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Classification

Group: Group VI (Reverse Transcribing)
Family: Retroviridae
Genus: Unknown

Title

t-Virus

t-Virus (short for "Tyrant Virus") was the collective name for a series of artificial mutagen RNA viruses designed as weaponized variants of the Progenitor Virus for military application. They inherited the DNA mutation property of the Progenitor Virus and drastically improved on it. The t-Virus is capable of inducing sudden mutations on a host and is the raw material most suitable for biological weapons creation. Upon infection, it rewrites DNA and mutates the host into a creature with different properties and abilities which cannot be found in the natural world. By figuring out how to carefully control this mutagenic property, the Umbrella Corporation and other groups were able to craft "B.O.W. (Bio Organic Weapons)." It was said that the virus "was unsuitable for the production of a practical B.O.W.", but this talk was restricted to the first primitive strain. The first successful but primitive t-Virus was created by James Marcus. A second relatively stable strain was then developed by William Birkin. Another strain was created by Alexia Ashford, and is known as the t-Veronica Virus. It is believed that other strains were created. 1 2

History

In 1968, after the discovery of the Progenitor Virus, its discoverers Oswell E. Spencer, Edward Ashford and James Marcus established a pharmaceutical company, "Umbrella Corporation", to camouflage their secret research into using the virus for military application. The trio believed that they could take advantage of the virus' ability to mutate or evolve the DNA of living organisms and use it to create a unique, living form of biological weapon, dubbed "B.O.W. (Bio Organic Weapon)." However, experiments proved that the virus could not create effective weapons on its own, despite the potential its unique characteristic held. 3 In response, they began a top-secret project to create a variant of the virus better suited for the production of weapons. This was dubbed the "t-Virus Project."

The three discoverers each began their own independent projects in an attempt to create their own t-Virus, Spencer at his Arklay Laboratory, Dr. Marcus at the Umbrella Executive Training School and Dr. Ashford elsewhere alongside his son, Alexander Ashford. 4

First Success (1977-1978)

On September 19, 1977, Dr. James Marcus discovered a method of creating a new and more powerful virus using the Progenitor Virus as the base and combining it with leech DNA. The cause was when the Progenitor Virus mutated within the host bodies of leeches he infected as an experiment. These leeches showed signs of rapid mutation and gained intellect and mimicry abilities as a result of the infection. Upon examining the blood of the leech, the basis for the a new though primitive t-Virus was discovered. Dr. Marcus continued research on this discovery and eventually finished development of his own t-Virus on January 13, 1978.

With his t-Virus, Dr. Marcus planned to complete a unique B.O.W. to upstage Spencer, who gave top priority to the management of the company, and aimed to establish his position as a scientist within Umbrella and regain his status as an Umbrella founder. Spencer ordered several of his employees to retrieve a sample of the new virus. It is unknown whether the virus was ever successfully stolen, but afterwards, Spencer closed the training facility and promoted William Birkin and Albert Wesker as chief scientists at the nearby Arklay Laboratory, and charged them with leading his own t-Virus Project which he hurriedly advanced in order to compete with Dr. Marcus' own independent research in the training facility.

Dr. Marcus continued further research for practical use in order to announce his research results in Umbrella Headquarters. In order to determine an adaptable host creature appropriate for the development of a B.O.W. which could be controlled as a weapon, he administered his t-Virus to arthropods, amphibians and mammals. The insect-based "Plague Crawler", amphibian-based "Lurker" and mammal-based "Eliminator" were born though these experiments. Although most did not reach a satisfactory degree of perfection, the Eliminator achieved the only hope. This is because the existence of intelligence to understand commands was only confirmed in mammals.

First Stage (1978-1981)

At the top-secret Arklay Laboratory, Wesker and Dr. Birkin became chief scientists in charge of t-Virus and B.O.W. research. They began development of their own t-Virus after reviewing the potential of the "Ebola Virus." The reason why Dr. Birkin was interested in Ebola was so they could use it in order to strengthen the DNA mutation characteristic of the Progenitor Virus by inserting the genes of Ebola. As a result of this experiment, Dr. Birkin created a new t-Virus with increased potential over the primitive strain developed by Dr. Marcus.

What became known as the "First Stage" of their t-Virus development following its initial completion was an effort to stabilize the virus well enough to produce a viable B.O.W. In total, it took 3 years for such a result to be realized. During this period, the Ashford family under Alexander Ashford began to fall behind in t-Virus research. This allowed Spencer to take full control of the Umbrella Corporation while he supplied an immense budget and personnel to advance his own project at the Arklay Laboratory.

Second Stage (1981-1988)

In 1981, after several experiments on humans were conducted, Dr. Birkin's virus finally became stable enough to produce a B.O.W. in the form of the "Zombie", and the project reached its Second Stage. Due to compatibility issues between the virus and the human genome, it became clear that the virus would only infect 90% of a population with the remaining 10% being unaffected as a result of natural genetic immunity. Unhappy with this development, Spencer expected an independent weapon which could exterminate 100% of humans. In response, Dr. Birkin devised a new B.O.W. with emphasis on combat abilities, later dubbed "Hunter", by incorporating not only the genetic manipulation property of the t-Virus, but also the genetic information of other creatures, producing a weapon capable of exterminating humans who escape the onset of infection or possess anti-virus equipment or weapons within a designated target zone.

The Hunter is the first recorded usage of genetic manipulation in conjunction with the t-Virus. In the project's "Second Stage", the genetic synthesis of two or more living things was frequently carried out. By combining the characteristics each individual creature possessed, they succeeded in creating entirely new creatures with superior abilities. Originally, the combination of creatures of different species groups at the gene level was naturally unstable, but they were supported by the t-Virus, which promoted abnormal evolution, enabling higher forms of life and making it possible to "play God."

In 1988, as Dr. Birkin's strain had reached a certain degree of completion, a motion to stop Dr. Marcus's research became active as he had become unecessary. Spencer ordered Wesker and Dr. Birkin to assassinate Dr. Marcus and steal all of his research, the results of which helped to boost Dr. Birkin's own.

Third Stage (1988-1998)

Although the t-Virus had the groundbreaking property to instantly evolve a creature it assimilated into, practicality was regarded as questionable in the beginning since creatures administered with it were sometimes unable to endure the dramatic physical changes and often died. Eventually, research had reached a dead-end. As a way out, Dr. Birkin proposed the "Tyrant Project", the development of the "ultimate life form", an advanced B.O.W. for combat. He devised a method to use an adult male with physical strength and immune system resistance as the host of the t-Virus. However, there was another problem in this project. Humans who could genetically adapt as a "Tyrant" were extremely limited, caused by the nature of the virus. This put the project into another standstill for three years. Eventually, this problem was resolved due to the acquisition of ten clones of Sergei Vladimir, a compatible Tyrant host.

With the successful development of the Tyrant, Umbrella U.S.A. gained significant influence within the corporate hierarchy because of William's work, and through this, Spencer came to control all of Umbrella. Not to be outdone, many other development projects were advanced by other sections of the company, including Umbrella Europe. The competed t-Virus was mass-produced within Umbrella and supplied to the company's research facilities around the world, promoting further B.O.W. development.

Later, as the focus of Dr. Birkin turned to the "G-Virus", he was replaced at the Arklay Laboratory by a new chief scientist named John Clemens. Information on the t-Virus and G-Virus was leaked to a rival company of Umbrella by a spy posing as a researcher under the alias of "Ada Wong", who had entered into a false relationship with Clemens to gain information. Although the spy failed to steal a sample of the virus for the rival company, a sample was later stolen for them in July 1998 by Albert Wesker, who betrayed Umbrella.

Around 2002, the t-Virus was later used in an attempt by the Umbrella Paris branch to control the volatile G-Virus. The viruses were fused at the genetic level with the t-Virus acting as an "anti-body" of sorts to the G-Virus, producing the "t+G-Virus." The virus was stolen by Morpheus D. Duvall who later injected himself with it, and there have been no further reports of it. 5

Attributes

Signs and Symptoms

fever
nausea
itching
sweating
insatiable hunger

Pathogenesis

The t-Virus is very similar in nature to the Progenitor Virus. 6 After infection, the virus spreads throughout the subject's body and affects its systems, starting with internal secretory systems, spreading to nearly all organs making up the body, such as the skin, muscles, nerves, circulatory, respiratory, digestive and skeletal systems. One major transformation is an unusual increase in growth hormone and the tendency for the body to increase in size, an effect which varies depending on the host organism.

Metabolic activation occurs, leading to an increase in appetite and often a complete change in diet to accommodate the host's new energy requirements. The effect of the virus on the muscular system - to multiply the strength of the host organism - is particularly surprising. For the nervous system, the virus dulls sensations of pain and fear, while at the same time significantly increasing aggression. These are all important characteristics of a B.O.W.

The virus can be spread through a variety of methods. Reports of air or aerosol infection have not been confirmed.

direct skin contact
contaminated food and water
injury by infected creature
rodents
insects

Secondary Infection

Mammalia

Secondary infection of a mammal normally leads to:

rotting of the skin, congestion
deterioration of muscle fiber
extreme degeneration of intelligence
paralysis of pain sensations
metabolic activation
heightened aggression

These physical traits can be found in almost all infected mammals, while all are exhibited in human hosts (Zombies). The extreme degeneration of intelligence is also dependant on species, as Eliminators are known to possess much more intelligence than Zombies and are capable of understanding basic orders. In humans, infection is only 90% effective, with the remaining 10% of the population having a natural genetic immunity to the virus, even when directly bitten by a Zombie or another infected creature. As well as this, the rate of the infection is unique to each person, and can be influenced by several factors which may speed up or slow down transformation. These factors include mode of transmission, natural resistance and actual quantity of the virus in the body. The general time between "death" and transformation into a Zombie is 1-2 hours.

Arthropoda

In arthropods, the most common trait is an increase in size which occurs almost indefinitely regardless of the species involved. The exact size varies. Fleas, wasps, bees, spiders, scorpions, worms, centipedes, earwigs and moths have all been known to undergo extremely dramatic size increases. Along with this trait, heightened aggression, metabolic activation and a change in diet to carnivorous or omnivorous are all common. The change in diet is a direct result of the sudden metabolic activation of the infected arthropod, which now requires a substantially higher amount of energy to sustain itself.

Reptilia

Like arthropods, reptilians undergo the same size and aggression increases, as well as metabolic activation. They do not normally appear to have any physical degradation due to their scales.

Amphibia

Although very few cases of amphibian infection have been observed, they have been known to experience the same size increase, change of diet, metabolic activation and heightened aggression as other animal types. Their unique skin makes them appear "normal" in comparison to other creatures which have exposed flesh.

Plantae

Plants, once infected with the virus, generally develop sentience and, depending on species, increase in size. Some have also been known to gain poisonous attributes. The first recorded t-Virus infected plant with such abilities was the Plant 42 within the guardhouse of the Arklay Laboratory. Other examples include the "Monster Plant" and "Evil Shade".

Birds

While birds (such as the Crow, or Hornbill) do not undergo an increase in size, they become extremely aggressive and their diet changes to include meat to accommodate their increased energy requirements. On top of this, while they do undergo physical degradation, their feathers mask their degeneration.

t-Virus Versions

Over the years, many different strains, variants and mutations of the Progenitor Virus were produced or discovered by Umbrella throughout its many facilities all over the world. Below is a list of known examples.

Strains

Primitive Strain

The first successful t-Virus, developed by Dr. Marcus in January 1978 after combining Progenitor Virus with leech DNA. It is the most inferior strain and was taken over by Dr. Birkin in 1988, however, there is no available information on what it was used for.

Stabilized Strain

Developed by Dr. Birkin in 1978 at the Arklay Laboratory and stabilized in 1981. This strain was created by incorporating genes from the "Ebola Virus" into the Progenitor Virus. Until the development of this improved strain, it was almost impossible for the Arklay research team to develop viable B.O.W.s. This strain was the version ideal for creating Zombies and Hunters and other creatures, but had a defect of eroding certain parts of the brain and making the subject's brain cells decline dramatically.

t-Veronica

This new virus, developed by incorporating the gene of a queen ant and the genes of plants into the Progenitor Virus, was created by Alexia Ashford. Although it is a "t-Virus" by definition, being a variant of the Progenitor Virus, it is also considered a completely new virus and is named as such, while the strains developed by Dr. Marcus and Dr. Birkin are simply dubbed "t-Virus."

Variants

Tyrant Variant

A variant extracted by Dr. Birkin in order to cause the lowest level of destruction to a subject’s brain cells, thus retaining intelligence. It was used for the production of the "Tyrant" B.O.W. However, this variant was only compatible with one in ten million people, and only one person to date has been found to have this genetic compatibility-- Sergei Vladimir.

Nemesis Variant

A stronger and more active form of the stable t-Virus which inhabited the tentacles of the Nemesis-T.

T-JCCC203 Variant

A variant of the stable t-Virus which was re-designed as a medical drug and supplied to the private hospital in Raccoon Forest by a dummy company of Umbrella in 1993, then administered to two patients, Doug Frost and Dorothy Lester. Unlike the normal version of the virus, this variant was recorded to actually destroy cancerous cells and briefly restore health before eventually reverting to the virus' normal behavior, turning both Doug and Dorothy into Zombies.

Mutations

V-ACT Mutation

A mutation produced within the body of the Crimson Head Prototype 1, it was cultured by Umbrella and was the strain responsible for the outbreak in the Arklay Laboratory. It is known for its unique process known as "V-ACT" which can revive an incapacitated zombie in a deadlier state. Aside from the V-ACT process, it is not much different from the stabilized version.

Abandoned Plant Mutation

A mutated strain of the stable t-Virus which arose in the Abandoned Plant in Raccoon City in May 1998 following the facility's inability to deal with the growing amount of waste material from the Underground Laboratory. It is believed to have mutated as a result of exposure to this waste. Although it has no real difference with the stable virus, it had mutated to the point that it rendered current anti-bodies useless.

Treatment

There were three known vaccines to the t-Virus that were developed in 1998, before and during the outbreak in Raccoon City. A perfected inoculation vaccine was later completed in 2005. Umbrella had produced two known sets of anti-bodies against the virus by 1998. Although both provided some level of resistance to the virus, the second set was of higher-quality and provided a superior resistance. However, neither completely invalidated the chance of infection.

Vaccines

Vaccine (Raccoon General Hospital)

The first was developed by doctors at the Raccoon General Hospital. The reference material for the vaccine’s cultivation was written by Douglas Lauper, head of the North American division of Umbrella Medical Equipment. Once the composite machine operation was stabilized by sufficient electrical power, a culture fluid base was then placed in the machine. It was explained that the combination of this base with the proper ingredients would create antigen bodies able to fight the virus. Before the vaccine could be produced, the outbreak had already left the city in ruin and all of the doctors involved had died. This particular vaccine was later synthesized by Carlos Oliveira in an effort to cure Jill Valentine, who had been infected by the Nemesis-T Type. It is unknown if the vaccine would have been completely effective, Valentine was infected with a mutant strain produced within the tentacles of the Nemesis-T, and the vaccine only put this stronger form into a dormant state. Due to the lack of further samples of the vaccine, this cannot be ascertained.

Daylight

The second vaccine was created by Peter Jenkins with the help of former Umbrella scientist Greg Mueller. It was codenamed "Daylight", representing the fact that one does not need an umbrella (referring to Umbrella Corporation) in daylight. It could halt the growth and spread of the t-Virus within the human body following infection, though it is unknown whether it could also act as an inoculation. Daylight was comprised of the following components: P-Base, which acted as the base for the vaccine. V-Poison, derived from wasp venom as a culture catalyst, and finally T-Blood, blood taken from a creature infected with the virus. However, the project was not entirely a valiant effort, as Mueller had selfishly aimed to use the vaccine to destroy Umbrella, believing that a vaccine against their most valued viral agent would severely cripple the corporation. No samples of the vaccine were retrieved from Raccoon University, which was destroyed by Nicholai Zinoviev.

AT1521

An additional vaccine was developed at an Umbrella laboratory in Raccoon City, primarily by Michael Jenkins. It was Umbrella's only known official vaccine for the t-Virus. It was only effective on those who did not already show any symptoms of infection. It did not eliminate the virus and instead halted its spread. It was tested on lab mice with a 99.91% success rate. The only known sample was destroyed by the Tyrant R, however, additional samples may have been cultivated by former Umbrella researcher Linda, who knew how to re-create it. 7

t-Vaccine

A vaccine developed by former Umbrella researcher Frederic Downing and the pharmaceutical company WilPharma Corporation with $1 billion worth of funding from an anti-bioterrorism program initiated by the United States government. After the t-Virus began to be used in bioterrorism, work was secretly begun by WilPharma to develop a vaccine to prevent zombification. At the center of this research was the company's chief researcher, Frederic Downing. He stole the t-Virus and G-Virus and managed to escape Raccoon City just before its destruction. By erasing his past, he was able to join WilPharma. In other words, he developed the vaccine based on the knowledge he already had about the t-Virus. In developing the vaccine, he thought about a demonstration to prove the efficiency of the vaccine and to prevent it from being sold other than as a combined set of both the virus and its vaccine. In 2002, he disguised himself as a black market dealer and met with General Miguel Grande, who was supporting a terrorist group in India. He sold the virus to the General, setting off a bioterrorism incident.

The U.S. government received a request for help from India and decided to introduce the t-Vaccine, which was currently under development by WilPharma. By introducing it to neighboring areas, they successfully kept the spread of infection to a minimum. In this way, WilPharma won the trust of the government. Then, in order to increase the maturity of the virus, WilPharma continued to perform clinical trials based out of India where cheap and skilled labor was plentiful. Over time, there were some victims of the experiments, but the government tolerated these failures, and WilPharma completed development of the vaccine in 2005. All that remained was to wait for government approval.

Due to accusations from TerraSave, WilPharma was forced to postpone supplying the t-Vaccine for national medical supply stockpiling. Soon after, a bio-terror attack with the virus occurred at the airport in Harvardville. All of the U.S. Marines involved in the clean-up operation were inoculated with the vaccine, which proved its success when they reclaimed the entire airport without any infections. All of the trucks carrying the vaccine were destroyed, but the last remaining sample was recovered from Frederic Downing by Leon S. Kennedy. Interestingly, it was later nicknamed "Daylight."

Anti-Bodies

Anti-Bodies (Umbrella)

As well as vaccines, Umbrella made several attempts at creating viable anti-bodies to fight off infection. While some of these anti-bodies provided some results at slowing down the infection rate, their overall effectiveness was quashed due to the highly adaptable and mutation-prone nature of the virus, rendering them virtually useless after a set period of time. Anti-bodies were administered to the many U.B.C.S. troops deployed during the Raccoon City incident. Umbrella did however develop stronger, better quality anti-bodies. While probably not 100% effective, they had a much higher defense than the ones administered to normal U.B.C.S. members. These anti-bodies were administered to the covert surveillance agents among the U.B.C.S. 8

Anti-Bodies (Jill)

Due to the vaccine administered to Jill Valentine and her stasis in 2006, it was found that the vaccine administered to her in Raccoon City did not destroy the virus, instead putting it into a dormant state. When the virus reactivated, it soon disappeared due to an abundant amount of strong anti-bodies that had built up within her body over the years. These anti-bodies rendered her completely immune to the virus and allowed Albert Wesker to correct the potent nature of the Uroboros Virus.