Arklay Research Facility
Encyclopedia : A : AR : ARK : Arklay Research Facility
| Resident Evil location | |
 | |
| Arklay Research Facility (Spencer Mansion) | |
|---|---|
| Establishment Date | 1960 |
| Location | Remote region of the Arklay Mountains, Northwest of Raccoon City. |
| Population | Inconsistent due to dangerous nature of research. |
| Transporatation | Access via facility helipad only. |
| Operated By | Management, research and security personnel. |
| Used As | Clandestine research facility, illegal biological weaponry. |
| Famous Locations | Not applicable. |
| Notable Events | The Arklay Incident of 1998 (details below). |
| Notable People | Architect George Trevor, Lord Ozwell E. Spencer, Research subject Lisa Trevor. |
| Current Status | Destroyed by S.T.A.R.S. unit. |
The Arklay Research Facility is the setting of the original Resident Evil. The Arklay Mansion is a research facility managed by the Umbrella Corporation and disguised as an isolated mansion located in the Arklay Mountains region, outside Raccoon City. It is usually referred to as The Spencer Mansion.
History
The Arklay Research Facility was originally commissioned for construction during the mid-1960s. It was designed by architect George Trevor and named after Ozwell Spencer, who contributed to the development of the T-Virus. Soon after its completion Umbrella Corporation began adding various new rooms and secret passages, culminating in the completion of an entire subterranean laboratory.
Research
Soon after the original modifications were in place, the entire Trevor family was invited to stay; however, the family was taken prisoner, with George separated from his wife. He eventually starved, unable to escape the unplanned additions to the mansion. His daughter, Lisa and wife Jessica became the subject of early virological experiments with Jessica dying early on, while Lisa continued to live for decades to come. Indeed, from the late 1960's onwards it was used by Umbrella Corporation to conduct such experiments, with Lisa being the main emphasis of these experiments. In 1978, the T-Virus, taking the lead of the then newly-discovered ebola virus, was created there by a team of scientists including the youthful William Birkin (leading the project in the Research Facility underneath Raccoon City) and Albert Wesker (in charge of the research at the mansion's labs).
The Arklay Mountains Incident
The mansion continued research, until May of 1998 when the T-virus leaked through the mansion, affecting the workers residing there. Nearby areas included residences for scientists, a gigantic aquarium for researching sharks, as well as a secret altar where the by then hideously deformed Lisa Trevor still grieved for her mother, three decades after her capture by the mansion's staff. It becomes clear that Umbrella stored many of its experiments on general flora and fauna at the mansion, as many are now loose on the grounds.A storage facility deep underground houses the master bio-weapon (Tyrant T-002). Prior to the viral outbreak, researchers on site included Martin Crackhorn, Steve Keller, John (surname unknown) and Henry Sarton, with old time researchers such as William Birkin (scientist leader) and Albert Wesker (military leader), long since outsourced to nearby Raccoon City. Surviving members of Alpha team eventually made their way to the mansion's roof, setting an auto-destruct sequence in the process. On the roof, they battled with the resident Tyrant, and after its defeat promptly evacuated the premises via helicopter - the pilot of which, Brad Vickers, had returned after originally being cowardly scared off after witnessing the original dog attack on Alpha team. The mansion exploded afterwards taking all the infected staff and lab animals with it, but many T-Virus infected creatures were already scattered through the Arklay forest and eventually made their way to the outskirts of Raccoon City.
Staff
This is a list of employees that were stationed in the facility at the time of viral outbreak. This information comes from various documents and reports collected by Alpha Team from the facility.
- Chief Researcher: John Fay, formerly William Birkin.
- Consultant Researchers: Albert Wesker, E. Smith, S. Ross.
- Researchers: Jon Toleman, Martin Crackhorn, Henry Sarton, Steve, Robert, Unnamed Suicidal Researcher, David, Eric, others.
- Chief of Security: Unknown (presumed to be Albert Wesker).
- Visual Data Room Manager: Keith Arving.
- Chief Guard: Unknown.
- Guards: Scott, Alias.
- Animal Keeper: Peter (surname illegible).
- X-Ray Subjects: Alex Bennett, Clark David, Ed Fisher, Gail Holland.
Notes
It is unknown whether the x-ray subjects were actual employees of the facility that were tested for signs of infections or were actually test subjects from the researcher's experiments.The Spencer Mansion has gone through changes through the games. In the PlayStation version, the hall has a palace-like theme. There are white walls and tall pillars. There is a staircase with a red rug leading to the second floor balcony. On the side of the stairs, there is a small table with a typewriter.
In the remake of the game, the hall has a darker theme. The walls are dark and there are candles along the stairs. The hall is bigger with more rooms and there is a secret passage behind the stairs leading to a secret altar, and there is a chandelier on the ceiling.
Spencer Mansion in Other Media
The Spencer Mansion appeared in the first Resident Evil film.
In the 2002 film Resident Evil, the Spencer Mansion is the emergency entry point into the underground laboratory known as the Hive. The mansion was built by the Umbrella Corporation to house security operatives. The mansion is named after Spence Parks (one of the security operatives). Like the mansion in Resident Evil, the house has built-in hidden passages and mechansiums. The reason for construction of the mansion was to create an alternative route into the Hive.
In some drafts of the script, the Spencer Mansion is known as Looking Glass House.
Trivia
- The mansion was completely re-designed for the 2002 Gamecube remake.
- The location is colloquially referred as the Spencer Mansion after its original owner Ozwell E. Spencer, the founder of the Umbrella Corporation. However, the name is completely fanmade, as it has never been used in any of the games. In the novelizations written by S.D Perry, the location is referred as the Spencer Estate.
- In [[SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters' Clash]] for the Neo Geo Pocket Color, the player can find a hidden room that resembles the mansion's front hall. There, the player can challenge several zombies and Mikami (the creator of the Resident Evil series) to card duels, all of whom are serious contenders.
- In Viewtiful Joe: Double Trouble for the Nintendo DS, several rooms in one of the stages were modeled after the rooms in the Spencer Mansion.
- In Resident Evil Code: Veronica, part of the Spencer Mansion was remodeled to be the mansion for the Ashford's twins.
- Some fans say that the time between the T-Virus leak and the visit of S.T.A.R.S (05/11/98-07/24/98) was a bit long for the mansion to mantain power running until then; as well as remaining semi-clean in various areas. It was stated that the incident started on May 11th and the real zombie infestation began around May 21th towards June 22th(date were the suppossedly last survivor committed suicide). There was no dust in most rooms and there were candles still lightened up (even though candles only last mere hours before melting up). And the Zombies lasted to July 24th without having decayed, collapsed, or became a Crimson Head. If a T-Virus infected human's flesh rots over time then the zombies of the mansion would have even more hideous deteriorated flesh around late July.
- It is odd the fact that some door were locked in previously visited rooms. Examples: The door leading to the room were Yawn awaits is locked even after Richard Aiken had exited it seriously wouned. The door leading to the Aqua Ring is sealed despite Richard managed to open it in Chris's scenario, as well as Wesker did (but Wesker was in pocession of a "Master Key" which allowed him to move easier through the mansion. The door that leads to the balcony where Forest Speyer was attacked by crows is locked.
See also
| Resident Evil by Capcom | |
|---|---|
| Series | |
| Main Series: | Zero | 1 | 2 | [[Resident Evil 3: Nemesis|3: Nemesis]] | [[Resident Evil Code: Veronica|Code: Veronica]] | 4 | 5 |
| Other: | Outbreak | [[Resident Evil Outbreak: File 2|Outbreak: File #2]] | [[Resident Evil: Survivor|Survivor]] | [[Resident Evil Survivor 2 - Code: Veronica|Survivor 2 - Code: Veronica]] | [[Resident Evil: Dead Aim|Dead Aim]] | Gaiden | Wii (Working Title) |
| Media | |
| Films: | 4D Executer | Resident Evil | [[Resident Evil: Apocalypse|Apocalypse]] | [[Resident Evil: Extinction|Extinction]] | Resident Evil 4 |
| Soundtracks: | Resident Evil | [[Resident Evil: Apocalypse (soundtrack)|Apocalypse]] | Biohazard 4 |
| Novels: | Zero Hour | Umbrella Conspiracy | [[Resident Evil: Caliban Cove|Caliban Cove]] | City Of The Dead | [[Resident Evil: Underworld|Underworld]] | [[Resident Evil 3: Nemesis#Novelization|Nemesis]] | [[Resident Evil Code: Veronica#Novelization|Code: Veronica]] |
| Characters | |
| Main: | Chris Redfield | Jill Valentine | Barry Burton | Rebecca Chambers | Claire Redfield | Leon S. Kennedy | Ada Wong | Carlos Oliveira |
| Supporting: | Steve Burnside | Billy Coen | Ashley Graham | Luis Sera | Annette Birkin | Sherry Birkin | George Trevor | Minor S.T.A.R.S. Characters | Minor Characters | HUNK | Nicholai Ginovaef | Mikhail Victor |
| Outbreak: | Kevin Ryman | Mark Wilkins | George Hamilton | Cindy Lennox | David King | Alyssa Ashcroft | Jim Chapman | Yoko Suzuki |
| Villians: | Albert Wesker | Alfred Ashford | Alexia Ashford | Jack Krauser | James Marcus | Lisa Trevor | Nemesis | Ozwell E. Spencer | Osmund Saddler | Bitores Mendez | Ramon Salazar | William Birkin |
| Film: | Alice | Angela | Carlos | Dr. Ashford | Claire Redfield | Jill Valentine | L.J. | Lisa | Matt | Nemesis | Nicholai | Peyton | Rain | Red Queen | Dr. Isaacs | Spence | Terri | Major Cain | Dr. Birkin | Yuri |
| Universe | |
| Locations: | Arklay Facility | Arklay Mountains | Ecliptic Express | Raccoon City | Rockfort Island | Salazar's Castle | Sheena Island | The Hive |
| Viral Agents: | Progenitor Virus | T-Virus | G-Virus | T-Veronica | T-G Virus | Las Plagas | B.O.W. | Hunter | Tyrant | RE4 creatures | Other creatures |
| Organisations: | Umbrella Corporation | R.P.D. | S.T.A.R.S. | U.B.C.S. | Los Illuminados |
| Miscellaneous: | Glossary | Samurai Edge |
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