The Hunter α (ハンターα,hantā arufa?) (development code: "MA-121") was one of the first fully-functional and marketable B.O.W.s produced by Umbrella.[2] It was created by injecting reptilian DNA into a human embryo and administering the t-Virus as a bonding agent.[3] The MA-121α went through intensive research and development at the underground lab in Raccoon City.
The Hunter Project dates back to 1981, when researchers at the Arklay Laboratory were developing ways to address the statistical 10% immunity rate projected if the prototype t-Virus, known as the β strain, was dispersed as a weapon - larger if people had access to antiretroviral medication.[4][excerpt 1] The idea of using mutant animals as a means of cleaning up survivors had been tried before, but animal test subjects typically experienced a loss in intelligence, which made them impossible to control and therefore worthless as a weapon for military use.[2] Dr. William Birkin's Hunter Project instead sought to solve this problem another way.
The Hunter Project's initial prototypes were produced by infecting human embryos some three weeks after fertilisation with the newly developed βII strain (Beta Two) as a bonding agent before splicing in animal genes of reptile origin. The most promising mutant, a female, was subsequently cloned to create a species of identical mutants. Maturation of the Hunters took one year, and involved repeated exposure to growth hormones. The Hunter demonstrated the intelligence equal to that of an Orangutan, allowing it to recognise ten different commands taught by trainers. The hard, keratinised skin was also found to form a tough armour.[3][excerpt 2] How long this prototype variety was worked on and refined is uncertain, but by 1998 Hunter α clones were being shipped to other Umbrella facilities around the world, including Sheena Island's Umbrella facility.[5]
Use in combat[]
There have only been three known usages of Hunter α in combat. Several Hunters were transported to the Umbrella Management Training Center in 1998, either to be tested or in an effort to clear out mutants. After the investigation team was attacked, these Hunters were left to their own devices, being later found at the school's anti-B.O.W. training facility. Another group of Hunters were released from captivity in the Arklay Laboratory by Dr. Albert Wesker as a means of escalating combat with S.T.A.R.S. police officers so CCTV could record the fighting. Any survivors would have been killed on the morning of 25 July.[6]
Another group of Hunter α brought havoc to Sheena Island along with T-103 Tyrants. These BOWs were deliberately released on the command of Vincent Goldman, who planned to eliminate the entire island's population to silence a career-ruining cover-up. They were wiped out in battle with Ark Thompson, Umbrella's Undertaker Unit, and finally the destruction of the island's infrastructure by explosive charges in November 1998.[5]
Legacy[]
Although the α model was one of Umbrella's more successful weapons, the company made efforts to upgrade it. By 1998 the Hunter β was in production, created from genetically modifying the developing body of an α. The first β was deformed as a result and did not gain the strength of the α models, but exhibited improved reflexes and was cloned. At least twenty βs were ready for combat by September and were deployed into Raccoon City as a means of combat testing. A second attempt to replace the Hunter α was the γ, an entirely new species created by Umbrella Europe in a similar fashion to the original α. They, too, were deployed into Raccoon City. Unlike the βs, however, the γs were continued to be produced. Another model which was in existence in 1998 was the Hunter R, which was in preparation for mass-production in September 1998 and saw considerable fighting when they escaped from their labs. The α model appears to have stood the test of time despite Umbrella's intentions, and bioweapons black marketeers later developed a mass-produced derivative of the α. This model saw action in the 2004 Terragrigia Panic.
