Jenova Project ( Final Fantasy VII ) The Jenova Project , also known as the Ancients Project , refers to a series of experiments performed by the Shinra Electric Power Company in " Final Fantasy VII " and " Crisis Core - Final Fantasy VII - " . Shinra conducted the experiments with the ultimate goal of creating a human hybrid with the extraterrestrial creature Jenova , whom Shinra mistakenly believed to be an Ancient . The Jenova Project ' s offspring become several of the key antagonists in the " Compilation of Final Fantasy VII " . Story . Origins . Thirty years before " Final Fantasy VII " , Shinra located the frozen remains of an alien creature inside the North Crater . Professor Gast Faremis mistakenly identified the life form as a Cetra , and named it Jenova . Seeking to monopolize Mako energy in their bid to dominate the Planet , Shinra commissioned the Jenova Project with the intent of creating a new genus of Cetra who would lead Shinra to the Promised Land said to be abundant in Mako . The project was divided into two branches to be directed by Gast ' s collegues , with Professor Hojo leading Project S and Dr . Hollander leading Project G . The groups competed to produce a superior specimen , with Project S producing Sephiroth , while Project G produced Angeal Hewley and Genesis Rhapsodos . Gast left the project and the company after discovering that Jenova is a hostile extraterrestrial life form that nearly eradicated the Cetra race thousands of years ago . Even in his absence , research continued . Using the data and results from Project S and their specimen Sephiroth , the Jenova Project entered the next phase , leading to the development of SOLDIER . Human male candidates who met the desired physical and mental qualities were injected with Jenova cells and infused with Mako energy . This boosted their physical abilities to superhuman levels , but none came close to the power Sephiroth had . Project G ' s research secretly continued beneath Midgar within Deepground , where increasingly extreme and inhuman testing methods were developed to produce more varied and unstable creations compared to SOLDIER . Project G . Project G ' s full name is " Project Gillian " for the main test subject , Gillian Hewley , though the " G " is often mistaken to stand for " Project Genesis " as Genesis Rhapsodos was the first result of the project to expose himself . Project G was run by Hollander who injected Gillian with Jenova cells with the intent that those who received her cells in turn would receive Jenova ' s traits . Genesis was created this way and Gillian also passed Jenova ' s abilities on to Angeal when she gave birth to him . The " Crisis Core Complete Guide " refers to the results born out of Project G as G - Type SOLDIERs , who include Angeal and Genesis , and Hollander when he applies the same treatment to himself during " Crisis Core - Final Fantasy VII - " . G - Type SOLDIERs can create copies of themselves by implanting others with their cells , using Jenova ' s cells as a conduit to transfer the donor ' s abilities to the host . The host takes on the donor ' s appearance and gains some of their abilities . However , as the Jenova cells are not fixed in their bodies , a G - Type SOLDIER will succumb to degradation symptoms as time passes . Though they seem normal humans , eventually the side - effects of Project G begin to manifest . Genesis , who is merely injected with Gillian ' s cells , slowly begins to degrade . Angeal , who is born directly from Gillian ' s cells , never exhibits signs of degradation , and thus is considered by Hollander to be the perfect result of Project G . Genesis can create Genesis Copies , but is only seen doing so on humans , and his copies degrade at accelerated rates . The exact rate of degradation varies depending on the subject ' s own physical potential . Angeal can produce Angeal copies but unlike Genesis he does so with both animals and humans . Unlike Genesis , the transfer of abilities between donor and host can go both ways for Angeal : as he can imbue others with his abilities , he can also absorb copies he has created to take on their abilities . Even though Angeal is a successful subject , eventually his copies will begin to degrade . Project S . Project S , code for " Project Sephiroth , " was the second and arguably more successful branch of the Jenova Project . It was carried out in Nibelheim ' s Shinra Manor . Compared to Project G , the methods of Project S were direct : Hojo injected Jenova cells into a human fetus , the child of he and Lucrecia Crescent , a scientist also working in the mansion on her own project . Lucrecia gave birth to Sephiroth , and although Sephiroth didn ' t gain the abilities of an Ancient as envisioned , he was deemed a superior subject to Genesis and Angeal , and research on Project S continued into the development of SOLDIER . The " Crisis Core – Final Fantasy VII Ultimania " explains Sephiroth is a superior specimen due to the nature of his exposure to Jenova cells ; while Genesis was exposed to Gillian ' s cells which contained Jenova cells , and Angeal was born from one of Gillian ' s eggs after she was injected , Sephiroth was exposed to pure Jenova cells undiluted by human DNA , and thus his abilities are stronger than those of Genesis and Angeal and never shows signs of degrading . He is never shown creating copies of himself , but is able to receive and deliver abilities to others , as shown by Cloud inheriting SOLDIER abilities through his cells . Reunion Theory . Hojo hypothesized that when Jenova ' s cells are separated , they will instinctively attempt to reintegrate , and human hosts carrying Jenova ' s cells will be compelled to gather together . Hojo had the survivors of the Nibelheim Incident , including Cloud and Zack , injected with samples of Sephiroth ' s cells , turning them into Sephiroth Clone s . These " clones " are not direct copies in the same sense as the Genesis and Angeal copies , as they received none of Sephiroth ' s abilities . Due to their weakened mental integrity , pivotal for SOLDIER members to remain sane , most became mindless drones devoted to Sephiroth and prone to being telepathically controlled by him . Cloud maintains his free will unless directly influenced by Sephiroth , whereupon he has to fight to remain in control . Zack , on the other hand , had no reaction to the experiment , possibly due to his exposure to Jenova cells as member of SOLDIER . Through Sephiroth ' s influence , the clones ( including Cloud ) are drawn to the North Crater where most are killed by Sephiroth and their Jenova cells absorbed . Legacy . Genesis is cured of his degradation by the Goddess Materia and is taken away to Deepground . Unwilling to join the organization , Genesis isolated himself in a cavern underneath Midgar . Shelke Rui of Deepground survived the organization ' s destruction after defecting to the WRO , and as one of the Tsviets , carries Genesis ' s cells . Weiss also carries Genesis ' s cells , but his fate is uncertain as Genesis is seen carrying his body away after awakening from his slumber . Angeal perished , and just prior to the events of " Final Fantasy VII " , Lazard and the final Angeal Copy follow suit , leaving the offspring of Genesis as the only known survivors of Project G and Deepground . Following Sephiroth ' s death , his influence by means of the Jenova cells in the Lifestream causes the fatal disease Geostigma to infect the Planet . In " " , the last remaining cells of Jenova are found in the Northern Cave . They are absorbed by Kadaj , shapeshifting him into a new body for Sephiroth . Cloud defeats Sephiroth , and he fades while hinting at his return , leaving Kadaj to die . This makes Cloud the only known surviving product of Project S . Cloud , Shelke , Genesis , and Weiss thus bear the last known fragments of Jenova ' s cells , either directly or via the cells of Genesis or Sephiroth .