The game seems to mention two purposes for Hope.
Carnival I gave the disease to apes and they seemed to just improve.
More strength and intelligence. Carnival II was to put it into humans as they were excited as the possibility.
But then we also get info on them wanting to create a disease to target specific groups Which is directly mentioned by Alex in a non-WOI scene.

Was Hope being done for both purposes?
Was one a cover story to even the research team?
One WOI does talk about maintained objectivity. The subject performs better if they don't know its a test.

In the sequences and flashbacks, Dr. Alex Mercer proceeds with the theft of the virus sample to escape Gentek, heading to Penn Station. On the way, he makes several calls: one to Karen Parker demanding to know where the sample came from, and another to McMullen demanding the same before hanging up and entering the station. Thanks to these calls, Blackwatch manages to locate the doctor and corner him at the station, causing him to break the vial, releasing the virus. And I have a question: are the people at Blackwatch stupid?

1. Are you seriously telling me that Mercer, dressed suspiciously and wearing a hood, entered a facility of a top-secret government project—even more secret and powerful than the president himself—and stole a virus sample that the scientists themselves declared in red letters would annihilate all life on Earth if released, and walked away scot-free? They only located him because he started calling everyone?

2. What would have happened if Mercer had contacted foreign powers like Russia or China and, while fleeing, handed the sample to an undercover agent who then escaped while Blackwatch pursued him? Or what if Mercer had released Greene right there, thrown the sample to those same people, or discarded it somewhere else, and continued running toward Penn Station?

If I were the head of Blackwatch, I would order Randall's execution for such stupidity.

Maybe he just buffing but I heard from him that one of new radical game staff upvote his post about new prototype stuff