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Prime universe
(Capcom's primary storyline)
FgLSc

Tall Oaks Church[note 1] was a church located on the outskirts of the New England city of Tall Oaks. Its date of completion is uncertain, though it appears to be Roman Catholic and was built above the remains of a Native American underground civilisation.

History[]

Tall Oaks' early history is uncertain, though it is known to have been closely linked to The Family, an English fraternal organisation that established itself in New England during colonial times. The Church itself was built above a cave system leading to an underground Native American shrine, which had already been taken over by The Family. The construction project was effectively a façade, allowing members of the fraternity to enter the basement in secret, and from there the catacombs.[1]

The church's ties to The Family ultimately sealed following the 1998 Raccoon City Destruction Incident. Following a political shift against a secret Pentagon defense contract with Umbrella Corporation months before, The Family constructed laboratories in the underground to perform bioweapons research, abducting scores of civilians to perfect its C-Virus.[1] In 2013, orders were given to strategically plant B.O.W.s around Tall Oaks as part of a false flag operation. Anticipating the destruction of the church, orders were given for their base to be abandoned. Over several days, incriminating data was destroyed and B.O.W.s were released to prevent any remaining data being seized by intruders.[2][3] The deliberately infection of researchers is one possibility, though not uncertain.[note 2] On the final day, The Family abducted Secret Service agent Helena Harper and forcibly recruited her as a double agent during the operation in exchange for the safety of her sister, Deborah, who was being held captive in the basement.[4] As Harper's death during the attacks was part of the plan, Deborah herself was infected with C-Virus and left behind.[5] Within hours, The Family completed their evacuation, leaving behind only Mutants.

On the evening of Saturday 29 June 2013, Tall Oaks was hit hard by the planned C-Virus outbreak, infecting some 90% of the population within hours. Tall Oaks Church soon became a rallying point for scattered refugees, unaware of its links to viral research. Roughly a dozen refugees succeeded in reaching the church, which became besieged by Zombies that had, until that day, been interned at Forest Cemetery.[6] Later in the night, Harper, DSO agent Leon S. Kennedy and Ada Wong made their way to the church to investigate The Family's base; while Wong was able to enter through Forest Cemetery's crypt safely, Harper and Kennedy released a Lepotica in their own attempt to enter through the church itself, leading to the loss of all or nearly all refugees soon after their arrival.[7]

Tall Oaks Church is believed to have been destroyed on the morning of Sunday 30 June, following the US Air Force's bombing of the city to contain the outbreak.[8]

Architecture[]

Tall Oaks Church is designed as a Roman Catholic place of worship. This can be seen by its use of the Virgin Mary in puzzles; its use of stained-glass windows showing saints' faces, and its use of a Confessional - all three are either reluctantly used or totally unused by Protestant denominations. The Church's exterior is designed in a cross shape, which is a traditional shape employed by Catholic and Episcopalian groups.

Sources[]

notes
  1. A literal translation of the Japanese script for Resident Evil 6 reveals the name to be "Tall Oaks Church" (教会 ). In Japanese, the word taiseidō ("大聖堂 "?) is the way of writing "Cathedral".
  2. A number of Zombie labtechs can be found in Leon Chapter 2, suggesting either that there were a series of accidents or that they were deliberately infected to prevent information leaks.
references
  1. 1.0 1.1 Resident Evil 6 (2012), file: "Tall Oaks Cathedral and the Underground Lab".
  2. Resident Evil 6 (2012), file: "Brzak".
  3. Resident Evil 6 (2012), file: "Lepotitsa".
  4. Resident Evil 6 (2012), scene: "Fearsome Foe (Leon)".
  5. Resident Evil 6 (2012), file: "Note Found in a Laboratory".
  6. Resident Evil 6 (2012), scene: "Tall Oaks Cathedral".
  7. Resident Evil 6 (2012), scene: "From Whence Hell Came".
  8. Resident Evil 6 (2012), scene: "To China".
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