The Umbrella Antarctic Base was a secret Umbrella Corporation facility that appeared in Resident Evil CODE: Veronica. Located in the South Pole, the base was primarily a shipping depot, a waypoint for supplies being shipped to and from Umbrella's various branches throughout the world. The base was originally managed by Alexander Ashford, son of one of Umbrella's co-founders Edward Ashford and father of Alfred and Alexia Ashford. As befitting the hostile environment of the Antarctic, most of the base is located underground.
History[]
Umbrella originally constructed the Antarctic Base in 1969 as a transport facility to support the corporation's expanding business. The facility also supported a laboratory where Alexander Ashford worked on the CODE: Veronica project, which was completed in 1971 with the birth of the twins Alfred and Alexia. Eleven years following their birth, the twins discovered the truth behind the circumstances of their birth and abducted their father. As an act of revenge, Alexia and Alfred used Alexander as a guinea pig for viral experiments, injecting him with the new T-Veronica virus, transforming him into a savage, mindless monster that Alexia dubbed "Nosferatu".
Disappointed with her father for being an unsuitable host for the virus, Alexia continued to experiment. In 1983, she injected the virus into her own body and had herself placed in cryogenic suspension, allowing the T-Veronica time to bond with her DNA. The process would take fifteen years and, as far as Alexia was concerned, would prove to be a brilliant success.
During Alexia's cryogenic sleep, Alfred was appointed as the manager of the Antarctic Base, though he chose not to oversee its operation directly and instead took control of Rockfort Island.
Destruction[]
In December 1998, Rockfort Island was destroyed following an attack by an unknown organisation headed by former Umbrella operative Albert Wesker. A number of the staff from the island managed to flee aboard transport planes bound for the Antarctic Base, but had unknowingly contracted the T-virus during the outbreak on the island. As such, the infected Rockfort staff contaminated the Antarctic Base upon arrival, transforming the base's personnel into zombies.
Claire Redfield and Steve Burnside had also escaped Rockfort and their plane had been remotely hijacked by Alfred Ashford, who forced them to land at the Antarctic Base where he intended to finish them off. However, Alfred failed to kill the two survivors and wound up being killed himself after plummeting down an elevator shaft. He died in the laboratory's cryogenic chamber, with Alexia's awakening being the last thing he saw.
After awakening, Alexia found Claire and Steve attempting to escape and captured them, planning to experiment on them. She started with Steve, but Claire was spared his fate after her brother Chris arrived to save her. The reunited Redfield siblings then worked together to try and escape the base, activating its self-destruct system before making their way to an aircraft hangar. The pair were cut off by Alexia, who mutated into a creature of horrifying power and attacked them. Chris was able to destroy Alexia using a prototype Linear Launcher weapon, but before he and Claire could escape, they were interrupted again by Wesker, who was determined to settle his score with Chris. Claire made her way to Chris' plane while Chris stood his ground and fought Wesker, but was no match for the now-superhuman former S.T.A.R.S. captain. Chris survived his showdown out of sheer luck, managing to drop a crane-load of steel girders on Wesker. As the base's self-destruct was primed, an explosion shook the dock where the two adversaries fought. Seperated by a wall of flames, Wesker and Chris were unable to finish their battle and the two made their way to their separate escape vehicles. Once Chris and Claire's jet was clear, the Antarctic Base was consumed by an explosion and completely destroyed.
Creatures[]
Below are the creatures that were encountered by Chris and Claire in the Antarctic Base.
- Zombies - The base's personnel were infected by the T-virus when it was carried over by evacuees from Rockfort Island.
- Black Widows - Arachnid B.O.W.'s based on Black Widow spiders.
- Infected moths - Irregular mutants that shed poisonous dust and lay parasitic eggs upon their victims' bodies.
- Hunter Kai - Enhanced versions of Umbrella's Hunters used by Albert Wesker.
- Sweepers - Altered Hunter-II's with poisonous claws.
- Nosferatu - The mutant abomination that Alexander Ashford transformed into after being injected with the T-Veronica virus.
- Steve Burnside - A former prisoner on Rockfort Island, he and Claire escaped together only to be separated after arriving in Antarctica. Alexia captured Steve and injected him with T-Veronica, turning him into a monster that she could control.
- Alexia Ashford - Umbrella's youngest senior researcher transformed by the T-Veronica virus. She intended to use her newfound power to rule the world as its queen.