"Please come in, Mr. Blonsky."
A graceful Asian woman led him into Umbrella's main building. This research institution, hailed as a rising star, had undergone several expansions. Two towering buildings shaped like billowing sails had been added to the perimeter, serving biological modification and genetic engineering respectively.
Privately, Umbrella called these two heavily guarded, highly classified new buildings the "Babel Tower" and the "Hive."
Blonsky's destination was the Babel Tower to the right of the main building, wholly overseen by Dr. Connors and dedicated to biological modification experiments.
Feeling slightly uneasy, Blonsky followed Yuriko through the bustling lobby and entered the transparent corridor connecting to the Babel Tower. The three nearby high-rises were linked by a straight passageway, resembling a cluster of mountain peaks from afar.
The artificial intelligence Red Queen led the way, bringing Blonsky into a work elevator reserved for internal personnel. A series of inspection and authentication procedures opened automatically. Looking down below, the valiant soldier felt as though he had stepped into a tower leading to heaven. As his view rose higher and higher, he could nearly take in all of Long Island.
As he stepped out of the elevator, he saw a metal plaque engraved with a line of Hebrew: "Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower whose top reaches unto heaven, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth." It was a passage from the Bible's Old Testament, Genesis.
"Follow me," said the lifelike Red Queen.
Upon entering the mysterious building, the first thing Blonsky saw was an enormous botanical garden. All kinds of lush, massive plants grew within it: green vines like pythons, towering trees too thick for several adults to encircle, and strange flowers and grasses that