Consus

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"I am Consus, the Erudite God."

―Consus in the Pythagorean temple.

Consus, also known as Prometheus or the Erudite God, was a famed Isu scientist and a creator of Pieces of Eden.

Towards the end of his natural life, Consus, afraid of death, transferred his consciousness into his prototype Shroud of Eden. In the early 1500s, he became a guardian of sorts to Giovanni Borgia, an Assassin born into the notorious Borgia family.

Biography

First Civilization

Isu scientist

"I was old. I wanted more time. Bodies constructs, minds are programs. Uploaded my program into the Shroud, to cheat death. Succeeded. Failed. Trapped in my prototype."

―Consus to Álvaro Gramática, 2012.

In the days before the Toba catastrophe, Consus was known as a great scientist among the Isu. In 1923 Isu Era, during the War of Unification, Consus helped his master, Hephaestus, to create devasting weapons for their side, the Swords of Eden.

After Hephaestus's death, Consus also answered the need for combat medicinal equipment, by creating the first Shroud of Eden, a prototype device designed to return the wearer's body to predetermined, healthy, specifications. Later, when Consus became aware of his impending natural death, the one thing the Shrouds could not heal, he instead numerized and transferred his consciousness into the prototype Shroud, in order to live on. The transfert was successful, but it backfired as Consus became trapped into the artifact, unable to speak or let anyone know that he was still alive, being forgotten for centuries.

Found by Juno

"Juno. Schemer. Three centuries after my death, she found me. Usurped my work. Used it for her own ends."

―Consus to Juhani Otso Berg, 2013.

Three centuries after Consus' physical death, another Isu scientist, Juno, found his prototype Shroud. Discovering that Consus had developped the consciousness transfert, Juno learned everything about it from the old entity, planning to use it for her own ends. Juno was also the one who informed Consus about the creation of the Human species as the servants of the Isu, a feat that Consus didn't knew was possible.

After the outbreak of the Human Rebellion in 2296 Isu Era, Juno became part of a group of Isu trying to prevent the impending Toba Catastrophe but four times their attempts failed and Juno developped a fifth solution. Using the knowledge she acquired from Consus, Juno planed to transfert the conciousness of the Isu into stronger artificial bodies, but she failed and her husband, Aita, fall into coma after he voluntered to be her test subject and was euthanized shortly thereafter.

Eventually the Isu scientists found a viable solution but it was too late, their Civilization was doomed. In order to save the next one from a second catastrophe due to come 75 OOO years later, they used an object called "the Eye", manipulating the patterns of existence to be sure, that in time their successors will find the Grand Temple. But Juno, who had hated Humanity since the war, could not bring herself to leave them inherit Earth, so she tampered with the Temple patterns. Following into Consus' footsteps, she numerized her own conciousness and transfered it into the Temple network, ensuring that the activation of the Temple would release her from her prison.

Helping Humanity

Known contacts

"I am known by many names: Consus, Prometheus, the Erudite God..."

―Consus to Tom Stoddard and through him to Charlotte de la Cruz, 1692

Before the Grand Temple was sealed, someone took the Shroud away from Juno and during the next millenia it passed from owner to owner, Consus helping and conversing with humans with whom he came into contact. Though this contacts he became at some point known as Prometheus.

A Titan, whom according to Greek mythology, created mankind and stole fire from Mount Olympus to allow humans to create their own civilization. A potential reference to Consus eternal imprisonment into the Shroud, Prometheus' punishment for rebelling against the gods, was to be chained to a rock for eternity, where an eagle would eat his liver daily.

Still in ancient Greece, Consus also came in contact with Jason, the leader of the Argonauts. A Greek hero, who was sent by King Pelias to retrieve an object called the Golden Fleece, a mythical object of great healing powers; in reality, the prototype Shroud shielding the conciousness of Consus.

Giovanni's guardian

"Consus is standing next to me. He is watching. He does not speak much. Papà tells me he is not real, but I see him."

―Giovanni, regarding Consus.

Giovanni and Consus spying on Fiora and Cesare

In 1498, shortly after his birth, Giovanni Borgia was discovered to be malformed and likely to die within a few days. His father, the Assassin Perotto Calderon was able to heal him after stealing the Shroud shielding the consciousness of Consus, which was at the time in possession of the Brotherhood.

Throughout his childhood thereafter, Giovanni would have delusions of seeing a nonexistent being, whom he befriended and called Consus. Consus often spoke in Giovanni's head and gave him advice, even once allowing Giovanni to read a letter given to him, though the boy himself did not know how at the time.

Though of questionable origin, Consus seemed to be in favor of the Assassins or simply against the Templars. Giovanni's grandfather would ask Giovanni about Consus and if he could speak with him, but Giovanni would simply answer that Consus was not there, as he "does not play when Nonno is around."

Additionally, in 1503, Consus attempted to convince Giovanni to give the Apple of Eden to Fiora Cavazza, when she had come to retrieve it for the Assassins, and later advised Giovanni to go with Francesco Vecellio to join the Assassin Brotherhood.

Though these hallucinations did not appear to occur later in his life, Giovanni did not forget them. Upon bringing the Crystal Skull to Bombastus in 1520, he met a madman by the name of Johan who, upon seeing him, called out to Consus, causing Giovanni to demand him for an explanation of using the name. However, the Assassin received none, as Johan fearfully mumbled that he had mentioned "consent".

Giovanni's face being altered

When Giovanni and Maria Amiel traveled to the Temple of Pythagoras in the late 16th century, the Vault within it reacted to Giovanni as it would to a descendant of the First Civilization, shining with symbols and glyphs.

When Giovanni fell unconscious and awoke soon after, his face had changed into that of a seemingly ancient entity. He spoke in a distant and unfamiliar voice, where he claimed himself to be Consus, the Erudite God.

Presence in Salem

Stoddard: "What have you done to the girl?"

Consus: "Be not afraid. She is with me"

Stoddard: "Consus possessing Dorothy Osborne, 1692."

—Assassin's Creed: Syndicate

In 1692, somehow bonded to a young girl named Dorothy Osborne, Consus was able to speak through her, in what appeared to be visions. His presence sparked the events that led to the Salem witch trials, with the Assassins and Templars fighting to get control of Dorothy.

In the hands of Abstergo

"I have so many questions, but let's stick with you. How is it that your mind resides in this artifact?"

―Gramática to Consus, 2012.

By 1944, the prototype Shroud, which had been in possession of William Robert Woodman during the previous century , had ended up in Milan, in the hands of the Baguttiani family. On Christmas Day that year, Templar agent Keith Scipione purchased the Shroud from the family, and sent the device to an Abstergo facility.

In 2011, Templar Isabelle Ardant found the Shroud, which was believed to be broken, and gave it to Abstergo scientist Álvaro Gramática for repair in order to satisfy Alan Rikkin. Álvaro ultimately repaired the Shroud by killing himself, thus summoning Consus, who possessed Álvaro's body and spoke through him, before finally healing him. All this happened in front of a horrified Isabelle.

This led Álvaro to discover that whenever the Shroud heals what would normally be a fatal wound, Consus could temporarily possess the wearer and be able to speak through them. Álvaro started using the Shroud on his new test subject Violet da Costa, repeatedly shooting her in the head so he could communicate with Consus and learn his secrets.

On 21 December 2012, as he was talking to Gramática through Violet, Consus witnessed the release of Juno from her millenary imprisonment in the Grand Temple after Desmond Miles sacrificed his life to prevent the world destruction by an incoming solar flare. Greatly disturbed by the event, Consus claimed that all was now lost.

On 17 November 2013, Violet and Berg who had grown concerned by the threat posed by Juno and her growing number of followers, went to Paris, in order to use the Shroud to contact Consus and gain insight on Juno's motivations. Consus then warned them about Juno's dangerousness and scheming nature and told them that as a non-corpereal being she had infiltrated the global network.

The prototype Shroud, and apparently Consus' consciousness, were unwittingly destroyed in late 2014, when the Assassins Shaun Hastings and Galina Voronina destroyed Álvaro's Parisian lab, where the Shroud was being held. As his final act, Consus used what remained of the Shroud's damaged power to heal Álvaro, who had been fataly injured by a grenade.

Contacting De la Cruz

"But I came not to answer your questions, Thomas Stoddard. I speak to the one who is with you but is not there."

―Consus, 1692.

By 2015, Consus who had somehow survived the destruction of the Shroud, tried to contact Charlotte de la Cruz through the Animus. Telling the Assassin that she had a greater calling and that she had to find the "Ones with great knowledge" in order to find what she had to do.

Trivia

• Consus was a Roman deity assigned to protect the grain. Later, he also became known as a deity of secret counsel.