The development of Umbrella's Tyrant series of Bio Organic Weapons was part of their long research into the t-Virus, which the bio-weapon was named after.
History
In the 1960s, Dr. Oswell E. Spencer, Lord Spencer, his friend Lord Edward Ashford biochemist Dr. James Marcus and his student Brandon Bailey discovered the Progenitor virus in West Africa.[1] The Progenitor virus possessed mutagenic characteristics, which would drastically alter the physical and mental makeup of its host.
Marcus and Spencer planned to use the virus to create biological weapon, forming the Umbrella Corporation along with their mutual friend Sir Edward Ashford. Following Ashford's death in an experiment with the virus,[citation needed] Marcus soon began to work on the prototypes of a malicious biological weapon.
After years of experimentation, Marcus and Spencer realized that the Progenitor virus experienced trouble bonding with its host's DNA. Marcus managed to resolve the issue by infecting a leech with the virus, which recombined within the host's body and displayed favorable mutations, including a mimicry ability and high aggressiveness, ideal attributes for a B.O.W. This groundbreaking discovery led to more research eventually leading to the creation of the primitive t-Virus.
However, Marcus concluded from his virus administration experiments that humans were the most ideal candidate host for a B.O.W., and he began experimenting with the training center's junior executive candidates and those he believed were trying to steal his research. When he was assassinated by Albert Wesker and William Birkin in 1988, the latter scientist stole his former teacher's research results and formulated the Tyrant Project based on Marcus' original conclusion on human hosts.
Beginnings
In the summer of 1998, the staff of the Arklay Laboratory entered phase-3 of their bio-weapons research into the t-Virus. While phase 2 was set about mutating the virus into a more deadly form - Spencer ordered for its potency to be increased from a 90% infection rate to 100%- phase 3 was set at creating a programmable bio-weapon to be used as a soldier rather than a plague carrier like the zombies. Unfortunately for the research staff, humans with the genetic coding capable of cohabiting with the virus were small, just like those able to cohabit with Progenitor. Dr. Birkin's simulation revealed that only 1 in 100,000,000 people were capable of becoming a Tyrant. Dr. Wesker believed that, with more modifications to "t", the number of people compatible with the virus would increase greatly. Unfortunately, for this to happen, a genetically-compatible person was still required to use as a test-subject. Due to the tiny fraction of the human population compatible with the virus, Wesker deduced that ten people would be the highest number Umbrella would be able to find, even if all of North America was searched.
Luckily, Umbrella Europe, who were researching into creating intelligent B.O.W.s rather than strong ones, had success with the Nemesis project. The parasites were designed to control the brain of their hosts and provide the intelligence necessary for the Tyrant program; the two were then planned to be combined once the North American division's "fighting bio-weapon" program was completed. Unfortunately, the parasite was found to kill its host around five minutes after taking control of it. Ordering a parasite from France, Birkin and Wesker attempted to mate the parasite with Lisa Trevor, a woman who had been used by the facility for experiments since 1967. Her absorbing of the parasite into her own genetic coding marked the start of the G-virus project and Birkin's departure from the Arklay Laboratory.
The eventual fruit of the project would be the T-103 model, which was in mass production by the end of 1998 and was deployed by Umbrella during and after the Raccoon City Destruction Incident. Further experiments were carried out by modifying this version, but Umbrella's downfall would halt any further progress in the Project.