Floating conversations

Over the course of their lives, Haytham Kenway and Ratonhnhaké:ton had various conversations with different people.

Haytham Kenway

The Providence

On the second day of the voyage on board the Providence, Haytham entered one of the cabins and spoke to its inhabitant, Rupert Martin.

• Haytham: Have a moment to talk?
• Rupert: Ah, a fellow Londoner! Good to see I'm not the only man of means aboard. Rupert Martin, pleased to meet you.
• Haytham: Haytham Kenway. Pleasure.
• Rupert: Seems we picked an excellent time to leave the city.
• Haytham: Oh?
• Rupert: You didn't hear about the murder at the opera house?
• Haytham: No. What happened?
• Rupert: They're still trying to sort it out. And I suspect they'll be at it for a good while.
• Haytham: Any word on the motive?
• Rupert: They've ruled out robbery. So perhaps it was a business arrangement gone sour. Or something more personal... more lurid. Who knows. But I am glad to be away from it. The city grows more dangerous by the day.

Haytham entered the infirmary, and spoke to the doctor, who was tending to a sailor.

• Haytham: Good morning, Doctor.
• Doctor: To you as well.
• Haytham: A question, if I may. Do you serve aboard the ship? Or are you simply taking passage?
• Doctor: A bit of both, actually. I've been commissioned by the royal navy to study maritime illness. I'll be observing the crew during the journey. We have found that sailors fare far better on the open seas than the rest of us. I hope to discover why that is.
• Haytham: Well, I hope you are successful in your endeavors.
• Doctor: As do I. Thank you for the kind words.

Haytham then made his way to the upper deck, where he met the ship's captain, Samuel Smythe.

• Haytham: Captain.
• Samuel: Mister Kenway.
• Haytham: I just wanted to thank you again for taking me aboard, and apologize for any inconvenience it may have caused.
• Samuel: Inconvenience would be an understatement.
• Haytham: I'm sorry, I don't follow.
• Samuel: My ship was held in port for two days that we might accommodate you. I lost several contracts as a result.
• Haytham: I had no idea...
• Samuel: Of course not. You nobles are all the same...

Following the encounter with the sailors, Haytham spoke to the man at the helm.

• Haytham: Do you expect we'll have a pleasant crossing?
• Helmsman It is a quiet time of year - though rogue storms and troubled waters are not unheard of. But no need to fret. At worst they'll prove an inconvenience. I'm more concerned about pirates and rogue privateers.
• Haytham: Have you encountered them before?
• Helmsman: Aye. But the Providence is a strong ship - and her crew well trained. They will surely keep us safe.

Several days later, Haytham encountered Hector Graves while inspecting the lower deck for signs of mutiny.

• Graves: You lookin' for another fight, that it? Go away.

Haytham approached Quill.

• Quill I ain't got nothing to say to you.

Haytham continued his search.

• Mills: Quite the basting you gave Graves and Quill.
• Haytham: Wasn't by choice.
• Mills: Aye. Blockheads, the both of them. Where are my manners. Louis Mills. Pleased to meet you.
• Haytham: Haytham Kenway. So should I be watching my back?
• Mills: I think the boys learned their lesson. they're normally not so nasty. Honest. It's just the past few crossings have been a bit... rough.
• Haytham: Oh?
• Mills: Captain's trying to cut costs. Reduced rations, lower wages, more dangerous cargo... It's put the crew on edge.
• Haytham: Is there cause for concern, then?
• Mills: Not if I can help it. But the Captain needs to think about the way he treats his men...

Upon speaking to James, Haytham returned to Smythe.

• Samuel: You must expose whatever they're plotting.
• Haytham: Your crew is a tight-lipped bunch, but I'll see what I can do...
• Samuel: Well, hurry up!

Benjamin Franklin

During his time in Boston in 1754, Haytham met Benjamin Franklin inside a general store.

• Franklin: Hello again.
• Haytham: More Almanac pages?
• Franklin: Not quite. It's a treatise, actually.
• Haytham: Oh? Concerning what?
• Franklin: The benefits of taking an older woman as a lover.
• Haytham: Really? This, I'd like to hear.
• Franklin: First and most obvious - they're wiser. And so this makes for far more stimulating conversation. Makes other things more stimulating as well. But more on that in a moment.
• Haytham: Alright. Your argument for experience makes some sense.
• Franklin: Second, when beauty fades, women must improve their utility - lest they be discarded and forgotten. Rare is an old woman who is not also kind, compassionate, and good.
• Haytham: That's something of a generalization.
• Franklin: But also true. Now onto the third! Older women cannot conceive! Which means one less thing over which to fret. In fact, you also decrease the chance of acquiring something like the French Pox - its presence clearly visible - or the woman dead.
• Haytham: And should one desire a child?
• Franklin: Then make a young woman your wife. Let the older woman be a mistress. And that brings me to my fourth point: With age comes prudence. An older woman is less likely to reveal your indiscretions.
• Haytham: Yes. I suppose you know quite a bit about that.
• Franklin: And proud of it, thank you! As to the fifth reason: Because in every animal that walks upright, the deficiency of the fluids that fill the muscles appears first in the highest part: the face first grows lank and wrinkled, then the neck; then the breast and arms; the lower parts continuing to last as plump as ever: So covering all the above with a basket, and regarding only what is below the girdle, it is impossible of two women to know an old from a young one. And as in the dark all cats are grey, the pleasure of corporal enjoyment with an old woman is at least equal, and frequently superior, every knack being by practice capable of improvement.
• Haytham: You mad bastard!
• Franklin: Well it's true. And believe me, I should know - I've sampled a great many. You should try one as well! Like a fine wine, they only improve with age. Although... I suppose if left unattended too long, they have a tendency to sour. And that, my friend, is a most unpleasant experience. Better to work in a field often plowed, you know?
• Haytham: Is there more?
• Franklin: Indeed, indeed. The sixth is this: the sin is less. To take a maidenhead is a great responsibility. Mishandled, it can ruin lives. No such risk with an older woman. And this implies the seventh: younger women are more given to compunction. Anxiety and unease are not present in the more aged and experienced. And as to the the last of my reasons. Well it's really quite simple. Older women are so very grateful for the attention.
• Haytham: You make a compelling argument, Mister Franklin. I might just have to run a few tests myself.
• Franklin: I highly recommend it!

Ratonhnhaké:ton

Samuel Adams

After attending the Second Continental Congress on 16 June 1776, Ratonhnhaké:ton spoke with Samuel Adams.

• Adams: Still here, are you?
• Connor: I was just wondering... What happens now?
• Adams: There's quite a lot to do. Commander Washington must determine when and where we'll strike next. And we need to get to work on our message.
• Connor: Message?
• Adams: We must contact the broadsheets at once - ensure it's clear to everyone that it was the Loyalists who fired the first in Lexington.
• Connor: But no one knows who fired first...
• Adams: Which is exactly why we must spread the news quickly. We'll determine public opinion.
• Connor: This seems... dishonest.
• Adams: Perhaps. But so what? People must believe we acted in self-defense. Else, we've committed treason.
• Connor: But you have.
• Adams: Better to bow and scrape before a tyrant then? Is that what you suggest?
• Connor: No of course not. No one should be denied freedom. And yet... To change the truth... It seems a dangerous road to travel.
• Adams: Understand, Connor, this is a war fought not just on the battlefield, but within hearts and minds as well. There's nothing wrong with a bit of theater - especially if it saves lives.