Spencer and his associates poured money into the science of virology in the years following his return, hoping to find a virus that would suit their needs. But, time and again, the viruses discovered were insufficient. Tensions were high in the group because no progress was made other than furthering virology research. Spencer recalled an account about the Ndipaya, a West African tribe of skilled engineers whose rituals involved a magical flower that granted great power to those who could survive its poison, after visiting Marcus' laboratory at the Swiss university and learning about Marcus' study of Paleo-virology. From the Natural History Museum Conspectus is a 72-volume non-fiction book series published by Henry Travis about his 35-year journey around Africa, covering plants, animals, and African peoples as well as their culture. He discussed it with Marcus and agreed to read it again and examine it more.
The entire eugenics circle was present for a meeting in Spencer's family home in 1966. Spencer and Marcus talked about their plans to travel to West Africa in quest of the Sonnentreppe flower. Henry and Beardsley were concerned about the yellow journalism that surrounds the books, which piqued Ashford's curiosity. With Marcus and Spencer displaying information about the Travis family entering Africa's overseas market and striking it rich in several of the locations featured in the books. Marcus reasoned that if they could identify the flower and isolate the naturally occurring retrovirus in it, their future ambitions could be accomplished within their lifetime.
Marcus departed the group after convincing everyone to allow his journey to find the flower, accompanied by his pupil, Brandon Bailey, and a mercenary squad. Marcus and Bailey discovered the entrance to the secret Ndipaya Kingdom and the Garden of the Sun, where the Sonnentreppe flower bloomed, in Ghana after around three months. Spencer arrived days later to be present when they discovered the flower. After passing through caves, an old city, a labyrinth, a worship area, and a three-layered pyramid, all of which were riddled with traps and Ndipaya Warriors, Spencer left with one flower to show to the others as proof, leaving Marcus behind.
Despite many attacks by Ndipaya warriors, Marcus and Bailey succeeded in December 1966 in isolating a retrovirus from flowers. When they returned to their institution with progenitor cultures in February, it was discovered that the virus was modifying the DNA of the tissue media. The seeds they took with them grew into viable Sonnentreppe flowers. However, it was revealed that the flowers did not produce any virus, showing that active production requires precise environmental conditions.
Concerned that samples would leak. Spencer raised awareness of a problem involving fabricated results. Spencer tampered with Marcus' data and implicated him in the controversy, causing Marcus to be shunned by the university research team. His state money was reduced, and the institution was hesitant to provide additional assistance or funding. Spencer took advantage of this by offering Marcus a space to conduct his studies at the Spencer Estate through the Spencer Foundation. The condition was that he conduct all study within their circle and only reveal the results to Bailey, unless otherwise agreed upon. Marcus began his research on bacteria by perforating an E. coli cell with 0.1 ppm chlorine. When the cell was exposed to progenitor, it revived, mutated, and reproduced. This achievement, which used a virus to repair cellular proteins, confounded expectations and outperformed the Miller-Urey experiment from 1953.
Following that discovery, Spencer contacted the circle in March 1967 with the idea of forming a pharmaceutical company to raise the necessary funding. Ashford and Marcus decided to work on the project, despite Henry and Beardsley's refusal to participate. Shortly after, Spencer told his old instructor Miranda of the progenitor virus's discovery and chose to utilize the sign that connected the Four Houses in her village as his corporate brand.
Toward the end of the year, Spencer's mansion in the Arklay Mountains, a massif in the American Midwest, was completed. The home was built on top of limestone caverns, which Spencer intended to exploit to construct an underground laboratory complex that would be hidden from public view. The major fault in this construction project was that he hired a famous New York architect named George Trevor to create it, who was recognized for fantastical ideas Spencer adored.
Spencer worried when he realized Trevor knew all of the mansion's secrets, including the existence of a subterranean laboratory. Spencer soon devised a strategy to eliminate Trevor so that only he and his inner circle were aware of the lab's existence. Spencer invited the entire Trevor family, including George, his wife Jessica, and his 14-year-old daughter Lisa, to the estate to celebrate the mansion's completion in November 1967. Spencer had planned to use the Trevor family as test subjects in his progenitor research, unbeknownst to them.
George was unable to attend due to a heavy workload, but assured Jessica and Lisa that he would meet them at the house later. The two were snatched away by Spencer's employees and transported into the underground caves as human study subjects for the progenitor virus as soon as they arrived on November 10. Jessica died soon after the infection, but Lisa lived thanks to genetic abnormalities. When George arrived at the mansion, he was apprehended in the same way, but he escaped from his apartment. He eventually perished as a result of one of his own traps. Lisa was retained as a test subject, eventually becoming an everlasting subject.
With Umbrella in place, Spencer became increasingly concerned that his friends would jeopardize his own eugenics project, which he intended to use to make himself a god in the new world order. Spencer's paranoia worsened in 1968 while operating Umbrella Pharmaceuticals, despite the fact that he already had control of the project by 1967, when he secured Marcus' research. To obtain additional financing for their eugenics research, Umbrella got into a secret partnership with the US military to generate biological weapons and initiated additional initiatives to create mutant viral strains for military purpose. The Umbrella founders worked on the "t-Virus Project" separately.
Marcus and Bailey planned to return to the Ndipaya Kingdom in the spring of 1968 to harvest more progenitor cultures from the Sonnentreppe flowers because they were running out. However, at Spencer's recommendation, they chose to stay behind and hire mercenaries to drive out the Ndipaya warriors. They successfully captured and defended the Garden of the Sun after four months. Marcus, however, left for the United States at Spencer's request to head the newly constructed Umbrella Executive Training School near the mansion in the Arkley Mountains, which featured a purpose-built laboratory for his research. Marcus had little desire to return to a university-like environment and instead wanted to focus on progenitor research, but he quickly recognized it was the most practical alternative because suitable facilities were missing in the ruins. Bailey was left to run the lap in the ruins and tend to the flowers.
Rather of doing his own research, Spencer left the Arklay Laboratory in the hands of trustworthy executives and continued to collaborate with Lord Beardsley and Lord Henry. Marcus and Bailey continued to work alone, while Ashford collaborated with his son, Alexander, at their European home.