Changes: Golgotha Virus

Revision as of 02:45, 9 July 2019

Prime universe
(Capcom's primary storyline)

The Golgotha Virus, abbreviated as G-Virus, is a genetically-engineered species of virus within the Progenitor family. While the t-Virus typically causes cellular necrosis in infected organisms, the G-Virus is able to bring its host back to life with regenerative capabilities effectively granting biological immortality. The most extreme can be seen in humans, where the former infected become Zombies, suffering brain damage and deterioration of the skin and muscles. By comparison, G-Virus infected humans suffer no such effects, though an uncontrolled dose will cause rapid mutation to better adapt to the current environment and situation, a mutational process dubbed "evolution".^[1] G-Virus research was led by Dr. William Birkin, whose ultimate goal was to use it for eugenics purposes, and create a race of augmented humans dubbed "G-Humans". Due to this, the virus was nicknamed the God virus.^[2]

History

Golgotha was discovered in 1988 by Dr. William Birkin, a senior researcher at Umbrella USA's top-secret Arklay Laboratory. The virus had evolved from one of many strains of Progenitor Virus used in a series of illegal human research on Lisa Trevor. It is possible Golgotha emerged as early as the 1960s, as Trevor's unusual trait of surviving high-risk research began there.^[3] The reason for Golgotha's discovery, however, was when she was used as a test subject in the Nemesis Project and her body's defences destroyed the NE-α Type parasite, itself notorious for killing all hosts, and spliced the parasite's DNA into her genome.^[4] When Golgotha was isolated and hypothesised to be a tool for forced human evolution, Oswell E. Spencer, The Earl Spencer, CEO of Umbrella Pharmaceuticals, authorised Dr. Birkin's research proposal and had a new facility constructed under Raccoon City to study it. This he did because of his eugenics beliefs, rather than seeing it as a bioweapon.^[5] Initial research was conducted by the Birkins at the Umbrella France branch facility led by executive Christine Henry.

Research on Golgotha neared completion in 1998. Dr. Birkin, having realised Umbrella's distrust of him, contaminated several Umbrella facilities with the t-Virus to disrupt Umbrella's control over Raccoon City and stall their special forces while arranging an asylum deal with the US military, who wanted both viruses and their main developer for themselves. This led to an assault on Dr. Birkin's laboratory, intent on seizing the virus and handing it over to Christine Henry.^[6] Dr. Birkin was forced to infect himself out of desperation after sustaining several gunshot wounds, and transformed into a large mutant simply dubbed "G" rather than his hypothesised superhuman. For the next week and a half he killed and parasitised several people, as well as leaking the virus into the sewers of Raccoon City, causing multiple imperfect forms to develop within its cesspools. "G" was finally killed when an Umbrella train he broke into exploded per an anti-biohazard protocol. Sherry Birkin, his daughter, was also infected with the virus, but experienced mutations more gradually.^[7] Consequently, when the DEVIL vaccine was used she possessed enhanced healing abilities but could not evolve into a new body.

Post-Raccoon City

Following the 1998 Raccoon City incident, Golgotha fell into the possession of four parties: Umbrella Europe, Umbrella's rival company; a scientist later going by the name of Frederic Downing - the sole escapee of the Raccoon City laboratory - and the United States government, who had placed Sherry Birkin into protective custody as a means of extracting samples.

Umbrella Europe continued to study Golgotha, but the only known result of their research was the t+G Virus, a t-Virus strain that mutated from exposure to G-antibodies. Dr. Downing took up a top research position in WilPharma and, in 2005, provided both the t-Virus and Golgotha to Dr. Curtis Miller, a virologist who was radicalized and convinced by Dr. Downing to commit terrorist attacks in Harvardville. Miller transformed after G-Virus infection, leading to the destruction of WilPharma's laboratory, enabling Downing to fake his death and escape with his samples in the hopes of selling to the Republic of Bajirib, a state-sponsor of bioweapons. Of the American research, Derek C. Simmons was able to provide The Family with a sample from Sherry Birkin, which was used in the creation of the C-Virus which would be used in attacks across the globe from 2011 to 2013.

To the BSAA, Golgotha represented one of the greatest threats to mankind, and in the event of use in bioterrorism the local branch had orders to contain it immediately. In the event the outbreak spread further, the BSAA contingency plan was for the deployment of all BSAA agents around the world.^[1]

Transmission

As with its t-Virus, Umbrella considered the G-Virus' primary means of infection to be through injections. To date, only two individuals have been witnessed undergoing primary infection: Dr. William Birkin and Curtis Miller. All directly affected and afflicted with Golgotha related infestation and pathogenic transmission are subjects simply known as "G". Unlike creatures created by the t-Virus, "G"s cannot pass infection on to other creatures through physical contact and injury (e.g. bites and open wounds).

The secondary infection is drastically different, and relates to the "G"s' reproductive system. If a "G" decides upon using a human as a breeding tool, they will turn the individual into a host for its embryo through oral implantation with its reproductive organ, seen on William to be on his hand.

G-virus-eye — A third eye on some part of the body (typically the shoulder) was a common feature of creatures imbued with the G-virus.

Should the host be of a complementary genetic makeup to the parasite - generally through identical blood groups, as with William and his daughter, Sherry - then a bond between the two will form, leading to the host's assimilation by the parasite, and subsequent mutation into a creature perhaps comparable to the first "G". To date, this occurrence has not been recorded as having happened due to the rarity of G-Virus usage. The only successfully implanted host with a DNA match - Sherry Birkin - was saved from assimilation by the experimental G-Vaccine, codenamed DEVIL , before mutation could occur, with help from her mother, Annette, and Claire Redfield.

Alternatively, a host whose DNA is incompatible will reject the parasite in a matter of minutes. The embryo rapidly grows inside its host before bursting from their chest. Upon exiting the host body, the embryo quickly mutates into its adult form. Brian Irons, police chief of the Raccoon Police Department, and Monica are the only known victims to suffer this rejection of a G-embryo after being infected by William Birkin.

Effects

When administered properly, Golgotha was intended to be used to mutate human beings to have enhanced abilities, which made it highly sought-after by the eugenicists within Umbrella's leadership. While people with enhanced abilities have existed, none are known to have been augmented by Golgotha and, consequently, it is unknown exactly what they were envisioned by Dr. Birkin to resemble.

From what was seen in the runaway mutations of Dr. Birkin and Dr. Miller, taking massive quantities of Golgotha causes severe mutations such as a radical increase in muscle mass, the formation of claws for self-defence, enhanced strength and a deterioration in intelligence. Both Dr. Birkin and Dr. Miller were eventually driven only to hunt down blood relatives out of an instinctive need to use them, but had little intelligence beyond the ability to speak simple words, although both demonstrated brief moments of clarity in defiance of the virus early in their mutations. Both mutants also developed enormous, functional eyes across their body; these are akin to teratomas, tumours which grow body parts. However, there is only so much damage that the body can take before it becomes destabilized, leaving the G-virus only to regenerate and evolve what remains. The G-Virus is also capable of reanimating dead bodies, creating "G-Zombies".^[8]^[9]^[10]

Microbiology

A primitive form of the virus was discovered in the mutated body of Lisa Trevor, on whom the Umbrella Corporation had been conducting unethical genetic and viral experiments for three decades. When she displayed unexpected immune resistance to the experimental NE-α Type parasite, Birkin and other researchers looked for a cause and found what would later become the G-Virus. The virus was subsequently developed by Umbrella Corporation scientist William Birkin, who had also claimed credit for James Marcus' work on the t-virus.

Treatment

Alongside work on the G-Virus, Drs. William and Annette Birkin also devised the DEVIL vaccine to suppress the virus' take-over of the body. As is typical with vaccines, it was most effective in patients not yet exposed to Golgotha. It was understood patients had a chance to be successfully vaccinated if given the treatment soon after infection, though this was not a guarantee and the process of mutation would already have been underway.^[7] In the same vein as Lisa Trevor, Sherry developed extraordinary regenerative abilities, though nowhere near what she could have been capable of if left unvaccinated.

Further notes

The localization for Resident Evil 2 erroneously inferred that the T-00 (referred to as "that monster that is tearing apart the precinct") was created by the G-Virus and that it was the ultimate bioweapon when Brian Irons was explaining its properties to Claire. In the original script, he instead commented that the virus has the ability to rapidly advance human evolution without even mentioning the T-00.