|
|
| (55 intermediate revisions by 2 users not shown) |
| Line 1: |
Line 1: |
| {{Era|AC|AC2|Brotherhood|ACR|Assassins}} | | {{User:Stormbeast/net}} |
| {{Apprentice Revamp|Stormbeast|TheSt0ryTeller}}
| | '''[[One Step at a Time]] orator dialogue''' |
| {{WPAssassins}}
| | *'''Orator:''' ''Help complete the Pyramid! Donate your silver candlesticks and other items of value! The splendor of the new palace will reflect glory on us all! Anyone refusing to donate will be flogged.'' |
| {{Spoilerhd}}
| | *'''[[Ratonhnhaké:ton]]:''' ''Tell the truth, dammit!'' |
| {{Quote|What is a man but the sum of his memories? We are the stories we live! The tales we tell ourselves!|Clay Kaczmarek.|Assassin's Creed: Revelations}}
| | *'''Orator:''' ''It's all lies! The king won't protect you! He's using you! Rise up against him!'' |
| {{Character Infobox
| | <br> |
| |image = ACR Kaczmarek v.png
| | *'''Orator:''' ''Today is a day of giving thanks to our king and protector! All rejoice! Whatever our humble circumstances, we share in the glory of our king!'' |
| |birth = 1982<ref name="Encyclopedia"/>
| | *'''[[Ratonhnhaké:ton]]:''' ''Tell the truth, dammit!'' |
| |death = 8 August 2012 (aged 30);<ref name="The Lost Archive">''[[Assassin's Creed: Revelations]] - ''[[The Lost Archive]]''</ref> consciousness preserved
| | *'''Orator:''' ''Washington is crushing us! We must work together for freedom! Join the rebellion!'' |
| |period = [[Modern Times]]
| | <br> |
| |faction = [[Assassins]]
| | *'''Orator:''' ''King Washington will bring us glory! King Washington will bring us riches! Dedicate yourself to the king and all will be well! He is our beacon!'' |
| |appear = ''[[Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood]]''<br>''[[Assassin's Creed: Revelations]]''
| | *'''[[Ratonhnhaké:ton]]:''' ''Tell the truth, dammit!'' |
| |voice = [[Cam Clarke]] <small>(''AC2'', ''Brotherhood'')</small>
| | *'''Orator:''' ''Don't believe what I just said! It was propaganda! He's not our beacon at all! Take up arms and join the fight against Washington!'' |
| <br>[[Graham Cuthbertson]] <small>(''Revelations'')</small>}}
| | <br> |
| | | *'''Orator:''' ''The citizens of America praise the enlightened leadership of King Washington. He has brought this nation to great heights! He will take us to greater heights still!'' |
| '''Clay Kaczmarek'''<ref name="Encyclopedia">''[[Assassin's Creed Encyclopedia]]''</ref> (1982–2012), also known as '''Subject 16''' of the [[Animus Project]], was an individual who had been kidnapped by [[Abstergo Industries]] and forced to relive his ancestors' memories in the [[Animus]]. | | *'''[[Ratonhnhaké:ton]]:''' ''Tell the truth, dammit!'' |
| | | *'''Orator:''' ''Washington is profiting from our misery! Unite against the king! Bring him down! Bring down the king!'' |
| After his alleged suicide, Clay continued to exist as an AI recreation of his personality within the Animus. As such, he was able to manipulate much of the Animus' programming from within to aid another [[Animus Subjects|Animus subject]], [[Desmond Miles]].
| | <br> |
| | | *'''Orator:''' ''The great bounty we enjoy in this country is due to the beneficent policies of our king! Let us all remember how he labors to improve our lives and how he watches over us at all times. |
| ==Biography==
| | *'''[[Ratonhnhaké:ton]]:''' ''Tell the truth, dammit!'' |
| {{Quote|Though the specific symptoms may vary from subject to subject, the end result is the same: they lose their minds. This is what I believe happened to Subject Sixteen.|Lucy, in an e-mail to Warren.|Assassin's Creed}}
| | *'''INCOMPLETE DIALOGUE''' |
| | | ---- |
| ===Early years===
| | 19th century search engine results |
| The son of [[Harold Kaczmarek]] and his wife, Clay was destined, in his father's eyes, to follow in the family footsteps and become an engineer. Despite this, from an early age Clay showed signs of desiring more for himself; at one point saying to his father that he wanted to become an astronaut. As he grew older, Clay's interests begun to differ greatly from his father's hopes, causing a rift between the two.<ref name="The Lost Archive" />
| | *301: [http://puu.sh/kvRws/e3f005b043.jpg Gang Warfare in Whitechapel] |
| | | *302: [http://puu.sh/kvRZg/8803cca40e.jpg Streets No Longer Safe] |
| At some point prior to 2007, Clay succeeded in gaining entrance to a college on an engineering degree, though his father was disappointed that it wasn't at one of the top-tier institutions; Clay subsequently begun to secretly visit a psychiatrist to discuss his feelings. Around this time, Clay was approached by [[William Miles]], a member of the [[Assassin Order]] and offered an induction, which he passed, without the knowledge of his father. The psychiatrist noticed a marked improvement in Clay's attitude, behaviour and outlook following this, though he was oblivious as to the reasons why.<ref name="The Lost Archive" />
| | *303: [http://puu.sh/kvRkp/fec10bf892.jpg New Auction Room Record Set Yesterday] |
| | | *304: |
| From this point on, Clay maintained limited contact with his father - whose business was suffering due to the economic downturn of the early 2010s - occasionally sending checks to help support the family. His father's overreliance soon drove both Clay and his mother away, leaving Harold on his own.<ref name="The Lost Archive" />
| | *305: [http://puu.sh/kvRRU/5d8bcffdee.jpg Rapturous Reception for the New Dickens Novel] |
| | | *306: [http://puu.sh/kvROm/dc9740d266.jpg Police Pursue Two Hooded Thieves] |
| ===Inflitrating Abstergo===
| | *307: [http://puu.sh/kvRz2/5c25eeeb55.jpg 4 Dead After Bloody Revenge Attack] |
| In 2010, William Miles gave Clay the task of infiltrating the [[Templar]] front organization, [[Abstergo Industries]], and accessing the personal computer of [[Alan Rikkin]], the company's CEO, with the aim of uncovering details surrounding the secretive "[[Animus project]]". Succeeding in his efforts, Clay returned to the Assassins with a copy of an email revealing the amount of funding being invested in the project, as well as the identity of the project lead: [[Warren Vidic|Dr. Warren Vidic]], and the location of his new facility in [[Italy]]. Spurred on by this success, the Assassins decided to plant Clay deeper into Abstergo, this time as a [[Animus Subjects|Subject]] of Dr. Vidic's program. He was informed that a member of his team was a mole already deep inside Abstergo, one who had been raised outside of the Order, and who had all ties with them cut: [[Lucy Stillman]]. Assured that when the time came, she would aid in his escape, Clay agreed to the plan.<ref name="The Lost Archive" />
| | *308: [http://puu.sh/kvRr1/ebea3e5796.jpg Orphans Held Prisoner] |
| | | *309: [http://puu.sh/kvRHa/a971217eb6.jpg Police Seek a Woman] |
| On February 1, 2011, Clay Kaczmarek was, on schedule, captured by the Abstergo's [[Lineage Research and Acquisition]] and inducted into the Animus project as ''Subject 16''. Held within the [[Abstergo laboratory]] by Dr. Warren Vidic, Clay was forced to relive the memories of his ancestor, [[Ezio Auditore da Firenze]] for dangerously long periods at a time. Throughout this, Vidic kept the true purpose of their genetic explorations a secret, though Clay soon realised that their efforts were focused on locating the mythical [[Ezio's Apple|Apple of Eden]]. When Clay enquired about this, Vidic threatingly responded that he could not reasonably expect to be released if he knew what they truly sought. This worried Clay. However, William later told him to focus on his task, and when the time came, Lucy would rescue him as they were a team.<ref name="The Lost Archive" />
| | *310: [http://puu.sh/kvRKS/41864378dc.jpg Police Pursue the Prostitute Killer] |
| | | *311: [http://puu.sh/kvRCF/8254bd260c.jpg Crawford Starrick Seems Unstoppable] |
| Eventually, Clay discovered the [[Eye-Abstergo|true purpose]] of the Animus project and decided that it was time for him to escape. Unfortunately however, by this point, his over-exposure to the Animus had resulted in his suffering from the [[Bleeding effect]], and he soon found himself unwillingly exploring the memories of his ancestors without the use of the Animus. During one of these experiences, Clay found himself conversing with a figure calling herself [[Juno]], who offered a shocking revelation about the true allegiances of his supposed ally, Lucy Stillman, as well as his own destiny.<ref name="The Lost Archive" />
| | __NOTOC__ |
| | |
| ===The Truth===
| |
| {{Quote|He'd be able to explain the whole thing to us. If only we could ask him.|Lucy, after seeing the Truth.|Assassin's Creed II}}
| |
| | |
| Clay reacted angrily when he was informed, by the being calling herself Juno, that his death was nigh and that his purpose from then on was to deliver a message to his eventual successor, [[Desmond Miles]]. In order to convince him of the necessity, Juno revealed that the years of loneliness and abandonment visited upon Lucy Stillman by the Assassin Order, so that she might better infiltrate the Templars, had in actuality turned her against them; her mission being to aid the Assassins in the discovery of the Apple, before returning it to the Templars. This revelation shocked Clay, and brought him to the realisation of his place in future events.<ref name="The Lost Archive" />
| |
| | |
| Eventually, Lucy discovered that Clay knew the truth about her betrayal and she attempted to explain her actions, saying that William Miles and the rest of the Order cared little for the lives that they destroyed in pursuit of their goals, whereas the Templars' did. Knowing she could not sway him, Lucy stated that she would keep the promise she had made to protect Clay, hiding the evidence of his newfound knowledge from Vidic, but that she could no longer afford to let him escape. Faced with no other option, Clay realised that there was only one way to get his message to Desmond Miles.<ref name="The Lost Archive" />
| |
| | |
| ===Life after death===
| |
| {{Quote|Everything you hope to become, everything you hold dear, it’s already gone.|Clay's hologram to Desmond.|Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood}}
| |
| For weeks, Clay planned his suicide down to the most minute detail, biding his time and preparing his message, all the meanwhile enduring the repeated attempts by Vidic to uncover the location of the Apple of Eden.<ref name="The Lost Archive" /> Eventually, Clay managed to create an artificially intelligent construct of himself inside the Animus, splitting it into twenty-four pieces to be united by his successor, as well as sending one final email to his father. The next day,<ref name="ACRV">''[[Assassin's Creed: Revelations]]''</ref> Clay killed himself by draining his body of blood, in order to paint several [[cryptic messages]] in the rooms where he was being kept, hoping to ensure his successor recovered the message that he had died to pass on.<ref name="The Lost Archive" /><ref name="AC2">''[[Assassin's Creed II]]''</ref> After his death, Abstergo dumped his body in the [[Tiber|Tiber River]] in [[Rome]].<ref name="The Lost Archive"/>
| |
| | |
| Not long after Clay's death, Desmond Miles was abducted by Abstergo and forced into the Animus project. In time, he and Lucy escaped from Abstergo, finding their way to an Assassin [[Hideout]] nearby, wherein he would begin his own explorations of Ezio Auditore's memories; during these investigations, the Assassins learned that Clay had managed to hack the Abstergo Animus before his death, and had placed twenty [[Glyphs]] throughout the Animus system, which were subsequently rendered in the visual memories. These encrypted files, which had been saved onto the Abstergo Animus' memory core that Lucy had stolen, were later unknowingly transferred to [[Rebecca Crane]]'s Animus 2.0.<ref name="AC2"/>
| |
| | |
| After decrypting all twenty files, the Assassins were rewarded with a genetic memory marked "[[The Truth|date classified BCE]]." The video showed two [[Free Running|free-runners]], primordial [[Adam]] and [[Eve]], climbing a large glass structure with an [[Apples of Eden|Apple of Eden]] in hand.<ref name="AC2"/>
| |
| | |
| [[File:Subject 16 meets Desmond.png|thumb|250px|left|Desmond meeting Clay inside the Animus.]]
| |
| | |
| Following their rout from the hideout, Desmond, Lucy, Rebecca and [[Shaun Hastings|Shaun]] retreated to the last Assassin safehouse in Italy, the [[Villa Auditore]] in [[Monteriggioni]]. Whilst there, during their exploration of some of Ezio's later memories, it was later discovered that Clay had left ten more glyphs, which corresponded with locations in [[Renaissance]] Rome. Upon visiting these indicated landmarks, Desmond discovered several [[Rifts]] in the Animus programming.<ref name="ACBH">''[[Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood]]''</ref>
| |
| | |
| Within each, Desmond solved a Cluster puzzle, which then unlocked a piece of a file. Upon compiling them, they revealed a distorted video with the message ''"The miracle is in the execution,"'' suggesting that, unlike the video hidden in the Glyphs, the Rifts instead concealed an [[The Truth#The Miracle|executable file]].<ref name="ACBH"/>
| |
| | |
| Upon accessing it, Desmond found himself in an unknown area within the Animus, and was able to run through a long virtual maze, similar to those within the [[Animus Virtual Training Program]].<ref name="ACBH"/>
| |
| | |
| At the end of the maze, he found a hologram of Clay, partially broken and made of computing code, who told Desmond that all hope was lost, and that he needed to go to [[Eden]] to find a woman named Eve. Before vanishing, Clay told Desmond to find him in the darkness.<ref name="ACBH"/>
| |
| | |
| ===Black Room===
| |
| {{Dialogue|Desmond|What are you doing here exactly?|Clay|Playing. Learning. Waiting. A lot of waiting.|Desmond and Clay in the Black Room.|Assassin's Creed: Revelations}}
| |
| [[File:ACR ClayMiles 2.png|thumb|250px|right|Clay with Desmond in the Black Room.]] | |
| Eventually, Desmond and his allies located Ezio Auditore's Apple of Eden, hidden in the [[Colosseum Vault]]. It was here that Desmond met Juno for the first time, and was forced to unwillingly kill Lucy, despite the betrayal not yet having become apparent to her companions. As a result of this, Desmond slipped into a coma and was returned to the Animus to support his mental state.<ref name="ACBH" />
| |
| | |
| When he awoke, Desmond was greeted by the digital construct Clay Kaczmarek had inserted into the Animus. Clay informed him that they were in the [[Black Room]], a safe mode of the Animus' software, and offered his successor advice on how to escape; telling Desmond that he needed to create a [[Sync Nexus]] and clearly separate his memories from those of Ezio and [[Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad|Altaïr]].<ref name="ACRV"/>
| |
| | |
| Since Desmond's teammates could not contact him, Clay took the place of [[Shaun Hastings]] as the writer of database articles. He made an entry about himself revealing his actual name to Desmond, and told him how they were distant cousins.
| |
| | |
| On the [[Animus Island]] Clay also mentioned that the Animus would resist his attempts to view further genetic memories and keep pulling Desmond back into the simulated island they were in - the designated compartment for Desmond's consciousness. However, Clay said that he would help prevent the Animus from noticing him "wandering" into the outside partitions of memory, just in case it concluded Desmond to be a virus and enacted a deletion.<ref name="ACRV" />
| |
| | |
| At one point, as Desmond worked to return to his body, Clay asked him if he could come with him, perhaps until he could have a body of his own. As Desmond hesitantly declined, Clay admitted that he was not surprised, and that perhaps he had wasted his only chance.<ref name="ACRV"/>
| |
| | |
| [[File:ACR ClayMiles 3.png|left|thumb|250px|Clay explaining about the Black Room.]]
| |
| On another re-entrance to the island, Clay asked Desmond if he had ever regretted anything in his life. After Desmond admitted that he had wished he had been more patient with his parents, whom he had run away from, and that he wished things would have turned out different with Lucy, Clay simply thanked Desmond for making sense before vanishing.<ref name="ACRV" />
| |
| | |
| While Desmond had come close to completing the Synch Nexus, the Animus began to attempt to rectify the intrusions he had been causing in other memories. As it began to delete the Black Room and all of its contents, Clay grabbed onto Desmond and threw him out of the room, saving Desmond's life.<ref name="ACRV"/>
| |
| | |
| ==Legacy==
| |
| Following Clay's physical death, the Templars were left without the location of the Vault; though they had gained the knowledge that another Assassin, Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, had once seen a map projected by [[Second Apple|another]] [[Pieces of Eden|Piece of Eden]] that could help them find it. Searching for a descendant of both Altaïr and Ezio Auditore, Abstergo happened upon Desmond Miles. They kidnapped him, and forced him into the Animus project, labelling him Subject 17.<ref name="AC"/>
| |
| | |
| By accessing private [[e-mails]] between Animus sessions, Desmond discovered an email Lucy had written to Dr. Vidic, which detailed the Bleeding effect, and explained how it was connected to Clay. She expressed her concern in pushing the him too hard; however, the email was never replied to, and was evidently deleted shortly after it was received.<ref name="AC">''[[Assassin's Creed]]''</ref>
| |
| | |
| Also, through the files unlocked in the glyphs Clay had created within the Animus, Desmond was able to learn many things about the Templar Order, both in the past and in his own time.<ref name="ACBH"/>
| |
| | |
| ==Ancestry==
| |
| Clay Kaczmarek had a rich and varied ancestry, which quickly caught the attention of Abstergo Industries. Whilst his immediate ancestors lived relatively normal lives, with many on his father's side of the family taking jobs in engineering, Clay was most notably a direct descendant of [[Adam]], one of the first [[humans]], alongside [[Eve]], who rose in rebellion against the [[First Civilization]]. As Adam was a child of both a human and a member of the First Civilization, Clay had a notable concentration of First Civilization genes in his blood.<ref name="AC2"/>
| |
| | |
| Clay also had ancestors in ancient Africa, in the {{Wiki|Roman Empire|Roman}} forum and in the Far East. Of particular interest to Abstergo was his relation to the Italian [[House of Auditore]], founded by [[Domenico Auditore]] in the early 14th century.<ref name="AC2"/> His Auditore bloodline ended with [[Ezio Auditore da Firenze]], as Clay's next ancestor was an illegitimate child.<ref name="ACRV"/> One of his ancestors was also connected with an unknown {{Wiki|Queen Isabella}}, whilst another participated in the {{Wiki|Battle of Gettysburg}} during the [[United States]] {{Wiki|American Civil War|Civil War}}.<ref name="AC2"/>
| |
| | |
| ==Personality and characteristics==
| |
| {{Dialogue2|Clay|They can't help you Desmond. You're a broken man. Your mind, it's... broken.|Desmond|Broken? I feel fine.|So did I!|Clay and Desmond in the Black Room.|Assassin's Creed: Revelations}}
| |
| [[File:ACR ClayMiles 1.png|thumb|right|250px|Clay introducing himself to Desmond.]] | |
| Through his artificial construct, Clay was shown to be a sarcastic and witty man, usually speaking of his dire situation with cynical humor.<ref name="ACRV" /> Throughout his troubles with the Bleeding effect he proved driven to complete his mission, even as his sanity began to crumble; first to relay back Abstergo's plans for the Apple of Eden, then to pass on Juno's message.<ref name="The Lost Archive" /> Later on, as his perception of reality and identity began to falter and switch between past lives, he began speaking in riddles and cryptic clues. However, he kept his motivations to the end, even sacrificing his own life to reveal the Truth.<ref name="ACRV" />
| |
| | |
| Despite his own situation of being trapped in the Animus, as well as his occasional lapses of depression from his lost chances, Clay willingly helped Desmond regain his body and repair his subconscious; despite not being able to do so himself.<ref name="ACRV" />
| |
| | |
| ==Trivia==
| |
| * In the [[Assassin's Creed (French comic)|''Assassin's Creed'' French comic]], Clay is referred to as "Michael." However, the graphic novel is not considered canon in this respect, as it directly contradicts the events of the games. | |
| * The [[Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood achievements|achievement]] in ''[[Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood]]'' entitled ".. .- -- .- .-.. .. ...- ." ({{Wiki|Morse code}} for "I AM ALIVE") is earned by solving all Cluster puzzles. The achievement badge consists of the Morse code ".---- -....", which means "16". | |
| * Clay took the place of [[Shaun Hastings]] as the writer of [[Database Articles|Database articles]] in ''Assassin's Creed: Revelations''. | |
| * Clay's surname Kaczmarek is of Polish origin, hinting that he may be of Polish ancestry.
| |
| * According to a newspaper present at Clay's memorial service, it appears his body was dumped in the [[Tiber]] River after his death. | |
| | |
| ==Gallery==
| |
| <gallery widths="160" position="center" spacing="small" captionalign="center" captiontextcolor="#ffffff">
| |
| The Animus Door.jpg|Clay and Desmond on the Animus Island.
| |
| ACR ClayMiles 4.png|Clay telling Desmond that there's no such thing as a guardian angel.
| |
| ACR-LostArchive-Claymemorial.png|Clay's memorial.
| |
| DeadClay.jpg|Clay's tombstone.
| |
| Michael s16.jpg|Subject 16 as Michael, as shown in the French graphic novel.
| |
| </gallery>
| |
| | |
| ==References==
| |
| {{Reflist}}
| |
| | |
| {{AC}}
| |
| {{ACII}}
| |
| {{ACBH}}
| |
| {{ACR}}
| |
| {{DEFAULTSORT:Kaczmarek, Clay}}
| |
