Athabasca Protocol

"Th...!"

"What are those?"

"My God..."

After William finished playing the combat footage of the Obstacle Clearers Company, the vast majority of the national representatives in the audience were visibly shaken.

He still wore a smile, giving the politicians time to react and digest what they had seen.

"Mr. Russell."

The U.S. Secretary of State raised his hand first and asked, "May I ask whether the humanoid creatures in the video were patients infected by some kind of virus or bacteria?"

"No." William shook his head slightly. Before operating the computer to play the next video, he explained:

"All of those anomalies were caused by a special Containment Object.

"I hereby declare that all the test subjects in the video were death-row inmates. They voluntarily signed the contracts.

"They accepted full responsibility for all consequences. Umbrella Enterprises bears no responsibility."

As he spoke, the second video began playing on the projection screen.

The following footage was an observation record of Containment Site One regarding Object 049;

The footage came from a camera in a large medical laboratory.

The laboratory contained various devices, such as operating tables and workstations.

049 had been pixelated in the video, leaving only a vague outline visible.

049 seemed to be conducting some unknown experiment beside a workstation in the laboratory.

The video sped up.

Several seconds later, it returned to normal speed.

The laboratory's gate opened, and a D-Class personnel wearing an orange jumpsuit and bearing the number 9527 entered.

The gate suddenly closed.

Apparently frightened by 049's strange appearance, 9527 turned around and began pounding violently on the door.

9527: (agitated) What the hell are you doing?! Let me out!

Researcher: (speaking emotionlessly over the intercom) Number ■■, we had an agreement.

9527: To hell with your agreement! I'm done with this!

Researcher: Number ■■, you voluntarily signed the contract.

049 was drawn to the agitated 9527, quickly approached him, and made direct contact.

9527 instantly collapsed and died. 049 carried him to the operating table and began its experiment.

The video sped up again.

It returned to normal speed.

9527, whose death had been confirmed, rose again and stood blankly behind 049, indistinguishable from the enemy that had engaged the Obstacle Clearers Company earlier.

The video ended.

Before the politicians could ask anything, William spoke first:

"The numbered individual in the video committed fifteen offenses between 1994 and 2003, all involving child molestation and murder.

"He was sentenced to death by a federal court, and his execution by electrocution was scheduled for the autumn of 2008.

"However, in November 2006, he was transferred to our private prison and signed the relevant contract."

"..."

The representatives who had initially wanted to challenge him fell silent after hearing William's explanation.

Canada in this world had not abolished the death penalty. William held the moral and practical high ground.

Of course, he did not mention that Umbrella had also used survivors and non-death-row inmates as D-Class personnel in its experiments.

The politicians of every country understood that perfectly well without William telling them.

After all, the current governments were far darker than Umbrella Enterprises.

For now, at least.

After a pause, William continued:

"This unknown Containment Object possesses many supernatural abilities.

"For example, mere contact can cause a living organism to cease all physiological activity. It can also resurrect corpses, turning them into mindless 'living dead.'

"Umbrella Enterprises has classified these Containment Objects into four levels, from lowest to highest...

"Safe, Euclid, Keter, and Exafanistei.

"This Containment Object is classified as Euclid."

The politicians present felt a chill run through them.

An object capable of causing two thousand deaths was only classified as Euclid. Then didn't the highest level, Exafanistei, represent the destruction of the world?

In an instant, everyone began taking the matter extremely seriously.

The U.S. Secretary of State was still the first to speak. "Mr. Russell.

"According to what you've said, since the Athanaska Incident on January 27, will these supernatural anomalies continue occurring one after another?"

"That's right." William did not deny it.

He then projected photographs of several Safe-level Containment Objects onto the screen as well.

"Mr. Russell, how did you know that such anomalies would erupt across the world?" the British Secretary of State for Defence asked.

"Heh." William answered with a relaxed smile:

"My Russell Family originated in Great Britain and became one of the largest families in the world between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries.

"The forty-fourth head of the Russell Family—my great-grandfather—was guided by some mysterious force and instructed to prepare in advance for anomalies of this nature.

"As for the family's decline in the twentieth century, it was actually an illusion deliberately created by my grandfather by concealing the truth from my father.

"He did so to ensure that I could truly inherit the family's assets. The original purpose behind Umbrella Enterprises' founding was to deal with anomalous phenomena."

The Russell Family had a long history. True.

It had once been one of the largest families. True.

A mysterious force. False.

Concealing the truth from his father. False.

Truth and lies intertwined.

Besides, William would never allow Umbrella Enterprises to go public. He had even bought a bank, making it impossible for the world to know exactly how much wealth he possessed.

Keeping the company private and acquiring a bank were lessons he had learned from the Rockefeller family in the Original World, providing an absolute safeguard.

At that moment, Paul added a timely assist:

"The Canadian military and government signed the relevant terms with Umbrella Enterprises two months ago.

"If not for Mr. Russell, we would have suffered incalculable losses. After all, ordinary civilians simply cannot accept the existence of such phenomena."

The U.S. Secretary of State glanced at Paul in the distance, narrowed his eyes slightly, then turned back to William and said in a deep voice:

"Mr. Russell, surely you didn't summon us merely to educate everyone about the existence of anomalous phenomena. What is your true objective?"

"Good question." William swept his gaze across all the representatives present and said:

"The existence of anomalous phenomena absolutely cannot be made known to ordinary society. Otherwise, the existing order would descend into complete chaos.

"The economic and political losses would be immeasurable.

"Umbrella's private forces were specifically trained to deal with anomalous phenomena, and they also possess extensive combat experience.

"So my request is very simple.

"If, in the future, any of your countries encounters an anomalous object classified as Euclid or above...

"I hope your military will assist Umbrella Enterprises in suppressing the information, just as the Canadian military has done.

"As for containment, leave that to us."

"Canada supports this."

"Britain supports this."

"Tuvalu supports this."

After William finished speaking, the Commonwealth countries, led by Canada and Britain, one after another expressed their agreement.

France and Russia, both permanent members of the Security Council, also expressed that they would observe but not oppose the proposal, while the United States remained silent.

Over the next several days, the United Nations held various discussions concerning the incident.

In the end, 336 detailed clauses were established, including requirements that Umbrella Enterprises fund all Containment Operations at its own expense and dispatch experienced UBCS personnel to train the Special Forces of every country.

On February 6, 2007, countries around the world secretly signed the Athabasca Protocol with Umbrella Enterprises.