(Capcom's primary storyline)
The Raccoon City Destruction Incident was a conflict which took place in and around Raccoon City in late 1998. Driven by a series of t-Virus outbreaks, the majority of the city's populace of 100,000 were infected through the contaminated drinking water or attacks by infected entities and were driven by the virus' mental degradation to commit brutal homicides and cannibalism through a process fittingly known as 'zombification'.
To prevent the spread of both the virus and classified information (specifically regarding the transactions of illicit weapons and political bribery of the Umbrella Corporation within the United States government and military), the CDC imposed a exclusion zone around Arklay County, and the Pentagon coordinated military operations within the city to euthanize the infected, secure sensitive information and rescue and detain survivors. These efforts were further complicated by Umbrella Headquarters using the city as a test-bed for its products, as well as attempts by H.C.F. and other agents to steal classified data and research.
By October 1, the situation had become untenable, and at the pressures of a congressional council influenced by Umbrella, the President of the United States authorized the bombing of the city utilizing experimental thermobaric weapons, resulting in the near-total loss of the remaining population within it's limits. Following the bombing, successive administrations maintained a cover-up to protect national security due to both the sensitive and defamatory nature of the US' involvement in illegal bioweapons research in the city.[3] A 200-mile-wide exclusion zone was maintained for many years after, and the few survivors were left struggling in a series of lawsuits for compensation.[4]
Preceeding incidents (May-September)[]
The first outbreak in Arklay County occurred at Umbrella facilities in the Arklay Mountains on May 11th, at the Arklay Laboratory, the executive training facility, and a water treatment plant as well as adjacent buildings. The perpetrator was Queen Leech, an intelligent bioweapon developed by the late Dr. James Marcus, which had assimilated a facsimile of Marcus's consciousness and sought revenge on Umbrella and the world for his murder ten years prior.
The mountains had already in a precarious situation for several years, with an abandoned hospital housing contaminated flora since 1993 and the escape of Lisa Trevor into the mansion grounds in 1995.[5] In early 1998, allegations were raised that the river water, a dumping ground for Umbrella, had become polluted beyond legal safety limits.[6] However, the latest contamination was far more dangerous. The Arklay staff were exposed to the t-Virus and, following their slow mental deterioration, allowed the MA-39 bioweapon, Cerberus, to escape containment. This led to a number of strange maulings of campers and hikers in the mountains, along with Zombie attacks on rural households. The mountains were subsequently closed to tourists and the Special Tactics and Rescue Service (S.T.A.R.S) were brought in to investigate, eventually leading to the destruction of the executive training school and laboratory in July, and a subsequent forest fire which destroyed much of the surrounding area.
Though Umbrella USA had enough influence over the media, businesses and municipal institutions in Raccoon City to avoid being linked to criminal actions, with the fall of the Arklay Laboratory, Umbrella virologist Dr. William Birkin and intelligence agent Albert Wesker had begun planning to defect from the company with their research. Wesker had been planning to leave the company for some time, but feared that escape was impossible with oversight from Oswell E. Spencer and the Umbrella Intelligence Division. Thus, Wesker had established contact with a rival corporation, who bid to help Wesker stage his own "death" and earn his freedom, at the price of delivering the combat data for Umbrella's Tyrant project. Having received orders to dispatch the S.T.A.R.S. team to the mansion to recover valuable research, Wesker used the opportunity at hand to make the necessary preparations. However, ultimately his efforts were thwarted due to the combined effort of surviving S.T.A.R.S members: Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine, Barry Burton, Rebecca Chambers and Enrico Marini and Umbrella executive officer Sergei Vladimir.
Running concurrent with this biological disaster, Birkin accelerated research on both the t-Virus and G-Virus projects at NEST while undergoing negotiations with the Pentagon to hand his research over to the United States Army when completed, in exchange for witness protection alongside his family.[7] Incineration Disposal Plant P-12A, a treatment plant constructed specifically to process biohazardous waste, became a dumping ground for NEST's failed test subjects. The material became too much for the facility to process at once, and the chemicals became diluted enough for the virus to mutate. Despite taking antiretroviral drugs, this mutant strain was able to quickly infect the staff and escaped into the outside world.[8] The ground near the plant was also contaminated, leading to the creation of mutants such as the Grave Digger.[9][excerpt 1] Umbrella's facility near the Raccoon Police Station was contaminated by mid-June, with employee "Don" showing symptoms of t-Virus infection.[10] By August 17, there were even reports of monsters appearing within the city itself.[11]
The final weeks leading up to the main outbreak saw a further spike in cases. By September 5, the virus had contaminated a chemical treatment plant near the Raccoon Police Station and the sewer facility. Thomas showed a delayed infection, and was still capable of non-violent, conscious thought as late as September 12, when his friend George Scott, a police officer, also began showing symptoms.[12]
Contamination in the sewer ecosystem close to Raccoon General Hospital led to an increasing population of mutant leeches, which were observed by researchers at a private Umbrella lab in the basement rather than actively fought against.[13] While the t-Virus spread in the sewers below, the Raccoon General Hospital itself was seeing a surge in inpatients experiencing symptoms of infection, with reports entering on or before Thursday 10 September, and rapidly increasing on Friday 18 September.[14] The hospital was unable to diagnose the patients with a known illness, but took note of the patients experiencing gangrene, coagulation and uncontrolled aggression.[14] Umbrella HQ had taken notice of the increasing spread of the virus and on Tuesday 15 September had already mobilized the Umbrella Biohazard Countermeasure Service.[15]
Outbreak (September 23rd-October 1st)[]
Immediate cause[]
Umbrella caught wind of Birkin's plans thanks to their own moles within the military, and an Umbrella Security Service task force infiltrated Raccoon City in mid-September. Either through spies or warning from Birkin himself, the rival company was also alerted to the ongoing developments and Albert Wesker oversaw an H.C.F. operation into the city intent on evacuating Birkin and his research.[16][17] In response to his impending assassination, Birkin ordered the release of the Hunter R test-subjects from containment and allowed the t-Virus to spread across the facility in order to distract or destroy the unit.
Just minutes to midnight on Tuesday, September 22, a USS team confronted Birkin in his P-12A lab, armed with MP5s. During a standoff, Birkin attempted to pull out a handgun on them, and the doctor was shot by USS operator J. Martinez in spite of Umbrella's orders to bring him alive.[18] The team took his briefcase containing vials of both the G-Virus and ε-strain t-Virus and made their way into the sewers beneath Raccoon to rendezvous with their reserve team. Close to death, Birkin infected himself with a single vial left on his person and transformed into a "G" creature.
G-Birkin pursued the soldiers through the lab and sewers, killing a number of them. During the rampage the briefcase was destroyed and a curious group of rats became infected with t-Virus as they drank the green mediaduring the early hours of September 23rd.[19] The sewer ecology soon spiraled out of control over the next day, with giant rats competing with giant cockroaches.[20] Ultimately, these rats were forced out of the sewers and made their way into the outskirts of the city, where their viral load contaminated Victory Lake, the main drinking reservoir for the city.[21]
Following the sabotage and raid, the NEST had fallen into chaos. By rigging the low-temperature laboratory to affect the entirety of level B4F, Dr. Frost was able to force the Hunters to undergo brumation, freezing them in their tracks. Nonetheless, a minimum of ten researchers had been killed during their release.[22] At some point, a researcher managed to steal a remaining sample of the G-Virus from Birkin's lab in the hopes of profiting off it's sale on the black market.[23] That evening, the executive branch of Umbrella had learned of Birkin's failed assassination and sent out a warning of the major incident at hand. When Brian Irons, Chief of Police at the Raccoon Police Department, was briefed of the emergency he became hysterical and began preparations to botch police operations.[24] Mayor Michael Warren was also alerted and departed the city immediately, leaving his daughter Katherine in the care of Chief Irons.[25]
24th[]
"There was a disruption earlier at today's football match between the Raccoon Sharks and the Old Court Thunders. Apparently the game was interrupted when an unruly fan got out of control and sparked a riot. The number of injured is not yet known, but more than 50 broke the line before the cops could take control of the scene..." — A news anchor covers the news of "rioting". |
With the t-Virus now contaminating the drinking water, tens of thousands became infected. Over the following 24 hours, violence in the city dramatically increased. During the day, Annette Birkin had finally made the effort to contact her daughter Sherry, and while not informing her of her father's fate, ordered her to leave her classes at East Raccoon Elementary School immediately and return home until further notice. The situation during the first day was immensely confusing, as the emergency response was stretched thin by many reported cases across the city and Raccoon General Hospital became overwhelmed. Still, many people were able to continue with their ordinary routine despite the increasing state of emergency, local media began reporting on the mass violence, most notably among spectators at the Raccoon Sharks football game,[26]
Many people were still unaware of the outbreak by the evening, with the occupants of Jack's Bar only evacuating when the bartender, Will, was mauled by an infected man he assumed to be a drunken customer.[26] During the chaos, all available police units were called out to maintain order, set up roadblocks, and in post notices regarding helicopter evacuation points.[27] Perhaps with inside information, police were even ordered to kill civilians refusing to comply with police orders.[28] A number of fires broke out around the city, putting a severe strain on the RFD. On Main Street, a small police unit were ordered to set off explosives near the Raccoon Mall, however with the number of zombies on the street reaching cataclysmic proportions, two of the officers were killed while assembling the detonator. A group of survivors assisted in the efforts and successfully triggered the explosives and a large reinforcement force of officers arrived shortly thereafter.[29]
Based on the information of riots obtained by the Pentagon, the President quickly invoked the Insurrection Act of 1807, placing the city and surrounding area under martial law.[30] Firefighters Len and Charlie's attempts to put out a fire at the Apple Inn proved fatal when a malfunctioning boiler exploded, with several of the fire-injured zombies mutating into a colony of Lickers.[31]
Between the 24th and 25th, Chief Irons made a number of orders to intentionally weaken the effectiveness of the officers. One was to seal all possible escape routes, the other was to empty the weapons locker and store weapons and ammunition in caches throughout the station.[32] Though these orders conceptually sought to improve the defense of the station early on by preventing breaches from multiple directions, this eventually backfired and the inevitable loss of ground to the zombies also meant the loss of these caches, the whereabouts of which became unknown to many officers.
The remainder of the operational and off-duty forces of the Umbrella Security Service were quickly deployed by Umbrella HQ to quarantine the city, albeit with little briefing as to the state of the city or the nature of the t-Virus. The unit succeeded in setting up crude roadblocks at, at least one road that led to the city limits, and were tasked with ensuring the evacuation of government and Umbrella personnel via these routes. These units were also given reign to open fire on citizens attempting to breach the line. Though this order was most likely in regard to infected civilians, and those refusing to comply with quarantine procedures. Given that the random shooting of civilians would have caused irreparable damage to Umbrella's image if the story reached new outlets and would have directly contradict the work being done by the U.B.C.S later that week, along with the Government, who was working with and allowed Umbrella continued access to the city, who were also conducting their own evacuation of civilians as early as the morning of the 25th.
In the end these units were unprepared to hold back against waves of zombies that would form as a result of many attempting to flee the city and the mission ended in catastrophic failure.[33]
25th[]
"Despite the continued efforts of the police and national guard, the chaos has yet to be brought under control. Apparently, a rescue helicopter sent to western Raccoon City with nearly 40 refugees on board has crashed. It is unclear if anyone survived. As of nine o'clock, the city has been quarantined and civilian movement is limited and entry by anyone other than authorized military personnel has been strictly forbidden. All signs point to the situation worsening before it gets better." — A news anchor covers the desperate situation in Raccoon City.[34] |
On the early hours of September 25, the Pentagon deployed an on-the-ground force to assess the severity of the incident, with the earliest media reports of the disaster stating that they were investigating a radioactive leak in the area. The Army National Guard had already been ordered by the State Governor to help with mass-civilian evacuation efforts and the President ordered the United States Army to assist in the establishment of establishing roadblocks and checkpoints on all major highways and routes out of the city.[29][29]
The CDC announced the establishment of an exclusion zone surrounding the city which soon grew to at least 200 miles.[4][35][note 1] and had begun working with the RPD and the Raccoon City Fire Department in evacuating civilians. With plans for the evacuations being drawn up as early as the night of September 24, and the first Chinook taking off from Raccoon Zoo at 10 AM on the 25th.[27] The first destination of evacuees was a nearby makeshift hospital, wherein civilians were thoroughly examined for signs of infection before they could be released.[25][36] A no-fly zone was also established,[25] in which only military, Umbrella, RPD, and RFD helicopters were permitted to fly. While the majority of military forces were focused on evacuation and preventing the escape of mutants, Delta Force was also sent in to confiscate Umbrella's research data. One team, which was originally to rescue the Birkins, made their way through Umbrella's private subway in search of NEST but instead found themselves at the industrial zone east of the Circular River. Thanks to spies within the military, Umbrella was made aware of the military's ulterior motives.[25]
Around 9 PM, a Chinook crashed when the refugees transformed into zombies.[34] In response to this, the Pentagon announced it would restrict civilian movement.
26–27th[]
By Saturday evening, the situation for the remaining survivors was rapidly deteriorating, with nearly all forces and amenities depleted and no hope of further evacuation. Marvin Branagh commandeered the remaining forces of the RPD, including SWAT, into enacting a large-scale operation to confront the zombies head-on in a desperate attempt to establish a perimeter and reclaim the immediate area surrounding the Raccoon Police Station, so that it could be used in further evacuation efforts. This operation was ultimately doomed to failure, thus leaving the remaining officers and civilians inside the station outnumbered and critically low on supplies.
At the same time, all remaining Umbrella Biohazard Countermeasure Service operatives not currently stationed in the city were deployed and joined in the offensive, bringing with them four platoons of highly-trained guerrillas and ex-Soviet personnel. However, both forces fared little against the zombies, and they were soon overrun and massacred.[37] Umbrella's plans, however, were beyond that of helping the civilians. Though the UBCS mercenaries had orders to protect and rescue, they had in fact been deployed with the primary goal of testing the effectiveness of trained soldiers against irregular mutants and escaped B.O.W.s, with Monitors within the taskforce recording this information on company-issued laptops. Taking further advantage of the situation, Umbrella Europe deployed it's Hunter β and Hunter γ B.O.W.s, which were then transported into the city by road, as well as a Nemesis-T Type by air,[25] with orders to hunt down any surviving S.T.A.R.S. members to prove its viability as an intelligent and obedient soldier.[25]
Elsewhere, Raccoon General Hospital came to a complete stop. The hospital, which had already been crowded before the water contamination, and quickly began losing personnel, with many having been killed or turning into zombies.[14] A group of leeches escaped from the sewers and began to stalk survivors and corpses alike. Because leech saliva contains a peptide that inhibits coagulation, staff attacked by leeches continued to bleed out until they were too tired to resist.[38] The hospital staff had refused to abandon their posts during the outbreak, as they were desperately researching a vaccine for the t-Virus, and even succeeded in capturing several Hunter γs to assist in this research. Though they were ultimately successful, the staff failed to vaccinate themselves in time and they all mutated. Through unknown means, Umbrella was made aware of their t-Virus vaccine, and "Directive Bravo 16" gave orders for their Monitors to destroy the hospital.[39]
At NEST, Dr. Birkin's senior researcher, Dr. Martin Walcott, was dead, and one of Birkin's assistants, Monica murdered Dr. Frost in the hopes of escaping the city with a G-larvae sample. "Staffer A" and "Staffer B" were still alive, though seriously injured as the Plant 43 had overtaken the facility in the days since.[40] The hospital survivors including Yoko Suzuki reached the laboratory via a sewer tunnel, and made their way through the facility, unfreezing and dispatching the several remaining Hunter R in the facility. Monica was soon parasitized by the G-larvae after being attacked by a Giant Moth; incompatible with the parasite, she was killed as it burst from her chest. The survivors were forced to confront the imperfect "G" creature to escape the facility via train to the Marshalling Yard.
27-28th[]
Following the massacres on the 26th, the RPD was limited to roughly a dozen officers stranded within the besieged police station, losing repeatedly against the zombies due to the newly forming licker colony.[32] The UBCS' remaining soldiers had been scattered around the city. Echo Team had been given orders to assist in destroying the Zombies in downtown Raccoon City and recapturing St. Michael's Clock Tower for use as an evacuation site.[41] Only two team members made it to the clock tower, and after it had been captured by wounded UBCS personnel awaiting evacuation. They failed to ring the bell, and the helicopter did not arrive.[42]
On the early morning of September 28, the officers were attacked in the Operations Room and took serious casualties, including David Ford who may have been their senior. Realizing the station was entirely doomed to hold out, the survivors began drawing up plans to escape through the sewers,[43] and Lieutenant Marvin Branagh helped his colleague Rita Philips escape through a secret tunnel in a plan to call over a rescue van. Rita finally made contact with fellow officer Harry and both arrived at the station in a van. However, the station had been attacked again and Branagh was infected to the point he ordered the survivors to leave without him.[44] Two former S.T.A.R.S. members, Jill Valentine and Brad Vickers, had remained, stranded in the city, with Jill being forced to abandon her apartment in the night, hiding out at a warehouse in Uptown with civilian Dario Rosso. Unaware of its abandonment, Valentine abandoned the warehouse and made her way towards the Raccoon Police Station, meeting Vickers on the way. Meeting at the Black Jack Bar, Valentine became aware of the Nemesis-T Type, which had until then been harassing Vickers.[45][46] She would soon encounter the creature at the police station entrance, resulting in Vickers' mutilation,[47] infection and zombification. Overhearing an emergency broadcast from Cpl. Carlos Oliveira of the UBCS, Valentine chose to abandon the station and investigate. At least six people were left in the building at this point: Irons, Marvin Branagh, Elliot Edward, Katherine Warren, journalist Ben Bertolucci, and Dr. Birkin's 12-year-old daughter Sherry Birkin.
Valentine joined up with UBCS Delta Platoon survivors Oliveira, Sgt. Nikolai Zinoviev and Cpt. Mikhail Viktor. The three had planned to escape the city by calling the helicopter at the clock tower, and Valentine assisted in the retrieval of components to power a tram to get there. In their attempt, Sgt. Zinoviev disappeared and was presumed dead, and Viktor blew himself with a hand grenade in an attempt to kill the Nemesis-T Type when it boarded the tram. Valentine and Oliveira arrived at the clock tower to find its occupants dead and began seriously doubting their prospects of survival. The rescue helicopter did in fact arrive as planned, though was shot down by the Tyrant to deny Valentine's escape. It was seriously injured in a fight with her which resulted in her infection with a mutant strain of t-Virus.
29th[]
Tuesday 29 September marked a major transition in the military operations in the city. Pentagon's efforts to control the situation militarily were deemed a failure. The remaining uninfected survivors were given up for dead, and the Army and Army National Guard were ordered to retreat from Raccoon City after they themselves sustained heavy casualties to infected refugees. The retreat was chaotic, and the blockade around the city failed as a result.[48] The only remaining soldiers were, presumably, involved in special operations in the city. As of midnight, Col. Sergei Vladimir assumed command over all Umbrella personnel in and around Raccoon City, and made orders that a helicopter transport T-103s into the city, deploying one at Raccoon Police Station with orders to kill any surviving officers and then search for G-Virus,[49][50] with an additional five ordered to Incineration Disposal Plant P-12A, where Delta Force had positioned themselves.[49] The third faction, H.C.F., continued its attempts to recover a G-Virus sample, with agent Ada Wong ordered to Raccoon Police Station in search of Bertolucci, who they had hired or were otherwise aware was investigating Umbrella.
With much of the incident still covered-up by the Pentagon, the most up-to-date information publicly available consisted only of a riot, a radiation spill and an apparent outbreak of a skin disease. Those willing to travel into the city in spite of this news were able to do so through the gaps in the blockade, with at least three people entering the same route: rookie police officer Leon S. Kennedy, arriving a week late for work after an initial warning not to come in; Claire Redfield, sister of S.T.A.R.S. officer Chris Redfield; and a tanker driver. Accounts differ as to where Kennedy and Redfield met-up, with one suggesting they did so at the Mizoil Gas Station on the city outskirts,[51] while another suggests they did so at a diner in the city.[52] Regardless, they soon found themselves trapped in the city, with the tanker driver becoming infected and colliding with their car.[52][53]
The Raccoon Police Station continued its decay over the course of Tuesday. By the time of Kennedy and Redfield's arrival in search of shelter, the non-Zombie population was down to nine people, counting themselves. Irons, Branagh and Elliot were the only remaining police officers, with Branagh succumbing to Cannibal Disease and being euthanized soon after and Elliott being infected and killed, in one account during a failed helicopter evacuation. Of the two refugees, Sherry Birkin was in hiding using a series of ventilation tunnels to avoid the Zombies, and Katherine Warren was murdered by Irons who wanted to turn her into a taxidermy work. The remaining two were Bertolucci, the only remaining prisoner, and Wong. It was also at the end of the night that Umbrella deployed T-00 into the police station to complete its mission. Kennedy's exploration of the police station led him to Wong, who manipulated him into aid her in her search for NEST. During their co-operation, Bertolucci was killed by a mutant, though accounts differ as to if this was T-00, G-Birkin or an infant G. Redfield meanwhile met Sherry and made plans to escape with her after finding proof her brother was not in the city. Accounts differ as to how Redfield escaped the station: in one, Irons took Sherry hostage but was attacked by G-Birkin and died from internal ruptures caused by a G-parasite as Redfield caught up to them at Raccoon City Orphanage. In two other accounts, Redfield instead followed him into his workshop in the police station basement, where he was either killed by G-Birkin or by a parasite escaping him. In all three accounts, however, Redfield departed into the sewers with Sherry.
30th[]
During exploration of the sewers, the group met Annette Birkin, who explained the nature of the G-Virus, Umbrella's attack on her husband, and her suspicions of a spy sent to steal the virus. Sherry was found by her father and a parasite was implanted within her body. Though she was found by Redfield, she complained of stomach pains and later passed out. The four made their way into the NEST, where Redfield realized Sherry had been infected. With help from Annette, who would soon after die, she was able to fabricate the G-Virus vaccine, "DEVIL". Wong's identity as a spy was confirmed when she tried to steal a G-Virus sample Kennedy obtained. She was knocked unconscious in a fight with T-00 and mistaken for dead, with Kennedy throwing the sample down a chasm in anger. In the daylight hours on 30 September, T-00 was finally destroyed in its Super Tyrant form, Sherry was treated and her father was killed on a train. Kennedy, Redfield and Sherry found themselves far out of the Arklay Mountains and on the plains. Redfield left the two to search for her brother, while Kennedy and Sherry were soon found by U.S. military personnel and detained.
On the night of Wednesday 30 September, USS agent HUNK made radio contact with Umbrella and requested for immediate evacuation. HUNK was part of the two-man team that stole the briefcase from Dr. Birkin, and had survived the attack from the infected virologist with a G-Virus sample on his person.[20] An Umbrella helicopter picked him up at the Raccoon City Police Station and left the city completely.
October 1st[]
During the week, a Congressional committee including Ron Davis discussed how to solve the crisis in Raccoon City, with input from Derek C. Simmons, who was involved in the American bio-weapons research group which wanted the G-Virus. The solution moved towards bombing, with both served as a means of destroying the mutants as well as serving to destroy any evidence in the city of Umbrella's bio-weapons project, which could be used by rival nations like China as a jumping-off-point for their own projects.[3] Additionally, the destruction of this data would serve to wipe away evidence implying the US military was both aware and supportive of illegal bio-weapons development, allowing them to carefully foot the blame entirely onto Umbrella USA.[25] Umbrella HQ was aware of the plan to use a thermobaric bomb, and protested to give themselves more time. However, their influence in government affairs was diminished, and these protests fell on deaf ears. In the final hours, emergency radio messages were transmitted into the city warning any surviving personnel to evacuate immediately. The no-fly zone that was erected around the city was itself lifted, and the US Air Force was given orders to send out aircraft for the mission.[25]
Cpl. Oliveira searched Raccoon General Hospital for any medication for Valentine, who had been unconscious for two days due to the effects of Nemesis α's t-Virus strain. There, he discovered the hospital's vaccine research and prepared a sample for Valentine. Sgt. Zinoviev set up C4 charges to destroy the building per his orders and may have been behind the death of fellow Monitor Tyrell Patrick. Cpl. Oliveira and Sgt. Zinoviev escaped before the hospital exploded, and Valentine was treated for her infection.
In anticipation of Raccoon City's destruction, Umbrella executives and mercenary leaders quickly scrambled to finish their missions in the city. One UBCS team had orders to capture or destroy Thanatos,[54] an experimental Tyrant developed by Dr. Greg Mueller, who had left the company in the weeks ahead of the outbreak and was known to be working on a t-Virus reagent called "Daylight".[55] The UBCS team was wiped out at Raccoon University with the exception of Sgt. Zinoviev, who succeeded in assassinating Dr. Mueller before leaving. The co-developer of Daylight, Dr. Peter Jenkins, had successfully conscripted Dr. George Hamilton to complete his work before Mueller killed him.[55][56] Thanatos itself was injured when Sgt. Zinoviev set off explosives, and pursued Dr. Hamilton's group of civilians in its Super Tyrant form. It was killed or incapacitated, and the civilians were picked up by a Fire Department helicopter, whose crew had noticed the university explosion.[57] This group of survivors were taken out of the city with Daylight.[note 2]
Another UBCS team still operational, under the command of Arnold and executive Tommy Nielsen, was given last-minute instructions to recover "Nyx", an experimental bio-weapon which was stolen from an Umbrella storage depot at the dockyards by rogue USS Cpt. Rodriguez. The team laid landmines to prevent him escaping on foot, with Arnold based on the highway overpass with a sniper rifle in case he avoided them. The team also possessed a rocket launcher should he use a nearby Chinook sitting on the ruined Main Street. Cpt. Rodriguez remained inside the Chinook for some time, having given his co-conspirator Dr. Linda Baldwin time to recover a viral suppressant named "AT1521" from the Umbrella R&D Center. The facility had already been raided by David King's team of survivors and Dr. Carter, who were also searching for AT1521. To escape the building, now controlled by escaped Hunter Rs, Dr. Carter released the experimental T-103 variant, "Tyrant R".[58] The Tyrant soon turned on them and killed Dr. Carter, destroying the sample in the process.[59] Dr. Baldwin, the only one left alive with knowledge on how to create the suppressant, was rescued by King's team after falling down a shaft into the sewers, but was soon washed away by water. Dr. Baldwin was shot by Arnold, who mistook her for a zombie, and sought shelter at the Apple Inn, where she was later rescued. The UBCS team rebelled against Nielsen when Arnold received the emergency radio transmission, and they began preparations to evacuate via left-over Army vehicles in the nearby roadblock on the highway overpass. Whether or not Cpt. Rodriguez escaped with Nyx is uncertain, but its escape would have ensured the demise of the team.[note 3]
Ada Wong, injured during her experiences and escape from NEST, managed to escape into the sewers before the NEST was destroyed.[60] Though having lost the G-Virus sample, she was able to recover a tissue fragment from Birkin, containing G-Cells that could be of use for the Organization.[16][49] Per her orders, she headed for the Apple Inn and meet with a liaison hiding in an upstairs room. The man had given up waiting in her absence, however, and killed himself to prevent mutation. Wong's superior, Dr. Albert Wesker, notified her of an Umbrella helicopter set to escape Raccoon City. This helicopter was the same one used to drop off the T-103s several days prior, now carrying Col. Vladimir, an Umbrella executive, and the UMF-013 supercomputer originally retrieved from the Arklay Laboratory prior to its destruction.[49] Wong, armed with the liaison's hookshot, was able to quickly traverse the destroyed streets and made her way up the highway overpass where she fought Tyrant R. Wong succeeded in destroying the Tyrant and used her hookshot to ride out of the city.[61]
Meanwhile, Valentine and Cpl. Oliveira moved independently through Raccoon Park, in the direction of Incineration Disposal Plant P-12A, with both overhearing radio evacuation orders along the way.[62] While Valentine explored a cabin, she discovered Sgt. Zinoviev, who may have killed the radio operator.[63] All three made their way into the P-12A plant, though Sgt. Zinoviev succeeded in capturing a helicopter and fleeing, leaving Valentine and Cpl. Oliveira behind. Valentine fought and seriously wounded the Nemesis-T Type in a treatment room; the Tyrant was dropped into the treatment chemicals which, while weakened, were potent enough to destroy the Tyrant body.[64] The parasite, however, lived on and was able to drag the body out into the outside world. Finding itself in a scrap yard where a Delta Force unit and the five T-103 Super Tyrants annihilated one another, the parasite began consuming from one of the Super Tyrant bodies to regain its strength, and mutated further, effectively becoming the main organism and the Tyrant body a parasite.[65] An experimental railgun named the "Sword of Paracelsus", brought into the yard by Delta Force, was used against the creature by Valentine. The two survivors were then picked up by former S.T.A.R.S. officer Barry Burton, who had been waiting for the no-fly restrictions to be lifted to rescue Valentine.[25] Having gotten in contact with Cpl. Oliveira, he knew to land at the scrap yard. The three escaped just as the missile arrived and struck directly into the heart of the city, and the helicopter was hit by the shockwave though remained in the air. At least 100,000 people (infected and non-infected) along with B.O.W.s were killed and everything within the city's limit was turned into a huge crater as a result of the bombing.
Aftermath[]
The Raccoon City Destruction Incident had global ramifications. The events of the incident, including the destruction, were covered up by the government, with only portions of the destruction and the overall incident, namely the Umbrella Corporation's ties to it, being publicly revealed for Umbrella's shutdown and bankruptcy. It also put an irreversible setback into Spencer's plans to create a new race due to the research notes for his eugenics project, Project W (which also resulted in the creation of Albert Wesker himself) being lost in the destruction. Immediately after Raccoon City's sterilization, the then President of the United States resigned from office following a disastrous press conference amidst worldwide public and media outrage.[66]
Within six months of the bombing, a perimeter fence was set up around the city ruins, with the exclusion zone still in force. A government research station was established in the center of the ruins to collect samples on the t-Virus, though it is uncertain what this was for.[67] At some point during the recent aftermath of the bombing, the United States Secret Service Department of Biohazard Containment and Prevention conducted an investigation into the events of the Raccoon City incident and documented their findings based on analyzed data and survivor testimonies in a report stored in their list of archived threat assessments.[68]
Publicly, the t-Virus' existence, and that of B.O.W.s, continued to be denied by the US government for years. The newly established Anti-Umbrella Pursuit and Investigation Team, set up in light of Delta Force's losses, took on responsibilities in destroying biohazardous material and killing or detaining current and former Umbrella employees suspected of smuggling bio-weaponry across the world, along with their customers. In 2002, these would include searching for a smuggler and a drug lord in the Amazon Rainforest, and an unofficial joint mission with the Chinese security forces to destroy a missile silo intended to disperse t-Virus across both countries. It would not be until the Terragrigia Panic of mid-2004 that the world at large saw the reality of bio-weaponry, which led to a rapid increase in their prominence in the black market and use in attacks.
The United States itself was not free from bioterrorism. In 2005, the city of St. Cloud, Minnesota fell victim to an outbreak, and Harvardville was struck twice by Dr. Curtis Miller, the latter in an attempt to force the US government to admit to the Raccoon City cover-up. During the presidency of Adam Benford, the possibility of disclosing classified information about the outbreak became a serious policy. This would draw the attention of The Family and its leader, Simmons himself. To prevent China reaping from both information on bio-weaponry and the inevitable loss of prestige placed on the US if such information was revealed, The Family would orchestrate a massive outbreak in Tall Oaks as a means of assassinating the President under the guise of a terrorist attack, with another Sterilization Operation ordered to conveniently eliminate evidence. Over 70,000 were killed during this outbreak, which lasted a mere day.
Appearances[]
Appearances for the Raccoon City Destruction Incident |
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In chronological order:
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Sources[]
- notes
- ↑ Cut dialogue in Resident Evil Outbreak suggests the exclusion zone in 1998 was as great as 600 miles wide; it is uncertain if "Angela's Diary" (set in 2005) retconned this or if the zone was reduced in size over the years.
- ↑ Marhawa Desire directly references the "Daylight" vaccine, implying it was successfully extracted.
- ↑ As these events are never mentioned again in any other work, it is difficult to determine which of the End of the Road branching stories is canon.
- excerpts
- ↑ Excerpt from Complete Conquest of Nemesis, p.74: "アンブレラ・ラクーンシティ研究所におけるウィルスおよび生物兵器開発の進行にともない、 大量に発生した廃棄物や汚染物質は処理施設の分解能力をはるかに越え、 早期より市周辺の土壌に漏出しつづけていた。 この全長10メートルにも達する巨大生物は、 棲息領域すべてを重度に汚染された地中生活者である節足動物の一種が、 T-ウィルスを恒常的に取りこんだことで想像を絶する変異をとげたものである。 おそらくは、 その生物災害で倒れ、 火葬されずに急ぎ埋められた犠牲者たちの遺体を掘り当てて飢えを満たしていたと思われ、 ラクーン公園内の霊園地下は、 その名のとおりグレイブディガー(墓堀人)によって縦横に掘り抜かれている。"
- references
- ↑ Capcom Japan. BIOHAZARD 6 (in Japanese). (Capcom Co., Ltd.). File: レオンとラクーン事件.
- ↑ The broadcast just before the credits in Resident Evil 3: Nemesis reports that the death toll is believed to have surpassed the 100,000 mark
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Resident Evil 6 (2012), file: "Scorched Earth".
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Angela's Diary.
- ↑ Wesker's Report II (2002), chapter five.
- ↑ Resident Evil Outbreak File #2 (2004), file: "Daily Raccoon".
- ↑ Resident Evil 2 (2019), file: "William Birkin's Inbox".
- ↑ Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, Manager's Diary
- ↑ Complete Conquest of Nemesis, p.74.
- ↑ Resident Evil 2 (1998), file: "Sewer manager diary".
- ↑ Resident Evil 2 (1998), file: "CHRIS's diary".
- ↑ Resident Evil 2 (1998), file: "Watchman's diary".
- ↑ Resident Evil Outbreak (2003), file: "Investigation Request".
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (1999), file: "Director's Diary". Cite error: Invalid
<ref>
tag; name "Director" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, Mercenary's Diary
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Wesker's Report (re-release).
- ↑ BIOHAZARD UMBRELLA CHRONICLES SIDE B (re-release).
- ↑ Resident Evil 2 (2019), scene: "VHS recording 2".
- ↑ Resident Evil 2 (2019), file: "VHS recording 1.
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 Famitsu interview with Hideki Kamiya.
- ↑ BIO HAZARD DRAMA ALBUM ~The Doomed Raccoon City~ VOL.1.
- ↑ Resident Evil Outbreak (2003), file: "Researcher's Will".
- ↑ Resident Evil: Degeneration (2008)
- ↑ Resident Evil 2 (1998), file: "Chief's diary".
- ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 25.3 25.4 25.5 25.6 25.7 25.8 Famitsu interview with Yasuhisa Kawamura.
- ↑ 26.0 26.1 Resident Evil Outbreak (2003), scene: ""Outbreak" KEVIN: OPENING".
- ↑ 27.0 27.1 Resident Evil Outbreak File #2 (2004), file: "Evacuation order".
- ↑ Resident Evil Outbreak File #2 (2004), file: "Emergency orders A".
- ↑ 29.0 29.1 29.2 Resident Evil Outbreak (2003), scene: ""Outbreak" KEVIN: ENDING".
- ↑ Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (1999), file: "Marvin's Report".
- ↑ Resident Evil Outbreak (2003), scene: ""Hellfire" SCENE 01".
- ↑ 32.0 32.1 Resident Evil 2, Operation report 1 (file).
- ↑ Resident Evil: Death Island (2023)
- ↑ 34.0 34.1 Resident Evil Outbreak File #2 (2004), "No Hope (Kevin)".
- ↑ Resident Evil 3 (2020), scene: "A New Threat is Born".
- ↑ Resident Evil Outbreak (2003), scene: ""Hellfire" KEVIN: ENDING".
- ↑ Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (1999), scene: "Opening".
- ↑ Resident Evil Outbreak (2003), file: "Male Nurse's Diary".
- ↑ Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (1999), file: "Written Order To The Supervisors".
- ↑ Resident Evil Outbreak (2003), level: "Below Freezing Point".
- ↑ Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (1999), file: "Operation Instruction".
- ↑ Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (1999), file: "Merc's Pocketbook".
- ↑ Resident Evil 2 (2019), Operation Report (file).
- ↑ Resident Evil Outbreak File #2 (2004), level: "Desperate times".
- ↑ Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (1999), file: "Meeting Brad".
- ↑ Resident Evil 2 (2000), file: "Brad's Note".
- ↑ Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (1999), scene: "Brad's death".
- ↑ Yasuhisa Kawamura Interview. Project Umbrella. Retrieved on 2021-07-02.
- ↑ 49.0 49.1 49.2 49.3 Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles (2007), scene: "Emergency Orders". Cite error: Invalid
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tag; name "orders" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Capcom. Resident Evil 2. (Capcom Co., Ltd.). File: Tyrant scene.
- ↑ Resident Evil 2 (2019), scene: "Leon meets Claire".
- ↑ 52.0 52.1 Resident Evil 2 (1998), scene: "The Beginning Of Story (Claire)".
- ↑ Resident Evil 2 (2019), scene: "Leon and Claire enter the City".
- ↑ Resident Evil Outbreak (2003), file: "Orders".
- ↑ 55.0 55.1 Resident Evil Outbreak (2003), file: "Peter's Diary".
- ↑ Resident Evil Outbreak (2003), file: "Blood-Stained Memo".
- ↑ Resident Evil Outbreak (2003), scene: ""Decisions, Decisions" SCENE 03".
- ↑ Resident Evil Outbreak File #2 (2004), scene: "Tyrant Activation".
- ↑ Resident Evil Outbreak File #2 (2004), scene: "Rebellion"
- ↑ Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles (2007), scene: "Death's Door 1 opening".
- ↑ Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles (2007), scene: "Death's Door ending".
- ↑ Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (1999), scene; "Receiving message for supervisors".
- ↑ Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (1999), scene: "Nothing but a Pawn".
- ↑ Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (1999), scene: "Treated to Resurrect".
- ↑ Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (1999), scene: "Nemesis Final Metamorphosis".
- ↑ Resident Evil: Degeneration.
- ↑ Resident Evil Outbreak (2003), scene: "Epilogue".
- ↑ Baby Eagle is Missing (2023).
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