Gen-Sys Laboratories

Gen-Sys Laboratories was the medical research center where Dr. Will Rodman was attempting to develop a viral "cure" for Alzheimer's Disease over the course of five years. The lab was run by Steven Jacobs, and other employees included Robert Franklin, Donnie Thompson and Linda. Among the chimp test subjects were Bright Eyes, Lorelei, Chambers, Burke and Verdon. Bright Eyes was given the "ALZ-112" drug which increased her mental capabilities, while a military-sanctioned 'variant' of the drug was administered to Burke and Verdon, the latter of whom was later shot attempting to escape. (BOOM: Rise of the Planet of the Apes webcomic) Bright Eyes went berserk just as Rodman was announcing his progress to members of the board. The project was closed down as a result and the apes euthanized, but Rodman adopted the new-born child of Bright Eyes, Caesar, who developed remarkable intelligence as a result of his mother's exposure to the virus. After Will's success in giving the drug to his own father, Charles Rodman, who suffered from the disease, Gen-Sys began developing a newer and stronger version - "ALZ-113" - which proved to be fatal to humans yet gave a higher intelligence to apes. (CE: Rise of the Planet of the Apes)

Around the Facility

The Gen-Sys research facility consisted of:

• Jacobs' Office: Where Steven Jacobs did most of his work.

• Test Room: Where Robert Franklin handled the tests that showed the chimps' intelligence.

• Holding Room: Which housed cells holding individual chimps, along with their carers.

• Eye Testing: Where tests were held on the visual skills of the chimps.

• Trial Room: Where drugs were tested on the ape subjects.

Notes

• In an earlier version of the script, vans from the federal Center for Disease Control arrive to clean up the area around the lab after the mass-breakout by the apes. The CDC also featured in unused Apes screenplays written by Terry Hayes (Return of the Apes, 1995) and Sam Hamm (Planet of the Apes, 1995).
• Gen-Sys is a possible abbreviation for Genetical Synthesis or Genetical System(s).

• Some of the laboratory scenes were shot "at the British Columbia Institute Of Technology's Aerospace Campus in Richmond; a 300,000-square-foot facility whose smooth, gunmetal and dark-glass styling suits the story's present-day-to-very-close-future setting, doubling as it does for the Gen-Sys research facility."