02 - A word on Project New Dawn

The Tyrant, was originally the metaphorical goal of Umbrella’s intensive research and viral development. It was discovered that a Tyrant must be created by hand as infection alone is not enough. The effects of lone infection have been documented and have very little to do with the Tyrant process outside the core similarities. Simple (non aided) infection has a variety of symptoms, all resulting in loss of consciousness and death, only to be reanimated shortly thereafter. The brain and central nervous center seem to be the only organ that remains at least partially intact through the ‘transformation’ and even so it only partially functional. No consciousness is applicable above the natural urge to kill and eat.
A Tyrant on the other hand remains in control of their consciousness and the nervous system is not effected in a damaging way. The body remains ‘alive’ that is it functions as such, still needing food, sleep, mental stimulus, etcetera. It possesses what can only be described as super human characteristics though the primal and more animalistic nature is clearly distinguished particularly during times of feeding and/or sexual encounters. It is believed that this vast difference is found in the type of infection as well as the ‘purity’ of the carried strain. Simply, the more pure the virus, the stronger the tyrant when administered under applicable circumstances. The goal of developing the Tyrant was to gain peak performance and enhanced characteristics with minimal physical damage or noticeable mutation. This has been much harder than expected and is certainly much easier said than done.

As time progressed, we discovered that the viruses incorporated in our testing were highly adaptable and could be combined through careful introduction. As a result, the three core viruses (T/G/T-V) have been introduced to each other with interesting results. The exception is the Nemesis strain who’s introduction to others has been limited due to it’s aggressive nature and general instability with rapid mutations.

In the early days of the program, Tyrant test subjects often emerged with severe deformations as a result of the not yet stable experimentation procedures. It was discovered during this time that the main factor in determining a Tyrant from a normal ‘Zombie’ lays in the way in which the sample is administered. When properly introduced, the virus can become the perfect soldier. If Incorrectly administered, the consequences are quite grave indeed. I count myself as the beginning of the new Tyrant era namely because my infection resulted in minimal mutation while achieving maximum attribute enhancement. Speed, agility, strength, and core senses were all enhanced dramatically while outward mutation was kept to a minimum; the only noticeable change being in the eyes, (color of the iris and shape of the pupil), a small price to pay. This isn’t to say that other ‘new’ Tyrants are free of mutation. My dear colleague Dr. Birkin, chief researcher and ‘father’ of the G-Virus, sustained heavy mutations upon his infection; though to be fair it was not properly administered and his body was already under stress via multiple gunshot wounds. This, not the mention that he was really the first successful G-Virus Tyrant to make it past initial testing stages, so in that respect he was very very lucky. Subject Burnside (a carrier of a lesser strain of the T-Veronica Virus) also sustained heavy mutation following his infection but was able to achieve Tyrant status by the careful experimentations of Dr. Ashford.
Mr. Burnside was able to act with conscious thought where as Dr. Birkin lost most rational consciousness. This could have been for a multitude of reasons but the chief one seems to be the difference of viruses and the degree to which they were developed. Both subjects eventually reverted to their ‘human’ forms once their bodies chemistry balanced it’s self. ’Un mutating’ can also be achieved via a dose (usually 20cc dosage) of Antigen, as it counters the body’s Adrenaline which is the main force behind sustaining mutation to begin with.

With all this in mind, a new project was launched with the intention of revolutionizing the infection procedure and the inclusion of ‘viral cocktails’ that is to say, the viruses would be introduced to each other. The intended outcome was the generation of cross species Tyrants.
Initial tests failed and it was discovered that viral strains had a difficult time ‘breeding’ outside an incubated environment. Tests therefore had to be conducted within living tissue. The most adaptive and beneficial tissue being found in the embryonic human fetus. This was discussed at great length and it was decided that the project would proceed in this direction.
Project ‘New Dawn’ launched into full effect with a multitude of varied results in the form of ‘human’ children. Infection was always present but no noticeable effects were visible until early puberty when the child’s body chemistry was radically unpredictable as it tried to shift from adolescent to adult. The average time for viral Tyrant incubation in these trials ranged from ten to fourteen years. The one unfortunate side effect of the project is that the strains could not be mixed solely by themselves. Instead they required two sets of DNA, each set containing one virus, to embed into. The only suitable carries with useable samples were Myself, Dr. Birkin, and Mr. Burnside. As a result, test subjects became children. Children who required parents and a proper, ‘home style’ upbringing to ensure maximum mental stability.