At the beginning of the twenty-first century the Umbrella Corporation is the largest corporate entity in North America. Nine out of every ten households contain at least one of its products and its political grasp is felt throughout the world. Publicly its products range from computer hardware, medical tools, and health care. Unknown to even its employees, its biggest profits come from military developments, genetic manipulation and viral weaponry. The Story starts with Umbrella creating a virus that can create what can be summed up as BOWs... Bio-Organic weapons. Zombies are included in this. There are also a variety of other monsters, such as the infamous Tyrant, Hunters, Lickers, and so on. The first virus may have been the Proginator Virus. The T-Virus, G-Virus, and T-Veronica Virus followed. All of these viruses have their own effects. Each is just as deadly. As covered in the time line, various documents can be foung in the games. One such document, a diary, describes a man (known only as the keeper) infected with the virus. His diary entries are as follows. (A few are listed to show the change.)
	May 15, 1998 Even though I didn't feel well, I decided to go see Nancy. It's my first day off in a long time. But I was stopped by the guard on the way out. They say the company has ordered that no one leave the grounds. I can't even make a phone call. What kind of joke is this?! May 16, 1998 I heard a researcher who tried to escape from this mansion was shot last night. My entire body feels burning and itchy at night. When I was scratching the swelling on my arm, a lump of rotten flesh dropped off. What the hell is happening to me? May 19, 1998 Fever gone but itchy. Hungry and eat doggy food. Itchy itchy Scott came. Ugly face so killed him. Tasty. 4 Itchy. Tasty The lines, "itchy tasty", have become the most well-known lines in Resident Evil fandom (if you want to call it that). Most anyone who's played a Resident Evil game knows that phrase. Continueing the the background of RE, Umbrella has several research facilities. Once such facility is in Raccoon City, where our story takes place. It is in that facility that something goes wrong. Researchers were careless? An experiment got loose? Faulty equipment? The exact cause of the virus leak is never discussed. However, it is obvious that the leak infected the entire facility. The staff turned into zombies, animals and plants in the area became infected, experiments ran loose. Frog security dogs to crows. These creatures eventually reach Raccoon City, and this is when the first game starts. The interesting thing about RE is that all the games (and the movies) are connected to one another. Characters mentioned in the first game are also mentioned, or present, in other games. As an example, you find a letter in the first game addressed to Ada (written by a researcher named John). The Ada in the letter is Ada Wong, a character in RE2. In the Movie (which takes places between RE2 and 3), one of the characters becomes infected with the virus and begins to mutate. This mutation implies that he becomes a Tyrant, possibly the Nemesis in RE3.
	Thus far, friends have been made and lost. Some have died fighting, others murdered brutally, turned into zombies or other creatures. People have also been saved. New plot twists are revealed. More of Umbrella's dark secrets are told. This is what makes Resident Evil so interesting. It's a series. Each game can stand alone, or fit into the rest to creat something bigger. With each new game, more information is learned. This is how the story starts. The ending has not yet been written.