Numbskull's personal files

Personal and hacked files belonging to the unnamed Helix research analyst.

Tablet Documents

<tabview> AE files:AE Emergency Manual|AE Emergency Manual AE files:Tablet Emails|Emails </tabview>

Otso Berg's Profile

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Vidic's New Recruit

• 2010, Helsinki: Dr. Warren Vidic introducese himself to Juhani Otso Berg.
  2010, Helsinki: Dr. Warren Vidic introducese himself to Juhani Otso Berg.

• Soldier 1: All points ready.
• Vidic: Begin.

[Sound of a door breaking, boots running]

• Soldier 1: Go! Go! Go!
• Berg: Who are you?

[A baby cries]

• Berg: Don't you touch her!
• Soldier 2: Oh, for God's sake. Restrain him.
• Vidic: You, give me the child. Shush now, you're all right.

[The baby stops crying]

• Berg: Elina!
• Vidic: Calm down, Mr. Berg. I promise you I won't hurt your daughter.
• Berg: Who are you?
• Vidic: My name is Warren Vidic. I work for Abstergo Industries. You quit the Utti Jaeger regiment and became a freelance mercenary in order to afford better care for Elina's cystic fibrosis. How's that working out for you?

[The baby resumes crying]

• Berg: Perkele! (The Devil!)
• Vidic: I have an offer for you.
• Berg: I don't work for people I don't know.
• Vidic: It's not that type of offer. I'm going to remove an item from my pocket.
• Berg: What is that?
• Vidic: This little pill? It's actually for her. Go on, little one, have some medicine...
• Berg: Stop!

[The baby stops crying]

• Vidic: There now, isn't that better? This pill will cure her... It isn't on the market. But it can be yours, if you agree to participate in a little training program I've put together.
• Berg: What does Abstergo need with someone like me?
• Vidic: Oh, you won't be working for Abstergo. However, if you perform, Abstergo could work for you.
• Berg: I want one thing before I agree.
• Vidic: Name it.
• Berg: That one there, he upset my daughter.
• Vidic: I understand. Gentlemen, release Mr. Berg. Jenkins, give him your gun.
• Jenkins: What?
• Vidic: Now.
• Jenkins: Yes, sir.

[A gunshot sounds]

• Vidic: Satisfied?
• Berg: It's a start.

Cross Training

• August 2012, Rome: Daniel Cross teaches Otso Berg a lesson.
  August 2012, Rome: Daniel Cross teaches Otso Berg a lesson.

• Daniel: The big star of the Animi Training Program. Show me what you've got, you arrogant prick!
• Berg: If you insist, Master Cross.

[Sounds of violent melee combat]

• Berg: I believe that my training will soon be complete. Wouldn't you agree?

[Daniel gives a short laugh]

• Berg: What's so funny?
• Daniel: I was wrong about you. You're not arrogant, you're just deeply fucking stupid.
• Berg: Oh?
• Cross: Your body, your mind, they're not yours anymore, you understand? All you have left are the voices.
• Berg: I don't suffer from your condition. My Animus sessions were carefully –
• Cross: No, no, no! My voices are ghosts. Dead. So they can only ever say the same things over and over and over and over. But the ones in your head will never die. And they own you now.
• Berg: I am the Order's humble servant.
• Daniel: You're not even a person anymore! You're a tool, a weapon, a plaything!
• Berg: We're done here.

[Sounds of a scuffle]

• Daniel: And in their glorious New World Order, there won't be any room for broken toys like us!

[A metal door slams shut in the background]

Florence Goes FUBAR

• November 2012, Florence: Sigma Team's mission ends in disaster.
  November 2012, Florence: Sigma Team's mission ends in disaster.

[Sound of gunfire]

• Violet: The Kill Box is live, Sorkin's picking off the stragglers as they escape.
• Berg: Good. Proceed to Stage Two.
• Violet: All points, the word is given. Stage Two is a go. I repeat, Stage Two is a go!
• Berg: Get those doors down!
• Soldier 1: Three... Two...

[Sound of a large explosion]

• Berg: Adriano Maestranzi! I have come for you!
• Soldier 2: What's he holding?
• Adriano: Vittoria agli Assassini! (Victory to the Assassins!)
• Violet: Bomb!

[Sound of another large explosion]

• Violet: Berg? Sigma Team!? Anyone, do you copy?

[Transmission dies, cutting to static.]

Cairo Debrief

• December 2013, Philadelphia: Otso Berg reports on his first mission with the new Sigma Team.
  December 2013, Philadelphia: Otso Berg reports on his first mission with the new Sigma Team.

• Ctibor: It is 4:26 on December 13, 2012. Debriefing of Sigma Team's Cairo Operation. Debriefing conducted by: Abstergo Psychiatrist Ctibor Hašek, level 7, and Director of Operations Laetitia England, level 9. State your name and rank for the record
• Berg: Juhani Otso Berg. Service number OP114-8506-B. Master Templar.
• Ctibor: How would you classify the result of your Cairo mission, Master Berg?
• Berg: I would call it a complete success. The new Sigma Team performed admirably.
• Laetitia: That's going a bit far, don't you think?
• Berg: The target William Miles was apprehended and the First Civilization artifact was retrieved. Both were handed off to Warren Vidic without incident. May I ask how you would rate the mission?
• Laetitia: We're pleased with the results, but not with the methods with which you achieved them.
• Berg: I see. May I ask why?
• Ctibor: You went off mission. You were supposed to apprehend the target at the airport, not at the museum.
• Berg: When the target emerged from the plane, he was posing as a tour guide for a class of high school students on a field trip.
• Ctibor: A member of Sigma Team informed us that you aborted the mission then and there.
• Berg: I will not deny this, but tell me: Who talked?
• Ctibor: I cannot reveal that.
• Berg: No matter. I will find out on my own. Back to business: The target was very smart, but also very sloppy.
• Laetitia: Explain.
• Berg: The target possessed advanced counter-surveillance techniques, but lacked the skills to implement them properly.
• Ctibor: The target was trained as an Assassin since birth.
• Berg: I am aware. However, it has been many years since he was an active field agent. He must have been very desperate to go himself, as these days, he is more of a talker. A puppet master.
• Ctibor: And what are you?
• Berg: A predator.
• Ctibor: A predator who defied orders because of the presence of some schoolgirls.
• Berg: I prefer to think of myself as one who can choose the most opportune time to strike. The last time I followed orders to the letter was in Florence. That did not end well for anyone.
• Ctibor: Was it that, or did the students perhaps remind you of your daughter?
• Berg: I separate my work and personal life completely.
• Laetitia: Your daughter's recovery has been remarkable. I do hope her progress continues...
• Berg: Please don't.
• Laetitia: I beg your pardon?
• Berg: I find your attempt to threaten my child vulgar and unnecessary.
• Laetitia: Explain.
• Berg: Abstergo's pharmaceuticals have given my child a chance at life free from pain. And I have at last found what I believe to be my calling in life.
• Laetitia: And for that, we expect obedience.
• Berg: For that, you have my loyalty. The involvement of the children in Egypt compromised the original mission. Nothing more.
• Laetitia: We already have one Master Templar that we can barely control. I don't like the idea of having two loose cannons out there.
• Berg: With all due respect to Master Cross, while he is gifted, he is mentally disturbed.
• Ctibor: We mean no disrespect. But after losing your team in Florence, we felt a need to keep a close eye on you.
• Berg: I achieved all mission objectives, and achieved them without bloodshed. So my only question for you is: Am I in command of Sigma Team or not?
• Laetitia: As you said, the results were impeccable.
• Berg: Then I believe this meeting to be at an end. I request permission to leave.
• Ctibor: Do you have something more important to do?
• Berg: I am going to find out who among my team talked to you. I will not tolerate that kind of insubordination.
• Laetitia: I think we can stop here.
• Ctibor: Debriefing ended at 4:34. Transcript to be sent to Alan Rikkin for security clearance.

Lindsifarne

• November 2014, Montreal: Otso Berg shares a story of his past with Violet.
  November 2014, Montreal: Otso Berg shares a story of his past with Violet.

• Violet: Okay. The Numbskull is in another Animus session, and I have acquired caffeine. All is right with the world.
• Berg: Good.
• Violet: This isn't really your kind of mission, is it, boss?
• Berg: Every mission is important in its own way.
• Violet: Still, I bet you'd rather be out with the rest of the team, hunting Shaun Hastings or something.
• Berg: Wouldn't you?
• Violet: Hell yeah. I want a front row seat for that show.
• Berg: Any word from Sorkin?
• Violet: He's scheduled to update me in... 43 minutes.
• Berg: Good.
• Violet: can I ask you something?
• Berg: Of course.
• Violet: What's it like, using an Animus?
• Berg: I went through the Animi Training Program. It felt like the drills we used to do in the Utti Jaeger.
• Violet: You never used a normal Animus, like this one? To relive your own genetic history?
• Berg: Only once.
• Violet: Really? Who were you?
• Berg: I was a young man... On the Viking raid on Lindsifarne.^[sic]
• Violet: 793. Northeastern coast of England. Sorry. History nerd! So how was it?
• Berg: It was summer, good sailing weather. The monastery was a center for religious studies and we crashed into the city like a tidal wave.
• Violet: And? And?
• Berg: We pillaged and burned. They thought we were demons. The details of the memory were so vivid... I lost myself in the bloodlust. I defeated a Saxon, a great warrior, but did not kill want to kill him. I invited him to join our clan.
• Violet: Oh! Norse adoption rituals! The chance to sail the world with the Vikings!
• Berg: Yes, a chance to see the world as it really is.
• Violet: What happened then?
• Berg: He wept. Then he cried out that God had abandoned his people and that nothing remained but chaos. I felt such pity for him. I killed him without a second thought.
• Violet: After we're done here, are we have to kill the Numbskull?
• Berg: We will see.

Sigma Team's Most Wanted

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The Leaders

• Sigma Team profiles William Miles and Gavin Banks.
  Sigma Team profiles William Miles and Gavin Banks.

• Berg: Following the Great Purge of 2000, William Miles became the de facto leader of the Assassins. A cunning and ruthless strategist, he trained several agents who infiltrated Abstergo, including Clay Kaczmarek and Lucy Stillman. In late 2012, I captured William Miles in Cairo and delivered him to Warren Vidic in Rome. Miles' son Desmond attacked Abstergo, killed Vidic and Master Templar Daniel Cross. He fled to a First Civilization temple in New York. On December 21st, Desmond Miles was killed inside the Precursor structure. A grieving William Miles went underground, and left the Brotherhood in the hands of Gavin Banks. Banks lead a small team across the globe, attempting to rebuild Assassin cells. We have confirmed sightings in Kyoto, Moscow, and Paris. Miles resurfaced in late 2013, and we have confirmed his involvement in the infiltration of Abstergo Entertainment Montreal by the Assassins Shaun Hastings and Rebecca Crane. Both Miles and Banks remain at large. Agent da Costa has tasked Akashic Satellite Plexus to sweep the planet for traces of Assassin activities. We have yet to locate them.

The Support

• Sigma Team profiles Shaun Hastings and Rebecca Crane.
  Sigma Team profiles Shaun Hastings and Rebecca Crane.

• Berg: Shaun Hasting was a university professor whose hobby was leaking Abstergo secrets. He was hours away from being killed by Abstergo when he was saved by Rebecca Crane, an Assassin hacker. Since then, the pair have been inseparable, providing technical support for Assassin field agents. Hastings and Crane infiltrated Abstergo Entertainment Montreal in late 2013, and were responsible for the theft of classified information. It is unclear if they planted the virus currently affecting the Helix servers, or if they merely left the door open for other hackers to exploit. Rebecca Crane's skills are not to be underestimated. She created the Animus 2.0, an Assassin version of Warren Vidic's original machine. It appears that she was also largely responsible for establishing a new, more secure, Assassin network. It would seem Crane and Hastings have been promoted within the Brotherhood. There are rumors that that they are now leading some kind of hacker collective known as "The Initiates" and attempting to lure them to the Assassin's side.

The Soldiers

• Arend Schut.
  Arend Schut.

• Berg: Details of Harlan T. Cunningham's life were difficult to acquire, as many traces of his identity before becoming an Assassin were altered or erased by Gavin Banks. It is only thanks to Agent da Costa's remarkable skills that we are able to piece together this profile. Cunningham was outed as homosexual in high school, which unfortunately ruined a promising wrestling career. He left Texas as quickly as he could, and fled to Europe. Cunningham was recruited by the Brotherhood in Florence, Italy, under the leadership of Assassin veteran Adriano Maestranzi. Sigma Team attacked the Florence hideout in 2012, but Maestranzi detonated a bomb. Three Assassins were killed before the explosion, but Sigma Team was annihilated in the process. Cunningham and I were the only survivors. Cunningham was last sighted in Rotterdam, alongside Arend Schut, a former mixed martial arts champion who also suffered a career backlash when he came out as homosexual. It is clear that Cunningham is mentoring Schut in the ways of the Brotherhood. Although physically gifted and extremely dangerous, Schut is a poor choice as an Assassin. He is incapable of keeping a low profile, and will compromise the Brotherhood, despite himself. Recently, Cunningham stole a Piece of Eden from an Abstergo facility in Rottedam. During the operation, Schut was charged to attack Abstergo employees throughout the city to draw attention away from his mentor. Although Sigma Team managed to reclaim the item, both Cunningham and Schut escaped. I will not allow Cunningham to get away from me a third time.

The Cult

• Sigma Team profiles Juno and the Instruments of the First Will.
  Sigma Team profiles Juno and the Instruments of the First Will.

• Berg: The First Civilization entity known as Juno re-emerged from the Grand Temple in New York in December 2012. Although no longer a corporeal being, she exists in a kind of digital consciousness somewhere in the Abstergo cloud. To accomplish her goals in the real world, Juno uses two types of people. The first is another Precursor consciousness that emerges in a human being at random. This person is commonly known as a Sage. Juno also holds sway over a group of disciples called the Instruments of the First Will, who believe it is humanity's natural role to serve the First Civilization. Abstergo is currently using the First Will as a cheap and hands-off way of acquiring Pieces of Eden and other relics. However, I suspect the reverse is also true, that they are using our resources to locate objects that will help them further their own goals. I do not trust them. But for now, all I can do is have da Costa monitor their activities. Juno's motives are unclear. Although she has made one attempt to possess a corporeal body, she appears to be more powerful as a digital entity. Agent da Costa fears that should humanity ever achieve "Singularity" – a fusion of humanity and machines – Juno would become unstoppable. Ironically, it is Abstergo itself which is driving civilization in that direction.

The Dead

• Berg re-opens two closed files: Clay Kaczmarek and Desmond Miles.
  Berg re-opens two closed files: Clay Kaczmarek and Desmond Miles.

• Berg: Given the nature of our current investigation, I have been looking at Assassins who, despite themselves, have helped the Templar cause. The first is Clay Kaczmarek, who infiltrated Warren Vidic's Animus project in Rome. He became the project's Subject 16. Kaczmarek's rich ancestry helped Vidic to identify the Renaissance Assassin Ezio Auditore as a person of interest. Driven mad by overexposure to the Animus, he committed suicide. However, Kaczmarek may have unexpectedly become useful again. While in the Animus, Subject 16 came into contact with the First Civilization entity known as Juno. Perhaps studying his bizarre Animus experiences can help us find a way to deal with the looming threat Juno promises. With Subject 16 out of the picture, Vidic needed a replacement. Desmond Miles, a runaway Assassin, was captured in September 2012 and was used as Animus Subject 17, to further the search for an Apple of Eden. He managed to escape, and uncovered an imminent threat to the planet: a solar flare similar to the one that wiped out the Precursor race over 75,000 years ago. Desmond Miles also reactivated a First Civilization temple in New York and used it to save the world, but it would cost him his life. Abstergo recovered his body. In death, Desmond Miles became Sample 17, and his valuable genetic data was uploaded to the cloud servers in order to benefit all branches of Abstergo. Whether they live or die, we must continue to find ways to make the Assassins work for us.

Berg's Inspiration

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Al Mualim (1135 – 1191)

• Berg discovers that the Old Man of the Mountain was wise indeed.
  Berg discovers that the Old Man of the Mountain was wise indeed.

• Berg: The Assassins would have you believe that Al Mualim was a great Mentor who became corrupted by greed... and that he schemed with the Templars to acquire an Apple of Eden. I see instead a shrewd and cunning leader. A man who used his best Assassin, Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, to eliminate his conspirators in order to keep the Apple for himself, so that he could use it to enforce world peace. While it must be stated that Al Mualim was not a Templar, it is interesting to me that his vision of peace was more in line with Templar philosophy then Assassin. In the past, both sides has the same goal, that of peace. Our only difference was how we chose to achieve it. Had Al Mualim not been killed by Altaïr and allowed to carry out his plan, perhaps we would not be fighting now. It was only after Altaïr reformed the Brotherhood with its new ideals of "free will" that the conflict truly escalated and spread across the planet. For if the so-called "Wise Man of the Mountain" can see things from our point of view, surely the same can be said for other Assassins.

Baptiste (1725 - 1766)

• Berg admires Baptiste's willingness to prove himself to the Templars.
  Berg admires Baptiste's willingness to prove himself to the Templars.

• Berg: François Mackandal saved Baptiste from slavery, and inducted him into his so-called Brotherhood. Mackandal was a vicious Mentor, and in his desperate attempt to liberate slaves, he broke his own Creed by indiscriminately killing nobles. Misguided as they are, some Assassins are honorable. Mackandal was not one of them. Thanks to the calculating genius of Madeleine de L'Isle, the Templars made an example of Mackandal by way of public execution in 1758. His pathetic excuse for a Brotherhood quickly fell apart. When his comrade and childhood friend Agaté fled to Louisiana, Baptiste saw the futility of his former life in Mackandal's Brotherhood. Madeleine saw Baptiste's potential and instructed her Templars in New Orleans to strike a deal with him. If he could draw Agaté out of hiding and eliminate him, he would be granted a place in the Templar Order. Although Baptiste was killed by the Assassin Aveline de Grandpré, his path clearly demonstrates the inherent superiority of Templar ideals over Assassin terrorism.

Duncan Walpole (1679 – 1715)

• Berg approves of Duncan Walpole's ambition.
  Berg approves of Duncan Walpole's ambition.

• Berg: Duncan Walpole rose through the ranks to become a Master Assassin, but he was restricted by a Brotherhood which chose to send him across the ocean to the West Indies, rather than find a way to nurture his potential. Once there, Duncan attracted the notice of Laureano Torres, former governor of Cuba and Templar Grand Master. Through their correspondence, Torres offered a less violent way to achieve their mutual goals, by using Precursor artifacts as a surveillance system rather then the murders and scheming favored by the Brotherhood. Sadly, Duncan was killed by a pirate before the Templars could help him achieve his potential. Although Duncan's story does not have a happy ending, it clearly demonstrates that the Templars' highest goals of peace and order need not exclude personal success and achievement.

Haytham Kenway (1725 - 1781)

• Berg ruminates on Haytham's place in Templar history.
  Berg ruminates on Haytham's place in Templar history.

• Berg: Haytham Kenway remains a controversial figure for me. I have great respect for him. After all, he was the Grand Master of the Colonial Rite, charged with finding a Precursor site. Haytham was cunning and ruthless, but he had a streak of emotional weakness that ultimately triggered his downfall. He lost his father when he was a child and the British Grand Master, Reginald Birch, raised him to become a Templar knight. Haytham eventually learned that his father Edward had been an Assassin. That he chose to stay a Templar rather than follow in his father's footsteps indicates to me that he believed he was already on the right path. When Haytham discovered that Birch was the one who murdered his father, he and his sister killed him in revenge. I believe that this was the beginning of his downfall. Templars kill for efficiency, not petty emotions. When he discovered that his son Connor was an Assassin working against him in the Colonies, the same emotional weakness stayed his blade. A pity Connor did not show him the same mercy.

Daniel Cross (1974 – 2012)

• Berg reflects on his predecessor, Master Templar Daniel Cross.
  Berg reflects on his predecessor, Master Templar Daniel Cross.

• Berg: Like Haytham Kenway, Daniel Cross came from an Assassin family, as the Orelov family had at least two generations who served the Brotherhood. Daniel Cross's history of drug addiction and Animus-induced psychosis should not take away from his many accomplishments for the Templar cause. Under the influence of Warren Vidic, he was planted into the Brotherhood and earned their trust, eventually meeting their reclusive Mentor. Then his subliminal programming activated, and he killed the Mentor, triggering the first "Great Purge" of the modern age.
  Al Mualim. Haras. Vali cel Tradat. Baptiste. Duncan Walpole. Haytham Kenway. Lucy Stillman. Daniel Cross. These are but a few prominent examples of something I've always felt... that there will always be Assassins who are willing to abandon their cause to serve ours. Yet there is no one who embodies this idea better than Shay Cormac, and I want the Assassins to confront this painful reality.

The Phoenix Project

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New Orders

• Laetitia: Speak.
• Berg: Why has Violet da Costa been removed from Sigma Team?
• Laetitia: I'm reassigning our assets as I see fit to align with the goals of the Phoenix Project.
• Berg: The Phoenix Project? Sigma Team would be of more use hunting down the remaining Assassins. Let Delta Team hunt Precursor relics instead.
• Laetitia: Those relics are the key to sequencing First Civilization DNA. Accomplishing that goal will in turn make the Assassins even less of a threat than they are now.
• Berg: Be that as it may, Agent da Costa should not be wasted on something like Abstergo Entertainment.
• Laetitia: Last year's fiasco with the Sample 17 Project showed me that Abstergo Entertainment is more than just a disposable subsidiary. It's the best resource we have to finding new Pieces of Eden.
• Berg: It is a weak link that has been compromised by our enemies time and time again.
• Laetitia: All the more reason to have da Costa secure their access to the Cloud servers. We're confident that Melanie Lemay won't fuck it up like Olivier Garneau.
• Berg: Bringing a civilian like that into our ranks is also unwise.
• Laetitia: Time will tell with Ms. Lemay, but she handled the John Standish situation with an even hand. She helped us discover the existence of Sages, and in doing so, has done more for Phoenix than you have, Mr. Berg.
• Berg: She also continues to ignore the presence of the Instruments of the First Will within her operation.
• Laetitia: Those whackjobs are actually useful to us for now. They're a cheap source of relics we can exploit. If they become too much of a problem, well deal with them with the same efficiency we deal with the Assassins.
• Berg: Giving the Assassins time to regroup is a tactical mistake. We should strike them now, while they are still at their most vulnerable.
• Laetitia: We value your passion and expertise, Mr. Berg, and your concerns have been noted. Now, pack your bags. You've got a busy year ahead of you.

The Koh-i-Noor

• Berg: Field report: Phoenix Project. November 1, 2013. Agent da Costa alerted me to a possible lead on the Koh-i-Noor diamond. A replica can be found among the Crown Jewels of England, however, the true diamond is a powerful Piece of Eden, and has been lost for centuries. Jot Soora is a programmer at MysoreTech, a company working with Abstergo Entertainment to release a variant of the Animus headset to Asia, called the Brahman Device. He's been associating with Siobhan Dhami, the sister of Jasdip Dhami, a known Assassin. Could the Brotherhood be using the Brahman Device to locate the Koh-i-Noor? Until we have more evidence, I have decided to use a local Abstergo strike force rather than mobilize Sigma Team.
  
  Update: November 3, 2013: Jot Soora was abducted outside of Dream Land Studios in Mumbai. He was seen being forced into a van by Siobhan and Jhadsip Dhami. This confirms my suspicions. The Assassins must be using Jot Soora's genetic memories to locate the Koh-i-Noor. I have authorized the local Abstergo soldiers to engage and eliminate the Assassins, with the instructions that the Brahman device be kept intact. I am en route to India.
  
  Update: November 4, 2013: I arrived in India too late. Our strike team was engaged be the Assassins in two separate conflicts. The body of Sioban Dhami was found at the first site, but her remains were too badly damaged in an explosion to collect any genetic information. I found the Brahman device at the second site, but after reviewing the genetic memories recorded within, I am relieved to find that Jot Soora's bloodline was a dead end. The real Koh-i-Noor diamond remains lost to both sides. Jhadsip Dhami escaped, which means we must monitor this new Assassin activity in India closely. I am closing this file and proceeding to my next mission.

The Box

• Narrator: TBA.

The Ankh

• Narrator: TBA.

Paris

• Narrator: TBA.