Sheena Island
The exact origins of the island are unknown but it was believed to be purchased by Umbrella sometime in the early nineties in preparation to mass produce Stage 3 t-Virus human biological weapons. The whole island was privately owned by Umbrella and was off-limits to the public. Sheena was very small and mostly covered in forest and mountainous landscape. There was a single city at the heart of the island and everyone living there was connected to Umbrella in some capacity. There was also extensive mining operations carried out across the island and over the years several new facilities were constructed including a large-scale bio-weapons manufacturing plant and laboratory, hidden beneath the familiar facade of a dilapidated old mansion. The population centre also included important amenities such as a hospital, library, church and restaurants.
The city was designed so that the residents there would be comfortable and happy, without any lack of provisions that may cause them to become homesick or want to leave the island. Instead of money, a swipe-card system was put in place so that all residents could pay for goods and services with their Umbrella I.D. card.
The island community was split into sections, with each section having an appointed head that reported directly to the island’s ‘Commander’. The commander reported directly to Umbrella Headquarters and was responsible for sending progress reports and requesting additional supplies or guinea pigs for the island. The section heads would often meet with the commander to report on any problems or security issues that may have arisen and the island itself was subject to regular inspection visits from Umbrella’s top-brass.
By 1998, Sheena Island was regarded as being more important to Umbrella than the underground facility in Raccoon City due to the weapons plant now being used to exclusively mass-produce Tyrants and shipping them out to other Umbrella facilities across the world. Thanks to a new variant of the t-Virus created through extensive study of Sergei Vladimir’s clones, more humans were now a compatible match to become a Tyrant and Sheena Island was able to mass produce them at the factory. In addition, researchers at Sheena worked on developing their own, unique Tyrant which was known as the ‘Hypnos T-Type’. This Tyrant was designed to be more ferocious and agile and was created using the ‘Hypnos Gene’ and a special chemical secreted from the brains of human teenagers as they went through puberty. This chemical was known as Beta Hereto Nonserotonin. Test subjects for this project were abducted from all over the world and in order to keep them sane, they were permitted to use the facilities of the island in a supervised capacity such as the Heaven’s Night nightclub and the Entrepot Arcade. Employees and visitors to the island usually arrived via helicopter or boat and a helipad was constructed at the far side of the island next to an underground subway station. The subway would ferry employees either to the Tyrant Factory or straight back to the city at the heart of the island.
Away from the city, the island was tranquil and covered with a thick blanket of forest. The El Mona Mountain Road was a popular trail leading through the hills and woods and the Mountain Road Highway allowed visitors to climb up the main peak located in the centre of the island. Sheena’s coastlines also presented some very picturesque beaches.
In October 1998, a group of guinea pigs escaped from the Paradise prison and caused a riot, leading to Commander Vincent Goldman executing them all. This caused a major fracture in his relationship with the other city section heads, who dubbed his methods as too cruel and inhumane. They knew Vincent had to keep the incident a secret from Umbrella HQ and so they secretly began to wire-tap his phone and gather evidence to present to the corporate executives on their next scheduled visit to Sheena. Their hope was for Vincent to be stripped of his role as commander of the island.
Following the Raccoon City incident, the residents of Sheena Island began to get paranoid about just what had happened there. Some even discovered the t-Virus was being kept on the island and made immediate plans to leave. Shortly afterwards a private investigator named Ark Thompson arrived on Sheena looking to investigate Umbrella’s affairs. He was sent by Leon S. Kennedy, who by this point had begun working for the U.S. Government. Ark posed as Vincent and began questioning the island’s residents he knew had never met Goldman face to face. Meanwhile, the section heads continued to gather evidence on Vincent’s dealings and waited patiently for the next set of executives to visit the island from headquarters.
Eventually, in late November 1998, Vincent Goldman learned of the section heads’ plans to overthrow him and intentionally caused a city-wide outbreak of the t-Virus to get rid of them all. In an ironic twist, Goldman was killed by his own creation when he was skewered by the Hypnos Tyrant as he pursued Ark Thompson. Ark himself managed to escape from the island via helicopter with the only two surviving residents of the island, Lott and Lily Klein.
Following the incident, the fate of Sheena Island remains unknown. Although the Tyrant Plant was destroyed and it’s possible the island was abandoned or sold off following Umbrella’s demise.
Notable Locations
NEW MIEL CHURCH – a small parish for island residents located downtown. Above the main altar in the chapel was an Umbrella logo as if the congregation had to worship the corporation itself. Strangely the church rooms were outfitted with pinball machines and activities for children. This was because the Tyrant guinea pigs were brought here for education and recreation. There was also a secret basement room accessed by switching the dial from the grandfather clock in the study to the one in the hallway. This led down to a storeroom. The parishioner of the church was one of the leaders of the city who attended regular meetings with Vincent Goldman.
SOUTHEND THEATRE CINEMA – A very small theatre located downtown with only one screen and a small audience capacity. There was a refreshment room and the projectionist’s booth was located upstairs on the second floor. As well as entertainment purposes, the cinema was also used for video-link seminars for Umbrella executives and meetings of city section heads. This cinema was also used as the meeting venue when all section heads were briefed on the Raccoon City incident.
RESTAURANT MERLI – A small restaurant located downtown. The owner held a deep fear of Umbrella and their virus research. He planned to flee the island following news of the Raccoon City tragedy and found out that the t-Virus was being kept on Sheena Island. Aside from the main dining area, there was a kitchen where food was prepared and a freezer room. The restaurant was situated on the street between New Meil Church and the Southend Theatre. Customers could pay for their meals using their employee I.D. cards.
CLUB ENTREPOT – An amusement arcade full of gaming machines. Employees could pay using their I.D. cards. In the main reception area some stairs led downstairs to a small casino full of slots, blackjack and roulette tables. Also features a café chain found across the island called ‘Wooden Box’.
LIBRARY – An extensive library located in a large building across two floors. All kinds of books were available here as well as rare documentation kept in display cases. Study rooms were available on the second floor and the stacks were accessed through a rear door on the ground floor.
CENTER HOSPITAL – A state of the art hospital located over two floors and a sub-basement. It was full of the latest top of the range equipment, including an expensive CT scanner. All guinea pigs needed to have a thorough medical screenings before they could be sent to the Tyrant Plant for experimentation. If any brain tumours or abnormalities were discovered, the test subjects would be terminated.
SEWERS – Underground sewer network running across the city at the centre of the island. It was managed by Andy Holland; an ex-convict turned janitor who was recruited to Sheena by Umbrella in 1997. Andy enjoyed the peace and quiet of the sewers and even lived down there in one of the old pump rooms. He would often patrol the tunnels with his torch and sniper rifle, looking for intruders. He also sprayed walls and doors with graffiti to keep trespassers out.
PARADISE – Despite the name, Paradise was actually a prison complex used to house the guinea pigs brought to the island from all over the world. The prison contained a main reception, an office area for employees and a lavishly furnished prison chief’s office. The imprisonment area was located on the opposite side with cells, a shower room and an outside prison yard for those incarcerated to stretch their legs and perform exercise. A watchtower was in the corner complete with powerful search light. The Prison Chief was one of the city leaders who reported to Goldman.
HEAVEN’S NIGHT – A nightclub located in the centre of town. Sometimes the drugged-up guinea pigs would be brought here under security detail to relax and unwind. The club contained a bar that sold expensive wine, a stage area for live bands, and a V.I.P. room. Heaven’s Night was often used for concerts and was located on the main street next to the storage warehouse and directly opposite the Umbrella building.
WAREHOUSE – A large storage warehouse for anything from perishable goods to essential supplies. Transport trucks would bring the shipments in from the docks and helipad on the far side of the island. A favourite import of the islanders was alcohol and ‘Osterich Beer’ which was recognised as the ‘world’s number 1 beer.’
UMBRELLA BUILDING – The corporate building located at the heart of the city where the entire island was administered. The main lobby was richly furnished with marble reception desks and plush leather sofas. The staff-only areas had a strict sensor-based security system in place that had to be deactivated with employee I.D. cards. The Commander’s office was located on the 13th floor and had a view that took in the whole city. It also housed a surveillance room monitoring various locations across the island with everything run by powerful supercomputers. The building also contained a laboratory with at least one T-103 unit kept in storage here. There was also an underground car park for employees to leave their vehicles securely whilst at work.
SUBURBAN HOUSING AREA – Located on the outskirts of town near to the canal, these were upper-class houses usually reserved for higher-level Umbrella employees such as Dr. Klein who was stationed at the Tyrant Plant in the Genetics Laboratory.
EL MONA MOUNTAIN ROAD – A mountain road leading through the woodland forest towards the mining areas. Beautiful scenery by day but dark and foreboding by night.
FORMER CALD COLLIERY – An old coal mine located up in the mountains. Extensive mining operations were carried out here as an additional source of revenue for the corporation. Workers in the mine made their way up here from the city via cable car.
BAY AREA HIGHWAY – An area under construction as of November 1998 designed to allow easier passage through to the Tyrant Factory. Also contained a rickety suspension bridge across a ravine.
MANSION – A long-abandoned stately home used as cover for the entrance to the subterranean Tyrant Plant. The mansion had extensive garden grounds surrounding it and many areas were off-limits due to unstable foundations and collapsed structures. The entrance to the Tyrant Plant was via a hidden door in the main hall of the mansion. A space on the floor retracted to reveal a secret elevator that would take passengers down to the first sub-level of the factory.
TYRANT FACTORY – Built underneath the foundations of a ruined old mansion, access was granted through a trap door in the main lobby of the house. The factory was four levels below ground and contained an underground tram system which ferried employees to and from a heliport at the edge of the island. This was the main route for Umbrella officials to come and go from Sheena. The factory’s primary function was the mass production of the T-103 Tyrant line, although other B.O.W.s were created and manufactured here including ‘Plant 43’ {Ivy}, the ‘Evolved Licker and the Hypnos T-Type. The chemical plant’s official name was “Thereise Chemical Plant” and across its four levels contained a security room, a monitor room, a generator room, a culture experiment room, a gene manipulation room, the Tyrant cultivation room and an atrium/vault.
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