The Athabasca Protocol

"What...!"

"What are those?"

"Oh, God..."

After William finished playing the combat video of the Obstacle Clearers, the majority of the national representatives in the seats were visibly unsettled.

He maintained his smile, giving the dignitaries time to react and process.

"Mr. Russell."

The US Secretary of State was the first to raise his hand and ask, "Are the humanoid creatures in the video patients infected with some kind of virus or bacteria?"

"No," William shook his head slightly, manipulating the computer to play the next video before explaining.

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

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

They bore all consequences themselves; Umbrella has no connection to this."

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

The following video content is an observation record of Containment Site One's subject designated 049;

The perspective is from a camera in a large medical laboratory.

The laboratory was equipped with surgical tables, operating consoles, and various other instruments.

049 in the video was pixelated, only its silhouette was vaguely visible.

049 stood by an operating console in the laboratory, seemingly conducting some unknown experiment.

The video fast-forwarded.

After a few seconds, it returned to normal speed.

The laboratory gate opened, and a D-class personnel, wearing an orange jumpsuit and designated 9527, entered.

The gate suddenly closed.

9527 seemed startled by 049's strangeness, turning around and banging violently on the door.

9527: (Emotionally agitated) What are you doing! Let me out!

Researcher: (Speaking emotionlessly over the intercom) Subject ■■, we had an agreement.

9527: Screw your agreement! I'm done!

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

049, attracted by the agitated 9527, quickly approached and made direct contact.

9527 instantly collapsed and died, then was dragged by 049 to the operating table for experimentation.

The video fast-forwarded again.

It returned to normal speed.

9527, confirmed dead, stood up again and stood motionlessly behind 049, indistinguishable from the enemies the Obstacle Clearers had engaged earlier.

The video playback ended.

Before the dignitaries could ask any questions, William spoke first.

"The subject designated in the video committed fifteen offenses from 1994 to 2003, all involving child molestation and murder.

He was sentenced to death by the Federal Court and was scheduled for execution by electrocution in the autumn of 2008.

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

"..."

The representatives who had been on the verge of speaking out fell silent upon hearing William's statement.

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

Of course, he would not mention that survivors were classified as D-class personnel or that non-death row inmates were used for experiments.

The government officials, without William needing to say it, all knew this in their hearts.

Because the current governments were far darker than Umbrella.

For now, at least.

He paused, then William continued.

"This unknown Containment Object possesses many supernatural abilities.

Such as stopping all physiological activities of a living being upon touch, or reviving corpses to become 'living dead entities' without thought.

Umbrella has classified these Containment Objects, from lowest to highest, as..."

Safe, Euclid, Keter, and Exafanistei.

"The containment level of this containment object is Euclid."

Upon hearing this, the dignitaries present felt a chill.

If a containment object that caused two thousand deaths was merely Euclid, wouldn't the highest level, Exafanistei, signify world destruction?

In an instant, everyone became highly attentive.

The American Secretary of State was still the first to speak, asking, "Mr. Russell.

According to your statement, will these supernatural anomalies continue to occur one after another since the Athabasca Incident on January 27th?"

"That's correct," William did not deny.

He then projected photos of several Safe-class containment objects onto the screen.

"Mr. Russell, how did you know the world would experience such anomalies?" the British Minister of Defence asked.

"Heh heh," William said with a relaxed smile.

"My Russell Family originated in Great Britain and became one of the largest families globally during the 17th to 19th centuries.

The forty-fourth head of the Russell Family, my great-grandfather, was guided by some mysterious power to prepare for these anomalies in advance.

As for our decline in the 20th century, it was merely a facade intentionally shown by my grandfather to my father.

The intention was for me to truly inherit the family assets, and Umbrella was founded with the original purpose of dealing with anomalies."

The Russell Family has a long history, true.

Once one of the largest families, true.

Mysterious power, false.

Concealing from his father, false.

Truths and falsehoods.

Moreover, William would never allow Umbrella to go public and had even bought out banks, so the world had no idea how much wealth he actually possessed.

Not going public and acquiring banks were tactics he learned from the Rockefeller Family in his original world, offering absolute assurance.

At this moment, Paul appropriately chimed in to assist:

"The Canadian Army and government signed relevant terms with Umbrella two months ago.

If it weren't for Mr. Russell, we would have suffered incalculable losses, as ordinary citizens cannot accept the existence of these phenomena."

The American Secretary of State glanced at Paul not far away, narrowed his eyes, and then looked back at William, saying gravely:

"Mr. Russell, you're not just here to educate us about the existence of anomalies, are you? What is your true objective?"

"A good question," William said, looking around at all the representatives present.

"The existence of anomalies must absolutely not be revealed to ordinary society, otherwise, the existing order will descend into absolute chaos.

The economic and political losses would be immeasurable.

Umbrella's private forces are specially trained to confront anomalies and also possess rich combat experience.

Therefore, my request is simple.

If, in the future, one of your countries encounters an anomaly of Euclid or higher...

I hope your military can assist Umbrella in blocking the news, just like the Canadian forces.

Leave the containment matters to us."

"Canada expresses its approval."

"England (abbreviated) expresses its approval."

"Tuvalu expresses its approval."

As William finished speaking, Commonwealth nations led by Canada and England expressed their agreement.

Permanent members France and Russia stated they would observe but not object, while America remained silent.

Over the next few days, the United Nations engaged in various discussions regarding this matter.

Ultimately, detailed terms, numbering 336 in total, were established, including that Umbrella would bear the costs of all containment operations and dispatch experienced UBCS personnel to train the special forces of various countries.

On February 6, 2007, the world's nations secretly signed the Athabasca Protocol with Umbrella Enterprises.