(Covers information from Anderson's universe)
Cloning is a process by which an exact duplicate is made of a person. In the lead-up to the global T-virus pandemic, the Umbrella Corporation was a pioneer in this field and developed further technologies to allow for mass-production of clones.
Description[]
Umbrella's dominance in industry was in part owed to its ability to mass-produce human clones for various tasks, starting with an initial batch of fifty "basic models". With the development of memory-implant technology, these clones could be effectively programmed to serve particular functions; those implanted with memories of working for Umbrella would continue to work for the company without any grudges.
One of the uses for this form of cloning was that of loyalty in its workforce in various departments from research and executives to security teams. Umbrella board members Alicia Marcus and Dr. Alexander Isaacs were among those who submitted DNA samples for this project, and so gave rise to a labour force sharing their faces.[1] Even before the apocalypse, Umbrella's elite special forces teams already consisted of clones, though their origins were kept secret. This procedure was not totally successful and clones were known to rebel at times, such as Alice and Carlos Olivera who both went on to commit attacks on Umbrella facilities.[2]
Another use for clones was as laboratory specimens, allowing cloning facilities to provide a constant stream of test-subjects without a reliance of human trafficking. During the pandemic one Isaacs clone led a project in North America to develop a treatment for T-virus, producing over 100 clones of Alice to conduct experiments.[2] At Umbrella Prime some clones were implanted with Las Plagas parasites to create bio-weapons with limited intelligence to serve as an alternative to troopers. Also at Umbrella Prime, thousands of clones were produced with the purpose of being killed; these clones would be implanted with false memories and wake up in testing-chambers designed to look like real areas - suburban Raccoon City, New York Times Square, the Shibuya Scramble and others. They would then be attacked by Undead clones and killed or infected, providing a realistic bioweapons test scenario without endangering the real world. After the pandemic began, however, the facility continued to operate autonomously until its destruction.[1]
Known clones[]
| Donor | Known clones |
|---|---|
| Alexander Isaacs | |
| Alicia Marcus | |
| Alice | |
| Unknown | |
| Unknown | |
| Unknown | |
| Unknown | |
| Unknown | |
| Unknown | |
| Albert Wesker | |
| Al Wesker |
Further notes[]
- According to the Retribution script, the implication of Umbrella's cloning procedure is that the Sanitation Team encountered in the first film were themselves also clones, and that many of the helmeted Umbrella troopers Alice has killed over the years have been their doppelgängers. It further introduces the idea that Alice herself is a clone.
- In an unfilmed version of Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, it was to be revealed that Angie Ashford was a defective clone of Alicia Marcus, and that Charles was implanted with fake memories of being her father.
- In the novelization of Retribution, Alice experiences dreams of some of her clones' lives while in Umbrella Prime, particularly Suburban Alice. Ada Wong explains that the clones share a telepathic link with the original.