Melissa Pearce was an actress and opera singer who became the second Mitochondria Eve, possessed by an ancient biological evil. Mitochondria Eve, also simply called Eve, is the main villainess and antagonist in both the Parasite Eve novel/film and game. In actuality, there are multiple Eve incarnations. All Eves are women who have been taken over by the consciousness of the mitochondria in their cells. Mitochondria Eve take their name from the theorized Mitochondrial Eve, a historic woman (or women) in Africa that modern humans derive their mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from.