The Hive (Resident Evil)

The Hive (or Hive) is a fictional top secret underground laboratory and is the primary setting in the 2002 film Resident Evil. The complex is controlled by a super computer known as The Red Queen (which is a homage to to 2001: A Space Odyssey's HAL 9000) and is connected to the Spencer Mansion via an underground rail network. The facility was filmed at the incomplete Reichstag U-bahn station during March 2001.

Various locations from the facility have made appearances in the video games including the laser corridor in Resident Evil 4, the facility itself in Resident Evil Outbreak, and the Red Queen and laser corridor in Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles. A similar facility has also appeared in Resident Evil: Extinction which is controlled by a similar AI known as White Queen.

About the facility
The facility is where the T-Virus was first discovered, produced and manufactured. The T-Virus was engineered by Dr. Charles Ashford to make his daughter Angela Ashford walk again. After Umbrella learned of his discovery, Umbrella scientists took the virus and applied it to creating biological and viral weaponry.

The facility is a research facility which provides citizens of Raccoon City with pharmaceutical and medical supplies, along with extensive health care. Unaware to citizens, the facilities major profits are generated from expierementation, genetic engineering and viral weaponry. The facility also houses more than 500 scientists, technicians and support staff.

Re-opening
After the events of Resident Evil, the Umbrella Corporation assembled and sent in a specialist team to re-open the underground facility in order to find out what happened to everyone down in the facility. In Resident Evil: Apocalypse, the specialist team is situated at the Hive's Raccoon City entrance. As the medical team proceeds into the dark, the infection begins to spread with hundreds picking up on the contagion screen.

The incident sparked an immediate investigation by S.T.A.R.S. which resulted in accusations being laid against Umbrella for secretly developing bioweapons in the facility as numerous creatures were encountered during the reopening and in the Arklay Mountains region.

Raccoon City incident
The re-opening of the Hive was responsible for the deaths of thousands in Raccoon City. As the virus began spreading amongst citizens, Umbrella resulted in setting up a quarantine perimeter around the city, screening citizens of any T-Virus detection, allowing those cleared to pass while the infected were ordered to return to their homes.

When the virus reached critical stages, Umbrella activated its Nemesis program to kill the remaining S.T.A.R.S. members (Special Tactics And Rescue Squad) who knew the truth about Umbrella's involvement in the Arklay Mountains region including Jill Valentine. During the Raccoon City incident, news reporter Terri Morales videotaped Umbrella's response to the outbreak. Umbrella was then held responsible for the death of thousands until the video was discredited as a hoax by the corporation, stating the region encountered a nuclear disaster similar to Chernobyl.

Las Vegas replica facility
In Resident Evil: Extinction, the Umbrella Corporation has established a second hive buried beneath a weather monitoring station in Death Valley. Under the command of Sam Issacs, the new Hive facility was used in Umbrella's experiments to develop a cure to the T-Virus - which had continued to spread throughout the world following the Raccoon City incident. In addition to the T-Virus research, the Tyrant Program (an effort to design the perfect bioweapon) was being conducted in the new facility.

The new Hive was modified from the original and featured several advancements. The AI system was upgraded and was known as The White Queen. A holographic communications chamber was included in the design which allowed for communication with Umbrella Executives hidden in similar outposts throughout the world. A cloning chamber was established for use with Project: Alice in hopes of replicating the original perfectly. The Hive featured provisions to safely support the Umbrella staff living there for several years. Additionally, a testing range was built into the lowest levels that incorporated replicas of the Main Hall of Spencer Mansion, the Red Queen's Chamber and corridor, and the ground floor of Raccoon City Hospital.

After the transformation of Sam Issacs into the Tyrant creature, Alice Abernathy led a one woman assault on the new Hive after helping Claire Redfield access to the helicopter assigned to the base. White Queen informed her of Doctor Issacs' transformation into Tyrant and required her to destroy the creature. After a fight in the laser corridor, a clone of Project: Alice disabled the laser grid before it could terminate the original Alice. The facility is was left under the supervision of Alice Abernathy as she is preparing a series of her clones to wage war against Umbrella in the wasteland.