Rifts

I wanted to ask you something. Which is... what's your name? This article title is conjecture. Although the article subject is canon, no official name for it has been given.

Ezio locating a Rift

Rifts appeared to be breaks in the programming of memories within the Animus, which could be seen using Eagle Vision. Each of the ten rifts were found on key landmarks throughout Rome, and concealed Clay Kaczmarek's cluster puzzles.

Rifts were the equivalent of Glyphs, but instead of revealing a second Truth video, they simply relayed the message "The miracle is in the execution" over the apparent ultrasound of an unborn child, along with the inclusion of an executable file.

Unlike Glyphs, Rifts could not be seen or accessed without the use of Eagle Vision. Ezio Auditore da Firenze had to grab the edge of a Rift, whilst using Eagle Vision, and climb into it.

Various hidden messages such as coded numbers and letters, music notes and Morse code appeared in the Rifts, which when deciphered, explained Abstergo Industries' rise to power.

Locations

Centro DistrictAntico DistrictCampagna DistrictVaticano District

Rosa in Fiore

On the outside north wall of the brothel on the second floor wall.

Palazzo Senatorio

On the back of the Palazzo, near the roof, towards the end of the free-running path.

Pantheon

Inside the Pantheon, on the wall right above the main entrance. Ezio could obtain this cluster by entering the Pantheon through freerunning up the wall nearest the entrance and then walking around and jumping on it.

Santa Maria dei Miracoli and Santa Maria di Montesant

On the western tower near the left dome.

Colosseo

At the very top, northern side of the Colosseo, just west of the view point. It was on the outside wall, and Ezio could use the Colosseo's buy landmark sign as a point of reference, as the rift was almost exactly above that.

Acquedotto Claudia

Near the small town where Leonardo frequently was located, on the north side of aqueduct. Ezio could climb onto the top of the aqueduct and then drop down over the side to reach it. It was very close to the Borgia tower but on the opposite side of the aqueduct.

Aventino

On the Borgia tower facing north towards the city.

Caserma di Alviano

East side of the wall, on the outside of the perimeter, facing the aqueduct.

Castra Praetoria

In the inner courtyard where Octavian de Valois was assassinated, on the eastern wall.

Castel Sant'Angelo

On the actual cylinder of the castle, on the south side where the top of the outer wall was closest to the cylinder, near a haystack, right below a circular window.

Puzzle types

Rifts retained some of the puzzles included in Glyphs, such as the rotating pictures and image-finding puzzles, but also included several new ones.

• Chess: Desmond was shown a chessboard with all corresponding chess pieces, as well as a riddle that told him which piece to use and where to move it.

• Decoding: Desmond was given a variety of images and a riddle, of which he could alternate between with a screen containing a two-layered rotating wheel that contained symbols, acting as a code sheet, as well as 2 rows of 4 boxes bearing changeable symbols that acted as a code entry box. By reading the riddle, he could search through these images for the hidden object that revealed the "correct coordinates" located in a single image, and, when the correct coordinates were found, Desmond could rotate the wheel to break the code.

• Sound wave matching: Desmond was given an audio recording and multiple sound waves. By selecting the correct sound waves to match the one shown on the screen, he was allowed to listen to the audio tape and/or move on to the next puzzle.

• Quarantine zone: This puzzle was always the last puzzle of every rift. Desmond was shown a black screen with a relatively small circular crosshair that revealed red, blinking dots as well as a background image. These dots emitted beeping sounds, increasing the closer the crosshair was. All dots had to be "activated" in a certain amount of time, and if any of the remaining dots were not activated, the puzzle was reset. These dots remained in the same area every time, even after the puzzle had been reset. After completing this puzzle, the clip contained within the particular Rift was unlocked.

Cluster puzzles

Cluster 1

123

Puzzle 1: The puzzle was solved by selecting the five images of aristocrats not doing any sort of work.

Puzzle 2: The puzzle was solved by moving the pawn at E2 to E4.
A message followed.

Puzzle 3: The puzzle was solved by activating the blinking red light in time.

Cluster 2

12345

A message preceded the first puzzle.

Puzzle 1: The puzzle was solved by turning the first, inner ring left four times, the second and first rings right twice, the third and first rings left three times, and the fourth outer ring left four times.

The solved puzzle.

Puzzle 2: The first and third rings were linked, as were the fourth and first. Desmond turned the combined first and third rings right five times, the second ring right five times, the third ring left four times, and the combined fourth and first rings left twice to solve the puzzle.
The solved puzzle.

Puzzle 3: The third ring was linked with the second as was the fourth with the first. The puzzle was solved by turning the first ring right three times, the second ring right four times, the combined third and second rings left five times, and the combined fourth and first ring right once.
The solved puzzle.
A string of letters appeared.

Puzzle 4: The puzzle was solved by moving the pawn at F2 to F4.

Puzzle 5: The puzzle was solved by activating one of the two blinking lights shown below, and then quickly activating the other light before the cursor filled up with red.

Cluster 3

1234

A Morse code message DAR KNESS LOSTD NUMB precceded the first puzzle.

Puzzle 1: The puzzle was solved by selecting the area shown below, revealing a hidden Abstergo emblem.

There were several hidden messages present in the images.

(The ciphertexts were decoded using the Vigenère cipher, as hinted at by the relevant quote, using the key IMF - letters highlighted in red on the hidden quote. IMF was an abbreviation for the international monetary fund, which was created by the men featured in this puzzle after the Bretton Woods conference - held at Mt. Washington hotel, also featured in this puzzle).

Harry Dexter White. Remember this name.

"I find myself more and more relying for a solution of our problems on the invisible hand which I tried to eject from economic thinking twenty years ago" —John Maynard Keynes

"Le Chiffre indéchiffrable." (Vigenère cipher)

lqgb dnlpjv otczyzuja mwm fmm zje rwwzyqqw = "Debt ridden countries are the new frontier".

"How can I adopt a creed which, preferring mud to the fish, exalts the boorish proletariat above the bourgeois and the intelligentsia who, with whatever faults, are the quality in life and surely carry the send of all human advancement?"

Rqpgxqqeqizikxzjpzkwmczyuawmbfxqwuasmkfvpfkqsbdftnfvw = "Jekyll Island Club duck hunt more paper money and a central bank" (the secret meeting leading to the creation of the Federal Reserve).

"It would all be done in secret, the Assassins would never know until it was too late."

"Owing to pressure from below, the pressure of the masses, the bourgeoise may sometimes concede certain partial reforms while remaining on the basis of the existing social-economic system."

Wzjwrypq rpquzaaqpjilfmmzj kqxamwgbwmexcdj = "One of them he provided the necessary pressure."

Puzzle 2: The puzzle was solved by entering the symbols below as the passcode.
A message followed.

Puzzle 3: The puzzle was solved by moving the white pawn at F4 to E5, taking the black pawn and putting the white pawn into the black knight's path.

Puzzle 4: The puzzle was solved by activating one of the two blinking lights shown below, and then quickly activating the other one before the cursor filled up with a red outline.

Cluster 4

12345

Puzzle 1: The puzzle was solved by choosing the five pictures that showed a robot or computer with a human operator.

A string of words appeared.

Puzzle 2: The first, inner ring was linked to the fourth, the third to the first, and the fourth, outer ring to the second. The puzzle was solved by moving the combined first and fourth rings right once, the second ring left four times, the combined third and first rings right four times, and the combined fourth and second rings right once.
The solved puzzle.

Puzzle 3: The puzzle was solved by moving the pawn from G2 to G3.

Puzzle 4: The puzzle was solved by selecting the first two boxes.
A recorded phone conversation followed. M: V. It's M. I need Turing done today. V: Why are we jumping the gun? You've already had him arrested and sedated. M: He still refuses to follow the directive. He actually intends to create one of those infernal things, instead of just faking it for the papers. Do you know what the mass unemployment generated by his robots would mean? Idle hands. We need to do this, for the good of the people. V: What about Keynes? He trusted Turing. M: It's the greater good we're talking about here, V. Plus, a childless worker... sends a bad message. We can't have them all stop reproducing. V: Fine. It's your call. M: I want him done like we did Harry Dexter White when he tried to warn the Soviets. V: All right. M: And make it poetic. Something from the Bible, perhaps. Turing always was theatrical.

Puzzle 5: The puzzle was solved by activating one of the two blinking lights shown below, then quickly activating the other one before the cursor fills up with a red outline.

Cluster 5

1234

Puzzle 1: The puzzle was solved by moving the queen from D1 to E2.

Puzzle 2: The puzzle was solved by selecting the area shown below where the angel held a lightning bolt, revealing a hidden current of electricity, as well as two Abstergo logos, one of which was incomplete.
There were several hidden messages present in the images. H. K. masterminded it. (An Abstergo logo could be found on the car door) Chile, 1964. The people cheered his name until 1973. Salvador Allende wanted the people to own Chile's corporations. "We would like your economic program to succeed and we will do our best to help you." Argentina 1970s: 30,000 people Disappeared in the raids. "Nature shows us basic order and hierarchy are necessary." - Augusto Pinochet Coup d'etat. "The issues are much too important for the Chilean voters to be left to decide for themselves." Mossadegh wanted oil profits to go to the people. Hired Actor. (on the first three rioters in the far right picture) Iran, 1953. Shah Pahlavi, Sha'baan Ja'fari and SAVAK take over to terrorize citizens and protect capitalist oil interests. But was that their only motive? In addition, several Caesar cipher messages were present. LUXJ = "FORD" ATOZKJ LXAOZ IUSVGTE, AY HGTQY, IGX IUSVGTOKY ZXGTYLKXXKJ ZNKOX IUXVUXGZK JKHZ ZU ZNK GXMKTZOTK VAHROI. = "United Fruit Company, US banks, car companies transferred their corporate debt to the Argentine public." SUXK ZNGT ZNXKK ZNUAYGTJ QORRKJ. = "More than three thousand killed." GRRKTJK CGY MUOTM ZU TGZOUTFROFK ZNKS. = "Allende was going to nationalize them." YKVZKSHKX KRKBKTZN. = "September eleventh." SGQK ZNK KIUT USE YIXK GS. = "Make the economy scream." EYE TEA TEE pronunciation of the letters "ITT" = "CNN"

The puzzle was solved by entering the symbols shown below as the passcode.
A message followed.

Puzzle 4: The puzzle was solved by activating one of the three blinking lights shown below, and then quickly activating the other two before the cursor filled up with a red outline.
A hidden message framed with a Templar cross on each side was present. "Wages should be (lowered to keep the middle class subservient to us (?) ) left to the fair and free competition of the market, and should never be controlled by the interference of (a popularly elected government(?) ) the legislature."

Cluster 6

12345

Puzzle 1: The puzzle was solved by selecting the area below, revealing a hidden Templar emblem.

There were several hidden messages present in the images.

Gorbachev, 1990: Man of the Decade. Brings democracy to Russia. Establishes the Constitutional Court.

August 1991: Declared the White Knight of the people, Yeltsin stands up to Communist threat! Gorbachev loses popularity!

December 1991: Secret meeting called in the Belavezhskaya Forest. Yeltsin unseats Gorbachev, becomes leader of Russia!

1992: Russian economy opened to elite oligarchs, private companies.

1993: Parliament Disbanded by Yeltsin as he seizes control of Russia! Decree 1400! Constitutional Court disbanded!

1993: 2.5 billion in aid from the U.S. Congress to Yeltsin after he disbands Parliament!

Perestroika: The dream of a democratic state led by the people.

In addition, messages hidden as musical scores were present.

Below Perestroika picture: "Bretton Woods began it. The IMF delivers."

Forest picture: "The most favorable condition for reform is a weary public."

Puzzle 2: The missing numbers are 20 and 33, obtained from the 2nd and 4th pair of given numbers, as the wheels numbers are sorted (clockwise ascending). The pass-code was thus 20, 27, 33, 13.
A message followed.

Puzzle 3: The puzzle was solved by selecting the three boxes shown below:
This unlocked the recording of a telephone conversation: AB: Alfa Bank. BP: I'm phoning on behalf of British Petroleum. AB: Yes, we were told you would be calling. BP: As you know, we are very interested in acquiring Sidanko Oil. AB: And as you know, that will require a merger with our bank. BP: That should not be a problem. AB: Were you surprised at the low price of the deal? BP: Somewhat. AB: You know we have the peasants paying for it? The government gave us their tax money to buy all the companies. BP: We would like to fly out there as soon as possible to discuss terms. AB: Thursday works. BP: Done. Thank you for your time. AB: Do svidaniya. (Goodbye.)

Puzzle 4: The puzzle was solved by moving the knight from G1 to F3.

Puzzle 5: The puzzle was solved by activating one of the blinking lights shown below, and then quickly activating the other two before the cursor filled up with a red outline.
There was a hidden message present. 1999: Yeltsin ensures his protégé, Vladimir Putin, follows his lead. In addition a message hidden as musical score was present. Apartment bombings start Chechen War and elect Putin all planned by Abstergo.

Cluster 7

12345

Puzzle 1: The puzzle was solved by selecting the five images below, showing the energy industry at work.

A speech accompanied the puzzle.

• Man 1: The capitalists think we run these companies for profit. The fools.
• Man 2: Those "fools" work for you.
• Man 1: Optional slavery in exchange for pieces of paper. Doesn't that strike you as foolish?

Puzzle 2: The puzzle was solved by selecting Chief Justice John Roberts' left hand, revealing a hidden Templar ring.
A speech accompanied the puzzle.

• Man: Democracy must die to ensure the stability of the world. Capitalism will end it.

There were several hidden messages present in the images.

• Justice Kennedy: "We now conclude that independent expenditures, including those made by corporations, do not give rise to corruption or the appearance of corruption (in Government)."
• Justice Alito: "I believe very strongly in limited government, federalism, free enterprise, the supremacy of the elected branches of government, the need for a strong defense and effective law enforcement, and the legitimacy of a government role in protecting traditional values."
• Justice Roberts: "Congress may not prohibit political speech, even if the speaker is a corporation."
• Justice Scalia: "Indeed, to exclude or impede corporate speech is to muzzle the principal agents of the modern free economy. We should celebrate rather than condemn the addition of this speech to the public debate."
• Justice Clarence Thomas: "We don't issue mandates to businesses that you've got to do this and you've got to do that."
• Don Evans: "It is the government's role to create the conditions, the friendly environment, that will attract capital." CEO of Tom Brown Inc. Oil, U.S. Commerce Secretary (2001-2004).
• Paul Wolfowitz: When it comes back to the test of whether we are doing our job or not, it's whether we're promoting development, not whether we're promoting democracy." President of the World Bank, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense (2001-2005).
• Donald Rumsfeld: "Scour the department of defense for functions that could be performed better and more cheaply through commercial outsourcing." Chairman of Gilead Sciences, U.S. Defense Secretary (2001-2006).
• Condoleezza Rice: "The growth of entrepreneurial classes throughout the world is an asset in the promotion of human rights and individual liberty, and it should be understood and used as such." Chevron Board, Hewlett-Packard Board, U.S. Secretary of State (2005-2009).
• Dick Cheney: "We have to make America the best place in the world to do business." CEO of Halliburton, Vice President of the U.S. (2001-2009).
• George W. Bush: "I know it's going to be the private sector that leads this country out of the current economic times we're in." Director of Harken, President of the United States (2001-2009).

GILD $7.45 2001, $84 2007. Row, row, row your BOAT. In addition, there were several messages hidden behind a numeric code present in the images. On the George W. Bush picture was a message with the words "We the people..." marked as "1 2 3". The way to decode it was by relating each number to a word on the U.S. Constitution and taking the first letter of that word for other messages.

• Message 1: 230, 129, 213, 218, 251, 261, 194, 35, 11, 263, 9, 261, 203, 214, 225, 77: 192, 153, 67, 20, 280, 241, 143, 20, 251, 221, 114, 254, 159, 121, 81, 279, 47, 61, 169. = The final frontier: Destruction as profit.
• Message 2: 24, 4, 113, 2, 77, 30, 46, 10, 37, 81, 58, 187, 167, 198, 99, 56, 100, 181, 124, 81, 11, 9, 166, 3, 77, 42, 200, 101, 223. = Contractors ran the war for profit.
• Message 3: 251, 280, 53, 107, 181, 254, 274, 133, 183, 24, 223, 214, 9, 291, 284, 259, 267, 234, 136, 255, 279, 203, 129, 88, 162, 8, 28, 79, 102, 147, 48, 204, 202, 192, 41, 225, 263, 242. = Iraq was auctioned off to the highest bidders.
• Message 4: 101, 270, 156, 264, 50, 262, 94, 301, 192, 295, 263, 284, 168. = It is so ordered.

Puzzle 3: The puzzle was solved by entering C, M, Z, K as the passcode.
A message followed.

Puzzle 4: The puzzle was solved by moving knight from B1 to C3.

Puzzle 5: The puzzle was solved by activating one of the blinking lights shown below, and then quickly activating the other two before the cursor filled up with a red outline.
A speech accompanied the puzzle.

• Dialogue: The capitalists will do whatever we tell them to. We print the dollars they worship after all.

There were two hidden messages present.

• Message 1: "It will undoubtedly cripple the ability of ordinary citizens, Congress, and the States to adopt even limited measures to protect against corporate domination of the electoral process." - Justice Stevens
• Message 2: Cleanup of Deepwater Horizon contracted out for billions.

Cluster 8

1234

Puzzle 1: The first, inner ring was linked to the second, the second to the fourth, outer ring, the third to the fourth, and the fourth to the first. This was where things got tricky, but the solution was simplified by moving the combined first and second rings left once, the combined second and fourth rings left four times, and the combined fourth and first ring right twice.

The solved puzzle.

A message followed.

Puzzle 2: The puzzle was solved by selecting the four boxes shown below (1st, 5th, 8th and 9th boxes) or the combination of three boxes (2nd, 4th and 5th boxes)

Puzzle 3: The puzzle was solved by moving the king from 1E to 2F.

Puzzle 4: The puzzle was solved by activating one of the blinking lights shown below, and then quickly activating the other four before the cursor filled up with red.
A speech accompanied the puzzle.

• Man: Although online gaming attracts many people away from reality, make sure those virtual worlds do not become too utopic. We don't want people to question their own lack of success in the real world now, do we?

Cluster 9

1234

Puzzle 1: The puzzle was solved by selecting the five images that feature visible wires.

Puzzle 2: The puzzle was solved by selecting the four boxes shown below.

Puzzle 3: The puzzle was solved by moving the bishop from 1F to 2G.

Puzzle 4: The puzzle was solved by activating one of the blinking lights shown below, and then quickly activating the other four before the cursor filled up with a red outline.
A speech accompanied the puzzle.

• Man 1: The peasants are like the sea, raging and unpredictable. That is why we have built walls.
• Man 2: I do not see any walls...
• Man 1: No? Look around you. A shelf of soda here, a case of candy there, magazines, talk shows, pills. The walls of the 21st century surround us.

Cluster 10

1234567

Puzzle 1: The first, inner ring was linked with the third, the second with the first, the third with the second, and the fourth, outer ring with the second. The puzzle was solved by moving the combined first and third rings right twice, the combined second and first rings right twice, and the combined fourth and second rings right five times.

The solved puzzle.

Puzzle 2: The puzzle was solved by selecting the five images that show children.

Puzzle 3: The puzzle was solved by selecting the area shown below to reveal a hidden eagle.
A speech accompanied the puzzle.

• Dialogue: It's about genetics. They were born into their place, we merely have to help them accept it.

There were several messages hidden as strings of Periodic Table elements present in the images.

• Message 1: LiOBAlFKCaArMnVFMgMgPSBSiFCa. = "Chemistry will open it."
• Message 2: HHeKCaBArNPPVSiKFCaHMgMgHeScCaSiPCaMnPSc. = "Abstergo owns it all but not you."
• Message 3: MgBHTiBCaOBAlCaOBFArVPArCaOMgBKKSFBLiBKPCSHSBAr. = "Leave them their worthless pieces of paper."
• Message 4: CaOBFArLiPSiCaArPMgFKKMgFSSFSiN. = "Their control is slipping."
• Message 5: CaOBBeFLiCaHCaPArKLiHSiCaLiArScKOFCa. = "The dictators can't crush it."
• Message 6: CaOBPMgFNHArLiOKLiHSiCaNaFMgMgFCa. = "The oligarchs can't kill it."
• Message 7: CaOBLiPScArCaKLiHSiCaKCaPSFCa. = "The courts can't stop it."
• Message 8: BeBLiBAlHeBArScCaMG = "December 21, 2012"

Puzzle 4: The passcode was 89, 5, 334, 21.
A message followed.

Puzzle 5: The puzzle was solved by selecting the first and last boxes as shown below.

Puzzle 6: The puzzle was solved by moving the king off the board.

Puzzle 7: The two circles below showed the beginning and end points of a large swirl made up of blinking red dots. Every dot in the chain had to be activated to continue.

Trivia

• Even after completing the present-day segment in the Colosseum and falling into a comatose state, Desmond was still able to hear the voices of the modern Assassins after completing the final Rift. However, the game would not conclude with Desmond in free fall, but in an ordinary loading screen still featuring him.
  • Likewise, Lucy Stillman's voice could still be heard outside of the Animus when the file was ready to execute, even if she had already been killed in the present day.

Gallery

• 
  Ezio standing next to a cube inside a Cluster
• 
  Beginning of a Cluster
• 
  Interior of a Cluster
• 
  Desmond navigating the Miracle file's environment
• 
  A digitized avatar of Clay appearing before Desmond
• 
  Clay's avatar speaking to Desmond
• 
  Desmond watching Clay's avatar struggling to maintain form
• The Miracle file
  The Miracle file