The G-virus (short for "God virus") was a powerful virus developed by Dr. William Birkin with potential surpassing that of the t-virus. Its main function was the creation of "G-Creatures", a new life form designed for use as a B.O.W. (Bio Organic Weapon) that could breed through sex. However, at some point during its development, its focus turned to its potential for creating "G-Humans", a superior human race. Following its recovery from Raccoon City, it fell into the hands of several organizations. 1
History
Discovery (1988)
The origin of the G-virus was discovered by Dr. William Birkin in 1988 while he was a chief scientist of the Arklay Laboratory, a top-secret biological weapons development laboratory owned by the Umbrella Corporation. The prototype of the "NE-α Type" parasite, which played the central role in the "Nemesis Project", caused the discovery. When the parasite was transplanted into the virus test subject Lisa Trevor, it disappeared without being able to parasitize her brain.
Intrigued by the parasite's sudden disappearance, Dr. Birkin disregarded all past data and examined her in detail. He deduced that she had absorbed the parasite and discovered modified genes containing a new virus that the absorption had newly awakened in her body after already having mutated (or "evolved") ever since she was first injected with the TYPE-B variant strain of the Progenitor virus. 2
G-Virus Project (1991-1998)
In 1991, the epochal discovery deviated greatly from the "t-Virus Project" with Dr. Birkin's proposition of a "new life form" that was more progressive than other scientists. He formulated the "G-Virus Project" and presented it to Umbrella Headquarters, obtaining approval and becoming the project's development director. In direct response, Umbrella began construction of a huge laboratory beneath Raccoon City to serve as the base for research on the virus. The laboratory was completed two years later, and Dr. Birkin transferred there with his wife, Annette Birkin. Using the clues within Lisa Trevor's DNA, Dr. Birkin continued development of the virus over the next five years.
In 1998, Dr. Birkin was under enormous pressure from the Chicago branch demanding progress reports on the virus' development, and he began to disagree with Umbrella executives over research's direction while holding increased antipathy and doubt toward the company. He was devoted to his research and feared a leak of information on the in-development virus, and became more and more estranged from the Chicago branch. As a result, Umbrella executives became displeased that he continued development selfishly and plotted an assassination to get rid of him.
In mid-September, Dr. Birkin completed the G-virus and negotiated with U.S. military authorities for protection in exchange for defecting with the virus and research data. The government quickly agreed to send in a U.S. Special Forces rescue team to extradite him, but Umbrella executives learned of this development and ordered the U.S.S. (Umbrella Security Service) to seize the virus. 3 Meanwhile, Dr. Birkin's former colleague Albert Wesker formulated a plan of his own to rescue him and bring the virus as a gift to the rival company of Umbrella he was employed by. 4
Seizure & Recovery (September 1998)
On September 23, Dr. Birkin was attacked by the U.S.S. and fatally wounded. In order to save his life, he injected himself with the G-virus. However, the virus failed to stabilize in his body and he gradually transformed into a creature known simply as "G" and infected his daughter Sherry Birkin with the virus after implanting her with an embryo of the virus. Through the efforts of Claire Redfield and Leon S. Kennedy, she was saved with the use of the vaccine known as "DEVIL." However, as the vaccine was only designed against the virus in its incomplete stage, traces of the virus remained alongside new G-antibodies. As the only person in the world with a resistance to the G-virus, she became an important military and political asset and was taken into the protective custody of the U.S. government as a research subject.
At some point during the incident, an unknown quantity of the virus was stolen from the underground laboratory by Umbrella scientist Frederic Downing. Surviving U.S.S. agent HUNK recovered a sample of the G-virus thrown away by Leon Kennedy and was successfully airlifted out of the city by an Umbrella helicopter. A tissue fragment containing the virus was recovered from G's body by Ada Wong and brought it to her employer, Albert Wesker. His subordinate agents within the U.S. government also recovered the G-antibodies.
Umbrella began research on the virus for B.O.W. application, but the breeding capability and unpredictable evolution caused by the virus did not give hosts the stable performance demanded from a weapon. For that reason, B.O.W. research involving the virus was frozen. As an alternative, Umbrella Europe began a project to fuse the G-virus and the t-virus at a molecular level. The result was the "t+G-virus" developed by the Paris branch.
Harvardville Incident (2005)
In 2005, the G-virus stolen by Frederic Downing resurfaced in the American Midwestern town of Harvardville. Downing intended to sell the virus to , leader of the Republic of Bajirib. In order to demonstrate its capabilities, he convinced Curtis Miller to inject himself with it and become a G-Creature under the illusion that it would expose the government's illegal involvement with Umbrella. Eventually, G-Curtis was destroyed, but a fragment of his body containing the virus was recovered by the pharmaceutical division of TRICELL.
As part of the virus and B.O.W. research program of The Family, the G-virus extracted from the body of Sherry Birkin was incorporated into the development of the C-virus. In particular, the ability to create a new life form was significantly carried over to the new virus.
Attributes
The primary characteristic of the G-virus was its ability to create new life forms able to breed and self-evolve. This set it apart from the t-virus, which only caused single-generation mutations. When administered, the virus creates cells within the host known as "G-Cells" that begin to fuse with host's own somatic cells. If the virus is able to spend sufficient time within a host body and achieve a successful fusion, it would bestow benefits such as superior vitality and regenerative ability while not affecting the host's self-consciousness and intelligence. The ultimate goal of Dr. William Birkin was the creation of a superhuman race known as "G-Humans." No true G-Humans were documented, but in the case of Sherry Birkin, she gained G-Human traits after traces of the virus adapted to her body over a long period of time.
"G"
When the G-virus suddenly and rapidly rewrites a creature's DNA without sufficient time, a fault occurs. The G-Cells begin to erode flesh and rearrange the creature's entire anatomy, causing it to mutate and evolve into a new life form and lose its self-consciousness and intelligence. These creatures were a new species known by the common name "G" and were controlled by the virus' breeding instinct. "G" breeding was performed by implanting embryos proliferated in its body into other creatures. In this case, "G" would tend to instinctively search for hereditary close relatives, as a normal "G" was more likely to be born when the genetics of the host were close to the target creature. Upon further evolution beyond the initial stage, "G" would no longer seek to breed and instead operate solely on wild instinct. A "G" has no determined form and the nature of each individual's mutation is impossible to predict.
In the event of a confirmed bioterrorism incident employing the G-virus, the precaution level at the BSAA (Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance) would be increased to "10", including all branches outside the outbreak area. As no predictions could be made about the extraordinary irregularity of evolution caused by the virus, reproduction speed also unforeseeable. Hence, the moment a bioterrorism incident employing the G-virus was confirmed, the reproduction progress of a G-Creature was an unknown. If the reproduction remained in the 1st generation only, measures from just the branch in the area concerned were possible, but should the situation progress to a 3rd generation reproduction or more, military operations exceeding those of just one branch were necessary.
Footnotes
- 1. G-Virus Notes
- 2. Observation Record
- 3. Written Orders
- 4. Wesker's Report I (BIOHAZARD COLLECTOR'S BOX Wesker's Report File)