The Serum is an experimental compound under development by Providence and an important item in the game's story. It plays a role in the series finale as an optional method 47 can use in the confrontation with Arthur Edwards during the mission Untouchable in HITMAN III.
Description[]
The serum is a memory-repressing neural-inhibitor, and its formula has been reverse-engineered and enhanced from a much older prototype created at the Institute for Human Betterment in Romania in the 1980s. Years ago, the prototype had been used to erase Agent 47's memories after his initial escape from the institute.
In its current revision, the serum is described as a blunt instrument, completely erasing a persons' long and short-term memory. The research team in the mission is confident, however, that in just a few cycles they will be able to target individual memories for erasure. This ability is expected to have massive commercial potential.
The ostensible purpose of the serum was to treat people with traumatic memories, such as those suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Whether or not it would have been used in such a beneficent role, Providence no doubt also intended to use it for more nefarious purposes.
Incidentally, an antidote to the serum's effects was produced at Ether's R&D site in Johannesburg. This antidote was stolen by Lucas Grey during an assault on the facility and later used to unlock 47's suppressed memories of Grey, Janus and his own past.
Appearance[]
The syringe looks very similar to the Antique Lethal Syringe, albeit with clean, rust-free metal.
Location[]
Arthur Edwards keeps the serum in a container under his desk in his office at the end of the train. During the cutscene at the end of the level, he will offer it to 47 in one last-ditch effort to save his own life. Edwards will present it as an alternative to 47's mission of assassination, urging 47 to administer the drug to himself and erase his recent memories so that he can continue his existence as an assassin, but now in the service of Providence. A professional killer, Edwards claims, is what 47 was always mean to be.
Acquisition and Administration[]
Edwards will leave the serum in its protective hardcase and walk some distance away to await his fate. Agent 47 can then take it and use it on Edwards to erase all of his memories, as an alternative to killing him. Edwards will struggle, apparently more willing to die than to have his memories and identity erased. He will recover quickly, confused and not recognizing 47 or recalling recent events. Agent 47 will then leave Edwards and exit the train.
However, as an Easter egg, 47 will eventually be given the option of injecting it in himself, just as Edwards' recommended. Doing so will unlock a hidden challenge and an alternate ending to the game.
Trivia[]
- This serum, as described above, was directly based on the same serum Ort-Meyer created on request from Providence in Agent 47: Birth of the Hitman to keep the clones in check, a process known as "The Wipe", which affected 47's memories of Grey.
- Regardless of whether the player kills Edwards or injects him with the serum, Providence will be dissolved at the conclusion of the game, unable to continue without its new leader.
Gallery[]
