Sofia Rikkin

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"I've always known that in your heart, you were a scientist first, a Templar second."

―Alan Rikkin to Sofia, 2016.

Sofia Rikkin (born 1980) is a scientist and the head of the Abstergo Foundation Rehabilitation Center in Madrid. She is also the daughter of Alan Rikkin, the former CEO of Abstergo Industries and member of the Templar Order's Inner Sanctum, with whom she had a difficult relationship.

In October 2016, Sofia came into contact with Callum Lynch, a criminal whose Assassin ancestry was of interest to the Council of Elders within the Order. During their time together, the pair formed a connection, but when Lynch's escape from the Foundation led to the death of Alan Rikkin at his hand, Sofia dedicated herself to chasing down her father's killer.

Biography

Early life

Sofia was born in 1980 as the daughter of high-ranking Templar Alan Rikkin and his wife. She had vague memories of her father carrying her on his shoulders as a young toddler, but this gradually stopped four years later after the Assassin Brotherhood murdered her mother. Following her mother’s death, her father became more emotionally distant and controlling in her upbringing, becoming increasingly absorbed in his work. He also placed tighter security around their home for protection. One night, she woke up screaming from a nightmare and sought comfort, but her father was absent.

Sofia experienced a mostly lonely childhood, as her father did not allow her to associate with "ordinary" children and instead had her homeschooled by governesses. As a young child, she had a vivid imagination and a strong intellectual curiosity. While reading historical books, she imagined certain historical figures as her "imaginary" friends. She grew up surrounded by Animus technology, which fascinated her, and computers became her primary source of entertainment.

At some point in her early life, Sofia convinced her father to take in a stray dog she had found and immediately bonded with. Her father reluctantly agreed but insisted that she take full responsibility for its care. One day, while out for a walk, the dog became frightened. Sofia tried to calm it, but due to its past experiences, it bit her arm, causing her to bleed. The dog attempted to lick her wound as a sign of remorse. When she returned home, her father was furious and had a doctor stitch her wound. Without informing Sofia, her father had the dog taken away and euthanized, only telling her afterward when she asked about its whereabouts. The incident left her speechless, and the only thing he said was that he did not want to see her in pain.

After excelling in her studies during adolescence, Sofia was eventually told that her father was a Templar and that Abstergo Industries served as the modern front of the Templar Order. Shortly afterward, she followed in his footsteps, beginning her Templar career as a scientist for Abstergo's Animus Project, primarily working on Animus technology.

Work at Abstergo Industries

In 2006, while in Berkeley, Sofia participated in Abstergo's Young Innovators program, where she met Layla Hassan, a student at the campus they visited. Impressed by Layla's technological expertise, she offered her a position at Abstergo Industries, allowing her to advance toward the Animus Project. Over time, the two became close acquaintances and remained in contact.

By 2014, Alan Rikkin had appointed Sofia as the head of the Abstergo Foundation Rehabilitation Center in Madrid, where she sought a "cure for violence" through the Animus Project. Around this time, during a dinner with her father, she shared her idea for an Animus machine that would allow subjects more physical movement instead of remaining passive, believing this approach would be more effective.

In February 2014, Sofia shared schematics for the Animus 4.3 with Layla Hassan, seeking her advice on improving the original model. The two exchanged emails about an Animus prototype for the Aerie facility in North America, designed to give users greater freedom of movement. After reviewing the blueprints, Layla told Sofia she was "looking at it the wrong way" and suggested adding an inverted six-axis motion rig. This design would suspend subjects in midair, allowing them to move freely while experiencing their ancestors' memories.

Initially baffled by Layla's idea, Sofia nevertheless passed the concept along to Gabriel King, chief engineer at Abstergo's Madrid facility, for further evaluation. Like Sofia, Gabriel was skeptical at first until his expression shifted to a smile, indicating a change in perspective. Layla, however, would hear little about this development.

On August 31, 2016, Sofia ended her relationship with Layla Hassan, who had repeatedly tried to contact her regarding the Animus' development. She sent a goodbye email, asking Layla to stop reaching out. In the message, Sofia acknowledged Layla's brilliance but stated that her Abstergo record showed her to be too unpredictable and transgressive to join the Animus Project, as she could not be trusted to follow the rules.

Meeting Lynch

On October 2016, after discovering the whereabouts of Callum Lynch, an Assassin descendant who unknowingly had clues leading to a specific Apple of Eden within his genetic memory, Sofia traveled to Texas where Lynch was about to be executed for murder. Present in the room where her target was injected with what he believed to be lethal drugs, the Templar had in fact staged the execution and had Lynch secretly brought to Madrid.

The next day, as he woke up from his induced coma, Sofia introduced herself to Lynch and informed him that for the rest of the world he was now officially dead. Despite her efforts to appease the disoriented man, still under the effects of the tetrodotoxin, Lynch fled, scrambling and hobbling through the facility with Sofia ordering her men to let him go. Eventually, after passing by a lot of guards, orderlies and other 'patients', Lynch reached the garden of the facility and discovered that the building was located high above the ground. Standing upon the ledge, Lynch was unsure of what to do next when Sofia caught up with him. Assuring him that he wasn't a prisoner despite the evidence to the contrary, Sofia asked Lynch to trust her and revealed that he was in the Abstergo Foundation Rehabilitation Center, where she worked on perfecting humankind by eradicating violence. After she asked for his help in this endeavor, Lynch finally stepped away from the edge and approached Rikkin only to be shot with a sedative dart by McGowen, the Center's chief of security.

Sofia, angered by McGowen's action, coldly told him that she had everything under control; McGowen responded that he was following her father's orders, the powerful Templar wanting Lynch in the Animus as soon as possible. While stating that Lynch was her patient and that she was the one in charge of the facility, Sofia had no choice but to comply and the guards dragged Lynch away. In the Animus room, Sofia supervised her team work as a groggy Lynch was equipped with Hidden Blades and strapped to the mechanical arm of an Animus 4.3. As Lynch was lifted in the air by the arm, Sofia told him that he was about to relive the memories of one of his ancestors from 1491 Andalusia, the Assassin Aguilar de Nerha, and warned the panicked man not to resist the memories. During Lynch's first regression, Sofia and the technicians witnessed as Aguilar and the Spanish Assassins tried to rescue Prince Ahmed of Granada from the Templars of the time. However, after experiencing the failure of his ancestor, Lynch desynchronized and, traumatized by the ordeal, became catatonic. Sofia went to Lynch and told him that he did well before ordering orderlies to bring him to his room and let him rest.

Looking for the Apple

While Lynch was recovering, Sofia met with Alan Rikkin, her father, who had come from London to oversee his daughter's work with the new subject. After he asked if everything went well, Sofia assured Rikkin that Lynch was the one who would lead them to the Apple hidden by Aguilar. As Alan ordered her to push Lynch further, Sofia rebuffed her father, telling him that it was not how the Animus worked and that they needed to keep the subject in good health. The Grand Master then informed his daughter that he was going back to London, having been summoned by the Council of Elders.

The next day, as Lynch woke up, he began to have vivid hallucinations of Aguilar until Sofia entered the room. She explained that he was experiencing side-effects of the Animus, the Bleeding Effect, and once again offered to help him. Enraged by what was happening to him, the man suddenly grabbed the Templar by the throat and demanded to know what they wanted from him. Sofia ordered the guards to stand down and after he released her, invited Lynch to follow her back to her lab. Once there, Lynch discovered numerous newspapers headlines about his troubled past as well as his complete Assassin genealogy.

Personality and traits

An idealist, Sofia believed she could better the world through her work at Abstergo and sought to eradicate humanity's violent impulses using science and the Pieces of Eden. In doing so, she hoped to create a more peaceful society. A hard working scientist who could speak three languages, ^{[citation needed]} she could be quite distant at times and often disregarded giving credit to others, such as taking credit for the Animus 4.3 concept conceived by Layla Hassan. Her relationship with her father Alan Rikkin was difficult and estranged most of the time; where he sought to contain the Assassin threat, she only sought to contain violence itself.

Behind the scenes

Sofia Rikkin is a character in the film Assassin's Creed, where she is portrayed by the actress Marion Cotillard.

Trivia

Callum's ancestor

• The name Sofia is derived from the Greek Σοφία, which means 'wisdom'. In the movie novelization, Alan Rikkin mentions that she was named for this reason.
• During one of Callum Lynch's Animus sessions, a female ancestor sprung from his DNA who had an identical face to Sofia Rikkin. Implying that the Rikkin and Lynch bloodlines may be distantly connected, although this is never explicitly confirmed in the main storyline or any of the side media. In the official movie novelization it's confirmed that Sofia recognizes the woman's face as exactly her own, further implying a possible familial link between them.

Gallery

• 
  Sofia with Callum
• 
  Sofia and her father
• 
  Picture of Sofia with her mother

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Heresy (first appearance)
• Assassin's Creed (film)
• Assassin's Creed: The Official Movie Novelization
• Assassin's Creed: Origins (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed: The Essential Guide (2nd edition)
• Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood of Venice (mentioned only)