Assassin's Creed Wiki - User contributions [en-gb]

Isu

2009-12-31T20:46:40Z

24.228.13.213: /* Genetic History */

{{spoilerhd}}
[[File:Zw-Minerva-3.png|thumb|250px|[[Minerva]] is the only known representative of "Those Who Came Before"]]

"Those Who Came Before" is the name of an ancient, and incredibly advanced race of beings who created the [[Piece of Eden|Pieces of Eden]], as well as humanity itself. Exactly who they were, how long ago, or how they came to die out is still largely unknown. It is believed is that they were worshiped by ancient cultures, for example, in ancient Greece, they were revered as Gods. The woman known as [[Minerva]] said they were not gods, but a race more advanced in time who "simply came before".

==Domination of Humans==

Minerva revealed that at some point; her kind created humanity, possibly as some sort of slave race as shown in [[The Truth]] video. In the recorded [[The Truth|memory]], [[Those Who Came Before]] appear to have enslaved humans into doing their bidding through the hypnotic power of the [[Piece of Eden|Apples]]. Despite their attempts at mind control, [[The Truth]] video shows how [[Adam and Eve]] stole one of the mythical fruits of the tree of knowledge described in the Bible. It is possible that this was an attempt to free mankind from the oppression of their masters.

According to [[Minerva]], humans and her species had lived peacefully for some time, however, humans were not treated equally. Mankind is likely to have to been regarded as cattle or slaves, prompting some humans to rebel against their masters. Somehow [[Adam and Eve]] had a resistance to the [[Piece of Eden]], which most likely controlled them.

==Past Events==
[[File:Zw-eden-slave.png|thumb|350px|A frame from [[The Truth]] video, showing "Those Who Came Before" using a [[Piece of Eden]] to control humans]]

While the ancient race was more technologically advanced and powerful, humanity had the advantage of numbers. Minerva stated that both sides craved war, but they were so preoccupied with their fighting; an impending danger was approaching from the "heavens". [[Shaun Hastings]] and [[Lucy Stillman]] hypothesise that this "danger" could have been a massive solar flare which would have had a catastrophic impact on the Earth's weakening magnetic field, reversing the polarity, and making the planet geologically unstable. The geomagnetic reversal of Earth's poles is a possible cause of the destruction, however, it is a natural phenomenon which has occurred multiple times over Earth's history, the last of which was 780,000 years ago.

Despite the unknown cause of destruction, humanity and the ancient race survived. As Minerva said, "We built you in our image, we built you to survive", she confirms that Those Who Came Before altered the skeletal structure of the hominid form they found on earth to match their own, as seen in one of the [[Glyph|glyph puzzles]]. While both races still existed, they suffered dwindling numbers, and had to rebuild their lives. As the Earth and mankind worked to recover, the race "endeavored to ensure that this tragedy would not be repeated". This lead to the creation of the temples, such as [[The Vault]] in [[Rome]], which were built by "those who learned to turn away from war".

==Characteristics==

Those Who Came Before appear to be all the Gods that have ever existed. As seen with the [[Monteriggioni]] statues, Minerva has connections with the Roman gods. Her kind is very similar to Sumerian' gods, who share a comparable theory of creation. Furthermore, Minerva also showed an ancient Egyptian picture of the people rebelling against the Egyptian gods, but still labels the Egyptian gods as "us". It can at least be established that by Ezio's time, the race was effectively extinct - [[Minerva]] states that she is the last of her kind.

"Those Who Came Before" seem to posses some form of precognition, or ability to predict future events. This is shown when [[Minerva]] told [[Ezio]] that he was simply a conduit, and she spoke directly to [[Desmond]], showing she knew that he would receive the message by viewing it through [[Ezio]] in the [[Animus]].

Interestingly, [[Minerva]] is one of the 8 statuettes you can collect in [[Monteriggioni]]. As Minerva is one of "Those Who Came Before', the other statuettes could be as well. The figures depicted by the statuettes are Neptune and Pluto, Jupiter and Minerva, Dianna and Apollo, and Mars and Venus. It is also worth noting that they are all Roman mythological Gods - perhaps this means that they are remnants of "Those Who Came Before" and survivors of the cataclysmic event described by Minerva, or that they were the ones that helped humans build the temples that she mentioned.

==Genetic History==

Also in [[the Truth]] file, "Bloodlines", the player must highlight all of the painting of Gods who have had children with Humans, with the heading, "Behold the Assassins, the children of two worlds!'. This could mean that at some point in time, the humans and the "Gods" (Those Who Came Before) had children with humans. The Assassins who posses special abilities (such as [[Eagle Vision]]) are evidence of this relationship - this would explain why [[Subject 16]] says: "Why do we have these gifts? Because it's in our blood!". So it could be hypothosized that in the myths, characters such as Heracles and Odysseus, who were Demi-gods, half human half god/half Those Who Came Before. Were Assassins. 

Since Desmond and Subject 16 are both born assassins and that Altaïr, Ezio and Desmond have [[Eagle Vision]] this may prove that they are related to Those Who Came Before, and that the Eagle vision was passed on through their bloodline. This heritage could also explain the resistance to [[Piece of Eden|Pieces of Eden]], and how [[The Vault|the Vault]] recognized [[Ezio]] as the prophet, and not [[Rodrigo Borgia]].

{{ACII}}
[[Category:Factions]]

Lucy Stillman

2009-07-20T01:09:38Z

24.228.13.213:

{{Character Infobox
|image=lucy.jpg
|imgdesc=Lucy working with the [[Animus]].
|faction=
|name=Lucy Stillman
|appear=Assassin's Creed
|period=Modern times (2012)
}}

'''Lucy Stillman''' is a hidden [[Assassin]] and scientist working for [[Abstergo Industries|Abstergo Industries.]] She helps [[Warren Vidic|Dr. Vidic]] in the research of [[Altaïr]]. She is modelled after and voiced by Kristen Bell.

Not much is known about Lucy at the start of the game, although it can be observed that she is not as cold hearted a person as Dr. Vidic is. To the annoyance of Vidic, she frequently prevents [[Desmond]] from using the [[Animus]] for prolonged periods of time, explaining it can strain the body severely if used for too long. She is also generally warmer in personality than Dr. Vidic and is generally nicer to Desmond, allowing him a bit more freedom than Dr. Vidic does, even to the point of allowing him to use her computer once.

==Biography==
{{Spoiler}}
As the game progresses, Desmond learns more and more about Lucy. He does this in two ways.

===Conversations===
Throughout the game, Desmond can speak to Lucy and get to know her better at the end of each memory segment, after Dr. Vidic leaves the lab. As Desmond talks to Lucy, she starts to tell him a bit about her past. Notice, however, that any statements she makes may be untrue.

Lucy explains that during her college career she was ostracized for her scientific beliefs and theories. The criticism continued after college- no scientific organization would employ her. Desperate, she was almost ready to give up science altogether. Then she received a call from Dr. Vidic, who told her he agreed with her theories and offered her the chance to work for Abstergo and to prove her theories to be true. The beliefs she was criticized for may have regarded [[genetic memory]]. Lucy is portrayed in the game to be knowledgeable about the [[Animus]], so it's likely that, because of her feelings on genetic memory, Vidic contacted her so she could contribute to the creation of the Animus.

Lucy also reveals to Desmond that he is not the only person Abstergo is detaining- she too is a captive. She then tells him a story about how a while back her death was ordered by the company, but before her assailants could finish the deed, they were ordered to stop by Dr. Warren Vidic. She claims that he saved her life that day, and she tells Desmond not to judge Dr. Vidic so harshly, as he is under a lot of pressure. Whether this story is true or not is unknown. It is possible Lucy is feeding Desmond false information in an attempt to get him to trust her, but it could also very well be taken at face value.

===Emails===
At various points in the game you can gain access to Lucy's computer and read her [[emails]]. Desmond comes upon the codes to Lucy's emails when finds door codes to the main room in his wardrobe, and Lucy's access pen, which was left on the Animus. It can be speculated that she planted them to give him a better idea of what was going on with Abstergo. However, this is not certain. The codes may have been left there by a previous subject, and the pen left by mistake.

From the messages, you definitely get the idea that she is telling the truth, as she is obviously concerned for her own safety and is trying to find out more information about a previous Abstergo employee who died a while back. This employee is said to have "committed suicide" but the documents relating to the death are being held as classified and are not being released.

In one deleted email, there is a conversation in which Lucy tells another person that she has been delaying the doctor from finding the artefacts and asking for the other person to send a rescue. A strange reply appears to be an attachment, but has random capitalization of letters. When these capitalized letters are put together, they form, "WE WILL BE THERE SOON". Towards the end of the game, a gunfight is heard outside, and Vidic explains that present-day Assassins have come for Desmond. The hidden message was probably a reference to the attack. If so, it would mean Lucy is an assassin, which is also shown by her showing Desmond her left hand and symbolically pulling in her ring finger to have it appear like Altaïr's missing finger, and is spying on Abstergo Industries. At the end of the game, Desmond gains the ability to use Eagle Vision. When Desmond uses this on Lucy, she appears with a blue aura, confirming her to be a trustful ally.

===The Side Story of Leila and Neumann===

More spoilers...must include two figures from "bloody mural" here for openers:

The Lorenz Attractor

The Lorenz Attractor, which appears in the middle of the wall over Desmond's bed and is the central focus of the entire "mural" is emblematic of the "'''butterfly effect'''". The intricate interweaving of the lines which compose it are paths taken by a particle.

Subject 16 states in the triangle shaped message on the floor that he drained his own body to paint the figures on the floor and walls of the main room where the Animus is located. But had he also used his own blood to paint the wall mural in the sleeping room, he would have bled out - literally - before he finished his work. It is possible that it is Leila's blood used in the wall mural in the sleeping room, done before he painted the messages with his own blood in the Animus room - a murder/suicide.

spending too long in the Animus is the issue causing it. This seems to be her main reason for concern about Desmond, although it's mentioned very briefly.

Was this Neumann that Vidic mentions in his email to Lucy about "dipping her quill in company ink". Leila operated the Animus before Lucy and probably talked to Subject 16 much as Lucy talks to Desmond (Subject 17) - Neumann's immediate successor. This all must have occurred shortly before Desmond was brought to Abstergo's Lab. Could it be that Leila fell in love with Neumann and was trying to help him and talk to him, and he killed her...then proceeded to paint the bedroom wall with her blood in his desperation and insanity?

Finally, who was Neumann? Strangely enough, a search on the name turns up someone of interest that is significant in relation to all of this. His name was John von Neumann, who died in 1957 (long ago enough for him to have a descendant). He was an Hungarian mathematician who "who made major contributions to a vast range of fields, including set theory, functional analysis, quantum mechanics...continuous geometry, economics and game theory.... He is generally regarded as one of the foremost mathematicians of the 20th century."
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_von_Neumann Wikipedia]. We have the Mandlebrot Set - an example of set theory and the repeating overall patterns of history. It is also an example of continuous geometry - a fractal or holographic fragment of a larger whole that is identical to the smaller part. We also have the Lorenz Attractor, which is part of Chaos Theory:

In mathematics, chaos theory describes the behavior of certain dynamical systems – that is, systems whose states evolve with time – that may exhibit dynamics that are highly sensitive to initial conditions (popularly referred to as the butterfly effect). As a result of this sensitivity, which manifests itself as an exponential growth of perturbations in the initial conditions, the behavior of chaotic systems appears to be random. This happens even though these systems are deterministic, meaning that their future dynamics are fully defined by their initial conditions, with no random elements involved. This behavior is known as deterministic chaos, or simply chaos. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaos_theory Wikipedia].

Assassins Creed is most certainly a "deterministic" game, in that there can be only one outcome no matter what you do or when you do it. There are probably millions of permutations of activities within it. (This is true of any game worth it's salt!) And last, but not least, Mr. Neumann was one of the major developers of game theory.
{{Spoiler End}}

==Achievement==
In the Xbox 360 version of ''[[Assassin's Creed]]'', you can gain an [[Achievement]] by having all conversations with Lucy:
{| border="1" style="text-align:center" cellpadding="2"
!width=64|Icon
!width=300|Name
!width=200|Description<ref group="note">Descriptions may not match official descriptions.</ref>
!width=64|Points
!width=64|Secret?
|-
|[[File:AssassinsCreed Conversationalist.jpg]]
|'''Conversationalist'''
|Go through every dialogue with [[Lucy]].
|20
|No
|-
|}
<references group="note" />

{{AC}}
[[Category:Characters|Stillman, Lucy]]

Lucy Stillman

2009-07-20T01:09:14Z

24.228.13.213:

{{Character Infobox
|image=lucy.jpg
|imgdesc=Lucy working with the [[Animus]].
|faction=
|name=Lucy Stillman
|appear=Assassin's Creed
|period=Modern times (2012)
}}

'''Lucy Stillman''' is a hidden [[Assassin]] scientist working for [[Abstergo Industries|Abstergo Industries.]] She helps [[Warren Vidic|Dr. Vidic]] in the research of [[Altaïr]]. She is modelled after and voiced by Kristen Bell.

Not much is known about Lucy at the start of the game, although it can be observed that she is not as cold hearted a person as Dr. Vidic is. To the annoyance of Vidic, she frequently prevents [[Desmond]] from using the [[Animus]] for prolonged periods of time, explaining it can strain the body severely if used for too long. She is also generally warmer in personality than Dr. Vidic and is generally nicer to Desmond, allowing him a bit more freedom than Dr. Vidic does, even to the point of allowing him to use her computer once.

==Biography==
{{Spoiler}}
As the game progresses, Desmond learns more and more about Lucy. He does this in two ways.

===Conversations===
Throughout the game, Desmond can speak to Lucy and get to know her better at the end of each memory segment, after Dr. Vidic leaves the lab. As Desmond talks to Lucy, she starts to tell him a bit about her past. Notice, however, that any statements she makes may be untrue.

Lucy explains that during her college career she was ostracized for her scientific beliefs and theories. The criticism continued after college- no scientific organization would employ her. Desperate, she was almost ready to give up science altogether. Then she received a call from Dr. Vidic, who told her he agreed with her theories and offered her the chance to work for Abstergo and to prove her theories to be true. The beliefs she was criticized for may have regarded [[genetic memory]]. Lucy is portrayed in the game to be knowledgeable about the [[Animus]], so it's likely that, because of her feelings on genetic memory, Vidic contacted her so she could contribute to the creation of the Animus.

Lucy also reveals to Desmond that he is not the only person Abstergo is detaining- she too is a captive. She then tells him a story about how a while back her death was ordered by the company, but before her assailants could finish the deed, they were ordered to stop by Dr. Warren Vidic. She claims that he saved her life that day, and she tells Desmond not to judge Dr. Vidic so harshly, as he is under a lot of pressure. Whether this story is true or not is unknown. It is possible Lucy is feeding Desmond false information in an attempt to get him to trust her, but it could also very well be taken at face value.

===Emails===
At various points in the game you can gain access to Lucy's computer and read her [[emails]]. Desmond comes upon the codes to Lucy's emails when finds door codes to the main room in his wardrobe, and Lucy's access pen, which was left on the Animus. It can be speculated that she planted them to give him a better idea of what was going on with Abstergo. However, this is not certain. The codes may have been left there by a previous subject, and the pen left by mistake.

From the messages, you definitely get the idea that she is telling the truth, as she is obviously concerned for her own safety and is trying to find out more information about a previous Abstergo employee who died a while back. This employee is said to have "committed suicide" but the documents relating to the death are being held as classified and are not being released.

In one deleted email, there is a conversation in which Lucy tells another person that she has been delaying the doctor from finding the artefacts and asking for the other person to send a rescue. A strange reply appears to be an attachment, but has random capitalization of letters. When these capitalized letters are put together, they form, "WE WILL BE THERE SOON". Towards the end of the game, a gunfight is heard outside, and Vidic explains that present-day Assassins have come for Desmond. The hidden message was probably a reference to the attack. If so, it would mean Lucy is an assassin, which is also shown by her showing Desmond her left hand and symbolically pulling in her ring finger to have it appear like Altaïr's missing finger, and is spying on Abstergo Industries. At the end of the game, Desmond gains the ability to use Eagle Vision. When Desmond uses this on Lucy, she appears with a blue aura, confirming her to be a trustful ally.

===The Side Story of Leila and Neumann===

More spoilers...must include two figures from "bloody mural" here for openers:

The Lorenz Attractor

The Lorenz Attractor, which appears in the middle of the wall over Desmond's bed and is the central focus of the entire "mural" is emblematic of the "'''butterfly effect'''". The intricate interweaving of the lines which compose it are paths taken by a particle.

Subject 16 states in the triangle shaped message on the floor that he drained his own body to paint the figures on the floor and walls of the main room where the Animus is located. But had he also used his own blood to paint the wall mural in the sleeping room, he would have bled out - literally - before he finished his work. It is possible that it is Leila's blood used in the wall mural in the sleeping room, done before he painted the messages with his own blood in the Animus room - a murder/suicide.

spending too long in the Animus is the issue causing it. This seems to be her main reason for concern about Desmond, although it's mentioned very briefly.

Was this Neumann that Vidic mentions in his email to Lucy about "dipping her quill in company ink". Leila operated the Animus before Lucy and probably talked to Subject 16 much as Lucy talks to Desmond (Subject 17) - Neumann's immediate successor. This all must have occurred shortly before Desmond was brought to Abstergo's Lab. Could it be that Leila fell in love with Neumann and was trying to help him and talk to him, and he killed her...then proceeded to paint the bedroom wall with her blood in his desperation and insanity?

Finally, who was Neumann? Strangely enough, a search on the name turns up someone of interest that is significant in relation to all of this. His name was John von Neumann, who died in 1957 (long ago enough for him to have a descendant). He was an Hungarian mathematician who "who made major contributions to a vast range of fields, including set theory, functional analysis, quantum mechanics...continuous geometry, economics and game theory.... He is generally regarded as one of the foremost mathematicians of the 20th century."
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_von_Neumann Wikipedia]. We have the Mandlebrot Set - an example of set theory and the repeating overall patterns of history. It is also an example of continuous geometry - a fractal or holographic fragment of a larger whole that is identical to the smaller part. We also have the Lorenz Attractor, which is part of Chaos Theory:

In mathematics, chaos theory describes the behavior of certain dynamical systems – that is, systems whose states evolve with time – that may exhibit dynamics that are highly sensitive to initial conditions (popularly referred to as the butterfly effect). As a result of this sensitivity, which manifests itself as an exponential growth of perturbations in the initial conditions, the behavior of chaotic systems appears to be random. This happens even though these systems are deterministic, meaning that their future dynamics are fully defined by their initial conditions, with no random elements involved. This behavior is known as deterministic chaos, or simply chaos. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaos_theory Wikipedia].

Assassins Creed is most certainly a "deterministic" game, in that there can be only one outcome no matter what you do or when you do it. There are probably millions of permutations of activities within it. (This is true of any game worth it's salt!) And last, but not least, Mr. Neumann was one of the major developers of game theory.
{{Spoiler End}}

==Achievement==
In the Xbox 360 version of ''[[Assassin's Creed]]'', you can gain an [[Achievement]] by having all conversations with Lucy:
{| border="1" style="text-align:center" cellpadding="2"
!width=64|Icon
!width=300|Name
!width=200|Description<ref group="note">Descriptions may not match official descriptions.</ref>
!width=64|Points
!width=64|Secret?
|-
|[[File:AssassinsCreed Conversationalist.jpg]]
|'''Conversationalist'''
|Go through every dialogue with [[Lucy]].
|20
|No
|-
|}
<references group="note" />

{{AC}}
[[Category:Characters|Stillman, Lucy]]