However, Rainbow eventually learns that the Phoenix Group is actually a front for Horizon Inc itself. Brightling's company is developing a highly contagious strain of the Ebola virus called "Brahma", adapted from a strain killing Central African cattle (called "Ebola Shiva" in the novel) with the ability to kill every human being on the planet. In order to protect "mother nature", John Brightling is planning to kill most of the human race, sparing only Brightling's chosen few, who will re-emerge and rebuild the planet into a scientific and environmentally-friendly utopia. To achieve this goal, he has used the scattered terrorist attacks to create fear of terrorism, which he then exploited in order to get a security contract for his own private security firm at the 2000 Summer Olympics. Brightling's plan is for his "security personnel" to unleash the virus at the games, spreading it to all the countries of the world.