(Covers information from Anderson's universe)
The Hive was an underground laboratory located under Raccoon City. It was constructed by the Umbrella Corporation for bioweapons research, and its existence was kept secret from the majority of its employees. To lower the chance of information leaks, the facility was capable of housing more than 500 employees - scientists, technicians and support staff. The facility was damaged when the city was bombed in late 2002, but remained intact to act as a sort of Noah's Ark for thousands of Umbrella employees and the Umbrella High Command. Ten years into the Global T-Virus pandemic, the Hive was destroyed by Alice.
History
The facility was constructed some time before 2002 by the Umbrella Corporation. Holding great influence over the day-to-day running of Raccoon City, they were able to keep its construction a secret.
2002 viral outbreak
By mid-2002 an underground anti-Umbrella group had successfully planted a mole within the laboratory. The mole, Lisa Addison, gained an ally in the laboratory's head of security, Alice, and the two planned to steal the facility's T-virus samples and use them as irrefutable proof of illegal bioweapons research. Another disloyal Umbrella employee, Spence, became aware of this plan and instead stole the samples ahead of the two for the purpose of finding wealth on the black market. To prevent being discovered, one of the samples was thrown to the floor. Spence successfully escaped the facility before the Red Queen computer system detected the leak. The remaining staff, including Lisa, were killed by the Red Queen in an effort to prevent reanimation after their exposure, knowing a team would inevitably be ordered to investigate the facility.
Later that night Umbrella's Sanitation team entered the Looking Glass House to investigate. There they found Alice and Spence, both amnesiac due to a gas released by the Red Queen, and Matt Addison - Lisa's brother - who had come to collect the expected sample masquerading as a police officer. Moving into the facility, the team suffered losses at the hands of a laser grid used by the Red Queen to keep away intruders. Although successfully shutting the computer down, the team suffered more losses from Undead, which the Red Queen had failed to prevent. The survivors escaped the facility's by train to the Looking Glass House, attacking along the way by a Licker the Red Queen had released to take out the Sanitation team earlier. Alice and Matt were the only ones to make it back to the Looking Glass House, where they were taken away by researchers for further study and another team sent into the Hive to re-investigate. In their attempts, the Undead escaped into the city streets and caused another viral outbreak.
Global Pandemic
As part of Doctor Alexander Isaacs plan for an "orchestrated apocalypse", the reclaimed Hive became home to the Umbrella High Command and thousands of other key employees kept in stasis pods to wait out the "apocalypse." Amongst those held in stasis were Isaacs himself and Alicia Marcus, the co-owners of Umbrella. The Red Queen was also eventually repaired and restored to life to act as the Hive's AI once more.
Ten years after the pandemic began, Albert Wesker returned to the Hive to use it as his base following the destruction of the White House and nearly all that is left of humanity in a trap set by Wesker. In order to stop Wesker and a clone of Isaacs from destroying the final human settlement located in the ruins of Raccoon City, the Red Queen contacts Alice to inform her that Umbrella has developed a potent new anti-virus that, once released, will become airborne and will wipe out anything infected with the T-virus on contact, thus ending the pandemic. This new anti-virus is stored within the Hive, necessitating Alice's return to the facility.
After helping to repel the attack of the first Undead army led by Isaacs, Alice leads a team of survivors from the settlement in Raccoon City into the blast crater and towards a tunnel into the Hive exposed by the nuclear blast. Wesker attempts to stop the team, sending a pack of Cerberus after them and reversing the Hive's air intake fans, resulting in several casualties but ultimately failing to stop the team. With the aid of a holographic map on a device left for them by the Red Queen, the team makes their way into the Hive, but are separated with only Alice, Doc and Claire Redfield surviving. Alice and Doc locate the Hive's old laser grid while making their way through it and nearby, some of the Sanitation team's leftover equipment, including better weapons and explosives. Finding the stasis pods containing the Umbrella staff and High Command, Alice plants the explosives in order to destroy the Hive once the mission is finished.
In the Hive's lowest level, Alice faces off with the real Isaacs and Wesker and learns of her true nature as a clone of Alicia Marcus. In order to help Alice, Alicia fires Wesker, enabling the Red Queen to drop a door on his arm, crushing it and trapping Wesker. As Isaacs flees with the only vial of the anti-virus, Alice places the detonator to the explosives in Wesker's hand so that when he bleeds out, he will drop the detonator and the Hive will be destroyed. Alice and Claire battle Isaacs through the Hive, leading to a fight between Alice and Isaacs in the old laser grid room. Alice apparently kills Isaacs with a grenade and takes the anti-virus to the surface where she is ultimately able to release it despite interference from Isaacs. Shortly after Alice leaves the Hive, Wesker drops the detonator, causing the explosives to detonate, destroying the Hive and killing Alicia Marcus as well the thousands of Umbrella High Command and staff within.
With the destruction of the Hive and Umbrella High Command, the Umbrella Corporation is left effectively destroyed.
Gallery
Further Notes
- The Hive was apparently destroyed as the Sony Resident Evil: Apocalypse newspaper states that Raccoon City Police officials entered the Hive and witnessed horrific experiments on animals. The newspaper can be found here. However, it is now considered non-canon.
- The train featured in the film's closing sequence is borrowed from the final level of Resident Evil 2.
- The laser grid security system seen in the Hive was later implemented in Resident Evil 4. However, failing to pass the grid will result in a clean death sequence instead of a graphic dismemberment. Another version was seen in the Russian base in Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles.
- The Hive's laser grid was recreated as part of the testing floor of the North American Research Facility.
- The set design for The Hive was based on real-life nuclear bunkers. Its shape was intended to give a disorienting feel.
- According to One, the Hive personnel lived there as well as worked there.