third level houses several laboratories, a small dormitory for the chief researcher, a surgical room, a morgue, the laboratory's power system, and the facility's self-destruct device. The third level also allows access to a holding cell for prisoners or test subjects. The lowest level is used for special B.O.W. research projects, such as the Tyrant program.