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| − | '''William Birkin''' is a fictional character in the ''[[Resident Evil]]'' series. He is a top virologist working for the [[Umbrella Corporation]] and is responsible for the discovery of the [[G-Virus]] and development of the G-Virus project. He is also the husband of [[Annette Birkin]] and the father of [[Sherry Birkin]]. His involvement in the G-Virus project serves as a catalyst for the events of ''[[Resident Evil 2]]''. He also has a supporting role in the prequel, ''[[Resident Evil 0]]'', where he is involved in the events of the game from behind the scenes. His voice was provided by [[Diego Matamoros]] in ''Resident Evil 2'' and by an unattributed actor in ''Resident Evil 0''. |
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| + | {{CharacterCreature tab|biography}} |
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| − | |||
| + | {{Infobox character |
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| − | {{Character |
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| + | |jp name = ウィリアム・バーキン |
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| − | |image = [[image:RE_Birkin2.jpg]] |
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| + | |image = <gallery> |
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| + | William-birkin-g1 form resistance.png|Resistance |
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| − | |born = 1962 |
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| + | William Birkin (RE2make).jpeg|RE2 (2019) |
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| − | |height = 5'10"(1.78m) |
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| + | William_Birkin_DC_render.png|DC |
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| − | |mass = 147 lbs.(66.7kg) |
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| + | William Birkin in Umbrella Chronicles.jpeg|UC |
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| + | 1628756-wesker s report frame 17649 .jpg|RE2 (1998) |
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| − | |blood = O |
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| + | Birkin t.png|RE0 |
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| ⚫ | |||
| + | </gallery> |
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| − | |occupation = Umbrella Researcher |
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| + | |date of birth = c. [[1962]]<ref name="capcom">[http://www3.capcom.co.jp/bio0/chara/william.html CAPCOM]</ref> |
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| − | |married = Married| |
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| + | |date of death = 30 September [[1998]] |
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| − | |relatives = [[Sherry Birkin]] (Daughter), [[Annette Birkin]] (Wife) |
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| + | |age = 36 <small>(''RE0'', ''RE2'', ''DC'')</small> |
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| + | |height = {{convert|178|cm|ftin|abbr=on}}<ref name="capcom"/> |
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| + | |mass = {{Convert|66.7|kg|lb|abbr=on|0}}<ref name="capcom"/> |
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| ⚫ | |||
| + | |blood = O<ref name="capcom"/> |
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| ⚫ | |||
| + | |occupation = [[Umbrella Corporation|Umbrella]] researcher<br />Virologist<ref name="notes">Evident by his research into the Golgotha Virus.</ref> |
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| + | |first = ''[[Resident Evil 2 (1998 game)|Resident Evil 2]]'' <small>(1998)</small> |
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| + | |last = ''[[Resident Evil: Resistance]]'' |
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| + | |voice = [[Diego Matamoros]] <small>(''RE2'')</small><br />Uncredited <small>(''RE0'')</small><br />[[Terence J. Rotolo|TJ Rotolo]] <small>(''DC''-Onwards)</small><ref>[https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/video-games/Resident-Evil-2-2019/ Resident Evil 2 (2019)]</ref><br />[[Toshihiko Seki]] <small>(Japanese)</small> |
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| + | |portrayer = |
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| + | |mocap = TJ Rotolo <small>(''RE2'' Remake)</small> |
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| + | |model = [[David Marie]] <small>(''RE2'' Remake)</small> |
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}} |
}} |
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| + | {{For|the William Birkin of other realities|William Birkin (disambiguation)}} |
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| + | {{Quote|G is my creation!|William Birkin to his wife Annette after injecting himself with the G-virus}} |
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| + | Dr. {{Nihongo|'''William Birkin'''|ウィリアム・バーキン|Wiriamu Bākin}} was a virologist who worked for [[Umbrella Pharmaceuticals]] in the 1970s-1990s. One of the leading scientists behind the [[t-Virus Project|t-Virus]] and discoverer of the [[Golgotha Virus]] of which he was head of the research project,<ref>{{Cite game|title=Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles|developer=Capcom|publisher=Capcom Co., Ltd.|file=[[William Birkin (file)|William Birkin]]}}</ref> he turned against the [[Umbrella Corporation]] after failing to achieve a promotion to its executive. The company's attempts to prevent an unauthorised deal with the U.S. military served as a catalyst for the events of the [[Raccoon City Destruction Incident]]. He was the husband of [[Annette Birkin]] and father of [[Sherry Birkin]]. |
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| − | == |
+ | ==Biography== |
| + | ===Early years=== |
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| − | Birkin joined the Umbrella Corporation in 1977 at the young age of 15. He was placed at the Umbrella Management Training Facility under [[James Marcus]]. There, he became a close acquaintance and rival of fellow researcher [[Albert Wesker]], as they were both considered to be Marcus' top apprentices. They were involved in the development of the [[T-Virus]] project, until the facility was closed down in 1978. |
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| + | Birkin was a child prodigy who earned his doctorate as a teenager. In 1977, at the age of fifteen, he was employed by Umbrella Pharmaceuticals, and offered to take the executive training program at a laboratory in Arklay County under the oversight of Dr. James Marcus.<ref name="Assistant">''Resident Evil 0'' (2002), "[[Assistant Director's Diary]]".</ref><ref name="p1">''Wesker's Report II'', part 1</ref> Birkin and Dr. [[Albert Wesker]] developed a friendly rivalry at the school while being conditioned to Umbrella's ethical ideals.<ref name="Assistant" /> Their education was concluded on July 29, 1978 when a decision was made to close the laboratory's school. Birkin and Wesker were offered senior roles at the nearby Arklay Laboratory, and transferred there two days later.<ref name="p1" /><ref name="p1" /> |
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| − | Afterwards, he and Wesker were transferred to the [[Arklay Research Facility]] on July 31 1978, where they continued their T-Virus research and were made chief researchers of the facility. Birkin was proud of being the youngest researcher ever to work for Umbrella, until the arrival of [[Alexia Ashford]], who was assigned to be chief researcher of Umbrella's Antarctic facility at the age of 10 in 1981. Although she worked in a different facility, Birkin became jealous of her, especially due to all the praise she was receiving from his co-workers. He became completely focused on his work and research, until the announcement of Alexia's death in 1983. Despite his rivalry with Alexia, his research yielded no results until he created the [[Hunter]] Bio-Organic Weapon (B.O.W.) around the mid-1990's. |
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| − | [[Image:Thebirkinfamily.jpg|thumb|left|The Birkin family. From left to right: William, Sherry and Annette.]]He was "promoted" in 1988 to lead the T-Virus project (and completed the development of the [[Tyrant]]) after he and Wesker assassinated their former mentor, Marcus. By this time, Birkin was already married to his assistant, [[Annette Birkin|Annette]] and the marriage had already produced a daughter named [[Sherry Birkin|Sherry]] (born in 1986). When he and Wesker were conducting an experiment with the [[NE-Alpha]] parasite (the prototype of the [[Nemesis]] project), they used a female specimen ([[Lisa Trevor]]) as a guinea pig. Lisa was the only test subject to fully accept the parasite. Noticing her strange survival rate, Birkin examined her body structure and discovered that the variation of the [[Progenitor Virus]] that was injected into her in 1967 had absorbed all the mutagenic organisms that she had been implanted with since then and mutated into a new virus, which Birkin named the [[G-Virus]]. |
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| − | He received approval from Umbrella's president, [[Ozwell E. Spencer]], to initiate the G-Virus Project. In 1991, Birkin and his wife were transferred to an Underground Research Facility established specifically for the project. Birkin also bribed the chief of the [[Raccoon Police Department]], Brian Irons, to cover up the project, using his wife as the "middle man". |
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| − | During the events surrounding the T-Virus outbreaks in the Spencer Estate, the Management Training Facility, and the Ecliptic Express, Birkin and Wesker were shocked to learn that their old mentor, Dr. Marcus, was alive and responsible for leaking the virus. Knowing that his career would be over if the truth behind the old conspiracy ever came out, Birkin found and activated the Training Facility's self-destruct system destroying all evidence of his involvement in the decade-old plot. |
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| − | He completed his development of the G-Virus in September of 1998 and planned on using his final research in order to be promoted into Umbrella's executive board. However, he began to disagree with his superiors and planned on keeping his research to himself and sell it to the U.S. Government. He requested to have the Military intervene and retrieve him. However, the team that was sent never came and the Umbrella Special Forces Unit Alpha Team (led by [[HUNK]], under orders from Spencer and [[Christine Henri]]) reached the lab before them to steal his work. After a tense standoff, the soldiers cut Birkin down with machine gun fire, stole his virus research and left him to die of multiple gunshot wounds. With his last dying breaths, he injected himself with a sample of the G-Virus and came back to life, albeit rapidly mutating into the horrendous monster known as '''G'''. |
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| − | |||
| − | ==The G-Transformation== |
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| − | After his mutation into G, Birkin went after the USFU team that stole his samples and chased them into the sewers. The team was taken by surprise at the sight of the mutated Birkin and were totally slaughtered, their weapons having no effect on Birkin. During the ensuing carnage, several vials containing the T-Virus were smashed by Birkin and the virus was ingested by rats, serving as the cause of the zombie outbreak in Raccoon City. Of the USFU team that Birkin destroyed, only [[HUNK]] survived. |
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| − | Around the 26th, he attacked survivors at his underground laboratory, rendering them unconscious and infecting some. An Umbrella Staff member at his lab: [[Monica]], managed to retrieve a G-Virus sample and planned to take it to the surface and escape. However, before she could start the elevator, he attacked her, infecting her with an embryo, and escaped. |
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| − | Several days later, on September 29th, Birkin wandered around the R.P.D. Precinct and encountered some of the surviving civilians, his daughter among them. Looking for a host to propagate his species, he implanted his embryos into a few victims ([[Ben Bertolucci]] and [[Chief Irons]]). However, only hosts with the same DNA structure were capable of accepting his embryos (''in the "Claire A/Leon B" scenario, he is successful in implanting an embryo into Sherry''), he also managed several times to call out Sherrys' name, which she mistook as her father being attacked by "the monster" (actualy himself). |
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| − | [[Leon S. Kennedy|Leon]] and [[Claire Redfield|Claire]] encountered G during their escape from the RPD Precinct. He mutated into five different forms while fighting them. In his first form, Birkin retained most of his human appearance, with the most notable difference being his drastically enlarged right arm (with an eye on its shoulder) caused by the severe gunshot wounds he suffered in that area of his body. In his following mutation, he grew enormous claws from his right hand and also a new head, the old one becoming a vestigial part of his left chest. By his third transformation, any semblance of a human being was completely gone, with the rest of his body having mutated along with his arm. In this form, he grew two additional arms, with his older, more mutated arms forming part of his back, like wings. After sustaining enough damage from his battles with Leon and Claire, he transformed into his next form, in which he grew a new mouth from his chest and became hexapedal, walking on his six limbs. This form required G to constantly feed on other creatures, which resulted in his fifth and (as far as known) final mutation, in which he became a massive, malleable lump of flesh with tentacles. |
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| + | ===Arklay Lab (1978-1991)=== |
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| − | During all of these mutations, he chased after Leon and Claire from the sewers to the underground research facility and eventually, to an escape train, which Leon and Claire were riding. His presence in the train caused an Anti-Biohazard Detonating Mechanism to be activated. Leon, Claire and Sherry managed to stop the train and escape while G was inside. The train was destroyed, taking what was once William Birkin with it. Sometime after they left the site, Albert Wesker (now working for "The Organization") managed to salvage what was left of Birkin as a specimen. |
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| + | On their first day as senior researchers, the two were introduced to Lisa Trevor, a young woman who had been a test subject at the lab since 1967.<ref name="p1" /> The laboratory's chief researcher approved Birkin's study into the splicing of their experimental Tyrant Virus (or "t-Virus") with genes from recently collected [[Ebola Virus]] samples Umbrella had acquired for the purpose of vaccine research.<ref name="p1" /> The t-Virus strain at the laboratory had a rapid and high fatality rate, making it useless as a weapon as it was unlikely to spread far. Birkin's study led to a new t-Virus strain which could keep humans alive in an aggressive, brain damaged state.<ref name="p1" /> |
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| + | In July 1981, Umbrella officially employed the child prodigy Dr. Alexia Ashford as a senior virologist.<ref name="p2">''Wesker's Report II,'' part 2</ref><ref>''Resident Evil CODE:Veronica'' (2000), file: "[[Newspaper Clip]]".</ref> Believed at the time to be the granddaughter of the Umbrella co-founder Dr. Edward Ashford, 5th Earl Ashford, the ten-year-old quickly gained an aura of majesty within the company. Birkin was severely affected by this, firstly with it damaging his pride of being a child prodigy, and secondly his fellow researchers' constant discussion of it.<ref name="p2" /> |
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| − | ==Stages== |
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| + | [[File:The_Birkin_family_picture_close_up.jpg|thumb|left|The Birkin family.]] |
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| − | [[Image:Willbirkin.JPG|thumb|150px|First Form|left]] |
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| + | With research having stalled since 1978, Birkin was determined to prove himself and took part in constant research to solve the new problem of some 10% of the population being immune to the t-Virus. This, Birkin solved, with the development of Bio Organic Weaponry, and successfully developed [[Hunter α]], a bio-weapon created through bonding reptilian DNA with a fertilised human egg through the t-Virus.<ref name="p2" /> In 1983, Dr Ashford's death was announced company-wide, though Birkin continued in his own research even with the imagined rivalry over.<ref name="p2" /> During his time at the Arklay Laboratory, Birkin began a relationship with another researcher named Annette. They married sometime in the mid-1980s and had a daughter, Sherry, who was born around 1986.<ref name="p3">''Wesker's Report II'', part 4: "Enter Nemesis"</ref> However, while they remained married, it was indicated that both prioritized their research careers more than the marital union they had.<ref>''[[Resident Evil 2]]'' (2019), scene: "[[Annette attacks William (Claire)]]".</ref> |
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| − | ==== '''Stage 1''' ==== |
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| − | Bears the greatest resemblance to the host, though its upper torso is far more muscular due to a sudden increase of muscle mass. The right arm is considerably swollen with muscle as a result of Birkin being sprayed with machine gun fire in this area (this may be due to the uncontrollable cellular reproduction that trademarks all viruses developed as derivatives of the Progenitor Virus) and a large tumor-like eyeball has developed within the shoulder; this is supposedely where the G-embryos are developed prior to oral implantation into a potential host. As this form does not possess any natural weapons (claws, fangs) with which to attack its foes, G instead makes use of its superhuman strength to tear a pipe from a guardrail to swing about and attack with. The monster can swing the pipe in a powerful two-swing attack, or raise it and bring the pipe crashing down with such force as to kill a character in one hit. Conversely, when Annette recollects William Birkin's transformation and his slaughter of the Umbrella Special Forces, G is shown slashing the soldiers with talons. When G first appears, though, no such claws are visible whatsoever; thus, one can assume that the talons were either lost in a process of devolution (contrary to the G-Virus's properties), or, more likely atrophied away following lack of use in any further combat (a process much more akin to the expected course of action of the G-Virus, due to its unpredictable abilities and volatile mutations). It should be noted, however, that G's arm mutates further after tearing off the guardrail, bulging grotesquely and gaining the spike of bone surmounting the eyeball in the shoulder. |
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| + | [[File:RE0 not Marcus flashback scene 10.jpg|thumb|Birkin alongside Wesker during Marcus' assassination.]] |
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| − | [[Image:Birkin form 2.jpg|thumb|150px|Second Form. Notice Birkin's head and left arm visible on the beast's side.|right]] |
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| + | By 1988, the Arklay Lab hit another dead-end in research when its latest project, "Tyrant", was met with a serious flaw. As advantageous, mutagenic properties of the t-Virus were linked to brain chemistry, a strain that caused brain damage was an obstacle. At some point during the research that gave them the [[Proto Tyrant (T-001 Model)|T-001]] and [[Tyrant (T-002 Model)|T-002]], Birkin created a t-Virus strain which lowered the level of brain damage. However, this strain still required the infected to have certain, rare genetic traits that only one in ten million possessed.<ref name="p3">''Wesker's Report II'', part 3: "Enter Nemesis"</ref> During this year he gained access to Dr. Marcus' t-Virus research to bolster his own, when Dr. Spencer ordered his assassination. Birkin followed the USS raid party and began confiscating the research, gaining the moniker of "''creator''" of the t-Virus while the elderly Marcus laid dying of gunshot wounds.<ref>''Resident Evil 0'' (2003), scene: "[[Confrontation With Marcus]]".</ref><ref>''[[Resident Evil 2 (1998 game)|Resident Evil 2]]''</ref> |
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| + | As another possible solution to the intelligence problem, Birkin arranged with Dr. Spencer himself to acquire one of Umbrella Europe's [[NE-α Type]]s, parasitic creatures able to take-over brain functions. However, the parasites were notorious for killing their hosts in their attempts to bond. After exhausting other options, Birkin resorted to using the parasite on the only viable host, Lisa Trevor, who had still survived the years of experimentation.<ref name="Observe">''[[Resident Evil]]'' (2002), file: "[[Observation Note]]".</ref> When the parasite was placed within Lisa, her body destroyed the intruder and its DNA was added to her genome, giving her tentacles. An investigation isolated a mutant Progenitor species within her body identified as the cause. Seeing the eugenics potential of a virus capable of mutating humans into a superior subspecies,<ref name="PUinterview">http://www.projectumbrella.net/articles/Yasuhisa-Kawamura-Interview-Project-Umbrella |
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| − | ==== '''Stage 2''' ==== |
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| + | </ref> Birkin sought funding from Umbrella HQ to allow him to work on "Golgotha", known in shorthand as the "G-Virus".<ref name="Observe" /> |
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| − | Results in the carrier's visage and remains of its skull descending into the anterior of the thoracic cavity whilst the digits of the right hand sprout into massive talons comprised of bone. Two tiny, vestigial limbs also develop lateral to the abdomen underneath the original arms and a new rudimentary skull grows to take the place of the former; it is in this new cranium that an entirely new brain, far more animalistic and vicious, grows as a result of the transformation, replacing Birkin's true brain. This form is the first one to attack openly with its claws, and has a much higher offensive power than its first stage. The creature attacks with (1) a double swipe where it hook swings at you then backhands (2) single hook swipe (3) if you stand still it will stab straight and/or (4) if you stand still it will hook punch with its left hand. If the character is on low health, G will perform a gut stab incredibly similar to that of the [[Tyrant]] T-002 |
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| − | from the previous game. As a matter of fact, the second stage has often been compared to a Tyrant. |
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| + | ===Underground Laboratory research (1991-1998)=== |
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| − | [[Image:Birkin form 3.jpg|thumb|150px|Third Form|left]] |
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| + | [[File:RE2 Remake Steam Pre-Order Bonus Wallpaper 12.png|thumb|280px|left|William monitoring G-Virus progress on NEST.]] |
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| + | When Birkin's discovery got Spencer's attention, Umbrella constructed the NEST adjacent to their chemical plant in the city outskirts, completed in 1991.<ref name="BIO2guide">Tahara (ed) ''Official Guide Book'', p.259.</ref> There, Birkin was chief researcher, and directly led research into Golgotha with his wife, Annette and a team of researchers, with unrelated B.O.W. projects also conducted by other teams in the facility. The Raccoon Police Department's chief, Brian Irons, received bribes to keep any investigations away from the laboratory, and was given updates as to the research. Having thus focused on G-Virus research, Birkin passed the t-Virus research to one of his subordinates, Dr. [[John Clemens]]. However, though work on Golgotha was promising along the 1990s, Birkin began to suspect Umbrella was disinterested in giving him a position as a corporate executive. |
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| + | [[File:Wesker_and_Birkin_plans.png|thumb|280px|Birkin and Wesker planning to leave Umbrella.]] |
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| − | ==== '''Stage 3''' ==== |
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| + | In May–July 1998, the t-Virus broke out across the Arklay Mountains, leading to dozens of deaths and mutations of civilians as well as the investigating [[Special Tactics and Rescue Service|S.T.A.R.S.]] members, the loss of the Arklay Laboratory itself, the recently re-opened training school, and a train transporting staff to it. Birkin had the training school destroyed, though he and Wesker already drew the ire of Umbrella executive Col. Sergei Vladimir, who blamed the pair for losing control of the school in the first place. Wesker made the decision to leave Umbrella and sell secrets to a rival company, though Birkin, adamant on completing Golgotha, officially stayed with the company. Plotting to betray them from the inside, Birkin entered talks with the US military to sell them Golgotha for their own bio-weapons project in exchange for an asylum for him and his family.<ref>''[[Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles]]'' (2007), file: "[[William Birkin Profile]]".</ref> |
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| − | Perhaps the least grotesque of the various forms that William Birkin assumes following the injection of the G-Virus into his body. The host by now has shed all of its integument-like skin, revealing its musculature, whilst hundreds of spike-like projections rise prominently into an apex from a point in its upper left thorax; the visage of William Birkin, on the other hand, slowly begins to merge and fade away into the abdomen. In addition to its right hand, the beast's left hand also possesses deadly talons now; in fact, the abomination has grown in height to nearly eight feet; thus, its primary arms have also elongated beyond normal human proportions. The vestigial arms of the prior stage, meanwhile, have also matured into functional limbs with talons, and the rudimentary head, aside from having completed its new, harder bone skull, now sports a lipless grin, bearing its razor sharp teeth, that makes it vaguely resemble a skinless form of the facial features of the [[Nemesis]]. Finally, a secondary, smaller eyeball-like tumor has developed in the left rectus femoris of the creature. This form is the only one that has bilateral symmetry, and to some, it resembles a demon in appearance. |
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| + | In early September 1998, Birkin began sabotaging the facilities. The newly-commissioned P12A facility, designed to process contaminated waste, was rendered useless when Birkin flooded the facility with a radically accelerated supply of failed test subjects. The chemical effectiveness was diluted, allowing the virus to mutate and infect the staff with a strain their antiviral medication could not fight. The t-Virus also made its way around the city, infecting the staff at a water treatment plant near the Raccoon Police Station,<ref>''Resident Evil 2'' (1998), file: "[[Watchman's Diary]]".</ref> and sending dozens to the hospital to be treated for the so-called "Cannibal Disease". Umbrella took notice of Birkin's erratic behavior and, knowing only his lab had samples of Golgotha, grew evermore concerned he would prevent them from receiving the virus.<ref name="BIO2guide" /> |
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| − | Furthermore, when G is encountered after crashing through the ceiling shortly before its complete transformation into its hexapodal fourth form, the appearance of its third form has changed slightly. The spikes located on its chest have begun to open thus hinting to its fourth form. |
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| + | ===Mutation and death (1998)=== |
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| − | [[Image:Birkin form 4.jpg|thumb|150px|Fourth Form|right]] |
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| + | [[File:RE2make_P-4_Testing_Lab_(12).jpg|thumb|left|280px|William injects himself with G-Virus.]] |
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| − | ==== '''Stage 4''' ==== |
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| − | Involves the host mutating from a standing equilibrium as a bipedal to a hexapedal base on the ground involving the utilization of its four primary limbs to maintain movement. The skull and maxilla of the creature have elongated to accommodate its massive mandible, a gaping, circular cavity surrounded by rows of spike-like projections, which has now fused into the many spikes that formerly covered the thorax of the beast. Despite its appearance, however, this stage of G is extremely agile, able to sprint and leap all about a room with ease, and the aforementioned spikes around the mouth are more than capable of impaling its prey with extreme ease, given the superior agility and speed of the stage. However, in order to maintain its speed, it needs to constantly eat more. |
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| + | {{Quote|SHERR-RY!|William Birkin calls out for his daughter following his G-Virus mutation}} |
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| − | [[Image:Birkin_Mutated5.jpg|thumb|200px|Fifth and final Form]] |
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| + | With Golgotha complete, the U.S. military sent a team out to meet with Birkin. Having moles within the military, Umbrella HQ's suspicions were confirmed and a USS squad was sent out on a race to confiscate the virus first. With advanced warning, the USS operation was disrupted when a police officer spotted them entering the sewers and recovered C-4 explosives. On the night of 22 September, Alpha Team leader "[[HUNK]]" arrived at the facility with a subordinate to obtain the virus. In the standoff, Birkin was gunned down with automatic fire after attempting to resist Alpha team. Alpha Team retrieved a duralumin case containing "t" and "G" samples and left for the sewers to their extraction point. The injured Birkin infected himself with a remaining G sample, but the virus didn't properly stabilize onto his body and the scientist himself was unable to become a G-human,<ref name="PUinterview" /> and instead transformed into a large and powerful "[[G]]" mutant. |
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| + | [[File:William_Birkin_mutant_ambushes_the_USS_Alpha_Team.png|thumb|280px|Mutated Birkin ambushes and kills the USS Alpha Team.]] |
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| − | ==== '''Stage 5''' ==== |
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| + | Intent on vengeance, Birkin followed the U.S.S. into the sewers and they were all either killed or seriously injured. To guarantee no more samples were at risk of theft, Birkin ate the "G" samples.<ref>Tahara (ed.), ''Official Guide Book'', p.260.</ref><ref>{{Cite game|title=Resident Evil 2 remake|developer=Capcom|publisher=Capcom Co., Ltd.|scene=[[VHS recording 1]]}}</ref> In the process, he also destroyed several "t" samples, allowing rats to consume them and spread the virus into the city's water supply. Over the next week the city's population of 100,000 were either killed or infected, and the U.S. military blockaded the city to prevent classified information relating to their dealing from getting out. Driven entirely by basic instincts, Birkin searched for food, whether alive or dead and vessels for reproduction. The sewers fell under the control of rejected "G" embryos, which had made themselves a colony. |
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| − | By far the most grotesque of all the forms that G has mutated into. After extreme physical trauma to G, it has become a shapeless blob of flesh, spikes, and tentacles, slowly dragging itself via attachment of its largest tentacles to a stationary object and subsequent use of its lesser tentacles to slime forth, an appearance that vividly evokes H.P. Lovecraft's description of a Shoggoth. It appears that by this stage, the G-Virus has evolved continually by merging with the beings it has devoured to sustain itself; this is evident as one can discern various zombies and other lifeforms protruding from the trunk of the creature. This final form was killed only after the train which it had invaded was consumed by a massive explosion following the automatic activation of its self-destruct sequence, as the damage it had sustained at cellular level was too high for even the G-Virus to counteract. |
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| + | Ultimately, Birkin sought out Sherry who, as a blood relation, was a viable carrier for his parasitic larvae. During his search of [[Raccoon City Orphanage]] for carriers, he parasitised Chief Irons, who was holding Sherry hostage. He seriously injured the T-00 at an elevator to the Umbrella sewer facility as it tried to attack Sherry and another survivor, Claire Redfield, and later moved into the sewers as well. During his confrontation with the survivors in the sewers it became clear he had successfully parasitised Sherry, either in the orphanage or in the sewers, and when she was rushed to NEST for treatment he followed. While in NEST, Birkin was attacked by Annette with an anti-B.O.W. weapon and suffered serious injury. In his further mutation, he threw Annette at a wall, causing internal hemorrhaging. |
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| − | Since the G-Virus-infected William Birkin was killed at this point, it is unknown if it would have continued to mutate into further forms. Although it is likely that it would not, due to being merely a shapeless blob, there would be nothing left to mutate into. Most notably, even at this stage, the G has at least some rudimentary form of intelligence, as it recognized that the train it was on was about to self-destruct. Fortunately, with only split-seconds left on the timer, the train detonated leaving no time for the monster to escape. |
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| + | [[File:Birkin_G5_death.png|thumb|left|280px|Birkin's death.]] |
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| − | It was only later discovered that even the massive blast of the train did not completely destroy G, as [[Ada Wong]] found the remains to contain the [[G-virus]], which she then delivered to [[Albert Wesker]]. |
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| + | As the facility began to self-destruct, he followed Claire as she headed down to the lower levels of the facility to activate the emergency train. His fourth defeat would leave him severely wounded, but Birkin was able to continue on and boarded the escape train. Mutating into his fifth and final form, a blob with a huge mouth, multiple limbs, eyes and tentacles, and entered the rear carriages of the train. How Birkin died in his final form had different accounts. In one account, the train had detected him as a biohazardous threat wherein the survivors aboard the train escaped before the train's self-destruct sequence destroyed his final mutated form. In an another account, he was ultimately defeated after a metal pipe was stabbed on his large eye before the carriage he's in was unbuckled where he was engulfed in the explosion from NEST. |
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| − | == |
+ | ==Bibliography== |
| + | *{{cite book|title=[[BIOHAZARD 2 Official Guide Book]]|editor=Tahara, Seiji (田原 誠司)|publisher=Famitsu |location=Japan|year=1998}} |
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| − | In the first ''[[Resident Evil (film)|Resident Evil]]'' film, William Birkin makes an uncredited cameo appearance as the head of the [[Nemesis (Resident Evil)|Nemesis]] project and is portrayed by actor [[Jason Isaacs]] (who was also the film's narrator). |
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| + | ==Sources== |
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| − | According to a commentary by [[Paul W. S. Anderson]], Isaacs was planned to reprise this role in the sequel ''[[Resident Evil: Apocalypse]]'', but left the project for undisclosed reasons. An original character named [[Doctor Sam Isaacs|Dr. Sam Isaacs]] (played by [[Iain Glen]] and named after the actor who played Birkin in the first film) was created to fulfill Birkin's role in the sequel. |
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| + | ;Notes |
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| + | <references group="excerpt" /> |
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| − | The first stage of Birkin's mutation also has a cameo appearance in the opening of [[Resident Evil Outbreak]]. Birkin himself appears for a few moments in [[Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles]], in a remake of one of their scenes from Zero, and some of his remains are found by [[Ada Wong]] during Death's Door. |
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| + | ;References |
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| − | William Birkin also appears in his mutated form in [[Resident Evil 1.5]]. During his appearances he cries several times 'Sherry'. It is unknown if his further mutations were planned to appear or if he was even infected via the same method. |
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| + | <references /> |
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| + | {{Umbrella employees|main}} |
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| + | {{G-Virus}} |
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| + | {{Appearences|RE0=yes|RE2=yes|Outbreak=yes|UC=yes|Deg=yes|DC=yes|RE:2=yes|Resistance=yes}} |
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| + | {{Creature by Title|RE2=yes|DC=yes|RE:2=yes|Resistance=yes}} |
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| + | {{DEFAULTSORT:Birkin, William}} |
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| + | [[de:William Birkin]] |
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| − | {{RE series}} |
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| − | [[ |
+ | [[es:William Birkin]] |
| + | [[fr:William Birkin]] |
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| − | [[ |
+ | [[it:William Birkin]] |
| + | [[ja:ウィリアム・バーキン]] |
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| − | [[Category:Umbrella Corporation Employees|Birkin, William]] |
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| + | [[pl:William Birkin]] |
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| + | [[pt-br:William Birkin]] |
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| + | [[Category:Scientists]] |
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| + | [[Category:1998 deaths]] |
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| + | [[Category:NEST staff]] |
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Revision as of 16:47, 24 May 2020
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"G is my creation!" — William Birkin to his wife Annette after injecting himself with the G-virus |
Dr. William Birkin (ウィリアム・バーキン Wiriamu Bākin) was a virologist who worked for Umbrella Pharmaceuticals in the 1970s-1990s. One of the leading scientists behind the t-Virus and discoverer of the Golgotha Virus of which he was head of the research project,[4] he turned against the Umbrella Corporation after failing to achieve a promotion to its executive. The company's attempts to prevent an unauthorised deal with the U.S. military served as a catalyst for the events of the Raccoon City Destruction Incident. He was the husband of Annette Birkin and father of Sherry Birkin.
Biography
Early years
Birkin was a child prodigy who earned his doctorate as a teenager. In 1977, at the age of fifteen, he was employed by Umbrella Pharmaceuticals, and offered to take the executive training program at a laboratory in Arklay County under the oversight of Dr. James Marcus.[5][6] Birkin and Dr. Albert Wesker developed a friendly rivalry at the school while being conditioned to Umbrella's ethical ideals.[5] Their education was concluded on July 29, 1978 when a decision was made to close the laboratory's school. Birkin and Wesker were offered senior roles at the nearby Arklay Laboratory, and transferred there two days later.[6][6]
Arklay Lab (1978-1991)
On their first day as senior researchers, the two were introduced to Lisa Trevor, a young woman who had been a test subject at the lab since 1967.[6] The laboratory's chief researcher approved Birkin's study into the splicing of their experimental Tyrant Virus (or "t-Virus") with genes from recently collected Ebola Virus samples Umbrella had acquired for the purpose of vaccine research.[6] The t-Virus strain at the laboratory had a rapid and high fatality rate, making it useless as a weapon as it was unlikely to spread far. Birkin's study led to a new t-Virus strain which could keep humans alive in an aggressive, brain damaged state.[6]
In July 1981, Umbrella officially employed the child prodigy Dr. Alexia Ashford as a senior virologist.[7][8] Believed at the time to be the granddaughter of the Umbrella co-founder Dr. Edward Ashford, 5th Earl Ashford, the ten-year-old quickly gained an aura of majesty within the company. Birkin was severely affected by this, firstly with it damaging his pride of being a child prodigy, and secondly his fellow researchers' constant discussion of it.[7]
The Birkin family.
With research having stalled since 1978, Birkin was determined to prove himself and took part in constant research to solve the new problem of some 10% of the population being immune to the t-Virus. This, Birkin solved, with the development of Bio Organic Weaponry, and successfully developed Hunter α, a bio-weapon created through bonding reptilian DNA with a fertilised human egg through the t-Virus.[7] In 1983, Dr Ashford's death was announced company-wide, though Birkin continued in his own research even with the imagined rivalry over.[7] During his time at the Arklay Laboratory, Birkin began a relationship with another researcher named Annette. They married sometime in the mid-1980s and had a daughter, Sherry, who was born around 1986.[9] However, while they remained married, it was indicated that both prioritized their research careers more than the marital union they had.[10]
Birkin alongside Wesker during Marcus' assassination.
By 1988, the Arklay Lab hit another dead-end in research when its latest project, "Tyrant", was met with a serious flaw. As advantageous, mutagenic properties of the t-Virus were linked to brain chemistry, a strain that caused brain damage was an obstacle. At some point during the research that gave them the T-001 and T-002, Birkin created a t-Virus strain which lowered the level of brain damage. However, this strain still required the infected to have certain, rare genetic traits that only one in ten million possessed.[9] During this year he gained access to Dr. Marcus' t-Virus research to bolster his own, when Dr. Spencer ordered his assassination. Birkin followed the USS raid party and began confiscating the research, gaining the moniker of "creator" of the t-Virus while the elderly Marcus laid dying of gunshot wounds.[11][12]
As another possible solution to the intelligence problem, Birkin arranged with Dr. Spencer himself to acquire one of Umbrella Europe's NE-α Types, parasitic creatures able to take-over brain functions. However, the parasites were notorious for killing their hosts in their attempts to bond. After exhausting other options, Birkin resorted to using the parasite on the only viable host, Lisa Trevor, who had still survived the years of experimentation.[13] When the parasite was placed within Lisa, her body destroyed the intruder and its DNA was added to her genome, giving her tentacles. An investigation isolated a mutant Progenitor species within her body identified as the cause. Seeing the eugenics potential of a virus capable of mutating humans into a superior subspecies,[14] Birkin sought funding from Umbrella HQ to allow him to work on "Golgotha", known in shorthand as the "G-Virus".[13]
Underground Laboratory research (1991-1998)
William monitoring G-Virus progress on NEST.
When Birkin's discovery got Spencer's attention, Umbrella constructed the NEST adjacent to their chemical plant in the city outskirts, completed in 1991.[15] There, Birkin was chief researcher, and directly led research into Golgotha with his wife, Annette and a team of researchers, with unrelated B.O.W. projects also conducted by other teams in the facility. The Raccoon Police Department's chief, Brian Irons, received bribes to keep any investigations away from the laboratory, and was given updates as to the research. Having thus focused on G-Virus research, Birkin passed the t-Virus research to one of his subordinates, Dr. John Clemens. However, though work on Golgotha was promising along the 1990s, Birkin began to suspect Umbrella was disinterested in giving him a position as a corporate executive.
Birkin and Wesker planning to leave Umbrella.
In May–July 1998, the t-Virus broke out across the Arklay Mountains, leading to dozens of deaths and mutations of civilians as well as the investigating S.T.A.R.S. members, the loss of the Arklay Laboratory itself, the recently re-opened training school, and a train transporting staff to it. Birkin had the training school destroyed, though he and Wesker already drew the ire of Umbrella executive Col. Sergei Vladimir, who blamed the pair for losing control of the school in the first place. Wesker made the decision to leave Umbrella and sell secrets to a rival company, though Birkin, adamant on completing Golgotha, officially stayed with the company. Plotting to betray them from the inside, Birkin entered talks with the US military to sell them Golgotha for their own bio-weapons project in exchange for an asylum for him and his family.[16]
In early September 1998, Birkin began sabotaging the facilities. The newly-commissioned P12A facility, designed to process contaminated waste, was rendered useless when Birkin flooded the facility with a radically accelerated supply of failed test subjects. The chemical effectiveness was diluted, allowing the virus to mutate and infect the staff with a strain their antiviral medication could not fight. The t-Virus also made its way around the city, infecting the staff at a water treatment plant near the Raccoon Police Station,[17] and sending dozens to the hospital to be treated for the so-called "Cannibal Disease". Umbrella took notice of Birkin's erratic behavior and, knowing only his lab had samples of Golgotha, grew evermore concerned he would prevent them from receiving the virus.[15]
Mutation and death (1998)
William injects himself with G-Virus.
"SHERR-RY!" — William Birkin calls out for his daughter following his G-Virus mutation |
With Golgotha complete, the U.S. military sent a team out to meet with Birkin. Having moles within the military, Umbrella HQ's suspicions were confirmed and a USS squad was sent out on a race to confiscate the virus first. With advanced warning, the USS operation was disrupted when a police officer spotted them entering the sewers and recovered C-4 explosives. On the night of 22 September, Alpha Team leader "HUNK" arrived at the facility with a subordinate to obtain the virus. In the standoff, Birkin was gunned down with automatic fire after attempting to resist Alpha team. Alpha Team retrieved a duralumin case containing "t" and "G" samples and left for the sewers to their extraction point. The injured Birkin infected himself with a remaining G sample, but the virus didn't properly stabilize onto his body and the scientist himself was unable to become a G-human,[14] and instead transformed into a large and powerful "G" mutant.
Mutated Birkin ambushes and kills the USS Alpha Team.
Intent on vengeance, Birkin followed the U.S.S. into the sewers and they were all either killed or seriously injured. To guarantee no more samples were at risk of theft, Birkin ate the "G" samples.[18][19] In the process, he also destroyed several "t" samples, allowing rats to consume them and spread the virus into the city's water supply. Over the next week the city's population of 100,000 were either killed or infected, and the U.S. military blockaded the city to prevent classified information relating to their dealing from getting out. Driven entirely by basic instincts, Birkin searched for food, whether alive or dead and vessels for reproduction. The sewers fell under the control of rejected "G" embryos, which had made themselves a colony.
Ultimately, Birkin sought out Sherry who, as a blood relation, was a viable carrier for his parasitic larvae. During his search of Raccoon City Orphanage for carriers, he parasitised Chief Irons, who was holding Sherry hostage. He seriously injured the T-00 at an elevator to the Umbrella sewer facility as it tried to attack Sherry and another survivor, Claire Redfield, and later moved into the sewers as well. During his confrontation with the survivors in the sewers it became clear he had successfully parasitised Sherry, either in the orphanage or in the sewers, and when she was rushed to NEST for treatment he followed. While in NEST, Birkin was attacked by Annette with an anti-B.O.W. weapon and suffered serious injury. In his further mutation, he threw Annette at a wall, causing internal hemorrhaging.
Birkin's death.
As the facility began to self-destruct, he followed Claire as she headed down to the lower levels of the facility to activate the emergency train. His fourth defeat would leave him severely wounded, but Birkin was able to continue on and boarded the escape train. Mutating into his fifth and final form, a blob with a huge mouth, multiple limbs, eyes and tentacles, and entered the rear carriages of the train. How Birkin died in his final form had different accounts. In one account, the train had detected him as a biohazardous threat wherein the survivors aboard the train escaped before the train's self-destruct sequence destroyed his final mutated form. In an another account, he was ultimately defeated after a metal pipe was stabbed on his large eye before the carriage he's in was unbuckled where he was engulfed in the explosion from NEST.
Bibliography
- Tahara, Seiji (田原 誠司), ed (1998). BIOHAZARD 2 Official Guide Book. Japan: Famitsu.
Sources
- Notes
- References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 CAPCOM
- ↑ Evident by his research into the Golgotha Virus.
- ↑ Resident Evil 2 (2019)
- ↑ Capcom. Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles. (Capcom Co., Ltd.). File: William Birkin.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Resident Evil 0 (2002), "Assistant Director's Diary".
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 Wesker's Report II, part 1
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Wesker's Report II, part 2
- ↑ Resident Evil CODE:Veronica (2000), file: "Newspaper Clip".
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Wesker's Report II, part 4: "Enter Nemesis" Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "p3" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Resident Evil 2 (2019), scene: "Annette attacks William (Claire)".
- ↑ Resident Evil 0 (2003), scene: "Confrontation With Marcus".
- ↑ Resident Evil 2
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Resident Evil (2002), file: "Observation Note".
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 http://www.projectumbrella.net/articles/Yasuhisa-Kawamura-Interview-Project-Umbrella
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Tahara (ed) Official Guide Book, p.259.
- ↑ Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles (2007), file: "William Birkin Profile".
- ↑ Resident Evil 2 (1998), file: "Watchman's Diary".
- ↑ Tahara (ed.), Official Guide Book, p.260.
- ↑ Capcom. Resident Evil 2 remake. (Capcom Co., Ltd.). Scene: VHS recording 1.
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