Animus Project laboratory

Warren Vidic, Lucy Stillman, and Desmond Miles in the lab

The Abstergo laboratory was a special laboratory built inside Abstergo Industries' facility in Rome, Italy, that was constructed specifically for their Animus Project. The Animus device itself was located in the center of the laboratory, with Warren Vidic's desk located nearby, overlooking the Animus machine.

Besides the Animus chamber, the laboratory incorporated other rooms and devices, such as a conference room, bedroom, bathroom, and Animus terminal. Cryptic messages painted by Subject 16 could also be seen throughout the room, with the use of Eagle Vision.

The landscape outside the laboratory was extremely bright, though the building housing it was clearly located in an urban environment, surrounded by skyscrapers. The laboratory itself could be found on the building's fourth floor.

Abstergo offices

During their escape, Lucy and Desmond exited the laboratory and made their way towards its underground parking lot. Similar to the lab, the rest of the Abstergo building was decorated in a modern-industrial style with overhead pipes and ventilation clearly visible, but minimalist detail elsewhere. In Desmond's words, Abstergo had some "fucked up interior decorators," and the facility's walls were "fancy." There were numerous servers and computers found throughout its offices, though several small windows gave a glimpse into the world outside, showing a terraced garden surrounding a large part of the building.

As the two Assassins took an elevator down to another floor, they traversed through a floor of cubicles. These cubicles were each sealed with glass doors, although at the time nobody was working in them. This may have indicated that employees were evacuated from the area once Abstergo learned that Lucy and Desmond were escaping, and furthermore, the pair only encountered security guards. Inside the rows of cubicles, several Animus machines could be seen, hinting at a large scale project of Abstergo's creation.

Desmond would later return to this laboratory after his father, William Miles, was captured by Abstergo in Egypt, assuming William was being held in the laboratory. Desmond climbed a lift shaft to gain access to the fourth floor, and was ambushed in the Animus chamber by Daniel Cross, who was wielding a handgun, forcing Desmond to take cover behind the Animus. However, when Cross suffered from the Bleeding Effect and fled, Desmond pursued him out of the room.

Layout

Image	Name	Description
File:Lab animus chamber.JPG	Animus chamber	The centerpiece device, the Animus, was located in the middle of this chamber.
	Animus terminal	A computer terminal that was connected to the Animus. It was used by Lucy Stillman to monitor Desmond's progress.
File:Lab conference room.JPG	Conference room	In the conference room, Abstergo employees engaged in conversations and discussed various plans. This room was off-limits to Desmond, and a special code was required to enter it.
File:Lab conference computer.JPG	Conference computer	A computer that was located inside the conference room.
	Vidic's laptop	A portable computer belonging to Warren Vidic, which was placed near to the Animus device to enable him to overlook Desmond's progress.
	Bedroom	A bedroom for subjects of the Animus Project, inside the laboratory. A special code was required to lock and unlock the door.
	Bathroom	A bathroom located next to the bedroom, and connected alongside the conference room by air vents.

Trivia

• The laboratory itself was located in the Research Wing of the Rome facility, as confirmed when one of the guards informed security of Desmond and Lucy's escape.
• The laboratory was recreated and revisited by Desmond and Clay Kaczmarek in the Black Room of the Animus, as part of Desmond's Journey and The Lost Archive memory sequences.
• During Desmond's attempt to rescue his father from the facility, he revisited the laboratory and could once again see Clay's blood messages using Eagle Vision.

Gallery

• 
  View of Vidic's desk, the Animus and the conference room
• 
  The opposite view
• 
  View of the Animus and the entrance
• 
  The opposite view
• 
  The laboratory as seen in Desmond's Journey
• 
  The laboratory as seen in The Lost Archive
• 
  Desmond hiding from Daniel Cross behind the Animus
• 
  Concept art of the laboratory