The "ancient virus" (古代ウィルス,kodai wirusu?) is a retrovirus which exists within the genome of ants, and possibly other insect species. It was first isolated within the DNA of an ant queen at the Antarctic Base by Dr. Alexia Ashford. Dr. Ashford hypothesised that the retrovirus played a significant role in the evolution of ants, including their social interactions. The virus was spliced into a Progenitor Virus strain to create the t-Veronica Virus, part of the Ashford family's side of the wider t-Virus Project.[1]
